Experiencing God

Approximately two years ago, I had emergency surgery in Chicago. Thanks to the good people at Northwestern Medical, I am here today to write this blog. Unable to fly home, a good friend drove to Chicago to take my wife, Kathryn, and me home. I will never forget her kindness. However, complications set in, and I was admitted into the Cleveland Clinic. During my ten-day hospitalization, I received excellent care and was tested for a variety of things. I was given a variety of painkillers which my system did not handle well. That takes me to an experience, I wish I could forget.

One evening, they took me for a test. I don’t remember the exact test because I was heavily sedated. Assuming I would be gone for a few hours and the hour was late, Kathryn left me to drive home. When I returned to my room, I was confused. To be more exact, I was completely disoriented. I didn’t recognize my room or any of the surroundings. I was told later, I acted oddly. Odder than normal. In that state I experienced something new in my life. For some unknown reason, I felt alone and unloved. I felt like God had abandoned me. I felt like everyone in my life had forgotten me, my wife, my children, my extended family, my friends, my church family. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember panicking. In an emotional state, my roommate came to my aid. He said, “Russ, everything is ok. You are back in the room and your wife will be back early tomorrow morning.” Slowly the pieces of my life came back together again. I was relieved I was not forgotten. I was relieved I was loved. I was relieved I was not alone, because God was with me. May we never forget that God is always with us. May we never forget God has always been with us. That takes us to our scripture reading.

Many years ago, before man walked on the moon, before a civil war threatened to divide America, or before Columbus discovered a New World, there was a man who spoke for God. His name means God is Salvation, but we simply call him Isaiah. His audience was the people of Judah. To be more exact, his audience was the people of Jerusalem. The Old Testament book that carries his name has been dated between the years 740 BC and 680 BC. In his sixty-six chapters, he speaks of both immediate judgement and future restoration.

We find ourselves in the sixth chapter, verses one through thirteen. It is the climax of the first major section of his prophecies. To be blunt, Isaiah is experiencing God. Let me break down those verses. In the first four verses, Isaiah sees the glory of God. In verses five through seven, Isaiah recognizes his own uncleanness. In verses eight through thirteen, Isaiah discovers his purpose. Clean and forgiven, Isaiah sets his sight on God’s rebellious people and delivers his message of judgement. The words in this passage are both foreign and intriguing to us because they are about a person experiencing God. Experiencing God is one of the deep desires of our life. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) once said, “Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.”

The other night, my wife was busy, so I went to a local restaurant to eat. I was alone and the place was busy, so I sat at the bar. The seat next to me was open, but a few minutes later, it was occupied by a man who ordered his food to go. The service was slow, so we sat there in awkward silence. After a few minutes, I spoke to him about the service. Seconds later we were talking. He told me his name. He was married with two children, a boy, and a girl. They lived in a neighboring community. Seconds later, he asked me where I worked. I confessed I was retired, but I had been in the ministry for forty years. He was a little uncomfortable with my answer. We sat in silence for a few seconds, then he asked me, “What do you miss?” I answered, “Not much. I didn’t retire to get away from my liturgical duties, things like preaching, weddings, and funerals. I retired because I grew tired of the pettiness of the church. Unchurched now, he was raised Russian Orthodox. He confessed; he missed the sacredness of that tradition, but he left because of the pettiness of his church. Then he asked me a question that caught me off guard. He asked, “Have you ever experienced God?” It was an excellent question and I have been thinking of my answer since our encounter. As I look back of my life, I have had several experiences with God. They may not have been as vivid as Isaiah’s experience with God, but my experiences with God changed my life. Let me talk about three.

In December of 1974, I was a senior in high school. My soul of restless, and I was uncomfortable with my own mortality. It shouldn’t have been that way. I was raised in the life of the church. My parents were active church members, who made sure I was involved in the life of the church. My home church offered a wonderful youth group, and I looked forward to our weekly meetings. I still consider my fellow youth group members to be the finest people I have ever known. It was one of my fellow members who asked me a question that changed my life. She asked, “Russ, would you like to go to heaven?” She was the prefect person to ask the perfect question.” I responded, “yes,” and we prayed. I felt a peace in my soul that has never left me. I was no longer afraid to die. Let there be no doubt about it, God was there. I could have put my head on his shoulder. That was my first experience with God.

