Light, Incognito

December 25, 2022January 5, 2023 PastorPartridge Blogs Advent, Alliance, Broadway, Christ, Christmas, church, God, hidden, incognito, Jesus, Methodist, mission, Ohio, Partridge, Street, submission, United, witness

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Light, Incognito

December 25, 2022*

(Christmas Day)

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 52:7-10 John 1:1-14

It is well known that Keanu Reeves, despite his stardom, lives an almost ordinary life. Despite living in an eight-million-dollar home in Hollywood Hills (that he bought for five million dollars in 2003), he is regularly seen riding his motorcycle to run errands, doing ordinary chores like grocery shopping himself and, when in New York, regularly rides the subway with everyone else, without bodyguards or entourage, rather than hiring a car service or a limousine. At the other end of the spectrum are the stars that are so overcome by their stardom, and so overwhelmed by their fans, that they rarely go out in public without trying to do so incognito, or in disguise.

We can all picture the old movie trope of traveling incognito by wearing a trench coat, floppy hat, and dark sunglasses, but what if more movie stars did what Keanu Reeves does? What if they traveled incognito, as themselves, and just disappeared into the crowd by setting aside their stardom and being ordinary?

The idea of traveling incognito is really at the core of the Christmas story. We begin this morning with the promise of the coming messiah found in Isaiah 52:7-10 where we hear these words:

⁷How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

Isaiah and the prophets told Israel, and the world, that the messiah would come to bring good news, peace, glory, grace, and truth. There was no reason for anyone to miss the arrival of something so well announced, anticipated, and expected. But that’s exactly what happened. In the gospel of John 1:1-14, we hear John’s telling of the story of Jesus’ arrival.

^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

⁹The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says that the Word came, that word was with God, and that was word was indeed God in human flesh. Jesus, the Word, was with God at creation, was the agent of creation, and personally made everything that exists. He was the light of the world that God sent to shine light into the darkness. But before he came, just to make sure that no one missed it, God sent John the Baptist to announce his arrival. But despite centuries of prophecy telling of the Messiah that would come, despite the angel of God announcing his arrival and a heavenly host singing praises on the hillsides of Bethlehem, and despite the announcements of John proclaiming that the long-awaited messiah had arrived, the world still missed it. The savior and rescuer of the world was not incognito any more than you can say that a light in the darkness is hidden. And yet, the world that he created completely missed him.

But not everyone missed him. The creator of the universe came to earth and lived among mortal human beings. Some of them saw. They witnessed his light, his glory, his grace, and his truth. And those witnesses spent their lives telling others what they had seen. But today the world has the same problem. The rescuer of humanity still travels in broad daylight but incognito from the world. He is not hidden just as a light in the darkness is not hidden, and yet the world does not see him.

And so, as it was before, the mission of telling the world falls to his witnesses. We who have witnessed his grace, his glory, his gentleness, compassion, care, and love are still called to tell the world what we have seen and heard. Every day, Jesus lives among us. He is not incognito. He should not be missed by the world around us. Our mission is the same as those who witnessed his birth and his life two thousand years ago, to spend our lives telling others what we have seen.

Merry Christmas everyone.

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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.™

The Promise of Power

May 14, 2021 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, ascend, ascention, baptism, Biden, Broadway, Castro, Christ, church, control, freedom, Hitler, holy, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, leader, love, Methodist, mission, Ohio, Paul, politics, power, spirit, Street, Truman, Trump, United, wealth, witness, witnesses

The Promise of Power

May 16, 2021*

(Ascension Day)

By Pastor John Partridge

Luke 24:44-53 Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:15-23

Whether it’s Jesus or Adolf Hitler, Harry Truman or Fidel Castro, Donald Trump or Joe Biden, there is a common theme that revolves around many of their followers and closest associates. And that theme is often the promise, explicitly stated or dubiously implied, that those followers and associates will be given some sort of power and authority because of their association with the person they are following. While many of those followers may be there because of their idealism, there are always some that are there because of the promise of power.

Of course, we know that Jesus was nothing like any earthly leader, but even so, scripture tells us that many of Jesus’ followers were expecting him to pursue earthly power and for them to benefit from it in some way. Or at least they did so untihol Jesus told them otherwise, but even then, they didn’t really understand what he was trying to tell them. It is at least in part, for that reason that they were so despondent after Jesus’ crucifixion. Any dreams they had of gaining earthly, political power died with Jesus on the cross.

But just because their dreams of political power died, doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t have power to give them. There’s no question that Jesus wielded incredible power, it just that the disciples had to understand that power, and the purpose of that power, in an entirely different way than they had before. Luke tells us that Jesus began to prepare the disciples for a transfer of power after his resurrection, and shortly before his return to heaven. First, we read this story in Luke 24:44-53 where Jesus gives his disciples some last-minute instructions:

⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵²Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

The next to the last thing that Jesus did before he left this earth and returned to heaven, was to promise his disciples that he was “going to send you what my Father has promised.” And so, they stayed in town, they stayed together, and they continued to worship daily in the temple. Clearly, Jesus was reminding them of a promise of God that they had discussed before and it must have been a discussion that they all remembered. But since we didn’t live with them for the three years of Jesus’ ministry, we aren’t quite as clear about which promise Jesus was referring. But the good news for us, is that Luke knew that. Luke knew that when he was describing these events to people who were less intimately familiar with the disciples that more details would be needed. And that is exactly what he does when he writes to his friend Theophilus and describes these same events in Acts 1:1-11 where he says:

^1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized withwater, but in a few days, you will be baptized withthe Holy Spirit.”

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

And in this retelling, we can see details about that earlier conversation. It is here that we see Jesus tell his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the gift that God had promised and Jesus says that if they wait, as he instructed, in a few days God would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and, when that spirit came, they would receive power so that, as witnesses, they could carry the message of what they had seen to their city, their state, their nation, and to the ends of the earth.

