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Unfinished: Journey of Faith – Romans 5:1-11

Sometimes people will go through a graduation ceremony even though they still have classes. Other times, people have sold their houses but haven’t yet jumped through all the hoops to make it final and are still living there. Or even as simple as food in the oven but not yet being eaten. We see this in scripture as well, with Abraham & Sarah promised a son but still barren, or the Israelites freed from Egypt but not yet in the Promised Land.

And that’s the situation we find ourselves in. Forgiven, justified, redeemed – but not yet perfected. That’s what Paul addresses here in the letter to the church in Rome. He has spent the first part of the letter describing the need for and nature of this justification and the grace extended to us. Here, he describes this state as something we enter into, not merely a moment, but a new state of being. But even within that state of being, it is not yet complete. We stand in grace, but not like we will one day. We are saved from slavery but are not yet in the Promised Land.

This chapter is Paul pivoting to describing the implications of this situation in our current state. Naturally, he addresses suffering. The word Paul uses here is not just about persecution, but all forms of suffering, all distress brought about by outward circumstances. There is plenty of suffering to go around, and it can make that grace and redemption seem fleeting.

But Paul urges us to rejoice in our suffering, to exalt and even boast. This is the same word used when he warns us not to boast in our own strength & works, and the same word used to describe how to respond to the “hope of the glory of God.”

And in fact it is that hope Paul points us to through our suffering, by way of the character built by endurance, itself built by the suffering that we endure.

But we still find ways to block ourselves off from this suffering. We can deny it, ignore it, rationalize it away. But to rejoice in suffering we have to acknowledge it, to sit in it and experience it. This is not something we are excited to do, but this is the offer of transformation we can only attain by going through this sequence Paul describes.

Elsewhere, Paul tells us we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and this transformation begins as we endure and rejoice in suffering, acknowledging and engaging in our experiences, even when they are unpleasant. The hope produced in this process is ah extravagant effusion, an inexhaustible supply, like a cloud burst on parched countryside.

This all means that our already-not-yet period is of supreme value, a purposeful part of God’s plan to bring us to fullness and oneness in Him.

–Sermon Notes, Karen Howe, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 12, 2023

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The Call – Genesis 12:1-4

One of the patterns you see in Genesis is the “tôlḏôṯ” structure, which means “generations” or “account” or perhaps most accurately “story of what came forth.” All the patriarchs get their own toldot structures, as do the heavens and the earth.

At a high level, Genesis is broken into chapters 1-11 which covers creation, fall, flood and Babel, and then the rest of the book which tells the story of the patriarchs and forebears of Israel. The first part sets the stage and provides the context, and the second part is the story of Israel within that context. One of the key takeaways of this whole story is the unmerited favor of God, because these patriarchs did not earn that favor.

The toldot of Haran is where we come in. Terah has left Ur and is supposed to be heading to Canaan, but Terah stopped in Harran, in the north. The family is in a hard place. Terah’s son Haran died in Ur, with his only son Lot unmarried. Nahor, his other son, is married to his niece, Haran’s daughter, but they have had no sons. Finally, Abram is married to Sarai, but they are aging and have no children either.

Part of the context set by the creation story is God’s instructions to humanity, “be fruitful and multiply.” Terah’s family is in danger of failing this and dying out.

And into this, God steps with an incredible promise – “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Children are always learning and changing. They have more elastic brains and are able to absorb new situations and information. For adults, true learning and adapting requires a disorienting experience. That is exactly what Abram got in this case. It’s not clear if he even knew who God was before this call – his father came from Ur and worshipped the pagan gods of the Mesopotamians.

At the same time, God did not bring an entirely new concept into Abram’s life. Terah was already journeying to Canaan, but got stuck in Harran. God brought context and purpose into this process – the journey that had petered out made sense in the context of God’s call and direction. God turns this into a generative story, a toldot.

And there is even further purpose behind this call. God promises Abram that he will bless all of humanity through him and the nation God will build from him. That blessing is ultimately the person of the incarnate Christ, both Abraham’s offspring and the God who called him into the land where He would die and be raised again, in order to make a path for all of us to have a relationship with Him.

God called Abram “into the unknown 🎶” – where is He calling you? Where is He calling us as a church? Let’s continue to seek those answers as we serve the God who called us.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 5, 2023

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The Wilderness – Matthew 4:1-11

This story comes right after Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, a moment of recognition and glory. But rather than capitalizing on that momentum, the Holy Spirit immediately sends Him to the desert to fast.

Fasting is not the easiest is spiritual disciplines, and extending it to 40 days is beyond intense. The reason we fast is that we are taking something we both need and want and giving it up in order to make room to focus on the love, words she presence of God. You can also fast from other things that may distract us from completely focusing on Jesus.