My second experience with God came when I was in college. At that time, the University of Mount Union was called Mount Union College. I had wonderful friends during those days. Each one was planning on going into the ministry. That was not my story. I was studying Business Administration. Looking back, I know God was calling me into the ministry too, but I was filled with self-doubt. Once again, my soul was restless. To escape the school and to be alone, I walked through the backstreets of Alliance, Ohio. As I walked, I prayed, looking for direction. Without warning, God suddenly appeared. My senses became keener. Everything I looked at became more vivid. Everything thing I touched took on a new texture. The air itself became fresher. My heartbeat faster and my spirit jumped to life. When I went back to campus, I was surprised the whole world hadn’t changed. Looking back, I understand that experience to be on sanctification. Like Isaiah, God was setting me aside for a divine purpose. My time in the ministry came naturally to me because God was leading the way. That was my second experience with God.

My third experience with God came during my time in the ministry. It was probably twenty years ago. I was the pastor of the Western Reserve United Methodist Church in Canfield, Ohio. On Easter morning, I preached four times. During the last service the church was full. I was glad to say the benediction because I was tired. I stood in the back of the church shaking hands. As the line grew shorter, I noticed a young couple standing off to the side. They were visitors. Their little girl stood by their side and the mother held an infant. When everyone else was gone, they walked up to me with a request. With tears running down the father’s face, he asked, “Can you pray for my son?” Wanting to be more specific, I asked to hear the story. The baby’s head was growing fast because there was something wrong with his brain. I took them to the altar and prayed. A few days later, I was in their home, and we prayed again. As that visit came to an end, I asked them to bring the baby back to church the following Sunday, so the whole church could pray for him. They did and during that service I asked for prayer warriors. The entire congregation stood up and came forward. Those in the front touched the baby. Those who couldn’t touch the baby touched his parents. In the end everyone put their hand on someone else’s shoulder. I prayed for healing and ended with the Lord’s Prayer. I will never forget standing in the middle of that small mass. As we prayed that prayer together, the Holy Spirit washed over us. On that day my church went from being an organization with committees to an organism, part of the body of Christ. Everyone who left church that day knew the baby was healed. The aftershock of that experience was felt in that church for years to come. That was my third experience with God. Years later, it is impossible to look back on that day and not smile. I am happy to report that the baby grew up and is how a chemist, using his fully functioning brain daily.

These are not my only experiences with God. I have had many. I cannot imagine living without God. Perhaps God is like the air we breathe. He is invisible, but He is vital to our existence. I do not understand people who say they don’t need God or who do not believe God exists. I need God every day and so do you. Who wants to live unloved and alone. Internationally renowned author and speaker Wayne Dyer (1940-2015) once said, “The purpose of life is to know God.” When was the last time you experienced God?

Everything Changes!

We find ourselves today in the Book of Exodus. The word Exodus means to “exit.” Like Genesis, Leviticus, Number, and Deuteronomy, tradition tells us, it was written by Moses. Those five books make up the Pentateuch. Those books do not stand independently. They are related one to another. Exodus is a continuation of the storyline that began in Genesis. It is continued in Leviticus, Number, and Deuteronomy. Exodus was written between 1446-1406 BC. The Book of Exodus dominates the rest of the Old Testament. For it is in the Book of Exodus God reveals himself to the Hebrews and establishes a covenant with them.

It is in Exodus, we are introduced to the great lawgiver, Moses. Do you remember his story? You may remember it because you have seen the movie. He was born to a Hebrew couple, yet he was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh. His secret is well kept. He lives in the palace for forty years, but he never forgot his ancestry. That good life ended on the day he struck down an Egyptian soldier. He ran from the law and spent the next forty years building a new life. He married a woman named Zipporah and worked for his father-in-law, Jethro. He could have easily lived the rest of his life in that remote location, but God heard the cries of the Hebrews. God commands Moses to return to Egypt to liberate his own people. Moses illustrates the fact you cannot always run from your past. He confronts the Pharaoh, but the Egyptian ruler will have to be convinced.

