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The vision for this church is of a
caring group of people coming together in love, in the faith of the
Holy Bible, and under the lead of Jesus Christ for the purpose of
living the Christian faith in a practical way every day. In doing so,
we acknowledge God as our Father (Creator), Jesus Christ as the Son
of God and our Lord, and the Holy Spirit as God's continuing Presence
in the world today.
go to the plan for
accomplishing this purpose or
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To accomplish this purpose we will:
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This fellowship
began as a vision of an caring, Bible-centered church. Meetings were
held in October, 2000 to determine interest in the Winchester area.
Services were begun in November. A constitution and accompanying
bylaws were adopted in June, 2001.
Also in
June, Pastor Stainback and his wife attended the annual meeting of
the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches held in
East Lansing, Michigan on the campus of Michigan State
University. On June 23 the church was formally accepted into
membership in that Association.
To learn more about the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches visit their website at naccc.org.
The church is also a member of the Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches. This Association is a voluntary association of churches, ministers and believers networking together to further the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Stainback has served on the Board of Directors for this organization and is currently the national vice-president.
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Congregational Christian Fellowship Church meets at Omps Chapel South on Route 522 south of Winchester, VA. Worship begins at 9:00 am each Sunday morning.
Sunday evening services are at
7:00 p.m. in the Our Savior Lutheran Church building, at the corner
of Battle and Virginia Avenues, right behind the main Post Office in
Winchester.
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Q. Are the Ten Commandments still relevant today? (The Seventh Commandment)
The Seventh Commandment says, "You shall not commit adultery."(Exodus 20:14) Like all the Commandments, it was given by God for our own good. Unfortunately, there are some people today who consider themselves to be beyond what they consider to be such a "provincial" concept. Their pseudo-sophistication results in hurting those who have believed their promises of fidelity. It is easy to rationalize such behavior. Some studies say that a very large percentage of married men and women admit to having had affairs outside their marriages. Our movies, television programs, books, and especially our music (rock, popular, and country, too) often make extra-marital liaisons seem exciting and even normal. What they usually do not record is the guilt and the misery which almost always follow not only for the spouse and the children, but for the ones who committed the sin.
Jesus took the subject of adultery several steps beyond the way our society normally defines the term. He said that a man and woman [not two men and not two women], when united in marriage, "become one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate." A little while later He told the following to His disciples: "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." (Mark 10: 9, 11-12)
Jesus also said that "anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5: 27) I am sure He also meant the same thing for a woman looking lustfully at a man other than her husband. There is hardly a heterosexual man or woman alive who could pass that test. Between these two statements we are practically all doomed. The saving grace comes in our Lord's reaction to a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. He did not condemn her, but He did tell her to "go... and leave your life of sin." (John 8: 11) Clearly fidelity in marriage is the standard for the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and for Jesus' New Testament teachings. Jesus considered it paramount to a godly life, and so should we. But there is forgiveness for all who have gone astray. What do we need to do? Confess to God, repent of our actions, and, with the help of God, try not to repeat the offense.
Next week we'll discuss the Ten Commandments and recent court decisions.
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Pastor Bob Stainback is a native of Henderson, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina and earned a degree in Political Science and Spanish. Following graduation he taught for a year in Henderson before moving to Lynchburg, Virginia to continue his teaching career. While living in Lynchburg he obtained a Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Lynchburg College and then began to work for the local office of the Virginia Education Association. He began to believe that the confrontational lifestyle and the belief system which his job required were not what God was calling him to do. Pastor Stainback had grown up in First Congregational Christian Church in Henderson. In 1957 that church was part of the merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church which created the United Church of Christ (UCC). He made the decision to enter seminary and moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary he pastored two different UCC churches. He graduated from Southeastern with a Master of Divinity Degree and an emphasis in Christian Education. Shortly after graduation he moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia to begin a pastorate there. His next call was to Winchester, Virginia. Both of these parishes were part of the UCC. Once again, Pastor Stainback began to feel a conflict between career expectations and the call of God. While there are many good Christians within the UCC, it was his belief that the national denominational direction was not consistent with the Holy Word of God. In September of 2000 he left the Winchester pastorate without a clear direction for his ministry. After much prayer and investigation he began to work toward the establishment of a new church in Winchester - Congregational Christian Fellowship Church.
