Key Doctrines

“Key Christian Doctrines”

September 30, 2012

©Thomas B. Cundiff

 

Hebrews 11: 1-7

Ephesians 2: 8

 

 

Hebrews 11: 1-7

The Meaning of Faith

11Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²Indeed, by faith^* our ancestors received approval. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.^*

The Examples of Abel, Enoch, and Noah

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable^* sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith^* he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

Ephesians 2: 8

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—

 

 

I.                   FAITH

 

Of all the times I have read Hebrews 11 in reflecting on the meaning of faith, I have never, until this past week, took time to look at the number of times the word “faith” is used not as a doctrine but a state of mind and heart – particularly in placing faith in some of the key biblical leaders we have come to trust and admire through the years.  It’s like the faith we place in a spouse – or any close family member.  It is the kind of faith we place in God.  We trust that God will take care of us.  For scripture defines faith “….as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

 

While faith isn’t by itself a doctrine of the church, it is faith that surrounds all we believe about God in Christ with what we experience in our hearts;  the trust we place in the testimony of those we love;  the testimony of those who have gone before us placing their lives in the hands of God.  For faith, like love, is something we cannot see or prove in a laboratory.  Faith is and love are both of the mind and heart.  And as Paul teaches throughout his career of writing letters:  It is faith and love that brings us to hope – hope in God and hope in humankind – and hope in the future.     

 

Faith is the term used at the beginning of a total of eighteen sentences in this one chapter – Hebrews Chapter 11 – alone!  This epistle gives a chronological account of examples in which women and men were led toward and by God through faith….

 

To take a moment to rattle off some of these examples….rather quickly.  I encourage you to go back and read this entire chapter 11 on your own:

 

Verse 3          By faith we understand God’s Word, made of things not visible.  Faith is nurtured through something we can hear, examples that are tangible, God’s Word that is real and available for all of us to read…..

 

Verse 4          By faith Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice than that of his brother Cain;

 

Verse 5          By faith Enoch, referencing back to the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 5, 21) and the mythical father of Methuselah, who walked with God for over 300 years, perhaps giving birth to what it means to have faith in God;

 

Verse 7          By faith Noah warned by God about the impending flood—we all know the story of Noah and his faith that brought him through that flood….

 

Verse 8          By faith Abraham set out on his rather tumultuous journey;

 

Verse 9          By faith Abraham staid for a time in the land that had been promised;

 

Verse 11        By faith Abraham received the power of procreation at quite an old age to his beloved Sarah;

 

Verse 17        By faith Abraham was put to the test in offering Isaac as a sacrifice to God;

 

Verse 20        By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau

 

Verse 21        By faith Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph;

 

Verse 22        By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, mentions the Exodus….and gives  instructions as to how he should be buried;

 

And we can go on….we get to the “by faith” verses that tell of Moses and his story…...

 

Verse 23        By faith Moses hidden by his parents

 

Verse 24        By faith Moses  as he was growing giving us the law of and commandments.

 

These examples go on through the end of chapter 11 – beautiful literature, profound scripture that defines faith and gives wonderful, historical examples of men and women who in chapter 12 are described as the “clouds of witnesses” to whom we place our trust.  These historical stories from scripture have evolved through the years to become the ancient doctrines we follow to this day in the church….which leads to this first point:    

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT FAITH!

 

 

 

 

II.                Getting to the Doctrines—and the Doctrine of Jesus Christ

 

The doctrines of the church are the precepts or tenets of faith – the codes of belief – the hooks in which we define who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ.  The first of these hooks, described last week in detail, is Jesus Christ himself. 
Through faith, we are called to center our lives in the living Christ.

 

We are here because of Jesus.  Granted we may sometimes forget why we are here.  We get caught up in “church business” and lot of emotion is tied to the work we do in the church.  Ultimately this is not my church or your church but Christ’s church.  And our call, as I shared as my sermon last week, is to be found in centering our lives in the living Christ.  Through Jesus we define our worship, our identity as Christians in identifying the work of mission we will do in the world.  As Christians we devote our lives in exploring what it means to center everything, through faith,  in our Lord Jesus – and this is my second point:   

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT JESUS.

