This... Is Serious, May 16, 2021

 This… Is Serious         May 16, 2021         John 17:4-26, Acts 1:6-14
 

Rev. Linda Meyer, Community UMC, Keenesburg, Colorado
 

    Thursday was Ascension Day, the day Jesus rose to heaven. The Bible tells us this happened forty days after Easter. Today is the seventh Sunday in Easter, but it is also Ascension Sunday. Next Sunday is Pentecost – the day the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ Disciples and other people in Jerusalem. Once again, time has flown by, and we are now coming out of the time after Easter.
   

    Ascension Day is a little hard to preach. Luke wrote about it in his Gospel and in Acts, but none of the other three Gospels talk about Jesus ascending to Heaven. In Luke 24, we read, “50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”

    I included our reading from Acts to remind us that after Jesus’ resurrection, he was here with us another forty days, then ascended into heaven. We know it happened, but except for these two scripture readings, there aren’t a lot of details, other than Jesus arose, and the Disciples were full of joy. His disciples then spent time in prayer, waiting for whatever was next.

    In our Gospel reading from John, Jesus is in the Upper Room with the Disciples, after the Passover dinner. Soon after this scene from John, Jesus goes out to a garden, and will soon be arrested. This is a long prayer, but there is so much going on in Jesus’ prayer! I left out the first verses from this scripture reading – it was already long enough, and sometimes it is hard to follow Jesus’ words. Jesus starts by praying to God that he knows the time has come to glorify God. By “glorifying God”, Jesus means he will die on the cross, and then be resurrected to show God’s power and glory. Jesus prays for his Disciples, asking God to take care of them because Jesus will be leaving them.

    During the last few months before this time in the Upper Room, Jesus tried to prepare his Disciples for what was to come. Even though he told them several times he would be leaving, the Disciples never quite understand what is going to happen. I would love to know what they were thinking whenever Jesus talked about leaving. Did they think he was serious? Did they think he was going to another area or country to teach other people? Jesus loved a good party – maybe they thought he was kidding with them, and nothing was going to change.

    But this prayer is serious. It is one of the most serious things Jesus ever said or did. The other three Gospels don’t mention this prayer, but John was there and probably heard every word of Jesus’ prayer. Not only is this a serious prayer, it is also one of joy and hope.

    Why is there joy and hope? Because Jesus is praying for us, too. “20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

    “Those who will believe in me through their message.” That is us. From these twelve Disciples, plus possibly another twenty to fifty people, who knew Jesus and preached the Good News, there are now over two billion Christians in the world. That never ceases to amaze me. From this small group of average working people living in a small area of the Middle East, in less than two thousand years there are over 2 billion followers of Jesus Christ. With the help of the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News, as the Disciples go out and preach, the Spirit will open the hearts of the people to receiving Jesus as the gift of God. Then those people will tell others about Jesus, and their hearts will be opened as well. The circle keeps repeating itself, as the Good News travels around the world.

    Jesus prays that his Disciples will be protected from the world. There is a lot going on in our world that is hard for us to understand. Some things are pretty similar to what Jesus’ Disciples faced. Violence, hatred, people being cruel to each other, the list goes on and on. In Jesus’ time, there was a lot they didn’t understand about the world: evil spirits, strange beasts that were found in the deserts and mountains. Today we might have some explanations for those things, but there are still a lot of things we do not understand.

    This is probably not the first time Jesus had prayed for his disciples. But here, in his most difficult hour, when they should have been praying for him, Jesus looks up to heaven and prays for his disciples. He holds the church up to God and asks for the continued well-being of those who have followed him. Jesus knew the reality of evil and the hostile nature of the world. That evil and hostility will send him to the cross. Jesus knows that his followers are likely to face persecution and great danger, even death, because of their loyalty to him. But, just as God sent Jesus into the world, Jesus will send his followers into the world to continue the work of the gospel. Jesus prays that they will become one together, that they will be unified, just as Jesus and God are one.

    As Jesus prays to God to protect the disciples following his death and resurrection, Jesus is not promising the church a life free from hardship or suffering. Instead, Jesus shows that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and the church’s intimate relationship with God and with each other, through Jesus Christ, will give us strength to remain faithful to God. Jesus prays for us so that we might be something that would be impossible if it wasn’t for Jesus: the church.
     

    Jesus also asks that his followers be blessed so that they can continue to grow in godliness and righteousness. He prays that our lives may start to resemble his life, so that every day we may become a little more like Jesus. He prays that our hearts might be one: one with him, and one with each other.

