AVBC - Sunday - 08/09/26 - Sermon Title: “Abraham - The Reluctant Patriarch” – “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God” - Sermon Series - (Part 2 of 5) – Genesis 12:1-3

 Sunday 08/09/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Abraham - The Reluctant Patriarch” – “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God” - Sermon Series - (Part 2 of 5) – Genesis 12:1-3

(Cover Picture – Abraham, Father of Faith - Picture)

          Last Sunday, we started a five-week sermon series called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God.” In this sermon series, we will continue to take five people or figures from the Old Testament, or Hebrew or Jewish Bible, that God used in extraordinary ways. These people were “regular” or “ordinary people” like many of us are, but God used them, as God can and does use us in extraordinary ways!

          Last Sunday, we talked about the story of Noah, and the Ark. That God made a “Covenant” or an agreement with Noah. If Noah built the Ark, stayed righteous and faithful, after the earth flooded for forty-days, God promised to never again fully flood the earth. This “Covenant” is called the “Noahtic Covenant,” because God made this “Covenant,” or promise with Noah. The big take way from the story of Noah and Ark is faith, righteousness, holiness, and obeying God.

          Does anyone remember what God put it the sky when the flood ended to show Noah as a sign of the promise that there would never again be a world-wide flood? The answer is of course a rainbow. A dove also flew to the Ark with an olive leaf in its beak as a sign of peace, and renewal. This is loosely in part where we get the term, “extending an olive branch.” The power of faith, righteousness, and devotion to God.

          This morning though, our “ordinary” person that God used to do extraordinary things is Abraham. In fact, his name was originally Abram, and his wife Sarah’s name was originally Sarai, before God told Abram that he would now be called Abraham, and that Sarai would now be called Sarah. Like Noah, God made a “Covenant” or a promise to Abraham. We call this promise the “Abrahamic Covenant”. As I also said last Sunday, at the Last Supper Jesus made a “Covenant” or a promise with us, when he took the cup and said, “this is the blood of the New Covenant”. The promise of Christ is that we have forgiveness and salvation in Him. These “agreements,” or “promises,” or “covenants” from God are all throughout the Bible.

          While I do not want to rank the five ordinary people that we are learning about from the Old Testament that do extraordinary things in this sermon series, Abraham is a name that many of us might have heard a lot lately. In fact, who here has heard of the “Abraham Accords?” The Abraham Accords of 2020 were designed to created better trade and relationships with the country of Israel, that is in the majority of the Jewish faith, and the country of the Middle East, which in the majority is of the Muslim faith. Further, our country, the United States has been very involved in the “Abraham Accords,” and we are a country that is majority Christian. About two-thirds of the people of the United States identify as Christian. We certainly have a variety of beliefs or lack of beliefs in this country, but by far the majority religion in this country in Christianity.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims though, all claim spiritual descendancy from Abraham. The “Abrahamic Religions” of the world then, are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In total this makes up about 55% of the population of planet earth. Christianity is the world’s largest faith, followed by Islam, and there are only about 16-million people of the Jewish faith in the whole world. With a current world population about 8.3 billion, Christians, Muslims, and Jews then make up about 4.3 billion people.

(Ordinary People – Extraordinary God – Picture)

          So, this morning, once again, we are going to look at Abraham, an ordinary person, that God used to do extraordinary things.

(Genesis 12:1 – Picture)

In looking at our scripture reading for this morning, once again, from Genesis 12:1-3, we hear this, once again:

The Call of Abram

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” (Gen. 12:1-3, RSV).

(Genesis 12:1-3 – Picture)

          Further, God tells Abram, who will be called Abraham, this of the land of “Canaan” in Genesis 13:15-17:

¹⁵ for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you”               (Gen. 13:15-17, RSV).

This, once again, is land of “Canaan,” or as it is called in the Book of Exodus 3:8, “The Land of Milk and Honey,” or “The Promised Land” as it is listed in scripture too. This of course in Exodus 3:8 is when Moses is preparing the Jews to leave slavery under the Egyptian Pharoah, to go through the Red Sea, to wander the wilderness for 40-years, and eventually get to “The Promised Land.”

          God calls Abram, soon to be renamed by God Abraham, and God tells Abraham that he will be the father of countless people, of more people that there are starts in the sky. Now Abram, soon to be Abraham was very wealthy and affluent, but if God never talked to him and made a covenant with him, I doubt any of us would know anything about him today. In the time of life, he was not ordinary, but today, we would not even know who he is without the covenant that God made with him. So significant is Abraham, that one of our most beloved Unites States Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, was named after the great “Father Abraham.”

