Eulogy and Obituary for Paul R. Cope

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 PastorPartridge Eulogy Alliance, Broadway, Chris Martin, Christ, church, Cope, Eulogy, faith, Jesus, John, Methodist, Obituary, Partridge, Paul

Eulogy for Paul Cope

March 31, 2023

by John Partridge

(Note: You can find the live stream of this memorial service here: https://youtube.com/live/X8K5O0xwOwY?feature=share )

Paul Cope was born in Alliance, Ohio on August 31^st, 1926, to Paul and Mabel Cope. He graduated from Alliance High School, and although he was not mechanically inclined, started driving a city bus in Alliance when he was only 16 years old. Paul served in the Navy for two and a half years during World War II, first at the Great Lakes Naval Station, our nation’s largest Navy base, and the basic training facility for every sailor we’ve trained since 1911 and then was stationed not far away at the Glenview Naval Air Station outside Chicago, which, until 1995 was a naval aircraft training facility. Paul eventually rose to the rank of Seaman First Class. After the war, Paul got back to work. He was married to Kathryn and then widowed with two children when she died suddenly at the age of 24. Not long after that, Paul met Shirley at her place of employment, which was possibly the electric company. Shirley said that her first impression of Paul, was that his ears made him look “like a taxicab with both doors open.” That may not be the most positive first impression, but they were married in September of 1951. Shirley immediately took over the care of Paul’s children, who were then 3 and 5, and eight or nine months later, added Cindi.

Paul was always busy. As the president of Cope Furniture, Paul consistently worked 12 hours a day, every day, except Sunday, where you can be sure that you’d find him at Christ Church. And, after church, you would find him having a Sunday lunch with his grandparents followed by a game of UNO. That tradition of making Sunday a family day still runs in the family because of Paul’s inspiration and guidance, but with everyone’s busy schedules, it’s gotten harder to do.

In the few years that I’ve known him, I knew that Paul was kind of quiet guy, but his family told me that he’s never really talked much because Shirley always did it for him. One day last year, Paul surprised Cindi and Andy when the normally quiet Paul suddenly announced from the backseat, “You know, men and women don’t think alike.” No one is sure what inspired such an announcement, but clearly, he was thinking about something profound. Paul was always a bit of a ladies’ man, and although he settled down and was faithful to one woman, he still liked to look at pretty girls and did not apologize for it.

As a family, they often went camping in the summer or they went to Florida together. Amy remembers spending Spring Break with her grandparents at Jensen Beach in Florida and Paul could almost always be found relaxing during the popular neighborhood cocktail hour holding a martini with one green olive. At home, despite Shirley being unable to swim, Paul had a boat and often took the whole family water-skiing on Berlin Lake. At one time, Paul also had an automatic shift motorcycle with matching gold helmets for he and Shirley. I’m told that, whenever Paul wanted something, he would pursue it, relentlessly, until Shirley, or Cindi, or whomever, gave in and he got it. This is how he got his motorcycle, his motor-home, his boat, new cars, assorted toys, and even a leaf blower when he already lived at Copeland Oaks that has its own groundskeepers.

There is also the story of Paul’s riding lawn mower. Paul liked mowing his yard, I think, but one day, before the advent of safety interlocks, he got off of his mower to pick up some sticks, with the mower still running, and managed to mow a toe or two. With blood streaming from his foot, Paul calmly walked into the kitchen and, Cindi tells me, this image of her father is why, to this day, that she does not care for the sight of blood.

Paul was always a part of his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren’s lives. When Shirley worked at Cutty’s Paul changed diapers and babysat his great-grandchildren. The funny thing is, that before his grandchildren were born, and maybe before his great-grandchildren were born, Paul had never one changed a diaper. And so, on his first try, and Cindi never quite figured out how, while he got it on, it was on completely backwards. Paul was supportive of his family at every activity that he could and he had season tickets to their football games just so that he could watch the band at half-time at all the home games.

In the last few months there were many changes to Paul’s life. He wasn’t too happy about giving up his car and despite the explicit orders of his doctor, he complained about it and insisted that we go ask Bobbi Wright because, Paul said, “She will tell you that I’m a good driver.” And, shortly before this most recent decline, Craig asked Paul if he was okay with moving from his villa to an apartment in the assisted living building. Paul answered that he knew that it was coming, and probably should have happened sooner.

In the end, Paul was a man who loved his life, who lived it well, and had fun doing it. He loved his family and would do almost anything for them. He knew what he wanted, he worked hard at whatever he did, and was faithful to his wife, to his family, to his friends, to his Jesus, and to his church. The old joke is that you should live your life so that the preacher doesn’t have to lie at your funeral, and Paul Cope did that and more. We often say that the mission of the church is to change the world, and if those of us who remember Paul can live our lives as faithfully as he lived his, we will do exactly that. Paul Cope was just one man, he could not change the world by himself, but he definitely changed his corner of it and made the world a better place for everyone who knew him.

Memories of my Dad

(by Marsha Miller)

My Dad was one of a kind! Without him and Mom, I would be what I am today.

They took very good care of me, Cindi, and Howard. They taught us how to be obedient to everyone, no matter what. They taught us how to respect and treat everyone as we wanted to be treated!

We always had food on the table to eat and you had better eat it or go hungry! Mom always made sure we not only had clean clothes to wear and that we had clothes to wear.

Dad was a great grandfather and a great great-grandfather. The all loved him very much.

Paul R. Cope

“A Sweet and Gentle Spirit”

March 31, 2023

by Rev. L. Chris Martin

Dear friends in Christ:

We gather here in this sacred and familiar place to worship the God of the ages in loving memory of Paul R. Cope. As I have thought about Paul’s life since his passing into eternal life a little over two weeks ago, I realize that what stands out as most memorable about this kindhearted and considerate man, over the fourteen years I have known him, was his sweet and gentle spirit. Paul was almost always the first person to arrive for the Searcher’s Class, the adult class I have been privileged to teach for the past twelve years. Paul was a man of few words so that when he did have something to say, we all listened. It was a true delight to share the classroom with him.

Paul was a reliable and predictable sort of guy, the kind of person one could count on to do whatever he agreed to do and to follow through on whatever responsibility he knew was his. Having served as a Seaman First Class in the United States Navy in World War II surely helped to teach Paul the need of completing the tasks before him in an efficient and reliable manner. It was a lesson that he never forgot through his long and fruitful life.

Paul had been married to the love of his life, Shirley, for 59 years at the time of her passing in March of two-thousand eleven. Shirley was so full of life, living each moment of each day fully, and loving and caring for every member of her family in ways that cause the precious memories they have of her to this day. Paul’s memories of the years of their married life sustained him through the last twelve years of his life where Paul lived each day remembering the happiness of the years he spent with his beloved Shirley. Paul thoroughly enjoyed his two daughters and their extended families, and his son, Paul Howard, who preceded him into eternal life.

In addition to what I have shared to this point about Paul and the life he lived, Paul was also a treasured child of God, loved by God with an unconditional love. Just a few days before he passed into eternal life, Paul said to me while he was hospitalized in Alliance, “I really don’t understand why I am here, I’m not sick.” That was a day that Paul seemed to rally, after which his health began to fail. I am convinced beyond any doubt that Paul realized in those last few days of his life that it was time to go home to God, where he could be reunited with his treasured Shirley and the others that preceded him into eternal life.

One of the songs that sustained Paul and the members of his family in recent days was a song first written by John Newton in 1779. The song is “Amazing Grace.” In 2006, Chris Tomlin wrote an addition to the original song. After the second verse, that reads: “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.” Tomlin added these words: “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, My God, My Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.”

The last verse reads: “The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine. But God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.” To this verse, Paul would add: “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.” Paul now lives for all eternity, wrapped in unending love and amazing grace. But his sweet and gentle spirit lives on in our memories.