Liberating the Jews would not be an easy task because they were the backbone of the Egyptian economy. Moses’s request to liberate the Hebrews fell on the death ears of the Pharaoh. To break the will of the arrogant leader, God sent the plagues. Count them with me:

Water Into Blood
Frogs
Lice
Flies
Diseased Livestock
Boils
Hail and Fire
Locust
Darkness
Death of Firstborn

That is the one that did it. The Pharaoh agrees to free the Hebrews. That takes us to our reading for today.

It must have been quite a scene in the Hebrew section of the city. The will of the Pharaoh had been broken and the freedom train had arrived. Everyone was excited about the future. The yoke of bondage had been broken and the dreams of a better life were about to become a reality. Let me state the obvious. They were hungry for change! We can relate to their story because many Americans are looking for change. Did you know, according to CBS News, 63% of Americans say our country needs to change. The problem is change can be a difficult thing. Change would be a difficult thing for the Hebrews. Just think about it for a moment. Everything in their lives was about to change. They had lived their lives within Egyptian cities. They were urbanities, but soon they would be living in the desert. City life and life in the desert are extremely different. As soon as the emotion of the day wore off, the reality of their changing world would take hold. Change is never easy. I remember reading years ago, 90% of Americans hate change. How do you feel about change? Our world is always changing.

How much has the world changed in your lifetime. How much has the world change in my lifetime. I was born in 1957. The world has changed a great deal in the last sixty-four years. Consider these numbers with me.

the hourly minimum wage in 1957 was $1.00
the average worker made $4550 in 1957
the average price of a new home was $12,220 in 1957
the average price of rent was $90 a month in 1957
the price of gas was 24 cents a gallon in 1957
the price of a dozen eggs was 28 cents in 1957

In 1957, Wham-O introduced a new toy, the Frisbee. In 1957, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. That event launch both the space age and the space race. In 1957, CBS aired the last episode of I Love Lucy. In 1957, the Asian Flu killed 150,000 people worldwide. In 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the United States and Richard M. Nixon was Vice President. (Whatever happened to him?) Those are things that grabbed the headlines.

How many changes have you been forced to endure personally? Just think about it for a moment. Our lives are always in a state of change. When you were young your greatest responsibility was getting a passing mark at school. You played on the playground and ran like the wind. Twelve years later, you graduated, and everyone was asking you what you were going to do with the rest of your life. It was, and is, a cruel question. You were forced to make the most important decision in your life when you had the least amount of experience. Were you going to go to college? If so, what college and what were you going to study. Were you going to trade school? Were you going to be an electrician or a plumber? Were you going to enter the work force? Then, you met someone special and had to decide if you wanted to marry. You did not want to live in your parent’s basement, so you had to decide if you were going to live in an apartment or house. You bought a starter house for the two of you, but soon it was not just the two of you, so you bought a bigger house to accommodate your growing family. Then, in what seems to be a matter of weeks, your children left, and you decided to downsize. Then, you woke up one day and discovered you were part of the older generation. Everyone older than you had died. Retired, you sit in your quiet house and think about how the world had changed from your youth, or you sit in your quiet house and think about how you have changed. There was a time when you could run like the wind but now you have a hard time standing up. Our lives are always in a state of change and that is why we can relate to the ancient Hebrews. Everything changes, except God, Himself. He is the one thing in our lives that does not change. He is our stability. Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” That is why me must be the foundation of your life.

One of the names also forgotten by history is George Tod (1773-1841). He was a farmer by trade and bought a piece of property on, what is today, Youngstown’s lower north side in 1801. He named that agricultural venture Brier Hill. The area was changed forever when coal was discovered in those hills. Thousands of immigrants came to work in those mines and settled in that neighborhood. Brier Hill is considered Youngstown’s oldest working-class neighborhood. In 1847, the Tod family opened the first iron furnace in the district, drawing more immigrants from Italy, Wales, Ireland, Germany, and African Americans. Brier Hill was known as “Little Italy.” The area thrived until the 1950’s. No area was hit harder than Brier Hill when the steel industry began to decline. Depopulated, the only thing that remains in that area now is an ITAM, an Italian American Veterans Club, and St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church. However, once a year a small section of Brier Hill springs to life. It is like a warm-up to the Canfield Fair, but it is better because we only go for a few hours.