 

III.  The Doctrine of Scripture

 

Which leads to the doctrine of Scripture, my third point.  We know Jesus through God’s Holy and Sacred words found in the bible.

 

Consider your ordination vows – for a good number of you are elders or deacons.  The question is asked;  “Do you / do we accept in faith the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal and God’s Word to you.”[1]

 

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism we affirm that “the bible is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy God.”  (BC  7.002)

 

Scholars have identified 66 separate books or manuscripts that have become part of this sacred compilation of books, recorded historical events, wonderful literature, songs and poetry, stories from cultures of many people, kings and prophets and apostles inspired by God.  All in this one sacred and Holy book of faith – the Holy Bible.  

 

Putting all of this into my own words and the foundational belief of the Presbyterian Church:  The Bible is the holy and sacred and inspired Word of God.    

 

First point, we cannot be the church without faith.  Second point, we cannot be the church without Jesus.  Third point: 

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT THIS BOOK, THE BIBLE!

 

IV.  The Doctrine of Salvation

 

The fourth point is the Doctrine of Salvation:  What does it mean that God provides for us, sustains life,…saves us from brokenness and sin…the ”Amazing Grace” that saves us even from ourselves!  Through Jesus Christ, God saves us through the cross…reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection.

 

It’s important to spend a few moments with this Doctrine of Salvation because many churches don’t like to talk about sin.  Sin is outside the comfort zone for many.   There are churches that don’t have a prayer of confession in worship….I still hear from people who say to me the main-line churches are dying because we talk too much about sin.  Well, friends, sin is real.  We cannot avoid what is real.   I can’t even imagine true worship without first admitting/confessing who I am / who we are – because we are not perfect.    

 

The doctrine of Salvation by Grace through Faith is central to who we are as Presbyterians.  This is a biblical concept grounded in scripture read from Ephesians.  “Salvation by Grace through Faith” is the corner stone of the Protestant Reformation …. which means simply, in breaking from 16^th century Catholicism, “we cannot earn or purchase God’s favor, his grace, his forgiving love.”[2] 

 

Salvation is God’s free gift through grace.

 

“It means God’s hand outstretched to us in love in Christ.  And what faith means is our stretching out our hand to accept God’s grace, to trust in God’s loving forgiveness rather than in our own righteousness or good works.”

 

So all of this from Ephesians 2:8, is a “gift from God.”    My fourth point this morning,

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT GOD’S SALVATION!

 

V.  The Doctrine of God.

 

One more doctrine – obvious and perhaps the one that should on the top of the list…..The Doctrine of God.

 

We are created in the image of God.  To look at the Westminster shorter Catechism again that asks:  “What is God?  God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being wisdom, power holiness, justice , goodness and truth.“ (BC  7.004)  The next ten questions in this catechism get into the qualities of God.

 

The gospel of John tells us God is light…..in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was and is God…..”  Wonderful connections between God and light and Word – and another doctrine:  God is known to us in three ways, as Father and Son and Holy Spirit.  The doctrine of the Trinity…..a subject I will save for another day.

 

God – Yaweh – Elohim, Father – all names we give to all that ground us in faith.    God is the “wholly other” creator and sustainer, our “ground of being”.   And the definition I like the most:  God is the love that binds us together and builds us up. 

 

My fifth point:

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT GOD!

 

VI.            Conclusion – go into the world with FAITH

 

These are a few of the major doctrines—also called ORTHODOXIES—that  distinguish us from other churches….as vibrant, moving, energetic, organic – living body of Christ.  In fact, another topic for another day is a discussion on another important doctrine….the DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH!    

 

Ultimately, what I hope you will go away with today is a grasp of what it means to be “CHURCH” -- in worship, grounded in scripture, acknowledging we are not perfect and that God saves us by grace through faith.

