Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 10

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 10
Presbyterian Church of Easton
March 27, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 2:17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Paul is writing to a diverse church in Rome.   Many of the members of this church were once jewish.   They remained ethnically Jewish and still practiced some jewish customs.  They have held on to many of their traditional practices.   

Paul starts by looking at a problem in the church.     The jewish converts believe that they have a special privilege. They process the Torah, or Law of God.  Because they have the Torah, the jewish converts believe that they should be the teachers in the church.  Paul deals with this claim of special privilege by pointing out the distinction between having the Law of God and obeying it.   

It doesn’t matter how many Bibles you own.   It doesn’t matter how many Bibles you have worn out with constant use.   It doesn’t matter how many Bible studies you have attended.   If you want to be a Bible teacher in the church you must do what the Bible says.    If you teach one thing but behave differently you are open to the charge of being a hypocrite.   This is why teachers in the church must have and follow high moral standards.   They must do what they profess.

There seems to be problems in the Roman church with adultery, theft and sacrilege.   Participating in any of these behaviors disqualifies someone who wants to teach the Bible.   It is not enough to have a Bible or know what the Bible says.   You must obey the Bible if you want to teach it in the church.

Let’s pray.   Heavenly Father, bless our church with qualified pastors and teachers.  Help us to find a new pastor and Sunday school teacher who not only know the word of God, but also have a strong desire to obey it.   And help us to learn what is in the Bible and do what it says.   We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

Sermon Psalm 66:18-20 “Prayer”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Psalm 66:18-20 “Prayer”
March 27, 2022

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This Palm Sunday we will be receiving the One Great Hour of Sharing.   One Great Hour is a special giving opportunity of the Presbyterian Church USA.   It supports three important ministries of the denomination, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Program and Self Development of People.   Today I would like to talk about Self Development of People.   

Self Development of People is a program that deals with the root causes of poverty around the world.   It provides grants to groups of impoverished people to help them better their lives.  These grants go directly to groups of economically poor people who directly benefit from it.   They are designed to provide long-term correction of conditions that keep people bound by poverty.

Last year the Self development of People program made a grant to Afghan Cattle Cooperative in  Bristow, Virginia.   As Afghan refugees arrived in Virginia it quickly became apparent that they needed jobs and Halal food.    Greenwich Presbyterian Church in Nokesville, Virginia thought that Self Development of People could help with these needs.  Afghan Cattle Correrative was formed by a group of refugees.   With the help of Self Development of People they received a grant to buy a farm in Bristow, Virginia.  This farm now employs refugees and produces Halal food.  All of this is supported by your contribution to Self Development of People through the One Great Hour of Sharing.   Please be generous.

Today we will look at a most important spiritual practice, prayer.   Our scripture for today is from the Psalms.   

Psalm 66:18-20

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

    the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened;

    he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,

    because he has not rejected my prayer

    or removed his steadfast love from me.

Let’s pray.  “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

What is prayer?   If anyone knew how to pray it was Moses.   He prayed all the time. Let’s see what prayer was like for Moses

Exodus 33:7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. 

So Moses would go into a tent and speak with God the same way you and I would talk to a friend.   It is that simple.   You just talk with God and tell him whatever you want.  You don’t have to prepare anything.   You don’t have to go anywhere special.   You just talk with God.

Jesus also prayed all the time.   He would often get up very early in the morning to pray.  Sometimes he would climb a mountain to pray by himself.  He prayed from the beginning to the end of his ministry.  And he taught his disciples how to pray.

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.’”

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

  God created us to be his conversation partners.   He put Adam and Eve in a nice garden where God could come down and talk with them.  But when sin came into the world our ability to talk with God was disrupted.   Adam and Eve were too ashamed to talk with God so they hid from him.

Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

And what do you think God’s response was when he could no longer communicate with his people.   Well, here is what he said.  

Genesis 3:9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

So we are to talk with God as we would talk with a friend, but sin disrupts the communication and so God is left asking of us, “Where are you?”.