(Abraham and Family - Picture)

          The other interesting part of the story of Abraham was that Abraham, and his wife Sarah had only one biological son, who they named “Isaac,” which means “he will laugh,” or “laughter”. The “Covenant” or promise of God through Abraham then passed on to his son Isaac. This same “Covenant” or “Birth Right” then continued down the line, to Moses, to then the great “King David,” who God promised a decedent that would be eternal or forever ruler. This promise of a savior is Jesus Christ, who once again at the Last Supper took his cup, and said, “this is the blood of the new covenant”. When you eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord’s Supper or Communion, we are remembering this “Covenant,” this promise through Christ that started with God, to Adam, to Abraham, the great “King David,” and lastly to Jesus Christ.

(Abraham and Sarah – Picture)

          Now getting back to Abraham, according to the Bible Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was about ninety-years old, and Abraham was about one-hundred years old. Part this promise from God to Abram, soon to be Abraham having a line of decedents that today, once again, make up over half of the world’s 8.3 billion people. Part of the promise of God, or the “covenant” of God, that we call the “Abrahamic Covenant,” was that Sarah and Abraham would produce a male heir. At one hundred years old and ninety years old, by the way!

(Abraham and Isaac – Picture)

As you can see from this portrait, Abraham and Sarah don’t look a day over twenty-years old do they?!

          Without getting too deep into this story this morning, we as Christians claim our decent though Abram, who soon will be called Abraham. Muslims claim the same decent, but not through Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac, but instead through Ishmael. Who is Ishmael? Ishmael is the son of Abraham and his wife Sarah’s servant Hagar. So, Jews and Muslims both claim decent from the great Father Abraham, but Jews and Christians claim decent from Isaac after Abraham. The Old Testament, the Jewish Torah, the first five book of the Old Testament, which is the Jewish or Hebrew Bible says that Jews decent is from Abraham to Isaac and so on, as Christians do. Muslims, once again, claim there decent from Abraham to Ishmael, and claim that Mohammed, the founder of Islam is a direct decedent from Ishmael.

          All this matters, because this figure in the Old Testament, or Jewish Torah, which is the first five books of the Old Testament, or the Books of Moses, as they are sometimes called, explain that Abraham, through God is the “Father of many nations.”

          Since God promised that Abraham would be the father of many, have more descendants than the stars in the sky, and since we as Christians trace our lineage back to him, God’s promises then matter. If the land of Canaan, the promised land, Jerusalem were promised to Abraham and his decedents, and since Jews and Christians trace our ancestry from Abraham, then Isaac, and so on, then Israel is clearly Jewish land. Yet, Muslims who claim their ancestry through Abraham and Ishmael have a different understanding of this. An unavoidable reality though is the centuries of persecution, slaughter, and prejudice towards Jews. After the Holocaust nearly killed all Jews in World War II, many survivors than said they wanted to return to the land that God promised to them through the great “Father Abraham”. Muslims, however, do not see “Canaan” or the “Land of Milk and Honey” as promised land to the Jews. As a result, Jerusalem and surrounding lands are “hot” real estate.

          Efforts to create a Jewish country of Israel and majority Muslim country of Palestine have been ongoing since the Jewish State or country of Israel was formed in 1948. President Jimmy Carter, a good American Baptist tried fervently to create a two-state solution, or a country for the Jews, and one for the Palestinians. To this day, this problem has not been solved.

          This goes back to “Father Abraham” and the “promise,” or the “Covenant” that God made with him that he would be the father of many nations. Further that his people would inherit “Canaan” or the “Land of Milk and Honey”.

(Abraham – Picture)

 Brother and sisters, this is Abram, who God renamed Abraham, “The Father of Many Nations,” to whom God promised his decedents Canaan or “The Land of Milk and Honey”.

          So does Abraham, one of five “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God,” do something extraordinary? Well, if over half of the world’s population claim decadency from the great “Father Abraham”, then I would say, yes indeed God took an ordinary person, Abram, soon to be Abraham and did something extraordinary!

          To make this a sermon that can walk out the door with us this morning, let us look at some application points of why Abraham was an ordinary person with and extraordinary God:

Genesis 12:1-3 records God's call to Abram, containing a divine command to leave his home, a promise to make him a great nation, and the ultimate vow that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him.

