Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community

Even though life can seem threatening and overwhelming, Isaiah 41:10 reminds us that we don’t need to be afraid: Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories. During five worship services, we’ll consider how God can calm our fears and anxieties. We’ll consider the following:

October 4 - His Presence (“I am with you.”)
October 11 - His Relationship (“I am your God.”)
October 18 - His Support (“I will make you strong.”)
October 25 - His Care (“I will protect you.”)
November 1 - His Power (“I will...give you victory.”)

On Sunday, November 1, we discussed how God calms our fears through his power. Below is a video of the service, a presentation of the sermon, and the bulletin & program for the service.

You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

October 4 - His Presence (“I am with you.”)
October 11 - His Relationship (“I am your God.”)
October 18 - His Support (“I will make you strong.”)
October 25 - His Care (“I will protect you.”)
November 1 - His Power (“I will...give you victory.”)

On Sunday, November 1, we discussed how God calms our fears through his power. Below is the text and a video presentation of the sermon.

Well, here we are, November 1, the day after Halloween, which means that all the ghosts and the witches and the Jack-o-lanterns can be packed away. And all those Halloween baking shows Debbie and I love to watch are over for another year. And this series we started at the very beginning of October, you know, the one entitled Don’t Be Afraid: How God Can Help Us Face Our Fears is just about over, probably never to be repeated again. Stick a fork in it; Halloween is done.

Of course, moving on from October will be more challenging for some than for others. I mean, for folks who’ve had Halloween decorations around their home since the middle of September, well, I imagine the next week will be pretty challenging. For example, there’s a house here in town, on Bald Eagle right on the corner as you turn to Heeters, well, I think taking down and putting away all their stuff is going to be a big deal. Now, although I don’t know who lives there, for the last six months, I’ve seen the house about three times a week as Coco and I take our morning walk. And even though it always had some seasonal decorations, for Halloween, man, they went all out. I mean, they had inflatables everywhere, including tentacles coming out of the windows. Of course, I recognize that this kind of decorating doesn’t just happen. Clearly a lot of planning went into it. And I’ll tell you, from where we stood, they were successful, because outside of a witch that had sort of fallen over and a mushroom that appeared a little deflated, I thought it looked great. Their work and planning had paid off. They’d successfully made their home look like something from Beetlejuice or The Nightmare before Christmas. But I’ve got to tell you, as I took this picture yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but wonder what they’re going to do after the thirty-first. I mean, they set the bar pretty high and as every Walmart shopper knows, another holiday is always around the corner. And so, next week, will there be some inflatable pilgrims and turkeys in the yard? Or will they jump right to Santa Claus and elves and maybe a Grinch or two? In other words, how will they face the next challenge that’s coming in either twenty-five or fifty-three days?

And I’ll tell you, the idea of facing the next challenge--that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning, but instead of focusing on holidays, we’re looking at reasons we have to be afraid. I mean, even if we’ve been able to face yesterday’s fears today, as Jesus said, “tomorrow will bring worries of its own.” [Matthew 6:34b, NRSVUE] In other words, even if we’ve successfully faced our fears by doing what we’ve been talking about over the last four weeks, you know, like focusing on God’s presence, his relationship with us, his support, and his care, you see, even if all that has helped us avoid collapsing like a house of cards, there’s always going to be another test or another diagnosis or another threat right around the corner. And for that reason, as we tie up this series, we’re going to discuss the final promise Isaiah mentioned when he wrote,

Don’t be afraid. I am with you.
Don’t tremble with fear
. I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
and give you victories. [Isaiah 41:10, CEV]

In other words, this morning, we’re going to spend a little time looking at how, as we face our fears, we might want to remember that through God’s power, we have victory, and I’m talking about final victory over those things that scare us so much.

Of course, this idea that, through God’s power, we have victory, well, that’s something written about in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, when Moses was talking to the children of Israel as they was getting read to claim the Promised Land, he said this:

If you have to go to war, you may find yourselves facing an enemy army that is bigger than yours and that has horses and chariots. But don’t be afraid! The Lord your God rescued you from Egypt, and he will help you fight. Before you march into battle, a priest will go to the front of the army and say, “Soldiers of Israel, listen to me! Today when you go into battle, don’t be afraid of the enemy, and when you see them, don’t panic. The Lord your God will fight alongside you and help you win the battle.” [Deuteronomy 20:1-4, CEV]

You see, as they moved through the Wilderness toward the land, they could trust that God was with them, therefore, they really didn’t need to be afraid. And I’ll tell you, the Apostle Paul said the same kind of thing to the Romans:

In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! [Romans 8:37-39, CEV]

You see, regardless of what we’re facing, in the end, there’s going to be victory.

And you know, according to scripture, that victory can take several different forms. For example, first, it’s a victory over the world, and I’m talking about all those people and forces out there that scare us in here. And it really doesn’t matter if they involve actual physical threats or social anxiety or systematic dread, these external reasons for fear can absolutely dominate our thoughts and control our actions. And for that reason, the idea that we can count on something greater than the threats and anxiety and dread, man, that can make all the difference. And the good news is that we do. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said to his disciples right before he was arrested, tried and lifted up on the cross:

I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world. [John 16:33, CEV]

You see, praise the Lord, first, we can count on God’s victory over the world.