The first thing we must do before we can have conversations with God is to confess any ongoing sin and repent, stop sinning.   Sin always disrupts communication with God.   But God still wants to have a conversation with you.  And he is wondering where you are.   So put the sin behind you, confess and ask for forgiveness and your communication with God will be restored.

I believe that there are three stages of prayer which I have experienced in my own life.   And I would like to go over these different stages.

The first stage of prayer I call intersession.  Whatever is on our hearts we offer it to God.   If our mother has arthritis we pray that God will ease her pain.   If we are having trouble at work we ask God to make it better.  If we have financial difficulties we ask God for help.  If we have a test coming up in school we pray for assistance.    Whatever is on our hearts we pray to God.  This is intercession. 

Intersession is the first stage of prayer, but there is another stage of prayer I call discernment.  With a discernment prayer, we ask God questions.   We want to know God’s will for our lives.   We ask God, “Should I marry this woman?”.   Should I take that job?   How should I respond to sin affecting my children?    We offer these questions to God and patiently wait for an answer.    This waiting is called meditation.  The answer from God could be verbal, but more likely it will be a feeling that what you are doing is right.  The answer could come quickly or may take days or years before God responds.   So you have to be patient and quietly meditate until God answers.

So far we have looked at two stages of prayer, intercession, and discernment.    Now let’s turn to the third stage, submission.    Once you have told God what is on your hearts and have sensed an answer to your questions you are now to submit to God’s will.   Too often we pray for a certain answer from God.   And when God gives us an answer we didn’t expect we usually resist it.    But with prayer, a conversation with God, we begin to accept God’s answer and submit to his will.

I have experienced all this.   For years I operated a business in Washington.   I would often pray that the business would grow.   Sometimes it did well.  Sometimes I needed to fix it.   But, with God’s help, I was able to keep it going.   I was also active in my church.   I served as a deacon for three years and for nine years I was in the Bethel Bible Series program as a student, teacher, and coordinator.  I offered up prayers of intercession for my business and ministries.

After teaching Bethel for four years the church decided to end the program and do something different.   For the first time in years, I didn’t have my own ministry at the church.  I didn’t know what to do.   So I began to pray prayers of discernment to ask God what I was to do next.   I had trouble hearing directly from God, so I went to see a pastor of the church.   We prayed for discernment and began talking about requirements for becoming a pastor.   I left her office with an application to become an Inquirer in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  And I prayed, asking God if this is what he wanted me to do.   I had a sense that the answer was yes.

So God wanted me to be a pastor.   I would have to spend three years of my life unemployed and in school.  I hadn’t been a graduate student in 30 years.   And my family thought I had lost my mind wanting to be a pastor.   But through much prayer, I submitted to God’s will, began the process of becoming a pastor, and moved to California to study at Fuller Seminary.  

As I went through these stages, intercession, discernment and submission, I found that I experienced great joy because I was doing what my creator wanted me to do.   This is available to you as well.   Just confess and repent any sin in your life, then offer up to God whatever is on your heart, discern God's answers to your most difficult questions through meditation, and then submit to God's will for your lives.  

Your pastor search committee is doing this right now.  They started, last fall, by praying for the wisdom to develop a ministry information form and begin their search.  Pray for them as they do this work.  Pray that God will speak to them as they discern who God has chosen for this church.   And pray that the church will submit to God’s will by calling and embracing the new pastor.     

Of course, I am going through another round of discernment for my own call.  When my ministry for this church comes to an end I will be retiring as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament.    Grace and I are trying to discern where God is calling us next.   We certainly have some preferences for where we would like to go.   But ultimately we will submit to God’s will because God knows best about where and how we should serve in this next phase of our lives.

So what have we learned today?   Prayer is a simple conversation with God.   Sin blocks this conversation so we must confess and repent for our prayers to be heard otherwise God asks, “Where are you?”   You offer up the concerns of your heart as intercessions to God.  You ask your deepest questions to God and meditate as you wait to discern the answers.   And once you discern God’s will you submit to it and do what God wants you to do.   This is prayer.  Prayer is a spiritual discipline that brings us closer and closer to God.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, you are our model of a person who prays.   We know you prayed often, sometimes early in the morning, sometimes high on a hill.   You prayed for and received guidance at each stage of your ministry.  Hear our prayers now and help us to discern and submit to God’s will for our lives.   This we pray in your glorious name.   Amen.  