But still, what does that mean. What does it mean to receive the Holy Spirit? And what does it mean to receive power when that happens? And what does any of that have to do with us twenty centuries later? And again, Paul provides some of those answers as he writes to the church in Ephesus where he says (Ephesians 1:15-23):

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spiritof wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

According to Paul, the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives grants us wisdom, revelation, the ability to know God better, to know hope, and to have the power and mighty strength that God used in raising Jesus from the dead. The promise of power that we have as the followers of Jesus Christ is nothing like the power of politics, earthly kingdoms, and military might. It is far greater than any of those but pointed in an entirely different direction. Earthly power is the power to control and to enslave, but the power promised to us by Jesus is the power to rescue and free the lost and the enslaved. Moments before his ascension into heaven, Jesus told the disciples that the purpose of God’s power, given to us by his Spirit, was to give us the tools that we need to carry his message of freedom, rescue, hope, and love to our city, our state, our nation, and to the ends of the earth.

This is the real promise of power.

Not control, but freedom. Not earthly wealth, but spiritual wealth. Not for personal benefit, but to give hope to the world.

It was this power that allowed the message of a small, largely uneducated group of followers, in a tiny country that was occupied by a hostile superpower, to grow and spread all over the known world. That power wasn’t limited to a handful of disciples but is given to every follower who puts their faith and trust in Jesus. And it is that same power which is given to us today.

The mission of the church has not changed.

The only question, is if we will use the power that we have been given.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/2OgDGwhgWv0

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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.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Freedom

April 3, 2021 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, crucifixion, death, disciples, Easter, failure, favoritism, fear, forgive, forgiveness, freedom, fresh start, fullfill, Gospel, grace, guilt, Jesus, John, July 4, Mary, mercy, Methodist, mistakes, nepotism, Ohio, Partridge, past, Paul, Peter, priorities, prophecy, racism, rescue, resurrection, revolution, Salome, salvation, sin, Street, suffering, United, United States, witness, witnesses

Freedom

April 04, 2021*

(Easter)

By Pastor John Partridge

Mark 16:1-8 Acts 10:34-43 I Corinthians 15:1-11

We are three months early.

Three months from today, July 4^th, is our nation’s birthday and a grand celebration of freedom and independence.

An in that sense, our celebration today, on April 4^th, is three months early. But our celebration today is the celebration of a freedom that is far grander, and far more amazing, that our independence from King George and the nation of England.

The freedom that we celebrate today has been the subject of our sermons for the last seven and a half weeks and even then, we’ve barely scratched the surface of why our remembrance of this day is the cause of so much joy, gladness, and celebration. But make no mistake, like the celebration of July 4^th for the citizens of the United States of America, the Easter celebration for the citizens of the Kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ, is a celebration of freedom. I’m going to briefly recap the last seven weeks and remind you of a few of the freedoms that we are celebrating in a little while, but first I want to read words of Mark 16:1-8 and add to our remembrance of the story of Easter that our youth began this morning in our sunrise service.

^16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

As the two Marys and Salome walked to the tomb, they were worried about what Jesus body would smell like, they were worried that the stone was too large for the tree of them to move, worried that there might not be anyone to help them move it, and worried that the Roman soldiers, or whomever was guarding it, would refuse to help them, or even refuse to allow them to re-wrap Jesus’ body with the spices, incense, and aromatic tree sap that they had brought with them. But upon their arrival, the two-thousand-pound stone had already been moved and they worried about why it had been moved. But when they entered the tomb to look inside, instead of finding Jesus, they found a messenger from God whose first words were, “Don’t be afraid.” But after he had given them their instructions and sent them on their way, they were still trembling, confused, and afraid.

But that initial reaction changed as they met Jesus face-to-face and realized that Jesus was alive. As time passed, they began to understand the things that Jesus had taught them, including the things about death, burial, and resurrection that had always been confusing. They began to understand that everything that they had seen, had happened exactly as Jesus had said that it would happen, and exactly as the ancient prophets had described hundreds of years earlier. And, by the time that Peter stays in the home of a Roman Centurion named Cornelius in Caesarea, he has processed the lessons that he learned from Jesus in an even deeper way (Acts 10:34-43).

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Peter realized that Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament had begun something entirely new and changed the way that God’s people would engage the world around them and change the way their entire relationship with God. The new covenant, this new contract with God, was a contract without favoritism, without nepotism, without racism, and without judgement except for the judgement of the one person who understood us best, and who was perfect, just, and infinitely wise.

And just a few decades later, Paul, having learned from the disciples, as well as through his own experience, and having had even more time to process what he had learned, seen, and heard, writes to the church in Corinth to help them to understand what the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus meant to them, and still means to each one of us (I Corinthians 15:1-11).

^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. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶After 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. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But 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. ¹¹Whether then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Paul reminds us that it was by this gospel, this story of life, death, and resurrection, through which we were saved… if we hold firmly to what we have learned. Paul knows what his life was like before he met Jesus. Paul knows that he is utterly undeserving of God’s rescue, let alone the honor of being counted among the disciples of Jesus Christ. Paul remembers that he had been so anti-Jesus that he had become known as the hunter of Christ followers who had them arrested, tortured, and worse. And because of who he was, and the life that he had once lived, Paul understands the depth of God’s mercy and grace.

Through the story of Easter, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Paul had found freedom. And that freedom has flowed down through history to us. It is a freedom that is far grander than anything that we celebrate on July fourth. It is more than our freedom from King George and the nation of England. It is more than the freedoms enumerated in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

The message of the gospel is a message of many freedoms.

Mary, Mary, and Salome learned that it is a message of freedom from fear.

Peter learned that it was a message of freedom from favoritism, nepotism, and racism.

Paul learned that it is a message of mercy, grace, and freedom from our past.

And as we’ve learned over the last seven and a half weeks, it is a message of freedom from corruption, rescue from the flood, freedom from the Law of Moses, freedom from the demands of other gods, a message of keeping God at the center of our lives, freedom from the misplaced priorities and wisdom of the world, freedom from our failures, freedom from our guilt, freedom from suffering, freedom from sin, and even freedom from death.

And that is why we repeat the story every year, and why Easter should be filled with joy.

The message of Easter was a story about freedom long before the events of the Revolutionary War and long before July fourth had any meaning to the citizens of North America.

We celebrate Easter because today is the day when God gave us the immeasurable gift of freedom.

Happy Easter everyone.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/JpemgjB6bIY

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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.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

What Happens When We Die?

