teach

Hot Coals, Dead Fish, and Grace

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Hot Coals, Dead Fish, and Grace

February 09, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 6:1-8                Luke 5:1-11                1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Have you ever studied physics? Even basic physics would do to understand what I want to ask, and I’m not sure that even the basics are necessary to get a grip on my next question. In physics, we talk about mass, momentum, velocity, and force. If a mass is moving in one direction, some force must be applied to change its velocity. One force that can be applied is if that mass collides with another mass that is moving in the opposite direction or is not moving at all. But then the age-old question arises, what if an irresistible force collides with an immovable object? Of course, there is nuance to how you can answer this, but the simple answer is that when an irresistible force collides with an immovable object, both are utterly destroyed. If you need a picture in your head, imagine a head-on collision of railroad trains. There are no winners, everyone loses.

So why does this matter?

Well, there is an analogy to this question that we encounter from time to time in scripture, and that is, what happens when an imperfect, flawed, and sinful human being encounters a perfect and holy God? And the answer for most of biblical history is simply… death. The underlying assumption throughout most of scripture is that an imperfect human being would not survive an encounter with God’s perfect holiness. Far from the mutual destruction we would expect in physics from a collision of an irresistible force and an immovable object, in the theological realm, nothing imperfect and sinful survives an encounter with God’s perfect holiness.

And that is exactly the assumption that Isaiah has in mind as we read Isaiah 6:1-8:

6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah says that he had a vision in which he was transported to the throne room of the universe, saw God seated on his throne, and heard the worship and the praises of the seraphim. And as he took in this scene, Isaiah knew that he was a dead man. He knew that he was sinful, that he lived in a nation of sinful people, and he knew that, as such, he would not survive a meeting with a just and holy God. But just as Isaiah is expecting to die, the unexpected happens. A seraph, an angel with six wings, flies to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar, touches Isaiah’s mouth with this white-hot live coal, and declares that his guilt has been taken away and his sin has been forgiven. And it is at that moment when God asks, “Whom shall I send?” Having stood in the throne room of God, witnessed God’s holiness, seen the angels in attendance, heard their praises, and received God’s forgiveness, Isaiah answers God’s call by saying, “Here am I, Send me.”

And that, is how Isaiah left behind a life as a priest from a privileged family and became God’s prophet. But then as we move forward seven or eight hundred years, we see a similar reaction on the part of Peter when he meets Jesus after a hard, and unsuccessful night of fishing with his partners. We find that story in Luke 5:1-11 where it says:

5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

The story begins with Jesus preaching and, having already become known in the region and having attracted a following of people curious to hear him speak, the crowd begins to press Jesus until he is up against the water. He asks that the fishermen, who are there repairing their nets after a night of fishing, would allow him the use of their boat so that he can preach from just offshore. As a matter of politeness and curiosity, they comply. But, after Jesus has finished preaching, he tells the fishermen, who had already worked all night, to load up their nets, go out into deep water… again, and do it all over again at a time that they were hoping to be going home to a warm meal and a comfortable bed. But again, out of politeness, and out of respect for this new wandering preacher, they do as he asked. (pause) And, despite having caught nothing the previous night, they caught more fish than they had ever caught before. Their nets were breaking, their boats were sinking, and Peter knew that what he was witnessing was not a normal circumstance. Although it wasn’t an angel with a hot coal from the altar of God, Peter knew that he was in the presence of the divine, he knew that Jesus was something more than human, and he fully expected something terrible to happen because he was a sinful man who stood in the presence of God. But much like the experience of Isaiah, Jesus tells Peter not to be afraid and calls the fishermen to leave behind their old lives and follow him.

