Sermon: Living from the Inside Out (Psalm 119: 97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5)

Living from the Inside Out
Psalm 16:8; Psalm 119: 97-104
2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 20, 2019


I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. - Psalm 16:8

Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way. - Psalm 119: 97-104

But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. - 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5

Clemson Football Coach, Dabo Sweeney, was asked this week, “How do you protect your players and program from outside influences? How do you insulate the Clemson football program from all of the outside noise and expectations?”

Dabo’s answer was simple: “The key is living your life from the inside out.”

Dabo went on to say, “Our program blossomed from the inside-out not the outside-in. That means I encourage our team to focus daily on these things: go to work, one day at a time, do your best, be about the right things, and don’t get distracted by the things that do not matter.”

Whether you love or hate Clemson football, there is gospel truth to Dabo’s words.

The Apostle Paul was encouraging Timothy to lead the Ephesus Church from the inside-out too. The life of faith and ministry will always be filled with distractions. Therefore, what mattered most to Paul was for Timothy to be about the right things – the things that he first learned from the sacred writings – God’s playbook.

Paul did not want Timothy to just continue in what he had learned of faith from his grandmother, mother, and Paul’s mentoring. Paul did not want Timothy to just go through the motions of faith. Paul was coaching Timothy to hold fast to God’s Word with all his heart, mind, and strength. God’s Word holds the key to living our best life.

God’s Word is central to the Christian life. Scripture is unparalleled to any other source that may influence our lives.

The Bible is God-breathed having power beyond measure to give us encouragement and steadfast hope (Romans 15:3-4). It teaches us not only the language of faith, but it also has practical applications in the journey of faith. We share this pilgrimage of faith with our spiritual ancestors knowing that no matter how much we miss the mark, God will never leave or forsake us. The journey of faith points to the goal of living like Jesus Christ.

The more we sit in the stories of Scripture, the deeper our personal and communal convictions become about God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

And yet the hardest part of being a student of the Bible is this – to be humble enough for the Word of God to correct, reform, and train us in right relationships with God and one another (individually and communally).

When you and I are reading Scripture, it is really the Holy Spirit whom is reading us. Let that sink in for a moment.

Scripture is a mirror that shows our reflection from the inside out. The Lord does not see as mortals see – you and I look on the outward appearance - but the Lord in God’s Word looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

God’s Word leads us to confess where we have missed the mark of following Jesus’ example. The Bible is not a self-help book of how to improve ourselves. And yet I have to be honest with you – without God’s Word, I don’t like the person I see in the mirror. God’s Word gives my life and yours hope, purpose, and it teaches how to live for God from the inside out.

John Calvin once said that the Bible is like a pair of spectacles. When we read Scripture, we are putting on the spectacles of faith which allow us to see the world and ourselves rightly.

The Word of God is a gift to us. Just as God created humanity to live in relationship with God and one another, we are to live in relationship with God’s Word. And yet there is a crisis of faith today. That crisis is not doctrinal or the decline in church attendance. The crisis is how we live our lives in relation to God’s Word.

George Stroup is the former J.B. Green Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary. He was my theology professor when I attended there. In his book, “Before God,” he says:

For several decades observers of the Christian life have noted the remarkable phenomenon of a growing biblical illiteracy not just in the general public but in churches as well. Protestant Christians who began as “people of the book” and confess the Bible alone as the primary authority of the Christian faith and life have become a people who know less about the Bible.

The larger problem is not just a matter of knowledge; it is that the language of Scripture no longer shapes Christian individuals and churches. They no longer are people whose identities and character are formed and continue to be formed by reading the stories of Scripture….The issue is whether people live their daily lives before God [1].

A U.S. Religious Landscape Study was taken in 2014. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 35,000 Americans from all 50 states. The data revealed that only 35% of adults read Scripture at least once a week; 10% of adults read Scripture once or twice a month; and 45% of adults surveyed seldom or never read Scripture.

Friends, the whole of our lives is lived before the face of God.

If we are not abiding in God’s Word, then we are hiding from the truest revelation of God’s presence.

