A Mother's Day Prayer

Mother's Day is both joyful and dreaded.

Our Prayer for the People from Sunday May 13 reflects the light and darkness of the day.

May the Spirit of gentleness meet you where you are:


A Prayer for Mother’s Day, by Rev. Carson Overstreet 5/13/18


Holy God and Loving Friend,

We give you thanks today for your promised and steadfast love. You gather your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings. You are the patient father waiting to welcome your wayward children home. No matter how much we wander from you or even resist your love, you love us still.

Lord God we recognize both the joy and challenge of this Sunday.

We give thanks to the women in our lives whom we know and love as mother. For those of us who cherish healthy relationships, we do give you thanks for a mother’s selfless love, encouragement, support and rich legacies that have been passed down.

We also give you thanks for the women in our lives who are mother figures to us. Thank you for placing your Deborahs in our lives (Judges 4-5). These women teach us who we are in your love, inspire us to reach for the stars, and challenge us to seek your hope that we can hold onto everyday.

But in this space it is right to share our laments. For many, this day holds grief for the strained relationship that seems to be beyond repair. There is a piece of someone’s heart missing as that son or daughter is not able to come home and be with family today. There is sadness for the empty chair - the one we cannot call on the phone today. There are broken dreams of infertility, miscarriage, and child loss.

We lift all these to you Loving God and we pray for your Spirit to embrace each of us in your grace. Grant us peace that surpasses our understanding. And speak to us your truth once again that you will surely go with us to climb every mountain and to fight every battle with your strength that never wanes or wearies.

Lead us into the promises of your kingdom, for we pray for it with boldness using the prayer Jesus taught us say....Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Sermon: I Will Surely Go With You

I Will Surely Go with You
Judges 4: 1-10
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 13, 2018

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim.

Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement.

She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’

Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.’

And she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’ Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. - Judges 4: 1-10

There is an old Polish proverb that states, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” That proverb makes me chuckle when there seems to be nothing but drama in life. In a comedic way, those words give permission to step away from the drama when you are not the ringmaster of it.

It’s a different story when all the rigmarole going on is in your own tent. The human mind wants to know who will lead us to find the calm in the chaos?

As the tent of God’s people moved to the Promised Land of Canaan, the history of God’s people reads like a drama.

In one circle the people follow God’s direction faithfully and do just fine. Jump into the next circle and the people began to lose focus; they followed every other influence but God’s and went in a thousand different directions. By the time you jump into the last circle, the people have completely forgotten who they were called to be, so they cry out for God’s help.

The history of God’s people started to look like a three-ring circus. As this cycle continued, God allowed the people to be taken over by their enemies. God hoped this consequence would lead the people to place their trust in God alone.

The Old Testament book of Judges tells us that God never had that proverbial mindset, “Not my circus.” God never stepped away from his people. Rather “God raised up judges for [the twelve tribes of Israel], the Lord was with the judge, and [God] delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them” (Judges 2:18).

A judge was a person called by God to act as a leader, a governor if you will. This individual gave the Law of God, decided controversies, mediated conflict, and interpreted the Law (first five books of the Bible). The Law touched the civil, religious, political, and social spheres of life.

Today we look into the life of one particular judge who is remembered with great respect and favor. Deborah is the only female judge listed among the twelve judges of Israel. And her story matters to us today.

God’s people had been oppressed by cruelty for twenty years since the last judge (Shamgar) and God raised up Deborah as a judge, a prophetess, and military commander for the tribe of Ephraim (Judges 3:31; 4:3-5).

Deborah wore a number of hats, as she was also a woman of God and a wife. While nothing more is stated about the life of her family, there is truth to the saying: If you want something done then get a woman to do it! The Lord knows we ladies juggle a lot of hats!

Deborah was a woman who focused on living in right relationship with God. Just as God would surely go with her to accomplish God’s purposes, Deborah went with God in a deep commitment to follow God’s call. That is the key to anything we women and men are called to do! Within the tribe of Ephraim, she sat under the palm tree – a sign of righteousness and fruitfulness (Psalm 92:12). In order to speak God’s word and interpret God’s law to those in her care, she needed to abide with God with prayer and integrity.

Deborah’s focus to live in right relationship with God led her to be equally focused on creating right relationships within the tribe of Ephraim. Deborah was committed to be with the people she was called to serve; she wanted the tribe of Ephraim to know that God would surely go with them too. As she sat under the palm tree, Deborah made herself available to her community.

As a result, God’s people came to her for guidance and judgment. That sentence is pivotal in Judges 4:5. It implies that the people of God trusted Deborah’s leadership and valued her call, character, wisdom, and encouragement.

Deborah was also willing to share leadership to create unity and to deliver God’s people. Remember Deborah also served in the role of military commander. Once God’s Spirit revealed the next steps for the military strategy to overtake the King of Canaan, Deborah summoned Barak, the general of Israel’s army.

She was not bossy, but she was assertive with her prophetic vision to Barak regarding God’s deliverance. And yet Deborah encouraged Barak when he was uncertain about the upcoming battle, saying “I will surely go with you” (Judges 4:9). As the chaos of war began, Deborah encouraged Barak once more saying, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera (the general of Cannan’s army) into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you!” (Judges 4:14).

