Month: June 2015

Faith and Power

PastorPartridge Uncategorized , , ,

Faith and Power

June 28, 2015

By John Partridge

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

    Last week, we read the story about David and his battle with Goliath and we remembered that even though David was just a boy, and even though Goliath was twice his size, well armored, experienced, battle hardened, and incredibly strong, the battle itself was not about swords, armor and brute strength. David understood that and he wanted to be sure that everyone else did too. David knew that the real battle was not between Goliath’s strength and David’s inexperience, but between the physical strength of Goliath, backed up by the power of the armies of the Philistines, against the faith of David and the power and strength of his God, the creator of the universe and all that is.

It was never even close.

Because David understood, and because his faith allowed him to see what others could not, he had the courage to do what others, others who were older, stronger, and more experienced, were afraid to even try.

In Mark 5:21-43, we hear two stories that reveal the true strength of Jesus, but also the power that was revealed in the faith of others.

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

While Jesus was on earth, he was fully (100%) human but, at the same time, fully (100%) God in human flesh. We have trouble with that. In our world, that math doesn’t work. In the physical world that we inhabit, you can’t be 200 percent of anything but God is more than a physical thing. God is a spiritual being and so, in God’s math, Jesus could be, and was, 100% human in the physical world but also 100% divine in the spiritual world. We don’t really understand how that works, and we wrestle with it, but we know that it is true.

Jesus is on the way to see a sick little girl, when a woman who has suffered for years with a chronic illness, pushes through the crowd to see him. She can’t quite reach him but she believes that Jesus’ power is great enough that all she has to do is to touch his clothing. And so she reaches through the crowd, through a tangle of arms and legs and shoulders, and touches the edge of his jacket. Immediately, she is healed, and even before she realizes that she is better, Jesus knows that the power of God has flowed through him and into her. What Jesus doesn’t know, is who she is.

This is one of those puzzles where we struggle with Jesus’ divinity. How did Jesus know that she had been healed but not know who she was. We really don’t know. But Jesus was human. He knew, he felt, God’s power flow through him, but in the press of the crowd, he couldn’t tell who had been on the receiving end. Since the woman had reached through the crowd, she might have already been several rows back from where Jesus was. But she had been healed just the same. Jesus didn’t see her, or pray over her, or recite some religious incantation, God had done all the work, through Jesus, simply because of the strength of the faith of this courageous woman.

Later, in the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus tells Jairus to ignore the people who have given up. The entire household gave up because they know that the girl is dead and that a healer is of no use. But Jesus is no ordinary healer. Jesus tells Jairus not to be afraid, but only to believe. The girl is restored to life, not only because Jesus wielded great power (which he did), but because Jairus had faith.

When we remember that Jesus was fully human, we begin to see the real power in these stories. The power did not reside only in Jesus, but in the faith of those who were healed. Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead because of Jairus’ faith. Jesus didn’t even know that the sick woman was in need of healing but she was healed because of the power and strength of her faith. David was able to defeat Goliath because he was the only one who had the faith to trust that God was able.

More often than not, we do not witness the power of God because, like Saul and his army, we lack the faith to trust that God can do it.

Our regular and fervent prayer must be for God to grow our faith so that Jesus Christ can do his work through us.

Learning to See (Part 2 – The World)

PastorPartridge Uncategorized , ,

Learning to See (Part 2 – The World)
June 21, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17: 1-11, 20-24, 32-49 Mark Mark 4:35-41 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

You may not have heard of Franz Harary, but you have probably seen his work. Franz Harary designed all of the illusions that were used on Michael Jackson’s 1984 Victory tour, the 1989 Super Bowl, and he has levitated the Taj Mahal, and made both the Sphinx and the Space Shuttle disappear. In addition to Mr. Harary, most of us have seen Siegfried and Roy make lions and tigers disappear and practically everyone remembers watching David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear.

Although these folks, and people like them, are often called magicians, many of them insist that they be referred to as illusionists, which is a more accurate description. What these men and women do is not magic, but an illusion designed to make you see what isn’t there, not see what is there, and in general make their audience believe that they saw something that they really didn’t see.