    In many ways, the church is an image of the Trinity. In Christ we are caught up in the divine life of the Trinity. In Christ we are invited to share in the relationship, the community, the fellowship, that exists at the very heart of God. God has given us to the Son, in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. We belong to Christ, and we belong to one another. Our relationships, our fellowship, our life together points to the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. In praying this prayer Jesus says, “This is who you are.”

    Jesus invites us to join him in the unique way of life we know as Christian discipleship. What if, as members of the body of Christ and fellow followers of Jesus, we devoted our time and energy to praying for one another and asking God to support, protect, and bless each other? If the church commits itself not only to praying this prayer, but to also live it, with God’s grace we just might start to resemble the beloved community we are called to be.

    In our baptisms, we are raised with Christ to begin living in that power of life and peace right here again today. We are not only justified in that word of truth but we are sanctified in it. We are empowered by the Spirit to begin truly living for life and not for death. We are empowered to begin living God’s way of peace — to bring peace through the power of God’s loving forgiveness.

    This is our good news: Jesus prays for us. Jesus reminds us we will never be alone. The Last Supper wasn’t really the last supper. This wasn’t really Jesus’ final prayer on our behalf. Jesus comes to us every day, to feed us with his word of truth and to pray for our protection in his word of peace.

    Through his prayer we become the church, God’s gift for the life of the world. And in our church, we become a community of believers – Jesus’ beloved community for all people. Jesus calls us to go into the world and be his witnesses to the world.

    Through Jesus Christ, we are one.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Good Morning from Community United Methodist Church! 
Here is our service for today, March 29, 2020.
Pastor Linda Meyer, with our musicians Kathy Kramer and Matthew Perry.

CUMC March 29, 2020

Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, also know as coronavirus COVID-19, Community United Methodist Church (CUMC) has canceled worship services for now. 

Here is a video of CUMC's worship service Sunday, March 22, 2020.  It is just over 20 minutes long, with prayers, scriptures, and a short sermon.

Community UMC, March 22, 2020

God Gave You a Gift, October 6, 2019

God Gave You a Gift
Rev. Linda Meyer, October 6, 2019
Community United Methodist Church, Keenesburg, CO