My family has gone to the Brier Hill Festival for years. I remember taking my children when they were young. Do not be afraid, go! It is a good time. The food is great. The beverages are great. The music is loud and annoying, but my wife and I dance. This is the best part. Everyone is having fun. However, none of those reasons is the reason we go.

We go to the Brier Hill Festival because a good friend was raised in Brier Hill. Every year, we make him drive because he knows the old neighborhood. Every year, he drives us by his old family home. It was not built to impress. It was a conservative home. The house was so small, he slept in his parent’s bedroom until he was seventeen years old. (That fact explains a great deal about him. Yes, he has a younger sister.) The house has been declining for years. The first time I saw the house it was in good shape. A few years later, the detached garage was failing, then a few years later the garage was gone. At first, the house just needed painted. Then, a few years later the storm door in the front was missing. The next time the front door was gone. It did not matter because the windows were gone too. The last time, we drove by the house, it was missing and only the sidewalk remained. I never set foot in that house, but it was sad. My friend would tell me how it used to be back in the day. With a certain amount of emotion in his voice he said, “Everything changes!” Have you ever uttered those words, “Everything changes!”?

I hate to say it, but my good friend is wrong! Most things do change, but one thing stays the same. God does not change. God is consistent. His love for us is constant. That is why God must be the foundation of your life. Do you remember the quote from the 90^th Psalm? “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

In The Beginning God

We find ourselves today in the first chapter of Genesis. It is one of the most familiar chapters in the Bible. We have been teaching it to children for generations. There is no background to offer because nothing happened prior to this chapter. In the beginning, there was nothing, yet God has always existed. However, do not worry because God had a plan. This is God’s plan:

According to the Bible, on the first day of the week God created light. You should not be surprised because light is a major theme in the Bible. Jesus called himself the light of the world (John 8:12) and Jesus tells us to let our light shine (Matthew 5:15-16). Without light, there is only darkness.

On the second day, God created the atmosphere and the firmament. In Biblical cosmology, the firmament was a solid dome that surrounded the earth, causing the dry ground to appear. Without the creations of the second day, life of any kind could not have existed. From the very beginning our world was designed to be full of life.

On the third day, the dry ground appeared along with plants. Each plant was suited to its climate. Caucus exist in the desert regions. Palm trees in the tropical regions. Pine tree in the northern regions.

On the fourth day, God put objects in the sky. There was suddenly the sun, the moon, and the stars. Each one of those objects plays a major role in the world we know today. The tide would not exist without the moon. Life, itself, would not last long without the sun.

On the fifth day, God created sea creatures to live in the water and birds to fly in the sky. We call them fish and birds. Whales are impressive. Parrots are beautiful.

On the sixth day, God created animals to walk on the dry ground. We seem to like the fuzzy cute ones and we have trouble with the dry scaley ones. Later that day, God created the crown jewel of his creation, humans. They are to rule over the rest of creation. According to Genesis 1:26, God created mankind in his own image or likeness. That means there is a part of God resting inside of you. That means everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, even the preachers. If you struggle with self-doubt, then read Genesis 1 every day. It was quite a week, but God was not done. God “separated” and “gathered” on the first three days. God “created” and “filled” on the next three days.

On the seventh day, God rested and created the Sabbath. It was not created to have a day to play football. It was created to help us rest physically and be recharged spiritually. Never forget, God longs to spend time us. God expects us to worship him. Worship is not an option to your spiritual development. It really is an amazing piece of scripture. God created this entire world out of nothing. I find that fact to be humbling. Did you know, according to the Pew Research Group, 40% of Americans believe God created the world 10,000 years ago? I will confess. I am part of the 40%.

