In 2 Timothy 1:8, Paul writes, “Join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.” It is quite an invitation.
          Indeed, if you have ever been through times of suffering in your life, you can testify that you can bear almost any pain when it is borne with others. Pain is at its worst when we suffer alone.     Coming out of the pandemic, we are realizing more and more how so many people suffered alone, in isolation – and still do. Dealing with this, we have had to find ways of communicating a sense of purpose whereby we seek to learn how we can engage in ministry together. The loss of face-to-face community has become a real challenge.
          Yet, I think one of the most important ministries of the church is to share in the pain and suffering of others. After all, it is what Jesus calls us to do. It is what the message of the cross is all about.
          That’s one of Paul’s key points to Timothy when he says, “Join me in this suffering.” We are not to take this journey by ourselves.
          Indeed, I have a feeling that one of the reasons why many people stick with the church is that, despite its faults, they went through a period of suffering – maybe a divorce, a serious illness, or a loss of a loved one; and the church stuck with them and became a fellowship of love during that time.
          In fact, it is not uncommon in many congregations to find all kinds of groups targeted to address some form of suffering. I think of those in this church like Al Anon, AA, Cancer Support, Dementia and Alzheimer's Support, to name a few. There is something about our experiences of pain that can bring us together to share in hope and to realize that we are together in community.
          In our passage today, we see how there is a deep communion between Paul and Timothy, but we also see how there is a qualifier to Paul’s invitation when he writes: “Join with me in suffering for the gospel.” Note those three words: for the gospel. Paul is not talking about suffering in general. He is talking about a particular kind of suffering – the suffering that comes through faithful service to Jesus.
As we live out our faith, how may we engage in faithful discipleship by joining in what God is doing and sharing in times of suffering? How might we learn to rely on God’s power when we suffer and serve?  

Pastor Andy Kinsey

"I will not allow my life's light to be determined by the darkness around me" - Sojourner Truth

The great African American evangelist, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and author, Sojourner Truth, was acclaimed for the quote. This hero of the faith was born into slavery before escaping to freedom in 1826. After gaining her freedom, Truth preached about abolitionism and equal rights for all. In 1843, at age 45, with what she believed was her religious obligation to go forth and speak the truth, she embarked on a journey to preach the gospel and speak out against slavery and oppression.

Sojourner Truth embodied bravery and courage, as she traveled around the country speaking up and speaking out – fighting for good, and she did not do it alone. She is but one example across the history of time of people, named and unnamed. who were so tired of the wrong that she felt the call not to complain, but use their skills, gifts, abilities, and influences on the Fight for Good!

I believe in the times in which we live the clarion call for Good seems prevalent, particularly as we find ourselves at tension with one another, be it in society or in the hollow halls of holy places, simply because we have allowed our differences to overshadow what we agree upon, which is the common good! 

It appears that we have allowed good to lapse in this world. But the need for Good is necessary because the life of the unwanted is cheap, where children and the aged are expendable, and where people sit silently while injustices and inequalities take place. We are so bent on being belligerent with one another that we are not fighting the gross inequities of domestic abuse, or the expanses of food deserts, or the illumination of sub-standard education, or the impact of those experiencing homelessness, and the strong imbalance between the have and have nots There is a dire need for champions of the good to rise and begin FIGHTING FOR GOOD. 

As receivers of God’s grace, how may we share in the fight for Good? How might we in our daily lives find ways to offer good by our thoughts and actions? What can we do to share in God’s good fight?

​Dr. Aleze Fulbright

The passage from the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s as it communicates the promises of God as the people of Israel cross from the wilderness and bondage and move into the promised land and freedom. In doing so, they receive from God the promises of God when they settle in Canaan.

We learn in this text that this chosen people has a special mission: to teach each other and their children about what God expects and about how God wants them to act, to be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 11:1). The people have one basic thing to do: to love the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their strength (6:7). This basic affirmation is what will guide them into being the kind of community God wants them to be.