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 9

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 9
Presbyterian Church of Easton
March 20, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

According to Paul some people sin apart from the law, and others sin under the law.   What could Paul mean by this?  The church at Rome was a multicultural church with both Jews and Gentiles worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ.   Jews are under the law that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Gentiles were everyone else who lived without God’s law.  

Jew are sinners because they have the law but do not follow it.   The law has been handed down, generation after generation since the time of Moses.   Parents, elders, teachers and priests all had the responsibility to teach the law to the children.   So the children grew up knowing the law, but because they were stained by Sin they violated the law.  And therefore are subject to God’s judgment and wrath.  

Gentiles, non-Jews, are also sinners.   Even though they didn’t learn God’s law as children they still knew it because God had given them consciences and the knowledge of right and wrong.   They too are stained by Sin and violate the law God has revealed to them.   Therefore Gentiles are also subject to God’s judgment and wrath.

What about us?   If you were raised in a faithful family who taught you the law of God, then you are subject to God’s judgment and wrath because of the Sin.  Or if you were raised in a family that never brought up the subject of faith, then you too are subject to God’s judgment and wrath.  

In other words all of us are stained by Sin and are subject to God's judgment and wrath.  Our only hope is God’s merciful forgiveness.   And God’s merciful forgiveness is available to all who believe in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father we confess our Sin and humbly lay ourselves down at your feet.  Forgive us, we pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

Sermon Proverbs 3:3-4 “Faithfulness”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Proverbs 3:3-4 “Faithfulness”
March 20, 2022

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Today we will continue our look at Christian virtues.  We develop virtues as we grow in our faith.   Once we know what we believe and engage in spiritual practices we become more like Jesus.   Through this we develop patience, goodness and kindness.  Now, we will look at the virtue of faithfulness.   And as I have thought about faithfulness this week, I am convinced that you do not develop this virtue through an understanding of our faith and spiritual practices like the others.   Faithfulness comes to you in an entirely different way.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray. 

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Proverbs 3:3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Let’s take a closer look at faithfulness.   You are faithful when people can rely on what you say and what you do.   Consider the Choptank river.   This river is faithful.   You can rely on it.   Water flows down to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean continuously.   Sometimes it is higher.   Sometimes it is lower.   Sometimes the current is fast.   Sometimes the current is slow.   Sometimes it floods over its banks.  But it is alway reliable.   It always has water and that water is always flowing.   You can count on it.   The Choptank River is faithful, reliable.

Think of your favorite auto mechanic.   You take your car in and he tells you that you need a muffler, it will cost $495.   You decide to rely on the advice of the mechanic and leave your car.  Later that day you pick it up.   You have a new muffler and it cost you $495.   The mechanic was faithful.   So give him a good online recommendation.

The God we worship is faithful.  When God revealed himself to Moses he identified himself this way:   

Exodus 34:6 “And (God) passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.’”

This faithful God calls us to be faithful.   Joshua said this when God’s people entered the promised land:  

Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.” 

My favorite story in the Bible is in Genesis 24.   In this story Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, was still single even though he was over 40 years old.   As I went through my 40s I often read this passage and prayed for a wife.  It is a story of God’s faithfulness.

Abraham sent his trusted servant to his home country to find a wife for Isaac from among his extended family.  The servant did as he was told and found a young woman to marry Isaac.   Her name was Rebekah.  And Abraham’s servant rejoiced when he found her:  

Genesis 24:27 saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” 

And later, after receiving some gifts, Rebekah agreed to return with the servant and marry Isaac.   And again the servant again rejoiced in this conversation with Rebekah’s parents:  

Genesis 24:49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”  50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

God was faithful in providing a wife for Isaac.   Abraham was faithful and cared for his son.   The servant was faithful, obeying Abraham and finding a wife for Isaac from the extended family.   And Rebekah became a faithful wife for Isaac.  

