Make Waves - Reborn Through the Water

 

The summer I worked in Yellowstone NP, we would ask people during worship what state they were from.  It was always fun to see how many states and even countries were represented.  Every few weeks there would be people not only from the same state but from the same town.  A few times people even knew each other but hadn’t seen each other in the campground or hotel.  We were all amazed at what a small world it was. Have you had one of those moments?  

I remember standing in the Lamb’s Way bookstore in Altoona and I was waiting behind a woman who was checking out.  She said she was ordering things for her sister and wanted them shipped to a church in Niantic, CT.  I was stunned because that’s my hometown.  I asked her if she was from Niantic.  She said no, but her sister played piano at Niantic Baptist Church. I asked her what her sister's name was and she said, Judy Mack.  I lost it.  Judy Mack was my youth choir director, she was my first piano teacher, and as a leader and friend, she is one of the reasons I am here today.  In fact, as a kid I loved her so much that I named my first dog, Mack, because Judy and her husband had just adopted a boy.  I know you may not think that shows great love and respect, but it was my first dog!

The entire store stood speechless as we laughed and hugged and talked.  We all agreed that this was NOT a coincidence or an “Oh what a small world” moment.  This was truly one of those God ordained moments.  God placed us together at the exact moment to celebrate faith and family and church.  There is no other way to describe those moments - God makes them happen. 

Another one of those moments was when I was at MSU and went on a retreat with IV groups from other MI colleges.  In the large group gathering there was a woman named Leigh who had muscular dystrophy and was in a wheelchair.  During the first break I went and asked if she was Leigh Campbell and if she ever lived in Niantic, CT.  She nodded yes and I said, I’m Andy Morgan.   Leigh went crazy.  Her entire body began to shake and she smiled but struggled to communicate.  Her aide said, she obviously knows you.  I explained that Leigh was one of my friends when I was in elementary school.  My mom had been her aide and Leigh came to my first grade birthday party.  Again, that was NOT an “it’s a small world” moment - it was a God moment that lifted both Leigh and me and our mothers who had lost touch through the years.  

One more moment:  I was preaching in Lewisburg and told a story about my friend Cindy who wrote me a letter when I was a freshman in college and encouraged me to check out IV.  I was struggling to fit in and she said that her sister had loved IV when she attended MSU years earlier.  After worship, a woman who had just moved to Lewisburg and was visiting our church for the first time waited in line to greet me and said, “the Cindy you mentioned in your story was Cindy Ball, wasn’t it?”  I was stunned because it was. She then said, I did all the decorations at Cindy’s wedding. She had been a family friend for years and had just moved to Lewisburg.  How does this happen?  I tell the story of Cindy the same day she visits for the first time. This is not a coincidence. This is the movement of God!

These moments are special for a lot of reasons.  First, they tell us that God is able to place us exactly where He wants us so that we can be blessed. God is that powerful. God might place us somewhere for a moment, or for a season, but God is at work.  God is powerful enough to make sure we are right where He wants us.  The second reason these moments are so special is because they show us just how much God loves us.  God loves us enough to move us and others into places where we can be surprised and blessed.  God loves us enough to show us that He will move heaven and earth to bless us, to help us, and even to save us.  

God has been doing this for a long time.  In Acts 8 there is one of these truly special God moments in the life of an Ethiopian eunuch.  

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 

So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.  Acts 8:26-39

It’s important to understand that this Ethiopian eunuch is very much an outsider among God’s people.  While he was a believer in the God of Israel, because he was a foreigner, he would also have been considered an outsider.  You can worship God but you can never really be a child of God.  And because he was a eunuch, he would never be allowed to worship in the main part of the Temple.  The law forbade eunuchs entrance into the Temp so he would always have to worship and remain in one of the outer courtyards.  

He would always be seen as an outsider, and yet he loved God.  While in Jerusalem he went to the Temple to honor God and on his way home he was reading from the prophet Isaiah.  He loved God and he wanted to love God more.  He longed for God and wanted to know more about God and experience more of God’s power and grace and love.  He truly hungers and thirst for God.  

Seeing his love and desire for more, God sends Philip to go and meet him.  Now think about it, God could have sent someone to the Ethiopian eunuch while he was still in Jerusalem.  It would have been so much easier for God to move someone down the sidewalk and talk to him in Jerusalem, but God doesn’t do that.  God sent an angel to tell Philip to go out along the road to Gaza, a road that stretched out through the wilderness.  Then the Holy Spirit told Philip to draw near to a certain chariot and listen.  Philip did this and heard the man reading from Isaiah.  God loved this man so much that He sent Philip far out of his way to teach him about salvation through Jesus.  