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 PastorPartridge Blogs death, faith, heaven, witness

Note: I have often asked our church youth and adults to ask me any questions that they had about faith, the church, or life in general and I would answer them. Often that happened at youth group meetings. This one came from a friend.

Question: A friend is asking a good question on Facebook and I think you would have a good answer. “Do you believe that when we as Christians die, we go immediately to be with Lord in Heaven, or do we sleep until He comes back for all of us and reunite with everyone who has passed?

My best answer is… maybe.

In theological discussions there are plenty of people, and denominations, on both sides of this issue and many of them are way smarter than I am. But, that said, I think that we do, and we will, and there are several good reasons to think so.

First, there are several verses that may lead us to believe that we fall into some sort of “soul sleep” until the return of Jesus Christ, our resurrection. the final Judgement. One of these, which is commonly read at funerals (I have used it a great many times) is 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, which says:

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

Paul’s use of the word “sleep” might make us think that we will be sleeping between our death and resurrection, but we need to remember that Paul, and other writers, often used the word sleep as a kinder, gentler, way of saying die, death, or dead. If we read that verse again with that in mind, Paul is simply saying that at the time of the last trumpet, not everyone will be dead.

On the other hand, many people use Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:8 as proof that we do not sleep, but that passage is problematic too. It says,

^8:1 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

In some translations (such as the New American Standard) it is rendered as “…to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” But that passage, alone, doesn’t confirm anything definitively. In that passage, Paul is talking about looking forward to wearing his new body, which many believe that we won’t get until after the judgement.

Confused yet?

So far, what we have is ambiguous and more than a little confusing. It isn’t hard to see why even theologians argue about such things. But remember that I said this passage… alone… doesn’t confirm anything definitively? The thing is, this passage isn’t alone. While this may not be a profound theological argument, there are a couple of other verses that come to mine when I think about this. The first is Revelation 6:9-11 which says:

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

Here, before the judgement, under the altar of God, are the souls of the martyrs who are waiting for justice and judgement. If we all sleep, then how did these folks get here? Are we to believe that only the martyrs see God before the judgment? It seems arbitrary and a little cruel that they would be singled out as the only ones who are awake, who are watching the events of the earth, and who must suffer and wait for justice. It seems more likely that everyone is awake, but the martyrs get “front row” seats.

And then in

Hebrews 12:1 after an extensive list of the saints and heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 we hear this:

^12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

The implication of this verse following immediately by a deliberate listing of the saints and heroes of God is that these people are alive, and aware, and watching the things that we are doing. Similarly, Jesus often referred to Abraham, and others, in the present tense and not in the past or future tense. Jesus was deliberate in saying that Abraham worships God… at this present moment.

And remember that moment when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-3 where we hear:

^17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter, James, and John watch and stand witness as Moses and Elijah appear in front of them and minister to Jesus. Are we supposed to understand that God woke them from their sleep just for this one moment, that they somehow understood who Jesus was and what was going on, did what they had to do, and then fell back asleep? Or, isn’t it easier to understand that they have been awake the entire time, carefully watching the unfolding spectacle of time, the birth of the Messiah and the entire Gospel story, and then answered the call of God to enter back into our story? The second one makes a lot more sense to me.

There are many more passages like this.

So, yeah, while not everyone agrees about this, I think that when we die, our trip to God’s side is immediate and there is no “sleeping” in between.

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You Do Not Grieve Alone

December 4, 2018December 10, 2018 PastorPartridge Blogs, Podcast death, faith, family, grief, witness

Reflections for A Celebration of Memories

Saturday, December 01, 2018

Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral and Cremation Service

Let’s be honest with each other. In a perfect world, all of us would have something else to do today. But it is precisely because this isn’t a perfect world that we’re struggling. We’re here because someone that means something to us is missing this Christmas. Four years ago, our family buried my father just before Thanksgiving and this summer we unexpectedly lost my second oldest brother, Dean. But all of us are here because the world we live in is, obviously, not perfect. But even in an imperfect world, those of us who are struggling can come together and struggle together. In a lot of ways, struggling together can be a like a club for lonely people. When lonely people come together, they become just a little bit less lonely. Loneliness shared weighs us down just a little bit less. In the same way, people who grieve together, and share their grief with one another, discover that their burden has grown a little lighter, the room has become a little less dark, and the future filled with just a little more hope.

And so, I’m glad to be here with you, I’m glad that you could be here with me, and I hope that together we can shine some light into a dark corner of our lives.

I want to share a couple of stories with you this evening. The first begins with an American hero who served in both WW2 and in the Korean conflict, flying 100 combat missions in six months’ time, and earning the distinguished flying cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster before eventually becoming a NASA test pilot, Mercury and Gemini astronaut, and was ultimately killed in the Apollo 1 fire during launch testing. Of course, I’m talking about Gus Grissom, but that’s not the story that I want to focus on. Instead, I want to think about the widow of Gus Grissom, Betty Moore Grissom. But the funny thing is, I really can’t tell you a lot about her. I spent a considerable amount of time searching for information about what Betty did and how she lived after Gus’ death, but other than her obituary and a few comments about Gus’ infidelity, the only thing that anyone seems to remember about Betty is that she raised her two sons, got them through school at Gus’ alma mater, Perdue University, and that she successfully sued the manufacturer of the capsule that was responsible for the Apollo 1 fire. It’s quite possible that Betty got stuck but it might just be that she preferred to live her life in private. From what we know, Betty still raised two sons, kept watch over Gus’ legacy, and did what she could to make sure that people remembered the good that Gus had done. You see, when someone once asked Betty why she stayed with Gus even though everyone knew he had girlfriends on the side, she basically said, “I knew he loved me most.”

Just last year, only months before she passed away, Betty made one last trip to the annual memorial for the Apollo 1 astronauts. You see, after the fire and the ensuing investigation, some of the launch pad was torn down, but much of it was left intact, and officially classified as “Abandoned in place” as a memorial to the three men who died there. And every year, family, friends, guests, astronauts, NASA officials, and a few others visit the brass marker there, remember the legacy of those men, and honor their lives.

So, what’s my point in all of this?