Faithfulness is a Christian virtue.   People can rely on what we say and what we do.    To be faithful means that we remain steady in whatever we are doing.   When the Israelites were in battle with the Amalekites,   Moses stood on a hill with his staff over his head.   As long as he held up the staff the Israelites prevail.   But when he got tired and dropped the staff the Amalekites took the advantage.   Moses had to be steady, faithful.   Here is what happened:

  Exodus 17:12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 

 So, Moses, with some help, remained steady and faithful.  To be faithful also means that people believe what we say.   After God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, he and his brother went to speak with the elders of Israel:  

Exodus 4:29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.    

So, when we are proven to be faithful our words are believed and seen as reliable.  Our faithfulness pleases both God and the people who rely on us.  

Ruth was a Moabite widow of a Hebrew man.  She immigrated to Bethlehem.   There she met Boaz, a relative of her late husband.   Boaz was faithful to the law requiring him to marry his relative’s widow.  He married Ruth and their grandson was none other than the future King David.

Normally I pause here in my sermons and ask the question, “How do we acquire the virtue of faithfulness?   And I usually talk about being grounded in what you believe and doing spiritual practices.   This works for the virtues of patience, goodness and kindness.  But for faithfulness this does not work.  We develop faithfulness in a different way.  Let me give you an example.

On Palm Sunday,   we will remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the awful events of the week that followed which included his arrest, trial, death by crucifixion, and burial in a tomb.   There were 12 disciples who accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem that day.   They had been with Jesus for years, learning directly from him as their rabbi, and engaging in spiritual practices at Jesus’ direction.   These disciples should have been Jesus’ most faithful followers.   But were they?

One disciple was named Judas.   He was in the leadership and served as treasurer.   Judas was sitting at the head of the table next to Jesus.  He must have been faithful to Jesus.   Certainly Jesus could rely on him.   Well, no.   Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.  So Judas was not particularly faithful.

What about Peter?   Peter was also in the leadership.   Peter also sat at the head of the table with Jesus.  He vowed to follow Jesus wherever he went.  He must have been faithful.   Well, no.   On the night Jesus was arrested Peter denied, three times, that he ever followed Jesus. 

What about the other ten?    They had followed Jesus for years.   They had a strong foundation in the faith.   They had engaged in spiritual practices.   Surely they must have remained faithful to Jesus.   Well, no.  When Jesus was arrested they ran away and went back to the upper room to hide behind locked doors. 

So the disciples of Jesus did not develop the Christian virtue of faithfulness through spiritual practices built on faith.  But later they did become faithful.   They became the people who without regard for their own safety were witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus and started the church.   So what happened?   What made the disciples so faithful?  When Jesus was with the disciples he made a promise:  

Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.   

So, Jesus told them that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer and die.   And he promised them that on the third day he would be resurrected from the dead.   Was Jesus faithful to his promises?   Could the disciples rely on what Jesus said and did?  Well, yes.   As we will find out on Easter, everything that Jesus said would happen did happen.   Jesus was faithful.   Jesus did exactly what he said he would do.   The disciples could rely on what Jesus said and did.

Only after the disciples experienced the faithfulness of Jesus, on the first Easter Sunday,  could they become faithful themselves.  So faithfulness is a virtue we develop after we experience God’s faithfulness in our lives.  And this is why we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ every Sunday.   His rising from the dead was proof of his faithfulness.   He has faithfully promised us resurrection of our own bodies.   We can trust Jesus.   We can rely on Jesus.  Jesus is faithful, and we can be faithful too.  

Faithfulness is the Christian virtue where people can rely on us and on what we say and what we do.   We have seen numerous examples in scripture of people with faithfulness.   We acquire faithfulness, not by spiritual practices built on faith, but  by experiencing Jesus’ faithfulness to us.  We have experienced Jesus’ faithfulness to us by his rising from the dead.   And therefore we can be faithful.  People can rely on what we say and what we do.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we thank you for your faithfulness.   We can rely on you and believe what you tell us.   You are steady and reliable.   We believe what you say.   And we pledge to always be faithful.   Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 8

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 8
Presbyterian Church of Easton
March 13, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

In this reading the Apostle Paul turns our attention to those who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and reject it.    For all who hear the gospel and accept it the promise is forgiveness of sin and eternal life.   But what happens to those who hear the gospel and reject it?

