Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
"IT’S TIME TO LET GO OF WORRY
& EMBRACE THE PEACE OF GOD"
November 30, 2008 Matthew 6:25-34
I love this time of year. I’ve been listening to carols non-stop on WBMW 106.5. I can’t believe they
have such an extensive collection of Christmas Songs. I heard one yesterday that I had never heard
before. It was a rendition of Silver Bells by Bing Crosby and Prince. Can you imagine that? I thought
they were kidding. It just goes to prove the point that everyone loves Christmas.
Yet, while everyone loves Christmas, I think there is also an undercurrent of worry, fear and anxiety
that many of us feel as well. As we are singing the carols, we are also worried about providing a
genuine Christmas experience for those we love. To put it bluntly, a song is not enough. We get
caught up in the frenzy to buy a happy Christmas.
I read an article in the Norwich Bulletin yesterday by one of their reporters who was out in the chaos
of Black Friday. It was titled, “A quest for the ONE toy my son wants.” Deb Straszheim talks about
a recurring nightmare she has that she is roaming the stores on Christmas eve looking for that
elusive gift that will make her little boy’s dreams come true. This is what motivates her to get up in
the middle of the night and wait in line on Friday morning. Then the doors open and she runs to the
toy department and fights her way to the place where that gift can be found. Now she can have her
happy Christmas!
Does that story touch home with anyone here? Don’t be embarrassed. Even with the economic
difficulties this year, people are still buying gifts for their loved ones. Yet I think the frenzy has
reached new heights.
Did you hear about the man who was trampled to death on Long Island. The people literally broke
down the door and walked right over the Walmart employee to get inside the store. Then the crowd
was angry when they forced everyone out and closed the store in the wake of this horrible tragedy.
I think this happens because we are trying to deal with the anxieties of every day life. We want our
holidays to be perfect because we can’t seem to control anything else. This past year has been
rough on a lot of people. People are losing their homes because of the mortgage scandals. The stock
market plunge has threatened whatever wealth has been built up for now and for retirement. There is
a sense of uncertainty in the air as prices go up and jobs are lost. We just elected a new President
and that is good but even he is saying the road ahead will be bumpy and difficult to travel. No one
knows what lies ahead of us.
When you add our worries over our health and the well being of the ones we love, life gets a little
dicey. It is no wonder we want something to be bright and cheery. It makes sense that we would go
to all this fuss to get the perfect gifts for the people we love.
The only problem is that even when we think we have the perfect gift, we worry that they won’t
like it. Until the gift is opened and we hear the ooohs and aaahhs, we stress over what we bought.
I don’t think Christmas was supposed to be like this. You see God doesn’t want us to be stressed
out and worried about the future. Over and over again the Scriptures tell us that God says “Don’t
worry!”
Worrying never solves our problems. Worry only robs us of our peace. I know there’s a lot of
stuff here that we’re worried about. We face some real legitimate, pretty serious things. I don’t
mean to make light of any of that. But when we worry about them it doesn’t do anything for us.
So I want to talk about letting go of worry and embracing the peace of God. The Bible says that we’
re supposed to comfort other people with the comfort that we have received from God. That
comfort comes in knowing that God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten son. It is
his birth we celebrate during this Christmas season. That is where our focus should be. That is the
gift we should be trying to share. So let me begin.
That first Christmas saw its share of trouble. You know the story. Joseph is engaged to Mary. He
finds out she is pregnant and it isn’t his child. A scandal looms on the horizon but before Joseph can
act an angel appears to him. Joseph decides to humbly accept his role.
Next thing you know there is a census and he has to take Mary, full with child, across the world to
the city of Bethlehem. There was no rapid transit, no first class cars. They walked. When they got
there every hope of an easy time disappeared. There was no place for them to stay. No place, but a
cave, a stable. Some place for God’s son to be born. I can almost hear Joseph questioning his own
sanity for believing what the angel told him. All he has known was trouble since that first day.
Then the child is born. The heavens open. The angels sing. The shepherds visit and the world is
right again, at least for a day or two. What is amazing about the Christmas story is that it isn’t sugar
coated. It takes a page right out of real life. There is not an easy thing about it. It is real, just like you
and I experience life.
The difference is that Mary and Joseph didn’t worry about things. They simply trusted God. As we
come back to the story time and again, we see that God was there working behind the scenes to
deliver them and reward their faith. They did their part and God did his. That is the good news.