 

The Call and the Promise

·         The Command: God tells Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father's house to go to a land that God will show him.

·         The Blessing: God promises to make Abram a great nation, bless him, make his name famous, and make him a source of blessing to others.

·         The Protection: God states He will bless those who bless Abram and curse anyone who treats him with contempt.

·         The Global Scope: The covenant concludes with the promise that all families and peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram

 

Abraham is important in the Bible because he is the first Hebrew patriarch, the receiver of God's covenant, and the ultimate model of faith. Most users on Quora agree that his obedience shaped the entire history of salvation. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Covenant and Promises

·         Great Nation: God promised to make Abraham's descendants into a great nation.

·         The Land: God promised the land of Canaan to his family.

·         Universal Blessing: God promised that all families on earth would be blessed through him, pointing forward to Jesus. [1, 2, 3]

 

An Example of Faith

·         Total Obedience: Abraham left his home and idols to follow a call from God without knowing where he was going.

·         Justification: His trust in God was counted to him as righteousness.

·         The Test of Isaac: He showed supreme trust in God by being willing to offer his son Isaac on the altar. [1, 2, 3]

 

Father of Many

 

·         Ancestry: He is the physical ancestor of the Jewish people through Isaac and Arab peoples through Ishmael.

·         Spiritual Father: The New Testament calls all who believe in God the "children of Abraham". [1, 2]

 

Brothers and sisters, God made a “covenant” or “promise” to Abraham that we believe passed from Isaac, eventually to Moses, eventually to the great King David, and eventually was eternally fulfilled through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We all might feel “ordinary,” but through God, He can use us to do extraordinary things! Be blessed this day and always children of Abraham! Amen.

AVBC - Communion Sunday - 08/02/26 - Sermon Title: “Noah - Faithful in a Corrupt World” – “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God” - Sermon Series - (Part 1 of 5) – Genesis 6:9-22

Sunday 08/02/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Noah - Faithful in a Corrupt World” – “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God” - Sermon Series - (Part 1 and 5) – Genesis 6:9-22     

(Cover Picture – Noah’s Ark)

          This morning we are beginning a new five-week sermon series called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God”. Specifically, over the next five-weeks we will be discussing five figures in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible that were “ordinary people,” but encountered our “extraordinary God”. These five figures of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, and Esther, are by no means all the significant figures in the Old Testament, but this sermon series will focus just on these five. Apart from God, Noah, Abrahan, Joseph, David and Esther were just “ordinary People,” but through God, He made them “extraordinary”.

(Ordinary People - Extraordinary God – Picture)

          I don’t think that being “normal” is a bad thing. For most of us we live lives like most other people, but are we famous to millions or even billions of people? Are buildings named after us? Do people we have never met who know our name and know all about us? We tend to live in a culture where only the elite on the top of the social and economic hierarchy are seen by some as “important.” I disagree wholeheartedly with this, as I believe all people are people. In fact, “ordinary people,” who can do so much through our “extraordinary God”.

          You might have heard me say it before, but my goal as a person, as a Christian, and as a pastor, is “to be nameless to history, and faithful for eternity”. For example, how many people have lived in Adams, Adams Center, Jefferson County, New York State, the United States, and the world, that most of the present human population have never heard of? Further, even if our names are etched into buildings, history books, on tomb stones, etc., do most people know much about them years later? Do we know more than what books might say, or perhaps what has been passed down to us? It is good to remember all those heroes in whom we stand on the shoulders of, but only God is eternal.

With all of this said then, how many of us this morning would say that we are regular “ordinary” people? I think I am a regular “ordinary” person, but not in the sense that I or anyone else is insignificant. We are all just people, all the same before God, but God can use us all to be “extraordinary”. It does need mean that we must be mentioned in the Bible or in other prominent places, but all of us can do “extraordinary” things, through our “extraordinary” God. As it turns out in the Bible God often chose people that were regular or “ordinary” people. The disciples that Jesus called, some of whom were fisherman, were likely just like the average like the average person in Adams or Adams Center. God takes the “ordinary,” and through the “ordinary” can and does do “extraordinary” things!