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Date: See schedule in
August
Time: call 722-4949 for information
Location: call 722-4949 for information
Topic: Peter and Paul
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To
contact Congregational Christian Fellowship Church:
Phone: (540)722-4949
e-mail: rgs1@adelphia.net
Mailing address: 105 Cedarmeade Avenue Winchester, VA 22601
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SERMON FOR: Sunday Morning, 8/24/03
LITURGICAL DATE: Pentecost XI
TITLE: "In the Name of Jesus Christ, Stop!"
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 20: 1-17
Matthew 5: 17-20
II Peter 1:20-2:3, 12-14, 17-22
What do the following things all have in common?
The currency of the United States of America.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.
The daily beginning of the United States Congress.
The Declaration of Independence.
The United States Supreme Court building.
The opening of each session of the United States Supreme Court.
The building of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Unless you have been in Siberia for the last few days, you probably know the answer. What is it? (pause for answer)
Of course, it is the fact that all have some reference to God. Our money says "In God We Trust." The courts have upheld that it is legal to say, "one nation under God" when we say the Pledge of Allegiance. Each day the United States Congress begins the session with a prayer from a chaplain. The Declaration of Independence (written by the man everyone blames for the ridiculous arguments regarding separation of church and state - Thomas Jefferson, himself) says: "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." The very room where the United States Supreme Court meets has in it a frieze depicting Moses holding the tablets on which are written The Ten Commandments. That same United States Supreme Court begins each session with the following words: "God save the United States and this honorable Court." Every single President of the United States of America has professed a belief in God, and not just any God, but the God of Jesus Christ.
The Judicial Building of the state of Alabama also has within it a reference to God, at least it is still there so far as I know: it is a monument on which are depicted the tablets with The Ten Commandments written on them. Also in the Alabama Judicial Building is a statue of a Greed goddess. No one has talked about removing that statue. But...
Breaking news as of last Wednesday:
Dateline Montgomery, Alabama, a story by Bob Johnson, Associated Press writer:
"Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on Wednesday lost a last-ditch appeal to keep a Ten Commandments monument in the state judicial building, clearing the way for its removal as protesters at the marker were handcuffed by police and led away.
"Scores of Moore supporters sang and prayed outside the building as those inside were removed from the rotunda.
"Sixteen protesters were arrested and taken to the Montgomery County Jail, where they were charged with trespassing and were scheduled for release on their own recognizance" said Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham.
"'It's time for Roy's rock to roll,' said Ayesha Khan, an attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the groups that sued to force the removal of the 5,300 pound granite monument.
"The United States Supreme Court rejected Moore's emergency plea for a stay on Wednesday afternoon, declining to be drawn into a dispute over whether the monument violates the Constitution's ban on government promotion of religion.
"U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson had set a midnight Wednesday deadline for the monument's removal from the rotunda of the building, but he was not expected to take action before Friday to have the monument removed.
"He has threatened $5,000-a-day fines against the state if his order is ignored after the deadline.
"Attorneys who sued said they expect to file a contempt of court petition against Moore that Thompson may consider in a conference call on Friday, setting the stage for fines."
Update on What Has Transpired Since Wednesday: "Roy's Rock," as the representative of Americans for Separation of Church and State calls it, on which are written God's Ten Commandments, is still in the Alabama Judicial Building as of today. Those attorneys pressing for removal did file a contempt of court petition against Judge Moore on Friday, but Judge Thompson refused to issue it that day. We don't know what he will do in the future. There is speculation that there is a lot of talking going on behind closed doors. The other eight judges on the Alabama Supreme Court have taken a position opposed to that of Judge Moore and ordered the monument removed in accordance with the federal court ruling. The governor of Alabama has stated his support for removing the monument.
Little did I know when I began a series of columns on the relevancy of The Ten Commandments that this would become such a hot issue right in the middle of the "Biblical Answers for Today" series! If you have been reading the "Biblical Answers" columns for the last few weeks you know that I believe the Ten Commandments are still relevant for today. No, God has not changed His mind about them. They are just as important today as they were when Moses first received them around 4,000 years ago.
In case you didn't get them all when I read from Exodus earlier, here are the Ten Commandments which someone set to verse:
Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood nor stone.