There is a strong intergenerational component at work here: there are commands, decrees, and laws to obey, rules to follow, if you will, to share with the children what God wants; and each Sabbath when the people gather to worship, they will recite these words, remembering who they are and what they are to be about – generation after generation. 

In Hebrew, this passage is called the Shema, and it means literally to listen up or to hear. It is a prayer that constitutes Israel as a community, and it sets them apart, obeying God and honoring God and one another. Put another way, the Shema aims to keep the eyes of the people – us – fixed on God, which then moves us to live out our love for God and others in the knowledge of God’s unconditional love for us.

In Jesus’ day, he would have shared these words as a kind of creed, or an affirmation of faith. In fact, when Jesus talks how the law and the prophets are summed up in this commandment, he is very much in keeping with what Moses was communicating: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 23:22-24)– and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 18:11). That is to be the posture of a follower of Jesus. It is why it is the greatest commandment.

We might ask what this has to do with pickleball, and that is a good question: the connection has to do with community, and with the kind of community God wants us to be. Here, we learn what is important. That’s a connection worth pondering, and it is a lesson we want to share as we move into the future.
​
Pastor Andy Kinsey

In The Message version of Galatians 6, these words are shared, “Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore them, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law… let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”

Did you notice the word, “restore”, in that version?  The phrase, “forgivingly restore”?  Take a moment to consider how that could prompt a ripple effect, where the restored turn around and become “restorers” for others.  I love that thought. 

At the time this was written, and regrettably, in modern times as well, the desire to maintain a strict or severe attitude toward sin oftentimes translates into callous or even cruel treatment toward those who have stumbled along their faith journey.

The Interpreters Study Bible poses these questions, “what does a follower do with another follower who has [fallen]? What is our attitude toward those who [make mistakes]? What is our obligation to the one who has failed? What is the responsibility of the corporate fellowship of the church?”  It goes on to say that, “The Apostle Paul seems to suggest that we are to feel on a level with the one who falls. We are to regard ourselves as fellow sinners. Regard ourselves as no better, no worse.”  It’s an even playing field.

I’m reminded of the statement attributed to John Bradford in the sixteenth century, as he watched a group of prisoners being led to execution, “Therefore but by the grace of God go I.”

Luke 22:32 finds Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, sharing these words with Peter, “32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’
 
When you have turned back, strengthen the others. What powerful words.  There is no more effective way to do this than to share with others what Christ has done for us.

This is why community is so important, because sometimes we just can’t bear the burden alone. And we may know with our minds that God is with us but we just don’t feel it.  To bear one another’s burdens goes a step further than saying an encouraging word.  It involves stepping out, recognizing that we can fall just as easily as the next person.  It includes compassion and grace.

One of my favorite illustrations of this is about a little girl who was late getting home from school.  Her mother was starting to worry and had just opened the door to go and look for her, when she saw her daughter coming up the steps.  She asked her child, “Where have you been?!”
“Mommy, Janie dropped her art project and it smashed into pieces.”
“Oh… okay.  That makes sense.  You stopped to help her pick it up?” her mother said.
“No,” said the girl. “I stopped to help her cry.”
 
This little girl inherently knew something that we as adults often forget. Simply being present may help to lighten a burden and help a hurting individual to meet another hour, another day, another season.
May today find us opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit in order to help meet others in their need and in doing so, share the love of Christ for the glory of God.  Amen.

​Pastor Susan Nyquist

In the lesson from the Gospel of Luke, from Chapter 14:23, we read these words at the beginning: “Now great crowds accompanied him.” It is a small indicator that folks were taking a strong liking to Jesus. He was popular. Life was good.

But then there is a noticeable shift in tone in the next verse when Jesus says, “Now, if you don’t hate your father and your mother, your wife and your children, your sisters and your brothers, indeed, your life itself, you cannot be my disciple…if you don’t sell all your possessions, you cannot be my disciple.”

