“The Sacraments: The Lord’s Supper Pt 2” 1 Sam 21:1-9 Mark 14:12-25

 When I sat down to work on this sermon this week the first image that came to mind was boxes. Odd I know. But I was thinking about how we put the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion into a box in so many of our worship services. You can celebrate it on this particular Sunday but not that one. Or you have to use a specific brand of grape juice. Or the bread needs to be cut using a particular technique. And all of a sudden we miss the holiness in the midst of the ordinary.

Which is the exact opposite of what Jesus was saying and doing on that evening long ago. He was saying that the ordinary becomes extraordinary by God’s grace and mercy. Case in point - the Gospel of Mark.

If we sit back and let this telling of the Last Supper wash over us, in so many ways it sounds like Palm Sunday does it not? The disciples come to ask Jesus where and how he would like them to prepare for the celebration of the passover meal and he tells them the story of a man they will encounter - sort of like the young, unridden colt they have found. And Jesus says, that they will find a man carrying a jar of water and they are to follow him. There they will find the owner of a house, where they are to ask for the guest room for the celebration.

I have to wonder if the disciples are used to moments like this by now. Are they used to Jesus telling them exactly what they will find in a certain place at a certain time, as odd as it may seem to the outside world? Are they used to strange directions or has it become common place for them?

For the disciples went and they did find things exactly as Jesus had said. Then they set about preparing for the Passover meal.

While the Passover meal was certainly a central part of the Jewish life, thus a central part of the lives of Jesus and his disciples, the disciples were busy putting their own lives into boxes as well. This - well this is the day when we prepare for the Passover. When we have a mental list to check off in our head about what needs to be done in order for a suitable meal. And right now, now, we need to prepare. 

But they are so caught up in the concern of finding a place to celebrate and the present needs to prepare, that they almost miss the point - Jesus is about to do something new.

However, there is no way for them to miss that point when they truly sit down that evening around the table in the Upper Room. All of a sudden, Jesus breaks through the spirit in that place with one statement, “One of you is going to betray me.” At that moment, none of the preparation and planning for the meal matter any more. As everyone starts to wonder if Jesus is talking about them. 

Jesus, who was able to tell them to follow a man with a water jug to the door of an unknown house, won’t reveal to them who he knows, with just as much clarity, who is going to betray him. Instead, he picked up what the disciples had prepared on the table - the bread and the cup - and gave them a new meaning. A meaning not rooted in the past, but in what is to come. In transformation. 

The Passover meal was all about deliverance. The deliverance that God alone brought long ago, when for the last time Moses told Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Now Jesus is foretelling of a new type of deliverance, deliverance that he will bring through the cross as he gives away his body and blood. 

Yet, what sets this giving of life, even unto death, into motion - its going to be hard. It’s something that there is no way that they can prepare themselves for. Long ago, God gave the Israelites detailed instructions. Instructions on how they were to prepare a lamb and how they were to paint their doorpost in its blood. Instructions on how they were to pack. And later on, instructions on how to celebrate this holy meal. But now, on the eve of Jesus changing the world by his actions, there isn’t as clear of instructions. Just a statement that it will start in betrayl.

No wonder the disciples have a hard time believing him! Jesus knew that they would. You don’t have to look much further past the first word of Jesus’s statement, “Truly!” Jesus used that word when he was about to say something that would be hard to believe and understand, and the fact that someone who had just spent the last three years with him was about to betray him, is no exception. 

It’s so funny that on this night when the disciples have gathered together to remember, that they would be shocked by the idea of betrayl. It is all throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Jacob betrayed Esau. Cain betrayed Abel. Joseph’s brothers betrayed him. And that’s just in the book of Genesis. We as human beings seem to have the idea of betrayl written on our hearts - and we can violate each other’s trust so easily. .

But it is not a mistake or an aside that Jesus mentioned this idea of someone close to him betraying him at this particular meal. In fact, in some ways its central to the story and meaning of his Holy Supper. On the first Passover God established a covenant, but our human weakness couldn’t live into it. Now on this particular night, Jesus is speaking of God establishing a new covenant - one that can withstand all of our betrayl and weaknesses. One that is as strong as Jesus’s body and blood. 

And friends, that is not a message that is meant to be contained just to particular dates and times and ways of celebrating. It’s stronger than the box we have tried to put it in. It’s a message that transformed everything. 