Paul describes people who reject the gospel as those having stubborn and unrepentant hearts.   Those with hard hearts resist God’s purposes in the world.   They refuse to obey God’s will.   They reject God’s grace.   And therefore they must deal with God’s wrath.  God’s wrath will be poured out justly.  Those who try to be good will see less wrath.   Those who are evil will experience the full wrath of God.   But for those with faith, who accept God’s grace, and do what is good, they will be blessed by God with glory, honor and peace.

What Paul is describing here is the day of God's wrath.   God’s judgment has already occured.  Believers, those with faith, will have already received the judgment of innocence.   But now God will publicly pass out blessings and curses.   For believers who refuse to repent, ignore God’s will, and do evil, you will be receiving trouble and distress.  But for believers who have accepted God’s grace and demonstrated this by doing good, blessings will abound.           

The sole criteria for who will receive God’s blessings is your relationship with God.   It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman.   It doesn’t matter if you are white or black.   It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor.   It doesn't matter if you were born a jew or a gentile.   It only matters if you have faith and accept the grace that God is offering you and demonstrate your faith by doing good.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we believe in your Son, Jesus Christ.   We accept him as Lord and pledge to follow him in doing good.    Through this we hope to build up treasures in heaven so that on the day of wrath we will be blessed by you in abundance.    We pray in our savior’s name.   Amen.

Sermon 1 Thessalonians 5:15 “Kindness and Goodness”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon 1 Thessalonians 5:15  “Kindness and Goodness”
March 13, 2022

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We are continuing our look at Christian virtues.   We become virtuous as we become more and more like Jesus.   Christian virtues are all based on faith in our triune God.  And we develop virtues through spiritual practices such as worship, prayer and Bible study.   Last week we looked at the Christian virtue of patience.   And today we will look at the Christian virtues of goodness and kindness.   We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

When someone does something bad to us our response is usually to do something bad to them.   We want revenge.  We want to get even.   When we were kids and someone punched us in the face on the playground we punched back.   This led to an all out fight followed by detention and a stern lecture from our parents.

We see this all the time in sports.   A pitcher beans a batter with the ball.  The batter, infuriated, storms the mound throwing punches.   The situation escalates as the dugouts empty.   The umpires throw out the pitcher and batter.   And coaches try to restore order.  

The general principle is that if you respond to evil with evil the situation escalates into a vicious cycle that is hard to end.   Think of the Hatfields and the McCoys and a cycle of revenge going on for generations.  Think of what is happening in Ukraine today.  But the Bible teaches us to respond to bad with good thus breaking the vicious cycle.  We see this clearly in Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

The Bibles we use are in English.   The Old Testament was written in Hebrew.   The New Testament was written in Greek   The New Revised Standard Version, which I just read from, is a very good translation.  But sometimes meaning gets lost in translation.  Sometimes you have to go back and look at the original language.

The word that Paul used and is translated for us as “evil” is the Greek word,“kakos”.   Don’t return “kakos” for “kakos”.   “Kakos” means bad or evil.   The ordinary Greek word for “good” is “kalos”.  Bad is “kakos” with a “k”.   Good is “kalos” with an “l”.   So we would expect Paul to say,  “ See that none of you repays evil for evil (kakos for kakos), but always seek to do good (kalos)  to one another and to all.  But, surprisingly, this is not what Paul said.   He did not use the word “kalos” meaning “good” and we might expect.

So, what did he use?  Well, Paul used the Greek word “agathos”.  Like “kalos”, “agathos” is translated into English as “good”.   But it has an additional meaning.  “Agathos”  means that when you do something good for another person you are motivated by an internal moral sense.  This is the Christian virtue of goodness:   We do good motivated by our inner moral consciences.  