Moses and Elijah also fasted for 40 days, while the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the desert. Jesus himself ties these concepts together in the scriptures that He cites, all of which were from Deuteronomy.

The question of food and fasting is addressed directly in the first of Satan’s attacks. We see the direct connection here to the Israelites who grumbled and got “hangry” when food stores ran low, much like we do when things don’t go our way. But Jesus replied with the message that God’s provision goes far beyond our conception our abilities. The specific reference Jesus uses explicitly refers to manna, the tangible reminder and evidence of God’s provision – free food every morning! – and also His desire for us to trust in Him daily – if you try to store our hoard or, it spoils.

So Satan tries again, taking Jesus to the top of the temple and encouraging him to demonstrate His authority. But Jesus replies again with a reference to the Exodus: “Do not put the LORD your God to the test”- they next few words are “as you did at Massah.” This goes from food to water, because Massah is where the Israelites grumbled and quarreled when they couldn’t get water. Water is even more vital than food, and again in that story God provided what was needed. There are two stories where God uses Moses to do this. In the first, in Exodus 17, God tells Moses to strike the rock and water comes out of it. Then in Numbers 33 we see the same thing again, but this time God tells Moses to command the Rock verbally – and instead, Moses strikes the Rock again – twice! Among other things, this is a reminder that we are tempted to go back to old traditions, and even doubling down on them, rather than seeking what God is speaking to our community right now. Once again, it comes back to the Word of God and trusting Him for our provision rather than taking matters into our own hands.

Next, Satan goes all in, taking Jesus to a mountain – maybe not a real mountain – and showing off the kingdoms of the world and offering all the worldly glory and power that there is. Satan offers him empire and control of the sort the world understands. But Jesus remains on mission, which is based on the process, just as much as the outcome – emptying Himself of power and glory in order to take them up again. Losing in order to win, dying in order to live and bring life.

We ourselves are tempted to put other things ahead of our mission, to seek to achieve our ends by kissing the wrong rings, which always ends up warping what we may have wanted. When we substitute our own image for the image of God, when we are discontent with the place we are put and the gifts we are given – all these are ways we bow down to Not-God, seeking the power and glory of the world.

But Christ’s instruction to us is the same as His answer to the Devil – “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, February 26, 2023

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The Lit Way – Psalm 119:129-136

Like a moth to a flame
Burned by the fire
My love is blind
Can’t you see my desire
That’s the way love goes

The great poet & philosopher Janet Jackson sang these words, bringing to mind the bug zappers that lure in the moths and other insects with a bright shining light, then zap them into ash. The light and glitz of the Superbowl today also serves as a temptation and a lure for darker things, from human trafficking to gambling to exploitation.

But Jesus said that He is the true light, and here in Psalm 119, the psalmist says “the unfolding of your words gives light”. John tells us that Christ Himself is the Word made flesh, so we can understand this at both the commands, precepts and law (all terms used in the passage) and the living, breathing Word that is Christ.

The physical imagery is stark in this passage, as the psalmist pants for God’s word like a ravenous beast slavers over food. Streams of tears flow from his eyes because of the sin and darkness of the world.

God’s word is the embodiment of God’s truth, and the light of God is a picture of that truth and love. Echoing the Priestly Blessing, the psalmist asks that God’s face shines on him. This is the light that outshines the bug zappers of the world, the Lit Way that guides us in the paths God has set out for us.

And when we follow that way, when we consume that food, when we bask in that light, we are changed. And when we do all this in community as a church we get that light beautifully refracted through the diversity of all of us together, giving new understanding and new perspectives, molding us and changing our desires. We aren’t to kill our desires as other philosophies charge, but rather let our desires be molded by God and His servants around us, so that we seek the light that gives life, and not the flame that burns.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, February 12, 2023

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His Face Shine on You – Numbers 6:22-27

The concept of light is seen very early in the Bible – almost immediately, as God separates light and darkness, order and chaos. He does this in our lives today as well.

This passage is still used today as a Priestly Benediction – the Aaronic priests were instructed to bless the people with this same benediction, and both Christians and Jews still use these words in blessing today. (In fact, Gene Roddenberry used this as the model for the Vulcan “live long and prosper.”

The Ketef Hinnom scrolls, discovered in 1979 are the oldest biblical texts found, dating from 600 BC, and contain this blessing.

The structure here includes a preface and a postscript, opening with the instructions to the priests about how to use the words. The blessing specifically references Yahweh, the Covenant Name of God, pointing back to the promise made to Abraham, and to the love and mercy of God, in contrast with Elohim, the term for God that speaks more to His strength and justice. The pronoun used here is the second person singular, not plural, like your might expect, a reminder that this covenant relationship is not only a corporate thing, but intensely personal between each person and their Creator.