In Psalm 84 there is an interesting thought that I think speaks to this whole issue of worry and trust.
The Psalmist says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of tears they dig a well and they go from strength to
strength until each appears before God in Zion.”
David speaks of a pilgrimage but what he is really saying is “blessed are those who decide to follow
you.” Blessed are those who decide that you are their best hope. For you will meet them on the way.
There is a bit of symbolism here as well. For David speaks of the valley of tears. He acknowledges
that life is difficult. But he also points out that in those difficult, painful moments, God doesn’t wait
on the sidelines. He comes in to meet us, and carries us from strength to strength. In the ancient
days the people often dug a well in those sacred places where they had an encounter with God. It
was a reminder that God had met their need along the road.
You see God knows what we are going through. Nothing is a surprise to God. He knows the source
of our anxiety and fear. He has already put things in place to meet our need.
Think about the Christmas story. It didn’t just happen. The prophets foretold almost every detail of
what was going to take place. They noted the virgin birth, the place where the messiah was to be
born, the lineage of this child on both his mother and earthly father’s side, and hundreds of other
details. This plan had been set in motion almost from the beginning of time itself. What’s more, the
people began praying for a messiah hundreds of years before. And the birth of Jesus came as an
answer to those prayers.
The same is true of what is going on in your life and mine today. God knows. He wants to take
away our worry and fear and replace it with his peace. But before he can do that, we need to let go
of our worry and fear and embrace him. We need to trust him.
There is a wonderful verse from scripture that says “Be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes
we run around and fret so much that we don’t even realize that God is standing there right beside us.
He sees our pain and he wants to wrap his arms around us. He wants to help us navigate through the
deep waters. But we won’t let him. We ignore him.
One of the definitions that you find for trust is, “To run into a shelter. To hide. To run into a safe
place, a refuge.” That’s why so often in the psalms you’ll hear David say, “The Lord is my refuge.
He is my hiding place.” He’s talking about trust. It’s a deliberate decision to come into who God is,
to hold on to what He says, to believe that it’s true and to hide yourself in Him. That’s what it
means to trust the Lord.
Trust is not some simple little passive, “I’m just trusting God,” kind of attitude. Trust is an active
determination. There’s a stubbornness to it. I’m going to hold on to Him and hang on to Him and I’
m not going to let go. That’s what it means to trust the Lord.
When God says, “Do you trust Me?” You’ve got a decision to make. Are you really going to trust
Him? Are you really going to make that conscious decision to run in and hide in Him and not let go?
Isaiah 26:3 says “You, Lord, will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is stayed on You because
he trusts in You. You give perfect peace to the one who trusts in You.” In other words if you want
the perfect peace of God, you’ve got to trust the God of perfect peace.
I don’t know what is going on in your lives right now. But I know who can help you sort things out.
God has promised to be there for those who call on his name. The sign that his promise is true can
be found in the babe of Bethlehem.
Jesus had many names including the prince of peace. The name I like best is Emmanuel. For it says
that in Christ, God is with us. We are not alone as walk through this life. He knows and he cares and
he will help us find a way. It doesn’t matter if the doctor says it is cancer or the boss says I have to
let you go. If you hold onto God he will help you find a way through it.
Buddy Owens, one of the pastors of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church tells the story of how he
and his wife had big plans for renovating their home about four years ago. They hired in the
contractors and within a week, the whole house was gutted and they were living in the garage. On
the 9th of September when the demolition was completed he got called into his boss’ office and was
told that he was going to be laid off.
He was devastated. What were they going to do. He worried, fretted and went into a depression. On
his last day of work he was heading into the office when his neighbor called him over. She wanted
to show him something. He figured what did he have to lose. So what if he was late. He went.
She asked him to watch something that she said was going to amaze him. She took a peanut and
went out onto her back porch and held it up in the air. From across the field a blue bird came flying
in and swooped down and took it right out of her hand.
His jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe it. Then she said, it had taken her months to get him to do that.
He had to learn he could trust her first. But now, he comes to her every time and he gets his reward.
Buddy said suddenly it all hit home. He needed to trust god in the same way. When he learned to do
that he would know for sure that god would provide for him.
I think as we move into the advent season, we have the perfect opportunity to let go of our worries
and trust god. He will help us find a way to battle and overcome whatever stands in our way.
