Despite our best attempts at living with proverbial wisdom, some of the most hallowed assumptions are proven false by experience. We often think wisdom supersedes experience . . . but not in Job. Experience re-authors our understanding of wisdom. It reminds us that real-time and real-emotions shape and color our understanding of God. Job learns this in difficult ways. How he processes this pain is for us to understand too.

A proper understanding of the fear of the Lord helps us grow in our relationship with God and, therefore, better deal with life’s issues. If we’re to understand how to know the difference between what we can change and what we need to accept, then Proverbs 1 is a must-read.

The Book of Proverbs is a positive, hollowed assumption about the goodness of life and the justice of God. Almost every section of scripture reminds us to live positively and with fidelity and hope. Proverbs has a way of using real-life applications to paint a picture of the past and ultimately our future. Out of the hundreds of proverbs available, these two sections for the sermon offer a way in which we can live with the anxiety of our day but not be overcome by it.

And Larry . . . this is how I’ll remember you and appreciate you. You made the music of First Baptist mend us. You equipped the choir and the congregation to go and mend others. This is your legacy of 44 years of full-time Christian ministry. Your quality of the music will live on here . . . and we’ll use it as you did . . . to mend the saints for the work of ministry. Thank you, my friend, for the music. Thank you for using your gifts to mend our souls.

The story of Cornelius and Peter is a truly liminal space. What happens before this story and what happens after is game-changing for the entire narrative of scripture. We can never go back to the world before this story, for it rises to point us towards God’s new future that we are still stepping into together.

The disciples leave the feeding of the 5000 by boat. A storm comes. Jesus walks through the storm and calms it. This story is unbelievable yet also poignant for where we find ourselves today. Even in the midst of the storm, Jesus walks to us.

Another archetypal scene in scripture is the well. There are several stories of significant change that happens at them. The most famous is when the Samaritan woman meets Jesus. Who she is before meeting Jesus and who she is after is something we all need to see.

Ten lepers are miraculously healed by Jesus. One returns to say thanks. This simple, yet profound, story reminds us that gratitude is a key ingredient for stepping forward in faith.

Lazarus dies. His sister Martha is beside herself. She wanted Jesus to save him, but it didn’t work out that way. Four days after Lazarus’ death, though, Jesus shows up and resurrects him. The conversation between Martha and Jesus is something we all need to be reminded of because it can shape how we rely on God in this time.

Jonah is the archetypal story of liminality. He literally gets swallowed up in one place and thrust out onto the shores of another. His story gives power to ours. How we choose to handle this in-between matters.

Pentecost is an event that happens in real-time way before it’s time. It signals a change in the outcome and the flow and the expectation of life. Jesus ascends to heaven replacing his presence with the Holy Spirit which enters into everyone. Because of Pentecost, we now know the Holy Spirit lives within us and through us and out from us. The collective consciousness can never go back because of this moment . . . we are also still discerning and pulling back the depth of meaning of what this moment means for us individually and as a church.

Like Matthew, Luke includes a fine commission, but his is a bit different. The energy is the same, but the command is different. Instead of ‘make disciples,’ Luke tells the world to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins. Becoming conscious to the needs of these two words in our lives . . . and helping others see it too . . . will raise the consciousness of our world and move us towards God.

“Were our hearts not burning within us?” This is the moment consciousness rises for the disciples meeting Jesus on the walk to Emmaus. The storyline that unfolds prior is one of the most well-known stories of the gospel. Hearing it in terms of our faith awakening . . . it changes everything for us.

A lot of people call themselves Great Commission Christians. I get it. It’s the clearest, most direct understanding of Christian duty. Go make disciples. Baptize them. Go. Do it. It’s direct. Positive. Action-oriented. Consciousness rises when we realize we have work to do.