Last week we discussed how we live in two worlds at the same time, a physical world and a spiritual world. Although we live in these two worlds, we cannot always see everything that exists in the spiritual world regardless of the reality of those things. It isn’t that they are an illusion, but that we are unable to see everything that exists in our reality. In 1 Samuel 17 we discover that David, even though he was too young to fight in the army, was able to see what others could not. (1 Samuel 17:1-11, 20-24, 32-49)

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah.

They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. [about 9’9’] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[125 lb.]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. [15 lb.] His shield bearer went ahead of him.

8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

While this is happening, David, being too young to go to battle, is at home watching the sheep but his father sends him to the front with food for his brothers and a gift for their commander.

20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.

Everyone, that is, except David. David is furious that Goliath is making all sorts of threats and insults against God and his people and so despite being too young to be in the army, he goes to King Saul and volunteers to fight the giant.

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

In last week’s scripture lesson we learned that God saw people differently than we do, but here we see that God sees the world differently than we do, and that God’s people can learn to see the world, to see reality, like it really is. To the world, and to most of Israel’s army, Goliath looked unbeatable. He was over nine feet tall in a day when we know average men were rarely much over five feet tall. What the soldiers saw was a giant who was almost twice their size, wearing armor that weighed nearly as much as they did, and carrying a spear whose head weighed as much as two gallons of water. At first that might not sound like much, but if you want to try this out, remember that a spear is usually at least as tall as the man that carries it. So take a stick that’s as tall as you are, tie two gallons of water at the end of it (feel free to use a big rock or a bowling ball), grab the stick in the middle and try to throw it. I doubt that you will throw it very far. Goliath must have been huge.

Everyone could easily see that defeating him looked impossible.

But David wasn’t looking with eyes that saw only one world. David saw this world through the lens of another, spiritual world. When everyone else looked at Goliath they saw a giant. What David saw was a man who, although far larger (probably every bit of twice as large) than David, but who was much, much smaller than David’s God. With God’s help, David, despite his youth, had already defeated a lion and bear, both of which were much larger than he was, and so David knew that, with God’s help, Goliath would be no different.

Because David knew and trusted God, he saw the entire world in a different way.

Jesus teaches the disciples this same lesson in Mark 4:35-41.

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

To the disciples, the storm, a completely natural phenomenon, was totally outside of their control. Everyone knows that the weather does whatever it will do and human beings don’t have much of anything to say about it. But that is only a part of the complete reality. Jesus sees the unseen. Jesus sees the spiritual part of a natural world, and by seeing the spiritual world, Jesus understood reality in a different way. In seeing the complete reality, the reality of the natural world and the reality of the spiritual world, Jesus knew that the natural world answered to God. The lesson that Jesus teaches the disciples is that through faith, with God’s help, we are able to do things that would otherwise seem to be naturally impossible.

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Paul explains that they did whatever they could to be good servants of God and some of the things that they did seem to be, at first, odd and not at all what most people would do to be a good servant.

Paul says that they through “great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

The list that Paul presents doesn’t make much sense unless we realize that there is more to the world than just the natural, physical world that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch with our senses. But when we are able to see and understand the world that is unseen, we are able to do far more, with God’s help, than might be expected by people who can only see and understand the natural world.

We have seen this kind of vision in the horrible shooting in Charlotte this week. Although the entire nation is horrified at this kind of hatred and violence, and rightly so, the families of those who were murdered have been gracious and forgiving with one of them, publicly forgiving their sister’s murderer all because they know that this reality is not all that there is. They know that death is not the end that it appears to be and they know that although their loved ones have been taken from them, they will once again, be reunited.

The world we live in is not an illusion and neither is the spiritual world.

We live in two worlds and, apart from God, we can only see one of them. But with faith, devotion, study, and with God’s help, we can learn to see, feel, and experience the whole world, the real reality, in a new and powerful way.