God is still powerful enough to do this in our lives and God loves us enough to do this.  God sees us in our dry places and when we feel like we are alone on a long and weary road, and God sends people our way.  God sees us when we are hungering and thirsting for more of Him and He moves to fill us up.  If nothing else, this story tells us that God loves us and sees us in every situation and that God is powerful enough to help us and bless us.  We are not alone.  We are not forsaken. God is already at work to bless you and help you and save you.  

Philip comes alongside the Ethiopian eunuch and explains to him that the lamb that was led to the slaughter was Jesus.  Going back to Isaiah 53, Philip teaches the man that our sin and the punishment of our sin was placed on Jesus, and that when he died on the cross, our sin had been paid for.  He then told him that when Jesus rose from the grave it was to give him the gift of eternal life and that anyone who believes in Jesus and trusts in Him can be a full child of God. 

Without waiting for more, the man wants to be saved, and so maybe he asked Philip, what do I have to do to be saved?  And maybe Philip told him what he heard from Peter: Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.  Acts 2:38-39

And so, without delay, the man is baptized.  Without being told what he had to do, how he had to change, or what he had to memorize or learn from scripture, he was baptized.  He was made part of the family.  In that moment the man celebrated that once he was lost but now, he was found.  Once he was blind but now, he sees.  Once he was a foreigner but now, he is a child of God.  In that baptism he gave thanks for how God had been working in him, how God met his needs in that moment by sending Philip to explain the scriptures and introduce him to Jesus, and how the Holy Spirit would fill him with power in all the days to come.   

And that is what we celebrate today.  We celebrate that God has moved in our lives in a variety of ways to bring us to this place on this day.  It is not an accident you are here.  Maybe you needed to hear and see people give themselves to Jesus.  Maybe you needed to hear that just like the Ethiopian, you are loved by God and that God is working in your life.  Maybe you needed to hear, or hear again, that Jesus took your sin to the cross and paid the price so that you can be forgiven.  Maybe you needed to hear that you have been set free from sin and that you can experience the power and the joy that comes with new and eternal life.  

I love the last few verses of the Ethiopian’s story.  It says he went on his way rejoicing.  He is celebrating how God’s love, power and grace had been part of his life.  He is celebrating that he has been made new in Jesus.  He is celebrating because the power of God was still working in him.  We can celebrate all those same things because it is true for all of us. 

God is with you today.  Whether you hunger and thirst for more of God or feel like you are trudging along a dry and dusty road, God is with you.  If you have given yourself to God and are celebrating the gift of forgiveness and new life, God is celebrating with you.  If you want God to bless you and use you as He did Philip, then get ready because God is going to use you to serve Him in some new way.  

This story is what is taking place right here today.  We are celebrating God’s power and love in this moment as people once again commit to walking with Jesus.  We are celebrating that in Jesus we are made new and that through Jesus we can be accepted as a child of God.  We are celebrating that God is at work in all of us and that whether we come forward or stay in our seats God is here to fill us up if we will simply ask Him to.  This story is coming to life today - right here and right now.  

In the moment, the Ethiopian asked to be baptized and, in this moment, if you want to be baptized, or if you want to celebrate your commitment to follow Jesus - you can do it.  If you want to surrender again to God’s will and ask God to use you and bless you today and in all the days to come, then we want to invite you to come forward during our closing hymn.  

And like the Ethiopian, you can come just as you are.  You can come with doubts and fears and a troubled heart.  You can come with joy and peace and a strong sense of God’s leading.  You can come because you hunger and thirst for more of God and you can come because you are celebrating that you already feel full of God’s Holy Spirit.  

As you come forward, we will use the water of baptism to bless you.  With simple words like, “remember your baptism and rejoice” we will be asking God to bless you.  You can remain at the prayer rail if you want and then return to your seats by the side aisles, but we invite you to come.  This is an invitation for all of us to celebrate the love of God and to ask God to fill us once again with everything that we need.  

 Next Steps

Make Waves - Reborn Through The Water

What “God moments” have you had recently?  

When has something happened to you that can only be explained by the power of God?

Read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian:  Acts 8:26-39

● When have you felt like an outsider among God’s people?

The road to Gaza was a dry and deserted road.  

● In what ways are you feeling spiritually dry and isolated?  How does this story bring you hope?

Following God’s direction, Philip drew near to the Ethiopian and then reached out to teach and encourage him.  

● Who might be the “Philip” in your life today?

● How can you be the “Philip” in someone else's life?

The Ethiopian immediately asked to be baptized.  

● What are the things that hold you back from committing yourself fully to God?

For further reflection:

Read Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

Identify all the ways this passage was fulfilled in Jesus?