Amen.

Obituary for Paul R. Cope

August 31, 1926 – March 15, 2023 (age 96)

Paul R. Cope, age 96, passed away on March 15, 2023.

He was born on August 31, 1926, in Alliance, to Paul W. and Mabel (Roath) Cope.

Paul graduated from Alliance High School in 1944. He was the owner and President of the former Cope Furniture. Paul served honorably in the United States Navy as a Seaman First Class in WWII.

Paul was a member of Christ United Methodist Church where he was in the Hallelujah Bell Choir, the church choir and was a member of Searchers Sunday School Class. He also helped make peanut brittle at the church for many years and was a Boy Scout Master of Troop 50 for three years. Paul was a former member of Alliance Rotary Club, Washington Ruritans and BPOE #467.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Marsha Miller of Arizona, and Cindy (Andy) Magda of Alliance; nine grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Patricia Ludwig; and two nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Shirley G. Cope, whom he married September 16, 1951, and who passed on March 12, 2011; and his son, Paul Howard.

A celebration of life will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Friday, March 31st at 11:00 a.m. with a visitation one hour prior. The service will be co-officiated by Pastors John Partridge and Chris Martin.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church Music Department, 470 E Broadway St. Alliance, Ohio 44601, or the Copeland Oaks Foundation, 715 S. Johnson Rd., Sebring, Ohio 44672.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601.

How Will God Change You?

April 3, 2023 PastorPartridge Blogs Alliance, Broadway, change, Christ, church, Easter, God, Jesus, John, John Partridge, Methodist, Partridge, transform, transformation

Ancient Meaning – Modern Application

Easter 2023

For the last several years, I have mentioned in this letter, that “this is an unusual time.” But, for the most part, we are putting the unusual-ness of the pandemic behind us and accepting what’s left as a new normal. We are going out to eat, holding church dinners, attending plays and concerts, and doing almost all of the things that we were doing before we first heard the acronym COVID-19.

But why does it matter that we are returning to normal?

It matters because a return to normal means that we can be done focusing only on surviving for the next few months or even for the next year. Returning to normal means that our focus once again shifts to look farther into the future. How do we envision Christ Church five years from now, a decade from now, or fifty years from now? Shifting our focus requires that we imagine how Christ Church might be different and how it might change. And imagining how Christ Church might change means that we must consider how we might change. And considering how we might change must include both the plural and the singular, both we collectively, and each of us individually.

But those things are also a part of the message of Lent and Easter. As we hear the familiar stories from scripture, as we read and listen to the story of Lazarus’ resurrection and his unprecedented second chance, as we hear the wonder in the voices of the crowd of witnesses, of the women who find an empty tomb, of the men walking to Emmaus with Jesus, of Thomas as he puts his hand in the Jesus’s wounds, and of the disciples who witness Jesus appear in a locked room, we must imagine with them, how our lives will be changed.

The resurrection of Jesus changed everything. It changed the direction of the lives of everyone who knew him. Peter and the others would never go back to their fishing boats because God had a different future planned for them. And twenty-one centuries later, the resurrection of Jesus is still transforming lives. As we celebrate Easter and move into the season of Eastertide, let us once again consider where God is leading us, how God intends to change us and transform us so that we are fit to do the work and the mission of the future that he has planned for us.

We are the disciples of Jesus Christ.

And God is still calling us to do his work.

Let us listen to his voice, consider what we must do, and how we might need to change in order to receive his blessings and arrive at the future that he has planned for us… for our children… for our grandchildren… and beyond.

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Storm Clouds

April 2, 2023April 6, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, clouds, death, donkey, entry, God, Jesus, Lazarus, lining, Methodist, Ohio, Palm, Partridge, pharisee, resurrection, Sadducee, Sanhedrin, silver, storm, Street, Sunday, triumphal, United

Storm Clouds

April 02, 2023*

(Palm Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

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Matthew 21:1-11 John 11:45-57

Last week we read the story of Lazarus together. It is an amazing story. Jesus returns to the house of his friends, Mary and Martha, four days after their brother, and Jesus’s friend, had died and was sealed inside of his burial tomb. At Jesus’ request, despite warnings that, after four days, the smell is going to be bad, they roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb and Jesus calls out to his friend and commands him to come out. At Jesus’ command, Lazarus climbs out of the tomb still wrapped from head to toe in his grave clothes.

As I said, it is an amazing story.

But as we follow the recommended readings for Lent, these readings often seem to tell a happier story than the scriptures do. Following the recommended lectionary readings would have us jump directly from Lazarus’ resurrection to Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. The alternative reading would have us jump from Lazarus’ story directly to the story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. But, as I mentioned at the end of last week’s service, there is an important part of the story that gets skipped over. And so, today we’re going to begin right where we left off last week, with the story of Lazarus, and then follow Jesus into Jerusalem because both of these pieces are important to our understanding of how things were set in motion for the events that lead up to Good Friday and Easter.

So, let us rejoin Lazarus’ story right where we stopped last week. Lazarus rises from the dead, climbs out of his tomb, Jesus asks folks to help Lazarus’ take off his grave clothes, everybody is amazed, and our scripture said, “⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”

That’s nice, but that isn’t the end of the story because if we continue reading, this is what we hear in John 11:45-57.

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵²and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” ⁵⁷But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Sometimes, when we read the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem, we wonder if anyone really noticed all the cheering, and shouting, and waving palm branches and this is especially true when we skip over the end of Lazarus’ story. But when we read the second half of the Lazarus story, we see that the chief priests and the Pharisees were waiting and watching for Jesus’ arrival. They had already decided that Jesus needed to die, and all the waving palm branches, and the shouts of Hosanna, only confirmed their decision and cemented their determination.

But, from the point of view of the disciples and other followers, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem was a joyous occasion. They had a completely different perspective. So different in fact, that it almost seems like different story. The people saw Jesus as a prophet, and they hoped that he would be the military messiah that would overthrow the Roman occupation and lead Israel to a renewed greatness, prominence, and notoriety. We hear this story in Matthew 21:1-11.

^21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosannato the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosannain the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

These acclamations tell us two things, first, they tell us about the expectations of the people and who they thought Jesus was, and second, they explain to us why the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the ruling council saw Jesus as both a problem and a threat.

“Hosanna,” means “Save” or perhaps “Save us.” It is the kind of thing that you would shout to a military or political leader in order to praise them, but also to express your hope in their leadership. “Son of David” was often used as the title for the kings of Israel, and was used both figuratively for leaders that were not related to David, and literally for Kings that were genetically descended from David. Waving palm branches may have also made a political statement. Again, this was something that you did to welcome kings, royalty, conquering heroes, or other important persons. Palm branches, in particular, may have been seen as a nationalistic symbol of Israel. These sorts of demonstrations were sometimes specifically organized by local leaders to welcome Roman generals, Senators, or Caesars so that they were appropriately welcomed and would see that subjugated nations loved Rome and were obedient to Caesar.

Taken together, this probably looked like the sort of thing that could start a popular uprising against Roman authority, and the potential for that sort of uprising was exactly why a Roman fortress, the Fortress Antonia, was physically attached to the Temple courts. Worse, the Romans stored the vestments of the high priest in that fortress, and if they were sufficiently perturbed, they would withhold access to the high priest, and there would be no holy day sacrifice.

And just in case you needed confirmation that the Sanhedrin knew about all of the shouting and the palm branches, Luke’s description of this event in Luke 19:39-40 includes this conversation:

³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It’s a little odd that the selected scriptures that we read during each season of Lent always include the story of Lazarus, but skip the part where we hear the angry voices of Jerusalem’s leaders. It is precisely because the resurrection of Lazarus, and the way in which that causes even more people to follow Jesus… it is precisely because this angers the Sanhedrin, and spurs them into action, that the story of Lazarus become a vital element of the Easter story. In the minds of Jerusalem’s leaders, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, and what is often described as his “triumphal entry,” only confirmed and solidified the decision that they had already made.

