Sermons

Riches of Grace

July 11, 2021

Ephesians 1: 3-21

Bulletin Read Notes

SERMON 071121

RICHES OF GRACE

Rev. Vivian L. Rodeffer

Sunday, July 11, 2021

TEXT: Ephesians 1: 3-14

“In him we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the richness of grace.”

Ephesians 1: 7

Once when daughter Robin was little she curled up next to me on the sofa one evening and she asked: What if a little kid doesn’t have a mom, who would take care of her? I thought a moment and answered: Well, I suppose that child’s father would take care of her. There was a pause. And then another question: But what if that little kid doesn’t have a father? Another pause. I replied: Why I suppose a grandparent or an aunt or uncle or a friend would take care of the child. And then her real question: What if, what if that kid doesn’t have anybody at all?

What if? “What if?” is that existential question. What if there is nothing else. No divine being or any purpose to life at all…Like Peggy Lee’s song “Is That All There is?” What if? Even as adults we want to value the certainty that there is a plan, that there is someone or something looking out for us. That life has a purpose, a meaning greater than ourselves.

In today’s scripture Paul assures us that there is more to life than meets the eye. He expresses words of assurance and joy, as one commentator put it “a lyrical song of praise…gift after gift, wonder after wander” concerning our place in God’s plan. [Ephesians, William Barclay, p.87]

The riches of God’s grace is a favorite theme of St. Paul. In last Sunday’s scripture, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians prayed that God would remove what he referred to as the thorn in his side, but that did not happen. Instead, God enabled Paul to continue his work, to follow his calling despite the things that troubled him. God answered Paul like this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” [v. 9] And Paul esponds: “Therefore I am content…for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” [v. 10] That promise of sufficient grace is for us as well.

In today’s lesson Paul shows us additional gifts of God’s grace. Perhaps the first point and most special of all is that God has chosen us to do God’s work. Jesus repeats this in John 15: 16 “You did not choose me but I chose you.” What really is special about this choosing is that it was God’s choice to bless us deeply. Haven’t we heard adoptive parents saying this to a child. We have chosen you. To love you, to care for you and to treat you as a member of our family. You are special.

God says the same thing to us. Paige, you are special, Bill, you are special, Ken, Jane, Max, Robb, Ruth, Amy, Jeannie, Jackie, everyone of us, you are special. We are special because God has chosen us for adoption into his family. That we might be the children of God. Imagine that.

Sometimes people brag about their families. You’ve heard them. Things like my dad was a Super Bowl referee. My mom sells fashion on QVC. My uncle has his own podcast. My cousin is vice president of her own hedge fund. You know those folks. But it is us who have something to really brag about. We can say with assurance. I am the daughter of God. I am the son of God. I am a child of God. This is the first of the“riches of grace.”

Secondly, God is overwhelmingly generous in sharing with us goodness and peace of mind. There is never any worry necessary that we might not have anyone to watch over and care for us. Instead, our hearts and minds are at peace because this great God of the entire universe and of the tiny sparrow, has seen fit to provide a peace that passes understanding for our troubled souls.

How do you welcome the peace of God into your life? So many different ways. Setting aside a time each day to read some scripture or a devotion. Maybe engaging in meditation or yoga or a time of silence or walking in nature opens hearts to the peace of Christ. When Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples, he explains his gift of peace. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [John 14: 27]

Let’s move on to yet a third aspect of God’s grace. Perhaps the greatest gift of all the riches of grace is being “sealed” with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes: In [Christ] you…were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit…” [ v. 13]

In the sending of scrolls or important packages, a seal was often applied to show who owned the scroll or the package that was being transported. Just so, Paul uses the same word for the “seal” that the Holy Spirit affixes to the believer. It is this “seal” that identifies us as belonging to God.

Then Paul describes the Holy Spirit like this: “ the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people.” [v.14] In the New International Version [NIV] it is translated this way, this seal is “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” [v. 14 NIV]

Paul uses the Greek word arrabon here which described “a regular feature in the Greek business world…a deposit paid in advance as a guarantee that the rest would in due course be paid.” [Barclay, p.100] In other words, God has paid a deposit on us in advance. As one commentator shared: it is “a foretaste of the blessedness of heaven.”[Barclay, p.99]

All of the riches of grace bless us, the children of God, and bring us peace for all that troubles our hearts, and promise us eternal life in heaven. The take aways?

Serve your heavenly parent with reassurance,
invite God’s peace into your hearts and lives,
live every day knowing that the best is yet to come.

Let us pray.