Amen.
& EMBRACE THE PEACE OF GOD"
November 30, 2008 Matthew 6:25-34
I love this time of year. I’ve been listening to carols non-stop on WBMW 106.5. I can’t believe they
have such an extensive collection of Christmas Songs. I heard one yesterday that I had never heard
before. It was a rendition of Silver Bells by Bing Crosby and Prince. Can you imagine that? I thought
they were kidding. It just goes to prove the point that everyone loves Christmas.
Yet, while everyone loves Christmas, I think there is also an undercurrent of worry, fear and anxiety
that many of us feel as well. As we are singing the carols, we are also worried about providing a
genuine Christmas experience for those we love. To put it bluntly, a song is not enough. We get
caught up in the frenzy to buy a happy Christmas.
I read an article in the Norwich Bulletin yesterday by one of their reporters who was out in the chaos
of Black Friday. It was titled, “A quest for the ONE toy my son wants.” Deb Straszheim talks about
a recurring nightmare she has that she is roaming the stores on Christmas eve looking for that
elusive gift that will make her little boy’s dreams come true. This is what motivates her to get up in
the middle of the night and wait in line on Friday morning. Then the doors open and she runs to the
toy department and fights her way to the place where that gift can be found. Now she can have her
happy Christmas!
Does that story touch home with anyone here? Don’t be embarrassed. Even with the economic
difficulties this year, people are still buying gifts for their loved ones. Yet I think the frenzy has
reached new heights.
Did you hear about the man who was trampled to death on Long Island. The people literally broke
down the door and walked right over the Walmart employee to get inside the store. Then the crowd
was angry when they forced everyone out and closed the store in the wake of this horrible tragedy.
I think this happens because we are trying to deal with the anxieties of every day life. We want our
holidays to be perfect because we can’t seem to control anything else. This past year has been
rough on a lot of people. People are losing their homes because of the mortgage scandals. The stock
market plunge has threatened whatever wealth has been built up for now and for retirement. There is
a sense of uncertainty in the air as prices go up and jobs are lost. We just elected a new President
and that is good but even he is saying the road ahead will be bumpy and difficult to travel. No one
knows what lies ahead of us.
When you add our worries over our health and the well being of the ones we love, life gets a little
dicey. It is no wonder we want something to be bright and cheery. It makes sense that we would go
to all this fuss to get the perfect gifts for the people we love.
The only problem is that even when we think we have the perfect gift, we worry that they won’t
like it. Until the gift is opened and we hear the ooohs and aaahhs, we stress over what we bought.
I don’t think Christmas was supposed to be like this. You see God doesn’t want us to be stressed
out and worried about the future. Over and over again the Scriptures tell us that God says “Don’t
worry!”
Worrying never solves our problems. Worry only robs us of our peace. I know there’s a lot of
stuff here that we’re worried about. We face some real legitimate, pretty serious things. I don’t
mean to make light of any of that. But when we worry about them it doesn’t do anything for us.
So I want to talk about letting go of worry and embracing the peace of God. The Bible says that we’
re supposed to comfort other people with the comfort that we have received from God. That
comfort comes in knowing that God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten son. It is
his birth we celebrate during this Christmas season. That is where our focus should be. That is the
gift we should be trying to share. So let me begin.
That first Christmas saw its share of trouble. You know the story. Joseph is engaged to Mary. He
finds out she is pregnant and it isn’t his child. A scandal looms on the horizon but before Joseph can
act an angel appears to him. Joseph decides to humbly accept his role.
Next thing you know there is a census and he has to take Mary, full with child, across the world to
the city of Bethlehem. There was no rapid transit, no first class cars. They walked. When they got
there every hope of an easy time disappeared. There was no place for them to stay. No place, but a
cave, a stable. Some place for God’s son to be born. I can almost hear Joseph questioning his own
sanity for believing what the angel told him. All he has known was trouble since that first day.
Then the child is born. The heavens open. The angels sing. The shepherds visit and the world is
right again, at least for a day or two. What is amazing about the Christmas story is that it isn’t sugar
coated. It takes a page right out of real life. There is not an easy thing about it. It is real, just like you
and I experience life.
The difference is that Mary and Joseph didn’t worry about things. They simply trusted God. As we
come back to the story time and again, we see that God was there working behind the scenes to
deliver them and reward their faith. They did their part and God did his. That is the good news.