Today is World Communion Sunday. We celebrate it every year on the first Sunday in October. It began as World-Wide Communion Sunday at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1933. This was between the two World Wars, during the Great Depression. It was not an easy time to be living anywhere in the world.
The Rev. Hugh Thompson Kerr and his congregation wanted to demonstrate the interconnectedness of Christian churches, regardless of denomination. In 1940, the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, which included all of the predecessor denominations of The United Methodist Church, adopted World-Wide Communion Sunday. Today, The United Methodist Church celebrates World Communion Sunday with congregations all over the globe. Christians all around the world gather in large churches and small, on farms and in cities, in brick and stone buildings and under tents, and together they receive the bread and cup of Holy Communion.
The Conference sent out an email this week, written by Michael Smith, our Superintendent of Congregational and Community Vitality. He included this story:
“On this Sunday, we take communion together; all at the same time. It is an important part of telling our story. This year, I think we should serve Big Macs for communion. Hold on – don’t call the liturgy police on me just yet.
“A few days ago, I read an article about a Burger King in Argentina. You might be thinking, “Wait – Burger King is home of the Whopper not the Big Mac!” Correct. Burger King encouraged all of their customers to purchase their competitor's burger instead. In fact – they didn’t even sell Whoppers that day in order to make sure that Big Macs across the country would be consumed. Why? Because for every Big Mac ordered, money was donated to fight cancer.
“With this move, Burger King helped to ensure that an extra 73,437 Big Macs were sold that day compared to the previous years. It was a record-setting day. This gesture speaks about something much bigger that unites us and it isn’t about the two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun. I believe that if Burger King and McDonald's can do it, then the church has to figure out how to do it, too.
“There is much that is pulling us apart these days. How will you join hands with one another (even if they don't agree with you) for the sake of that which is so much bigger than just a local church, a conference, a denomination? Will you have the courage to let go of your way to lift up another’s voice? My hope for your church this Sunday is that you can speak to what brings us together. Let this World Communion Sunday be different.
“Grace meets us at the table. Don’t forget the fries.”
World Communion Sunday really does remind us we are all one in Christ. We may be very different, but we are one.
At first glance, the scripture readings for today and the celebration of World Communion don’t quite go together. But just as World Communion Sunday began during a time of war, our Old Testament scripture from Lamentations remembers a time of war and devastation for the people of Judah. After a series of tribute payments, conflicts, and uprisings between the Jewish people and their overlords in Babylon, an invading army under King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, devasted its great Temple built by Solomon, and took captives into exile.
Our readings from the New Testament were written during the time the Romans ruled over the Jews. Jesus’ disciples ask how they can increase their faith. It’s a hard scripture to understand, but essentially Jesus is telling them to continue being faithful, and their faith will increase.
In our scripture reading from 2 Timothy, Paul is trying to encourage Timothy. Apparently Timothy was struggling with the work of the early church, and Paul is trying to remind him of his faith, and that he is not alone in his work. And that is something we do need to remember ourselves: we are not alone in our work for God. We are one in Christ. We have each other to lean on when life gets difficult, and we have each other to celebrate with when life is full of joy!
Some Bible scholars question if Paul actually wrote the two letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus. The letters were written late in Paul’s life, or possibly after his death. Different scholars have different opinions, but whoever wrote these letters was certainly associated with Paul and knew all about the struggles of the church. We can certainly take these words to heart. Today we also struggle with the work of the church. It’s always a good reminder to us that no matter how hard things were after Jesus’ death, the church continued to grow and spread throughout the world. No matter how bleak our own future may seem at times, we can still be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world: feeding the hungry and helping people around us.
What Paul never really says in the letter, is what gifts God gave Timothy. Was it faith? Power? Leading others? Maybe it’s a good thing Paul didn’t specifically say what that gift is. It allows us to substitute in our own gifts. The gifts of leadership, being computer literate, managing money, teaching, self-discipline, cooking.
Each of us has a least one specific gift that comes in really handy from time to time – no matter what you do every day. What can be hard is remembering we have these gifts. We use them every day without even thinking about it. God gives some people gifts to be used for the benefit of all, including the power to make things happen within the life of the church. This can 3
be a very mysterious power. It isn’t just the ability to hold a position of leadership, or having a strong personality, or having a strong faith.
It is a matter of having the ability to say and do things that can change a situation. To lead in a way that makes others want to follow. To speak words of wisdom that can help someone through a rough time. To bring healing and hope wherever it is needed.
In 2 Timothy, Paul writes, “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” Most likely, Timothy had these gifts of power and love and self-discipline, but it was hard for him to use them. He may have been shy, or afraid he might make someone angry or upset. Paul is trying to encourage him how to use his gifts.
When someone has power, they need to be seen as someone has generous love for others, and then people may be more inclined to follow them.
To listen to what they have to say.
To follow where they lead.
The power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes from the fact that God gave God’s own son to save us. Because of God’s unbelievably enormous love for us to sacrifice God’s son, we give our love and loyalty back to God.
Paul also reminds Timothy of his faith, faith that was already there before Paul met Timothy. He reminds Timothy of the faith of his mother and grandmother. Each of you are here today because of your faith. We all probably got our faith from someone in our life – a parent, a grandparent, a brother or sister, or maybe even a neighbor or a friend. That faith gets us through the good times, and through the hard times.
We commit ourselves to God, and God commits something to us:
God’s love.
That may include our gifts, perhaps a calling, some responsibilities.
God’s love is so strong that it goes onward through death, and comes out the other side – even stronger. The love and goodness of God, given to us. That is truly good news!
Celebrating World Communion Sunday itself offers good news. Our world seems always to be filled with rumors of war, and some days our lives are full of devastation and sadness. Both our world and our ordinary lives often call us to lament. We may even feel a similar anger to that of the Judeans imprisoned in Babylon. We fear we have lost faith, that God has turned away, and that hope isn’t possible.
The gift of World Communion Sunday is that even in the midst of brokenness and despair, God’s vision calls us forward. God’s love calls us forward. With Jesus, table fellowship must have been amazing. He ate with diverse groups of people, including some who were not welcomed by others. Gathering around the table for a meal was a way of representing the vision of Isaiah,
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:6-8).
Through table fellowship, Jesus called his followers to feed one another and build community.
Today as we eat the bread and share the cup, we remember God’s gifts of a good creation, and God’s continuing creation. We remember the gift of Jesus and the way he taught us to live. We remember the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit among us. The message of World Communion Sunday is not simply hope instead of despair or endurance instead of tears. It calls for work, too!
The vision of God’s banquet calls us to join with others. It calls us to reach out across barriers, just like we work with other churches to support Loaves and Fishes food bank. It asks us to work with others to make the heavenly banquet a reality. In Luke, the apostles’ question about “increase our faith”, becomes a little clearer. The gift of the vision of God’s table calls us to do more than the ordinary. We are called to live the table – to join with those who are different from us, to work for healing and build community together. We need to be faithful and responsible before God.
Paul writes Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
May we do the same, today and every day.
Amen.