If they were going to keep the peace…

If they were going to keep the Romans from using violence to insure peace…

If they were going to maintain the status quo…

If they were going to keep their jobs, their positions, their influence, and their power…

If they were going to retain control of their temple and their nation…

Jesus must die.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Death Sandwich

March 26, 2023March 28, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, Davy Jones, death, eternal, Ezekiel, God, Jesus, Lazarus, life, Methodist, middle, Ohio, Partridge, Pirates of the Caribbean, resurrection, sandwich, Street, United

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Death Sandwich

March 26, 2023*

(5th Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Ezekiel 37:1-14 John 11:1-45 Romans 8:6-11

It has been painfully obvious to those of us in this room that death has been an all too frequent visitor to Christ Church over the last few months. And, despite our awareness that human life is short and that none of us are immortal, that knowledge and awareness does not lessen our grief in any way. Life is short and one day, and absent the return of Jesus Christ in our lifetimes, death will come for every one of us. My brother Dean used to tell a story about the ridiculousness of human life.

He said, “Think about the events that we look forward to, when we’re young we look forward to being five or six and going to Kindergarten, then to ten because it’s double digits, then thirteen and becoming a teenager, then sixteen so we can drive, then eighteen so we can vote, then twenty-one when we legally become an adult, then maybe twenty-four when we can rent a car…

… and then what? Sixty-five and retirement!

At every stage of life we look forward to the next big thing, and sometimes we become so focused on the next big thing, that we get tunnel vision and fail to enjoy the gifts and the joy that we have in the present moment. But, at the same time, particularly as we attend the funerals of our friends, we notice that the time that we have left is escaping us like the sands in an hourglass.

But if death is a common experience for all humanity, how do we feel about that? If we’re honest, most of us try hard not to “feel about that,” to keep our minds on other things, and to ignore the passage of time. As much as humanly possibly we try not to think about death.

But, surprise, that’s the subject of today’s conversation. So, what should we think about death?

And as we think about that, we begin this morning by considering the story of the valley of dry bones contained in Ezekiel 37:1-14. In that story, which you will find in today’s bulletin, but which I will not read, God calls Ezekiel, while he and the people of Israel are in captivity in Babylon and are grieving the loss of their freedom, their nation, their temple, and their worship. And God’s call to Ezekiel gives him a vision of an enormous valley full of bones and calls upon Ezekiel to prophecy to the bones. First he calls to the bones in the name of God and, as he did, the bones came together, tendons and muscles formed over them, and skin covered them. And then God called Ezekiel to prophecy breath to the dead and to call upon the four winds to breathe into them and give them life. And the winds came, and breath entered the bodies, they came to life and stood on their feet and became a vast army.

And God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Figuratively, the people of Israel were dead. They had lost their homes, families, freedom, their nation, their temple, their worship and, by their way of thinking, maybe even their God. They were a people who were as good as dead, but God calls to them, through his prophet, and declares that he will bring them up out of their graves, return them to their lands, and that they will live again. God declared that exile was not the end, but that their lives would, one day be returned to them.

And that’s a nice story about grief, sadness, depression, exile, and God overcoming a figurative death. But that’s not the end of the story. In John 11:1-45, we hear a story about Jesus overcoming the very real death of his friend Lazarus. That story is a little long but it’s worth reading, and I’m going to skip some of it, but it sounds like this:

^11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

²⁸After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

As an aside, we remember that in the timekeeping system of these ancient people, any part of a day counted as a day. And so, if Lazarus was buried in the evening, that counts as the first day, and if Jesus stood in front of his tomb at the crack of dawn, that still counts as the fourth day, but even if both of those are true, Lazarus was sealed inside the tomb, without food or water, for something like sixty hours. There is no way that Lazarus wasn’t really, completely, and entirely… dead.

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

While Ezekiel was wrestling with figurative death, and received God’s promise of restoration, Jesus overcame a very real death when he restored Lazarus’ life, and also on several other occasions, and ultimately when he rose from the dead after his crucifixion.

But why is that important for us as we mourn the loss of our friends and family, and as we grapple with our own mortality in the twenty-first century. It’s important, and it matters because of the power that Jesus repeatedly demonstrated over death, and it matters because of the resurrection on Easter morning. It matters because those things point us toward an understanding of death that Paul articulates for us in Romans 8:6-11 when he explains that…

⁶The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Paul sums up all of today’s conversation by reminding us that Jesus Christ has the power over life and death. God returned life in their home nation to the people who were exiled in Babylon. Jesus restored the life of Lazarus and several others, suffered on the cross, died, and rose to life again after three days in the grave. And Paul reminds us that if the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives in you, then death is not the end. Like Israel, like Lazarus, and like Jesus, death becomes only the middle between one life and the next. A ‘death sandwich’ if you will. Death is not the end, it is only a transition while we become something new, different, and eternal.

In the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Davey Jones famously asks, “Do ye fear death? Do ye fear that dark abyss?”

And the answer of scripture is, no. We need not fear death. Mostly because we don’t plan to be there very long… if at all. Our transition may be so fast, perhaps as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in the twinkling of an eye,” our transition from this life into the next may be so fast that we won’t even notice.

… if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

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Blind Opinion

March 19, 2023March 21, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, blind, Broadway, Christ, church, God, heal, healing, Methodist, misinterpretation, Ohio, opinion, Partridge, sin, Street, United

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Blind Opinion

March 19, 2023*

(4th Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 9:1-41

There is a way of misinterpreting scripture that may have grown out of the primitive worship of gods and idols that existed long before God revealed himself to Abraham. For primitive people, if you prayed for rain, and it rained, then it was clear that the gods loved you. But if there was a drought, then it must be because the gods were angry with you. Despite testimony to the contrary that we find in the story of Job, that frame of mind shows up with some regularity in the Old Testament, where we find people claiming that they were wealthy because God loved them but that if you were poor, it much be because you sinned or did something wrong. If we pay attention, we will notice that there are plenty of times in scripture where bad things happen to faithful, and good, even beloved, followers of God.

This attitude toward the poor, the unfortunate, the victims of accidents, the sick, the infirm, the crippled, those with birth defects, and many others, continues into the time of the New Testament and, if we’re honest, still rears its ugly head in the words we hear from some televangelists and others who are selling some variation of what is now referred to as the prosperity gospel. Jesus specifically preached against this attitude and understanding on multiple occasions, but one of the clearest of these is found in the story of his healing of the man who was born blind. (John 9:1-41)

^9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

So common was this method of interpretation, that Jesus’ own disciples assumed that this man’s blindness simply must have been the result of someone’s sin. For the disciples asking this question, that part of the equation wasn’t even in doubt. The puzzle for them wasn’t if someone sinned, but who it was who had sinned. Sin and punishment was assumed to be a part of this man’s infirmity and so the question that the disciples ask Jesus is “who sinned?” They likely wonder how the blind man might have sinned even before he was born, or if God was somehow punishing the sin of his parents by making him to be born blind, which certainly seems unfair. But Jesus replies that both options are wrong.

³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus explains that sin isn’t the only reason that bad things happen. But it’s also important to note that neither does Jesus say that God intentionally caused the man to be blind. He doesn’t say that God made the man blind. But he does say that God intends to use the man’s blindness for a higher purpose. In this particular instance, God has chosen to use this man’s blindness to reveal a little bit of Jesus’ light to the world.