Gracious God, sometimes we forget how rich we are! How your grace pours through our lives like a mighty rushing stream. Help us to “dive deeply into the living waters of loving fidelity”* and to someday reach the shores of eternal life and the “blessedness of heaven.” Amen.

*Canadian poet and social activist Jean Vanier

Grace Sufficient

July 4, 2021

2 Corinthians 12: 2-10

Rev. Vivian L. Rodeffer

Bulletin Read Notes

SERMON 070421

GRACE SUFFICIENT

Rev. Vivian L. Rodeffer

Sunday, July 4, 2021

TEXT: 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor. 12: 9

‘While I was changing channels this week watching TV I came upon one of the strongest man competitions. The event in the contest I watched was to see which man could pick up the heaviest barbell from the ground, straighten up and hold it for a few seconds. The winner picked up over a thousand pounds. That was pretty incredible but what captured my attention was how the winner seemed to use absolutely every fiber in his being, he mustered every iota of his powerful muscular strength in the gargantuan task of lifting the barbell.

That’s the gold standard for strength. The muscular capability of a human to lift over four times his weight. Wow. Our scripture today from St. Paul’s Letter called Second Corinthians is also about strength and heavy weights. But in a very different way. Let’s check it out.

In the beginning of today’s passage there is an odd story about a person who visits heaven and then returns to earth. Kind of puzzling and then one realizes that Paul is talking about himself… that this man is Paul, and that experience happened to Paul. He writes as if he is in the third person: “I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven….and was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.” [vv 2-4] A mystical kind of experience.

It seems that Paul’s spirit somehow rose up to heaven and experienced God. “Things that are not to be told….not to be repeated.” [v. 4] Paul recounts that he was caught up “into Paradise.” We sometimes use that word for heaven but Paul seems to be referencing Paradise the way Persians referred to it. Paradise represented a “walled garden.” So, Paul was not only transported to heaven, he was admitted to God’s special garden. A walled garden where he would have had conversation and companionship with God.

I wonder if this scripture helped inform the favorite hymn “In The Garden”? Remember the lines? “He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. And the joy I feel as I tarry there none other has ever known.” It is clear from this scripture that Paul has had a life changing mystical kind of experience!

The thought process that follows next for Paul is a bit surprising. He doesn’t boast because he has smelled the roses in the heavenly garden, instead, he shares that just the opposite happens! He writes “to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh.” [v.7]

There have been many theories over the centuries as to what that “thorn” was. It may have been the continuing opposition and persecution he faced; it could have been worldly temptations; it could have been his physical appearance; many medical “thorns” have been surmised from epilepsy to migraine headaches to eye difficulties. Proponents of each have scripture passages to support their views. A well known pediatrician from Philadelphia has gone on the record convinced that Paul had autism.

Paul prayed that God would remove the thorn in his side, but that did not happen. Instead, God enabled Paul to continue to follow his calling despite that thorn. As one Bible scholar put it so well: “[God] does not spare us things, but makes us able to conquer them.” [Second Corinthians, William Barclay] God answered Paul like this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” [v. 9] And Paul esponds: “Therefore I am content…for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” [v. 10]

Even when we are feeling incapable of doing something we feel called to do, Paul’s words remind us that we are not the world’s strongest people on our own. Instead, God’s strength and power is our energy source.

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley preached 42,000 sermons in his lifetime; travelled 4,500 miles yearly by horseback; and preached three sermons per day average. At age 80, Wesley wrote in his diary: “I am a wonder to myself. I am never tired, either with preaching, writing or travelling.”

This power and strength of God can help you and me through our weaknesses so we can proclaim along with John Wesley “I am a wonder to myself.” God’s power and strength can respond to so many trying things in our lives. Maybe it is physical weariness, we are tired and feel worn out; maybe it is some kind of pain or ailment that hampers us; maybe we are struggling with our faith; each of us has a thorn in the flesh that reminds us of our need for God.

The great good news in or lesson today is that when we reach down to pick up that very, very heavy barbell, it is not us alone lifting it. God loans us strength for all the heavy lifting we have to do in our lives from parenting to growing older, from caring for friends and neighbors in need to serving in our local church. God’s strength and power are made perfect in our weakness. Never forget the weightlifting miraculous power of God. For whenever you are weak, God is strong.

Let us pray:

Gracious God, Life can be very tough at times. Some responsibilities seem too much. Some tasks too daunting. Some pain feels as if it has no end. Be present in our weaknesses, fill us with your strength, let us feel your power in the everyday opportunities in our lives. We thank you and praise your name. Amen.

Forget to Remember

June 27, 2021

Matthew 14: 13-21

Rev. Phil Covert

Bulletin