Where did that come from? That is about as hard a “saying” as it gets! Is Jesus saying this sarcastically? Did he fail his class on church growth?

Thank goodness, we can temper it a bit. That is, we can place these teachings in a larger context and see what Jesus is doing. For example, we can see that the word “hate” here is a loaded word, an unfortunate word, but it is a word that we might call hyperbole, or exaggeration. To hate something in Jesus’ day meant to love something less than what you currently do.

Therefore, what Jesus is doing is making a point to a large crowd by using a Jewish idiom or form of language; after all, he doesn’t have time to conduct a research seminar; he is heading to Jerusalem. What Jesus is saying here as he is walking along is holding up a sign that helps us consider what we are getting into if they follow him.

The reason this is important is because in first century Israel – kinship and family and possessions had the highest loyalty; in many ways family determined a person’s station in life, or what a person would do. Possessions were a sign of status and stability.

What Jesus is teaching upsets all of that; to be his follower means that you will need to let go of certain things of value and join something larger than your family, something more important than mere possessions – indeed, you are becoming part of a much larger community, nothing less than God’s kingdom.

Hence, the word “hate” here is not an emotion. Rather, as suggested, the word means a “ranking of priority.” It is naming of what you are willing to let go of. If you hate your family, you are willing to see that there is something more than family, or something more than possessions in life; that something more, of course, is what we call God’s rule in our lives; there is something much bigger, more encompassing.

Therefore, if we are to come to grips with this passage today, we might ask what do we value the most? What do we see as demanding our ultimate loyalty? Family? Material possessions? Job? Self-importance? What is it that entangles us in our walk with God?

These are questions for self-examination. They help us to understand the kind of life Jesus is calling us to share.

Rev. Andy Kinsey

In her sermon entitled "Stir Into Flame" Carolyn Marshall cites Paul's letter to Timothy on how we need to give thanks for those who have made an impact on our lives and who have joined in the journey of faith. She quotes the opening part where Paul writes: "I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to stir the flame into the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:3-7).
Carolyn's sermon was a thoughtful exposition on how to stir the flame of faith which God has given us, especially with respect to the ways we are to serve and pray together. Indeed, as Carolyn stated, God calls all of us to offer ourselves in mission to those who are struggling, especially in a place like the Lucille Raines Residence. We can make a difference when we allow the Spirit to use us. This is what makes the faith alive and vital.
All the gifts we can share add up in wonderful ways.
How may we in our lives each day join in God's work around us, where we work and live? How can we, as many of our women shared during the services, make a difference by joining in fellowship and service with fellow followers of Jesus? It is an invitation to grow in faith and commitment.
Carolyn Marshall is the Executive Director of the Lucille Raines Residence in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Paul offers us a model of prayer for living into God’s future in Colossians. In this prayer, he writes to a small group of Christians in what is now modern day Turkey; it is a new congregation started a close friend of Paul’s named Epaphras. In fact, Paul has not been to Colossae.

Yet, Paul’s main point in writing this letter is to communicate to this little house church the victory Christ achieved over the powers of darkness (1:13). His opening words focus on being able to give thanks to God for this victory (1:12). Indeed, we can find a wonderful summation of the whole letter with these words a couple chapters later when Paul writes, “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Note that point: whatever you do…give thanks. Whatever mission project you are involved in, whatever small group you are participating in, whatever work you are doing, whatever gift you are going to give, whatever job you are planning to do…give thanks.

Remember that Paul is writing these words as a prisoner, frustrated, I am sure, yet thanking God for who the Colossians are and what they are doing. Indeed, Paul prays that the Colossians will continue to be filled with the “knowledge of God’s will”; and that they will “continue to lead lives worthy of the Lord”; that they will continue to “bear fruit in every good work” (1:9-10). Why? Because it is all about giving thanks.

But let us note how Paul does not long for the “good old days.” He is not fixated on the past. He does not ruminate on what happened last week or last month or last year. Instead, he looks to the future, praying that the Colossians will be equipped to face the challenges that lie ahead.