Learning to See (Part 1 – Others)

PastorPartridge Sermon , ,

Scripture:

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13           Mark 4:26-34           2 Corinthians 5:6-17

Anyone who has ever broken their arm, leg, or had surgery on their shoulder or hip can tell you that after surgery when you are finally done with casts and slings, crutches, and walkers, then the real work starts. After the your body has healed, then you begin the longer and harder task of rehabilitation, rebuilding muscle strength, and relearning how to use something you thought you had, but realized that things don’t work the way that they used to. I have shared with you before that after receiving my cochlear implant, I am still relearning how to hear and every time they update the program, everything changes again.

But for the most part, our ability to see is different.

When we get glasses, they make what we see more focused. When we have cataracts removed, it makes our vision clearer. If we wear something like night vision goggles, it is quite possible that we might need to relearn to recognize some objects that look differently than they do with normal vision. But in most cases what we see is, in fact, what is there. There is never a time when we have to relearn to see…

…Except when we become followers of Jesus Christ.

As followers of Jesus we are called to see things, not as they appear to be, but to see them the way that God sees them.

We begin this morning in the book of 1 Samuel where God calls his prophet to anoint a new king in place of Saul. (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13)

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Jesse had good looking sons. They were tall and handsome and well constructed. And as they passed in front of Samuel, several times, if not every time, Samuel thought, “Surely this one looks like a king,” but God doesn’t see the world the same way that human beings see it. Each time that Samuel thought he saw a king, God told him that he was seeing it wrong. This happened so many times that Jesse ran out of sons and Samuel had to ask if he had any more. And the only son that was left was the kid brother they had left out in the fields to watch the sheep.

No one knew that Samuel had come to anoint a new king, but no one, not even his own father, thought that David was important enough to invite to dinner with God’s prophet. But the son that had been overlooked by his family was the very one that God had in mind. God’s vision is different than ours. God sees things differently than we do. And that means that things are not always what they appear to be. What we think we see is not always what is. What our eyes tell us about reality, is not always real.

Paul elaborates on this idea in 2 Corinthians 5:6-17…

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Paul says, that we live by faith, and not my sight, which is a good way of saying that the things that we see, aren’t always reality. What is seen with our eyes is not always all that there is to see. For that reason, Paul encourages us to focus on a world that we cannot see, so that we will be rewarded by Jesus on the Day of Judgment.

The followers of Christ, according to Paul, will be questioned by people who take pride in what they can see and we will sometimes be accused (just as Jesus was) of being “out of our mind,” because we choose to ‘see’ with our hearts rather than with our eyes. For that reason, we are called to take pride in what we are doing, take pride in the good that the followers of Jesus are doing, so that we can answer those who are only proud of the things that they can see. We must stop seeing those around us as the world sees them, but instead see others the way that God sees them. Whenever we are in Christ, we are changed and become something new, and Paul encourages us to see the people around us the same way.

God’s way.

And as we learn to see the way that God sees, we realize that the world we are learning to see is the future kingdom of God. In Mark 4:26-34, Jesus described that world this way…

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a man who is planting seed. While he is the one who put his hand in the sack and scattered the seed, once it left his hand, he is no longer responsible for anything that happens. Instead, “all by itself the soil produces grain.” Once the seed is planted, everything that happens depends on God. Even tiny seeds can grow to produce great sources of shelter and food, but our only responsibility is to plant and to harvest. When we see the world the way that God sees it, we remember that people are not always what they seem. Sometimes the most productive plants grow in unexpected places. Dwight Moody, the great evangelist of the 19th century was brought to Christ when he was a shoe salesman. Billy Graham was a country farmer who came to faith in Jesus at a revival meeting he attended at the request of a friend, and only accepted because his friend offered to let Billy drive his pickup truck.

When we see the world the way that God sees, we remember that just because people look like they are poor, or ugly, or dirty, or drunk, or foreign, or different than us, doesn’t mean that God sees them that way. We remember that God loved all of us long before we were anything close to loveable. God desires for every human being to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and have the opportunity to follow him. It isn’t up to us to choose who hears. Our only calling is to scatter the seed and let God be responsible for growing it.

It isn’t easy to see the way that God sees.

It is hard to doubt our own senses.

But when we choose to follow Jesus…

…we must learn to see all over again.