In the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Luke there is a story about a great banquet.    Jesus observed people acting selfishly by sitting in places of honor.  So Jesus told them a story about inviting the poor to dinner.  Let's hear Jesus’ story.

Luke 14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Notice that Jesus was exhibiting the Christian virtue of goodness.   He acted on an inner moral sense to benefit the marginalized in society.    Christian goodness requires us to do the same.

Suppose you are away from home attending a conference.   You are sitting at the hotel bar having a drink with a very attractive member of the opposite sex.   You believe that something good, “kalos” will happen when the two of you go up to your hotel room.   And you convince yourself that your spouse will never find out.  So the two of you go up to your room.

Now suppose you are at that same conference.   You are sitting at the same bar with the same attractive member of the opposite sex.   You believe that something good, “kalos” will happen when the two of you go up to your hotel room.   But you act out of “agathos”.   You have an inner moral sense that adultery is wrong.   So you say “goodnight”  and go to your room alone.   Then you call your spouse.

The Christian virtue of goodness means that we always do good motivated by our inner moral sense.  Where does this inner moral sense come from?  It comes from our spiritual practices, worship, prayer and Bible study all built upon faith.   This is why I have you say the Ten Commandments every Sunday in Lent.   I did this so that you would internalize God’s law.   My hope is that you will develop an inner moral sense that will give you the Christian virtue of goodness.  

Now, let’s look at the Christian virtue of kindness.  

Matthew 22:37  Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”   This is the essence of the Christian virtue of kindness.  

In 1 Samuel, David and Jonathan reached an agreement.   Jonathan said that he would protect his friend David from his father Saul.   And he asked David, out of kindness, to protect his life  and his family’s lives.   

1 Samuel 20:12 Jonathan said to David, “By the Lord, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But if my father intends to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 

So Jonathan has promised to protect David from the wrath of King Saul, Jonathan’s father.    This is kind.  Jonathan is risking his own life, and is risking his own possible kingship for the benefit of a friend.   And he asks David for something in return.

1 Samuel 29:14 If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die, 15 never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

Jonathan is promising to be kind to David and is requesting David's kindness in return.  This formed the basis of a covenant between them.

Years later, after Jonathan died with his father in battle, David became king.   Jonathan had been kind to David.   Now it is time for David to return the kindness.  

2 Samuel 9:19 David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3 The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” 7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” 8 He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”

9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10 You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

It was the practice of ancient kings to kill all the members of the last king’s family.   But David didn’t do that.   He showed kindness to his friend Jonathan by protecting his family, especially his lame child, Mephibosheth.

So we have looked at two Christian virtues today.   The Christian virtue of goodness allows you to do good based on an inner moral sense.   The Christian virtue of kindness allows you to act in obedience to the command to love your neighbor.   We develop these virtues by believing in our triune God and engaging in spiritual practices.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven we ask that you send the Holy Spirit with the gift of the Christian virtues of Goodness and Kindness.   Help us to be good, always acting out of an inner moral self.  Help us to be kind, always loving our neighbor.   This we pray to our good and kind savior, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 7

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 7
Presbyterian Church of Easton
March 6, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

In the first chapter of Roman Paul talked about the problem that affects all of us, sin.   Sin causes us to worship things instead of God.   This is called idolatry.   And according to Paul idolatry leads to God giving us depraved minds.   With depraved minds we are filled with all kinds of wickedness.  And this wickedness has a harmful effect on our lives.   This is ultimately the source of all the problems we face.   

As you look over the list of wicked things in chapter 1 you may be thinking that you are doing ok,   After all you are not filled with wickedness like other people.   You are not greedy, evil or depraved.   You don’t murder,  or practice envy and deceit.   You are not a gossip,   Thanks be to God!  All of this puts you in a position to judge.   You are a good person.   All those other people are depraved.

But before you go down this road remember that God knows you better than you know yourself.   God knows those secrets buried deep in your hearts.  God knows what you have done and what you have left undone.  And since you are far from perfect, when you judge others you open yourself up to the charge of hypocrisy.   Ultimately God will judge all of us.  And since none of us measure up to God’s standards we are in a heap of trouble.     