⁶After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

It’s worth stopping again here to point out that some of the man’s neighbors didn’t even consider the possibility of blindness being cured. Even though they saw this guy every single day, they assumed that if the man in front of them wasn’t blind, then it simply had to be someone else.

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

The man insistently tells his neighbors “No, REALLY, it MEEEE!

¹⁰“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So, I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹²“Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

And here we gain some additional insight into the minds of the blind man’s neighbors, and maybe into the entire culture of that time. As soon as they determine that their neighbor is no longer blind, their first reaction isn’t to throw a party, or to congratulate him, or to celebrate with him, their first response is to drag him into court. To be fair, maybe this is because whenever a leper was cured of leprosy (which could have been any one of a dozen or more different skin diseases such as psoriasis), the cured person had to be brought into the temple, inspected by a priest, and “legally” or “officially” declared to be clean. In that case, what we see here is that his neighbors bring the man into the courts of the temple so that he can be declared to be cleansed from the “sin” that had presented itself as blindness and therefore welcomed back into worship.

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

It is obvious that the man is no longer blind. And so, now the argument shifts from his blindness to Jesus. They don’t like Jesus and they don’t want to admit that Jesus could have been the agent who performed the healing of the blind man. But the only way to deny that Jesus healed the blind man, is to discredit him and insist that because Jesus is a sinner, that the blind man was somehow healed some other way. And, as we will see, this turns into an almost laughably funny circular argument.

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So, they were divided.

¹⁷Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The blind man’s parents are dragged in front of these powerful leaders and even before they are summoned, they already know that these powerful men do not like Jesus and have threatened to excommunicate anyone who claims that Jesus is the Messiah. And so, being good and faithful Jews, but also parents who love their son, they do the best that they can to stay out of whatever trouble he is in, and not get caught between Jesus and these angry and powerful leaders. They want to support their son, but they don’t want to get thrown out of the temple or their local synagogue. And so, their answers don’t go any farther than they must. They tell the truth but refuse to speculate beyond their own knowledge. They swear that their son was, indeed, born blind but they have no firsthand knowledge of how he was healed, or who healed him and they refuse to speculate or comment further.

Their son, on the other hand, has spent his entire life outside the temple. His blindness, much like leprosy, though not communicable, was seen as uncleanness, or more specifically un-wholeness, and thus prohibited him entering into a holy space. Not only does he want to support the man that healed him, he literally has nothing to lose because they are threatening to take away something that he has never had. And so…

²⁴A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth, “They said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

³⁰The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³²Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

And right there we see that these church leaders believe the same misinterpretation of scripture that the disciples had. They dismiss the (formerly) blind man and dismiss the value of his opinion and the value of his eyewitness testimony, because they believe that his blindness must have been caused by either his parents’ sinfulness or his own, and this continued blindness must, therefore, have been an outward sign of his sin and of God’s displeasure. But…

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

⁴⁰Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The Pharisees that were listening to Jesus teach were not stupid men. They had dedicated their lives to studying scripture, and a strict obedience to keeping the oral and written law and they were surprised and offended that Jesus would call them blind. But Jesus says that their blindness came because of their insistence that only their interpretation of scripture could be correct.

The truth was that bad things happen to good people. The truth is that being poor doesn’t mean that God hates you, or is angry with you, or that God is punishing you for being sinful. The truth is that being rich, or living in a rich nation, doesn’t mean that God loves you any more than poor people or people who live in other nations, or that your wealth is a sign of your righteousness. The truth is that good people can be rich or poor, American, Asian, European, or African. The truth is that sometimes bad things happen. But when we have faith, God can use those bad things to accomplish good.

The other truth is that what God wants isn’t always obvious. And, even when we spend our lives trying to get it right, we need to have the humility to recognize that sometimes we can get it wrong.

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Enemies No Longer

March 12, 2023March 16, 2023 PastorPartridge Podcast, Sermon Alliance, allies, bias, Broadway, China, Christ, church, enemies, Germany, God, grace, hate, Japan, Korea, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, reconcile, redeem, redemption, Samaritan, Street, United

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Enemies No Longer

March 12, 2023*

(3rd Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Exodus 17:1-7 John 4:5-42 Romans 5:1-11

World War 1 began in June of 1914, but the United States didn’t issue a declaration of war until the spring of 1917. Regardless of the argument that the results would have been the same without our participation, the first war to end all wars ended on November 11, 1918. Similarly, World War 2 began in 1939, the United States issued declarations of war on Germany and on Japan in December of 1941, just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. And so, the second war to end all wars finally ended in 1945. Peace was even more elusive this time as the United States and many of its allies, once again fought in the Korean conflict from 1950 to 1953.

I suppose that this shouldn’t surprise us. If we look at almost any time in history, we can almost be certain to find that warfare is common. Over the last two semesters we have been diving deep into the history of Israel in the Old and New Testaments and, much like ours, a common thread running throughout Israel’s history is that of conquest, warfare, and shifting allegiances. For me, the thing that stands out in our recent history is how quickly we resolved and reconciled our differences with our enemies. Despite fighting two wars within the span a half a century, Germany is now one of our closest allies. And much the same can be said about our relationship with Japan. Korea is a little different but while North Korea remains an internationally isolated state, South Korea, which was once practically unknown, is now a close ally and, though we still have our political differences, China has become our biggest trading partner.

What does that have to do with us, our church, and the season of Lent? Quite a lot. But before we get to that part, let’s begin with the story of Exodus and the moment when the people were far enough away from Egypt to feel safe from its armies, forget their suffering, and start complaining about Moses and their current problems. We read this in Exodus 17:1-7.

^17:1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

³But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

⁴Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

⁵The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. ⁶I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So, Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷And he called the place Massah(which means testing) and Meribah(which means quarreling) ⁹because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

As the people of Israel follow Moses away from Egypt and toward the promised land, they pass through that dangerous time when they find themselves far enough away from slavery to feel safe, but not close enough to the Promised Land to feel the comfort of their new home. They were far enough from their problems that they no longer needed to rely upon God and instead began to fight amongst one another, complain, and grumble against Moses because he wasn’t meeting their needs fast enough. They were suspended between fear and comfort, and between slavery and freedom, and they asked themselves if God was with them, saying “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Is the Lord among us or not?

It is a question that we can easily find ourselves asking as individuals, or as a church, whenever we find ourselves far enough from our problems and our fears to feel comfortable, but not yet arrived at the destination for which we had hoped.

Hold on to that tension as we move on to the story of when Jesus met the Samaritan woman and brought an entire village to faith in God in John 4:5-42.

⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows, and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

³⁹Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴²They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Despite generations of hatred between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus breaks the rules to talk to one, and then to an entire town, and even, again in violation of societal and priestly rules, stays with the Samaritans for two days to teach and to preach the Good News. And, if we take a look at what Jesus said to his own disciples, “…open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Essentially, Jesus says, “Pay attention! The harvest is right in front of you.” And then the Samaritans, the enemies of the Jews, hear the Good News, and are welcomed into the kingdom of God.

But God’s relationship with the Samaritans is not the only relationship that Jesus redeemed and reconciled. In Romans 5:1-11, Paul says…

^5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but wealso glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We are immediately reminded of last week’s message “What Faith Isn’t,” and we remember that, like Abraham, whether we are Jews, Samaritans, or Gentiles, it is our faith that brings about our adoption as the children of God. The way that Paul describes it, Jesus died for us while we were still living in sin, and while we were still the enemies of God. But, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, our relationship with God has been redeemed and reconciled so that we can be welcomed into God’s family.

We worry, grumble, and complain because, like the Israelites in the desert, we find ourselves far enough from our problems and our fears to feel comfortable, but have not yet arrived at the destination for which we had hoped. But just as the Samaritans next door were not the enemies of Jesus, the people outside the doors of the church are not our enemies and neither are the Germans, Koreans, Chinese, Iranians, Iraqis, Mexicans, Russians, rich, poor, vaxxed, anti-vaxxers, Republicans, Democrats, or anybody else.