But I get it. That’s a weighty message. And sometimes its easier to talk about the linens and the proper day to celebrate then that life-altering message. The message that Jesus is the lamb who came to liberate us from ourselves and our own mess. Easier than asking ourselves the hard question of how we, each and every one of us, have betrayed Jesus Christ. How we have tried to go about life on our own way and it hasn’t worked. 

One final story about communion. At my home church growing up, we celebrate communion a variety of ways, but a few times a year we would come up to the rail, which had been prepared to receive. And on those particular times, two young people were selected to fold up the linens to reveal the table before people would come up, pew by pew. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name, but one of the communion days at the rail, one of the ushers told me that I didn’t know how to fold the linen correctly. It says something that I can remember that statement and the tone in which it was said over two decades later. I now understand that the usher wanted the table to be perfect for people to come and receive this holy meal. But friends, no amount of outward perfection can cover up what’s in our hearts. No matter how we may look to the outer world, we still need to hear this story, celebrate this meal, and remember God’s grace. We all stand in need of transformation. We all stand in need of this unbreakable covenant. So let us prepare for the right thing, the truest thing. Amen. 

“The Sacraments - The Lord’s Supper Part 1” Psalm 65 1 Cor 11: 17-34

 “Let us break bread together, on our knees. Let us break bread together, on our knees. When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord have mercy on me.”

“One bread, one body, one Lord of all; One cup of blessing which we bless, And we, though many, throughout the Earth. We are one body in this one Lord.”

There are many beautiful hymns to usher us in to celebrating the Lord’s Supper. That set our hearts in a place where we can reflect on what the bread and cup mean to us. But well before we had these hymns of the faith, we have had the story. The story of what took place on that night when Jesus gave himself up for us. A story that was handed down throughout the ages, included handed down to the Apostle Paul. 

Paul has traveled away from one of the churches that he had established, a church in Corinth. But after he left, he heard rumblings that things were not going well. While many folks think of the beautiful scripture read at weddings from 1 Corinthians, the truth is that this body of believers was a mess. There were divisions and in fighting. Folks were being welcomed based off of wealth and status, not the fact that they were brothers and sisters in Christ. Including when it came to celebrating the Lord’s Supper, which was set in the context of a much bigger meal.

So throughout this letter to the Corinthians, Paul needs to get back to basics. In fact, you know its pretty bad when Paul starts out this section of the letter by saying essentially, “I have nothing good to up lift about how you are celebrating the Lord’s Supper, because you are harming one another through it.” Ouch!

The Corinthians need to remember what this Supper is all about in the first place. Now each of the Gospel accounts tell the story of Jesus’s final meal with his disciples before his death a little differently. Paul’s account here is probably closest to that found in the the 22nd chapter of the Gospel of Luke, but even then, it isn’t identical. But for Paul it isn’t about getting everything exactly right, its about remembering, individually and together, what Christ has done on our behalf. 

But it is really hard to communally remember, if you are divided. Consider what its like when you are at a family gathering. We have spent a lot of time this past year in my family telling stories. Looking through old photographs and watching videos. And then we tell each other and tell together what happened. Do you remember when that took place? Or who is the person sitting there, I don’t recognize them. And as we tell the story in that way it expands and becomes so much richer than any version of the event we could have told on our own. We have something much fuller to pass on to the generations that come after us. 

That version of communally remember is so much different than people shouting corrections over one another or telling someone that their version of the story is wrong. 

If we are lucky, we have beautiful communal moments like the first example, but we probably all have events that comes to mind that would be like the second example. Which is better for remembering together? Which is more rich in passing down the important events from generation to generation?

The first for sure. But that is not where the Corinthian church finds itself. They are firmly living into the second example, if they are listening to one another at all. And Paul has had enough. This is not the faith that he handed to them and this is not the faith that they are to pass on to others. 

And for Paul if you aren’t coming together to tell that story of our faith, coming together to remember as the body of Christ what has been done for you, then you are missing what this meal is all about. 

Its not about honoring some and excluding others. Or feeding one to their fill and giving another scraps. Its about what we are remembering. Its about the why of the celebration. 

To which, Paul calls to mind the story of Jesus’s last night with disciples, when he took the items that would have already been on the table and gave them a new meaning. We sometimes miss that fact as Christians. Jesus was celebrating the Passover Meal, a whole meal that was steeped in remembering what God had done when he brought his people out of Egypt and the promise he made to be with them and be their God. 