While the entire creation story is impressive. It is the very first verse of the Bible that grabs our attention. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.” That one short verse summarizes the entire story. That one short verse tells us three divine truths about God. Each one is significant and should never be forgotten. I do not want to plagiarize. These thoughts are not original. These thoughts came from Shawn Thomas, who has been the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Angelton, Texas for 35 years. Here are the three.

First, Genesis 1:1 tells us of the centrality of God. “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.”The Bible teaches us from the very first verse; it is all about God. It is not about us. Our universe is what scientists call a “helio-centric” universe. Helio means sun. That means the sun is at the very center. That means everything revolves around the sun. The sun gives us light and without the sun nothing would be able to live. Many in our world believe we live in a “ego-centric” universe. Ego means self. That means many believe everything revolves around them. The very first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.” reminds us that it is not all about us. It is all about God.

Second, Genesis 1:1 tells us God is a triune God. “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.” That verse tells us there is one God and He is the one true God. However, there is a plurality in God. The Hebrew word for God in that verse is plural. That is interesting but Genesis 1:26 states it clearly, “Let us make mankind in our image.” God is triune, three in one. The traditional benediction reminds us of our triune God. Now may God the father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever more. God the father is the creator. God the son is the redeemer. God the Holy Spirit is the life giver. Experience has taught me it is impossible to understand the trinity completely. It has been said, if you understood God completely then you would not have much of a God. The trinity is one of those things you must accept with faith. “In the beginning,God (plural) created the heavens and the earth.”

Third, Genesis 1:1 tells us God is a creator God. “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:3 says, “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being.” God created everything. The Hebrew word for created in Genesis 1:1 is bara, to initiate something new. It is interesting to note, bara is only used when God is the topic. It is never used when mankind is the topic. “In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth.”

One of my favorite places in the world is Aa, Estonia. You may know where Estonia is located. It is in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The history of Estonia can be traced back to the year 9,000 BC, but her national identity did not develop until the twentieth century. When I arrived in Estonia, I expected to find a Slavic influence, but I found a Nordic influence. The capital of Estonia is Tallinn.

Located on the northern border of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, is the town of Aa. According to the 2000 census, the population of Aa was 190. Most of those residents live in a state-run home for the elderly. However, Aa is also the home of Christian Camp Gideon. One of the disappointments of the last 18 months for Kathryn and I was not being about to return to Christian Camp Gideon. It is part of our travel itinerary for next year. The camp has an interesting history. During Soviet times it was a Pioneer Camp, where children learned about communism and atheism. When the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991, the camp was purchased by a United Methodist congregation in Tulsa, Oklahoma and given to the church in Estonia. Today, that camp teaches children about Jesus. Kathryn and I spent a few sacred days at Christian Camp Gideon two years ago. The children and the staff were wonderful.

Every day, Kathryn and I would go for a walk. Completely safe, we exited the campgrounds and headed south. As we walked the dirt road and absorbed the beautiful countryside. Our walk ended when we came to the end of the dirt road, where the dirt road ran into a blacktopped road, maintained by the government. At that intersection were a herd of sheep behind a wire fence. Near the goat pen were the remains of an old manor house. It was not just a single building. There was the main house and several outbuildings. At the heart of that property was a small pond with ducks. We sat on a bench overlooking the pond and watched ducks’ takeoff and land. It was just beautiful and relaxing. We were a million miles from our responsibilities. We just sat there and talked. We talked about how we met. We talked about how our lives had changed. We talked about what brought us the greatest joy and our greatest disappointments. We talked about where we had been and where we still wanted to go. We talked about our children and how the world had changed. We talked but most of the time we sat in silence. It happens every time.

Whenever, I sit in natural beauty, I think about creation and how God created it out of nothing. I thought about how God created the world out of nothing when I saw the Grand Canyon. I thought about how God created the world out of nothing when I saw the hot springs in Yellowstone. Something big is going on beneath the surface. I think about how God created the world out of absolutely nothing every time I look out the window of an airplane. I think about how God created the world out of nothing when I walk outside of clear cold winter’s night and look at the stars. I think how God created the world when it snows the first time every year. I think about how God created the world out of nothing every time I walk on a beach and listen to the surf. This is the best! I think about how God created the world out of nothing when the fall leaves are at their peak of color in the fall. I thought about how God created the world out of nothing as I sat next to the love of my life on an old bench looking a beautiful Estonian pond.