(This is the first time that the early church saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the suffering servant in Isaiah.)

How does this story fulfill part of the promise Jesus made before He ascended into heaven?  Read Acts 1:6-11

How does this story parallel the resurrection story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus?  Read Luke 24:13-35

Why might this be significant for us today?  

Make Waves - Renewed In The Water

 Last month we looked at the ridiculous faith and amazing miracles of the prophet Elisha.  If you weren’t with us, Elisha was one of the most powerful prophets in ancient Israel.  While we often hear more about the prophet Elijah, who was Elisha’s mentor, it was Elisha who did more miracles.  We looked at several of those miracles but there are more recorded and today we are going to look at one of those miracles that literally involves making waves.  

One of the most amazing things about this miracle is that it didn’t take place in the life of a faithful man or woman in Israel. This miracle of healing took place in one of the leaders of Aram, Israel’s enemy.  Aram is an area today known as Syria and they were never part of the Promised Land.  During the time of Elisha, the Israelites had been defeated by the Aram army several times, and one of the military leaders who led those charges was Naaman.  

So the miracle God does is in a foreigner, a man who was a military leader in the enemy’s army, and someone who took some of the Israelites as slaves and had them serving in his home.  This is not the kind of person you think God would heal with a miracle, but God does.  

God does a miracle in Naaman’s life, and his story reminds us that none of us are beyond the reach of God’s love and power.  God is willing to touch and restore everyone.  If you think God doesn’t care about you, or that God doesn’t want to heal you, or save you, or forgive you, or offer you hope and a future today, you are wrong.  God does care about you and God cares for you.  The Bible says that God so loved THE WORLD that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to forgive us and save us. None of us are beyond the reach of God’s heart.  None of us are beyond God’s grace and power.   

While Naaman looked like an unlikely candidate for a miracle, and from the outside looked like he had it all as a wealthy leader among his people, Naaman also had leprosy.  Leprosy is a term used for all kinds of skin diseases and many people with leprosy were forced to live with other lepers so that the disease would not spread.  

But because Naaman was still living with his family and serving in the army, his leprosy must not have been that bad.  But anyone with leprosy was also living with the fear that at any moment things could change.  At any moment Naaman could go from being on the top of the world to being on the bottom and watching his flesh be eaten away.  Leprosy was a constant reminder to Naaman that everything was not alright.  It was a reminder that he was weak and needed help.  

In many ways, Naaman is just like us.  All of us have areas of weaknesses and need help.  It may not be a skin disease or any physical sickness, but we are all broken and carry around with us hurt or shame or regrets for how we have lived in the past or for how we are living today.  We have all made choices that we wish we could unmake - but can’t.  We all have areas of weakness and once again this story shows us that God sees our weakness and is willing to be our strength.  God sees our brokenness and is willing to renew us and restore us.  God sees our sin and guilt and shame and is willing to forgive us.  God is willing to give us all the gift of new life and we learn from Naaman how to find that life.

So let’s look at his story.  Naaman was a leader in the enemy army and as part of the spoils of war he took a young girl from Israel to work as a slave.  She served Naaman’s wife and when she learned that Naaman had leprosy, she told them that there was a prophet in Israel who was powerful enough to heal him.   2 Kings 5:3-6

She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” 

So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.  The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

In time, the king of Israel sent Naaman to Elisha.  Elisha didn’t personally go out to meet with Naaman but sent him these instructions.  “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.”  2 Kings 5:10

You would think Naaman would have quickly done this to be healed, but he didn’t.  Naaman was a proud man.  He was wealthy and had brought a lot of riches to impress the prophet and buy his healing.  When Elisha doesn’t even bother to come out and meet him, he is offended.  2 Kings 5:11-12

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman is turning away from the blessing God has for him because of his pride.  He thought that Elisha should have come out to him personally and made a big show of healing him.  Naaman wanted things done his way.  He was willing to be blessed by God but only if God did things his way.  

How many times have we turned away from God’s blessing because we wanted things done our way?  We let go of the blessing found among God’s people because we were hurt that things didn't go our way at church or in our small group so we just stopped going.  We didn’t take God’s path for us because we were too focused on the path we thought was best.  How much time have we lost walking with Jesus and finding meaning and purpose in life because we were too busy chasing after our goals and dreams and not God’s.  

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride and selfishness lead to failure and destruction, they lead us away from the blessing God has for us. God isn’t always going to work our way or follow our plans and if we insist on things being done our way, we may miss out on the healing, the hope, and the life God has for us. There is only one way to experience the full blessing of God and that is to surrender to God and that is what Naaman finally does.  2 Kings 5:13-16

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

Once Naaman surrendered himself to God, he was healed.  Once he dipped himself in the waters of the Jordan River seven times, his skin wasn’t just healed, it was restored, it was made new.  Don’t miss this… going into the water made Naaman a new man.  It brought him a new life. But it wasn’t the water of the Jordan River that gave him life, it was the power and mercy and love of God.  Once Naaman surrendered himself fully to God, he was healed and restored.  