In Psalm 84 there is an interesting thought that I think speaks to this whole issue of worry and trust.
The Psalmist says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of tears they dig a well and they go from strength to
strength until each appears before God in Zion.”
David speaks of a pilgrimage but what he is really saying is “blessed are those who decide to follow
you.” Blessed are those who decide that you are their best hope. For you will meet them on the way.
There is a bit of symbolism here as well. For David speaks of the valley of tears. He acknowledges
that life is difficult. But he also points out that in those difficult, painful moments, God doesn’t wait
on the sidelines. He comes in to meet us, and carries us from strength to strength. In the ancient
days the people often dug a well in those sacred places where they had an encounter with God. It
was a reminder that God had met their need along the road.
You see God knows what we are going through. Nothing is a surprise to God. He knows the source
of our anxiety and fear. He has already put things in place to meet our need.
Think about the Christmas story. It didn’t just happen. The prophets foretold almost every detail of
what was going to take place. They noted the virgin birth, the place where the messiah was to be
born, the lineage of this child on both his mother and earthly father’s side, and hundreds of other
details. This plan had been set in motion almost from the beginning of time itself. What’s more, the
people began praying for a messiah hundreds of years before. And the birth of Jesus came as an
answer to those prayers.
The same is true of what is going on in your life and mine today. God knows. He wants to take
away our worry and fear and replace it with his peace. But before he can do that, we need to let go
of our worry and fear and embrace him. We need to trust him.
There is a wonderful verse from scripture that says “Be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes
we run around and fret so much that we don’t even realize that God is standing there right beside us.
He sees our pain and he wants to wrap his arms around us. He wants to help us navigate through the
deep waters. But we won’t let him. We ignore him.
One of the definitions that you find for trust is, “To run into a shelter. To hide. To run into a safe
place, a refuge.” That’s why so often in the psalms you’ll hear David say, “The Lord is my refuge.
He is my hiding place.” He’s talking about trust. It’s a deliberate decision to come into who God is,
to hold on to what He says, to believe that it’s true and to hide yourself in Him. That’s what it
means to trust the Lord.
Trust is not some simple little passive, “I’m just trusting God,” kind of attitude. Trust is an active
determination. There’s a stubbornness to it. I’m going to hold on to Him and hang on to Him and I’
m not going to let go. That’s what it means to trust the Lord.
When God says, “Do you trust Me?” You’ve got a decision to make. Are you really going to trust
Him? Are you really going to make that conscious decision to run in and hide in Him and not let go?
Isaiah 26:3 says “You, Lord, will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is stayed on You because
he trusts in You. You give perfect peace to the one who trusts in You.” In other words if you want
the perfect peace of God, you’ve got to trust the God of perfect peace.
I don’t know what is going on in your lives right now. But I know who can help you sort things out.
God has promised to be there for those who call on his name. The sign that his promise is true can
be found in the babe of Bethlehem.
Jesus had many names including the prince of peace. The name I like best is Emmanuel. For it says
that in Christ, God is with us. We are not alone as walk through this life. He knows and he cares and
he will help us find a way. It doesn’t matter if the doctor says it is cancer or the boss says I have to
let you go. If you hold onto God he will help you find a way through it.
Buddy Owens, one of the pastors of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church tells the story of how he
and his wife had big plans for renovating their home about four years ago. They hired in the
contractors and within a week, the whole house was gutted and they were living in the garage. On
the 9th of September when the demolition was completed he got called into his boss’ office and was
told that he was going to be laid off.
He was devastated. What were they going to do. He worried, fretted and went into a depression. On
his last day of work he was heading into the office when his neighbor called him over. She wanted
to show him something. He figured what did he have to lose. So what if he was late. He went.
She asked him to watch something that she said was going to amaze him. She took a peanut and
went out onto her back porch and held it up in the air. From across the field a blue bird came flying
in and swooped down and took it right out of her hand.
His jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe it. Then she said, it had taken her months to get him to do that.
He had to learn he could trust her first. But now, he comes to her every time and he gets his reward.
Buddy said suddenly it all hit home. He needed to trust god in the same way. When he learned to do
that he would know for sure that god would provide for him.
I think as we move into the advent season, we have the perfect opportunity to let go of our worries
and trust god. He will help us find a way to battle and overcome whatever stands in our way.
Amen.
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