Do not just memorize the verse, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Think about it. Meditate on it and be prepared to be amazed. It is not all about us. It is all about God. When was the last time you thought about the greatness of God?

Our Unchanging God

Many years ago, before man walked on the moon, before a civil war threatened to divide America, or before Columbus discovered a New World, there was a man who spoke for God. His name meant “my messenger,” but we just call him Malachi. He lived approximately the year 400 BC. That means he lived 100 years after Haggai and Zechariah, the Minor Prophets we looked at the last two weeks. Time did change certain things. The reconstruction of the temple was complete. However, certain things did not change. The spiritual renewal that Haggai and Zechariah desired never happened. God’s Chosen People were stuck in a spiritual funk. The book of Malachi echoes their spiritual condition. It is a dialogue between God and His Chosen People. Malachi acts as the go between. God is concerned about the unfaithfulness of both the priests and the people, themselves. Yet, God does not give up on his people. The book ends with a word of hope. Someday the Messiah would come. Jesus would be born four hundred years later. The background is interesting, but one verse stands above the rest.

Last Sunday evening, I googled the question, what is the most important verse in Malachi. The answer did not surprise me. The answer came back, Malachi 3:6,“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” That verse grabbed both my attention and imagination. In a world that is constantly changing, it is refreshing to find something that remains the same.

On month from today I will be in Yellowstone National Park. Due to the pandemic, Kathryn and I have not been out of the area since last October. We are going to be gone for two weeks. It will be a great trip. We start off at Mount Rushmore near Rapid City, South Dakota. Then, we travel to Billings. Montana. We will spend three days in Yellowstone, travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and end up in Salt Lake City. It was supposed to be a bus trip, but the company canceled the tour when the coronavirus invaded. We are renting a car and following the same route. I am excited about the trip because I have never been to that part of the country.

I am really looking forward to seeing Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. It has always fascinated me. It was named by explorers in September 1870. In the early days of the park it was used as a laundry because of the ample hot water. It erupts approximately every ninety minutes and shoots up to 8,400 gallons of hot water into the air some 150 feet. Historians tell us there are records of Old Faithful erupting 500 years ago. Old Faithful has erupted more than 1,000,000 times. It is safe to say it is as old as the earth, itself. Old Faithful is the same, but the world has changed over that period. Only a fool would say our world has not changed since Old Faithful erupted the first time!

One of my favorite places in Ohio is Johnson Island. It is located off the Marblehead Peninsula in Ottawa County. Over the last few years, the rich have come to develop it, but for many years it was rustic. On the north coast of that island is a Civil War cemetery. It is filled with former Confederate officers from the deep south. It is all that remains of a former prisoner of war camp. The Union built it there because it was so remote. The Daughters of the Confederacy maintain it. I love to take that short walk to the shore of Lake Erie. If you look out across the water, you can see Cedar Point Amusement Park. If you turn around you can see the graves. The contrast is shocking. Do you believe our world has changed since the Civil War? Would you like to be operated on using Civil War era medicine or knowledge? Only a fool would think our world has not changed since the Civil War!

How much has the world changed in your lifetime? I was born in 1957. When my parents moved to Warren, they lived in an apartment at first. When my sisters were born, they bought one of the few houses for sale in town. They paid $5,400. According to Zillow, that house is now worth $60,000. When I was very young my parents only had one car. I remember riding the bus occasionally. Our black and white television set got three stations. I remember the day we got our first color television. I remember the color nob to adjust the color from red to green. The first movie we watched in color was Alford Hitchcock’s The Birds. I remember the day they got an antenna that moved so we could watch Cleveland or Pittsburgh. We thought we were flying. I remember the day John Kennedy was shot. The announcement came out of the school’s public address system. I remember my teacher, Mr. Fuller, went to the hall and cried. I remember the day Martin Luther King getting shot and my dad wondered how the world could get any worse. It did. I remember the milk man coming to the house. He left the milk in a small silver box on the front porch. His name was Gilbert. He sold pop-cycles on the side for a nickel. How much has the world changed in your lifetime? Only a fool would think our world has not changed!