And once we surrender ourselves fully to God, we are healed and restored.  Not necessarily physically healed and restored like Naaman, but spiritually we are made new.  

When we surrender to God and allow God to have his way in our lives, we are set right with God and begin to experience the blessing and power of new life.  When we stop trying to figure out life all by ourselves and stop thinking that power, position, and money are the answer to everything, and when we turn to God for help, we find God is right there to help us.  

This is really what it means for us to follow Jesus.  It means we stop trusting in ourselves.  We stop trusting in our own wisdom and power and start trusting in God.  When we let go of our pride and surrender to God all that we have and all that we are, God can fill us with more than we ever thought possible.  Following Jesus doesn’t just mean we are forgiven, it doesn’t just mean we have the assurance of salvation and eternal life, it means that right here and right now we can experience more power, more peace, more assurance, more adventure, more meaning and purpose.  More life.  

This is the surrender that takes place when we commit ourselves, or recommit ourselves, to following Jesus.  When we come to the altar to pray, or come to the water to be baptized or reaffirm our baptism, we are surrendering ourselves to God and giving God the ability to cleanse us and make us new.  Just like Naaman, the old is washed away and when we come up from the water, God makes all things new.  God restores us into a loving relationship with Him, and then God gives us the power to love others in the church and to all those in the world.  

And when we fully surrender to God - we make waves.  Not only waves that ripple across the water used for baptism and renewal, but waves in the world; waves that point people to God and waves that can move people closer to the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  When Naaman came up out of the water he was a changed man and he immediately began to make waves.  

After his renewal, Naaman testified in front of all his servants that there was only one God and that it was the God of Israel.  He then asked for soil to take home so he could worship God in Aram but on holy ground.  Naaman was a new man and he went home and shared God’s love and power with anyone and everyone who would listen.  Naaman went home and made some waves.  

We not only experience new life when we surrender to God and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but we also begin to make waves in this world that reveal God’s love and grace and power to others.  In fact, the only way for us to make waves that will transform our lives and the lives of others is when we come up out of the water.  We can only experience new life and offer new life to others after we have fully surrendered ourselves to Jesus.

That’s what next Sunday is all about.  We want to invite you to experience the miracle of God’s love and power by surrendering to Jesus and asking God to fill you with His Holy Spirit that will make you new.  If you are feeling called to the waters of baptism for the first time, or want to experience them again, we encourage you to come to the water.  It may seem strange or awkward, but maybe it will be the moment you need to experience healing and hope.  Like Naaman, you may wonder why you need to stand up and publicly profess your faith again or show the world that you have surrendered fully to God, but maybe that is exactly what you need to do in order to experience the power of our faith and make waves that will bring life to others.    

Next Sunday isn’t just for people who have turned away from God and want to come back.  It’s not just for people like Naaman who might be filled with pride and need to surrender to God.  It’s for all of us who are weak. It’s for all of us who feel vulnerable and need to feel the power of God’s grace in our lives.  It’s also for all of us who feel blessed and want to thank God for His presence and power at work in our lives.  It’s for all of us.  Naaman’s healing shows us we all need God and that God is there for all of us.  God is here for you today, and tomorrow, and forever.  

If you are hearing God calling you to surrender to Him or if you want to acknowledge the power of God’s love working in your life, or if you want to feel the wave of God’s love move in your life, we invite you to reach out to one of the pastors or sign up to be part of a recommitment and renewal of our baptisms next Sunday.  

When we make waves in this water and surrender, our lives are changed forever.  When we make waves in this water, our faith and love and witness will slowly make waves in our world.  So come to the water and be renewed.  Come to the water and make some waves.  

 

Next Steps

Make Waves - Renewed in the Water

Read the full story of Naaman’s healing: 2 Kings 5:1-27

God’s love and grace is for everyone.

● Why is it surprising that God healed Naaman?

○ At the beginning of the story, how does Naaman show his lack of understanding of God and what it means to have faith in God?  

○ How do we see him change by the end?

● What groups of people do you think of as being beyond God’s reach?  

○ Ask God to change your vision and heart.

God’s ways are not our ways.

● How did pride almost keep Naaman from being healed?  

● How can our own pride keep us from God’s blessing?

● When have you struggled to do things God’s way?

● Read Proverbs 16:18. Ask God to humble your heart.