(Noah’s Calling – Genesis 6:9-22 – Picture)

          This morning though, once again, we are discussing “Noah” in the Book of Genesis, or the Hebrew Torah, for those who are Jewish. Noah potentially could just be name in a lineage or a forgotten footnote in history, but God used him to be “extraordinary”. In truth all are forgotten in many ways, even if a name and some of what person lived is still learned. For we are no longer living in those times, and everything is now what is written, and our world has changed so much. Yet, God called an “ordinary” man named Noah to do something “extraordinary.” It was not about Noah becoming famous, well known, or having us even to this day name children after him, but instead God often choses people for their humility, there faith, and their desire to seek Him.

          In looking at our scripture from the Book of Genesis 6:9-22 once again, we hear:

Noah Pleases God

⁹ These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth       (Gen. 6:9-13, NRSV).

          I have to be honest, the story of Noah and the Ark is great, but it is really challenging story in the Bible. The idea that God flooded the whole earth and all people, all flesh, would be destroyed. Some people get focused on this part of the story, but I would invite us this morning to look at this story in a bigger and a larger way. For example, if we were to look at all humanity on earth today, what would be our report card grade? Would we give humanity an A+? Would we give humanity a B, or a C+? Would we give humanity a D or an F, and why? I ask this, because I think this is a bigger theme is this story. I certainly struggle abundantly with some of the violence in the Old Testament and the idea that is the story of Noah that all of humanity is wiped out other than his family, but how would we grade humanity today? Have we all done a good job with the earth? Have we all done a good job loving and serving to best we could?

(Genesis 6:9,14 – Picture)

          To me, the story of Noah and the Ark is a call for us to look at ourselves, and to look at all humanity? It’s a call to ask ourselves if we are truly living the way that God wants us to live. I think if we are all honest, we can probably say that we can do even better than we are doing now. Noah himself according to Genesis 6:9 was righteous, blameless, as he walked with God. Therefore, if someone tells you that are like Noah in the Bible this is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean after all, some people still name their kids after Noah, who was a righteous, blameless, and Godly man. Noah followed God, and did whatever God commanded. Specifically, God asks Noah to build this massive ship called an Ark. How many of would want to do this?

(Noah Building the Ark – Picture)

          Picking up in Genesis 6:14 we hear, once again:

¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die (Gen. 9:14-17, NRSV).

Again, the story of Noah and the Ark is a powerful and deep story. Imagine building an Ark? This is not just a little project, it is unbelievable!

(Genesis 6:18 – Ark Picture)

Further, as we hear once again in Genesis 6:18. God established a “covenant” or an agreement with Noah.

¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you (Gen. 6:18, NRSV).

 

To make a covenant with God, means that God making a specific promise. God did this with Abraham, with Moses, David, and others like Adam in the Garden of Eden. Just don’t eat off the “Tree of the knowledge of God and evil” God told Adam. This covenant that God made with Noah, however, is the:

Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9): God promised never to destroy the earth again by a flood, giving the rainbow as an unconditional sign for all creation.                           [1, 2, 3, 4]

God’s covenant with Noah, is that He will never again flood the whole earth. The story continues with the rest of our scripture for this morning from Genesis 6:9-22, concluding in Genesis 6:19-22 saying, once again:

(Genesis 6:22 – Ark Picture)

¹⁹ And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.’ ²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

 

          This story is so timeless in fact, that some church nurseries have a Noah’s Ark for kids to play with, and you can even go to the “Ark Encounter” in the state of Kentucky. I have never been there, but it is a complete replica of the Ark based upon the Noah story in the book of Genesis. While we do not know what Noah really looked like, I did find a picture of what some might think that he looked like:

(Noah – Picture)

Another joke that I have always had around Noah’s Ark story in the Book of Genesis is that Noah’s wife wanted her mother to come along on this 40-day Ark ride. Of course, there is nothing at all in the Bible at all about Noah’s mother-in-law, but here is a funny picture of how Noah responded to his wife when she asked Noah if he had seen here mother.

(Noah’s “Mother-In-Law – Ark Picture)

          So, Noah, like most of us was a regular “ordinary” person, but God used him to be “extraordinary”.  God can use any of us and does all the time to do little and maybe even massively “extraordinary” things. Again, the story of Noah’s Ark is a very challenging story in some ways. God makes a covenant with Noah to never again flood the earth, and all the covenants of the Old Testament culminate with Jesus. For at the Last Supper, that we will celebrate this morning, Jesus took the cup as said, “this is the blood of the New Covenant,” for our eternal promise and our eternal covenant with God, is through Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

          So how significant is the Old Testament Book of Genesis story of Noah’s Ark? Well, the realtor that helped Melissa and I with the house we live in now was named Noah. What did I get Noah as a thank you gift for his help? Well, a Legos build your own Noah’s Ark kit of course!