And finally, we turn to Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth where he remembers the calling that God had put on his life and explains how God has called each one of us as well. As we read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, we hear this:

15:1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Paul doesn’t mince words or dance around his point. He says “I want to remind you of the gospel that I preached to you” the one that you heard, accepted, and upon which you have taken a stand. This is the gospel that I was taught by Jesus and by the disciples in Jerusalem and I want you to remember and to hold tightly to the most important thing. Paul then offers a summary that is short, sweet, memorable, and easily memorized. He said that what we must remember is that Christ died just as the prophets said that he would, that he rose from the dead on the third day just as the prophets said that he would, and afterwards he was seen by Peter, the disciples, and more than five hundred others, and then he appeared to his brother James, to all of the apostles, who by definition were all of Jesus’ followers that were not disciples, and then finally he appeared to Paul as he traveled the road to Damascus.

Paul emphasizes that he was an enemy of Jesus and only became a follower of Jesus because of God’s grace. It is because of God’s grace that Paul has become the disciple and evangelist that he is, and it is because of God’s grace that he has done all that he has done. But notice that at the end, Paul changes the personal pronouns in his speech. Where before he was saying “by the grace of God I am what I am” he changes up the pronouns at the end and say, “Whether then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” Suddenly, instead of speaking in the first person, Paul shifts from “I” to “we” and “you.” This is what we preach, and this is what you believed. And so we should not miss the point by thinking that Paul was only reminding the church about his history, but should remember that Paul’s intent, was to remind the people about the importance of the message, and then make it clear that preaching this message is something that all of us do.

Paul said that it is because of God’s grace that he was who he was, and that he had become the man that he had become. But Paul is also saying that:

We are alive because of God’s grace. We are forgiven because of God’s grace. We are called because of God’s grace. We follow, we preach, we share, we witness, we are bold, and we are unafraid because of God’s grace.

Isaiah was forgiven and sent out into the world by means of a white-hot coal from the altar of God.

Peter and his partners were called to follow Jesus by means of a net full of dead fish.

But Paul and all the rest of us are being sent out into the world by means of Jesus sacrificial death, resurrection, and the grace of God.

Like Isaiah, Peter, and Paul, let us answer God’s call upon our lives and tell the world the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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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.™

Jesus, the Master of Insults?

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Jesus, the Master of Insults?

A message for teachers, preachers, and scholars

by John Partridge

As we read through the book of Matthew, there are many times when Jesus quotes from what we know as the Old Testament scriptures. Most of the time that Jesus does this he is simply teaching as rabbis and pastors have always done. Around his disciples, to people with honest questions, and in front of the crowds that gathered to hear him speak, Jesus preaches from the scriptures and teaches the people. But there are a handful of encounters in which Jesus does something different. When the Pharisees, and occasionally the Sadducees, come to Jesus, his approach, his intent, and his methodology are completely different. Rather than preaching from scripture, Jesus quotes scripture to the Pharisees… and it’s not pretty. In these cases, Jesus quotes from the scriptures, but rather than preaching or teaching in the gentle way that a father and son would play catch, Jesus quotes scripture as if he is hurling it at the Pharisees as a slinger in the army of Israel would launch stones, or a bowman would let loose his arrows.

We find the first of these instances in Matthew 12:3 in which Jesus attacks the Pharisees, men who dedicated their lives to reading, studying, memorizing, discussing, and debating scripture and its meaning. Here, Jesus’ attack is confrontational and deliberately insulting when he says, “Haven’t you read…?” as if these learned men had spent their time playing games rather than being serious scholars.

In another encounter with the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 15, the Pharisees come to Jesus and criticize him, and his disciples, for breaking the traditions of the elders. In other words, this isn’t about breaking the law, or committing sin, but about breaking the rules, habits, and traditions that had been handed down from other Pharisees, and perhaps even traditions that predated the Pharisees. But Jesus isn’t having any of that, and especially not from a group of people who are essentially the pot calling out the kettle for being black.

And so, in Matthew 15:3, Jesus once again insults them saying, “Why do you break the commands of God for the sake of your tradition?” For this group of men who followed hundreds of rules, specifically for the purpose of not breaking the commands of God, this is an obvious insult. But Jesus doesn’t stop there.

In Matthew 15: 7-9, Jesus continues by saying:

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’”

This passage from the prophet Isaiah that Jesus quotes comes from Isaiah 29:13 where it says:

13 The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

The Septuagint reading is only slightly different in the first and last line but gives us some additional insight. The first line here saying, “They worship me in vain;” and the last saying, “their teachings are merely human rules.”