Surrendering to God brings new life.

● How did surrendering to God’s will bring new life to Naaman?

● How do we know the transformation in Naaman wasn’t just physical but spiritual as well?

● Where is God asking you to surrender?  

● How can your surrender in this area bring new life?  

_______________________________________________

The waters of the Jordan River not only healed Naaman physically but made him a new man spiritually.  The waters of baptism make us new.  If you would like to be baptized, or if you would like to reaffirm your faith in the waters of baptism once again, sign up in the lobby or online, or speak to one of the pastors.  All are invited to come to the water!  

 

As I thought about standing here on the Faith Church beach this morning, I thought about all the beaches I have stood on and all the waters I have been blessed to see.  I’ll be honest, I love the water.  I grew up on Long Island Sound in CT where my grandmother had a house and I tried to spend as much time there as I could.  I loved to swim and walk the beach and look out to the horizon.  I loved to see the crashing waves of a storm and I loved to leave my window open at night and listen to the waves lap along the shore.  

I’ve been able to stand along coastlines in almost all the states from Maine to Florida. I’ve been able to look out over the Atlantic, camp along the Pacific, and get one of the worst sunburns of my life walking along the Gulf of Mexico.  I’ve taken a ferry across the English Channel and a boat trip on the Rhine River in Germany.  I was very excited to stick my feet in the Jordan River, walk along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and float in the Dead Sea.  I also got to spend a summer working on the shores of the largest high elevation lake in North America, Lake Yellowstone.  

I love the water and every time I am near it I stand in awe of creation and in humble gratitude for our Creator, but it wasn’t until I was thinking about water and creation this week that I saw something I had never noticed before.  While I know God created all things and the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth, water has always just been there.  Look at Genesis 1:1-2.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The water was just there.  Before the days of creation began, there was water.  On day two of creation, God separated the water above and the water below, but the water was already there. Genesis 1:6-8  And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

I never noticed in the creation story that water was just always there.  I believe God created it, but unlike the sun, moon, and stars, the dry ground and all vegetation, and unlike all the animals of the sea and land, there wasn’t a separate day when God created water.  The water was just there.  God hovered over the chaotic waters, and separated the waters to form the sky, and God drew the water together on earth to form dry ground, but the water was always there.  Honestly, it’s just an interesting fact I never noticed in all my readings of the creation story.  I love how God’s word can still surprise me and speak about the mystery of God.  I hope you enjoy reading God’s word and if you want direction on reading it and applying it to your life, sign up for the dwell workshop.  

One of the things I have always loved about the creation story is that there is a very clear order in how God creates.  First there is water, which is a building block of life.  If there is no water, there is no life.  Then God creates light, another building block.  If there is no light, there is no life.  Then God forms the land which is obviously needed to produce the plants.  There is an order and purpose to all that God does in creation.    

Once the water, light, land, and vegetation are in place, God brings forth living creatures.  The animals can’t come before the plants because the purpose of the plants is to feed the animals.  So God creates the sea creatures and then the land animals.  God saves the best for last when He creates men and women in His image.  There is an order to creation and each part of creation has a purpose.  Water is needed for life.  The dry ground is needed for plants.  The plants are needed for food.  The purpose of all this is to support the life of living creatures.  God creates everything for a purpose.  

Everything has a purpose, which means that we were also created for a purpose, and we see part of that purpose in Genesis 1:26-28.  

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God created us to rule over the world He had just created.  We were created to manage and care for the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living creatures, and we were to do it with care and faithfulness.  We know God wants us to be good stewards of the world because the first job God gave us was to name the animals.  

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.  Genesis 2:19-20

As children of the Creator, we were invited to work alongside God in the process of creation.  God shared the creative process with us when he asked us to name the animals.  What a gift.  What an honor.  This is an example of how much God loves us.  From the very beginning we see God’s love for us.  We were created in love and part of our purpose as God’s children is to live in that love and share that love with others.  

Like all of creation, we were created for a purpose and the underlying purpose in all our lives is to love God and love others.  The earliest instructions God gave was to love God and love others.  When God came to walk among us in the person of Jesus, He told us to love God and love others.  The fundamental purpose of our lives is to love God and love others.  When we get this right, we start finding peace.  When we focus on this purpose first, the rest of life begins to fall into place.  But when we lose sight of this purpose, life begins to fall apart.  

For several years I had greyhounds.  I love the breed and there is still something that softens in my heart when I see one.  After I got my first greyhound, I wanted to see what dog racing was like, so I went to a dog track that was still operating in CT.  I was amazed at how fast the dogs ran.  My greyhound didn’t run.  She didn’t even like to walk, but those greyhounds were fast.  