Now Jesus took some of those same things, the bread and the cup, and gave them meaning that points to a different covenant. The covenant that will come by his broken body and blood split to set us free from the sin that has held us captive. 

Paul has no time for turning the table that is all about the forgiveness of sins into a place for sinning. It denigrates what Christ has offered. Paul essentially is saying that if the Corinthians confess what they have been doing, they too, can be forgiven. Even for their division. 

The table of Christ is not a place for division, my friends. It is a place for unity - for oneness. That’s why we only have one loaf of bread present on the table and one cup that we give God thanks for. And when we celebrate this meal, we not only live into the command that Jesus gave his original disciples, but we, too, remember. Remember who we are and remember why this story has changed us. Remember what we are to be about as Jesus’s disciples in the world today. 

Christ, in his words, wrote the sermon that he wanted us to hear every time we come around the table. It is short, but we are to write it in our hearts and minds. And we are to pass it on. 

So how do we do that? How do we pass on the meaning of this holy meal? First, we tell the story. Jesus was so wise when he took ordinary things and used them to explain something exrodinary. By taking something that we see every day, bread and a cup, and using them as symbols, they serve as reminders and starting points for us to share with the world. It’s like when we see a rainbow in the sky and it brings to mind the promise that God gave to Noah. Or water pointing us to the gift of baptism. Or a wedding band on your finger that reminds you of the vows you made. Symbols help us to remember and realign our lives, but also declare. 

But it isn’t enough, friends, to declare a truth with our lips and not live it out with our lives. The Corinthians are doing that and it just doesn’t work. Instead, we also need to live out the love that this table points us to. It is a reminder to love others as Christ first loved us. We don’t just tell about what happened around the table for our sake, we live it out for the sake of those who do not yet know.

When we tell and live it out, then we go from observers of the table to true participants. We go from admirers of Christ to disciples of Christ. We go as people who sing songs, like Psalm 65, of the forgiveness of sins and what great things God has done. We go forth, not as people who have to have all the answered, but certainly as people who have been transformed. So let us go forth, my friends. Amen. 

“The Sacraments: Baptism Part 2” Psalm 84 Romans 6: 1-11

  “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” For far too long this powerful question of Paul has been spoken of as if it is simply rehortical. As if the answer is so obvious that it doesn’t deserve the time. Of course, the answer is no. Or as Paul would say - by no means. Right?

But to Paul, this was an important enough questions that he does ask it. Because its important to how we tell the story of God.

If you ask people to tell you their story - where do most people begin? Usually at some big milestone. Maybe they start way back with their birth. Or maybe when they got their first job. Or wedding. Or birth of a child. 

But how many people start with their baptism? Or their moment of conversion? Or beginning of their Christian journey?

We are now in the second week of this brief explanation of the sacraments - chiefly baptism and Holy Communion. And we are doing something a bit untraditional. Instead of simply spending one week on each of the sacraments, we are spending two for a bit of a deeper dive. 

Paul is trying to remind the Christians in Rome about their baptism and the richness of baptisms meaning. It wasn’t just about immediate family coming together for an event - it was life changing. In fact, it tied you together with a whole new family - the body of Christ - and connected you with the saints throughout the ages. 

In fact, this act of baptism was so life changing, that you couldn’t go back to who you were before. Your old self - that self before you knew the love of Christ - that self is dead. And in its place is a new self, claimed by the relentless love of God. A self that has been set free indeed. 

Remember that Paul was a Jew. So if you asked Paul to tell his story, he would go way back. Back before his birth. Or even his family’s lineage. He would go back to the story of Exodus - where God came to set his people free from Pharaoh and take them out of Egypt and bring them into the promised land. But because Paul was also a follower of Jesus he didn’t stop there. He showed throughout time how God kept pursuing us and loving us, even when we fell short - to the point of Jesus giving himself up for us. That is grace.

So for Paul baptism is like a new exodus - a new path that God has created to bring us out of captivity to sin and into the promised land of new life in Christ. But if we keep looking back, keep wanting to go back to what life once was - that would be akin to the Israelites complaining to Moses that they wanted to go back to Egypt - misremembering it as a place where they were taken care of instead of a place of captivity. Of course the Israelites shouldn’t go back to Egypt! Of course we shouldn’t continue on sinning. For it is in Christ that we are free indeed. 

