WE CAN WORK IT OUT
Psalm 8
MATTHEW 28: 16-20
JUNE 7, 2026
You have heard me reference the online e-blast called God’s Minute before. Every day this guy named Pastor Allen sends an e-mail to folks he doesn’t know including me. His emails usually include two Bible verses and then a message of some sort. He sends poems and even jokes. His message this morning has relevance to all people of faith … he simply wrote, “If you are able, why not attend the Church of your choice today, and join others as they worship our Heavenly Father! For it is only right that we worship and sing to Him as well!”
Think about that for a moment … a simple ask from an unknown Pastor named Allen. I have never met him, nor have I even seen his photograph. Today, he has sent 4 Old Testament Scripture lessons to pastors like me and regular church folks like Don Brown who is the individual who told me about God’s Minute years ago.
Like me … like many of you … he has heard the excuses and the voices raised … people avoiding church … people with their excuses to avoid church deny church … like, “Oh, I find God out on the golf course on Sunday mornings … after all I pray before each putt.” You know folks who with exasperation at times almost scream “Try to see it my way, Do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on?” I don’t need church! I find God my way and don’t want YOUR GOD!
You know the folks … they proudly proclaim I AM A CHRISTIAN but they haven’t shared in Holy Communion in months or perhaps years … their parents or grandparents used to be the foundations of houses of worship but now there are other priorities … Sunday is the only day they can sleep in … Sunday is their day to drive around the country side but oh, pastor, we find God in the middle of I-95 traffic jams when we pray out loud at times … oh wait … those were curses at other drivers not prayers.
I know that most of you have remembered to bring your Bibles with you today … by now you have relocated your personal copy of God’s Word and yes, some of you are part of the modern world. Every book you read including the Bible is on your Kindle, your tablet or your Smart Phone. I frequently read the Bible on those devices too because I am part of the “WITH IT” generation. Today I have with me my copy of Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of God’s Word called the Message. Actually this Bible has two versions side by side … it’s THE MESSAGE and __________.
Pastor Allen in today’s God’s Minute shared First Chronicles “Sing to God, everyone and everything! Get out His salvation news every day! Publish His glory … because God is great-well worth praising!” We heard from Jesus this morning too … as Patty read from the last challenge Jesus issued or perhaps I would like to call it a directive or expectation from God through Jesus when He said, “I have received all authority in heaven and on earth, THEREFORE … THEREFORE … GO and MAKE DISCIPLES of ALL NATIONS … teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Mmm teaching all the nations … sing to God everyone. GET OUT HIS SALVATION EVERY SINGLE DAY … PUBLISH His glory! TEACH THEM TO OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.”
According to surveys conducted by the American Bible Society and others, only slightly more than ELEVEN PERCENT of AMERICANS read their Bible daily. Forty two percent say they are highly curious about what the Bible says but they say that they don’t and won’t use the Bible to impact their daily life decisions. We don’t have to look very far to see that society and the decisions that are being made on high run directly counter to Jesus’ teaching but obviously if you don’t know what Jesus said or if you reject the essentials of Jesus … things do begin to fall apart.
If the church of Jesus Christ is not exclaiming with joy the love we have for God celebrating God’s love … PUBLISHING HIS GLORY on our social media … then how can we expect the world even those highly curious about the Bible to do anything more than reject God … reject Jesus … deny His teaching so that they can have it their way. It’s got to be awfully hard for the Holy Spirit to lead or direct individuals who don’t worship somewhere and don’t read God’s Word … yes, you can find God in the songs of birds and in sunsets like last night’s beautiful one here in West Deptford but are you discovering God’s life expectations that way … are you loving God by disconnecting … by choosing not to invite others to church to God … to know about your faith.
Is that you church? Are you pleading or using the excuse that you don’t need God’s Word. Are you ok with those who reject the concept of worshiping God and who state with regularity … Try to see it my way, Do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on?”
Pastor Allen includes verses from Psalm 95, in which we are reminded “So come, let us worship! Bow before Him on your knees before God who made us! Oh yes, He is our God, and we are the people He pastures … the flock He feeds.” Our Psalm of the day today begins with the phrase “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth” and we need to consider how we connect with that truth or as some might say that concept.