Even if Betty Grissom got stuck in her grief, she knew two things. First, although Gus Grissom was human and had flaws, although he was far from perfect, Betty chose to remember the good. Betty Grissom never focused on the pain, but instead focused on Gus’ legacy, his memory, and on raising two sons that would make him proud. NASA, as an organization, did something very similar. Although NASA had disagreements and arguments with both Gus and with Betty, some very public, NASA didn’t focus on that, instead they chose to focus on moving forward into a brighter future while remembering the legacy of the Apollo 1 astronauts and their contributions to the program.

Honestly, this is healthy, and we do this all the time.

We remember that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, we remember that nearly half of the delegates to the first Constitutional Convention were slave owners, and we remember that Winston Churchill was a racist. But those aren’t the things that we dwell on. Instead, we choose to remember their legacies and their positive contributions to history.

We honor their lives and remember the good. We shouldn’t forget that our loved ones were flawed, but we choose to remember the best of them and keep alive the memories of the good that they did, the legacy that they left, and the reasons that we loved them.

Let’s take a break for minute.

Here’s what I want you to do.

Close your eyes and remember. Remember the people that you’ve lost. Picture them in your mind.

What did they do, what action did they take, what words did they say, that told you that they loved you?

What did they do that allowed you to experience joy?

What did they do that made you laugh?

What did they do that inspired you, or encouraged you, to become a better person?

If you had 30 seconds to tell me who and what they were, what words would you use?

Remember their love, remember their passion, their forgiveness, their laughter, remember those things that make their memories shine and which make your heart warm.

Scripture tells us that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Our loved ones are watching and they don’t want us to get stuck.

You can open your eyes now.

But that isn’t all that there is. There’s another message that we need to remember, and for that I want to tell you the story of Elisabeth Elliot. Some of you may have heard of her, but the odds are that many of you haven’t. Back in 1956, Elisabeth Elliot’s husband, Jim, along with five other missionaries, made contact with the Huaorani people in the jungles of eastern Ecuador. While they had spent months exchanging gifts and building trust between them, at one meeting along the river, tribesmen attacked the five missionaries and killed all five men.

Elisabeth Elliot was faced with a choice. She could, along with several of the other widows and their families, take her daughter and return home to the United States or, she could stay and do what she could. Despite the urgings of her family and many of her friends back home, she chose to stay. Two years later, Elisabeth and her daughter Valerie moved into the Huaorani village with the same men who had killed her husband and she eventually befriended them. In 1969 she remarried, in 1974 she became an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, about the same time, she also worked as a consultant on the project to write the New International Version of the bible, and from 1988 to 2001 she could be heard across the country on her syndicated radio show, “Gateway to Joy.” If that wasn’t enough, in 1957, Elisabeth Elliot wrote a book, “Through Gates of Splendor” about their missionary journey and her husband’s killing, and over the course of her life followed that up by writing more than twenty more books, as well as making book tours and public speaking engagements all over the world until her death in 2015 at the age of 88.

So why am I telling you all this? Why should we care about the widow of a missionary who died in 1958?

Because Elisabeth Elliot knew something important.

Elisabeth Elliot knew that despite her loss, and despite the trauma that she had suffered, that her work wasn’t finished, that there was more that God intended for her to do with her life. It wasn’t always easy. When I heard her radio show, I remember her telling someone who was experiencing grief and loss that during some of the hardest times of her life, when it she didn’t know how she could go on, she remembered a piece of advice that had been given to her. She remembered to “Do the next thing.” Don’t stop. Don’t get stuck. Do something. Do the next thing. In fact, so important was this piece of advice, that Elisabeth Elliot often quoted a poem about it entitled, not surprisingly, “Do The Next Thing.”

Do The Next Thing

(a poem quoted by Elisabeth Elliot)

At an old English Parsonage down by the sea,

there came in the twilight a message to me.

Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven,

that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.

And all through the hours the quiet words ring,

like a low inspiration, “Do the next thing.”

Many a questioning, many a fear,

many a doubt hath its quieting here.

Moment by moment, let down from heaven,

time, opportunity, guidance are given.

Fear not tomorrow, child of the King,

trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer,

Do it reliantly, casting all care.

Do it with reverence, tracing his hand,

Who placed it before thee with earnest command.

Stayed on omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,

Leave all resulting, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,

working or suffering be thy demeanor,

in His dear presence, the rest of His calm,

the light of His countenance, be thy psalm.

Do the next thing.

Sometimes, in the midst of our grief, all that we can manage is to… do the next thing, to survive. But the thing that the life of Elisabeth Elliot should teach every one of us is that as long as we draw breath, our life isn’t over. Our grief isn’t the end. We cannot get stuck and wallow in our grief.

Do the next thing.

And keep on doing the next thing, and the next thing, and the next…

God has plans for you, your family has need of you, your life still has purpose, there are still things for you to do. Yes, we should honor the memories of the ones that we have lost, but we don’t honor them by getting stuck. We also need to explore and to discover what’s next. What does God, what does life, have in store for us? Regardless of the past, regardless of our grief or our suffering, we hold in our hands the keys to our future and it is never too late to begin writing the next chapter.

You are the hero of the story that you are writing every day by living your life. The next chapter of your life has not yet been written. Don’t you dare write a story about a hero who got stuck and stayed at home and never did anything interesting ever again. Don’t write a story about a hero who got stuck. Discover, explore, become who you were made to be tomorrow. Imagine who you could be, imagine what the hero of your story would do, imagine what your legacy could be, imagine what you would like to be remembered for. Get out there, travel, explore, write books, tell stories, paint pictures, dance, live life, invest yourself in others, and don’t forget… to love.

Merry Christmas.

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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 r 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.

God Speaks. Who Hears?

February 11, 2018February 11, 2018 PastorPartridge Sermon church, faith, God, God speaks, prophecy, truth, witness

“God Speaks. Who Hears?”

February 11, 2018

(Transfiguration Sunday)

By John Partridge*

2 Kings 2:1-12 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9

How many of you have your cell phones with you this morning?

How many of you spoke to someone on the phone, or texted, or emailed, or used your phone to communicate with another human being in the last 24 hours?

How many of you listened to the radio or watched television, or used the internet, or read a newspaper or even a book?

That’s probably almost everyone.

