There’s a lot about faith that is individual . . . no question. But there’s also the reality that our faith must engage the world . . . we are called to make disciples of all nations . . . which means we need to be people who who hunger and thirst for the rights and well being of all created things. But as you know, this work will wear you out. You’ll get tired, and you’ll feel empty. But take heart, Jesus knows this. He sees this. And he promises God’s abiding grace and love will be with you in this work.

Today we paused our sermon series to observe World Communion Sunday. The sermons are spliced together with Pastor Kristen reflecting on the Bread and Pastor Barrett reflecting on the Cup.

"The Eucharistic meal is meant to be a microcosmic event, summarizing at one table what is true in the whole macrocosm: We are one, we are equal in dignity, we all eat of the same divine food, and Jesus is still and always “eating with sinners” (for which people hated him) just as he did when on Earth." - Richard Rohr

Think about the teenage father who goes to work every day trying to provide. He doesn’t try to fight the system. He doesn’t resist. He’s a nobody from nowhere. But he cares for his family. He tries to provide, but he can’t seem to make ends meet. Think about what he hears when Jesus says, “Blessed are you, young dad, who chooses to be meek, for you will inherit the earth. Your striving and hoping have a place with me. My kingdom is for you.”

Welcome to Dr. John Upton - John V. Upton, Jr. was elected Executive Director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia during the annual meeting of the General Association in November 2001. John had been group leader of the Mission Mobilization Group since 1995. Earlier he was pastor of Urbanna Baptist Church in Urbanna, and he and his wife, Deborah, served as missionaries in Taiwan through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board). In July 2015 he completed a five-year term as President of the Baptist World Alliance that began July 31, 2010. John, a Norfolk-born Virginia native, is a graduate of Averett College (now University) in Danville, VA, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. The Uptons have two sons, Christopher and Richard; a daughter, Emily; and eight grandchildren.

Think about the senior adult sitting a few rows back on the hillside. Three years ago he lost his wife. He can’t work. Disease wracks his body. The government won’t help. The religious leaders tell him he’s too sinful to cure. He lives every day as if it’s his last. Think about what he hears when Jesus says, “Blessed are you who mourns, for you will be comforted. Your brokenness and pain have a place with me.”

Think about the single mother with kids who have been rejected by society. She’s sitting on the grass rocking her twin girls feeling her future won’t matter ever again. Think about what she hears from Jesus: “Blessed are you single mom, whose poor in spirit, broken by society, culture, religion, and politics. Blessed are you, for the kingdom of heaven is yours.”

A life soaked in prayer and devotion allows you to be in the presence of outsiders and be so rooted in who you are . . . and your identity in Christ . . . you can be gracious to them. You can speak tenderly to them. Your actions are seasoned with salt.

Our actions matter. It’s why the author of Colossians includes a list that of how we need to act towards one another, even those we struggle to like. Colossians 3:12-14 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” To live a Christ-soaked life is to live out these verses.

Rev. Kristen Koger’s trial sermon in view of a call on August 15, 2021, at First Baptist Waynesboro. This sermon is from 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 with Solomon asking for wisdom.

We as humans are buried in sin and shame, yet God makes us alive in Christ. Our baptism mirrors this beautifully. We die to our old ways and old selves and rise again in new life in Christ. As Baptists, our immersion practices make this just an amazing example of what it means to be soaked, through and through, with the love of Christ.

Christ is the head of the cosmos and the source of all creation. Christ is at the top of the known universe and everything in time and space bows the will of Christ. These major doctrinal themes introduced to this early church are still around today. Everything in the universe belongs and is a part of Christ.

At the end of it all, Jesus will return to reign. This is the Christian belief, and it is the ultimate end and the ultimate establishment of a new order. Revelation calls it a New Heaven and a New Earth. We can easily see it as a complete re-ordering of what was into what was always meant to be.

The church is meant to be the continuation of Jesus following his ascension. The church is the new presence of Christ in the world . . . the figurative Body of Christ. The church, therefore, is the established new order for how faith will follow and spread. The church, when healthy, is the greatest sign of the kingdom of God coming to earth and it’s worth our time reflecting on how we further it today.

Jesus is the ultimate sign of a re-ordering. He brings new life, teachings, and opportunities for the poor to experience the Kingdom of God. He revolutionizes what can be and offers transformation and healing to all who follow him. He is the ultimate sign that something good can resurrect from evil.

Towards the end of Israel’s monarchy, prophets showed up to warn of impending doom. They were the voices of the disorder trying to help Israel reorder their lives. Their entire goal was to bring self-reflection and repentance into the public conversation. It didn’t always work, and Israel remained under foreign rule for hundreds of years because of it.