          In this first sermon in this sermon series called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary God” I want to explain, once again, why Noah and the story of the Ark matter to us today. How can we take this story out of the doors with us, and how can we apply to our lives and relationships with Jesus today? Here is how:

Genesis 6:9–22 describes Noah's righteous character, God's decision to judge a corrupt and violent world with a flood, and instructions to build an ark to save Noah's family and the animals. It highlights the themes of sin's seriousness, divine grace, and total obedience. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Character and Corruption

·         Noah's walk: Noah is described as righteous, blameless in his time, and walking closely with God.

·         World's state: The earth is filled with corruption and violence because people turned away from God's ways. [1, 2, 3]

 

Judgment and Grace

·         Divine warning: God announces His plan to destroy all life on earth with a flood because of human evil.

·         The covenant: God chooses to show grace by making a promise (covenant) to save Noah and his family. [1, 2]

 

The Ark and Obedience

·         Exact plans: God gives Noah precise measurements and design instructions for the massive wooden ark.

·         Preservation: Noah is told to bring food and pairs of every kind of animal to keep them alive.

·         Complete compliance: Noah shows active faith by obeying every single command that God gives him. [1, 2, 3, 4]

 

Even further:

 

The significance of Noah in Abrahamic traditions centers on salvation, obedience, and a fresh start for humanity, represented by three key themes: deliverance from judgment, the renewal of creation, and a divine covenant.   [1, 2, 3]

Core Religious Meanings

·         Righteousness: Noah stood out as a faithful and blameless man in a corrupt world, proving that obedience to God matters even when no one else follows. [1, 2, 3]

·         Salvation and Grace: Building the ark provided a literal and spiritual refuge, showing God's mercy saving the innocent and preserving all land life from total destruction. [1, 2, 3, 4]

·         New Beginning: Acting as a second patriarch or "new Adam", Noah stepped onto a cleansed earth to restart the human race. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Covenant and Symbolism

·         The Rainbow: God made a promise never to destroy the earth by a flood again, using the rainbow as a sign of peace and lasting loyalty.

·         The Name: Meaning "rest" or "consolation" in Hebrew, his birth symbolized relief from the heavy toil and curse placed upon the ground.             [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

This morning, once again, we have discussed the story of Noah and the Ark. Noah, others like him, and us, are “Ordinary People” who have an “Extraordinary God” Amen.

AVBC - Sunday - 07/26/26 - Sermon Title: “Growing to Maturity/Kingdom Impact (Building up the church to build up the world)” – “The Better Together: Building the Body” - Sermon Series – (Part 3 and 4) – 1 Corinthians 1:18, Matthew 5:1-16

 Sunday 07/26/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Growing to Maturity/Kingdom Impact (Building up the church to build up the world)” – “The Better Together: Building the Body” - Sermon Series – (Part 3 and 4) – 1 Corinthians 1:18,   Matthew 5:1-16

(Cover Picture – Sermon on the Mount)

          On Sunday June 28^th, we started a new four-week sermon series here at AVBC called “The Better Together: Building the Body” sermon series. The general idea behind this sermon series is that we all have gifts and graces from God that we can use to make the world better. We have various spiritual gifts, we have various general gifts, like being good at sports, music, etc. What do we do with the natural gifting that God has given us? Further, do we know fully what all our gifts are? Some of us might be very aware of what are gifts are not, but what has God given us in the way of gifts and graces? Graces can be defined as “Free, unearned gifts and inner divine powers given by God to people. They help humans grow closer to God, find strength to do good things, and receive forgiveness and eternal life” (https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+spiritual+graces).

          Maybe in school, some of us were great at math, and maybe some of us were not. Some of us loved history or social studies, and some did not. Some of us loved Physical Education, and some did not. Some loved cross country and track and field, and some loved watching in the bleachers. Some were drawn to music or theater, some to computers, some to prepare for work in a trade, the military, college, etc. We are all different, but we are all united in Jesus Christ. The many gifts and graces that we have come together in this church, so that we can fulfill the mission of our church. The mission of the Adams Village Baptist Church which in printed in our bulletin, once again is:

OUR MISSION:   

“We are a Christ-Like community where people are inspired to share their time and talent to glorify God and experience His love as they grow in faith and fellowship”.