Memories of Billy R. Murphy (Obituary and Eulogy)

PastorPartridge Eulogy ,

Billy Raford Murphy
Wadsworth

Billy R. Murphy, 80, of Wadsworth, passed away, Saturday, May 30, 2015. He was born January 21, 1935 in Henderson, NC to the late Edward and Maggie Murphy.

Mr. Murphy was retired form the Barefoot Sole Company.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Ruth Ann Murphy and 15 brothers and sisters.

Billy is survived by his children: Mike Murphy of Wadsworth, Brenda Hall of Barberton, Linda Murphy of Wadsworth and Danny Murphy of Henderson, NC. He is also survived by 4grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Private services were held for the family.

Eulogy for Billy R. Murphy
June 13, 2015
by Rev. John Partridge

    Sometimes when you meet new people it’s hard to know what to think of them. That might almost describe my feelings when I first met Uncle Bill. He didn’t have a lot to say and usually, at the annual Christmas Eve family gathering, he just sort of held court in the kitchen while everyone else socialized in the dining or living rooms. If he wasn’t already talking with someone else, I might chat with him for a few minutes while I filled a plate full of food, but it’s hard to get to know someone like that. Aunt Ruth was easier because she talked more. The thing that I knew about Uncle Bill wasn’t from what he said, but from his references. It isn’t like he carried around a resume or anything, but you can know a lot about a person from the people around them. Since Harry was Patti’s dad, I spent a lot of time with him and I knew that Harry thought pretty highly of Uncle Bill. That spoke volumes. In most families, the standard for the man that marries your sister is pretty high and so if Harry not only accepted Bill, but both liked and respected him, that said a lot. I knew that although it might be hard to see what Uncle Bill was all about on the surface, there had to be a lot going on underneath the hood.

On top of that, there was Aunt Ruth and all of her kids. Although they were a lot different from my family, they were, and are, all stand up people who would give you the shirt off their backs to help someone. And so if that’s what Uncle Bill’s family was like, then that told me just about everything I needed to know about him, even if we didn’t talk a lot.

They say that like icebergs, trees are often at least twice as big under the ground as they are above ground. Uncle Bill was like that. You just knew that even though he was pretty quiet on the surface, there was a lot going on underneath.

The more I talked to Mike, Linda, and Brenda (Uncle Bill often referred to them as “Linder and Brinder”), and as I got emails and text messages from his grandchildren, more of the story of Billy Raford Murphy appeared. (I think Aunt Ruth was the only person that could call him Billy, or Raford for that matter)

Bill was born in Henderson, NC in 1935, and had 15 brothers and sisters. He went to school through sixth grade and then worked at home to help his family. He also had a son there before moving north with several of his brothers. None of the family up here knows much of anything about why he came north or has had any contact with family in North Carolina, but once Bill came to Ohio this became his home. The only time he ever went back was for his mother’s funeral.

Some time after arriving here, Bill met Ruth at the Bunny Drive In restaurant. He was eating, and she was the classic server girl on roller skates. The way everyone has heard the story, When Bill saw Ruth for the first time, he turned to his friend and said, “That who I’m going to marry.” And he did in 1961. It was a good call because they were married for 48 years.

One description that almost everyone uses was that Bill was a simple man. It didn’t take much to keep him occupied and happy. He loved his garden and he could just sit for hours on the back porch watching, the birds, his garden, and the back yard. And we all know that he enjoyed an occasional can of beer. Particularly Stroh’s. At least until they stopped making it.

Just about every other Mom, Ruth would sometimes threaten her kids by saying, “Just wait until your Dad gets home.” But Bill was not really the disciplinarian and he let Ruth do all the punishing. Although he did, occasionally, get mad. Most of us knew we were in trouble when our parents used our middle names, but Bill was different. Mike said that he always knew he was in trouble when his dad switched from calling him “Mike,” and started calling him “Boy.” When Bill said, “Boy, get over here.” Mike knew he was in trouble.

Even so, every single day, after school, Mike would have everything ready to go fishing. The fishing poles were laid out, the tackle boxes were ready, and a few cans of freshly dug worms. And no matter how tired Bill might have been from a long day at work, the entire family would load up and head for one of the Portage lakes to fish. Everybody had their own gear and everybody fished, except maybe Aunt Ruth, but even if she wasn’t fishing, she would be there sitting in a chair watching everyone else. Bill taught all of his kids to fish and catch turtles and he was good at cooking them too. Because they fished a lot, they ate a lot of fish… unless of course Uncle Harry was around. Harry loved to eat Bill’s fish and Bill’s kids sometimes worried that Harry was going to eat all of it.