God's Name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing, neither small nor great.
Report, with truth, your neighbor's deed.
And rid your mind of selfish greed.
(Nelson's Complete Book of Illustrations and Quotes, ed. by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, Tennessee, 2000, p. 729.)
The following letter was sent to the "Dear Abby" column in the newspaper:
"Dear Abby: Regarding your letter about the Ten Commandments: I am reminded of the church minister who told his deacon that someone had stolen his bicycle and he suspected that the thief was a member of his congregation.
"The next Sunday, his topic was the Ten Commandments, but about halfway through his sermon, he abruptly switched his sermon to another subject.
"Later his deacon asked him why he had changed his sermon. 'Well,' the minister said, 'when I got to the commandment that says, 'Thou shall not commit adultery,' I remembered where I left my bicycle.'" (Ibid., p. 731.)
Regarding that same Commandment, number 7 if you are keeping score, "Cathy Powers wrote, 'I asked the students in my religion class for a volunteer to recite the Ten Commandments. One boy raised his hand and began rattling them off accurately until he reached number seven: 'Thou shalt not admit adultery,' he said.'" (Ibid., p. 732.)
I think it was that same boy's father who "was so impressed by his pastor's sermon on the Ten Commandments, he said as he left the chapel, 'Pastor, I'm so impressed by your message that I've made up my mind that for the next ten weeks I'm going to keep one of them Commandments each week until I get through all ten of them.'" (Ibid., p. 732.)
Seriously, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the Ten Commandments are the basic building blocks, the very foundation of our judicial system in Western Europe and North America. Just imagine what the world would be like had God not given those rules for life to Moses. "One rabbi who survived the [death] camp summed it up well when he said that at Auschwitz it was as though there existed a world in which all the Ten Commandments were reversed." (Ibid., p. 727, quoting Ravi Zacharias, in Can Man Live without God?) "A world in which all the Ten Commandments were reversed." Would that be much different from a world in which all the Ten Commandments were gone from the collective memory of the people? How many people can state all Ten Commandments from memory, in or out of order? How many of you could have done so before today's service? With fewer and fewer people going to church and less and less Bible teaching for many who do attend church, how will we remain cognizant of these basic building blocks of a civilized society if they are removed from every place of public view?
There are those, many conservatives among them, who say that Judge Moore has taken the wrong approach to the question, that he has emphasized the Christian heritage rationale rather than the historical part the Ten Commandments have played in English and American law. They say had he emphasized the latter, he would have had more of a chance to prevail. From the view of a political scientist and amateur historian, I would agree with that. But this is all part of a larger battle.
"Just after World War II, Elton Trueblood wrote a book called Foundations for Reconstruction, telling the nation that the recovery and restoration of world order depended on the solid moral foundations embodied in the Ten Commandments. He warned:
We prize our democracy but, for the most part, we pay no attention to the deeper convictions without which our vaunted democracy is practically meaningless and without which it could not have been produced in the first place. The mandatory need of our time is the discovery or recovery of an ethical creed that can give Western man... steady moral guidance. Fortunately, we do not need to hunt for such an ethical creed. We already have it. The Ten Commandments constitute the most memorable and succinct extant formulation of the ethical creed of the West.
"Unfortunately, the post-war generation responded to the Ten Commandments by seeking to have them banned from America's classrooms and courthouses." (Ibid., p. 730.)
I brought this situation up to the two ministers with whom I meet weekly for fellowship and prayer. Both are pretty basic in their Christian viewpoints. Their response was that nothing man could do would hurt God's Commandments -- that they had been in place for thousands of years and that they would continue to be in force. I would agree with that, but that misses the point. My concern is not that God will drop the Ten Commandments because they have been removed from all public places in America. My concern is that God will drop America from His list of concerns.
To claim that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who wrote the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, meant for that Amendment to be interpreted the way it has been in recent years is ludicrous. After all, these men were there when all those other references to God which I mentioned earlier were first put in place. They did not object to them. In fact, James Madison was instrumental in obtaining the first chaplain for the United States Senate!