How much has our world changed in the past twenty years? The people at Insider released a list of ways our world has changed since 2000. It was only twenty years ago much has changed. This is their list of ten changes:

The internet has taken over. It is no longer a novelty. It is a requirement.
Landline telephones are disappearing. Everyone has a cell phone.
Smoking in restaurants is history. There is no longer a smoking section.
Streaming services, like Netflix, have become the rage.
It is impossible to get away on vacation. The internet will find you.
People now fear terrorism and mass shootings.
People are more likely to text than leave a voice mail.
Online dating is the norm.
Airport security has redefined travel.
More pictures are being taking by cellphones than cameras.

All those changes have taken place in the last twenty years. How has your life changed in the last twenty years? How will our change in the next twenty years? Only a fool would say our world has not changed!

How much has our world changed since the pandemic began? In March of this year, The Washington Post predicted the pandemic would change our world in several significant ways. This is their list:

Mass gatherings are a thing of the past.
Political melodrama will escalate.
In person doctor’s appointment will end.
Working from home will be the new normal.
Handshaking is obsolete.

How much has your life changed since March? It has been reported, 99% of all Americans have experienced change due to the pandemic. I would like to meet the 1% who have not experienced change. They must not have understood the question. Only a fool would say our lives have not changed since the pandemic began. This is the point.

Our world has been changing for a long time, but God remains the same. This message is not called Our Changing World. This message is called Our Unchanging God. This message is not about volatility, it is about stability. We hear it in the Malachi reading, “I the Lord do not change.” We hear it in the ninetieth Psalm says, “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” This is not a new concept or discovery. It should be a foundational piece of your understanding of God.

One of the reasons you come to church is not to expound on your understanding of God. You come to church to learn about God. Churches teach about God in a variety of ways, sometimes from the pulpit, sometimes from the classroom, sometimes in our music. Hymns are not just a collection of pleasing notes. Hymns teach us theology. They teach us about the basic elements of the Christian faith. Let me give you an example. In 1867, a new hymn came out. It was called Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. It was written by Walter C. Smith. It is a loved hymn in traditional worship. We have sung it countless times. There is a stanza in that hymn about the unchanging character of God. Do you remember it? It goes:

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

And wither and perish – but naught changieth Thee!

In other words, we change regularly, but God remains the same. God is God and God does not change. Whatever God is, God always has been, and God always will be. That is important to remember in our changing world.

Theologians call it immutability. The word is not connected to physical appearance. It does not mean God does not get gray or God does not need hip surgery. The word means the character of God does not change. Our reading for today, Malachi 3:6, is one of several verses which attests to the immutability of God. So, in what ways does God not change? This is the list.

God is:

Always wise

Always powerful

Always holy

Always just

Always good

Always true

Always gracious

Always present

Always knowledgeable.

Always sovereign

Always loving

God is unchanging! Let me end with public service announcement.

It was in the newspaper last weekend. The Niles First Presbyterian Church will be hosting their last worship service tonight, August 30, 2020, at 6:00. It has been located at the corner of Robbins Avenue and Summit Street for more than sixty years. If you are interested, they are serving refreshments at the conclusion of the service. I have never attended a worship service in that church, but I find myself mourning at its closure. It is sad to see any church close. I am sure the people were nice. I am sure the congregation was committed. I am sure the building was well maintained. I am sure the pastors for the past fifty years were assigned the task to rebuild the congregation. It is hard to do in an area with a shrinking population base.

A closing church is a sign that the world is changing. I am not saying the world is getting worse or the church was bad. I am not saying the members of every closing church were not gifted. I am not saying younger generations are not spiritual or religious. All I am saying is the world is changing. That should not be a big surprise because the world has always been changing. The problem is people are reluctant to change. That is why God is so appealing to us. God never changes. Malachi knew it. He quoted God, I the Lord do not change. Isn’t that refreshing?