I heard a story about a greyhound race where the mechanical rabbit malfunctioned halfway through the race.  It didn’t just stop, it blew up.  As you know, dogs chase the rabbit around the track, but when that rabbit blew to pieces, the dogs didn’t know what to do.  The dogs had been trained to chase the rabbit.  Their purpose was to chase the rabbit.  When the rabbit was gone, the dogs were lost.  

Some dogs walked around and then laid down.  Some dogs went over to the stands and started barking at the crowd, and some dogs ran right into the guard rails.  Without a purpose, some dogs napped, some dogs barked, and some dogs got hurt.  The same is true for us.  Without a purpose we nap, we bark, and we get hurt.  Seriously, without a purpose, we are not at our best.  When we are not living with purpose, we aren’t making a difference and we aren’t making waves.  

To make waves we have to live with purpose and let’s not make it too complicated.  Our purpose has always been to love God and love others.  The Bible calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Loving God needs to be the focus of all we say and do.  Our words and actions all need to reflect God’s love and when they do, we make waves.  

In the creation story, all God does is speak.  God speaks and light pierces the darkness.  God speaks and waters pull back and dry ground to appear.  God speaks and plants and animals are formed.  God speaks and the world comes into being.  God’s small words made waves.  As children created in the image of God, our small words can make waves.  Our words can make waves that bring life, or our words can be like tsunami waves that bring destruction.  

Proverbs 18:21, The tongue has the power of life and death.  

When we pray for others, when our words encourage people, honor them, and lift them up, our words bring life. Our words can bring life, but our words can also destroy.  Our words can cause wounds that can last a lifetime.  James 3:5. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

One small and hurtful word can destroy someone’s life.  Most of us can probably remember that one hurtful word said by someone in school, or the discouraging word spoken by a teacher.  Those words stick with us long after all the life-giving words are forgotten.  Our purpose is not to destroy and tear down but to bring life.  As children of God, our purpose is love in ways that bring life, so let’s make sure all our words bring life.  Let’s use our words to make a positive difference and fill the world with the waves of God’s love and grace.

Small words make waves and so do simple actions.  It really is our simple acts of love and kindness done day in and day out that make the biggest waves.  While Jesus was known for some pretty big miracles, like feeding the 5,000 and walking on water, it may have been His simple acts of love that had the biggest impact.  Day after day Jesus welcomed those who were considered outcast and unclean to enter into His world.  He laid His hands on children and touched those who were sick and dying.  Every day Jesus seemed to reach out in a simple but tangible way to love someone and it is the sum total of those simple acts that changed the world.  

Most of us are never going to be in a position to do one big act of love that will change the world, but that has never been God’s purpose for us.  Jesus called us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.  Jesus called us to forgive those who have offended and hurt us and be willing to put the needs of others before our own.  Our purpose isn’t to do one big thing for God, it is to do all the small things with love.  

Our purpose is to show God’s love in how we listen and care for others.  Our purpose is to quietly find ways to support those around us instead of demanding others support us.  Our purpose is to be the hands and feet of Jesus who made a difference by how He simply loved those around Him.  

Our purpose is to find simple ways to show God’s love to others.  Every day find a new way to love your family or reach out in love to your friends.  Those waves make a difference.  If we commit ourselves to these simple things, we will change our families and community.  More importantly, if we commit to these simple things, we will change our own lives and we will be living into the purpose God has for us.   

The Apostle Paul said, We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10  

I often read this verse and think that it is talking about some great thing God has planned for me to do, but I think that is more my pride talking than God’s plan.  The work God prepared in advance for us to do is simply to love God and love others.  Each of us will love in different times, and in different places, and in different ways, but that is our purpose, and when we do it together, waves of grace and power form in our world that nothing can stop.   

There are times when we all lose sight of our purpose and need to be called back to the basics of our faith.  If you feel the need or the desire to return to a life of loving God and loving others and want to recommit yourself to walking with Jesus, we want to invite you to make that commitment on Sunday July 24.  There will be an opportunity for you to reaffirm the vows of baptism and profess your faith and trust in Jesus once again.  

If you have never been baptized and want to commit to making Jesus your Lord and Savior, if you want to come to the water of baptism and find new life and eternal life, we invite you to do that as well.  July 24 will be a day for us to celebrate the faith of new believers and those who want to recommit to living for Jesus.  If you are feeling called to make this commitment, we want to invite you to sign up in the lobby or online or talk with one of the pastors.  

During the past few years, I know that God has done a great work of renewal here at Faith Church.  People have started walking with Jesus or have made walking with Jesus a priority in their life.  July 24th will be a great day for us to celebrate the waves of God’s Spirit that are moving among us.  We hope that if you are feeling called to make some waves that you will let us know.  