Much like Jesus reminded his disciples in Samaria, we too are reminded that the harvest is right in front of us.

We must love our twenty-first century Samaritans. There is no one who is beyond God’s grace. There is no one who cannot be redeemed, reconciled, and welcomed into God’s family. And so, no matter who it is toward which we aim our hatred, no matter who our modern day Samaritans may be, Jesus, and the Good News of the gospel is still bigger than our hatred. Our mission, like the disciples, is to get past our hatred and our biases, and invite our enemies into the family.

To paraphrase Jesus, “Open your eyes! The harvest is right in front of you.”

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What Faith Isn’t

March 5, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Abraham, Abram, Alliance, believe, Broadway, Christ, church, credit, everyone, faith, Gentile, God, grace, inherit, inheritance, Methodist, Nicodemus, Ohio, Partridge, pharisee, Sanhedrin, spirit, Street, trust, United, works

What Faith Isn’t

March 05, 2023*

(2nd Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 12:1-4a John 3:1-17 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Often when we are explaining what things are, and how they work, we pause from our explanations of what they are to spend some time explaining what they aren’t. This was important when the Covid-19 vaccines began to come out because many people heard the word “vaccine” and their thoughts connected to the polio vaccines that we received as children. Those vaccines essentially made us “immune” to polio… or so we thought. But the fact is that those vaccines made us immune because all of us had them, and because each vaccine, and each disease, performs differently in the human body. And so, we had to take the time to explain what vaccines are, and what they are not so that our understanding could align with the reality that the Covid vaccine is a lot more like our annual flu shot than it is to our once or twice in a lifetime polio vaccination.

With that in mind, when I read our lectionary selections for today, it occurred to me that, for as often as we spend time in church explaining what faith is, sometimes it is useful for us to talk about what faith isn’t, and that’s exactly what we find in some of today’s scriptures. We begin this morning in Genesis 12:1-4a, where we hear God call Abram to leave his home, his family, his people, and his nation, and go to a place that God won’t even name.

^12:1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

²“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
³I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

⁴So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.

God calls Abram from his home in the nation of Ur, to leave everything that he knows and just… go. It’s a bit like the call from American history to just “Go West.” God does not name a destination but promises to bless Abram and his descendants. That’s it. Just a promise. And with that promise, Abram believes, Abram trusts, and Abram goes.

And as we will shortly see, as gentiles, that story is at the root of our eventual adoption into God’s family.

But first, we move on to John 3:1-17, where we find Jesus meeting with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and a powerful member of the Sanhedrin.

^3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

⁴“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[plural, as in “y’all”] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still, you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

As a Pharisee, we know that Nicodemus was a devout man of faith who dedicated his life to doing what was right in the eyes of God. But because he was a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, we also know that he was politically connected, respected, and well-known in the community. Nicodemus says that he and the other leaders knew that Jesus must have been sent by God, because without God he would be unable to do the things that he had been doing.

Jesus explains to Nicodemus that the reason that he can do the things that he does, is because the he has received the Spirit of God and, more importantly, everyone who believes will receive the Spirit of God and will have eternal life.

And, once again, Jesus’ statement that “everyone” who believes may have eternal life, is of vital importance to us as gentiles.

When Paul was called by God to minister to the Gentiles across the Roman world, there was debate as to whether this was even possible. For Jews who had been raised on the teaching that they were loved by God because of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, it was difficult to understand how gentiles could be a part of God’s plan. And so, Paul spent much of his time explaining how that could happen, and a part of that explanation included a definition of what faith in God is, as well as what faith in God isn’t. We find one of those explanations in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, in Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 where he connects the dots from today’s scriptures saying…

^4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁴Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

¹³It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

Paul starts, as we did, with the story of Abraham. When God called Abram, only one thing connected him to the promise of God. There was, at that time, no covenant with God and Abraham had not yet done anything worth rewarding. Remember that we said that with God’s promise, Abram believes, Abram trusts, and Abram goes. The only thing that Abram had was faith. But nonetheless, scripture records that God credited Abram with righteousness.

That tells us something about what faith is not. Faith is not connected to the works that we do for God or in God’s name. Abraham was credited with righteousness before he could do anything. And, if Abram received the promise of God through faith, and not through the Law of Moses, which obviously came much later, then God’s grace is not hereditary and is not inherited, such that it cannot be passed from one generation to another. Paul argues that there is no such thing as inheriting the faith of your parents or your grandparents and that applied to Jews in the first century just as it does for Christians in the twenty-first century. We do not, and cannot, claim that we are saved because we were born into a Christian family.

Abram received the promise of God because he had… faith. He was, to borrow a more modern expression, saved by faith. Jesus said that everyone who believes may have eternal life. We are not saved by the things that we do, we are not saved by works. We are not saved by anything that was done by our ancestors, by our grandparents, or by our parents. Our salvation and rescue are not hereditary and cannot be inherited or passed down from one generation to another.

We are saved by our faith. We are saved by faith… alone… by grace… alone.

Just as it was for Abraham, by faith, and because of our faith, we are adopted by God into his family and into his church.

And it is for that reason that Paul can say that by grace we are, even as gentiles, the children of Abraham.

And that is why Jesus said that everyone who believes may have eternal life.

May. Not will. May. May have eternal life. What about you? Do you believe?

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Eulogy and Obituary for Judge James H. Williams

February 27, 2023 PastorPartridge Eulogy Alliance, body of Christ, Broadway, Chris, Chris Martin, Christ, Christ Church, Christ United Methodist, Eulogy, James, John, judge, Martin, Obituary, Partridge

Eulogy for James H. Williams

February 18, 2023

By Rev. Chris Martin

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: we gather in this sacred space to worship the all-powerful and compassionate Creator of the universe and his only begotten Son, our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ, in loving memory of James H. Williams.

There is no other place on the face of the earth more appropriate for us to gather than in this House of Worship, where Jim and his beloved wife of 67 years Peg, first came to worship in 1961. A celebration of Peg’s life was held in this room on the twenty-sixth of August last year. Jim continued to be active in both the Sunday School and worship of this congregation through Sunday, February fifth – just two weeks ago tomorrow.

Jim served in every lay leadership capacity that this church had to offer, including over 40 years as an adult Sunday School teacher, a position he entrusted to me about twelve years ago. On several occasions since his retirement from teaching, I asked him back to teach when I had to be away. He never once said “no” and taught the class as recently as eight weeks ago. Jim Williams was, without exception, one of the godliest, righteous, friendly, intelligent, noble, dignified, strong (in a gentle way), serious (in a fun-loving way), faithful, and committed Christian gentleman I have ever met in 52 years in ministry and 75 years of living in this world. Jim was as “genuine” a person as God ever created. There was nothing timid about Jim’s faith or Christian witness. Jim knew clearly what he believed and modeled his faith daily in the life he lived.

Each of the scripture passages you have heard read today speak eloquently about Jim Williams and the profound faith in Jesus Christ he lived each day of his life. The depth of Jim’s faith was universal – it showed through every aspect of his life, not just those parts of his life related to the church. The list of his accomplishments related to his legal profession and the list of his many activities and leadership positions within the community of Alliance both before and after his formal retirement in the year 2000 indicate that Jim was a person willing to invest his time, energy, expertise, strength and leadership capabilities in a wide variety of activities and organizations that sought to make life better for large numbers of people.