Hoping for a Miracle

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
September 9, 2018

Hoping for a Miracle

Mark 7:24-37
24 Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”

28 “Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”

 

29 So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”

 

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.

31 Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns. 32 Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him. 33 So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue. 34 Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”

 

35 At once the man was able to hear, his speech impediment was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble. 36 Then Jesus ordered the people not to speak of it to anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they told it. 37 And all who heard were completely amazed. “How well he does everything!” they exclaimed. “He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”

Starting Over

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
September 2, 2018

Starting Over

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with hands that were ritually unclean—that is, they had not washed them in the way the Pharisees said people should.

(3 For the Pharisees, as well as the rest of the Jews, follow the teaching they received from their ancestors: they do not eat unless they wash their hands in the proper way; 4 nor do they eat anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first. And they follow many other rules which they have received, such as the proper way to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds.)

 

5 So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?”

 

6 Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote:

‘These people, says God, honor me with their words,

but their heart is really far away from me.

7 It is no use for them to worship me,

because they teach human rules

as though they were my laws!’

8 “You put aside God's command and obey human teachings.”

 

14 Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. 15 There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.”

 

21 For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, 22 commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly— 23 all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

Learning and Growing in Christ

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
August 26, 2018

Learning and Growing in Christ

John 6:56-69
56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

59 Jesus said this as he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Many of his followers heard this and said, “This teaching is too hard. Who can listen to it?”

 

61 Without being told, Jesus knew that they were grumbling about this, so he said to them, “Does this make you want to give up? 62 Suppose, then, that you should see the Son of Man go back up to the place where he was before? 63 What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit. 64 Yet some of you do not believe.” (Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones that would not believe and which one would betray him.) 65 And he added, “This is the very reason I told you that no people can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for them to do so.”

 

66 Because of this, many of Jesus' followers turned back and would not go with him any more. 67 So he asked the twelve disciples, “And you—would you also like to leave?”

 

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 And now we believe and know that you are the Holy One who has come from God.”

That Came Down From Heaven

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
August 19, 2018

That Came Down From Heaven

John 6:51-58
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

52 This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

 

53 Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. 55 For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

Sacramental Thinking

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
August 12, 2018

Sacramental Thinking

John 6:35, 41-51
35“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

41 The people started grumbling about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 So they said, “This man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn't he? We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say he came down from heaven?”

43 Jesus answered, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me; and I will raise them to life on the last day. 45 The prophets wrote, ‘Everyone will be taught by God.’ Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father; he who is from God is the only one who has seen the Father. 47 I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. 50 But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

Is That All There Is?

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
August 5, 2018

Is That All There Is?

John 6:24-35
24 When the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they got into those boats and went to Capernaum, looking for him.

25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”

 

26 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. 27 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”

 

28 So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”

 

29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”

 

30 They replied, “What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

 

3 2“I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said. “What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

 

34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”

 

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

Rejection

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
July 8, 2018

Rejection

Mark 6:1-13
 1 Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? 3 Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.

4 Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.”

 

5 He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. 7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits 8 and ordered them, “Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. 11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

 

12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

The Right Stuff

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
June 24, 2018

The Right Stuff

2 Corinthians 6:1-13
1 In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted. 2 Hear what God says:

“When the time came for me to show you favor,

I heard you;

when the day arrived for me to save you,

I helped you.”

Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved!

 

3 We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so we try not to put obstacles in anyone's way. 4 Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties. 5 We have been beaten, jailed, and mobbed; we have been overworked and have gone without sleep or food. 6 By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God's servants—by the Holy Spirit, by our true love, 7 by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. 8 We are honored and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth; 9 as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed; 10 although saddened, we are always glad; we seem poor, but we make many people rich; we seem to have nothing, yet we really possess everything.

 

11 Dear friends in Corinth! We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide. 12 It is not we who have closed our hearts to you; it is you who have closed your hearts to us. 13 I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!