We were created by God for a purpose, to love God and to share that love with others.  With small words and simple acts of love, let’s make waves that will change our world.  

Next Steps

Make Waves -Creation 

Read Genesis 1 & 2.

● What new insights do you see in the creation story?

● Outline the order of each day and identify its purpose. 

● How do we know that we were created in God’s love and for the purpose of sharing God’s love?

Pastor Andy said, “The underlying purpose in all our lives is to love God and love others.”  

● How do we know this to be true?  

● Where do we see this in the story of creation?

● Where do we find this message taught in scripture?

● How did Jesus live out and teach this purpose?

○ List some examples of Jesus loving God.

○ List some examples of Jesus loving others.

God’s small words brought about the waves of creation.

● Read Proverbs 18:21 and James 3:5.

● How can our small words bring life? 

● When have our words brought destruction?

● This week, share some small words of love with someone who needs encouragement.

The simple acts of Jesus made the biggest waves.

● Identify 3 simple acts of love seen in Jesus’ life.

● How did these simple acts change the world?

● How can you make these simple acts a part of your daily routine?

● What simple acts of love can you carry out this week?  

If you would like to recommit to the purpose God has for you by renewing the vows of baptism, or if you would like to be baptized for the first time and make Christ your Savior and Lord, please contact one of the pastors or sign up in the lobby or online.  

Make Waves - Refreshed by Still Waters

Next week our children are going to make waves at VBS.  They are going to learn how they can make a difference in the world by learning how God created them and how much God loves them.  They will learn how important it is for them to not only know and accept the love of Jesus, but to share that love with others.  God’s love, flowing through them, will make waves that will change lives and it’s time we do the same thing.  This month let’s make some of our own waves and learn how we can make a difference by accepting for ourselves and sharing God’s love with others.   

You might think that the way we would make a difference would be by doing something big, or loud, or profound.  You might think I am going to talk about how we need to get busy and work harder and do more for the kingdom of God, but on this holiday weekend, I want to talk about how making a difference might actually start with our learning how to slow down.  

Jesus clearly made waves in this world.  His life and teaching challenged the religious views of His day.  His love healed the sick, restored the outcast, and forgave sinners.  His sacrifice on the cross burst open the gates of hell and destroyed the power of sin and death forever.  Jesus was the most influential wave maker of all time.  He changed the world, but He also never hurried.  There is not one account of Jesus running in the Bible.  He walked.  Jesus spent His life walking and the one time we see Jesus riding an animal it wasn’t a fast horse, it was a donkey.  Donkeys don’t run.  You never see Eyeore run.  

Jesus was never in a hurry.  He never cut people off or raced from town to town.  He engaged people in deep conversation and took part in long lunches.  Jesus allowed Himself to be interrupted again and again by people in need.  One of those interruptions took place when a man raced to Jesus and asked him to come with him and heal his daughter.  I’m guessing the man wanted Jesus to hurry off with him.  Let’s find a horse, let’s run to my house because my little girl is dying!  It says Jesus went with him, but He didn’t hurry, He didn’t run, He walked.  

In fact, we know Jesus didn’t hurry because there was such a huge crowd pressing in around Him that day that He couldn’t have hurried.  There were so many people who were so close to Jesus that He didn’t see when someone touched Him.  A woman who had been experiencing bleeding for 12  years had made her way through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus' robe and was healed.  Jesus knew someone had been healed and He could have continued on his way to care for the dying girl, but instead He stopped.   

Can you imagine being the father of the dying girl?  The person had already been healed - why was Jesus stopping?  Why was He taking the time to find out who it was?  But Jesus wasn’t going to be hurried, there was more for Him to do right there and right then.  So Jesus found the woman, made clear to all the people that she had been healed and that Her faith had restored her.  He stopped to make sure this woman could now be part of the community.  He took the time to call her a child of God and restore her dignity and self-worth, and then He started off again to help the girl.

The problem was that it was too late.  The man was told that his daughter was dead and to not bother Jesus anymore.  And what does Jesus do, He doesn’t run to the scene to help out, He just keeps walking.  He doesn’t rush ahead worried or stressed out.  He just keeps walking, and when He gets to the man’s home, He raises his daughter from the dead.  Even during that chaotic day, Jesus wasn’t rushed.  He took His time and cared for people along the way.

It’s amazing that the man who had the greatest impact on the history of the world never rushed.  He never hurried.  He never ran.  Jesus never got stressed out or overwhelmed by all He wanted to do and all He had to do.  He took his time and walked deliberately and intentionally and thoughtfully through life.  Maybe the best way we can make waves is to learn how to slow down.  Instead of trying to do more and work harder, maybe we need to figure out how to be still like Jesus.  