What does the First Amendment actually say? Here it is in its entirety: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." That is it! There is no reference to the oft-quoted statement which Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to a group of Baptists who wanted to end the supremacy of the Episcopal Church in Virginia -- "a wall of separation." No, there is no reference to "a wall of separation" in the First Amendment. All it says in regard to religion is: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." It does not say "the establishment of religion". It says "an establishment of religion." As former United States Ambassador and former presidential candidate Alan Keys recently pointed out, what the First Amendment says is that the federal government is not supposed to make any law regarding religion at all, period! It cannot tell people what they can do or what they cannot do when it comes to religion. And it most definitely cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion.
All through the 227-year history of our country there have been continual references to God. The Judeo-Christian view of God has been part and parcel of American life -- public and private for two and one-quarter centuries. During the fifty years of the Cold War we often spoke of "Godless communism." Isn't it funny that now religion is taught in the public schools of Russia and banned from the public schools of America? Doesn't that tell us something about the direction of our country? I don't say these things because I dislike America; I say them because I love my country and I don't want to see God withdraw His protection from our country. If ever we needed the special protection of the Almighty, it is now.
In the year 391 A.D., only a short time after the Roman Empire had adopted Christianity as its official religion, gladiator fights were still going on in the Roman Coliseum. It was then that an unknown Christian monk felt called by God to go to Rome. He walked into the Coliseum just as the gladiators were about to salute the emperor and the other spectators, just before their fight to the death, and he shouted these words: "In the Name of Jesus Christ, stop!" And the gladiators did stop. They did not fight. And the people got up and quietly left the Coliseum. And there never was another gladiator fight in Rome.
My brothers and sisters, it is time for us to say, "In the Name of Christ, stop!" You who are determined to remove every vestige of God from public view must stop now! You who would prohibit the saying of a non-sectarian blessing at VMI must stop now! You who took prayer out of the public schools must stop now! You who did away with religious commencement services and the giving of Bibles at high school graduations must stop now! You who would oppose prayers for the safety of the athletes before sports events must stop now! You who would remove any religious statements from the walls of local, state, and national public buildings must stop now! You who would stop all public funding and support of the Boy Scouts because they acknowledge God must stop now! You who would approve all kinds of pornography on the internet and on television while erasing all references to Christ from public view must stop now! You who would take the Bible out of the President's hands when he takes the Oath of Office must stop now! You who would take "In God we trust" off of our currency must stop now! You who would take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance must stop now! You who would legalize same-sex marriage while tearing down the Ten Commandments from our court house walls must stop now! In the Name of Christ, stop!
The choice is yours and mine, my brothers and sisters. Will we stand in the gap and take a place for God, or will we slink mildly away? Will we come up with excuses as to why Judge Moore's fight really isn't important, or will we begin to take a stand for right? Will we work to bring our beloved country back to God, or will we stand idly by while it goes down the toilet of materialism and godlessness?
The communists who were serious about their ideology believed that God wasn't necessary for the betterment of society. They were wrong, dead wrong, but they had some philosophical reasons for their beliefs. I'm afraid that we don't even really have that in our country. Instead, we have a "whatever makes you feel good" mentality. We don't want anything to stand between us and our sin. We believe that by taking the Ten Commandments down, we don't have to live by them anymore. But Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5: 17-19)
Regardless of what happens in Alabama and around the country in the future, God's Ten Commandments will stand. But will America still stand?...
Let us pray for America...
Amen.
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SERMON FOR: Sunday Evening, 8/10/03
LITURGICAL DATE: Pentecost IX
TITLE: "The Other Woman"
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 21:8-21
This has nothing to do with tonight's sermon, but did you hear about the cargo ship of rubber duckies that sank eleven years ago? This is a true story...A ship full of rubber ducks sank off of the west coast 11 years ago. Just now, the ducks have made their way through the ice packs and are expected to begin appearing off the east coast soon. The company is offering 100 dollars for each duck turned in.
In the letters of Paul to the Romans and the Galatians, as well as in Hebrews we read about the faith of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham. Abraham heard God's call to leave his father's house and to begin a new people and he obeyed. In doing so he earned himself a lofty place in the history of the Judeo-Christian faith. But there ought to be an equal place for Sarah, his wife. After all, think what he put her through.