Courage

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
June 17, 2018

Courage

2 Corinthians 5:6-17
6 So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home. 7 For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight. 8 We are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord. 9 More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home here or there. 10 For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.

11 We know what it means to fear the Lord, and so we try to persuade others. God knows us completely, and I hope that in your hearts you know me as well. 12 We are not trying again to recommend ourselves to you; rather, we are trying to give you a good reason to be proud of us, so that you will be able to answer those who boast about people's appearance and not about their character. 13 Are we really insane? It is for God's sake. Or are we sane? Then it is for your sake. 14 We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death. 15 He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

 

16 No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so. 17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.

Before the Fire Goes Out

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
June 3, 2018

Before the Fire Goes Out

1 Samuel 3:1-20
1 In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the Lord, and visions from him were quite rare. 2 One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room;  3 Samuel was sleeping in the sanctuary, where the sacred Covenant Box was. Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning, 4 the Lord called Samuel. He answered, “Yes, sir!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “You called me, and here I am.”

But Eli answered, “I didn't call you; go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.

 

6-7 The Lord called Samuel again. The boy did not know that it was the Lord, because the Lord had never spoken to him before. So he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”

But Eli answered, “My son, I didn't call you; go back to bed.”

 

8 The Lord called Samuel a third time; he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”

 

Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, 9 so he said to him, “Go back to bed; and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.

10 The Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Samuel answered, “Speak; your servant is listening.”

 

11 The Lord said to him, “Some day I am going to do something to the people of Israel that is so terrible that everyone who hears about it will be stunned. 12 On that day I will carry out all my threats against Eli's family, from beginning to end. 13 I have already told him that I am going to punish his family forever because his sons have spoken evil things against me. Eli knew they were doing this, but he did not stop them. 14 So I solemnly declare to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever be able to remove the consequences of this terrible sin.”

 

15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning; then he got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 Eli called him, “Samuel, my boy!”

“Yes, sir,” answered Samuel.

 

17 “What did the Lord tell you?” Eli asked. “Don't keep anything from me. God will punish you severely if you don't tell me everything he said.” 18 So Samuel told him everything; he did not keep anything back. Eli said, “He is the Lord; he will do whatever seems best to him.”

 

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and made come true everything that Samuel said. 20 So all the people of Israel, from one end of the country to the other, knew that Samuel was indeed a prophet of the Lord.

Relationships

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
May 27, 2018

Relationships

Romans 8:9-17
9 But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to—if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you8.10: the Spirit is life for you; or your spirit is alive. because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin. 11 If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you.

12 So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our human nature wants us to. 13 For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live. 14 Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children. 15 For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, “Father! my Father!” 16 God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children. 17 Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory.

When Words Fail

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
May 20, 2018

When Words Fail

Acts 2:1-21
1 When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. 6 When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. 7 In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! 8 How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? 9 We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, 10 from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, 11 both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia—yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!” 12 Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”

13 But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”

14 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:

17 ‘This is what I will do in the last days, God says:

I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message;

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will have dreams.

18 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will proclaim my message.

19 I will perform miracles in the sky above

and wonders on the earth below.

There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;

20 the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will turn red as blood,

before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.

21 And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.’

Unafraid: Fear of Failure

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
May 13, 2018

Unafraid: Fear of Failure

2 Timothy 1:3-14
3 I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day. 4 I remember your tears, and I want to see you very much, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also. 6 For this reason I remind you to keep alive the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.

8 Do not be ashamed, then, of witnessing for our Lord; neither be ashamed of me, a prisoner for Christ's sake. Instead, take your part in suffering for the Good News, as God gives you the strength for it. 9 He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life.

 

11  God has appointed me as an apostle and teacher to proclaim the Good News, 12 and it is for this reason that I suffer these things. But I am still full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what he has entrusted to me. 13 Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, keep the good things that have been entrusted to you.

Unafraid: Friendless and Alone

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
April 29, 2018

Unafraid: Friendless and Alone

Psalm 139
1 Lord, you have examined me and you know me.

2 You know everything I do;

from far away you understand all my thoughts.

3 You see me, whether I am working or resting;

you know all my actions.

4 Even before I speak,

you already know what I will say.

5 You are all around me on every side;

you protect me with your power.

6 Your knowledge of me is too deep;

it is beyond my understanding.

7 Where could I go to escape from you?

Where could I get away from your presence?

8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there;

if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.