 

May we always be a people of faith who can honestly turn to God with everything, anything that happens to us in life.  May we place before God our very lives. 

 

May we join in the company of saints, those mentioned in Hebrews 11, what it means to have faith – regardless what befalls us in our lives.  May this discussion on a few of the doctrines of the church help us gain knowledge of what it means to truly be children of God, educated servants of God, informed disciples of Jesus Christ.

 

To review these five points once again: 

 

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT FAITH!

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT JESUS!

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT THE BIBLE!

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT SALVATION!

WE CANNOT BE THE CHURCH WITHOUT GOD!

 

These are the key, orthodox components of faith that help to define who we are as Christ’s church.  May we continue to help us do the important and serious work of Jesus Christ in the world in which we live.

 

 Amen.

 

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[1]   Ordination Question Number Two  (Book of Order)

 

[2]   Chesnut, Robert.  Sermon preached on October 17, 1983 at the Northminster Presbyterian Church of Evanston, Ill.

 

 

“Centered in Christ”

September 23, 2012

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Isaiah 11: 1-9

Romans 12: 1-8

 

 

Isaiah 11: 1-9

11A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
²The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
⁴but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
⁵Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

⁶The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

 

Romans 12: 1-8

 

The New Life in Christ

12I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,^* by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual^* worship.

²Do not be conformed to this world,^* but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.^*

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function,

⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;

⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;

⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

 

 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

 

There is this little cartoon of a picture of a couple worshipping in an empty sanctuary that says it all:

“These new statistics”, says the woman to her husband looking at all the empty pews, “some say our church is really popular with people who believe but don’t belong!”

 

Have we lost our way?  The church as we have known it?   While I believe most of us continue to have faith and hope in the future of this church and the church universal, I am bombarded with argumentative prophesies from modern day theologians and preachers—skeptics who talk of the death of the church.  And then I go to the “Lunch Bunch” last Thursday and see Christ alive in the women and men who have found a sacred bond in being the church—Christ’s Church—The Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church.  We have not lost our way!    

At the core of this debate, from my perspective, is the reality that good and religious and faithful people have lost touch with the key principles that keep us grounded—principles like that of centering our lives in faith in Jesus.   

Many in our world are beginning to say it doesn’t take a church building or a community of faith to know Christ!  In all due respect, I have always believed that we get to know Christ in the context of what we do together, as a community of faith, worshipping and working together in serving our Lord.  We may not need our buildings….we do, however, need each other!

Today and next Sunday I will be preaching on these key principles – orthodox principles or doctrines – that become the “hooks” in which we can hang our faith in keeping Christ’s church alive and vibrant well into the future.  Today my focus will be an overview of the book of Romans 12 and what it means to CENTER OUR LIVES IN CHRIST.

II. THE BOOK OF ROMANS

Paul’s letter to the Romans was written about 58 years after Jesus lived.  Did you get that?  This letter to the Romans was written before the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John!  The gospel of Mark, for example, was written roughly seven to eight years after Paul wrote to the Romans.  

Modern scholars have gone so far as to suggest the book if Romans should be in our bibles, logistically, before the four gospels.  It is a well written, concise and organized presentation of Paul’s theology and the impact Christ had on the first century world following Jesus’ resurrection.  It is with Paul we transition from faith in the man Jesus to believing in Jesus in the context of the church.  It is with Paul we become the church in believing, as the church, we are the living Body of Christ.

This question, for me, is the most important one to ask today:  What difference does it make that Jesus walked among us as one of us?  Jesus taught and preached and healed the sick.  He shared his faith with others.  He broke bread and fed the hungry and served the poor.  His call to ministry is mirrored in our doing some of the same things in our church.

The challenge we face in the modern church is the reality that the pressures of the secular world around us kick us off center.  We don’t always have time to do the things Christ calls us to be doing.

Like hitting a hard curb with the car knocking the front end out of alignment, we live in a world where events of each day knock us out of alignment.