If we are not abiding in God’s Word on a regular basis then we are missing opportunities that God places before us to discover what the will of God is, to imagine who God is creating us to be, and to discern how God is calling you and I to join the Lord in making a divine difference in the world.

Jesus Christ said to his disciples and says to us today:

“If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31).

“Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).

Are you living from the inside out? Are you getting into God’s Word and letting God’s Spirit inscribe it on your heart?

I encourage you to grow and keep growing in the spiritual discipline of abiding in Christ’s word, because we are people of the book.

The Good Book quiets the noise and distractions of life as we keep our focus on God. And God opens our eyes to the things that truly matter in life.

May we keep the Lord always before us, for in doing so we will not be moved (Psalm 16:8).

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

Sources Referenced:

[1] George Stroup, “Before God” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), pp. 199, 194.

Sermon: "What Is Your Gospel?" (2 Timothy 2: 8-15)

What Is Your Gospel?
Psalm 66: 16-20; 2 Timothy 2: 8-15
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 13, 2019


Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me. - Psalm 66: 16-20

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2: 8-15

Paul was writing his second letter to young Timothy from a Roman prison cell. Paul’s words revealed his spiritual secret. Paul shared his treasure that allowed him to endure countless threats to his physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Paul’s greatest spiritual treasure was the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel gave Paul the strength to face all things.

Paul summed up the core of God’s good news in ten simple words: “Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendent of David.” It sounds so simple, but for Paul those ten words meant everything not just to him alone, but also to the foundation of the Christian faith.

Paul’s ministry centered upon two claims: Jesus’ saving death and resurrection and God’s faithfulness to establish an eternal kingdom through the line of David in Christ (2 Samuel 7: 12-16).

Jesus’ saving death and resurrection meant everything to Paul and to the Christian faith today. Paul said Jesus Christ died for our trespasses and was raised by God to reveal we are divinely pardoned (justification), thus fulfilling the Scriptures (Romans 4: 24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:4). Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, sin and death no longer have dominion in our lives (Romans 6:9). Jesus Christ died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Christ alone (2 Corinthians 5:15). The good news is that the cross and empty tomb reveal that Christ intercedes for us (Romans 8:34).

Paul says we respond to God’s saving grace in baptism. By water and Holy Spirit, we share in Christ’s dying, we are raised to new life, and we are forever claimed in God’s love - belonging to God and one another as the body of Christ (Romans 6:4; 7:4). According to Paul, if there is no resurrection then our proclamation and faith have been in vain and we misrepresent God (1 Corinthians 15:12).

The apostle Paul has certainly been one of the most influential authors of God’s Word, encouraging and challenging every generation of faith since the early church.

Karl Barth is one of the most influential pastors and theologians of our time. He once said, “The gospel is not a truth among other trusts. Rather, it sets a question mark against all truths.”

Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1886. He was the son of Fritz Barth, a theology professor and pastor. Like father, like son.

In 1934 Karl Barth was among 139 delegates representing Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches throughout Germany. They met in the town of Barmen-Wurppertal to voice the common faith of the Church Universal in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Together, they wrote The Theological Declaration of Barmen with Barth as the chief author. For these pastors the integrity of the gospel was at stake as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime came to power in Germany.

The Nazi regime began intervening coercively in church affairs. Therefore, the gospel of Jesus Christ set question marks against false doctrines of the German Evangelical Church. Those false doctrines proclaimed any event, power, figure or truth as God’s revelation; made race a factor of church membership by excluding Jewish Christians; and made the church an organ of the state and subjecting the church to a “special leader” (Adolf Hitler), who lords it over others.

Everything in the Declaration of Barmen hangs on the core belief that the Christian Church must live or die; that core belief is that Jesus Christ is the one source of the church’s proclamation [1].

There was a lot on the line for Karl Barth to author the Barmen Declaration. “To oppose Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime was considered by the Germans to be at the least unpatriotic and at the worst an act of treason” [2]. As a result, Barth was deported from Germany in 1935 when he refused to sign the Oath of Loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Barth pledged his faithfulness and loyalty to the triune God alone – no other is Sovereign.