There is another passage of scripture that eloquently describes a man of God like Jim Williams. In the first chapter of the book of Psalms it reads: “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who ponders that law both day and night.” Not only did Jim fulfill the words of this passage of scripture in his professional life as a highly esteemed member of the legal profession, where his colleagues in the law respected his opinions and valued his wisdom; he lived his life following a code of ethics that reached far beyond the law of the land. Jim lived his life according to the rule of God, giving himself and his expertise to those in need.

In the one hundred and twenty-first chapter of Psalms, the psalmist writes: “I will lift my eyes to the hills: from where shall my help come? My help shall come from the Lord who made both heaven and earth. He will not allow me to stumble. He will guard me from all evil; he will protect my soul. The Lord will guard my going and coming both now and forever.” This psalm offers comfort to each of us for a variety of reasons. It was especially a comfort for Jim and Peg after Peg’s diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Jim and Peg took such sweet and loving care of each other when times of sickness came. When Jim underwent procedures with his heart and when Peg underwent chemotherapy – they leaned into one another and cared for one another, along with the ever-vigilant care of their children, Jim Jr., and his wife Lynda, and Sue, and her husband Steve, and the words of encouragement they received from their grandsons.

Let me stop right here to say: your parents and grandparents deeply loved each of you and took pride in every one of your accomplishments. They also knew and felt keenly the love and support of a compassionate and healing God, who would protect them, walk with them, and love them every step of the journey. They also felt deeply the support of their church and the always caring members of the Searcher’s Class. The folks in the class have been together for decades and genuinely feel the loss of their dear friends. Through the times of illness and the struggles that come with aging, Jim and Peg knew that God was always with them. When I was serving a recent three-month interim for a pastor on renewal leave, my wife taught the class. She reminded me that, in a discussion of the afterlife, Jim asked: “What kind of a job will God have for me in heaven?” Given all of Jim’s many talents and abilities, I am certain there will be a job for him in heaven. I am equally certain that if God doesn’t have an immediate job for Jim, I bet Peg will think of one.

In the apostle Paul’s second letter to his youthful friend Timothy, Paul writes: “Timothy, my son, I am nearly at the point of my departure from this life. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is awaiting me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me. Not only will that crown be mine; it is reserved for all who love God without measure.” Well, dear friends, I can tell you with complete certainty that Jim and Peg Williams have received those crowns of righteousness in the Kingdom of God because I know that both “fought bravely, and without complaint, the good fight; that they both finished the race with God’s grace and peace; and that they both kept the faith in genuine and concrete ways.”

Before we consider the lesson from John’s gospel, permit me a moment to lift up a brief passage of scripture that reflects the beauty and strength of the life we celebrate here today. In the Old Testament prophetic book that bears his name, Micah makes the following inquiry: “What does the Lord require of us?” Having asked the question, Micah provides the answer, saying: “To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” I cannot think of anyone I have ever known that more honestly fulfills the requirements of the God of our Fathers than Judge James Williams. His personal and professional life demonstrated his intense concern for justice. The way he related to individuals on a day-to-day basis revealed his kindness to all people. Walking humbly with his God was how Jim lived his days on this earth.

Finally, what does Jesus have to say to us today from the gospel of John? He says this: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also.” I submit to you that Jim believed and lived those words throughout his life and the truth of the Lord’s Word sustained him, and those surrounding him, at the moment of his death and passage into eternal life.

In the final moments of his life, Jim was embraced by his loving daughter Sue, his son Jim Jr. and his daughter-in-law Lynda. What more needs to be said? Only this: the greatest memorial, the greatest tribute any one of us can give to the life of this wise and strong man will not be achieved by engraving his name on a bronze plaque, although that may well be done. The greatest memorial and tribute we can make to his life is to live our lives, to the very best of our abilities, the way Jim Williams lived his life: “Seeking justice, loving kindness, and doing everything in our power, to WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD.”

Judge James H. Williams – “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the Kingdom of your Father forever and forever” – where there is no suffering, no sickness, no pain – only unutterable JOY in the presence of a loving God and your beloved wife, Peg, who was waiting for you at the gates of Paradise. Amen!

Alleluia! Amen!

L. Chris Martin

Christ United Methodist Church

Alliance, Ohio

February 18, 2023

Remembrances of Jim Williams from Family and Friends

Jim Williams, Jr. (Son)

Dad’s Lesson

We heard through the years of Dad’s career as a judge that in his quiet and stern way he ran a very smooth and efficient Bankruptcy Court. It was well known, if you were a lawyer, and you appeared in front of Judge Williams unprepared, you only did it once!

I too was the recipient of these quiet lessons, but one story in particular defines Dad’s style:

As a teenager with a new driver’s license, I had a midnight curfew. Our folks usually retired early, but Dad had an ingenious way of getting me home on time. He had an alarm clock, set for midnight, on the night stand next to the bed. I was to return home on time and shut off that alarm clock before it woke him up. One Saturday night I was out with friends and got home in time to turn off the alarm. Feeling safe, as if I beat the system, I sneaked back out to join my friends again, and returned home a second time well after 2AM.

Tiptoeing quietly in the back door, I thought I’d pulled off my little caper, only to come face to face with Dad standing in the dark hallway, arms folded with that terrifying stare. He only said these words: “Sunrise service at church starts at 6:30 … you’re going.” He turned and walked away. I went to church. Lesson learned.

Stern but fair…dignified and persistent…loving, generous, faithful, and devoted: These are the qualities that shaped Dad’s life. He was my most impactful example of how to live – and love – and to be remembered as a good man. He is my hero.

Sue Zempke (Daughter)

“Our dad…faithful, honest, compassionate, generous, loving, always present. All these words describe who he was. He was a man who carved his name on the hearts of all who knew him.

And he was so funny…a new restaurant came to town and all the city dignitaries were going to the grand opening. I asked him if he was going, and he said he didn’t even get an invitation because he was pretty sure new businesses weren’t likely to invite the local bankruptcy judge!

And speaking of that, I admit I used his title to my advantage as a young girl whenever the need arose. If I was in a situation where someone wasn’t in agreement with a point I was trying to make I had no problem saying, “I’ll ask my dad. He’s a judge!” Funny how that remark settled many arguments for me!

I will sure miss his wit, his charm, his unwavering faith, and most importantly the fierce love he had for his family. I love you, Dad. You will live on in our hearts forever.”

David Williams (Grandson)

“Never has a man been more deserving of the title “honorable.” Granddad was the epitome of honor, integrity, and stability. He was a man of few words, but those words were always poignant, always considerate, and sometimes, downright hilarious. That sharp wit has permeated through the generations, and any time my dad, my brother or I make a smart remark, we all know where we got it. As the patriarch of the family, I could not think of a better example of work ethic, fairness, and of course, great comic timing. I love you, Granddad.”

Matthew Williams (Grandson)

Granddad was a man I admired. Not only because he was my granddad, but because he was a man worthy of admiration. His and Grandma’s life together was an inspirational love story. He was generous. He was a man of outstanding principles. A man full of love for his career, his community, and above all, his family.

As a kid I used to challenge Granddad to staring contests because “The Judge” was unbreakable. He was intimidating, if you didn’t know he was as nice and gentle as a man could be. As I grew older, I became astounded at his quick wit. He was hilarious, with a dry delivery that frequently offered a sarcasm that I’m told is hereditary.

Our time together was special. Our annual family vacations are something I will not only remember for the rest of my life, but something I would love to carry on in the future. Granddad showed us the things that truly matter, and he lived a life anyone would be proud of. A man to be admired.

Grandsons Andrew and Kevin Zempke

“Never in our lives have we met someone who is more steadfast and devoted as our grandfather. He was a very serious man but also very family-oriented and cherished the finer things in life. He made sure we all got together for a big family vacation every year and some of our fondest memories came from those trips. Regardless of where we were, he made sure everyone was having a good time. As long as we were having fun, he was having fun.