Today, communication is easy and fast. We think nothing of exchanging messages with people halfway around the world when even a few decades ago, that was still a big deal. As recently as World War Two, the Pentagon would be reading and interpreting information that was days or even weeks old but today can often watch events on the other side of the planet live from cameras on a spy satellite in orbit and from cameras mounted on soldiers’ helmets. Communication today is so quick, so easy, and so commonplace, that we rarely give it a second thought.

Unless we start talking about God… and then everyone panics.

Atheists think the idea of talking to God is silly, unbelievers doubt that God talks to humans and even believers often think that our prayers are only a one-way thing. We pray, God hears, and that’s the end of it. Many Christian think that God might have occasionally spoken to a tiny number of select individuals, but when the prophets of the Old Testament died off, that was that. But as we read through today’s scriptures, we might be surprised to find that that isn’t the case at all. We begin in 2 Kings 2:1-12 where we hear the story of Elijah being carried into heaven…

^2:1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

³The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

⁴Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

⁷Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

¹⁰“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹²Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

I’ve read this story plenty of times before, but as I read through this for today’s message, there were a couple things that struck me. First and foremost among these were the repeated references to groups of people that are referred to as “the company of the prophets.” Like many of you, I have read about Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and other prophets who have books of the Bible named after them, but other than those few, I often thought that there weren’t many others. In this passage, I allowed myself to think that this was sort of allegorical, or just a way of telling the story, or perhaps that these men were employed by the prophets or by the church in some way. But as we read a little closer, we are forced to think differently.

There are at least two large groups of these men, there are the company of prophets in Bethel, and another at Jericho and fifty of these men watch from the far side of the river as Elijah and Elisha cross the Jordan. From the text, it would even seem as if fifty is only a portion of those referred to as “the company of prophets at Jericho.” And so, from this passage we see that there were a large number of those who were referred to as prophets of God. What’s more, these men are not simply employees of the church because, in each case, well before Elijah and Elisha arrive, they already know why they are travelling together and that God has told them that this would be Elijah’s last day on earth. All of these men, or at least many of them, know the future because they have heard it from God himself, and even though none of them had had written books of the bible, there were hundreds of them.

Next, we hear the story of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration in Mark 9:2-9 and, although we’ve heard this story plenty of times before, as we think about this idea of hearing from God, we might just see something we haven’t noticed before.

²After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Jesus is transfigured into something that is much different than his normal, earthly appearance and is likely more similar to how Jesus would appear in heaven. And alongside of Jesus there appears two other men whom, we are told, are Elijah and Moses. But before any introductions can be made, Peter already knows who they are. Since these men lived and died hundreds and even thousands of years before Peter was ever born, there is no possible way that he could have known them. Without photography, or video, or even pencil sketches, there is no way that Peter had seen so much as an artistic drawing of what they had looked like. And yet, it would seem that at the instant they appear, Jesus’ three disciples know who these men are and they know that the voice that they have heard is that of God himself.

How did they know?

How did they know if Jesus didn’t tell them?

Maybe Jesus did tell them and it didn’t get written down in the story that was handed down to us.

Or is it possible that Peter, James, and John, at that moment, were given a revelation from God?

Before you decide, let’s take a look at one more passage of scripture this morning and read what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Paul says that the message of God is hidden by the god of this age, or rather, the ruler of the earth and its culture, whom we know is the enemy of our God and that is, Satan. Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the evidence that is right in front of them and so they cannot see the truth of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. But if that is true, and it must be, then doesn’t that mean that believers in Jesus Christ are themselves hearing and seeing messages from God? Paul says that God has “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

At the very least, this means that when we read, and when we hear, the Gospel message, we are in fact hearing from God. And whenever we share the message of the Gospel with others we are, in fact, sharing the words of God with them. But I suspect that there is more to it than that because Paul says that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ.” And, while that seems simple enough, we also know that the people that Paul knew weren’t reading billboards or watching CNN. The people that Paul describes didn’t own bibles and unbelievers wouldn’t have been standing in the synagogue or in weekly gatherings in a Christian church or home. The only light of the gospel that unbelievers would have seen would have been the evidence of creation in the world around them, direct communication by God in some other form, or the actions of Christian believers that they knew or who lived among them.

In the time of the Old Testament, God’s prophets numbered in the hundreds and perhaps even in the thousands. God continued to speak to his people in the time of Jesus, and continues to do so today. Our neighbors and friends probably won’t hear God speak from a cloud, but his light shines in your hearts so that they can see God’s glory.

As we celebrate and remember this Transfiguration Sunday, let us also remember that God still speaks to us today. God gives us the light of the knowledge of his glory displayed in the face of Christ. God is speaking today to our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, and our families, not on CNN and not on the internet, but through you.

Let your light shine.

_________

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_______________

* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of 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 or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print 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.

Proof

March 22, 2017March 22, 2017 PastorPartridge Blogs death, God, life, miracle, witness

Miracle

Sometimes we are witnesses to proof of God’s existence.

On Sunday (March 19^th) I mentioned in both my message, and children’s message, that sometimes, when we pay attention, God provides evidence of his existence through answered prayers and miracles both large and small. We are witnesses to many “everyday” miracles like the birth of a baby, sunrises, sunsets, and spring flowers but we also see and experience other things that are scarier, bigger, and sometimes simply impossible. Our family all remembers the near miss that we had on interstate I-70 when a tractor trailer tire bounced across the median, missed our car by only a few feet, struck the cab of the tractor trailer we were passing and absolutely destroyed the left front wheel well like an explosion. Only the sharp eye of our son Noah and the grace of God brought us home that day instead of to a helicopter trip to a hospital in Columbus.

As I said on Sunday, just in the ten or twelve years that I have been a pastor, I have met several people who ought to be dead, people of whom the doctors said, “We can’t explain why you are alive.”

In our Johnsville church, our lay leader was a dairy farmer by named Jim McWilliams. One Sunday morning we interrupted our worship service to lay hands on Jim and pray for his brother. That week, Jim’s brother was as work and was asked to use a cutting torch to cut the stuck lid off of a 55 gallon steel drum. The labels on the drum and its documentation assured everyone that the contents of the drum were inert.

They weren’t.