Ur was a wealthy city, full of ancient society's "movers and shakers." Abraham--or Abram as he was known then--was a wealthy landowner with an honored place in his extended family living in Ur. And Abram asked Sarah, or Sarai as she was known then, to give all that up because he felt God's call. Sarai goes with Abram, but surely she had her doubts. And for many years her doubts were justified.
As soon as Abram and Sarai moved to Canaan, a famine hit. Sarai looked at the empty shelves in the super markets of Canaan and thought to herself, I left the affluent land of Ur for this?
In studies of the differences between women and men, we learn that women value stability and security for themselves and their families. They are much more likely to marry a man who can provide them with these things.
Well, God looked after Abram as God promised. There came a time when they were quite wealthy. But Abram was still no great shakes as a husband. It is a good thing that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, because his righteousness sometimes left much to be desired.
In order to escape the famine Abram and Sarai headed for Egypt. And Abram, this great man of faith, became afraid. Sarai was such a beautiful woman, he was afraid that someone in Egypt would do him harm in order to take Sarai away from him. And so, he passed her off as his sister. He even allowed her to become part of Pharaoh's harem. Abram used Sarai in Egypt to ensure safety for himself and his family. He and Sarai became wealthy from their ploy, but the Egyptian Pharaoh and his household were cursed because of it.
Even after Abram and Sarai left Egypt, there were problems. There was constant quarreling between the herdsmen of Lot, Abram's brother, and the herdsmen of Abram. And then, to top that--since they were in the Middle East--of course there was constant war.
And yet at each turn of the road, Sarai stayed by Abram's side. One can argue that women like Sarai had no power in their relationships, that she was forced to go along with everything that Abram did. And there is probably some truth to that. But it is also likely that Sarai trusted Abram. She knew him intimately and seemingly loved him deeply in spite of his faults. And because she loved him, she chose to trust him, even when his decisions were hurtful or made no sense. Abram had faith in God. Sarai had faith in Abram.
And they made their marriage work--not because they were perfect people, but because of their faith in God and their love for one another. When two human beings in a relationship go through serious adversity, they often develop a deeper, stronger, tougher, more honest love for each other than they might have shared in an "easier" relationship. They have learned that love is a choice, and that sometimes this choice must be renewed every day.
Abraham and Sarai developed a special kind of relationship. That is why it hurt Sarai so badly that she could not give Abram a son and heir. Sarai knew that Abraham stayed faithful to her, in spite of her barrenness. He could have left her long ago. This lack of children was a heartbreak they shared together.
Then came the day when God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. And God made them a promise, that in spite of their advanced years they would have a child. Two weeks ago we dealt with the delight with which they received this good news. They named the child Isaac--or "laughter."
I would like to say they lived happily ever after. But the story does not end here. There is one more dark blot on Abraham and Sarah's record.
Isaac was not Abraham's first son. When God first called Abraham, he promised him that he would father a great nation. But Abraham and Sarah were getting up in years and still Sarah was barren. So Abraham and Sarah decide to use a surrogate. That's what we would call it nowadays. They determined that Abraham would have a son by an Egyptian slave, a woman named Hagar. When they did this, they set the stage for one of the saddest stories in all the Scriptures.
When Abraham and Sarah's beloved son Isaac was about three years old it was time for him to be "weaned." This called for a celebration. In the midst of this celebration something unsettling took place. Sarah saw her son Isaac playing with Ishmael, Abraham's other son by the slave woman, Hagar.
It should not surprise us that Hagar and Sarah didn't get along. There was deep resentment and bitterness on Sarah's part. Hagar was the "other woman" in Sarah's life. The depiction in scripture is that Abraham had no further interest in Hagar once her role was accomplished. But Sarah could not put the fact that Hagar bore Abraham a son out of her mind. It's easy to empathize. Hers was a very human reaction.
It reminds me of a story I read recently about the instructor at a pre-birth class aimed at couples who had already had at least one child. The instructor raised the issue of breaking the news to the older child. "Some parents," the instructor said,l "tell the older child, 'We love you so much we decided to bring another child into this family.' But think about that. Ladies, what if your husband came home one day and said, 'Honey, I love you so much I decided to bring home another wife." A woman in the class then asked, "Can she cook?"