And in response to God’s faithfulness to conquer Sisera and deliver Israel, Deborah sang a poetic song of victory naming all whom God worked through (Judges 5). As a result of God’s faithfulness through Deborah and those whom she helped to build up, the people of God experienced peace and rest for forty years (Judges 5:31).

Deborah reminds us of the special women you and I know who are heroes in their own right.

They are women who come into our lives and through them we see God’s faithfulness. They have a way of calming the chaos surrounding us. They ground us in wisdom of building bridges instead of burning them. They help us to see glimmers of hope in the dark valleys of life. They work to bring out the best in us. And they journey beside us to help us fight our battles and climb the mountains of life, trusting that by the grace of God we will overcome – for God indeed goes ahead of us.

We hold tight to our Deborahs in life because their story positively shapes ours. Therefore, we value these women for their strong character of faith. We treasure their trustworthiness, leadership, encouragement, and even challenge.

Thursday evening, I had the privilege to hear the Indian Land Middle School Choir sing. The youth on stage sang with joy, passion, and discipline under their Director Shonda Bradshaw. After their performance, a number of students came forward to give bouquets of flowers to Ms. Bradshaw in gratitude for her leadership.

But then something amazing happened; one by one - boys and girls from the choir took turns at the mic to share what Ms. Bradshaw meant to them.

Both boys and girls alike remembered the semester’s first day of choir saying, “I was not sure I wanted to take Ms. Bradshaw’s class. She was really strict and she would get after us.”

My hat goes off to any teacher who is able to command the students’ attention and be assertive. What an incredibly important responsibility our teachers have! It is truly a calling.

But what those students said next brought tears to my eyes.

They said the more they got to know their teacher, they realized how much she cared for them.

Ms. Bradshaw would hang out in the hallways of school to make herself available to her students. She took notice of the smiling faces and also the heaviness that our youth carry. It did not matter if a student had studied under Ms. Bradshaw for one semester or through all of 6th to 8th grades during middle school. Those youth sought Ms. Bradshaw out for guidance because she focused on right relationships. Ms. Bradshaw was a Deborah.

One student shared that Ms. Bradshaw had become her middle school mom, a woman she trusted and confided in when things in life got tough. Through thick and thin, Ms. Bradshaw’s students knew their teacher would surely go with them to help them climb their mountains and fight their battles.

Thursday evening, everyone in that auditorium was blessed to hear these stories of trustworthiness, leadership, encouragement, and even challenge. And I left that evening knowing that God is at work in Ms. Bradshaw’s life, in her students’ lives, and in the life of our schools in a powerful way.

Today we give thanks to God for the many Deborahs and other strong women in our lives.

They are teachers, mentors, soldiers, co-workers. They are grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and even mothers. I thank God for including strong women in Scripture.

As we celebrate the strong women among us, may we know them; may we raise them; may we be them.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

* artwork, "Deborah," by Cody F. Miller

References Studied Informing the Sermon:

Lynn Japinga, “Preaching the Women of the Old Testament: Who They Were and Why They Matter” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017), pp. 74-78.

Caryn Rivadeneira, “Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible” (Minneapolis: Spark House, 2017), pp. 43-48.
Beth Lindsay Templeton, “Conversations on the Porch: Ancient Voices, Contemporary Wisdom” (Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011), pp. 40-43.

New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume II: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), pp. 180-188.

Sermon: In Tune with the Song

"In Tune with the Song"
Psalm 98
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 6, 2018

1 Sing to God a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves,He set things right.

2 God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do.

3 He remembered to love us, a bonus To his dear family, Israel —indefatigable [tireless] love. The whole earth comes to attention. Look — God’s work of salvation!

4 Shout your praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

5 Round up an orchestra to play for God, Add on a hundred-voice choir.

6 Feature trumpets and big trombones, Fill the air with praises to King God.

7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in.

8 Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!” And mountains harmonize the finale—

9 A tribute to God when he comes,When he comes to set the earth right. He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it. - Psalm 98, The Message

A few years ago, two unlikely people were brought together by the intersection of music and The Message.

Bono, the singer of the group U2, sent a video message to Eugene Peterson, editor of The Message. Bono thanked Rev. Peterson for the hard work of interpreting God’s Word in a way that speaks to him in his own language.

Peterson was humbled by the thanks but he had no idea who Bono or U2 were! Peterson soon began to listen to U2’s albums, many of which take me back to my favorite high school memories – all my friends in marching band were in love with Bono and U2.

The more Peterson listened to the music, he heard Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin create melodies and lyrics that were rich with the undertones of faith and justice. Peterson was equally thankful for the work of U2.

As a result of a simple exchange of gratitude, Bono and Peterson sat down together in a candid conversation about the psalms.

Over the course of his life, Bono has been drawn to the psalms. He shared with Peterson, “They are words and melodies that give a real honesty about the deep joy and confusion of life. The only way we can approach God is if we are honest through metaphor and symbols. And the arts become essential in this.”

Peterson shared, “Psalms reach into the hurt and disappointment and difficulty of being a human being with a language that reaches into the heart of a person – it’s the stuff we all feel but don’t talk about…We serve God with poetry, with arts, with song to find ways to enter into what God is already doing.”