But that’s not all, because through his power, God was also victorious over sin. And I’ll tell you, that’s really important, because while the stuff on the outside can dominate and control, our sin can eat away at us from the inside. I mean, it can distort our judgment. And it can confuse our morals. And it can even cause us to question our relationship with God or maybe more important, his relationship with us. You see, that’s what sin can do. But I’ll tell you, it doesn’t have to, not for us who trust that the Father loves and the Son saves and the Spirit inspires. It’s like what Paul wrote to the Romans,

Don’t let sin keep ruling your lives. You are ruled by God’s undeserved grace and not by the Law. [Romans 6:14, CEV]

You see, second, we can count on God’s victory over sin, over our sin.

But again, even that’s not all, because third, through his perfect power, there’s also victory over death itself, the definitive example of our limitation and the reason for our ultimate fear. I mean, left on our own, relying on only ourselves and what we can see, we don’t have much reason for hope. As the French writer François Rabelais said on his deathbed, “Bring down the curtain — the farce is over.” And you know something, I think the Apostle Paul would agree. I mean, to the Corinthians, he said, “If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.” [1 Corinthians 15:19, CEV] But, of course, for Paul, his hope in Christ transcended this life; therefore, immediately after he talked about how hopeless we should be, he wrote this:

But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. [1 Corinthians 15:20-22, CEV]

You see, along with his victory over the world and over sin, through his power, third, God won victory over death itself; therefore, we don’t have to be afraid.

And brothers and sisters, I believe we can experience this power and this victory. And I’ll tell you, if we do, man, we’re walking in some pretty important footsteps. For example, just listen to what the prophet Jahaziel said to King Jehoshaphat right before battle:

Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the Lord says that you don’t need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! So here’s what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. You won’t even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don’t be afraid. Just do as you’re told. And as you march out tomorrow, the Lord will be there with you. [2 Chronicles 20:15b-17, CEV]

You see, this king of Judah was challenged to trust in God’s victory. And I’ll tell you, John offered the very same challenge in his first letter:

If we believe Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. If we love and obey God, we know we will love his children. We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.

Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God. [1 John 5:1-5, CEV]

You see, thanks to the power of God, his victory has become our victory.

And I think this is something we can experience when we decide to do three things. For example, first, we can decide to study the Word. In other words, we can take the time and make the effort to read the stories, and I’m talking about stories that deal with a heavenly Father who empowered his people to settle a Promised land and a Son who broke the power of sin on the cross and a Spirit that inspired a new community to take the good news to the ends of the earth. I’ll tell you, we can tell and retell the stories. And before we know it, we’ll be able to say the same words Paul shared with the Colossians:

There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory. [Colossians 2:15, CEV]

You see, right here and now, we can experience victory by studying the Word. Now that’s one.

And second, we can also claim the Spirit. And I’ll tell you why that’s important. It’s the Holy Spirit that enabled us to believe in the first place, opening our eyes so we could see and our minds so we could understand and our hearts so we could feel. And it’s the Spirit that breathes life into the Word, transforming the stories themselves from static accounts of the past to living lessons for the present. And it’s the Spirit that draws us together, from different backgrounds and experiences, and molds us into one Body with a single mission. You see, in a very sense, when we recognize the work the Spirit’s doing, we change. It’s like Paul told the Galatians:

God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. [Galatians 5:22-23, CEV]

If we’re serious about experiencing victory, we can claim the Holy Spirit. And that’s two.

And third, we can also anticipate the future. You know, I think it’s really sad. Some Christians seem to spend most of their lives focused on the past, completely forgetting that living in what used to be requires an excellent memory but no faith at all. But to step forward into the unknown, man, that takes faith. You see, only a person who believes that God is constantly involved and working all around us will have the courage to confront the problems and pain that enter into every life. And it takes genuine trust, and I’m talking about trust in God’s freedom and love, for us to have the confidence to move actively into the future in spite of the obstacles that we know we’re going to face along the way. It’s like what Moses said to the people of Israel when they had their backs to the Red Sea and saw Pharaoh’s army coming at them:

But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t have to do a thing.” [Exodus 14:13-14, CEV]

Along with studying the word and claiming the Holy Spirit, we can experience victory when we anticipate the future. And that’s three.

In a couple of weeks, I expect to see that house I was talking about on Bald Eagle decorated for Christmas. You see, as soon as they take the scary stuff down, I’m sure they’ll be putting up Santa and elves and probably a Grinch up or two. And I’ll tell you, I think we can apply that same attitude to the command, “Don’t be afraid.” [Isaiah 41:10a, CEV] You see, even if we’ve managed to face our fears by focusing on God’s presence, his relationship with us, his support, and his care, I think we all know that we’ll always find new reasons to be afraid. But believe the good news, through his power, God was victorious over the world and sin and death. And right here and now, we can experience it by studying the Word and claiming the Spirit and anticipating the future. And in this way, God can help us face our fears, even those we don’t even know about yet.

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