Of course, Isaiah wasn’t prophesying about the Pharisees but pronouncing a series of woes and judgements upon the people of his own time, but the similarities between the two situations are so strikingly similar that they can’t help but be compared to one another. The Word Biblical Commentary described this as being “in the sense of a typological correspondence between Isaiah’s day and the time of Jesus.” The Pharisees had certainly read and studied the words of Isaiah, and they understood that Israel had been carried into captivity because of their unbelief, and they devoted themselves to avoid a repetition of that mistake. And so, in other words, Jesus is calling the Pharisees out for having become exactly the thing that their entire movement had been intended to avoid.

But as we continue through Matthew’s gospel, Jesus isn’t yet done insulting the Pharisees. In Matthew 19:4, Jesus again meets the Pharisees and after they attempt to ask him a trick question about divorce, Jesus says, “Haven’t you read…?” once again suggesting that these scholars had not done their homework.

Again, when the Pharisees criticize Jesus for allowing the children to shout Hosanna as he healed the blind and the lame in the Temple, in Matthew 21:16, Jesus says, “Have you never read…? As he again quotes from the Psalms.

Not long after that, after deliberately insulting the Pharisees in Matthew 21:31 by saying that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of them, and again in Matthew 21:33-40 when Jesus ends the parable of the tenants by quoting Psalm 118 in Matthew 21:42 saying:

 “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

Even here, Jesus isn’t done. In Matthew 22: 41 after the Pharisees had asked him a difficult question as a test, Jesus asks a question of his own saying, “What do think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” But, when the Pharisees correctly answer that the Christ is the son of David, Jesus, quoting Psalm 110, asks, in Matthew 22:44, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him Lord?” This exchange, on the surface, appears more respectful than some of their previous encounters, but again Jesus insults the Pharisees by exposing their lack of understanding.

The Sadducees appear in Matthew 22:23 for some of the same, as they ask a question with a quote from Ezra 7 in hopes of making Jesus look foolish. But Jesus’ response in verse 29 is to say that “You are in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God.” And so, Jesus once again declares that men who were known for their knowledge of scripture, really didn’t know what they were talking about.

And all of that is followed by Matthew 23, in which almost the entire chapter is a Jesus delivering a diatribe against the Pharisees and all that they stand for.

From that, I think that all of us who study and preach should take note. Jesus was known for his gentleness, calm, and healing presence around sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, foreigners, and even Roman soldiers if their questions were sincere. But Jesus had no tolerance at all for the people who claimed to be scholars, priests, and teachers. Jesus expected these learned people to understand what they were studying and teaching, and he expected that their lives would be lived in line with what they knew. Like it or not, we should see ourselves as the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, and the teachers of Israel and heed Jesus words of caution so that we do not earn the kind of criticism that Jesus reserved for them.

As teachers, preachers, and as scholars, we are held to a higher standard and we are expected to live our lives in a way that models the scriptures so that on the day of judgement we might hear “Well done” and not, “Have you never read…?

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A Life’s Calling

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A Life’s Calling

December 30, 2018*

First Sunday after Christmas

By Pastor John Partridge

 

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26             Luke 2:41-52              Colossians 3:12-17

 

Tomorrow is the last day of the year and Tuesday we celebrate the arrival of a new year.  Many of us will make resolutions, but often those don’t turn out well.  We are filled with good intentions but making a new activity into a habit is a difficult thing.  Gyms tend to be jammed full of new members at the beginning of a new year, but after a few weeks or months, negotiating the parking lots becomes a far more manageable activity.

Despite our failures, our intentions are good.  We’re trying to make a change.  Well-known Christian author C.S. Lewis once said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” And since the beginning of a new year often has us thinking about changing our lives and making a new start, what is it that we should consider changing?  Is there a better way to go about this than simply making resolutions that we don’t keep?

As we consider that question, let’s begin with a small taste of the story of the prophet Samuel that we find in 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26.