You see, many of the psalms truly embody the arts. They are Hebrew poetry and songs about God’s work in the world.Psalm 98 is actually a metaphor for God’s song.

The psalmist looks into the brokenness of humanity and all of creation. He knows the stories of the high and low points of God’s people. He remembers when God’s people were once enslaved in Egypt and how God liberated them into freedom. The psalmist anticipates the history of God’s salvation is revealed through the sacrificial Lamb of Jesus Christ and yet we are still in need of God’s mercy and peace. The psalmist has taken notice that the Spirit is on the move for all the earth to see the victory of God among us.

The psalmist hears the melody of God’s faithfulness down in his very bones; it is the very air he breathes. He takes the lead to bring all of humanity and creation together join God in the song as a tribute of faith because God’s song is changing the world!

When we live in tune with God’s song we become attentive to the rhythm of God’s amazing grace. It holds our stanzas of joys and sorrows, our experiences of brokenness and injustices, and our confusion and searching.

We lift our voices in celebration with others in our mountaintop moments. We lift our voices in cries that we will only allow God to hear. And within the ebb and flow of life the gift of faith is a foundational space. Within it we discover our joys and sorrows are anchored upon the very rock of our salvation.

That rock is the place where the mystery of God’s presence is revealed as we walk through the wilderness and climb the mountains towards God’s freedom of the Promised Land. That rock is the promise of God’s tireless love. That rock is the blessed assurance we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That rock is what upholds us by the strength of God’s Spirit in our faith communities.

When we put our trust in the rock just like the choir sang about Elijah and Moses, then we will see God’s glory. And when we hear that God is in our corner we cannot help but sing with praise, He been a rock and a shelter for me, Hallelujah!!!

I am deeply reminded of Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will renew you with his love, he will rejoice over you with loud singing.”

As we listen to the motif of God’s faithfulness, the song changes us. The song of God’s faithfulness moves us to see God’s intentions for the world. It becomes our heart’s desire to live in tune with the song.

We do just that by being attentive to the notes of the song’s motif; there are 4 notes in Psalm 98: God is creating something new among us and in us; Jesus Christ is redeeming and reshaping us; the Spirit assures us that we are loved beyond measure; and God faithfulness will right the world and everyone in it. The song is played to the metronome of God’s timing.

Through this gift of faith, the motif of God’s faithfulness settles into our hearts and minds and we feel something stirring within us, just like the refrain from Andra Day’s song:
“Rise Up”:
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousands times again
For you
For you
For you
For you…..

We rise up and see a new vision of hope for ourselves and the world around us. As we live in tune with the song, we are empowered to proclaim God’s intentions, enact it using our talents and gifts, and keep alive the vision of God’s coming kingdom.[1]

We do this by coming alongside one another to help each other hear God’s song. When we walk side by side and hand in hand it underscores that we are all becoming a part of God’s glorious melody. Entering the song is to enter into what God is doing among us.

When I was a student in seminary in Decatur, Georgia, a group from Metro State Women’s Prison visited our campus. My worship professor, Kim Long, tells about that morning poetically: [2]

The women [came to chapel] not to tell us about the realities of incarceration, but to lead us in worship. They traded their prison khakis for white choir robes and sang as the Voices of Hope Choir. White and black, young and not-so-young, they sang about Jesus and being saved and having hope. They made us cry and they cried too. Then one of them, a young African American woman preached.

“It is God who chooses us,” she said. “God who places us in a unique position within the body of Christ. He chooses one eye with 20/20 vision and places it beside an eye that is half blind. Then he selects an aching hand and attaches it to a powerful arm. He finds a sprained ankle and he strengthens it so it can lift up a leg that was once fractured. Then he searches and searches until he finds a powerful chest and teaches it by example to embrace a broken heart. Then God binds together each part with love and he sends his Holy Spirit coursing through its veins until it is moved and motivated to stand up and step out – step out into the community, into prisons, into the wilderness, to prepare the way for the Word of God.”

Then she looked at us. “Look within you. Look around you. This is the body of Christ,” she proclaimed, sweeping her arm over all of us – all of us in the pews, and all of the women in the choir. “We are the body of Christ.”

I am beyond grateful that you – Lisa Knox and the Indian Land Warrior Choir have joined us today. You have helped us to hear the melody of God’s song of amazing grace. Together we are the body of Christ.

May God’s Spirit stir something within each of us. As we enter into God’s work of changing the world may we rise up for God and live in tune with God’s song.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Kimberly Bracken Long, “The Worshipping Body: The Art of Leading Worship” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p. 36-37.

[2] Long, p. 15.

Sermon: In Search of Belonging

In Search of Belonging
Acts 8: 26-40
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
April 29, 2018


Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.

Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’

So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’

The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.

As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. - Acts 8: 26-40

Oliver Davis is six years old and he already senses his calling. He feels drawn to reaching into the community. On certain days he dresses in his police uniform and heads out with his parents to a nursing home he has not yet visited. He rides his motorcycle throughout the hallways and gives all the residents (women and men alike) three things: a rose, a hug, and a ticket violation saying, “STOP! You have received a ticket for being too cute!”