So today, we are here for a “faith alignment” – in what it mans to truly center our lives in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Turning briefly to some of the specifics found on your bulletin insert, Romans 12 verses 1-8….

III.  OUR LIVES AN OFFERING TO GOD

Verse one gets directly to the important & personal point:  “Present your bodies—your lives as a living sacrifice.” 

This is powerful scripture pointing directly at our personal calling to say to God – MY LIFE BELONGS TO YOU!  EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS.  EVERYTHING I DO IS FOR YOU.  HEART AND SOUL AND MIND, I AM CALLED TO GIVE MY LIFE TO YOU! 

I heard this past week from a friend who lives in Seattle who said during his devotional time he was reminded of the importance in life to ‘Major on the majors and not the minors’….too many of us today are majoring on things that do not have substance or value.  This is a valuable exercise….to ask am I doing what I really should be doing, in the name of God?  Or am I wasting God’s time!  And oh, I think we are all guilty in doing things that waste God’s time!!![1]

A key word in this verse -- “Sacrifice”.  What does it mean to sacrifice for what we value?  The best example I can give: I would sacrifice anything for my family.  Nancy and Emily and Ken!  That’s what parents do!  We sacrifice for our children.

This is what God does in giving us Jesus!  God sacrificed his son, after living a short and productive life of teaching and preaching and healing and nurturing discipleship, Jesus died a gruesome death on the cross. He was alone and this death was horrific.   God sacrificed his son.  Get it?  For you and for me God gave us his Son so we could be here today. 

Which leads to this question:  What are we willing to sacrifice for our Lord?  In response to what God has given us, what do we return to God? 

IV. VERSE TWO

By now perhaps you see the value in taking time to study and reflect on the meaning of some of this scripture, word by word, verse by verse…..moving on to the second verse & three key words:  CONFORMED, TRANSFORMED, RENEWED. 

These three words frame what Paul teaches throughout all of his letters.   The greatest of all challenges we face as modern-day Christians is this idea of conforming not to the standards of the world but the principles Jesus teaches—the values we learn from God.  In compliance in conforming to the traditional values taught by Jesus we can be transformed ….  renewed in re-aligning our lives with God. 

 

One of the greatest challenges as faithful Christians is in our finding ways to break from the dominant economic & consumer orientation embedded in our culture that defines life in terms of wealth—the things we own or have—instead of who we are as children of God!   This is not to say there is anything wrong with having wealth and good things….and God bless those who are blessed with wealth.  This church has been richly blessed with all sorts ‘affluence’ that has allowed us to keep our doors open for over 147 years.     

 

Scripture challenges us to move toward a world-view that is centered in relationships and experiences in answering, if you will, the first question and answer found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

 

‘What is our chief end but to give our lives totally, wholly to the glory of God and the enjoyment of God’.

Imagine, if you will, a world transformed by what is good for the well-being of the masses of all people.  I couldn’t help but look this past week at the Fortune 500 / the 400 wealthiest people in the world.  The numbers are staggering!

Launched in 1982 , “there were just 13 billionaires … and the total worth of the 400 club was a mere $93 billion.

Today the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans is $1.7 trillion …. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is a staggering $4.2 billion ….  

And I need to note, one of the former billionaires, Helen Walton, was an active church elder in the Presbyterian Church who donated over six million dollars in the develoopment of new churches.[2] …. So wealth isn’t a bad thing…..as long as wealtjh doesn’t become everything in life!    

….. all this affluence….and yet Church World Service tells us one in four children in this, the wealthiest country in the world, is lives in poverty. 

Imagine, if you will, a world transformed by a different way of distributing property and wealth -- a different value system based on Old Testament Levitical law.  I have tried to be careful not to get political, so theologically speaking, much of what is found in the bible is about the “redistribution” of wealth, the Jubilee year every fiftieth year,  as recorded in Leviticus 25 that says in the Common English Bible: 

"This Jubilee year is sacred—it is a time of freedom and of celebration when everyone will receive back their original property, and slaves will return home to their families." 