18 But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

Samuel was dedicated, by his mother, to the service of God from the time that he was old enough to be weaned from his mother’s breast.  He worked in the service of the priests and his Mom would guess how much he had grown each year and bring him a new robe when they came for the annual sacrifice at Passover.  But the interesting thing is not that he grew physically every year, as long as we eat, we can hardly avoid that.  The interesting thing is that not only did he grow taller (that is, in stature), but he also grew to be a nice person and the people around him grew to like him and trust him.  But we are also told that Samuel grew in favor in the eyes of God.  So, not only did the people like him as he developed physically and mentally, but God’s love of Samuel increased as he grew spiritually.

But one of the reasons that this is interesting isn’t simply that it happened, but that this phrase is used in other places to describe other people.  Specifically, we find it in the story of Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem, at the age of 12, as an adult under Jewish custom. (Luke 2:41-52)

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Jesus and his family, and likely most of his community, travel to Jerusalem for the same reason that Samuel’s family did, to celebrate the Passover.  As an adult, Jesus was able to make his own choices of where to go and when to go there, and so he did not commit a sin by not traveling with the caravan that was heading home.  Even so, as a twelve-year-old boy, adult or not, his mom and dad were not pleased.  But there are two things that I want to highlight.  First, Jesus already knew something about the call that God had on his life and was already pursuing teachers and scholars who could help him to grow spiritually.  Second, the last sentence is almost the same as what we saw in the story of Samuel.  “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”  As Jesus grew physically, he was also growing in wisdom, and not only did the people around him grow to like him, God did as well.

But what about us?  What should we take home from all of this, especially as we prepare to usher in a new year?  First and foremost, we should remember that whether we are seven, or seventeen, or seventy-seven, we can always grow in wisdom and in spiritual maturity.  If it was important for Jesus to seek out teachers and scholars who could help him to grow, then it seems obvious that none of us should ever feel comfortable saying that we know all that there is to know and that we are done learning.  But beyond that, let’s also look at Paul’s advice to the people in the church of Colossae in his letter to the Colossians.  (Colossians 3:12-17)

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

As the followers of Jesus Christ, we are to wear compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience as obviously, prominently, and regularly as we wear a shirt or pants.  We are to cut each other some slack when we are less than we could be and forgive each other when we mess up.  And more important than all of these, is to remember to love because it is love that holds the whole package together.  Without love, we can’t really be compassionate, gentle, humble, patient, or truly forgiving. 

Every day we must allow Jesus to rule over our hearts and not get caught up in the materialism, greed, narcissism, hedonism, and all the other -isms that our culture tries to teach us.  And the way that we are to grow in spiritual maturity and love is to keep the story and the teaching of Jesus in the center of everything we do.  Find good Christian teachers, read good Christian books, sing Christian songs, coach one another when we make mistakes so that we stay on the right path, teach one another the lessons that we have learned, and we should do all these things because we are grateful to God for what he has done for us.  And every day, both in words and in actions, give thanks to God for the gift of Jesus Christ.

Our goal in the new year, and every year, should be to be like Samuel and Jesus, and grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and the people around us.  Our calling isn’t just to eat and grow physically.  Our goal isn’t to grow taller, or fatter, or balder, or older, we are going to do those things rather naturally.  Our goal is to grow the way that Samuel and Jesus did, to grow in wisdom, to grow so that the people around you notice your gentleness, compassion, and forgiveness and like being around you.  Our goal is to grow in spiritual maturity so that we continually become more and more like Jesus.  That’s one of the reasons that we need to make it a regular habit to come to church, attend a Bible study, and read scripture because these things aren’t going to happen by themselves any more than we are likely to lose weight and build muscle without exercising or going to the gym.  If we are going to grow spiritually, then we need to exercise and work out, spiritually.

Many of these things are called spiritual disciplines for that very reason.  It will take persistence, patience, practice, and discipline to accomplish.

That isn’t something that we’re going to accomplish in January by making a resolution or two.