But Oliver actually gives these seniors something much bigger than that. Oliver is giving his elders the gift of belonging. At such a young age, Oliver has sensed that the senior residents in his community need to feel they are still loved, valued, and connected to the larger whole. And Oliver himself is searching to belong to a life of purpose and meaning to serve others. God is definitely doing something amazing in his life.

Phillip knew that calling to serve too. Jesus chose Phillip to follow him as a disciple (Luke 6:14; Matthew 10:8; Mark 3:18; John 1:43). For three years Phillip followed Jesus’ example of being drawn more deeply into communal relationships by serving God and others.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Risen Christ sent the disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news starting in their immediate community of Jerusalem and then spreading God’s love to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Phillip took these final words of Jesus Christ to heart. His fellow apostles saw Phillip’s passion to belong to Jesus’ ministry of authentically changing lives in the community. He was chosen as one of the seven to distribute food to those in need (Acts 6: 2-6).

Phillip followed the Spirit’s lead to share the good news in word and deed. And suddenly he felt the Spirit’s nudge. Have you ever had that feeling – like the Spirit is tapping you to go somewhere and you don’t exactly know why? Well that is what Phillip experienced. He followed the Spirit’s lead to get up and go south because God was about to do something amazing.

I love this story of God bringing together these two individuals – Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch - in this particular time and place. Phillip was willing and ready to serve God and neighbor. He ran up to the chariot and heard the text of Isaiah being read aloud – no less the words about the suffering servant – the prophecy of our Savior’s suffering and death to reconcile us to God and one another and with the eternal promise of new life.

Phillip came alongside the eunuch like a brother and friend. In that moment Phillip knew this individual was searching for belonging. The ancient culture and religious traditions had rules which cut off eunuchs from a future of having a family, of belonging to the whole of society or even the community of faith (Leviticus 21:20; Deuteronomy 23:1).

But Phillip remembered Jesus Christ breaks down barriers. Phillip remembered Jesus Christ is the One Isaiah prophesied about. The prophet said:

“Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people.’; and do not let the eunuch say, ‘I am just a dry tee.’ For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths [worship and rest in my grace], who choose the things that please me and will hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56: 3-5).

And then God created a space for Phillip and the eunuch to experience something bigger than themselves; they became more deeply connected to the good news and to the kinship God’s household. That moment was a life changing moment for both men.

More than likely, this was the first time the Ethiopian Eunuch had been received in the fullness of his humanity and human dignity. When he invited Phillip to sit with him in the chariot, the two talked as friends sharing their insights with one another. As we sit in the story with these two, I hear the words of the hymn we just sang:

“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand…
We will work with each other, we will work side by side…

As the Eunuch felt united with Phillip in the Spirit he had one desire – to respond to God’s faithfulness by being baptized into the household of God.

What a privilege that was for Phillip to go down to the river to pray with his friend as water and Holy Spirit claimed this young man as a beloved child of God; that is the everlasting name that shall not be cut.

I just wish at some point Phillip had asked this man his name! Nevertheless, that newest baptized member of the household of God went on to be the first Christian missionary to Africa. And Phillip became known as an apostle who had unique gifts for sharing his love for Christ in genuine ways.

In our baptism, God claims us and seals his love upon our hearts showing that we belong to God. By water and Holy Spirit, we are united in Jesus’ saving death and resurrection. We are welcomed as a member into God’s great family. And we are joined to Christ’s ministry of love, hope, peace, and justice.

As Carol Johns says at the beginning of worship, “If you are searching to belong to a church home, well you have found it!” And I concur! But I will also add if you have never been baptized and you find a sense of belonging here, please talk with me after the worship service.

The waters of baptism remind us that we are all searching to belong to a greater purpose that brings meaning to our life. That purpose and meaning is not something we can self-generate. As the Ethiopian Eunuch said himself, “How can I understand if I do not have someone to guide me?” (Acts 8:31).

The waters of baptism lead us into something Phillip was helping others to live into: the joy of authentic Christian community. Christian community is not living in a bubble or cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world.

It is to live daily as Jesus did in trusting God is with us. It is to take one step at a time in the communities we live in and get to know the people, the larger faith community, the schools, the businesses, and what is unique about the context we live in. It is to see what God is doing among us and through one another.

The waters of baptism open the spiritual eyes of our hearts to see ourselves and the world around us as God sees. The Lord sees all that separates us from God and one another. The Lord sees Jesus’ saving death on the cross as God’s love poured out to reconcile us to himself. And the Lord sees us as ambassadors for Christ to carry on Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation in our homes, in our community, and in the wider world.

The waters of baptism move us to no longer see one another from a human point of view, that is seeing one another through the lenses of human labels which dictate belonging. Rather we are to see all those we meet as a child of God.

To follow Jesus as a disciple means the Spirit is on the move to give you and me the courage to come alongside those we know and those we meet for the first time with a sense of child-like wonder like six-year old Oliver Davis. To follow in Jesus’s steps of compassion is to remember everyone is struggling with something and everyone longs to know they are loved and are a part of the whole.