          Not all of us are called to preach, to sing, to construct, to administrate, etc., but we all have gifts and graces, and God has given them to all of us. On the entrance table to the Sanctuary for this morning, we have the “Spiritual Gifts Survey” that I put out a few weeks ago. This “Spiritual Gifts Survey” has 80-statements that you put a number 1-5 in to help you determine or understand more your spiritual gifts. You can chart this out, and this survey will tell you more the spiritual gifts God has given you. Why is this important? It’s important, so that everything God has given you around gifts and graces, you can then use to the glory of Jesus Christ not only at the Adams Village Baptist Church, but in the world.

          In my opinion a good pastor or priest in some ways is like a coach. We teach, we lead, but we are called to help lead people closer to Christ, to empower them, and the to strengthen their gifts and grace. As a result of this, we all get better, and our faith and impact get better. Or another way to say it is this, leaders help create and grow leaders. Leaders want the best in a person to grow, to be sharpened, and homed in on. Leaders want you to be the best God has made you to be, so that this church and the world is better because of you and the gifts and graces that God has given you.

          In the first two weeks of this sermon series, we discussed different spiritual gifts, as well gifts and graces in general. On the third week, I was off, as I created this sermon series months ago. As the saying goes through, “We make plans, and God laughs”. Last week, we were blessed to have our ABCNYS Executive Minister Rev. Jerrod Hugenot here to preach, so the last two Sundays were “the best sermons that I never gave”. As a result, I am going to tie together, what was originally a four-week sermon series together this morning. In combining then my last two sermons for this sermon series, my message this morning is called, “Growing to Maturity/Kingdom Impact (Building up the church to build up the world)”. The idea behind this final sermon in this “The Better Together: Building the Body” sermon series is how can we further grow, discover, and use our gifts and graces here and everywhere? The reality is my friends, the world needs you, needs your gifts, need your love, and Jesus has called us all to serve and love like him.

(1 Corinthians 1:18 – Cross Picture)

          In our first scripture this morning, from the Apostle Paul’s letter or epistle, which is a fancy word for letter, he tells the church in Corinth or the Corinthians in 1:18, this once again:

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

¹⁸ For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18, NRSV).

          As you have heard me say before, the center of the church, and the center of the Christian faith is Jesus. Jesus is the person of God that came to earth, taught us, loved us, died for us, rose again, and showed us the way to live and love. Now of course we read in Matthew 22:37-40, this of Jesus:

³⁷ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’     (Mt. 22:37-40, NRSV). 

          The question then, is what does the world look like if we were all to fully love God and our neighbor as ourselves? My answer to this, is “The Sermon on the Mount”

(Jesus – Sermon on the Mount Picture)

          My main preaching scripture for this morning is the gospel of Matthew 5:1-12 with Matthew 5:13-16 added in, commonly called “The Sermon on the Mount”. Some churches that I have served have asked me to annually to give a sermon on giving, and when I have, I have jokingly called that sermon, “The Semon on the Amount”. In this picture we have actor Jonathon Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the show “The Chosen”. If you have not seen “The Chosen” I strongly encourage you all to watch it, as it is great. It is one of the most accurate depictions of Jesus. Now “The Sermon on the Mount” is only in the gospel of Matthew, but there is a shorter version of this in the gospel of Luke called, “The Sermon on the Plain,” as Jesus gave this on a plain or flat area and not on a mountain.

          Outside then of the love God and love your neighbor as yourself, “The Sermon on the Mount” is considered by many scholars to be the most comprehensive single body of Jesus’ moral and ethical teaching. What does Jesus say, once again in Matthew 5:1-12, with Matthew 5:13-16 added in again? Here it is:

(Jesus – Sermon on the Mount Picture)

The Beatitudes

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.                                                                                        ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³ ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷ ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Mt. 5:1-11, NRSV).

Salt and Light

¹³ ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. ¹⁴ ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Mt. 5:13-16, NRSV).

 

Here is another picture of actor Jonathon Roumie in “The Chosen” depicting Jesus, preaching “The Sermon on the Mount”. In this scene of “The Sermon on the Mount” being deliver the highest moral and ethical standards of Jesus Christ our Lord are being taught. A level of love, forgiveness, care, and selflessness that many of strive after our lives in our faith in Christ. This idea that when the fullness of God’s Kingdom comes to this earth, when Christ returns will a scene of perfection, of mercy, of righteousness, justice, and hope. The world as Christians that we are striving to build and create through the Holy Spirit will come to full fruition.