Seeing him speed off in his brand-new Porsche Boxster was a sight to behold. He was such a cool dude. It’s hard to not admire someone like that. I, Andrew, remember looking over at him sitting on a couch at my cousin Matthew’s wedding in a nice suit, drinking his drink, and thinking to myself, ‘I aspire to be that cool one day!’ I, Kevin, often look back on all the family vacations we would go on, none of which would have been possible without him. Whether we spent our vacations on the Outer Banks, or in the Rocky Mountains, the time spent with Granddad and the rest of the family are moments I will remember for the rest of my life.

We will miss you deeply.”

With love,

Andrew and Kevin

The Honorable Ann Womer Benjamin

Mayor of Aurora, Ohio

“I was a new lawyer at Black McCuskey in Canton in 1978. My expertise was probate law, and I had no bankruptcy experience, nor was I admitted to practice before the Federal Court. Nevertheless, as a young associate at the firm, I remember being sent to Judge Williams’ court at the last minute on a matter. I was quite terrified because I had to ask the court’s permission to appear, then had to present on behalf of my firm’s client before a room full of people. Judge Williams couldn’t have been more gracious and helped this amateur navigate the proceeding successfully. I will never forget Judge Williams’ patience and understanding during that challenging first experience for me in Federal Bankruptcy Court.”

Obituary for Judge James H. Williams

Judge James H. Williams, age 88, passed away on February 12, 2023 surrounded by his family.

He was born on February 20, 1934, in Salem, to Howard H. and Lucy Williams.

Jim was raised in Berlin Center, Ohio and graduated from Berlin Center High School in 1952. He earned his B.A. degree in pre-law studies at Kent State University followed by a Juris Doctor Degree from The Ohio State University Law School in 1957. Jim began working as a Staff Attorney with the Ohio Depart of Highways and as an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus. In 1961 he joined what became the law firm of Blumenstiel, Williams and Blumenstiel in Alliance. He was appointed one of eight United States Bankruptcy Judges for the Northern District of Ohio in 1972. He remained in that position until his retirement in April 2000. Judge Williams served the Court as its Chief Judge from 1988-1997.

Active in his community, Judge Williams was a past President of the Alliance Jaycees, a past National Director of the US Jaycees, a JCI Senator, a member and past director of the Alliance Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow, campaign chairman and past president of the Alliance Area United Way, chairman of the Republican Party in Alliance, member of the Stark County Board of Elections, past president of the Stark County Bar Association, and was a life member of the Ohio State Bar Association and Fellow of Ohio Bar Association.

Following his retirement, he served as board president of Copeland Oaks Retirement Community, to which he and his wife relocated in 2013, board member of the Alliance-Minerva Chapter of the American Red Cross, president of the Alliance Family YMCA and a founding trustee of the Greater Alliance Foundation. He was also formerly active on the District level of the Buckeye Council, Boy Scouts of America and was a former member of Fillibusters and the Alliance Country Club. Judge Williams became a member of First Methodist Church in Alliance, now Christ United Methodist, in 1961 and served in most of the lay leadership roles of the church. For more than 40 years he was an adult Sunday School teacher.

Those left to cherish his memory are his children, James H., Jr. (Lynda) of Franklin, PA and Susan M. Zempke (Steve) of Mt. Vernon, TX; and four grandsons, Matthew J. Williams (Kelsey) of North Hollywood, CA, David Edwin Williams (Racheal Kimeu) of Jersey City, NJ, Andrew S. Zempke (Kimberley) of Arlington, TX, and Kevin W. Zempke of Plano, TX.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Margaret Williams, whom he married August 27, 1955 and who passed on August 21, 2022.

A celebration of life will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 18th at 11:30 a.m. with a visitation from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Pastors John Partridge and Chris Martin will officiate. A private family committal service and entombment will be held at Highland Memorial Park later that afternoon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 E. Broadway, Alliance, Ohio 44601 or The Oaks Foundation, 715 S. Johnson Rd, Sebring, Ohio 44672.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601.

Half-Truths and Lies

February 26, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, death, deceive, deception, devil, forgiveness, God, Good News, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, pattern, rescue, serpent, sin, snake, spin, Street, United

Half-Truths and Lies

February 26, 2023*

(1^st Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Matthew 4:1-11 Romans 5:12-19

In Star Wars – Return of the Jedi, Luke encounters his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, and asks him why he lied and told him that Darth Vader had killed his father. Obi Wan answers by saying “So, what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.” When Luke presses the issue, Obi Wan continues by saying, “Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” We all find that history is often told by the victors, and that the same events, when recounted by participants and authors from opposite sides, are often described very differently.

But what makes matters worse, is that in an effort to make themselves look good, many writers and public speakers not only tell stories from differing points of view, they resort to telling those stories and filling them with half-truths, lies, and outright fabrications. As sad as this situation may be, it isn’t new. We see that very thing in the story of creation and the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 when the serpent twists the truth to his own purposes. In that story we hear this:

¹⁵The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The story is sadly familiar to us, and we have seen the process repeated every day in our news media. God made a simple statement explaining the rules of living in the garden, “you are free to eat… but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But when the serpent quotes God’s instructions, he twists the words to say that God had forbidden them from eating the fruit of all the trees. Eve argues, but having heard the serpent’s exaggeration, she also exaggerates, misunderstands, or misinterprets God’s instructions and claims that they cannot even touch the tree or God will strike them dead. The serpent then escalates to outright lies and more half-truths, saying that surely, they would not die, but that by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would become like God.

Having believed the lie, sadly, after eating the fruit, Adam and Eve discovered that they were not like God. Their eyes were opened, they gained understanding, but they had lost their innocence, their home, and their relationship with God. And that was Satan’s intent all along. His goal was, and is, to destroy the relationship between God and his people and true to form, we see him attempting to do exactly the same thing, using exactly the same methods, in the story of Jesus’ wilderness temptation in Matthew 4:1-11 where it says…

^4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be temptedby the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Knowing that Jesus is too smart to believe his lies, but willing to try anyway, Satan begins by twisting the truth, and attempting to play on Jesus’ pride. He challenges Jesus to prove who he is by saying “If you are the Son of God…” then prove it. If you are who you say that you are, if you are who you believe yourself to be, then do this thing to prove it. But Jesus doesn’t have anything to prove, and has the humility to realize that pride is a trap. Instead of walking into that trap, Jesus replies that the scriptures that describe the Messiah and the Son of God, also say that he is obedient. The Son of God doesn’t need to live on bread but genuinely needs to live on the word of God. The Son of God may be protected by the angels of heaven, but he is wise enough to know that it would be sinful to test God by deliberately putting himself in danger.

Once again, Satan appeals to pride and to impatience, by offering Jesus the kingdoms of the world that are, by God’s grace, at his disposal. But Jesus knows that all these will be his eventually, and in any case, regardless of Satan’s temporary control of the principalities of earth, God is the true king who creates, controls, and rules over the universe and everything in it, including Satan and his minions. Jesus knew that the words of Satan were half-truths and lies, and so his enemy leaves him in hopes that he might try again at another time.

Time after time, the enemy of God has demonstrated a regular pattern of behavior that he uses to deceive the followers of God in an attempt to destroy their relationship with God and with one another. The enemy of God is the original master of spin, who twists the truth, speaks half-truths, slander, and distributes lies and total fabrications wherever they might be believed. The good news is that the enemy of God isn’t the only one with a pattern of behavior, and that’s exactly what Paul describes in his letter to the church in Rome that we find in Romans 5:12-19, where he says:

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

¹³To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. ¹⁴Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Paul begins this conversation about sin with Adam and reminds us that it was with Adam and Eve that sin entered the world and into humanity. But he also points out that before they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their actions were not sinful because of their innocence. Because they didn’t know the difference between good and evil, they were not guilty of sin. But afterward, after they ate the fruit, they knew… and that knowledge was passed down from generation to generation into all of humanity. Adam and Eve became the pattern for all of humanity.

