​I don’t know if you have a Jethro in your life, but I hope you do! Jethro is one of the unsung heroes of the scriptures, and he shares advice with Moses that is life-giving.
          In chapter 18 of Exodus, Moses is on the verge of burnout if he is not there already. He is a one-man show amidst a people who are seeking the promised land.  
          At this point in the story, though, the promised land is but a vague notion, lying somewhere out there in the future, hoped for but not yet arrived. It is very much in front of the people of Israel. In the review mirror is bondage in Egypt, the plagues, the fights with Pharoah, the Passover, the deliverance through the sea, the exodus. Now, in the wilderness, the people wander here and there, with Moses reaching his limits in terms of what he can do.
          Our passage is about how the people look to and come to Moses for advice, to judge disputes and conflict, to settle matters between families, to decide who does what and what they should do. And it is wearing Moses down.
His father-in-law Jethro sees what is happening. Hence the key verse where Jethro says to Moses: “This thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and the people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do this alone” (Exodus 18:18). Note the key word: alone! Moses needs help.
Again, let me ask you: Do you have a Jethro in your life? After all, all of us have limitations. We can’t do it all. Yet, I know we often try! Often alone!
Jethro is a person who reminds us that God may have other ways of doing things and that God provides people who might be able to help us. Jethro knows that working together as a team can accomplish more than going alone. This is what Jethro wants Moses to understand. It is also what we will want to understand as well.   

​Pastor Andy Kinsey

Grandma was Methodist.  Mom was Nazarene.  I don’t remember ever having conversations about their faith journey or the defining moments that shaped their faith in God or their relationship to Jesus.  I don’t know what Grandma believed about certain issues or significant events in her lifetime.  I don’t know who or what brought my mom to believe in Jesus.  

I know only what I saw them live out; the choices they made, the few prayers I heard, the interactions I witnessed, the stories told when I was much older, and the response of others toward each of them.  Although I did not open my heart fully to Jesus until late in highschool, I know now the faith of these two women, my unsung heroes, deeply impacted the faith in me and continues to do so even today.  

Who are the unsung heroes of your faith?  Who are those people who without much recognition, if any, shaped your understanding of God, influenced your relationship with Jesus, or made a spiritual impression on your journey?

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, we come across a small, unassuming  verse that speaks volumes to the importance of having and being spiritual mothers and fathers (biological or not).  Paul is writing from his second missionary journey to Timothy, a young pastor who Paul took under his wing and mentored him in the faith and in his pastoral calling.  Timothy’s mother was Jewish and his father was Greek which tells us he came from a divided household and was of mixed race.  It is believed his mother and grandmother converted to following Jesus during Paul’s first visit to their area and met young Timothy then.  It was his mother and maternal grandmother who laid the foundation of his faith. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul is speaking of when they will see each other again. 

Timothy went on to have a ministry, traveling with Paul, but also being left by Paul, to grow a church.  Timothy touched the lives of people in places like Berea, Athens, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Macedonia. He was an influential teacher and preacher, who understood both the Jewish and the Greek culture, who knew the scripture, and who had a gift for ministry.  

I can’t help but wonder if any of that would have happened or to what degree it would have happened without the influence of Lois and Eunice. The time they spent teaching Timothy, praying over him, showing him the ways of God and sharing the expectations of following God. The number of conversations about their own conversion experience and how their lives were transformed.  The stories they told to lay the foundation of his faith.  Even if they didn’t speak their faith to Timothy, they lived it out in front of him. 

We can learn a great deal from these unsung heroes.  We learn the value of spiritual investments - the importance of pouring into our children and young people the love of Jesus, the wisdom of scripture, the experience of compassion, the value of asking questions, and the responsibility and gift of service. 

We learn that spiritual work is often a thankless job and yet it has lasting impact.  The truth is that God is working in the most mundane of places to fulfill a greater plan.  We are to be a part of God’s plan however, whenever, and wherever we can. Thank you note or not. 

We learn that it is in everyday life that Jesus uses, lifts up, or calls out people in seemingly simple situations that make a difference for God. It is who we are and what we do in everyday life; day in and day out, that will either extinguish or ignite the flame of faith in someone else.  

What about you?  What about us?  How will we invest in the faith and spiritual growth of others?  What will your faith legacy be? What will Grace Church pass on to future generations? How will we be or not be the unsung heroes of someone’s faith story?  