But there is a solution.   God pours down on us blessings from heaven.   We receive God’s kindness, forbearance and patience.   And according to scripture God blesses us as an incentive to lead us to repentance.   It is through repentance and faith that we are forgiven and reconciled with God.

Heavenly Father, we ask for blessings to pour down on us from heaven.    Lead us to worship you and you alone.   Forgive us and wash away our sin.   We pray for this in the name of Jesus our Lord and savior.  Amen.

Sermon Proverbs 14:29 “Patience”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Proverbs 14:29 “Patience” 
March 6, 2022

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By the fourth century, the church had a forty day period for fasting and renewal called Lent.  The idea for this came from the fourth chapter of Mattew where Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness.   So the church counted backwards forty days from Easter, excluding Sundays, and arrived at a Wednesday seven weeks before Easter.   This period of forty days was used by the church to prepare new converts for baptism on Easter Sunday.  This year we will be using these forty days to develop Christian virtues.   

The winter, we have been asking the question, “What must we do to become more like Jesus?”.   We looked at biblical spiritual practices.  These are things we do to build upon our faith and become more and more like our savior.   These include worship, prayer, Bible study, surrender to God’s will with the help of a biblical community,  giving our resources and sharing our faith.  

Today we move to the next step.   We will now ask the question, “What will we become as a result of what we believe and what we do?”.   We will be looking at the Christian virtues we develop as a result of our biblical faith and spiritual practices.  The first Christian virtue we will look at is “patience.”   And thank you for your great patience as I finish this long introduction.   Let’s pray. 

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Proverbs 14:29 Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

It shouldn’t be too hard to think of things that make you impatient.    I remember a day when I was picking up two international students, who were living with us, from school.     I was just a couple of minutes from arriving at the school when I saw a line of brake lights immediately ahead of me.   Up ahead I saw the flashing railroad signal and a train crossing the road.   These trains were usually pretty short so I didn’t expect a long wait.   But then I saw the problem.   The train wasn’t moving.  The train that blocked the road was stopped.   I didn’t know how long I would have to wait.  And so,  I lost my patience.

I pulled out my phone and loaded Google Maps.   I searched for a way to get around the train.   I decided to turn left on County Road, drive under the railroad bridge and drive all the way to Old Porter Road and then backtrack to Route 71 and the school.  This took about 10 minutes.  I got to school late.   But as I turned into the school I saw that the train was gone, and traffic was moving.  If I had just been a little more patient I would have arrived at school on-time without the aggravation and extra driving. 

Patience is a virtue.   You develop it with spiritual practices built on faith.  What is patience?   Patience is when you are slow to anger.   You have a long long fuse that burns slowly before you erupt in rage.   Patience, being slow to anger, is a characteristic of God.   

Nehemiah 9:17  “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” 

We have patience because we are created in God’s image.   We become impatient because of sin.   But we can regain our patience through our faith and spiritual practices.

Related to patience is another biblical word, “perseverance”.    What is “perseverance”?   Perseverance refers to our ability to withstand heavy burdens over a long period of time.   My mother was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis as a young woman.  She suffered from chronic joint pain for forty years.    But she was able to bear this with her faith in God and spiritual practices of daily prayer and regular attendance at worship.   So, as a result of our faith and spiritual practices, we develop patience and perseverance.  The Apostle Paul talked about this with the church at Ephesus.    Here is what he said:

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Paul is telling us that patience is for us a Christian virtue along with humility, gentleness, and love.   Christians are to be slow to anger and endure long hardships.   Let’s take a look at a biblical story of patience and perseverance.

Genesis 15:2 Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Abram and his wife Sarai have been bearing this burden for a long time.   They had been richly blessed by God in every way except having children.   And as they got older their fuse got shorter and shorter.   Abram was on the verge of getting angry with God.