But what exactly are we freed for? We know that we are freed from sin, but if we believe that we are truly a new creation in Christ then we will believe that we are also freed for something - a different way of being. A different way to live our faith in action.

To answer that question, my friends, we need to look no further then the vows that we make at baptism. For some of us, these vows other people made on our behalf when we were small - promising to raise us up to come to know the freedom that can only be found in Christ. But they are also some of the same questions that we ask people when they join the church - either through confirmation or a profession of faith. 

Who are we? What are we saved for? To renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,

reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. Friends, evil is real. We only need to turn on the news to see that fact. But as people of the water, people who have become alive in Christ, we believe that this is not the way of God. While other people may say that we can do whatever we want - we say, by no means. We want to live as people marked by God’s love and not sin. And because of that we chose not only to turn away from the spiritual forces of witness and evil, we renounce them. We reject them. We choose a wholly different way. 

And when we turn away from the powers that hold us captive, we can choose to accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. As people of baptism, we not only have a new life, we have new eyes and new hearts. We start to be able to see how injustice runs rampant in this world, how it has become so normative that we are blind to it - and we instead chose to be people of God’s care and provision. 

And why do we do this? Because we confess Jesus Christ our your Savior,

put our whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as our Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races. In other words, we choose not to make how we live be about us. We choose to make it about Christ. We know that we would never be able to accept the chains of sin by our own will and efforts. It just isn’t possible. But we can be set free by Christ’s grace and because of that we choose him. We choose his way which is so much better than our way. 

But here’s the thing, friends. Baptism isn’t just about this vow that we make to God. It’s also an opportunity for the whole congregation of believers to make a promise back to us. To nurture these persons in Christ's holy Church, that by their teaching and example they may be guided to accept God's grace for themselves, to profess their faith openly, and to lead a Christian life. This life of baptism isn’t meant to be lived in solitude. Every time someone comes to the waters of baptism we remember the promises we made and the promises that were made over us at our baptism. We remember the story of who we are. We are children of God on this journey of faith together. 

Brothers and sisters, what we do, our actions, those can only flow from who we are. If we feel like we need to keep sinning in order to prove God’s grace and love, we missed the whole point of being a new person. That is thinking of the old way - the way we once were. When we step into a new life in Christ all that we do and say flows from that place. And there, we don’t want to be bound up in sin any longer. 

We become like the pilgrim in Psalm 84 that simply longs to be with God. To proclaim the story of God. That is who we are.

We are people of the waters. We are people of grace. We are people who have been set free indeed! Amen and amen. 

“The Sacraments: Baptism” Acts 2: 37-42 Psalm 45

 In high school I was heavily involved in the arts. I was in orchestra and marching band. I was in the musicals that took place every other year. And I loved celebrating my colleagues and friends who could do things I was never able to do in the arts. The folks in Jazz Band (that wasn’t my instrument), chorus, and those who painted. I remember even in high school, being in awe of people who could offer their gifts in such amazing ways. 

Case in point - one of my friends singing the verses of Alison Krauss’s Down to the River to Prayer, perhaps best known from the movie Brother, Where Art Thou?, as solos, with the choir coming in behind her for each refrain. Even as I reflected on the text for this week’s sermon, I could still hear her melodic voice ringing in the auditorium saying, “As I went down in the river to pray, studying about that good ol' way, and who shall wear the starry crown. Good Lord, show me the way.”

Krause isn’t singing about just going to the river - she is penning lyrics about the transformation that can happen there. And that my friends is exactly what baptism is - an outward sign of such powerful transformation. 

In the text this week from the Book of Acts, Peter, after being touched by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, goes out to proclaim the Word of God. And all of these folks responded. As they have heard the Good News and have come to believe, they have a logical question, now what? Now, what should we do?

To which Peter answers, repent and be baptized. 

Repentance is the act of turning away from sin. Turning the complete opposite direction from who we once were before knowing Christ. But if we are not careful, we can trick ourselves into thinking that this is a work we do. That we are the one’s who make a decision to turn ourselves around and just do it. Which isn’t the case. Repentance can only come from God. We could never do it on our own, because it doesn’t strike us as necessary. It is God who brings to our hearts and minds the desire to repent and God who equips us to do so. 