The blessing itself grows progressively, with each line being longer than the one before, a growing tide of blessing that builds on itself. The term “bless” here is barak which also means “kneel” and is an intimate picture of a father kneeling to comfort a child. The term “keep” is “shamar” which can also mean to watch and guard.

This concept is continued in the next verse, where the face – in fact, the plural “faces,” possibly a reference to the Trinity – shines on us. His face becomes the illumination to our lives, His guidance the direction for our actions. But that comes in the midst of Him being gracious to us, “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior”. This is the grace made ultimate on the cross and offered to each of us through that work of sacrifice.

The next verse returns to the Face of God, which turns to us, in contrast to turning away. This combined with the kneeling imagery creates an intimate picture of our relationship with God, going beyond the transactional concept that we often think about in relation to how we interact with God.

The blessing then closes with the concept of shalom, nor merely the absence of conflict but the restoration of relationships and the making whole and complete what was broken – personally, societally, environmentally, restoration in all things.

Lord, help us to receive this blessing, pass this blessing on and play a part in bringing this blessing to pass.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, February 5, 2023

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A Dark World – John 17:14-18

Should we ever intentionally enter dark spaces? There are many places in this world that do not glorify God and that are built in fact to do the very opposite. The scriptures regularly warn against friendship with and coming under the influence of evil people, across both the Old and New Testament.

But we need to be careful not to turn these warnings into excuses to ignore the call of the Holy Spirit or the example of Jesus Christ. In this passage, Jesus explicitly tells the Father that He is sending the disciples into the world. He asks that they go deep into the darkness of the world, but remain protected.

We are called into unfamiliar territory and places where we face rejection and even temptation. We need to be careful with that last one in particular because we still need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not put ourselves in places that are setting us up to fail.

At the same time, we are not called to live inside a holy huddle – we are not called to stay in our own homes and interact only with our own families and possibly a few people we know we agree with. We are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation, and we cannot do that from within our own room.

We have the message that those around us can be given forgiveness and favor. What do we do with that privilege? Jesus models intimate conversations and soft words that span ideological and political perspectives.

Where is the Spirit leading you? Take some time to be in two-way conversation with God and see where He leads you. You may experience rejection and temptation so put on your armor of God. The darkest rooms are the ones most in need of light.

Let us pray for one another as Christ did, and encourage each other as we bring the message of Christ’s forgiveness and favor into a dark world.

— Sermon Notes, Alison Robison, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, January 29, 2023

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Pause and Recount – Isaiah 63:7-9

Today is the day when we’re supposed to make New Year’s Resolutions. But more often than not, these don’t work out. We try to will ourselves into new habits and new ways of living. Hopefully this comes from reflecting on the year and wanting to make things better. As Christians, though, we believe in transformation and not just willful habit change. We believe in the grace-filled power of God, while recognizing our own depravity and inability to simply will ourselves into righteousness. This only comes in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is what we are supposed to be reflecting on during the time of Advent, but it can easily become subsumed in the business and consumerism of the season, and even the forced joy of Christmas itself.

But our passage today speaks into the fullness of the human experience, and how God enters into that experience. “In all their distress he too was distressed.” God in His mercy lifts and carries His people, treating them “compassionately and with deep affection.” Is a memory of the blessings God has brought in the past.

But this passage comes in the midst of a song of lament, possibly sung by the exiles in the midst of the ruins of the temple. Sadness and lament is entirely appropriate because it is an honest recounting of what has happened. God has been good in the past and continues to be good today, but let us not ignore the trauma and tragedy that nonetheless is real. He seeks honest worship.

We can’t force ourselves into this, but God will bring it to us, just as He has in the past both on a cosmic scale and on a personal one. God is good, all the time.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, January 1, 2023

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Nontraditional Family – Matthew 1:18-25

Today we look at the story of Joseph, and his response to God’s plan. Those of us who have had children that have gotten older often miss the times when our children would jump into our arms, triggering our parental instincts and desires to protect and provide. We promise to keep our children safe, but ultimately we know that we don’t have full control, we can’t be with them every second. For that matter, we ourselves are sinful people, and at times we ourselves will hurt the ones we love.

Consider these feelings and instincts in the person of Joseph, within his patriarchal cultural contact. All his plans and hopes and expectations, gone in a moment.

We hear this story all the time, and may associate the Holy Family with the cozy Western peppermint mocha-style of Christmas. But the reality is not particularly cozy.

Joseph’s world would have been completely upended, and he likely felt hurt and upset. A natural response would be a desire for revenge, but even though he has lost face and felt hurt, he did not want to cause more pain or expose Mary to public disgrace. He would let her go away quietly and live the rest of her life as best she could.