Somehow, the documentation was all wrong and the contents of the drum, in reality, were highly volatile. When Jim’s brother began to cut the lid off of the drum, it exploded and he was rushed to the hospital. During the investigation they eventually found the lid of the drum. It had been thrown by the explosion, went through the roof of the building and was found about a half-mile away. The next week we heard that Jim’s brother, despite standing within inches of the explosion, received only bumps, bruises and minor burns to his face and hands. When the doctors heard what had happened, both they, and the explosion investigators from OSHA said that they couldn’t understand why he wasn’t dead.

Many of you can tell the same kinds of stories and since that sermon, some of you have shared your stories with me.

This is an invitation.

I would like to share your stories. I can help you write them and edit them if necessary. After they are written and edited, I will post them on my blog so that others can be blessed, uplifted, and have their faith reaffirmed through our collective, eyewitness testimony.

Please, even if you don’t think that you are a good writer, put your story on paper (or email) and share it with me.

And together, we’ll share it with the world.

A Royal Visit

October 18, 2016 PastorPartridge Sermon faith, money, politics, witness

A Royal Visit^*

Trinity UMC 10-23-2016

I Kings 10:1-102 II Chronicles 9:1-12

Guest Post by David Hartong

Certified United Methodist Lay Servant

35 years ago in a Discipleship Bible Study someone asked, “Where is Sheba?” One day I came across the Sheba story and remembered, I don’t think I ever answered that question. I found at one time two Sheba’s claimed the ‘Queen of Sheba’ found in Kings and Chronicles. One is in Ethiopia in East Central Africa and the other is at the south of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by the Arabian and Red Seas, in present day Yemen. The Arabian Sheba was known for its spices such as mentioned in 1^st Kings and on a caravan route through Israel to Egypt. Most scholars agree that Solomon’s Queen of Sheba was from modern day Yemen. Let’s turn to 1^st Kings Chapter 10, and read of her visit.

Reading 1^st Kings 10:1-12 from The Message by Eugene Peterson- The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his connection with the Name of GOD. She came to put his reputation to the test by asking tough questions. She made a grand and showy entrance into Jerusalem – camels loaded with spices, a huge amount of gold, and precious gems. She came to Solomon and talked about all the things that she cared about, emptying her heart to him. Solomon answered everything she put to him – nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon’s wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials and sharply dressed waiters, the lavish crystal, and the elaborate worship with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at the steps leading up to the Temple of GOD, it took her breath away.

She said to the king, “It’s all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself, they didn’t exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance – far more than I could ever have imagined. Lucky the men and women who work for you, getting to be around you every day and hear your wise words firsthand! And blessed be GOD, your God, who took such a liking to you and made you king. Clearly, GOD’s love for Israel is behind this, making you king to keep a just order and nurture a God-pleased people.”

She then gave the king four and a half tons of gold, and also sack after sack of spices and expensive gems. There hasn’t been a cargo of spices like that since that shipload the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon. King Solomon for his part gave the queen of Sheba all her heart’s desire – everything she asked for, on top of what he had already so generously given her. Satisfied, she returned home with her train of servants.

Why did she come to visit Solomon? The wisdom and riches God gave Solomon were known throughout the civilized world. She was curious. Visitors would come to her court with news of Jerusalem. An envoy would report “We have been to Jerusalem.” She’d say, I’ve been hearing about Jerusalem, did you go to the Temple?” They’d say, “We sure did. It was a thrilling experience to go into that temple. We were there on one of their feast days. Wish YOU could have heard them singing their songs. And there was the altar, and there’s gold, and silver. It was beautiful and the worship was wonderful.” The queen might reply, “Yes, I’ve been hearing about that, I’d like to see it myself. Maybe one of these days I can make the trip.” Besides, Solomon controlled some of the trade route she would have used to Egypt. Perhaps she could secure a treaty or trade agreement.

Eventually, with great planning and preparation, she did go to experience Jerusalem herself. She came with questions. It was the custom to ask wise rulers questions, or riddles – what we call conundrums – tricky, clever questions to trap a person. The queen also had questions to do with the heart, questions that related to her eternal destiny because she came out of spiritual darkness. She was inspired by the temple Solomon built and the way he worshipped.

Sadly, the temple God wanted for the world was divided by the Jews. Like so many churches today, we think they belong to us, not God. We want to determine who can come in and where they may ‘sit’ in the body of Christ. The Jews set up a court of the Gentiles, a court for women, an inner court for men, and the courts for priests and the Holy of Holies. Jesus broke down the walls dividing Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and poor. All stand equally, before God.

When Solomon dedicated the temple he told the world it was a place where every person on earth could approach the living and true God. Hear part of Solomon’s prayer from 1 Kings 8:41-43 […forgive and go to work on us. Give what each deserves, for you know each life from the inside (you’re the only one with such inside knowledge) so that they’ll live before you in lifelong reverent and believing obedience on this land you gave our ancestors.

And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel, but has come from a far country because of your reputation. People are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonder working power, who come to pray at this Temple. ]

That word went out to the ends of the earth of that day, and reached the Queen of Sheba. Our scripture started, “the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame…” First, she had to hear. The apostle Paul tells us, “So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Our story today opens at the far end of the earth with a queen who heard; then she acted on what she heard. The place God meets you is where you hear. Our responsibility is to see that all people hear of God. When we have gotten God’s Word to the ears of people, we have done what God has called us to do. Let God do His work in them, once we have made them aware of their need to seek God. [Pause] [Repeat]

When the Queen of Sheba arrived in Jerusalem with her caravan, she attracted a great deal of attention. Just how many camels would it take to carry all the spices, jewels, and four- ½ tons of gold? At about 400 pounds per camel, the gold alone would have taken two dozen camels. With other gifts, soldiers, and provisions, it would have been a massive caravan. In this time in history, here is a woman no less, from the mysterious East. She displays great wealth in abundance. She is not a wise man, but is looking for wisdom. She had servants and soldiers of every color of skin under the sun. People lined the streets; no circus has ever attracted the attention the Queen of Sheba did, the day she arrived in Jerusalem.