What are you doing to actively share your faith with a child?  How are you connecting with the young people of our church or community?  Do they see and hear the love, patience, and compassion of Christ when they look at you?  When they look at our church?  

I recently watched a movie trailer for the upcoming release of Jesus Revolution, and I was struck by the following quote: If you look with love, you will see an entire generation seeking all the right things just in all the wrong places. 

We cannot give up on our younger generations because we don’t agree with them or because we think they are uninterested, self centered, or ambiguous about life.  They are seeking the right things - they are seeking peace, truth, and purpose.  We cannot ignore or dismiss them because we interpret their attitude and actions to be ungrateful, apathetic, and unmotivated.  They are seeking the right things - things like meaningful connection, love, and justice.  

And it's not just our young people, it's many people in our world today. It’s your neighbor and friends.  It's the clerk at Kroger, Target, or Meier.  It’s the Amazon, Fedex, and UPS driver.  It’s the server at Applebees, Bob Evans, and Culvers.  It’s your kid’s teacher, band director, or coach.  

We need to be a people and a place of HOPE in a world and to a people that often feel hopeless! 

Let us not underestimate the impact of a Lois and Eunice in our lives or in the life of the church and community.  Let us be intentional in building faith foundations now and leaving a legacy that makes a positive difference in the lives of those around us and in the lives of those to come. 

Amen.

​Pastor Jenothy Irvine

The prophet Zechariah reminds the Jewish people that someone must rebuild the Temple when they return from exile.
The man responsible for this task, as Zechariah says, is a man by the name of Zerub-babel; he acted like a governor or mayor. He was the one to go to the former site of the Temple, and take what was left, and rebuild it. Not an easy task; indeed, it was a dangerous task.
Remember, too, that the site upon which the Temple had stood for centuries had remained abandoned. It was a mountain of rubble. Nobody had been working on it. Many folks saw this “pile of stones” as insignificant, or as a thing of the past, something not concerning the future; and they despised any attempt to rebuild it; it was a waste of time in their eyes. 
Hence, the key verse: many people “despised the day of small things” (4:10); that is, they saw the whole project of rebuilding the Temple as worthless, as a “small thing.”
The prophet Zechariah thinks otherwise. Indeed, Zechariah reminds the people of the consequences of forgetting the work before them; that it was God’s work, and that it would take place “not by power or might, but by God’s Spirit.” That is another way of saying that “Yes, this work might appear little in your eyes, but in God’s eyes it is important.” Big armies are not the point; large plans are not the point. Instead, an openness to what God’s Spirit is doing is the point.
It reminds us a little of what the apostle Paul says to the Philippians: “The work that God began in you, God will bring to completion” (4:9). What God starts, regardless of how insignificant it might appear, God will seek to bring it to completion, for no small thing, or person, is unimportant.
For Zechariah, God has started a great work in Zareb-babel to rebuild the Temple, and God will get it done, even amidst those who scoff at it and who see no need for it.
Therefore, let us ask ourselves, what is God seeking to bring to completion in you? Where do you need to trust God to lead you? What small things do you need to do for Christ? 