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We don’t talk much about yokes, but a yoke is used to bind two animals together.  So think about what it would be like to be yoked to Jesus.  He’s not going to run at our pace, we are going to have to slow down to His pace.  If we want to experience God’s power and strength, and if we are serious about walking with Jesus so that we can make the kind of waves He did in the world, then we first have to learn how to slow down and be deliberate and intentional.  God is not going to work at our unsustainable pace, He is calling us to slow down and live at His pace.

In Psalm 23 we hear that God is our good shepherd and the one who leads us.  Look at the very first thing the shepherd does:  

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He MAKES ME to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the STILL WATERS.

He restores my soul;    Psalm 23:1-3a NKJV

He makes us lie down.  God is not going to keep going at the pace we have set for ourselves, if we are serious about being in a relationship with God, and if we are serious about walking with Jesus, then we need God to slow us down.  If we aren’t willing to slow down, we might just find God making us lie down - slowing us down Himself for our own good. 

Maybe you have experienced that already.  In the middle of a busy season you suddenly get sick and are forced to slow down, or you find yourself flat on your back with pain.  We even say at times that these things are our bodies' way of telling us to slow down.  We can choose to lie down and rest by still waters, or God can MAKE us lie down.  Let’s choose to lie down.  Let’s choose to rest.  

We will never make waves, we will never make a real difference in this world, until we first learn how to walk with Jesus.  Not run with Jesus, not ride full tilt with Jesus, but walk with Jesus.  Making waves starts by resting by some still waters.  God says, be still and know that I am God.  Be still, but I know what you are thinking, I don’t have time to slow down. 

I don’t have time to be still and then do all that I have to do in a week.  I have a demanding job, kids to care for, parents to watch over, chores to do inside, chores to do outside, news to watch, blogs to read, and pictures to post.  I have to shop and cook and then head to the gym to try and stay in shape because of all I just cooked and ate.  I have commitments in the community, commitments here at church, obligations and expectations with my family, and while the thought of slowing down sounds great, it’s just not doable.  

I get it.  This is where most of us live.  We are rushed and stressed, overwhelmed and overscheduled.  We hurry from place to place and day to day, and yet find ourselves falling further behind and missing God’s grace and peace.  If we want to experience the fullness of life and if we want to really make waves, if we want to make a difference in the lives of our children and parents, our families and friends, we need to find a better way, and that way is found in Jesus.  

Do you know what the first followers of Jesus were called?  Before they were called Christians, they were called people of the way.  The way of Jesus.  Jesus even said, I am the way and the truth and the life.  The way of Jesus brings life.  The way of Jesus makes a difference, so let’s start living the way of Jesus.  Let’s yoke ourselves to Jesus and learn to walk with Jesus.    

The way of Jesus wasn’t rushed, it was unhurried so that He could experience the rhythms of God’s grace all throughout His life.  

The way of Jesus wasn’t to run and find himself far from God but to walk and to be still in the presence of God.  It was the way of unbroken fellowship with God the Father 

The way of Jesus wasn’t preoccupied.  He wasn’t distracted by temporary things, reliving and regretting the past or worried about the future, He gave God and people His undivided attention in the moment.  

The way to make waves is to embrace this unhurried, unbroken, undivided way of Jesus, and we start that by being yoked to Christ.  Today, I want to invite you to stop.  Slow down and come to Jesus.  Lie down in green pastures.  Be refreshed by still waters.  You don’t have to earn this rest.  You don’t have to strive for God’s peace, it is a gift.  Come to Jesus.  Walk with Jesus.  Do life with Jesus and life His way.  If we do, we will make some waves.  

 

Next Steps

Refreshed by Still Waters

Read Psalm 23

● Choose to lay down in green pastures with God.

○ What might this look like for you this week?

● Choose to sit by still waters with God.

○ What might this look like for you this week?

Read Matthew 11:28-30

● What is a yoke?

● What does it mean for you to be yoked with Jesus?

● Will Jesus live at your pace?

● How can you slow your pace and WALK with Jesus?

How can slowing down help you make a positive difference in your family?  In our community?  In the world?

What ONE THING can you do differently this week so that you will slow down and WALK with Jesus?

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On Sunday, July 24, at both of our worship gatherings, we will provide an opportunity for people to recommit themselves to walking with Jesus by renewing their baptismal vows.  If you have been baptized but want to recommit your life to Christ, please contact one of the pastors.  

If you have never been baptized and would like to profess your faith in Christ as your Savior and commit to walking with Jesus in your life, please contact Pastor David Carter.