While we may not have gone through that, we have certainly gone through our own dark night of the soul. Loss, disruption, betrayal, our world upended and our future thrown into doubt.

But it is into this darkness and storm, that God speaks the words of the angel to Joseph – God is with us.

And so when he woke up, he did as instructed. Most of us would rather avoid these situations, and the pain and emotions that go along with stuck disruption. But Joseph engages with it, living with the fact that he is no longer in control, and that his life was not going to be what he expected. Joseph is faithful, listens to the voice of the Lord and obeys. We have the same opportunity in our lives.

And when we do this, we have new possibilities. Even amid the challenges that come in that difficult situations, God acts. He did things in the middle of a chaotic, oppressive tax accounting scheme. He did things with a family seeking refuge from political violence. When we ourselves are fearful, anxious, greedy, jealous, vindictive, hurt – God is with us.

The bonds within the Holy Family were not the traditional bonds – the child was not conceived in the traditional way, and the parents did not even come together physically. This is something adoptive families, blended families, broken families can all look to.

And all of us can find hope in the promise that God is with us.

–Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church Lynnwood, WA, December 18, 2022

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Are You the One? – Matthew 11:2-11

Waiting and longing are difficult parts of life. We all have longings and desires, and when those desires are put off, it is hard. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” The best example for many of us is our longing to be married when we were single. We have a hole that needs to be filled, but have to wait for that to happen, and the waiting is painful.

This was the state of the people of Israel, which we can see in the persons of Simeon and of Anna, waiting and longing for the redemption of Israel for decades.

John the Baptist is in a similar situation in this passage. His whole life, from before he was even born, was bent towards preparing the way for the messiah. He preaches about his coming, calls the people to repentance to prepare, even baptizes Jesus Himself. But now he finds himself in prison, hearing about Jesus’ ministry – and it doesn’t sound like what he expected.

John had been preaching a strict message of repentance, a firm and strong word. It jived with the expectations of the people for a strong military leader who would lead them against the Romans. But John hears about Jesus’ ministry – eating and drinking, sermons of love and joy, healings. John may have expected something very different, and so he sends disciples to demand of Jesus whether He really is who John has been hoping and longing for.

And Jesus answers by pointing to the prophecies of Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 35:5-6

Jesus makes the point here that His ministry must look very different than John’s – John is a prophet, the greatest of prophets, but Jesus is the fulfillment of all that prophecy. He is here to turn everything upside down – when He came, everything changed.

Today, we live in that change, we live in that kingdom where the least are greatest abs the greatest are least.

But we can still feel like John at times, both in specific circumstances and in our broader faith journey. Like John, we wonder if this really is the place we are to be, we may even wonder if Jesus is who we think He is.

Like John, we should look around us for what work Christ is doing in the world – because he is always at work, healing and loving and bringing the good news of His Kingdom.

–Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 11, 2022

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Fire and Fruit – Matthew 3:1-12

We are introduced to John the Baptist in this passage, and he comes onto the scene with one very clear message – repent! This message is not quite the one we think of at the time of Christmas, but it’s hard to miss this clear, hard message from a hard man. John serves as a bridge from the prophets of the Old Testament to the gospel of the New Testament. Elsewhere, Matthew describes John as a second Elijah.

John lived apart from the culture and away from the population centers – he set the pattern later picked up by the Desert Fathers of the early church as well as the broader monastic orders. John serves as the model, establishing himself away from the rest of the world but serving as a magnet for people seeking the truth being shared – truth about sin and repentance.

How do we talk about sin and repentance? Some talk about it in the context of judgement, others in terms of broken relationship with God, others in a more postmodern way, addressing our behavior in relation to our own personal beliefs.

John’s role was to call for paths to be made straight, to point Jesus out to people in a way that was clear, insisting that his listeners reorient themselves around the coming Messiah. John’s whole identity was as a witness to the person of Christ. He spent a lot of time insisting he was not the Christ, but pointed the way to Him.

Carl Ellis describes a matrix of righteousness, addressing the personal and social working out of both piety and justice. As evangelicals, we tend to live in the personal piety quadrant nearly all the time, while other traditions may live more in the social quadrants. The challenge is to seek righteousness in a holistic way.

This was the challenge laid out by John the Baptist, looking ahead to Jesus who will make all things new. Some of that new-making, though, will be destructive, an axe at the root of the tree. These processes can be painful, but “joy comes in the morning.”

As a church we have felt like we have been in a time of wilderness. As a society, as well. And so our responsibility is to, as John instructs, produce fruit in keeping with repentance – to emulate John, speaking the truth that clears the way for the truth of Christ’s love to enter all situations.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 4, 2022