That is something that we need to make a part of our regular lifestyle… today, tomorrow, next month, next year, and every year after that.

It is a life’s calling.

 

 

 

 

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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.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Eulogy and Obituary for Anne King Brown

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Eulogy for Anne King Brown

October 27, 2018

by Pastor John Partridge

 

Anne King Brown was a preacher’s kid like me.  She grew up following her itinerant Methodist pastor dad from town to town and from church to church.  She was the big sister and she always took that role seriously, especially when it came to David.  Certainly, some of her devotion could have come about naturally, but it is also likely that some of it grew from the time that David had Rheumatic Fever and nearly died.  Anne King adored David and was always a doting big sister even as an adult.  She liked to do things for him and would push him aside when he was washing or drying dishes and take his place at the sink.  She was always watching over him.

 

But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have any normal sibling squabbles.  When the family lived in Camptown, Pennsylvania David was on the swing set when Anne came and asked to have a turn.  David let her on, but she wouldn’t get off.  And so, little brother eventually got so mad that he threw a rock at her and hit her right between the eyes.  And that, in turn, resulted in Anne crying and Dad administering some parental justice, if you get my meaning.  Later she was swimming in Lake George, New York with David on her shoulders and stepped into water that was deeper than she was tall.  When she finally surfaced she told David that he’d nearly drown her.  I think that scared them both, and probably David worst of all.  Still another time, David was admiring Anne’s new (to her) ’56 Ford.  Having never seen one before, David was studying the cigarette lighter and unintentionally branded her vinyl seats with it.  He later tried to cover it up a little with magic marker, but we all know that didn’t really fix it.  Anne always harassed David along the lines of, “I love you, but you’re always breaking my stuff.”

 

But those of you who knew her also knew that it wasn’t just David.  He may have been Anne’s favorite, but Anne was a nurturer at heart and she always put the needs of others ahead of her own.  She rarely chose the restaurant when she was in a group and almost always said, “Wherever you want to go is fine.”  Anne King, as her family called her, was a hard worker, but a gentle soul who was not generally assertive, and most often introverted.  She loved reading and was a voracious reader.  She liked to travel, liked cruises, and once took a trip on the Queen Elizabeth II to England.  She loved playing bridge with the ladies at the Alliance Women’s Club.  She liked going on trip with friends to visit historical places and liked history in general but was especially fond of studying the Middle Ages.  She went on family vacations to California, seeing Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, and played canasta with her parents in the evening.  Like many young people, while her parents were “Ooh”-ing and “Ahh”-ing over the scenery, she and David were in the back seat of the car reading books or otherwise ignoring the scenery entirely.

 

But one of Anne’s greatest achievements, at least in her opinion, had to be becoming, and being, a teacher.  Anne worked for, and retired from, the Alliance school system and she was proud of the fact that many of her students surrounded her in our community as administrators, teachers, business leaders, and many others.  It was not uncommon for her to be approached in the grocery store or at public events and have someone introduce themselves and say, “You were my teacher.”  Anne was proud of being a good teacher and her life touched a lot of people.  While not everyone liked the tight ship, she ran in her classroom, her fellow teachers did, and some of her students would later admit that her teaching, and her strictness, was good for them even if they didn’t especially like it at the time.  Anne appreciated that her rescuer and redeemer, Jesus, was also a great teacher.  In Luke chapters 20 and 21 we hear these words:

20:1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

And it is interesting to note that it wasn’t unusual for Jesus to teach in the Temple.  In chapter 21 it says:

21:37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

And so, I am sure that Anne appreciated that Jesus understood what it was like to teach every day.

 

Anne never married, but her nurturing spirit naturally adopted Matthew and Kristen as her own.  She saw them whenever she could, spoiled them whenever possible, and while she spent her winters in Florida, she loved the times when the whole family was there together, because that was the time when they could see one another several times each week instead of only occasional visits.