This week I want for you to think about your gifts and passions. And each of us has uniquely God-given gifts and passions.

In this space I see those with the gifts of compassion, mercy, and patience; I see gifts of service, prayer warriors, storytelling and creative hearts; I see gifts of justice, financial discernment, and servant leadership; I see gifts of gardening, hospitality, and humor.

How might God’s Spirit be nudging you to use your gifts as you live out your faith at school, at work, or in this season of your life? What space may God be preparing for you to come alongside another in authentic Christian community?

As we follow the Spirit into the community to serve God and others, whether it be through a mission trip, stopping to help someone on the side of the road, or standing up for one who has no voice, God works through us to empower another to find belonging.

Coming alongside another child of God means we are all just walking each other home.

All praise and glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who makes us one. Amen.

Sermon: Walking through the Valley

Walking through the Valley
Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34: 11-16a
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
April 22, 2018

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long. - Psalm 23


For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep.

I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God.

I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak. - Ezekiel 34: 11-16a

On any given day our eyes behold the awe and wonder of green pastures and still waters. The sunshine is warm on our faces, the light is dancing on the water, there is a gentle breeze in the air. And in that moment, we sense the mystery of God’s presence. The promise of God’s restoration touches our very soul.

I know I am not alone in wishing every day could be like this. I surely felt that way when I was on spring break with my daughters!

The rhythm of life is filled with gentle graces, side-stitching laughter, and joy way down in our hearts. But that rhythm can suddenly take us into the darkest valleys without notice. More times than not, we silently fear walking through the valley of the shadows.

You might be saying, “Pastor, today I am lying down in the green pastures and listening to the water babble and you are killing my tranquil vibe!” And I hear you.

But today, the Spirit is asking us to look into the valley. Today some of us are walking through the valley and we need to know that we are not alone in it.

When you look into the valley, what do you see? This past week I have been seeing the shadows of depression. The valley is that low place filled with gloom and uncertainty. We need to give ourselves permission to talk about our mental health. We need to shine a light into the darkness.

Depression is more common than we think. Statistics from 2017 reveal the following for adults and youth:

1 in 5 adults have a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety; that is over 40 million Americans across the country. That’s also one person in every pew today.

Within the state of South Carolina, 17% or 644,000 adults struggle with a mental health condition. 137,000 adults have seriously considered suicide.

My heart holds many families I have known throughout my life and ministry who grieve a loved one’s death to suicide. This church knows that grief. I know that grief as well; my aunt committed suicide when I was 16 years old.

Our youth are under increasing pressures today and just like the adults, 1 in 5 youth are struggling with a mental health condition. Nearly 11% of South Carolina youth ages 12-17 report suffering from at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year; that is 40,000 youth in our state. The national average is 11.93% with the highest state percentage at 14.64% (Indiana).

7.9% of South Carolina youth ages 12-17 experienced severe depression; that is 25,000 youth in our state.

Major Depression is marked by significant and pervasive feelings of sadness that are associated with self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

Common signs of depression in youth and adults include:

• Changes in sleep
• Changes in appetite
• Lack of concentration
• Loss of energy
• Lack of interest in activities
• Hopelessness or guilty thoughts
• Changes in movement (less activity or increased agitation)
• Physical aches and pains

Depression, anxiety, and mental health conditions like bipolar depression are not just statistics. Many of our families hold stories of a parent, a child, a family member who has low moments and cases of the blues. We often feel compelled to hide our stories because of the stigma and shame attached. We tell ourselves no one will understand. As a result, we suffer in silence as we walk through the valley.

Mental health conditions are not sins. They can develop among any of us. Sometimes we have a genetic predisposition by way of family history. Sometimes depression and anxiety develop from chemical imbalances within our bodies. Some conditions develop out of situations of conflict, change, and hardship that are hard to bounce back from. And sometimes conditions develop without any known causes.

We do not have to live in silence. Silence harbors even more isolation, helplessness, fear, anger, and even self-hatred.

The psalms have a way of speaking into our silence and pain. I cannot read today’s text about the psalmist walking through the valley without holding up the psalmist’s previous cry for help in Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have your forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.

But you are holy; enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved, and in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. (Psalm 22: 1-5).

The psalmist cried out to God in his pain, loneliness, and despair. And as he did the Spirit whispered a word of hope. The psalmist remembered stories of God’s past faithfulness that had been handed down.

The Lord God is our Shepherd and he is acquainted with all our ways. He knows when we are scattered physically, spiritually, and emotionally. The Shepherd’s ultimate concern is our well-being because you and I are part of his flock. Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, is with us in the valleys of life. He knows the pain we carry because he has carried it himself on the cross (John 10: 11-18).

The Good Shepherd knows our needs. He is at work to restore our weary souls. He will rescue us from all the places to which we have been scattered on our darkest days. He promises to seek us when we are lost, bring us home when we are strayed, bind us up when we are injured, and strengthen us when we are weak (Psalm 23: 1-3; Ezekiel 34:12, 16a-c).

The Psalmist felt God’s presence as he walked through the darkest valley. I have no doubt that the Psalmist walked through the valleys of life more than once. And with every step he was strengthened to affirm “I do not fear for You GOD are with me” (Psalm 23:4). He wrote down his story to share with every generation.

