Rev Chris Roth

Ephesians 6:10-20 Our reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is about spiritual warfare. He says,  “put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.  We don’t spend much time talking about the devil, so our images of spiritual warfare might be more shaped by Hollywood, rather than theology or our Christian Tradition. So, when we hear the phrase “spiritual warfare” we might think about the movie “The Exorcist”, but the practice of exorcism is not the primary way that Christians do spiritual warfare. About 13 years ago I was in a Christian bookstore and I picked up a book called “The Tools of Spiritual Warfare”. With a title like that my curiosity was piqued, but the book wasn’t what I expected. I’m not sure what I was expecting to find. I think I was expecting information about demons, and ways to pray against them. That wasn’t at all what I found in reading the book. It started with the sacrament of Baptism as a declarati...

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13 In this section of 2 Corinthians, Paul has been responding to a situation in the Corinthian church. Some other preachers have come to the community, and it seems like they are making accusations against Paul, and claiming that their preaching represents a truer gospel. They seem to be wanting the Christianity of the Corinthians to be more Jewish, in a sense. These other preachers seem to be emphasizing their own credentials, and their spiritual power. Paul responds with a call to humility and a focus on God’s grace. Paul is not interested in proclaiming himself. He proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord. And in contrast with the visiting preachers’ emphasis on spiritual power, Paul proclaims himself and his companions as slaves for Christ’s sake (2 Cor 4:5). Paul finds himself in the awkward position of responding to the accusations of these preachers, and having to defending himself as an ambassador of Christ. He engages in what he c...

Mark 5:21-43 In our gospel reading last week we saw Jesus calm a storm that the disciples were worried might sink their boat. That miracle was a declaration that Jesus is master over the natural world. The wind and the waves obey him. The chaotic waters are calmed and put in order. Just before today’s reading, earlier in Mark chapter 5, Jesus casts out a legion of demons from a gentile man (5:1-20). The message is that even a legion of demons is no match for Jesus. He is master over spiritual beings. In today’s Gospel reading we see Jesus’ authority over sickness and death. This is a part of Mark’s ongoing answer to the question, “who is Jesus?” Throughout the Gospel, Mark wants you to keep asking that question. Our reading today has two interwoven stories that involve women. The leader of the Synagogue, named Jairus, approaches Jesus and falls at his feet, begging him to come and heal his very sick little girl. … He is not a Rabbi. In our traditi...

1 Sam 17:1,4-11,19-23, 32-49; 2 Cor 6:1-13; Mk 4:35-41 This is going to be a weird one. There is interesting background to the David and Goliath story that I’ve become aware of over the last year. It’s probably going to be strange if you haven’t heard this before, but in order to understand the Biblical writers this seems like an important piece to understand. It’s right in front of our eyes when we read the Scriptures, but we often read over it without paying much attention to it. … What I’m referring to are giants. In Genesis chapter 6, just before the flood, we read about the Nephilim (6:4). Some Bible translations will translate that word to say “giants”. [1] They are said to be the product of spirit-beings called “sons of God” and human women. Fast forward to when the Hebrews are rescued from slavery in Egypt and are led by Moses to the Promised Land. They send scouts ahead of them. The scouts come and report that they saw the descendants of Anak there, who are described as comi...

My mind has been expanded by a couple authors as I read the Old Testament. I am still processing some of this, but they are helping me to see some things I wasn't seeing.  The first author is Stephen De Young, an Orthodox Priest, and a Biblical Scholar. I find pretty much everything he writes to be helpful. For this sermon I found c hapter 2 "The Spirit, Presence, and Name of God"  of his book  Religion of the Apostles: Orthodox Christianity in the First Century    Particularly helpful.  There is also an Evangelical Old Testament scholar named Michael Heiser, who is remarkably similar in his thinking. Chapter 6 "The Word, the Name, and the Angel" of his book Supernatural has much of the information as the above mentioned book.   Supernatural is a more accessible version of his book The Unseen Realm . Chapters 16, 17, and 18 are helpful for anyone wanting to look deeper into what I talk about in this sermon.  Now to our topic. Today is Trinit...

  Acts 2: 1-21 In our reading from Acts, the disciples are in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, there was a festival called Pentecost taking place. Pentecost was a Jewish festival. It was the second of three harvest festivals. It is also sometimes called the Feast of Weeks because it took place seven weeks (or ~50 days) after the Passover ( Pentekostos means ‘fiftieth’). It was also considered to be the anniversary of the giving of the Law and the establishment of the covenant at Mount Sinai, which was believed to have happened 50 days after the Exodus from Egypt. Faithful Jews would gather from all over the known world to give offerings at the Temple. 1st century Jewish writers (like the historian Josephus and the philosopher Philo) retell the story of the giving of the law, and as a part of that story they speak about strong winds, [1] and a kind of mysterious fire. [2] Later medieval rabbinic sources make some interesting comments regarding the giving of the Law. In the 5th century B...

  1 John 4: 7-21; John 15: 1-8 You might have heard that there are different words used for “love” in Greek- eros, stergo, phileo, and agape . Eros is sexual love, as you can probably guess from the word “erotic”. It is an asking, begging, demanding kind of love. It seeks its own fulfillment. Stergo is the love that exists between parents and children, or between members of a family. This carries a sense of devotion to the family group. Phileo is love between close friends. This is the love between two people who are well-matched. Agape is the word that is mainly used in the New Testament to talk about the love of God. This is high-level love. It is a word that translators have often struggled to translate. It almost needs to be capitalized. It comes with deep emotion. It deeply values the person. Agape holds the beloved in great awe, respect, and admiration. The beloved is precious. Agape is a giving love. It drives the lover to action- even self-sacrificial action. Eros...