The same is true of baptism. Over these eleven years in ministry, I have had the honor and privilege of baptizing folks. Babies and adults. Confirmands and new converts. And before each baptism I sit down and talk about what baptism means. If we think that baptism is something that we are choosing to do just because we think that we should, then we are missing the point. Baptism is living into the very promise of God. We are not the ones who initiates it, God is. 

Which is what Peter is getting at with his very next statement. The what is for you and your children and everyone who the Lord has called? The promise. Not our promise, though we do make some pretty important ones at baptism, but the promise of God to us. And what exactly is God promising? That nothing can go back to normal. That once you recognize and respond to the love of God - the love that God has had for you before you even recognized it - nothing will ever be the same. 

Baptism is not just a nice act, my friends, its an outward sign of an inward change. It is our response to the love of God - and that response is a new life in Christ. 

And if we need a reminder of what that new life looks like - Luke keeps writing in chapter two of Acts about what life looked like for these early followers of the Way of Jesus - they studied the Word of God, they offered what they had and themselves for service to the Kingdom, they were art of a community that cared for one another, and they prayed every chance they got. Their lives were completely focused on following Jesus. 

The problem is we don’t spend enough time really sitting with what it means that baptism changes us. We aren’t always sure we really want a new life, because there are some things we really like about our old life that we wish could stay the same. But, friends, you can’t be in the Word of God, serving the Lord with all you are, growing closer to God in prayer, and reaching out into the community with compassion and expect that everything will stay the same. It won’t. It can’t. Because our focus moves from our own selves and our desires, to the very desires of God. 

When we become a Christian, we are sometimes taught that it changes our ethics or morals - the way we approach making decisions, but it also so much more than that. It changes our daily live, because God because the center of our reality. 

Hanging in my shower is what looks like a luggage tag. I know - odd. Until you look closer at what the tag says: Lord, as I enter the water to bather, I remember my baptism. Wash me by your grace. Fill me with your Spirit. Renew my soul. I pray that I might live as your child today and honor you in all that I do. 

Baptism is powerful because it takes this human thing - water - and gives it a holy meaning - that God cleanses us. That God renews us. That God transforms us. All because of God’s grace. 

But Pastor Michelle, what does all of this have to do with Psalm 46? It doesn’t even mention baptism! I’m glad you asked. Psalm 46 is this beautiful hymn and prayer of faith and praise. It actually is what inspired Martin Luther to write the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. And it is all about trusting God - even in the midst of challenge and change. And reminding us that we can trust God into the future because of what God has done in the past. 

Friends, baptism is not about us forcing ourselves to change. It is the work of God within us. It is the response God inspires out of us. And it is about the new identity that God clothes us in as part of the body of Christ. And all of that is rooted in the trust we have in our God. And if you ever need a way to remind yourself of why our God is truth worthy - simply stop. Be still. And remember that God is God and you are not. 

At the end of the day - we cannot transform or change ourselves in a meaningful way. It has to come to God. But we also need to make space for God to speak into our lives and stir in our hearts. 

So in the words of Allison Krauss, “O sinners, let's go down, let’s go down, come on down. O sinners, let's go down down in the river to pray.” Amen. 

“Letter to the Ephesians: Be Strengthened” Eph 6:10-20

 

We are now in the last week of our sermon series on the letter to the Ephesians and have arrived at what is arguably one of the most well known passages from this letter - the armor of God.

What Paul is masterful at is taking something that everyone knows, something that everyone sees and giving it a new Kingdom meaning. Remember that we are in Ephesus, part of the Roman word, so of course people would know what Roman armor would look like. The shield, the sword, the helmet - all of it. But Paul essentially says, you may see these things right now and think about the power of the world, but next time you see them I want you to think of the power of the Kingdom of God.

Friends, we already do this in our culture. If I would ask you what you think of when you see the cross - not many of you would say a tool of the Roman Empire to accomplish capitol punishment. We see the love of God, salvation, and God’s gift of new life. Or the dogwood tree, the lily, the manger. All things that may have one meaning in the world - usually relating to natural beauty or a specific purpose, but through the light of God, we see them with the eyes of the Kingdom of our Lord.

Unfortunately for us, sometimes it is really hard to translate ancient writings into modern English that we can understand. So we sometimes miss some really important things. For example, right at the beginning of today’s passage we hear these words “be strong in the Lord.” Now often when we tell people to be strong we are calling upon them to dig deep within themselves in order to bring forth some unknown strength. In other words its about what we can do by our own power and might, which is certainly not how this letter is calling us to be at its end. 