The Psalmist’s words bear hope that our valleys are not the end of the road for us. The Psalmist’s words give us courage to share our stories with God and others who will safely hold them with empathy and compassion.

I have personally struggled with depression since I was in my twenties. Personal situations of failure, hardships, and conflict take me back to the darkest valley. There are times when it is hard to find my way back to the green pastures and the still waters. I remember a stretch of years that I prayed over and over, “Lord, if I could just touch the hem of your robe, I would be healed” (Matthew 9:21).

Looking back, I have found support through good counselors, anti-depressant medication, my husband, my family, trustworthy friends who will bring peanut butter pie when the tears won’t stop, and of course faith. I have experienced God’s presence through each of these supports. And I thank God for being faithful to lead me one step at a time towards healing and wholeness.

My sweet husband Doug gave me permission to share that he struggles with depression too. Depression touches both of our families of origin.

Depression and mental health conditions can be hard to talk about. They can be hard to understand.

Just as one person is diagnosed with heart disease, another is diagnosed with a mental illness. Both individuals need to receive medical care and have a support system to receive healing and achieve wellness.

If you struggle with depression, anxiety, or any mental health condition - or if you recognize any of the common signs in your life or in the life of a loved one - I want you to know four things:

(1) Mental illness is not your fault;
(2) You are not alone;
(3) You are loved beyond measure;
(4) It is important for you to find someone to share your story with.

There is a safe space for you to talk about walking through the valley.

Please come talk with me and know that our conversation is held in confidence. I will pray with you and for you.

Talk with your doctor about the changes you notice in yourself or your loved one.

There are also excellent and trustworthy agencies in our surrounding community with resources for support and care. [1]

No matter what age we are - our state of mental health does not ultimately define you or me. God’s love alone is what defines and redefines us.

God says to us, “Do not fear, I have redeemed you. I have called you by name and you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1).

Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3).
God is always in our corner.

So cast your all your anxiety on the Lord because God cares for you and your flock and your shepherd care for you too (1 Timothy 5:7).

The Lord is our Shepherd and he will walk with us through the valley. The Good Shepherd will lead us back to green pastures and still waters to restore or soul.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.

Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
To meet with the pastor call the church office (803) 285-1895

National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI Piedmont Tri-County
PO Box 3626
Rock Hill, SC 29732-5626
(Serves Chester, Lancaster & York)
www.namipiedmont.org
email: namiptc@gmail.com

Saluda Counseling Center
2400 W. Main St (main office)
Rock Hill, SC 29732
(803) 327-6103
www.thesaludacenter.org
Offices also in Lancaster, Fort Mill, and Chester

Rebound Behavioral Health
134 E Rebound Rd
Lancaster, SC 29720
(803) 810-0995
www.reboundbehavioralhealth.com

*if you or a loved one needs immediate medical assistance always dial 911 first.

Sermon: God's Garden

God’s Garden
Psalm 1; John 15: 1-11 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
April 8, 2018


Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. - Psalm 1

[Jesus said," ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. - John 15: 1-11

The Gospel of John is one of my favorites. I love the way John paints pictures of Jesus’ ministry with the disciples and the growing number of followers.

John has one sole purpose as he draws his readers into God’s great story: “That you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

Today, John paints a beautiful landscape of growing grapevines in hopes that we might allow the roots of our faith to sink a little deeper in the source of life.

John tells us that God is the vine grower. Just imagine the Creator’s hands working the soil to loosen the hard places and to prepare the earth for the true vine. John goes on to say that Jesus is the true vine and the Creator’s hands continue the work of pruning the vine’s branches to allow it to bear more and more fruit.

John is particular to say that you and I are the branches. The landscape of this incredible vine has the opportunity to grow exponentially. Jesus says, “Those who abide in me and me in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

I am captivated by that word “abide.” I am not sure if you caught it in the Scripture reading, but John says the word “abide” ten times. It is not a word that is common in our everyday vocabulary. Abide means “to have one’s abode, to reside, to dwell.”

But to abide in something – especially to abide in Jesus Christ – means to remain in Jesus’ teaching, continue to follow Christ’s example, stand in the Lord’s grace, and strive to endure in God’s faithfulness.

We are encouraged to abide in our Savior as our Savior abides in us. And for John there is something at stake. One commentary I trust shares these words:

It is not enough to be with Jesus Christ and to have received his word. The disciples must abide in him and he must abide in them. There must be an ongoing [opportunity to share life because of the relationships between Jesus and the disciples.][1]

We cannot come to a full understanding of who we are in God’s love alone. That understanding is informed by our relationships with God and one another in community. And as we abide in God’s love, we begin to grow into a beautiful landscape that is God’s garden. That garden is where the community of faith begins to thrive and be nourished by God. And in turn, the community of faith becomes a space for others to experience the goodness of God.

One of my colleagues in ministry is Melissa. She serves as pastor of a small rural Presbyterian Church in Pulaski, Virginia. The town of Pulaski is about 7 square miles and is located near the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains in southwestern Virginia.