 

As the family shared memories and stories with me this week, they remembered how Anne could be stubborn about not wearing her hearing aids.  She didn’t like them, and so, although she kept them with her, she often wouldn’t wear them.  On one occasion, Anne and Theresa were making a trip together to the bead store to see if they could find anything that they liked.  And on that trip Theresa was sharing news about her children and catching Anne up on family news, and at one point, Anne noticed that Theresa was talking with her hands, turned to her and asked,“Were you saying something?”  To which Theresa impatiently responded, “Anne King!  I’ve been talking to you for twenty minutes!  This is important.  Put your hearing aids in and I’ll start over again.”

 

David confided that the last few years, seeing his sister in pain was difficult, but the family is comforted by the knowledge that Anne had a deep and abiding faith in Jesus and that they will one day see her again when they are reunited in God’s eternal home.  Anne, and her family, would like you to have that same confidence.  If you aren’t sure how you can, please see me, or talk to David, before you go home today.

 

Anne Brown’s life might sometimes be described as inconspicuous.  She usually didn’t make a fuss, and most often let others get their way.  But in her own way, inconspicuous or not, Anne left her mark on literally thousands of people.  She invested her entire life in the lives of others.  And her entire family, each of us here, her church, her clubs, and our entire community have been incredibly enriched because of her.

 

We would all honor her legacy if we would remember to spend some of our time investing in the lives of the people around us.

 

 

 

 

 Obituary for Anne King Brown

Anne BrownAnne King Brown, age 78, of Alliance, passed away at 8:46 a.m., Friday, October 19, 2018, at Alliance Community Hospital.
She was born February 23, 1940, in Columbus, Ohio, to Gladstone and Anne (Wursthorn) Brown.
Anne received her Bachelor of Arts from Bowling Green State University and had earned a Reading Specialist Degree from Kent State University. She retired from the Alliance City School System.
She grew up in the United Methodist Church, and was a member of P.E.O., Bridge Buddies Club Day, Quota International of Alliance, Alliance Woman’s Club and Tennysonians Book Club and former President of the Ohio Teachers Association. She had a thousand hours of volunteer work at Alliance Community Hospital.
Anne enjoyed wintering in Florida, spending time with her family and traveling. She was an avid reader and also enjoyed beading jewelry.
Survivors include her brother, David (Theresa) Brown, of Okemos, Michigan; niece, Kristen (Justin) Horine, of Lakewood; great-nephews, Zane King Horine and Huxley Horine of Lakewood; nephew, Matthew (Christina) Brown of Warminster, PA; great-niece, Sophia Brown of Warminster, PA; and close family friend, Tammi Taylor, of Sebring, Ohio. She is also survived by many cousins.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 27, 2018, at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home with Pastor John Partridge of Christ United Methodist Church officiating. Friends may call one hour prior to the service.
Interment will be at St. Joseph Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alliance Woman’s Club 229 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.
Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

 

 

 

Teaching the Next Generation

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“Teaching the Next Generation”

May 13, 2018

By John Partridge*

 

John 17:6-19              Acts 1:15-17, 21-26               1 John 5:9-13

 

Last week I stopped at a body shop in Massillon to get a quote for repairing the rusty fenders on my truck.  As we concluded our conversation, the owner took the time to say goodbye to his high school or college aged son who was leaving at the end of the day.  After he did so, he told me that he was teaching this young man his trade and passing down what he had learned.  We both agreed that it was important to teach the next generation to do what we do so that someone will be around to take over for us when the day comes for us to quit.

 

Isn’t that what we remember today on Mother’s Day as well?  Aren’t we who we are, because of what our mothers taught us?  Doesn’t every good mother try to teach the next generation the skills and the lessons that she has learned over a lifetime to her children?

 

But regardless of whether you are a mother, or in the auto body trade, or a pastor, or anything else, every one of us is on a countdown clock.  Regardless of our age or health, none of us is getting younger and the time that we have on earth is limited.  And so, no matter what we do, or what we know, we are motivated, at some level, to teach the next generation what we know.  As always, every person has their own gifts and their own natural “bent” but each of us need to learn the skills and gain the knowledge that will lead us through life.