This is an important text for me, personally, because one of my “ordination exams” back in 1977 was based on this text from Leviticus.

Imagine, if you will, this city and communities like ours that are not conformed by the ways of this world but transformed in doing what is good for the welfare of all the people….with good schools, plentiful healthy food for all our children, police and fire support throughout the community, brothers and sisters of all backgrounds and races living in harmony, soup kitchens and missions closing down as poverty disappears…..an urban utopia we continue to pray for as we “discern personally and as Christ’s church what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Being Christian is not easy.  Centering our lives in Christ is not easy.  Sharing what we have with others is one of the hardest things we are called to do.  Being Christ’s church when so much in this world is out of alignment -- not easy. 

 

V.  I WISH I HAD MORE TIME!

 

I don’t have time to speak in detail to the other verses found on your insert.  I hope you will reflect on your own what the rest of this chapter says to you, personally, in the context of our centering / aligning our lives with Christ.   

 

Back to the question I asked a few minutes ago:  What difference does it make?  Being the church?  What difference does it make that Jesus walked this earth so we can walk this earth continuing his work in the world?  Jesus taught and preached and healed the sick.  He openly and generously shared what he had with others.  Our call to ministry is mirrored in trying to do the same.  We are not going to be perfect.  All God asks is that we be faithful in trying to stay centered in his calling us to be aligned with Jesus.  If we could take just a few baby steps….today…..in moving forward in shifting our priorities more toward that image we have of God’s Kingdom here on earth? 

 

Finally, this is all any preacher can ask….to listen and hear God’s word to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual^* worship.”

 

Amen.

 

2404   //  2300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1]   Michael Talamaivao, September 19, 2012, Facebook.

 

[2]   I am working from memory with this statistic….Helen Walton died in 2007 at the age of 87. 

 

 

Speak Up! Speak Out!

 
 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

10:00 a.m. Worship Service

The Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church

 612 Millard Street

Playwrite Tiffanny Goodman will be our guest speaking briefly in worship about her play, “Speak Up!  Speak Out!  A Mother’s Cry Against Violence.”  Her son, Stèvon Martel Goodman, was murdered just two days after his 18^th birthday, March 12, 2009.  Friends of Tiffanny and those who would like to see an end to the violence on our streets are invited to this service of worship. 

Rev. Thomas B. Cundiff will be preaching on the topic:  “Two Pairs of Shoes” challenging us to find ways to walk in the shoes of our neighbors whose children have been victims of senseless crime.

This is also World Communion Sunday.  In our church we celebrate OPEN COMMUNION.  All Christians are welcome to our Lord’s Table to receive this sacrament. 

We will have refreshments following the worship service.  Questions call 752-6474 or contact Rev. Cundiff at tomcundiff@aol.com

“THE TABLE AND THE CROSS”
 

Communion Meditation
September 9, 2012
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Jeremiah 18: 1-11
Luke 14: 25-33

Jeremiah 18: 1-11

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²“Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” ³So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

⁵Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁶Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. ⁷At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, ⁸but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. ⁹And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, ¹⁰but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. ¹¹Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Luke 14: 25-33

²⁵Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. ³³So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

 

I.   INTRODUCTION – JEREMIAH and SYMBOLS

Are you ready?  Are you re-energized from summer activities to re-commit to a host of activities through worship, mission, fellowship and sharing the gospel with others?  A new season upon us.  Are you ready?   Several exciting things are being planned.

The Mission Team is in conversations about helping to support the Henry Marsh Habitat for Humanity Endowment Fund…..you will be hearing about this in just a couple of weeks.

Also from the Mission Team, we have invited Tiffanny Goodman to speak on October 7^th.  She is the local playwrite – her cast rehearsing in our church on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the production “Speak Up!  Speak Out!, her cry as a mother against violence….a story of her son’s murder – Stèvon – in March of 2009.