How may we learn from Paul about praying and giving thanks under difficult circumstances? How might we get to the point of how to thank God in whatever we do, remembering that we are always living into God’s future? 

​Pastor Andy Kinsey

In the Bible, we have different stories about healing. We see people walking miles, carrying their friends or their relatives to Jesus to get them cured. They are concerned about their loved-one’s situation. They want their friends to recover. They want them to be good. In the Bible, the healthy people try to help the unhealthy people, the vulnerable, to get well.
In the Bible, we read stories about people who saw how bad their conditions were and how others were excluded from the community. They were very troubled, and many broke the laws of the community. They broke the laws for the sake of their body, so that they would be made well.
I recently read a story about Philadelphe Delord’s experience as a missionary in Oceania. It is a story about what he saw in the leprosarium of Valbonne in France. One day, while passing through the village, the missionary saw a little hut away from the town center. Out of curiosity, he went to look in the hut. When he approached, he discovered a young girl who was about fifteen years old whose hands and feet were terribly deformed by the disease called leprosy; even her face was already affected, and she was horrible to see. The missionary asked a simple question to the young girl: “But who takes care of you?” The young girl answered, “No One. I have nobody.”
In Jesus’ day, there was a man who needed help to go into the Pool of Siloam, but no one was there to help him, until Jesus came and asked him if he needed someone to aid him. Indeed, Jesus asked, if he wanted to be made well, not wanting to assume he did.
It is a difficult question to answer: do we want to be made well? Do we want to receive health from the One who can heal us? Often it means responding by picking up our own mat and listening to what Jesus has to say. But more to the point: it means realizing that we all stand in the need of someone who can help us and to listen to what he has to say.

Joseph Mulongo

In the parable of the weeds among the wheat, Jesus speaks on multiple levels to a series of issues: e.g., to the issue of good and evil, to the virtues of patience and humility, to the matter of the final judgement and redemption.

Jesus tells this parable right after he tells the parable of the Sower, which means there is a definite agricultural bent to it. However, if you read the parable of the Sower about how the Sower scatters seed in a free and haphazard way on the ground, and if you then read this parable about not pulling the weeds out of the wheat, you might get the impression that Jesus knows very little to nothing about farming! Yet, when we read this parable, we must understand that the weeds or tares Jesus is talking about are what agricultural historians call “darnel,” which looks just like wheat, especially in its early growth; the problem is that the darnel kills the wheat.

That is important to keep in mind: It is important because, as Jesus shares, when we go to tear out the weeds or tares, we are also capable of tearing out the wheat. It, therefore, present us with a problem, if not two fundamental questions – one is theological, the other ethical.

The theological question is, where did evil come from? Here, we learn from Jesus that “An enemy did this,” that is, an enemy sowed weeds among the wheat; the evil in this world does not come from God and Jesus wants to be clear about that. In fact, the Bible in general is not much interested in the origins of evil. Rather, it is concerned with the redemption of evil. That’s the first question.

The second question, or ethical question, is more developed: the ethical question is, should we pull out the weeds? As we just shared, this is where it gets tricky, and where we might wander about Jesus’ gardening knowledge when he says, “No, don’t pull them out.” Jesus makes this comment for two reasons: 1) there is no way to pull out the weeds without pulling out the wheat too; and 2), there is going to be a harvest, and when the harvest comes, God will sort it all out, the wheat from the weeds, the good from the bad.

Therefore, in this parable, Jesus counsels his disciples to let the wheat and the weeds grow together on the one hand and to wait for God to judge at the harvest on the other. In other words, have patience with the weeds and leave the judgement to God.

How may we confront the weeds in our lives and still allow God to judge and work out God’s ways among us and at the end of the age? How may we love God and our neighbor, even though we consider the neighbor as part of God’s weed patch? 

​Pastor Andy Kinsey