(Sermon on the Mount – Words Picture)

Here is picture of many of key words in Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”. In fact, in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, or the Prophet Isaiah, we hear in chapter 11:1-9 this prophetic scripture of what it will be like on “the day of the Lord,” that day of Jesus’ return”:

The Peaceful Kingdom

11 A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. ³ His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; ⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. ⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;
 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹ They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea                                       (Isa. 11:1-9, NRSV).

If you ever struggle with the evils and bad realities of this world, so do I sometimes. Yet, we have a promise from Christ that we do not labor in vain. Amen. Our VBS kids and adults this past Tuesday and Wednesday night assembled twenty-five “brave bags” for kids that are struggling with abuse and difficulty. Does this solve the problem that these bags might ease just a little? No, but we are called to be salt and light. We are called to be love, when there is precious little. For this is why Christ came. When we as people, and when we as the church do this, you will see a church revived, growing, strong, and steadfast. Why? Because we do this together, and when we combine all our spiritual gifts, and all our gifts and graces together, we are pushing back against everything in this world that is seeking to tear down mercy, righteousness, holiness, kindness, and love. I don’t know about you, but I seek every day to be part of this push back, and I believe in our country we need another Jesus movement. A movement where we radically love and serve Christ, by radically loving and serving each other. This, my brothers and sisters, is the answer, I believe for any church that is struggling, shrinking, and potentially thinking they won’t make. God has given us everything we need to continue to be everything that Adams Village Baptist Church has always been. For we stand in a line of heroes, and we stand on the shoulders of Giants.

(Sermon on the Mount – Constitution of the Kingdom Picture)

          This all comes together as the “Constitution of the Kingdom,” as “The Sermon on the Mount” “outlines the spiritual laws and principles taught by Jesus in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7” (https://www.google.com/search?q=the+consitution+of+the+kingdom&oq=the+consitution+of+the+kingdom).

Remember that Jesus said everything in the Old Testament Laws and all the prophets of the Old Testament, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc., can all be summed by loving God with everything you have, and loving your neighbor as yourself. This my brothers and sisters is the fullness of the Kingdom of God that Jesus brought further into being when came to earth. The same Kingdom of God that we are called to pursue and work towards with all our various gifts and graces while we are on earth, until Christ comes to usher in the fullness of God’s Kingdom. For on that day as it says in Isaiah 11:6:

⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them  (Isa. 11:6, NSRV).

 

So, what is the answer I think for us and for churches in 2026? The same answer that it was two-thousand years ago, Jesus, His Gospel, and His love. For Jesus Christ and His gospel are the hope of the world. The gifts and grace that you have, that I have, that your friends and family have are needed in this community and this world, for Christ has called us all to serve Him.

          Some application points of how we can take this “Growing to Maturity/Kingdom Impact (Building up the church to build up the world)” – “The Better Together: Building the Body” - sermon series out the door with us, and to our annual church picnic, here some take aways from “The Sermon on the Mount.” These are ways that we can continue to learn, to grow, and take this into Adams and world:

“The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' longest recorded teaching, found in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. It holds immense significance because it defines Christian discipleship, reshapes the understanding of God's law, and outlines kingdom ethics”.

Core Teachings and Structure

·         The Beatitudes: Opens with blessings for the humble, merciful, and peacemakers, shifting focus to inner character.

·         Fulfilling the Law: Jesus explains that he came to fulfill the law by addressing the heart behind actions (like anger and lust) rather than just outward rules.

·         Practical Ethics: Includes famous concepts like the Golden Rule, the Lord’s Prayer, and instructions to love and pray for enemies.

Spiritual and Historical Impact

·         Redefining Power: Contrasts worldly power with humility, love, and radical forgiveness.

·         Universal Influence: Shapes non-violent resistance movements and global ethical frameworks outside of Christianity.

·         Heart Transformation: Serves as a mirror showing human limitation while pointing believers toward grace and spiritual renewal.

(https://www.google.com/search?q=the+significance+of+the+sermon+on+the+mount).

 

          Our faith in Christ, our walk with Christ, and our ability to live this out as people, and as a church, I believe through the power of the Holy Spirit will guide this church to a brighter and brighter future. Imagine what God will do, as many of us have seen what He has already done. May we use are gifts and graces this day and always, for Christ has called us to serve and love like Him. Amen.