9 If I flew away beyond the east

or lived in the farthest place in the west,

10 you would be there to lead me,

you would be there to help me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me

or the light around me to turn into night,

12 but even darkness is not dark for you,

and the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You created every part of me;

you put me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because you are to be feared;

all you do is strange and wonderful.

I know it with all my heart.

15 When my bones were being formed,

carefully put together in my mother's womb,

when I was growing there in secret,

you knew that I was there—

16 you saw me before I was born.

The days allotted to me

had all been recorded in your book,

before any of them ever began.

17 O God, how precious are your thoughts to me.

how many of them there are!

18 If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.

19 O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked!

How I wish violent people would leave me alone!

20They say wicked things about you;

they speak evil things against your name.139.20: Probable text they speak … name; Hebrew unclear.

21 O Lord, how I hate those who hate you!

How I despise those who rebel against you!

22 I hate them with a total hatred;

I regard them as my enemies.

23 Examine me, O God, and know my mind;

test me, and discover my thoughts.

24 Find out if there is any evil in me

and guide me in the everlasting way.

Unafraid: Fear of the Other

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
April 22, 2018

Unafraid: Fear of the Other

Matthew 14:22-33
22 Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away. 23 After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone; 24 and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

25 Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. 26 When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It's a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear.

 

27 Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!”

 

28 Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.”

 

29 “Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus.   

 

30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried.

 

31 At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?”

 

32 They both got into the boat, and the wind died down. 33Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Unafraid: Understanding Fear

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
April 15, 2018

This sermon did not record due to technical difficulties.

Fear.

Is there any more universal force or feeling in our world?

There are so many things going on in our world today.

Wars, crime, terrorism                   

School shootings, identity theft, our finances.

We don’t know what the future might hold.

We are living in an age of fear and anxiety.

I’m sure you can think of a lot of others things that make you anxious, or scared.

Because there is so much fear surrounding us, for the next few weeks we are going to be looking at fear, what the Bible says about fear, and how to conquer it.

One really interesting thing about fear:  many of the things that we are afraid of aren’t as bad as we think they are.

Poverty levels are down.                   

Unemployment is low, and our economy is doing well.

There have been fewer deaths in war in last 40 years than in any other 40-year period, going back hundreds of years.

Violent crime is down 50% since the 1990’s

But fear is still out there.

It takes a toll on us – it makes us tired, weakens our relationships, and affects our health – we can really worry ourselves to death.

This week I read a quote from writer Molly Ball:

“Fear is in the air, and fear is surging.  Americans are more afraid today than they have been in a long time.”

From the moment we are born, we learn to fear the world around us,

We are taught to be afraid of strangers,

Sometimes we even fear people who are closest to us.

Political leaders have long recognized the power of fear: 

“Vote for our party because the other party is full of …”

fill in the blank of some group that you are afraid of or just don’t like.

It is getting harder and harder to watch the news on TV, whether it is national and world news, or local news.

Last week in Syria many innocent people were killed during a nerve gas attack.

The pictures were hard to look at.

It’s hard enough to look at devastation from natural disasters,

but when something like this is deliberately caused by people

it is almost impossible to look at the images and not feel our hearts ache.

Both men and women wrestle with insecurities, one of fear’s many faces.

Most of us can put a smile on our faces, but we still have those feelings of fear about what happens around us.

Everyone worries about something.

One of my biggest worries is money:  how will we stretch our money to pay the bills every month?

And this is nothing new – I have had that thought in the back of my mind for years.

I know we aren’t the only people who struggle with fear.

Most people will have times when anxiety and fear are overwhelming.

Fear is a powerful emotion that shapes us in many ways we don’t understand.

More and more people are depressed – depression that comes from fear.

Addictions can come from fear.

If we look beneath prejudice, and hate, we will often see fear.

Sometimes fear even leads us to bad decisions, or keeps us from taking risks that might have led to more joy in our lives.

Sometimes we fear things that will never happen.

But whether they are real or imagined, fear can have power over us.

Sometimes fear can become serious, and it can lead to panic attacks or anxiety disorders.

Other times fear is real – life-threatening illnesses, the impending death of a loved one, legal conflicts, or financial issues.

Fear isn’t just here in the United States.

It is truly universal – people all over the world have fears.

No religion or philosophy relieves us completely of fear.

Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheists and agnostics all struggle with fear.

We can never fully eliminate it from our lives,

But even if fear is a constant companion, we don’t have to be controlled by it.

Instead we can learn to look at our fears, control them,

learn from them, and work our way through them.