A few years ago, Melissa, the session and church members were in prayerful discernment about how to abide in the community. The small church felt God leading them to partner with a non-profit project called “Pulaski Grow.”

This relatively new non-profit was founded by Virginia native Lee Spiegel. Lee moved back to the New River Valley area with a vision to “draw upon the region’s long agricultural history and confront one of its most pressing needs.” That need was small town economic growth.

Lee’s vision entailed a community garden and cannery to grow and can produce with the help of local individuals, churches, and youth. Lee hoped to “teach teenagers the leadership, management, and customer-service skills which area employers need” in order to foster economic growth in their small rural town.

Individuals from across the country began hearing about Lee’s vision. Local area churches began reaching out to help make a difference in the community. Together they have been learning to abide in a mutual and life-giving reality to improve the overall quality of life for everyone.

There are just six weeks of school left this year (not counting Spring Break) and my ministry colleagues and I are already planning for August 11, 2018 – our second annual Lancaster Back to School Bash.

A handful of our Indian Land and Lancaster area clergy saw a need in our community to give underprivileged children (k-12) the resources they need to succeed in school. In August of 2017 churches, businesses, and individuals worked together to serve 800 children in need with school supplies, haircuts, new shoes, foot washings and prayer.

Lancaster County School District serves 20 schools and 12,959 students. The county-wide poverty average is 55.8%. Do you know that 11 out of 20 schools have a poverty rate between 65% and 94%?

As more people hear the stories of how our Lancaster children and families were impacted by Back to School Bash, more want to be a part of this ministry that is changing lives.

This week I met with a local business woman to share about Back to School Bash. She was moved to hear about one little boy who chose his back pack and school supplies, had his hair cut, his feet washed, received a prayer and then had a new pair of shoes placed on his feet. He walked out of the doors with his arms raised high and shouted, “Alleluia!”

The local business woman shared with me that she wanted to be a part of that.

And then she shared a similar event that she has helped lead in Kings Mountain called, “Dare to Dream.”

The vision for the event came from a local pastor who says, “For all of us to get together and love one another – it is the only way that I know personally to change my community and the world that we live in.” Dare to Dream focuses on children and youth who are underprivileged but also are at risk to gang influence.

The Dare to Dream planning team not only saw a community need but also saw a shared interest of dirt bike riding among youth and young adults. Therefore, churches, corporate sponsors, individuals and professional dirt bikers came together to give out back packs, school supplies and inspire children and youth to reach for their dreams. I was equally moved to learn of what another community is doing to sow seeds of God’s love and hope to change the world.

These communities are reflections of God’s great garden. God’s garden is filled with so many branches. And as a wise gentleman shared with me last week after Easter worship, “God is definitely bigger than our individual denominations.”

Once these branches begin to grow out of prayer and commitment to abide in the vine of God’s love, they all intertwine with one another. These branches offer support for one another and yield space for all to thrive and grow. These branches abide and bear good fruit.

Just think about all the branches that make up this community of faith here in Van Wyck. How have the branches among us helped you to abide in our Creator’s hands? In what ways have you experienced the truth that abiding in the vine of our Savior’s self-giving love is where you tap into the source of new life?

This week I pray you reflect upon all the different people in your life who have helped you to grow in God’s love. Maybe it is a teacher, a pastor, or a new friend. Maybe it is a colleague at work whose dedication and humble heart inspires you. Maybe it is a family member who tends to so many with a nurturing and selfless love.

Jesus wants the seeds of our faith to reach down and mature with deep roots. Our Teacher and Savior has a vision for our faith to grow into large beautiful branches that yields blooms of hope, reaching out into the community and into the lives of others.

That hope bears the visible fruit of God’s promise that the love of Christ changes the world. Sometimes God alone is the one who begins to see the hidden promise of transformation. And yet as we hold the resurrection promise of Easter as our vision, we too will see God’s love at work in our lives as we keep in step with the Spirit.

This Easter season we have the opportunity to pray about how to abide more deeply in the vine of God’s love and coming kingdom.

May we remain in Jesus’ teaching, continue to follow Christ’s example, stand in the Lord’s grace, and strive to endure in God’s faithfulness.

Let’s go out and be God’s Garden and invite others to come and see how good God is.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Sacra Pagina, “The Gospel of John” (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998), p. 420.

Sermon: The Defining Moment of Easter

The Defining Moment of Easter
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
Easter Sunday
April 1, 2018

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. - 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11


On any given day we encounter defining moments.

A student goes to tutoring in attempts to reframe a difficult concept; the light bulb goes off and she does a fist pump because she finally gets it! “Yes, I can learn hard things!” she says.

After years of struggle, he found the courage to face his addiction and say “I need help.” And then he felt the chains release and tasted the beginning of freedom for the first time.

As the days blurred into months of grieving the loss, she found the strength to rise up to another day with the support and encouragement of her community.

Sidney Evans says, “A defining moment is a point in our life when we are urged to make a pivotal decision, or when we experience something that fundamentally changes us. Not only do these moments define us, but they have a transforming effect on our perceptions and behaviors.”

The Apostle Paul was a man who was deeply acquainted with defining moments. Before he wrote over half of the New Testament he was a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Christian movement. He dragged men and women to prison for their faith in Jesus and breathed threats and murder against the disciples (Acts 8:3; 9:1).