Anyway, back to the story of Sarah, Hagar, and Abraham: Sarah saw Ishmael playing with her son Isaac. She was filled with jealousy and anger. In fact her rage had grown to the point that she wanted Abraham to get rid of this woman and her son.
She said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son, Isaac."
It sounds very much like a television soap opera, doesn't it? What happens next, though, is unthinkable--even by soap opera standards.Abraham has a decision to make. Ishmael was his son and Hagar was the mother of this son. What was he to do? At this point God speaks to Abraham. "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman," God told Abraham. "I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring."
And so Abraham makes his decision. He casts Hagar and Ishmael out from the protection of his home. Even worse, he sends them out with only a skin filled with water and a little bit of bread. How did he think they would survive? Let's give Abraham the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume he did this because he really believed God would take care of them. Otherwise this is one of the great domestic crimes in the history of humanity.
The hot desert was no place for Hagar and Ishmael to be without adequate provisions. When the scanty provisions ran out Hagar could not stand to see her son suffer. She found some shade in the desert and left Ishmael there to die. Hagar cried out, "Do not let me look on the death of the child." And she sat down in the desert and began to weep.
God heard Hagar's cries for help. Thank God for that. Literally! Otherwise this is a grim story indeed!
Hagar, the Egyptian slave cried out to God, and God heard her. And God makes her a promise, too. Listen closely to God's promise. It has implications for us today.
An angel called to Hagar, "What troubles you, Hagar?" The angel sought to comfort her. "Do not be afraid. Lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him." Hagar did as the angel had instructed her.
As Hagar dried her tears, God showed her a well where she and her son could draw water. They would not die in the desert. God would be with them. And Ishmael would father a people, too, just as God had promised.
Now, as broadcaster Paul Harvey would say, "Here is the rest of the story . . ."
There is a group of people in the world today who trace their lineage all the way back to Ishmael. God promised Hagar that her son would father a great nation. Is God faithful to God's promise? The people who trace their lineage to Ishmael are the followers of Mohammad. The people of Islam. They see themselves as heir to the promise of God just as the children of Israel, Isaac's son, see themselves as heir to God's promise. Should we be surprised that the people of Islam want their place in the sun just as you and I want our place in the sun? And regardless of the recklessness and the wanton destructiveness of their extremist elements, the children of Ishmael believe they have a God-given right to that place.
While so many of us sympathize with the state of Israel in the current conflicts in the Mideast, let us not forget that the people of Islam believe they are children of Abraham as well. They also deserve our sympathy. While we can never condone acts of violence against innocent civilians, neither can we must admit that there are some legitimate grievances of this large segment of the world's population.
Would you like to know how the story of Abraham and Sarah ends? It's really quite fascinating. Sarah died at the age of 127, and Abraham mourned for her. He bought a very expensive, special field in which to bury her. Abraham was ten years older than Sarah. When she died, he was 137. He lived 38 more years after her death.
Abraham remarried, which is pretty remarkable for a 137-year-old man, but he gave all his inheritance to his son Isaac.
Abraham died at age 175. And he was buried beside his beloved Sarah.
Guess who was there for Abraham's burial? His banished son Ishmael. Ishmael helped Isaac bury their father.
Interestingly, Ishmael showed no sign of resentment over his treatment by his father nor the fact that Isaac inherited all of Abraham's considerable wealth. However, the twenty-fifth chapter of Genesis contains a dramatic footnote to our story. It says that Ishmael's descendants settled near the border of Egypt. And listen to these words from the eighteenth verse: "And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers . . ."
Some people have asked if it could be that we are still paying for a father's mistreatment of his son 2500 years ago? Could we be paying for Abraham's and Sarah's unwillingness to trust God when they used a surrogate mother to bear a son because Sarah was still barren?
Why are these old, old stories from the Bible important to us? Because they are still being lived out today. Problems of trust. Times of stress within families. Sins of the father visited on the children. And one hope--faith. Faith in one another. Faith in God. Abraham and Sarah were not perfect people. They did not have an ideal marriage. But they had faith in a perfect God--and they had faith in each other. With God's help they made it through.
You and I are not perfect people, either. Some of us have stress within our families. Some have problems of trust between individuals. And all of us have our own sins to live with. But through faith in a perfect God and with His help and the help of our larger church family, you and I can make it through, also. That is God's promise to you and me through His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.