In the Bible, there are approximately 400 verses that talk about fear.

One of the most repeated phrases is “Don’t be afraid.”

God spoke those words to the Israelites in the old Testament.

Jesus said it in the Gospels.

Fear is nothing new – it has been there all throughout human existence.

And we have always had faith to help us overcome fear and find peace in uncertain times.

Where does fear come from?

The physical symptoms of fear and excitement are identical.

If you look at how someone is breathing, or their heart rate, or the release of sugar into their blood,

you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between fear and excitement.   

Yet we experience a huge difference between these two states.

So if there is no physical difference between fear and excitement,

that means that our interpretation of our condition makes all the difference.

Say we’re meeting someone for the first time.

Our palms are sweaty, and our heart is beating faster.

How we interpret these signs as excitement or as fear can dramatically change how we approach a situation.

We all have a sympathetic nervous system that prepares us for “fight or flight” responses to a threat.

In our brains, there are two small, almond-shaped structures, one on each side of the brain, called amygdala. 

They have been described as the center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation.

Before our conscious mind has a chance to figure out what we are hearing, or seeing, or smelling,

our amygdala has already made an initial determination if it is sensing a threat or not.

They are similar to smoke detectors.

A smoke detector can sense a fire long before our brain knows there is a problem.

If it is a threat, our brain releases adrenaline and cortisol, making us ready for fight or flight.

Cortisol is associated with stress and stress can lead to fear.

The release of these hormones creates changes in our bodies, getting us ready to do something in case of danger.

Our brains can learn to associate different sensations with past events, both good and bad.

Maybe when you were younger, you had a bad experience with some type of food.

For example, maybe when you were 10 years old, you got sick after eating too much chocolate.

From that point on, you avoid chocolate so you don’t get sick like that ever again.

Of course, we know that is impossible, because there is no such thing as too much chocolate.

Now that I know I have celiac disease, I associate regular bread made with wheat flour with being sick.

I used to love bread, but now that I haven’t eaten any bread made from regular flour for 3 months, I know it will make me sick.

So the fear of what could happen to me if I eat that kind of bread keeps me from eating any.

This is called conditioning.

You associate a sensory experience, like eating bread, with good or bad results.

Healthy fears are a good thing.

We learn at a young age not to put a screwdriver into an electrical socket.

            Bad things WILL happen!

We learn to buckle our seatbelts, so if we are ever in an accident we will have some protection from serious injury.

We know not to get too close to the edge of a cliff so we won’t fall off.

Real fear is a gift that has the power to save our lives.

The problem is when we create our own fears.

Worrying about things that will never happen, things that are out of our control.

That is when fear or anxiety or worry can hurt us.

Fear is intended to help us sense and avoid danger.

But sometimes we misread signals from our bodies, and worry about threats that are not real.

We become overwhelmed by false fears, anxiety, or worrying about things that will never happen,

or things that are out of our control. 

How we can change our fear-based conditioning?

Extinction is usually a negative term, used with animals or plants that are no longer living on the earth.

But when it comes to fear and anxiety, extinction, or unlearning bad habits, is good for us.

It enables us to move on, and find freedom in our lives.

So now that I’ve numbed your brain with all of this information, what does the Bible tell us?

The Bible is filled with stories of people whose worries and fears got the best of them.

I have picked on the ancient Israelites before.

Once again, they make a great example. 

About 2 years after Moses led them out of Egypt, they arrived at the edge of the Promised Land.

The land of Canaan. 

Land of milk and honey.

Moses and the other leaders sent twelve spies into Canaan to check out the situation.

The Bible says they were gone for 40 days, long enough for them to take a good look around and get ideas on how it would be to live there.

They return and report about what they saw. 

Reading from Numbers 13:

27 They told Moses, “We explored the land and found it to be rich and fertile; and here is some of its fruit.  But the people who live there are powerful, and their cities are very large and well-fortified. Even worse, we saw the descendants of the giants there. Amalekites live in the southern part of the land; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and Canaanites live by the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan River.”

30 Caleb (one of the spies) silenced the people who were complaining against Moses, and said, “We should attack now and take the land; we are strong enough to conquer it.”

31 But the men who had gone with Caleb said, “No, we are not strong enough to attack them; the people there are more powerful than we are.” So they spread a false report among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “That land doesn't even produce enough to feed the people who live there. Everyone we saw was very tall, and we even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that is how we must have looked to them.”