All throughout the letter, Paul has been reminding us who we are in God and to rely on God alone, even when it may not make sense by the world’s standards. The more accurate translation is the title of today’s sermon. Be strengthened in the Lord. It’s not about you calling upon your own reserve and strength and stamina, my friends, its about falling into the arms of Jesus and allowing him to strengthen us in ways that we simply cannot on our own.

So how do we go about finding strength in the Lord? We put on the armor of God. 

When I was little, there used to be a few Christian bookstores in the area that we would visit frequently. And I still remember in one of them seeing this kids sized version of the armor of God. It looked so cumbersome and uncomfortable, made of plastic pieces to fit over your body. But that isn’t what the first hearers of this letter would have had come to mind. They would have thought of the Roman soldiers in the area, who showed their power through the arm of the state through this armor.

To which Paul says - listen, we are putting on this armor not to go out and fight people for wealth, power, and prestige, as is the way of the world. No, we are putting on this armor to fight bigger spiritual battles. Battles that this world may not see and certainly cannot understand. We are fighting against the devil himself. 

And for that type of battle, you need to be equipped a lot differently than the soldiers and guards that you see around you.

First, you need to put on the belt of truth. Not the truth that the world tries to profess, but the truth of God. The truth that Christ has conquered the grave and will have the final victory. The truth that the darkness may try to overcome the light, but the light will not be stopped. Friends, if we do not know and step into living this truth, then there is no way we can stand firm against the devil’s schemes. It’s notable that this is the first part of the armor of God, because it is what holds the rest of the defense we have together. It girds us with the strength of Christ because we know Christ.  Not just know of Christ or know facts of what he has done, but we know him personally. We have seen how his truth has changed us in the past, so we allow that truth to guide us into the future. 

Second, is the breastplate of righteousness. Breast plates served the purpose of protecting one of the most important muscles in the body - the heart. It would be akin to a bullet proof vest today, even if that is very different from the weapons used in the Roman Empire. But it is similar in this way - you can survive being wounded in the arm or the leg - but the heart needs to be protected at all costs.

So how is the heart protected? Through righteousness. Often when we hear the word ‘righteousness’ one of the first things that comes to mind is righteousness living, which is important. But remember that we are talking about being strengthened by Christ here - so we are putting on the righteousness of our Lord. For it is only through this righteousness that we can even attempt to live a righteous life through grace - because everything has been counted to him as righteousness. When we start to think that we can live okay on our own - well friends, that is the one of the most fatal wounds to our hearts - pride.

Next, we need to check our feet to see if they are fitted with readiness. But not just any type of readiness - but the readiness of peace. Think back to the prophet Isaiah foretelling the birth of our Savior. What did he say about feet? How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news. Brothers and sisters, we need more people who are willing to allow their feet to carry them to bring good news. To go far and wide equipped by the truth and righteousness of Christ to preach the Gospel of peace. Not the peace of the world, but the peace of our Savior.

But we aren’t quite there yet. We need to pick up the shield of faith. Back in the times when Paul is writing, soldiers would do this really interesting thing with their shields. They would dip it into water before battle in hopes that when the flaming arrows would hit it, they would be deflected. So what can deflect the arrows coming at the Ephesians? Faith. 

There isn’t any specific persecution that Paul names that the Ephesians are facing, but they were harassed almost daily by their neighbors. How do you face that and not let it wear down your strength and spirit? Faith. Faith in the one who is greater. Faith in the one who has the victory. Faith in Christ alone. Under the helmet of the Salvation of Christ. 

Then Paul calls for the Ephesians to pick up the only piece of the armor that would be considered offensive instead of defensive - the Word of God. Friends, we need to actually be in the Word. Not just listen to what I stand up here and tell you on Sundays or what we study together in Sunday school or Bible Study. We need to be in it ourselves, asking the Spirit to guide us. There are lots of folks who think they know what the Bible says, but when they actually get into Scripture themselves, they realize that isn’t quite accurate. 

Finally, what binds all of this armor together? Prayer. Prayers for vigilance. Prayers for other believers. Prayers for strength. 

Friends, sometimes we may feel like we may not know how to face the world, but the good news is that we do not go anything alone. Christ is calling us to know his Word, to step into his truth, to rely on his righteousness, to claim his salvation. Live into faith in him. For through this living in and for Christ, we can do all that he has called us to do. Amen.