If Anyone Keeps My Word, He Will Never See Death
Trinity Sunday, Faith and Eternal Life
Trinity Sunday is when we confess a mystery. Not a mystery in the sense of “whodunnit”. Rather, a mystery that the human mind is unable to fathom.
In Greek, mystery means revealed by God – not “figured out with a few clues”. We are unable to fathom the depths of God. We are given some details but beyond that, we must just believe that it is so.
When faced with another of our Christian mysteries, some people, like the Pharisees, reject the truth. They can’t understand it so “it must be wrong” is the default of human reasoning. But this is where faith, born of the water and the Spirit, must take over.
Jesus told us several times in Scripture that faith is the path to eternal life. It is not our good works, how much we tithe, or how much we volunteer our time. It boils down to faith – to what is in our hearts and minds. It is what we believe that matters and why today we confess the Athanasian Creed.
Here is today’s sermon text from John 8:
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
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Announcements
Potluck: We will host a summer potluck on Sunday, June 26th following the church service. Please bring a dish to share. All are welcome!
Bible Study: Our midweek Bible study meets on Wednesdays at 7 pm via Zoom and is covering the book of Revelation. Our Sunday morning class meets at 9:45 and is currently discussing the papacy.
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Prayer requests. Bring your prayer requests to Pastor Jenson, Deacon Poe, or Loyd Harris (bulletin typist). They will be printed in the bulletin and prayed in the Sunday service. The deadline is Tuesday. Remember to obtain permission if you are bringing a prayer request on behalf of another person.