Barth returned to his home in Switzerland to resume his career as a professor of Reformed Theology, continuing to teach and write.

After all of Barth’s theological contributions to the reformed faith he visited the United States in 1962. He was asked to summarize all he had written. What would you imagine the gospel of this emboldened pastor and theologian to be? Barth said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

The gospel is the claim of Jesus Christ upon our communal and individual lives. It is God’s truth by which we live or die. The gospel is the air we breathe, the courageous song of hope we sing, and the guiding force for the choices we make. The gospel breaks the chains of sin and the brokenness that we cannot save ourselves from. The gospel frees us to love deeply and live fully as God created us to be.

What words do you use to describe your gospel?

This past week seventeen of our ladies participated in the Women’s Fall Retreat. We carpooled to beautiful Montreat, North Carolina. While the mountain landscape has not yet opened in a majestic starburst of red, orange, and yellow - the colors of God’s grace were undeniably everywhere.

This year the retreat theme focused on the treasures we cherish. As I experienced the retreat with our ladies, I saw the treasure of what it means to be sisters in Christ. The gospel has a mysterious way of binding hearts and minds together like nothing else can. I have seen the gospel give these women strength, dignity, wisdom, and laugher. I have also had the great privilege of holding these ladies’ struggles as we pray for the gospel to bring courage to overcome anything that threatens God’s peace in their lives.

And so, I asked our women, “What is your gospel?” What does the good news mean to your faith? Their testimonies are inspiring.

- My gospel is that Jesus Christ is my salvation! Without him, I would not be here today. God has given me more than I can ever give him.

- The gospel is what I start my day with every morning. Jesus is my best friend. Life is hard enough, and I cannot imagine life without Jesus Christ.

- My gospel is forgiveness.

- My gospel is grace. We can be so ugly and the grace of Jesus Christ cleans us up.

- My gospel is Romans 8:28 - God is going to work everything out.

What is your gospel? I pray that you will consider what the good news of Jesus Christ means in your life and in the church.

Without the gospel, how will we endure hardship or know freedom? How will we experience God’s peace and salvation not just eternally but today? How will we find understanding to live a life of purpose, connection, and abundance? Without the gospel, our life is lived in vain.

Keep on remembering God’s good news to you. For in doing so we will be made strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).

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

Sources Referenced:

[1] The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Part I, “The Book of Confessions: Study Edition” (Louisville: Geneva Press, 1996), pp. 303-308.

[2] The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Part I, “The Book of Confessions: Study Edition” (Louisville: Geneva Press, 1996), pp. 303-308.

Sermon: "Between the Memories and Questions" ( 2 Timothy 1: 1-14)

Between the Memories and Questions
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 6, 2019
World Communion Sunday

The Apostle Paul found himself with too much time on his hands. He was serving his third and last prison sentence – this time in Rome (2 Timothy 1: 16-17; Acts 28:16). Sitting in a jail cell gives one a lot of time to think. Memories from his life must have flooded his mind – the good, the bad and the ugly.

God had really done a work in Paul’s life. God turned Paul’s life around 180 degrees from the biggest persecutor of Christians to the biggest proponent for the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9: 1-15). As God worked out the Lord’s purposes in Paul’s life, the apostle had been richly blessed by the people of faith God had placed in his life.

And yet the questions hung heavy in the air about the uncertainty of his future and possible death (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paul knew his time had come and he knew it was having an effect on Timothy. Paul had taken Timothy under his wings and empowered Timothy to rise up in God’s grace and potential. In between the memories and the questions Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy; a young man who was like a son to Paul.

This is where we enter into God’s Word today in 2 Timothy 1: 1-14.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.


Paul anticipated Timothy’s tears (2 Timothy 1:4). Paul knew his absence would bring about memories and questions within Timothy’s spirit. And between those memories and questions there would naturally be challenges in ministry that Timothy needed encouragement to overcome. The tender way that Paul offers this encouragement speaks volumes still today.