We all know what Abram was going through.   We pray and pray and pray for a specific blessing and it doesn’t happen.   We bear our burdens.   We try to be slow to anger.   But the longer we wait, the angrier we get.  But Abram did the right thing.   As he approached the end of his rope Abram turned to God in prayer.   And God spoke to him.

Genesis 15:4… “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

God has assured Abram that if he is patient and continues to persevere the blessings are his.    And then we are told,

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

So if we trust God our patience and perseverance will be rewarded.   But when?   How long do we have to wait?  Abram and Sarai waited for ten years!  And after a decade had passed their patience ran out.  They took the matter into their own hands and looked for the quick fix.

Genesis 16:3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

I bet we can all find the flaws in this strategy.    Sleeping with his slave doesn’t seem like the right way to provide children for his family.   And this does place Saria under a burden she could not withstand.

Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

So Sarai and Abram have lost their patience and have a burden they cannot bear.   Then God came to Abram and said this:

Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

God can’t be serious.   Can he?  This must be a joke.  Abram certainly thought so.

Genesis 17:17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”

Abram, now Abraham, the father of many nations, thought that this was a joke.   But it wasn’t.   The burdens that Abraham and Sarah had endured had been part of God’s plan.   And God was faithful to his promises.  Their burden was lifted.   Sarah bore a son, Isaac.

In America today we are told that we can have anything we want, right now.   We can get a credit card and go to Amazon and buy anything we want to buy.   We can satisfy any desires instantly.   But the result is that we bear an ever-increasing burden of debt.  And eventually, this burden will become too much for us to bear.  When that happens our patience will run out.  Wouldn’t it be better to follow this basic biblical wisdom instead?

Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

As we mature in Christ we must avoid quick fixes, become more patient, and persevere until we receive God’s blessings in abundance. 

The next time you are about to get angry, try this.   Put a spiritual thermometer under your tongue.   See how long it takes for you to get really angry.    If you get angry quickly you are lacking the Christian virtue of patience.  But if you are slow to anger then God is transforming you making you more and more patient. 

I arrived at the Presbyterian Church of Easton a year and a half ago.  In that time, this church has grown in faith and spiritual practices.   And so we have become more patient.  

This patience will be necessary as you go through your pastor search.    Your pastor nominating committee is hard at work developing a Ministry Information Form which will inform pastors that you are looking for one.   Pastors will start applying.   Your PNC will sort through the resumes that arrive and begin to narrow the list down.    They will interview candidates and watch videos of their preaching.   All of this will take time.   And so they need you to remain patient.

Remember that patience is developed through spiritual practices.   So to become more patient, engage in prayer, Bible study, worship, offering your time and resources within a biblical community, and sharing your faith with others.   And your patience will be rewarded.   Your burdens will be lifted.   You will be blessed by God.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, it is so hard to be patient.  We want to be satisfied right now.  But know that you have a plan for our lives and a plan for our church.   So bless us with patience so that we can wait, bearing our burdens, until we receive your bountiful blessings.   This we pray in the name of your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 6

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 6
Presbyterian Church of Easton
February 27, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator … 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Paul is describing what we call sin.   Notice that the problem is idolatry.   People worship things rather than God.   Whatever is most important in our lives, that is what we worship.   So we worship money instead of God.   We worship power instead of God.   We worship relationships instead of God. Whatever we place in importance above God is an idol.   And we are guilty of idolatry.

Now look at what happens when we do this.   God responds in various ways.   God gives us over to shameful lusts and sexual impropriety.   God gives us depraved minds so that we are always doing what we should not do.   God allows us to do things that ultimately harm us and our families and friends.   In other words, God allows us to pursue our heart’s desires and suffer the consequences of bad choices.  

Here is what happens.

29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.

What is the answer for all of this?   According to Paul we need to keep God as the highest priority in our lives.    And that requires that we obey the commandments of God.   

So there is our choice: we can either put God first in our lives, or we can put other things first and suffer the consequences.  As for me, I will put God first and receive his blessings.

Heavenly Father,  bless us with faith and strong desire to put you first and follow your commands.   Help us to never put anything above you.    And if we have put something before you, forgive us and help us to put God first.    This we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.