For the first time in recent history, on Sunday, October 28^th, we will move our worship to the First Presbyterian Church helping them celebrate their 175^th Anniversary….the Alma College Choir will be singing.  The President of Alma College will be preaching.  You will not want to miss this worship service at First Presb!

Exciting things are happening in our church.  And it is time for to open our minds and hearts to look for the spiritual food and the enriching experiences that will build us up and doing Christ’s work as the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Our stewardship theme this year will be “Simple Gifts”.  Now is the time for us to reflect on the “Simple blessings” received from God that allow us to be here today.  Packed calendars in hand, there is so much we want to accomplish in the name of our Lord.  But let’s slow down a bit.  Lets look at the simple gifts along with spiritual food God provides that help us move forward in positive, intentional ways in doing the work of our Lord.

Each week – as a preacher – I look to scripture for inspiration that will support us with all that is going on in our lives.  So this morning and with scripture in hand: What simple things do we learn from the prophet Jeremiah? 

Jeremiah is speaking to us as a prophet from roughly 600 years before Christ came to this world.  Jeremiah likes to use symbolism to communicate his points.  Today he says:   “I am the potter and you are the clay”.

Symbolically, who is the potter?  The Potter is God!   The Spirit of God who gives us breath and life…..the Creator God who molds us and makes each of us  special?  The Son of God who helps us live and move forward in living our lives.  God is the potter who formed everything around us – as the hymn sings to us:  

Earth and all stars, loud rushing planets, sing to the Lord a new song!  Hail, wind and rain, loud blowing snow storm, sing to the Lord a new song!  Earth and All Stars, Hymn #458

Another of my favorite hymns:  :

            God who stretched the spangled heavens infinite in time and place….

Flung the suns in burning radiance through the silent fields of space…. Hymn #268

The potter – God – is breathing life and depth and breadth, color and texture,  taste and smell, touch and sound -- into all we experience in life? 

And we are the clay.  Homosapiens!  Human beings!  Breathing and thinking, seeing and feeling, praying and worshipping -- the depth and breadth of all God is molding in this precious life God has given us. 

And we cannot forget this reality in contemplating clay….life is pliable and easy to mold… complete with blemishes, imperfections….pottery that sometimes breaks.  Things sometimes break in our lives.  But God, the potter, is always ready to fix things, restore things, re-mold us so that we can start each day fresh and new – so that we can start today resh and new!.    

That’s what this fall celebration is all about.  God is ready and willing to work with us to mold new and fresh things in our lives and in the life of this church.  We are in this place, this time and hour, this sanctuary full of symbols that remind us what we are all about.   

Two symbols before us that I have focused on in the past in my preaching:  THE CROSS AND THE TABLE.

More than inanimate or lifeless fixtures, these are living symbols speak to us and help us grow as persons.  They help us grow as Christ’s church.        

II.                THE SYMBOL OF THE CROSS

THE CROSS is the most prominent of all the symbols before us.  The CROSS is central to our worship.      

From time to time I am asked why we don’t have the “Crucifix” in our church?  The crucifix has Jesus hanging on the cross.   While we believe Jesus suffered and died for us and our sins, his life is our focus.  His life as a human who lived with us thousands of years ago and his life with us today as the risen Christ in our midst is our focus. 

The cross is now empty because Jesus came down from the cross; raised to live eternally with God;  raised to live eternally with each of us giving us the same promise, the same hope in the resurrected life and hope in eternal life.

Another way of describing the cross as a symbol…one of my favorite images that emerge from the Ten Commandments and the Great Commandment of Jesus:    

You shall the love God with heart and mind and soul, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Two foci:  Love of God & Love of Neighbor

The vertical plane of the cross is God’s reaching down to us it love us … giving us the gift of Jesus Christ … giving us all good, simple blessings – life itself – from the hand of the potter/God.  Within this vertical plane of the cross is our reaching up to God in worship and praise for all God has entrusted our care.  This vertical place represent our desire to nurture a close relationship with God…reaching up with this personal prayer I heard this past week and invite you to pray: 

“God – give me strength I need to be

the person you want me to be;  the person you need me to be!”