​Pastor Andy Kinsey

The conclusion of Matthew is packed with practical directions, theological implications, and both a personal and communal charge to carry out the work of Jesus.  This section of scripture has been compared to the great musical compositions of composers like Beethoven in that just when you think the final chord is played, another one, a greater / grander chord is played - and then another and another until at last, we reach the emotional and mental climax and our connection, inspiration, and desire to be all that we are called to be is off the charts.  
Much like the words of John 3:16 being called “the gospel in one verse,” these words have become known as The Great Commission.  Jesus lays out precisely what we are to do,  how we are to do it, and ALL with the assurance and promise that the Spirit of God remains with us. 
Remember, this took place within days of the resurrection - Jesus had defeated death and so when we read the words, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me!” We need to understand that the price was paid in full. Jesus’ authority as the risen one, is the authority of thee ONE who has defeated tyranny itself, the ultimate tyranny; HIS is the authority under which life, God’s new life, can begin to flourish. (NT Wright 206)  
This is basic to our faith in Jesus - the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the crux of what Paul stood on and proclaimed in Romans 8, when he said, “who can separate you from the love of Christ? Is anyone going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us?  No way.  Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not retirement announcements, politics, party line agendas, not denominational challenges, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in scripture - I am absolutely convinced that nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable; absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus, our Master embraced us.” 
That does not mean however,  that our world is already what it should be or already complete as Jesus intended.  It means that Jesus is at work to take our world then and now; from where it was, under the rule of death, corruption, greed, shame, and every kind of perversion, and ungodliness, and bring it into completion.  How is Jesus doing this?  Through us.  We stand on the mountain with those first followers and receive the commission just as they did. It is our commission just as much as it was theirs. 
We are commissioned to:   
ONE: We are to make disciples - Just as Jesus came alongside those he first called and then spent three years with them training them to carry on his ways, we too are to come alongside all people of every age, every stage, wherever they might be and whoever they might be.  We are to be about teaching, listening, equipping, empowering, and affirming them in the teachings of Jesus and what it means to live them out in their daily lives.   
TWO: We are to baptize those who choose to follow - baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace; this is the way in which those who follow Jesus, symbolically and publicly proclaim their new life in Christ.  We step into the water with Jesus, we lay down our old ways and lives beneath the surface of forgiveness and grace, and we rise again in new life.  That is why we remember our baptism every January.  To remind ourselves that we are a new creation; we are washed clean of who and what we once were before we said yes to Jesus; we are then ready to carry out the “good news” of Jesus to others.   
THREE: We are to teach them to observe all that Jesus taught - to be a community dedicated to living out the faith in ways that make a reality, “on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are to be God’s kingdom where we are, with who we are, and as we go about this life on earth.  
Make disciples.  Baptize, Teach.  If followers of Jesus and churches across our country could get those three things right, what a difference it would make. 
The best part of it all?  The most beautiful part?  These directions are held in place by the promise that Jesus is with us always and forever.  It is with Jesus, by the Holy Spirit,  that we live out his commission.   
Here on the summit between 2022 and 2023 we would do well to see ourselves like those early followers receiving the charge AND the promise. What do we do with it?   How do we live out the great commission?  What does it look like here at Grace Church?  What does it look like in your life?  Where do you see the Kingdom of God among us?  How do you engage in the great commission, living out your baptism in Christ?  
It looks and sounds like:  Finding ways to get involved.  Asking questions about classes, projects, and events hosted or sponsored here at church.  Encouraging others to check out what’s happening with Grace.  Participating in new classes, spiritual practices, supporting projects, and pursuing things that help you grow in your relationship with God.   It means making the doors of our church open both ways - for all to come in and for all to go out in service to alll.  It means talking, listening, praying. 
Whatever it looks like.  However it takes shape.  One thing remains and I ask you, people of God, to hear it now:  
New Year - new beginnings - same God.  
New adventure - new challenges - same God.  
New ideas - new ways - same God.
New opportunities - new experiences - same God.  
New Year - Same God - same great church called to keep on keeping on.  

May we trust God, trust one another, and trust the journey ahead. 
Amen
Rev. Dr. Jenothy Irvine

There is a whole list of these truisms in the Letter of James, which everybody seemingly knows. For example, “Every good gift comes from heaven” (v.17). “Be swift to listen and slow to speak” (v. 19). “Lay aside filthiness and wickedness” (v. 21). Sounds like our parents, doesn’t it? Pick up your socks…clean behind your ears…come home on time.

James is a good book in the Bible, but it comes with a great deal we already seemingly know.

As I mentioned, this presents us with a challenge. I mean, give us those passages that are often obscure and let us show you how much we know, right? We can show off our knowledge. With the Letter of James, however, we wouldn’t need
preachers because we already know it!

But in James “knowing” is not the problem. The problem James is addressing has to do with “doing.” Hence, the famous passage – Be doers of the word and not hearers who deceive themselves (v. 22). 

Apparently, James has folks who are good at knowing, but not so “good” at doing. There is a disconnection.

I can remember one of my mentors always saying to me, “Well, that sounds fine, but what are you going to do about it”? It is kind of like a player who has great practice skills but can’t translate the skills of practice in the game. Or an actor in front of the camera: when the director says “action,” the performer needs to act. The performer might know all the lines, but the moment the scene begins, the action starts!

So, in James: knowing what to do is not as important as doing what you
know you need to do.

Questions: what do you need to do to carry out the faith this week? What is the Spirit challenging you to perform? What is Jesus wanting you to do?

​Rev. Dr. Andy Kinsey