Caleb was so enthusiastic!

It’s all there – like God promised! 

Let’s go!!

But the other spies gave a completely different report.

So the Israelites complained about Moses, and wanted to give up.

And they sat there.

Paralyzed with fear.

On the wrong side of the Jordan River, away from the Promised Land.

They sat there for 38 years, until a whole generation had passed away.

Then the new leaders were able to go into the Promised Land.

God helped them win battles against the people living there,

and the Israelites were able to cross the Jordan and start their new life.

God would have helped the previous generation win their battles, too,

but they were too scared to do anything.

We do that, too.

Our fears can make obstacles and threats seem much bigger and more dangerous than they really are.

Sometimes we just need to face the giants in our lives.

To see if they really are as big and as difficult as our brain tells us they are.

Sometimes, you just have to have faith.

The Old Testament tells us about King Saul and King David.

When he was young, David was King Saul’s assistant.

But Saul had some type of mental illness.

He would fly into rages at anybody and everybody, for little or no reason.

Saul got the idea that David was out to get him.

When Saul got that way, David would have to leave Jerusalem.

He would go to the area around the Dead Sea, and hide in caves to keep from being killed by Saul’s army.

While he was stuck there, waiting for time to pass, David would write Psalms – poetry, prayers.

Some are happy, praising God

Some are terrified – where is God?

Psalm 56 was written by David, fleeing from King Saul, living among the Philistines, who are enemies of the Israelites, so he could hide from Saul’s army.

1 Be merciful to me, O God, because I am under attack;

my enemies persecute me all the time.

2 All day long my opponents attack me.

There are so many who fight against me.

3 When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty, I put my trust in you.

4 I trust in God and am not afraid; I praise him for what he has promised.

What can a mere human being do to me?

5 My enemies make trouble for me all day long;

they are always thinking up some way to hurt me!

6 They gather in hiding places and watch everything I do, hoping to kill me.

7 Punish them, O God, for their evil; defeat those people in your anger!

8 You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears.

Aren't they listed in your book?

9 The day I call to you, my enemies will be turned back.

I know this: God is on my side—

10 the Lord, whose promises I praise.

11 In him I trust, and I will not be afraid.

What can a mere human being do to me?

12 O God, I will offer you what I have promised;

I will give you my offering of thanksgiving,

13 because you have rescued me from death and kept me from defeat.

And so I walk in the presence of God, in the light that shines on the living.

You can hear David’s deep faith in God.

He is praising God, 

but at the same time David is sad because of his situation.

David also knows God will take care of him, and he gives thanks to God.

Sometimes, fear can be

False

Events that

Appear

Real

But when we confront our fears, and remember God is with us, we can turn fear into:

Face your fears with faith.

Examine your assumptions in light of the facts.

Attack your anxieties with action.

Release your cares to God.

Sure, that’s easy enough to say.

But trying to put it into practice?

Confronting your fears isn’t always the right way to address them.

You don’t want to cure your fear of water by walking into the ocean until you’re under water.

But sometimes facing your fears is liberating.

Fear, and finding peace in the face of fear, is one of the major themes in the Bible.

The words fear or afraid appear over 400 times in the Bible.

They had a lot to be afraid of!

Wild animals, enemies, bandits, famine, disease.

Whether they were being attacked, or in the middle of a famine due to drought, or in a storm, God is there.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

If the Israelites, there by the Jordan River, had remembered that God was with them,

and trusted God to take care of them, they could have taken on the Canaanites right then and there.  Instead, a generation lived and died on the other side of the Jordan River.

Waiting.                     

Waiting to die.

Stories like that happen throughout the Bible.

Since Adam and Eve, there has been fear.

There were no therapists or medications then.

So people turned to God.

They opened the Bible, and read God’s word.

In Isaiah 41, we read

10 Do not be afraid—I am with you!

I am your God—let nothing terrify you!

I will make you strong and help you;

I will protect you and save you.

Paul wrote to the Philippians:

“The Lord is coming soon.  Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.

And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.”

The next time you find yourself afraid of something,

Instead of imagining bad things,

Imagine God by your side, holding you, not letting you go.

Focus on hope.

Focus on God, through prayer, or singing hymns, or talking with friends.

God will get you through whatever is happening.

My favorite Psalm is Psalm 27:

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me,

My adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.

3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I will seek after;

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

5 for he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent

he will set me high upon a rock.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

yea, wait for the Lord!

Amen.