The record tells us she was absolutely overwhelmed by her visit with King Solomon. The first thing that impressed her was that he was able to answer all of her questions. The second was the tremendous organization and display he had there. Thirdly, she was amazed by the way he worshipped, and the burnt altar. In the temple the King had a private entrance to the altar, but when he got there he was at the same level as everybody else. That impressed her, because down in her country, she was far above the level of the crowds. But Solomon, even with his private entrance, stood by that burnt altar; just like any other sinner stands before God. The burnt altar speaks eloquently of the cross of Christ. It’s the best picture of Christ’s cross we have in the Old Testament. The burnt offerings that impressed the queen speak of the person Christ, of who He is; and the sin offering speaks of the work of Christ- a sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.

She found, when she came to Jerusalem, that the living and true God was approached only through a sacrifice. Even a King had to come as a sinner, and stand with the lowest subjects, to receive salvation from God. God revealed to the queen that there is a righteousness, which He provides. The truth of the burnt offering was shown to her in a way she could understand. This points to Christ, and a righteousness God provides for a King, or any other sinner; that He might accept them into His presence. We all stand on the same level and all must come, and ALL CAN receive this righteousness. It is likely the Queen of Sheba came to know the living and true God, when she came to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon.

In the narratives of Solomon’s wealth and wisdom, why is this story told in more detail than most? Sheba was nearly 2000 miles from Jerusalem. This was great example of God bringing people from the uttermost parts of the world to His temple in Jerusalem. Think of the sacrifices she made to get to Jerusalem. Today you can drive to California in 3 or 4 days, you can fly there in 3 or 4 hours. On our first trip under the English Channel we went 40 miles in 20 minutes (120 mph). When we got going in France the engineer reported we were traveling at 300 kph (186 mph). There were no tracks in the desert, no Eurostar. A caravan large enough to carry 4-1/2 tons of gold, large amounts of spices and jewels, the personnel, and provisions for a trip of that magnitude – would have taken about three months each way. Camels did not come with air conditioning or adjustable seats. Would you like to ride to California in the bed of a pick-up truck? Before route 66? Perhaps you’d prefer the comfort of a Conestoga wagon on the Oregon Trail. The Queen of Sheba sacrificed a tremendous amount of time and resources to seek Solomon, and to find God in Jerusalem.

Today God does not ask you to take a trip anywhere. You don’t have to make the long trip up to Jerusalem. You don’t even have to go across the street to find Him. It is our job to see that everyone hears the gospel. We don’t need to go around the world. Just telling everyone in the neighborhood of this church would be a good place to start. (repeat)

As I reviewed this last sentence I realized, God is telling us to support things like Perry Helping Perry. Telling the people of this neighborhood about God’s love and grace, is exactly what programs like this are all about. Supporting the Fellowship of Christian Athletes demonstrates Christian concern. God wants us all to meet Him; one at a time is a great way to introduce them. According to Matthew 12:42; Christ said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look – something greater than Solomon is HERE.

There are lessons to be learned in the account of the visit of the Queen of Sheba. We need to hear of God. Faith comes from hearing and we need to act on that faith. She taught us acting on that faith may require self-sacrifice, even a long, arduous journey; not necessarily in miles, but perhaps in terms of hardships and risks. The queen not only took gifts to Solomon, but received many gifts from him in return. But the most important gift she received was a new life after worship at the altar of God. A new life for each of us is available at this altar. Seek and you shall find.

Amen

_________________

* 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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

3 Steps to Change the World

September 27, 2015 PastorPartridge Sermon disciples, followers of Jesus, Jesus Christ, pray, witness

“3 Steps to Change the World”
September 27, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: Esther 7:1-10, 9:20-22 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50

It has been quite a while since I mentioned it, probably too long, but does anyone here (besides David Hartong, who knows the inner workings of our church very well) remember the mission statement of The United Methodist Church?

I knew that it wouldn’t be many. So here it is:

“The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
– Mission Statement of The United Methodist Church

So if we are United Methodists, and we are, we have signed on to team that has every intention of changing the world.

But how do we do that?

Our mission statement says that we do that by making disciples and that makes sense, but if you’ve been in the local church for even a little while, it isn’t long before you realize that making disciples isn’t always an easy thing to do.

So how do we do that?

In our scripture today, first from Esther, then Jesus, and finally James, we can see a 3-step pattern repeated that should clearly be a model for each of us, and for the local church, today. We begin at the high point of the book of Esther. The evil Haman had tricked king Xerxes into condemning to death, all of the Jews throughout the known world but neither Haman nor Xerxes realized that Xerxes own queen, Esther, was a Jew. In this confrontation, Esther exposes Haman and his evil to the king (Esther 7:1-10, 9:20-22)

7:1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen

7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

9:20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. [This holiday is known as Purim]

While most of us will never be called upon to rescue our entire nation, or an entire people, we can still learn something from the way that Esther approached her problem and so that we can apply it to the smaller problems that we face. Despite the fact that she was his wife, before Esther would even approach the king she declared a time of fasting and prayer and asked everyone that she knew, to fast and pray with her as she did so. Only then would she invite the king to dinner, and only then would she make the request that would save the life and property of every Jew in the known world.

Another key step can be found in Mark 9:38-50, as Jesus explains how his followers should live their lives.

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’

49 Everyone will be salted with fire.

50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

There is a lot there and I could probably write an entire sermon on that passage alone, but for the moment, let’s focus on Jesus’ main point that we find at the end. ” Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?”

After reading the rest of that passage and understanding that Jesus is warning his followers that they should live their lives with purity and a pursuit of perfection, then we understand that his point is the same as we often hear in James. The followers of Jesus are expected to act like Jesus. Jesus compares us to salt. If salt isn’t salty, it isn’t good for much of anything except as gravel.

If the followers of Jesus do not act like Jesus, then we really aren’t good for much of anything.

Finally, James puts all of these ideas together for us in James 5:13-20.

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

In this passage, James connects the dots for us and lays out three steps to making disciples, three steps to rescuing people who have been condemned to death (which is, after all, what we are doing when we bring people to faith in Jesus Christ), and three steps to changing the world.

First, if you are in trouble, or if you’re sick, if you have sinned, then you should pray. In this case, you are not praying for the other guy yet, you are praying for you, for your trouble, for your healing, or for your forgiveness. What James is telling us is that the first step in changing the world is to start with ourselves. Before I can change the world, I have to change me. Before you can change the world, you have to change you. Get right with God. Ask for forgiveness. Forgive those who have hurt you and, as we heard Jesus say in Mark, start acting like Christians.