But then he encountered the Risen Lord and his life completely turned 180 degrees. Jesus Christ turned this man’s zeal into a heart burning to proclaim the good news of forgiveness, salvation, and new life.

Soon after, Paul lived among the Corinthians for eighteen months as a tent maker and church planter (Acts 18:11). As he worked making tents he got to know the people of the community. He heard their stories, their joys, and their struggles. And he shared his own with them so that God’s power might come through. Paul met the Corinthians where they were to help them see their defining moments through the lens of faith. He followed God’s purpose in his life to preach, teach and build up the body of Christ so that others may know God’s eternal hope.

His words today are the earliest written words to tell about the Easter story. The good news is always about Jesus’ life, death, and being raised by God to new life.

It is good news because we are freed from the penalty of our sins.
It is good news because our risen Lord appeared to so many people in so many various places.
It is good news because the Easter story has been passed down through every generation.
It is good news because the claim that “He Is Risen” bears eternal hope to face tomorrow.
It is good news because it has a transforming effect on our perceptions, behaviors, and the reality in which we live.

Easter is God’s defining moment for creation and humanity.

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, author, and professor at Piedmont College and Columbia Theological Seminary; she says: “Christianity is the only world religion that confesses a God who suffers. It is not that popular an idea, even among Christians. We prefer a God who prevents suffering, only that it is not the God we have got. What the cross [and empty tomb] teach us is that God’s power is not the power to force human choices and end human pain. It is, instead, the power to pick up the shattered pieces and make something holy out of them – not from a distance, but right close up.”[1]

Lee and Lisa were seven years into their marriage with a son when something changed. The demands of life began causing great strife. A multigenerational family business dominated Lee’s life. The future which had once looked so bright and full of promise suddenly came crashing down.

The family business broke down. Lee’s parents divorced. His marriage to Lisa broke down too. They went to three marriage counselors and nothing seemed to change. They felt like they were living in a container without oxygen. It all led to the decision to do a trial separation. An agreed six weeks turned into three years. It all felt like a dead end.

Lisa began thinking about her broken life. She thought about faith and church had long been something you do instead of something that is relationship centered. It was in that space that Lisa was invited to her first adult Bible study with women from various backgrounds. She says, “We studied Genesis and I began to learn about the God of the universe and this God of the impossible.”

That Bible study turned into a defining moment. She recommitted her life to Christ. She says, “Because of what Christ was doing in my life along with this community of women, I began to trust the Lord, meet him daily, and ask him for strength and wisdom.

At the same time and in a different place, Lee reflected on his life too. His career was gone. His family of origin was gone. His marriage and son were gone. So he was left to focus on the only thing that was left, which was faith. Lee also happened to come across a non-denominational Bible study with a community of men who counseled and care for him.

The dark side of life showed up and it was there that Jesus Christ began to show Lee who he was. It was a defining moment. He found that when you are feeling like a zero, well that is good news because nothingness is what God works with.

Lee and Lisa found God was at work picking up the shattered pieces of their lives in order to make something holy. It was the work of the cross – they each met God in a very unexpected way.

As the Lord was teaching them to prioritize their focus on their vertical relationship with Christ first and foremost, then God’s Spirit allowed for them to experience resurrection hope and reconciliation in their horizontal relationship with one another. It was not overnight; picking up the pieces took 11 years.

The good news of the Resurrection does not mean our stories of brokenness all have a happy ending.

It means that when we find ourselves in the lowest points of our lives that God is there with us. Despair and hopelessness are not the end of our stories. Those moments are actually places where God is hovering over the chaos and whispering that we are not forsaken or abandoned.

When the light shines into our darkness, that just may be a defining moment for you and me. It is in that kind of space where God is renewing our humanity. God causes us to rise to new life.

We rise because through Jesus Christ, God has triumphed over brokenness, sin, and death. Even when life happens and hits the fan, nothing in all the world can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior (Romans 8:38).

The Easter story is a powerful one because God invites the voices of all who have seen the Risen Lord to share their story of God’s faithfulness and unfailing love.

The flowered cross speaks God’s narrative of grace into our lives and redefines our understanding of relationships.

As we focus on our vertical relationship with God, then we experience grace up close. God has claimed you and me as his own and calls us beloved. The Lord strengthens our fragile spirits to begin making us holy and whole; it is by his wounds we are healed.

And the Spirit moves us to engage our horizontal relationships in a new and profound way through the gift of community.

Theologian Shirley Guthrie says, “We listen to the stories of faith not so that we may believe that [the resurrection] really happened, but so that we may know Jesus Christ and knowing him, share with him this promise of new life.”[2]

What is your story? Where is God’s story of amazing grace shining into your story of despair and brokenness?

If there is no death, then there is no resurrection. When we are feeling like a zero, well, that is when God does his best work.

May each of us rise up in the defining moment of God’s resurrection hope.

May we tell our stories so that others may know the resurrection joy of the Lord is our strength.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, “God in Pain” (Nashville:Abingdon Press, 1998).
[2] Shirley Guthrie, “Christian Doctrine” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994). P. 274.