The horizontal plane of the cross is our reaching out to others to share with the same love God has offered each of us, personally, through Jesus life and death and resurrection.  I envision in this horizontal plane Jesus reaching with open hands to accept and love each and every one of us – open hands because God never approaches us with anger, clinched fists.  We may be judged for what we do in our lives but always with open and friendly and loving hands – Jesus takes hold of our hands in teaching us how to live as his disciples.

Crosses are found in our lives in many different places and remind us that Jesus is also to be found in our lives, different contexts, in many different places.  We  wear crosses.  I like to display crosses in my home and study.  The cross means different things to different people…..so as you gaze upon this large cross or encounter smaller crosses in a host of locations….ask yourself:  What is God saying to you today?  In what ways is the living Christ going to guide you this day?  With open hands, in what ways, the name of Jesus Christ, can I share the love of God with someone else this day? 

III.  THE SYMBOL OF THE TABLE

This Communion Table is another symbol before always before us in our worship.  Beneath this cross of Jesus, this table represents God’s bringing us sustenance, food, nourishment in Christ’s spirit each and every week.  This is a SACRED table with God always reaching down inviting us to be in fellowship with our Lord. 

In the Presbyterian church we don’t have altars.  Altars are for sacrificing gifts to God….and we don’t do that in our church.  (We don’t sacrifice lambs on the altar—that’s a different kind of table).  This table represents the common meal Jesus shared with his disciples….a meal that reminds us of Jesus’ communal meal the last day of his life.  It is a table that reminds us giving us strength to move forward in living our lives as disciples….the horizontal reach from the cross that touches each of us.

Call me an old-fashioned pastor, but I adhere to the tradition that this table needs to be set before us every Sunday reminding us that Jesus wishes for us to always be ready to share a meal with our Lord…. whether we actually receive communion or not. 

By the way, don’t you love the way Isabella Dominguez has brought texture and color to the table with seasonal runners and symbols of the good earth around us.  The table, with the chalice and shell, represent the two sacraments we observe in the Presbyterian Church – Baptism and communion.  All of us as members of the church are baptized into the family that together-gathers for worship.  Baptized in Christ, we are invited today to receive the spiritual food of bread and cup.

Just as the Communion Table is more than a symbol, the elements of the bread and cup are more than symbols.  We actually consume the bread and juice asking God to enrich us in His spirit and in fellowship with His Son. 

Eating the bread and juice is more than a symbolic gesture.  We are receiving , through faith, Christ into our lives.  We don’t just think about eating the bread or drinking the cup.  We don’t just think about what we are going to do to share God’s love wiith others.  Through this sacrament, together, we become the living body of Christ—the Church.  We become the hands and feet, arms and legs – sharing God’s love with others just as Jesus shares his love with us. 

IV

Back to thinking about Jeremiah and all that God wishes to MOLD into our being as women and men – as disciples of Jesus Christ. 

The cross and the table go together.  They are related.  The cross and table have meaning for us as we begin this new fall season in the life of the church. God is with us.  Jesus is in fellowship with us.  God the potter is prepared to mold us and motivate us as Christ guides us in doing HIS work this coming year.

My invitation today:  Make some plans.   As we break bread together and drink from the cup of salvation, look for God in your planning.  Ask for Christ’s help in organizing you days.  Ask along with your lord, today, what’s the most important thing for me to be doing?  In the name of God in fellowship with the living Christ, what comes next as I order things in my life? 

Friends in Christ, as we begin another season in working together, may God move in and with us as we break bread and drink from the cup—basking in the shadow of the cross.  May God continue to mold us as disciples as God reaches to us, and as we reach to God….and as we reach out to others with open, loving and caring hands -- sharing God’s love with others.

May God bless us and our worship and these sacred symbols of faith.

AMEN.