1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Worship Guide

WATCH ►

Printed Sermon

We are in day 13 of Shelter-in-Place. Again, measures that seemed extreme two weeks ago are now normal as much of the world is locked down. These are difficult days. You cannot visit loved ones in hospitals, nursing homes or retirement communities. Grandparents can’t see their grandkids. Many of you are fearful and anxious. You feel out of control. Buying toilet paper is one way of feeling in control, but now you can’t find any. Uncertainty further intensifies the fear and anxiety. This is all understandable. These are very human responses to our current situation. Where do you turn in your anxiety and fear? Children turn to their Comforter-in-Chief, to mom or dad. They get up into their lap for tender, loving care, for soothing, reassuring words: “It’s going to be alright.”

We have recently updated the signage on our church campus. I love the graphic that Mickey Cook designed for the cry room, or Baby Zone as it’s now called. The image of a mother cradling a baby in her arms conveys safety and security, nurture and care.

Children turn to their parents for loving and soothing care. But where can adults turn in their fear and anxiety? I recognize that some of you have troubled relationships with your parents, that they were and are not safe people for you. Sadly many people also view God this way: he is not a safe place. Instead of a lap into which you can climb you see a frowning face and a big stick. He’s the last place to go for comfort. But I always heard my mother begin her prayers, “Our loving heavenly Father.” Hearing this so many times shaped me. So I do indeed think of God as my loving heavenly Father, into whose lap I can climb. He’s a God I can trust with myself and my future. So I can say,

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;

He makes me down to lie

In pastures green; He leadeth me

The quiet waters by.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,

Yet will I fear no ill;

For Thou art with me, and Thy rod

And staff me comfort still. (Ps 23:1–2, 4, Scottish Psalter)

But for some these are hollow words: you don’t trust God.

Trust. An infant cradled in her mother’s arms is a beautiful picture of trust. But trust is a difficult word at such a time as this. Whom can we trust? Which leaders are trustworthy? Who will tell us the truth? Which media is giving us the real news, not fake news? Which web sites can be trusted?

Karl Barth, the famous pastor and theologian, advised ministers to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. We recently gave up taking the newspaper, so now it’s a news app in the other hand. Preachers seek to bridge the gap between the Scriptures and today. I felt this particularly strongly this week as I wrote the teaser for the e-bulletin on Wednesday. I had 1 Thessalonians open in front of me as I wrote, but it could have been the current news. Most of the terms I used in the blurb come straight from today’s Bible text but they ring just as true today as 2000 years ago.

I learnt two new terms this week: mental hygiene and sleep hygiene. We are learning to practice physical hygiene: by washing our hands for twenty seconds and doing so many times throughout the day. We are trying to not touch our face—this is hard! In the same way we need to practice mental hygiene. There are things we can do to prevent or counteract the fear, anxiety and stress that we feel. Exercise is good: we are still allowed out for that. Eat well. Sleep well by practicing sleep hygiene, limiting device use before we go to bed. And control our consumption of media, much of which makes us more anxious and stressed. There are many voices out there clamoring for our attention. Not all of these voices are benign. Some of the media does aim for the public good. But other media is driven by celebrities, sensationalism, shock-value and ultimately by profit. Which voices can we trust amid the clamor?