As much as possible, be like Jesus.

Step two comes to us from both Esther and James and that is, simply, pray. This is where we pray for the other guy. Pray for the people that you are trying to rescue, pray for those to whom you hope to witness, pray for the people that your mission teams hope to connect with, pray for the mission and outreach of your church, pray for your neighborhood, but in all that you do, and for all of those who are in need of rescue, pray.

Finally, step three is spelled out in the simplest of terms by James, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death.” What James is saying, is that in order for the lost to be saved, in order for the dying to be rescued, someone needs to get out there and save them. Someone needs to get out there and do the rescuing. It wouldn’t do any good if the Coast Guard spent all of their time sitting in lecture halls talking about rescuing people but never actually set foot in a boat. It isn’t enough to sit in the church and pray that people would be rescued; someone needs to actually put “boots on the ground” and make the attempt. And that someone has to be those of us in the church, the followers of Jesus Christ.

So there you are. Three steps to changing the world.

First, get right with God and with others. Do the things that Jesus has taught us to do and act like Jesus teaches us to act.

Second, pray.

And third, get out there and get it done. Go out there and rescue others or at least make the attempt. Talk to people. Share Jesus with them. Tell them what Jesus has done for you and let them know that Jesus wants to get to know them, that Jesus loves them. Let them know that Jesus came so that they could be forgiven and rescued from death.

It might sound simple, but that’s all there is to it.

Because whenever you save a life…

…you change the world.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

November 18, 2013March 5, 2019 PastorPartridge Sermon Christian, church, death, grace, heaven, Jesus, love, prayer, welcome, witness

What does it mean to be surrounded by a “cloud” of witnesses?

Not long ago I was preaching on Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees in regard to the existence of life after death. In Luke 20:27-38, Jesus reminds them that Moses called God, “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus implies that it would be foolish to say such a thing in the present tense if they were not, presently, alive. Jesus said, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

The Apostle Paul described life as a sporting event in which we are called to give our best, saying,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” (Hebrews 12:1)

Paul expands on the idea of resurrection and the afterlife to remind the church that those who are alive in the next world are watching those of us who remain in this one. Paul specifically refers to the prophets, saints, and martyrs but it isn’t difficult to imagine that this also includes all of those who have always loved us and cared for us, but who no longer remain among the living of this world. I know that my grandmother prayed for me nearly every single day of her life and I have no reason to imagine that she has stopped doing so today.

Let me share a mental picture that I have found meaningful. Have you ever held a newborn baby, yours, or your grandchild, niece or nephew for the very first time? Do you remember how that made you feel? It is a magnificent feeling. Hold on to that feeling. Now, imagine the moment when you first arrive in the next world, right after you have “crossed over” and passed through Saint Peter’s pearly gates, right after you’ve met Jesus face to face, or however you might image your arrival. Now, you see, standing before you, a group of people. Some you know, but many you do not. In the front are your parents, lost children, and dear friends, but there are many more, perhaps hundreds, even thousands of faces that you do not know. As you embrace your family and your friends, your father, or perhaps your grandfather, takes you by the hand and says, “There is someone here, that I have wanted you to meet for a very long time.” And he turns to a an unfamiliar face and says, “This is myfather” or “This is my grandfather.” And then, for hours on end, they in turn introduce you to their fathers, and their wives, and their children, allof whom have known you since you were born, and have been watching you grow, and have been praying for you that Jesus would watch over you and guard your steps.

And the feeling that you have is the feeling of holding that newborn child in your arms, multiplied by ten thousand, or more.

Every moment of your life that you were in trouble, every moment when you faced difficult choices, every moment when you needed prayer, all of these hundreds and thousands of friends and family who love you, were watching and praying for you.

Think of this, when we walk outside in a heavy fog, that moment when the clouds lay upon the surface of the earth, we are not near the cloud, or next to the cloud, we are completely engulfed and surrounded by the cloud.

This is the picture that Paul draws for us. With every choice that we make, with every success or failure, with every crisis or ordinary day, we can imagine that this cloud of people who love us, family and friends, surround us, watch over us, and pray for us.

Because our God is the god of the living and not the dead, we are constantly watched over by those who love us, care for us, and who are, even now, praying for us. Paul says that because we are surrounded by this “great cloud of witnesses” we should cast aside everything that is holding us back and have the confidence to forge ahead into the unknown toward whatever God has placed in our path.

May we all have the courage to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us…”

Pastor Partridge

Sermons, blogs and other things from Pastor John Partridge

witness

Light, Incognito

Light, Incognito

December 25, 2022*

(Christmas Day)

The Promise of Power

The Promise of Power

May 16, 2021*

(Ascension Day)

By Pastor John Partridge

Freedom

Freedom

April 04, 2021*

(Easter)

What Happens When We Die?

You Do Not Grieve Alone

Reflections for A Celebration of Memories

Saturday, December 01, 2018

God Speaks. Who Hears?

“God Speaks. Who Hears?”

February 11, 2018

(Transfiguration Sunday)

By John Partridge*

2 Kings 2:1-12 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9

Proof

A Royal Visit

A Royal Visit^*

Trinity UMC 10-23-2016

I Kings 10:1-102 II Chronicles 9:1-12

Guest Post by David Hartong

Certified United Methodist Lay Servant

3 Steps to Change the World

“3 Steps to Change the World”
September 27, 2015
By John Partridge

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Light, Incognito

December 25, 2022*

(Christmas Day)

The Promise of Power

May 16, 2021*

(Ascension Day)

By Pastor John Partridge

Freedom

April 04, 2021*

(Easter)

Reflections for A Celebration of Memories

Saturday, December 01, 2018

“God Speaks. Who Hears?”

February 11, 2018

(Transfiguration Sunday)

By John Partridge*

2 Kings 2:1-12 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9

A Royal Visit*

Trinity UMC 10-23-2016

I Kings 10:1-102 II Chronicles 9:1-12

Guest Post by David Hartong

Certified United Methodist Lay Servant

“3 Steps to Change the World” September 27, 2015 By John Partridge

A Royal Visit^*

“3 Steps to Change the World”
September 27, 2015
By John Partridge