J Peter Holmes comments on the significance of Paul’s words today:

In the face of tearful memories and tough questions, Paul gave thanks. Paul gave thanks [to God] for the gift of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. He gave thanks for Timothy’s faith. He gave thanks for the opportunity to ordain Timothy through the laying on of hands. Amid discouragement or even despondency about the setbacks and challenges, Paul’s gratitude helped Timothy to see that he was part of something so much bigger – Christ’s ministry.

When we face setbacks, pausing to give thanks can make all the difference in the world. Gratitude puts things in perspective. [1]


Seasons of grief, loss, disappointment, and transition can certainly cast long shadows in our hearts and minds. When these emotional shadows roll in, they threaten to hide the light of hope. Our memories and questions can certainly get the best of us and the rhythm of life loses its joyful beat.

It is in these seasons that practicing gratitude is so very important. Gratitude stirs up our souls and breathes new life into our spirit.

Henri Nouwen says, “Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”

Louise was at a low point in her life. The life that she loved with meaningful work, playing with her three children, and taking long walks with her dog had been snatched away. A life altering accident left Louise diagnosed with a disability. She was left with constant pain, immobility, and three children she could not properly care for. Louise felt she had little to be thankful for.

Louise said, “I thought back to all the advice I had given to my therapy clients over the years on healing emotional pain and moving forward, but even though I knew it worked from the positive feedback I’d received, I couldn’t apply it to myself.”

Louise started to practice the discipline of gratitude. She loved to write so journaling seemed like a good starting point. The first evening she reflected on her day in an effort to write three things she was grateful for. Losing track of time, she stared at a blank page stained with tears.

Louise tried the gratitude journal again the next day. She said,

“I rested my head against the window. I watched a robin tentatively sitting on the garden fence, anxiously watching all directions while trying to keep an eye on the birdseed my son had put on the feeding station before school. For half an hour, this beautiful bird made several trips, came back with friends, and triumphantly cleared all that we had offered.
It dawned on me that while I had been watching, I hadn’t felt sorry for myself once. I had felt in awe of nature and how beautiful it can be. From that I started to become more and more aware and recognize these precious moments as they occurred, which they generally do if you watch for them each day.”

When that spirit of fear and uncertainly rises within us, it is the discipline of gratitude that empowers us to tap into God’s power and love in the world around us. We become more aware of God’s presence in creation, in our relationships, and in the gift of faith. Gratitude completely changes our perspective because it is life-giving.

I encourage you to practice gratitude daily in between your memories and questions. It usually takes 30 days for a habit to take hold. Make strides to thank God for more than things in your life.

Recall your past cherished memories with those you love and give thanks. Daily watch for moments and encounters of God’s grace in nature, and with neighbors and strangers alike. Pay attention to your experiences of awe, wonder, and joy. Record your present experiences of gratitude.

Snap a picture, make a video blog, draw a doodle, write a journal entry, paint your emotions. Record your entries so that your collection of God’s hope will calm the chaos between your memories of questions.

Today we have the opportunity to practice gratitude in the Sacrament of Communion.

When we take the bread of life and the cup of salvation, we give thanks for the fragrance of faith in ordinary elements (2 Corinthians 2:14).

We give thanks to God for the indescribable gift of Jesus’ sacrificial love (2 Corinthians 9:15).

We give thanks for the victory we have in Jesus Christ today and eternally (1 Corinthians 15:57).

We give thanks to God’s Spirit for strengthening our faith when we are weak and our giving our lives purpose to serve God and the world (2 Corinthians 8:16).

We give thanks that no grief, no circumstance, and no uncertainty in our lives will ever separate us from the love we have in Jesus Christ.

Today on this World Communion Sunday, may you experience this precious moment of God’s presence.

And as we step into another week, may gratitude guide you to notice God’s steadfast love, grace, and hope between your memories and questions.

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

Sources Referenced:

*Artwork "Blue Memories," by Trine Meyer Vogsland
[1] Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 4 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), Homiletical Perspective, by J. Peter Holmes, p. 137.