 

Not surprisingly, none of this is new.  In both the Old and in the New Testaments we see fathers training their sons in the trades that they knew.  James and John were taught to be fishermen by their father Zebedee.  Joseph taught Jesus to be a builder, and in turn, as the oldest son, Jesus probably helped to teach his trade to his younger brothers.  But Jesus had other things to teach to other people as well.  Jesus called his disciples so that he could teach them, and others came later that learned from Jesus as well as from the disciples, but near the end of his ministry, Jesus knew that his time was running out.  And as the clock ran down, Jesus was concerned about those whom he would leave behind and he prayed this prayer for them (John 17:6-19):

 

6“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

 

Jesus talks about “those whom you gave me out of the world.”  At first, we might be tempted to think that this is about the disciples, but if we take a longer view of it, we realize that Jesus is talking about all of those who God has given to him, and that means not only the disciples, but all of us.  This is a prayer for each one of us, lifted up to God, by Jesus, and in it he prays for our protection, for our sanctification, which is our purification and our journey, with God’s help, to become more Christ-like.  And Jesus also notes that just as God sent him into the world to rescue the people from sin and death, he is sending us into the world to continue and to complete the work that he began.

 

John echoes this in his letter to the churches in Asia in 1 John 5:9-13, where he says:

 

9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

It takes him a while to get there, but John is saying that whoever accepts Jesus must also accept the teaching of Jesus, but John writes to the church in the firm belief that everyone who believes will have eternal life.  Even though John couldn’t physically be in all the churches in Asia, he knew that it was important to continue to teach the words of Jesus, to encourage those who believed, and to train the next generation.

 

In Acts 1:15-17, 21-26, the eleven remaining disciples assemble because it was important to replace the authority that was lost with the betrayal and death of Judas.  And so, they met together to do something about it.

 

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

 

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

 

The disciple felt that it was critically important for the leadership of the church, to replace the position of the twelfth apostle.  But the qualifications were that the person selected had to be someone who had been with them the whole time.  Which means, although they weren’t among the 12 original apostles, it had to be someone who came shortly afterward and was among the very earliest followers of Jesus.  But Peter uses an interesting and important phrase here.  He says that whomever was chosen “must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”  Note that he doesn’t say that he must “have been” a witness to the resurrection.  That was already determined when they required that the candidate be someone who had been “with them the whole time.”  Peter isn’t using the past tense, he’s using the future tense, and so when he says that the twelfth apostle “must become a witness with us” he is saying that their job was to reproduce, to preach, to raise up and to train the next generation so that the church would continue to grow.

 

Last week we talked about the need for Christians and for churches to reproduce, to tell the world about Jesus and to offer rescue from sin and death to those who are being lost.  But the emphasis this week reminds us that reproduction is not enough.  Our mothers, our parents didn’t stop caring for us when we were born.  They taught us to walk, to talk, to be polite, to have values, to care for other people and a host of other things.  Likewise, believing in Jesus is not enough.  If the church is to be healthy and if the church is to continue in the future as it has in the past, then we must also place an emphasis on teaching.  We must teach our children, we must teach new believers, and we must continue to teach those who have already accepted Jesus and have been in the church for many years.

 

It is our responsibility to train, and to be trained, to teach and to be taught, so that each person, and the entire church, can grow and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ.  If we fail to teach or to learn, then we end up with a church full of baby Christians, of all ages, who lack the understanding and maturity to survive the storms and struggles that life throws at us.  Without maturity, believers can’t get along with one another, or reveal Jesus to the world around us.  Without maturity, we cannot become one with each other as we have been called to do.  The unity of the church, and our ability to pull together in the same direction, grows out of our maturity, our faith, and our understanding of scripture and all of that grows out of our willingness to teach, to study, and to learn.

 

Our mothers didn’t give birth to us and stop, they had a lot more to teach us and they kept at it as long as they could put up with us.  We need to do the same for the church.

 

Let us all commit ourselves to teaching, and to learning, so that our people, and our church, can become healthy, filled with God’s spirit, and grow not only in numbers, but in our sanctification and in our Christ-likeness.

 

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, 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 may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.