Middletown United Methodist Church

Matthew 11:2-11 (NRSV)

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV)

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were,so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV)

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were,so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This last section of the Creed summarizes the promises of God, the promises that form the bedrock of our faith.

In the Old and New Testaments, God promised to be with us always. We believe in the Holy Spirit that acted in the Bible, coming upon Mary the mother of Jesus, filling Elizabeth and Zechariah, descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and leading Jesus through temptation in the wilderness. We have seen the Spirit act in the Bible, and we believe the Spirit has acted and will act in our world today. God will lead us through the Spirit as the continuing active presence of God With Us.

This last section of the Creed summarizes the promises of God, the promises that form the bedrock of our faith.

In the Old and New Testaments, God promised to be with us always. We believe in the Holy Spirit that acted in the Bible, coming upon Mary the mother of Jesus, filling Elizabeth and Zechariah, descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and leading Jesus through temptation in the wilderness. We have seen the Spirit act in the Bible, and we believe the Spirit has acted and will act in our world today. God will lead us through the Spirit as the continuing active presence of God With Us.

The name Immanuel appears twice in Hebrew scriptures (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8) and one in the New Testament (Matthew 1:23). One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated “with us is God” or, as Matthew’s Gospel puts it, “God with us.”When our sins made it impossible for us to come to him, God took the outrageous step of coming to us, of making himself susceptible to sorrow, familiar with temptation, and vulnerable to sin’s disruptive power, in order to cancel its claim. In Jesus we see how extreme God’s love is.

Kyrios: Christianity’s earliest confession of faith consisted of three short but incredibly powerful words: Jesus is Lord!When people addressed Jesus as Kyriosor Lord in the Gospels, they were often simply showing respect to him as a rabbi or teacher, addressing him as “sir” rather than acknowledging him as the Lord God. But after his death and resurrection, the title “Lord” began to be widely used by believers in a more specialized sense. (Thomas’ confession of faith in John20:28, “My Lord and my God!”) Over time, the title “Lord” began to take on the characteristics of a name; as such, it clearly identifies Jesus with Yahweh, the covenant name of God in the Hebrew scriptures. Knowing Jesus as Lord will lead you to a deeper experience of his presence and his power.

We usually use the word “God” as a single, all-encompassing name, but God has many different names and titles that we find in the Bible, each describing different parts of God’s nature and character. As we grow in our faith and knowledge (intimacy) of God and God’s nature and love for us, we will experience the truth of many of those names for ourselves as we come to know God the Father, the Lord our Rock or our Shepherd, God our Provider, etc.

Many of the names of God can be sorted along two lines: the distant, almighty God who ordered the heavens and the earth, and the God who personally loves and cares about each one of us. Most of us have a tendency to relate to God more closely along one of those identities than the other, but in truth, God is both/and. A deeper understanding of the both/and will grow our intimacy with the almighty, all-powerful Creator God…who has numbered our days while we were still in the womb.

Most of the Hebrew names of God begin with either El or Yahweh, reflecting this dichotomy.

El comes from the Canaanites, and is one of the oldest designations for divinity in the world. Elohimis the plural form of Eland indicates not a belief in many gods, but emphasizes the majesty of the one true God, the God above all other gods. Elohimis the Hebrew word for God that appears in the very first sentence of the Bible. When we pray to Elohim,we remember that he is the one who began it all, creating the heavens and the earth. This ancient name for God contains the idea of God’s creative power as well as his authority and sovereignty. Jesus used a form of the name on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

Yahweh is the sacred, personal name of God given to Moses in Exodus. Yahweh is not a God who is remote or aloof but one who is always near, intervening in history on behalf of his people. Yahweh is closely associated with his saving acts in Exodus, and evokes for us God’s saving power in the lives of his people today.

We usually use the word “God” as a single, all-encompassing name, but God has many different names and titles that we find in the Bible, each describing different parts of God’s nature and character. As we grow in our faith and knowledge (intimacy) of God and God’s nature and love for us, we will experience the truth of many of those names for ourselves as we come to know God the Father, the Lord our Rock or our Shepherd, God our Provider, etc.

Many of the names of God can be sorted along two lines: the distant, almighty God who ordered the heavens and the earth, and the God who personally loves and cares about each one of us. Most of us have a tendency to relate to God more closely along one of those identities than the other, but in truth, God is both/and. A deeper understanding of the both/and will grow our intimacy with the almighty, all-powerful Creator God…who has numbered our days while we were still in the womb.

Most of the Hebrew names of God begin with either El or Yahweh, reflecting this dichotomy.

El comes from the Canaanites, and is one of the oldest designations for divinity in the world. Elohimis the plural form of Eland indicates not a belief in many gods, but emphasizes the majesty of the one true God, the God above all other gods. Elohimis the Hebrew word for God that appears in the very first sentence of the Bible. When we pray to Elohim,we remember that he is the one who began it all, creating the heavens and the earth. This ancient name for God contains the idea of God’s creative power as well as his authority and sovereignty. Jesus used a form of the name on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

Yahweh is the sacred, personal name of God given to Moses in Exodus. Yahweh is not a God who is remote or aloof but one who is always near, intervening in history on behalf of his people. Yahweh is closely associated with his saving acts in Exodus, and evokes for us God’s saving power in the lives of his people today.

Those we honor and remember on All Saints Sunday tasted the living water. It has become in them a “spring gushing up to eternal life.” At some point they asked for a drink of this water, and there was someone there who could offer it to them. They received a Christian witness, just as we did when we asked for the same drink. It is essential to the kingdom that we be willing to offer other people a taste of the living water. We offer it both as individuals and as a church. It is offered verbally and by our life witness. Part of our life witness is living out the membership vows we have preached about in the previous weeks of this series. We know that we can do much more when we function collectively than what we can accomplish individually. The mission of our church is to manage the mountains ahead of us, cross the deep rivers, and continue to do what we have been doing for 219 years: We offer the truth of the gospel, the bread of life and the living water to those who hunger and thirst for God.

Those we honor and remember on All Saints Sunday tasted the living water. It has become in them a “spring gushing up to eternal life.” At some point they asked for a drink of this water, and there was someone there who could offer it to them. They received a Christian witness, just as we did when we asked for the same drink. It is essential to the kingdom that we be willing to offer other people a taste of the living water. We offer it both as individuals and as a church. It is offered verbally and by our life witness. Part of our life witness is living out the membership vows we have preached about in the previous weeks of this series. We know that we can do much more when we function collectively than what we can accomplish individually. The mission of our church is to manage the mountains ahead of us, cross the deep rivers, and continue to do what we have been doing for 219 years: We offer the truth of the gospel, the bread of life and the living water to those who hunger and thirst for God.