And that is why Paul says that, ordinarily, human beings could not have been convicted of breaking the laws of God prior to God giving the law to Moses. You simply cannot be convicted of breaking a law that hasn’t been passed, but we still can be found guilty of our conscience because, in our hearts, we know the difference between good and evil. It is for this reason that all of humanity, from the time of Adam and Eve, is guilty of sin, and this is why, as Paul puts it, death reigned.

But… God sent a gift. Through his grace, God sent his son to break the pattern that had been set by Adam and Eve. Because of the gift and the sacrifice of one man, Jesus, a pathway to forgiveness and righteousness was opened to all of humanity. The lies and half-truths of the enemy no longer need to entangle us, destroy our relationship with God, and drag us down into death. God’s grace is now freely available at all times, to everyone, everywhere.

We must, of course, continue to be aware, and be wary. The enemy of God still roams throughout the earth searching for those whom he may destroy. He is still the grandmaster of spin. He still speaks finely crafted half-truths, lies, and fabrications that are designed to appeal to our egos, our vanity, our impatience, our pride, and all our other shortcomings and vulnerabilities. We will still drift off course. We will still fall into his traps. We will still make mistakes. We will still fall short of God’s commands, teachings, and expectations. But we are no longer doomed to repeat those mistakes and allow them to become the pattern of our lives.

Grace awaits.

At any moment, in any place, we may go to God and ask for forgiveness and know that because of the obedience of Jesus, and his act of righteousness on the cross, our forgiveness is guaranteed.

The pattern of sin and death has been broken.

This is the Good News that we are called to share with the world.

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Half-Baked Sin

February 23, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Ash Wednesday, Broadway, Christ, church, God, half-baked, halfhearted, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, repent, repentance, sin, Street, United

Half-Baked Sin

February 22, 2023*

(Ash Wednesday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10

Old Testament Reading

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

^2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.

¹²“Even now,” declares the Lord,“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

¹³Rend your heartand not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
¹⁴Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion,declare a holy fast,call a sacred assembly.
¹⁶Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders,
    gather the children, those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
¹⁷Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
    a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”

New Testament Reading

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

^6:1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

¹⁶“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Half-Baked Sin

February 22, 2023*

(Ash Wednesday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Ash Wednesday is a day to remember and to repent of our sin. It is a day to remember because we so often drift from God’s path slowly, like a ship sailing across the sea with a compass that’s just a fraction of a degree out of calibration. It isn’t much, it’s barely noticeable but, over time, slowly but surely, we drift off course. Other times we convince ourselves that little sins don’t count, or a certain kind of sin isn’t really sin. We’re good at ignoring our own faults and believing that what we have done is okay.

But that isn’t God’s message at all. In Joel we heard God’s proclamation to blow the trumpets to announce a day of judgement but before that happens, God calls his people to return to him with all their hearts. God’s advice is not to rend their garments in a common cultural sign of outward mourning and repentance, but instead to rend their hearts, to be personally, and emotionally broken so that real forgiveness, and real healing, can happen.

The reverse is also true. In our reading from Matthew, Jesus teaches us not to do good as an outward display of our righteousness but instead, just to consistently, quietly, and privately, do good. Certainly, you can hire a brass band, parade through town to the local food pantry and, in front of the television cameras and the local news media, present them with one of those giant six-foot checks that everyone can read from a block away.

But Jesus says that doing good in that way is an action that benefits you, and that your motivation for doing it was to boost your reputation rather than obedience to God, or any real sort of goodness or righteousness. In other words, in God’s eyes, it doesn’t count. Instead do good… for the sake of doing good. Do good because it’s the right thing to do. Do good, because you want to be obedient to God’s commands to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the poor, but to do that, you don’t need everyone to know that you’re doing it. Your goal is to build up your investments in your heavenly bank accounts, and not your earthly ones. The ledgers that God keeps are the only ones that matter.

In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes these words of instruction (2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10).

²⁰We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sinfor us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

^6:1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ²For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

³We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. ⁴Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; ⁸through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Paul says that while he and his ministry team were in Corinth, they did everything they could to insure that people saw their work, that they heard the message of Jesus, and saw Jesus in them and didn’t just see a group of people who were trying to draw attention to themselves or enrich themselves. And when I say that they did everything they could to point to Jesus, that included being beaten, thrown in prison, run out of town by rioters, working from dawn to dusk in their tent shop so they didn’t take a penny of the church’s money, going without sleep, going hungry at times, but despite their hardships they still remained pure, understanding, patient, and kind to the people around them, and that included the people who were beating, imprisoning, and ridiculing them. We all understand how we can get irritable when we’re hungry and we joke at the description of being “hangry,” but Paul said that they didn’t do that. They kept their cool and showed kindness even in situations where we could easily forgive them for being grumpy.

We can’t do follow God half-heartedly, halfway, or in half measures. We can’t convince ourselves that “white lies” aren’t lies, or that shoplifting from the grocery story by “tasting” the grapes or taking a “sample” from the barrel of peanuts is okay. Our culture likes to say that if it feels good, then it must be okay. But that isn’t at all what God says. We can’t deceive ourselves into thinking that gossiping about others isn’t a sin, or that gambling doesn’t hurt people, or selfishness isn’t that bad. We must instead grapple with scripture and struggle to live lives that are holy and righteous. We must wrestle with our understanding that what God calls sin, is sin, and that there’s no such thing as an acceptable amount of sin.

When you’re sailing across the vastness of the ocean, having a compass that’s just a fraction of a degree out of calibration could mean drifting hundreds, or thousands of miles off course and could mean the difference between life and death. Ash Wednesday, and the season of Lent, is a chance for us to check our calibration. To check our moral and spiritual compass. To set aside any false ideas that we had about God overlooking some of our little sins, or convincing ourselves that God didn’t really mean it when he said that thing that we like to do is sinful.

Let us take the time to tell God that we got it wrong, that we have made mistakes, that we have fallen short, and have drifted off course. Let us take the time say we’re sorry, to confess our sins, to repent, and to ask for God’s forgiveness.

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Eulogy for Paul Cope

March 31, 2023

by John Partridge

Memories of my Dad

(by Marsha Miller)

Paul R. Cope

“A Sweet and Gentle Spirit”

March 31, 2023

by Rev. L. Chris Martin

Obituary for Paul R. Cope

August 31, 1926 – March 15, 2023 (age 96)

Ancient Meaning – Modern Application

Easter 2023

Storm Clouds

April 02, 2023*

(Palm Sunday)

Death Sandwich

March 26, 2023*

(5th Sunday of Lent)

Blind Opinion

March 19, 2023*

(4th Sunday of Lent)

Enemies No Longer

March 12, 2023*

(3rd Sunday of Lent)

What Faith Isn’t

March 05, 2023*

(2nd Sunday of Lent)

Eulogy for James H. Williams

February 18, 2023

By Rev. Chris Martin

Remembrances of Jim Williams from Family and Friends

Jim Williams, Jr. (Son)

Dad’s Lesson

Sue Zempke (Daughter)

David Williams (Grandson)

Matthew Williams (Grandson)

Grandsons Andrew and Kevin Zempke

The Honorable Ann Womer Benjamin

Mayor of Aurora, Ohio

Obituary for Judge James H. Williams

Half-Truths and Lies

February 26, 2023*

(1st Sunday of Lent)

Half-Baked Sin

February 22, 2023*

(Ash Wednesday)

Old Testament Reading

New Testament Reading

Half-Baked Sin

February 22, 2023*

(Ash Wednesday)

(1^st Sunday of Lent)