If you are like me, you have friends or family members perhaps some who are really near and dear to you who first of all do not want to talk about “religion” or “politics.” We have all heard that phrase Mark Twain supposedly made famous … “never discuss politics or religion in polite company.” Yet, I don’t think I know a single person who is hesitant to talk about politics … but when it comes to our faith, and our faith matters more than the word religion … we won’t and don’t talk about our faith that has an impact on eternity for ourselves and others.
I think that is where I want to go this morning … I think as we come before the table of the Lord we need to shake off that word religion and get down to the nuts and bolts of what we believe. There is a poem, a haiku in fact about a Muslim man about to pray but it could be about any person of faith. It emphasizes putting away work to connect in prayer with God. A willingness to simply demonstrate God’s essential nature.
[1]Lay the carpet down. Turn to God and then you pray. Faithful once again.
We would have to be pretty naïve to not realize what a selfish time we live in. We have been taught to focus on me and reject WE. My goodness, our society even has created a derogatory word to describe anyone who showcases empathy or concern for others.
There is a popular quote, “Try to see it my way, Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.” Not reflective of compromise … and reflective I would argue of an abject rejection of the concept that God through Jesus Christ should be directing our lives. Remember those 42% of individuals highly curious about the Bible but rejecting following any God-focused teaching because that doesn’t include those who aren’t highly curious about God’s Word.
So, are you? More than curious but ready to allow the Holy Spirit in? Today’s a perfect day for reflection because we are sharing in Communion. We remember God’s loving sacrifice for us … Jesus’ death on the cross … followed by His Resurrection … we know He is Risen <<He is Risen Indeed>> but have we chosen to follow Him … to love God … to take on the Holy Spirit …
And, lets cross out the word religion and change it to faith … do you talk about your faith since faith I would presume matters to you. We talk about our grandkids and our children. We definitely talk about our sports teams. We talk about food we have cooked and vacation trips we have taken. Does our faith reach the same level of value to us and do we get excited about God’s love for us and others or have we been taught not to.
I want to talk about our need … the essential truth about getting excited about our faith! Bishop Hector Burgos has challenged the people in his two United Methodist Conferences this month to get excited again about faith. Hector is my friend and I watched him dance and sing online before the clergy and people he leads. He danced and sang with joy for the Lord but his urgent call … my friend Bishop Burgos-Nunez in these desperate times declared that we need to RISE UP in love by answering these essential questions … HOW ARE YOU LOVING GOD? HOW ARE YOU LOVING THE PEOPLE GOD PLACES IN FRONT OF YOU? HOW ARE OYU INVITING OTHERS TO EMBRACE THE HOPE OF CHRIST IN THEIR LIVES … you know … SHARE YOUR FAITH … follow Jesus directive that Patty read today … not hold back but let the Holy Spirit lift you up perhaps higher than before …
Life is very short, and there’s no time, for fussing and fighting or denying our faith, my friends. AS individuals … as humans … we can not work it out by ourselves … our friends cannot discover God and Christ by themselves … those desperate and wishing they could find a community of joy, hope, and service to those in need cannot find a church without someone’s invitation.
My dear friend Jackie Love passed away recently. An incredible woman of faith … a community leader … many of you know her name and some of you knew her as well. I became friends with her 40 years ago. Time flew by … time does fly by and for those whose focus is on seeing it their way while rejecting God … Christ … “organized religion” so they do do their things … sadly only whatever time they have left in their lives will tell if they are right or they are wrong.
This morning we all have an opportunity to work it out with God. To become energized with God’s Holy Spirit to stop seeing it our way and take on God’s love knowing that while we see it our way,there’s a chance that we may fall apart before too long but with God … with Christ … with the Holy Spirit we can SING FOR JOY TO THE LORD; TOGETHER LET US SHOUT ALOUD TO THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION … let us RISE UP because … today on the front page of our morning paper is a message about our neighbors… “Area churches are seeing an influx of conversations … It was like something was missing one man said, maybe a sense of community. But friends I would say that’s missing from their lives is that special connection to God’s love … to become reunited with the Creator and discovering of a Savior but it takes all of us to publish and share God’s love to those we know … TOGETHER WE CAN WORK IT OUT! AMEN