And fish wasn’t the only thing that Bill could cook. He loved to cook and did most of the cooking for the whole family. His favorites of course, were T-bone steaks, hush puppies, sausage gravy and biscuits, fried potatoes, collard greens, and black-eyed peas. And of course, fish.
Bill was also more than a little bit of a handyman. He didn’t have much money and his tools were simple, but there wasn’t much of anything that he couldn’t fix, or build. He made his own guns and crossbows, wooden trains and little houses. Bill didn’t need a reason to make things, he just liked doing it. He made stuff and gave it away. It was just the building that made him happy. Along the way, he taught Mike to build things too and as he got older, he would watch Mike build things and would, occasionally, offer suggestions.

And, more than anything, Bill loved his family. He rarely raised his voice but he was always protective of his kids. He never played favorites and he taught them all independence and respect. He never discriminated against anyone and he would occasionally offer good advice like, “It doesn’t hurt to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.” Bill loved all of his grandkids, he loved spending time with them, and he loved to sit and tell them stories.

And as much as Bill loved his grandchildren, they loved him back. They heard the stories, they remembered them, and they have stories of their own that sound like this:

I lived with him for most of my life. He used to make me sausage every morning before school till I graduated from high school. We used to sit together on the back porch for hours. He would tell me stories about his childhood. He also taught me so much. Like how to garden, different birds and their calls, how to shoot a sling shot , the proper way to use a pocket knife and he gave me so much advice about life in general. One of the best things he taught me is simply just how to sit and listen. He was a man of very few words but if you took the time to sit and listen he would talk your ear off – Jenn

I got to know him when Aunt Ruth was in the hospital. He was a gardener, wine maker, carpenter, gunsmith, handyman, fisherman, boot-maker, and bootlegger. He was determined, knowledgeable, and still humble. – Mike

I always saw grandpa as a man’s man. No matter where he was, no matter who he was around, he was himself. I admired that. With him, there were no facades. What you saw is what you got. Though, on the surface would seem to be the ‘all American tough guy,’ beneath laid a gentle, caring, and humble husband, brother, father, and grandfather. That is something I strive to be one day because of him. – Kevin

    Bill loved Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, liked watching “Wild Kingdom” and “Hee Haw” with his family and always cheered for Ohio State and the Browns. And although he didn’t go back to North Carolina, he often went to Ruth’s family reunions and other events in West Virginia.

Maybe all of you weren’t there, but a few years ago, when both he and Aunt Ruth went into the nursing home, they called me and told me that they wanted to be baptized. They knew that neither of them were going to be around for a lot longer and felt that this was unfinished business for them both. I told them that I would be happy to do it, but would like to talk to them both first, and so, before the service, we sat and talked. Both of them told me that they knew Jesus and believed that he was the Savior of the world and had put their trust in him. They knew that baptism was important but, over the years, somehow it had gotten missed and they wanted to make sure that they did it in front of their kids and their family to make sure that they all knew it was important too.

That meant a lot to me and showed everyone something about his character. Bill was a man who always led by example. He was always himself and even near the end when he could have coasted a little. He made sure to invite everyone to watch him take care of unfinished business with God. I am sure that he intended for all of us to learn two things. First, take care of unfinished business and second, make sure that you are right with Jesus.

In that place, and for the rest of his life, Bill loved his family and wanted to make sure that they were taken care of. Even in a nursing home Bill led by example.

We can all learn from the things that Bill taught. In this room, and wherever we go, much of him remains because of what he taught all of us.

And in the end, that is his greatest legacy.

The King is a Fink!

PastorPartridge Uncategorized

“King: Demon, Lunatic, or Fink?”
June 07, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:4-20            Mark 3:20-35               2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

How many of you read the comics in the newspapers?

Those of you that do are probably familiar with Brant Parker’s “Wizard of Id” comic. In the comic, it is understood that the king is not a particularly good ruler. He is focused on his own wealth and pleasure over any concerns that he might have for the welfare of the people. One recurring line voiced not only by the convict, Bung, but often by anonymous sources, and even by entire crowds as they listen to the king’s speeches is the phrase. “The King is a Fink!” In the comics, this is usually a punchline and the reader is meant to find humor in it, but in real life, this same sentiment can be deadly serious. In 1 Samuel 8:4-20, the people cry out for a king like other nations have, and Samuel warns them that any human king, apart from God, will be a fink.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

My first reaction while reading this was that it would be nice if the king only took ten percent… but aside from that, Samuel’s point was that a king, or any kind of a government, regardless of how benevolent, will ultimately demand more from you than God does. In Samuel’s view, any king is a fink because he will take away your children, demand a portion of your labor, a portion of your property, and take the best of the things that you have for his own use and give some to his friends. But regardless of Samuel’s arguments, the people want to be like everybody else. They want an earthly king instead of God.

But after hundreds of years, perhaps a thousand years, under the rule of an earthly king, after several devastating wars in which their entire nation was destroyed and the people carried off in to captivity, after a succession of kings who were ungodly as well as flat-out horrible rulers who were angry, vindictive and mean, and finally after decades under the rule of a foreign nation with legions of soldiers who occupied their country to insure their obedience, Israel realized that Samuel had been right all along. After years of abuse Israel began to pray for a rescuer. It didn’t take a thousand years, people had been praying for rescue for a very long time, but God doesn’t change his mind right away. Samuel had said, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” And so, when the people began to pray for rescue from the very kings that they had begged for, God did as he said he would do, and took his time.

But finally, God did send his rescuer and he wasn’t what they expected. (Mark 3:20-35)

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

So many people packed into the house to see Jesus that the disciples were unable to eat. Now, I have been in some crowded places that were sometimes packed shoulder to shoulder, but how tightly do you have to be pressed in, so that you can’t get your hand from your plate to your mouth? That is a lot of people. But even as Jesus is attracting this sort of crowd because of his preaching and his natural charisma, others are alarmed at his popularity. Jesus’ family worries that he is crazy. In today’s language Jesus would be accused of having delusions of grandeur because he had the outrageous idea that the son of a carpenter could preach and proclaim the words of God. The teachers of the law, who themselves may have come from parents of humble professions, aren’t concerned that he is the son of a carpenter, but that his preaching is more popular than theirs. Their fear causes them to accuse Jesus of being possessed and controlled by Satan.

Jesus corrects, or at least argues with, the teachers that, logically, he cannot be demon possessed because someone possessed by a demon, could not, sensibly, cast out demons. But Jesus doesn’t answer his family at all except to say that anyone who does the will of God is his brother, sister and mother. Those who are going in the right direction, God’s direction, are his family and those who are not, regardless of their blood relationship, should be left behind.

The problem that everyone had with Jesus was that he is a different sort of a king. Jesus was different than anyone that they had ever met. Jesus was not a fink, nor was he crazy or demon possessed.

Jesus was something entirely different.

Paul understood that this difference exists because we live in two different worlds.

(2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1)
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Every king that the people had known had been an earthly king. After the thousand years since the time of David, no one could remember what it had been like for God to be their king. Everyone thought that fink-y kings were normal. Israel had gotten what they had asked for, they had kings that were just like the kings that everyone else had. There were some good ones, but many of them were immature, unfaithful, angry, vengeful, greedy, lustful, and sometimes almost purely evil.

But Jesus was different.

Jesus was different because he was not an earthly king. Jesus did not desire wealth or power on earth as other kings did because his kingdom was different. The kings of this earth live lives that are temporary, they have wealth and power and glory that are temporary, but the kingdom of Jesus was anything but temporary.

The king is a fink.

Every earthly king will be a disappointment because every earthly king and every earthly kingdom is temporary and imperfect.

The only king that satisfies is not an earthly king at all, but a king who lives and reigns for all of eternity in a kingdom that will never fade or pass away.

The only true king, the only eternal king, is Jesus.

And he is certainly not a fink.