What is a Presbyterian Anyway?

Preacher takes off their watch. Absolutely nothing.

We got busy. Terbush, but I have a good message. I think today may not be as crazy as last week, but I think we'll get there and we want to thank Cecily for this message. Because I was talking to her about this series. Brilliant idea. Presbyterianism, you know, five-part series were talking and she said, that's the most boring sermon series I've ever heard in my life.

So I wrote Teresa and Josh and I said I'm changing a little bit. We're going to talk about Presbyterian stuff but I'm going to do it a little bit different and I'll save my brilliant lecture notes for a seminary course at some point. So thank you, Cecily. Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5 & 6, trust in the Lord, with all your heart and do not rely on your own Insight, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path. And from John's gospel and chapter 8, verse 31, and 32. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, if you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks for you. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight. This day. Oh Lord our Rock and Redeemer. I'll men. You know, we Presbyterians are odd lot and a certain set of Grandparents were talking to a certain grandchild about proper behavior in church and be quiet and behave in church. She said, because people are sleeping.

Yeah, you know, we went we came and got a ton of bad rash. That's we Presbyterians. It's like, I remember remember that Meme? I remember Old Barney back there when he was all dressed up. This is kind of like a presbyterian, you know? It's like yep, when we're excited. When we like this sermon when we feel the spirit, all the same. So I appreciate that. Brought me, that was great. Yes we are. We are sometimes accused of being a little stale or boring and you know where rightly accused that way we have to have to write knowledge. That it's not all our fault though. I mean, look from which we came. This was the inauguration of the first East African denomination that was indigenous, Lee formed the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. It was a momentous celebration. Can't you tell

That's Presbyterian Church. There are other Presbyterian. Churches to not all like this. Let's see if that video wrong.

In East Africa, you know, we're all different. So we can't really put ourselves in a box for his and some I think some of you all have been in this particular church. I've never been in it, but I think it's a beautiful Church. Anybody else been infinite Avenue prayers and New York City. It's beautiful church. But this is also a Presbyterian Church in the rift valley of East Africa in the Owasso Key, Don't area. That's a Presbyterian Church. This is a Presbyterian Church that's singing. Praise to the Lord. Like we are used to seeing every day. But in another context here, as a presbyterian choir, singing Praise dancing jumping. You know, that word

Illuminating, sounds like it. You know, church is pretty different in different parts of the world. We are different, but we're all a part of this same body as we learn a bit about the particulars of our own selves. Our own denomination in our own, what we value. We value deeply God's word now we've all been wait. We've all been young once Cecily and I were young lunch and we were even before this we found out later in our marriage that we were guilty of double dipping. I don't know if any of you are double dippers. Cecily Daddy and Mom were National missionaries in Appalachian. Mountains for the Presbyterian Church. My family was died in the wall. Presbyterians, we went to church. Of course, we went to our Sunday school but at night, she went to the Baptist Church. And I went to the Assembly of God. We were double dippers.

Maybe you are too. The church is so big and so brought in so wonderfully on this world communion Sunday, one of the things that we celebrate in our Presbyterian, tradition is our ecumenism. The way that we think we are part of the entire body as we look at that is helpful. I think to consider the scripture because Jesus is giving us a different idea of what it means to be a follower of his. If we look at the at the scripture in John will see several key words that I just want us to touch him briefly as if you continue in my word. Continue, this is big part of our Presbyterian history. We are continuing and we'll hear a little bit more about that in our history, in a moment. But continuing its, if you continue, then it's a conditional Clause. If this happens, then this will happen. If you continue, we are supposed to continue. This is very difficult for. He who are a product of the Enlightenment and Americans. I mean, we not, we want to find a solution. We want to get it done job. Once you want to get it right and move onto the next project. You know, Jesus says, it's not one in done but we take that idea and we put it into our spiritual life and we go out the Bible in John, 3:16 God. So loved the world, I'm done, put on the Shelf. One and done. I'm all done. Now, we continue, we continue in this journey of faith. Ask you a question. On Wednesday. Six weeks ago. Would you have for supper?

I may have been your anniversary or birthday, or you, binge ate some pizza. I don't know. But you might remember, but I doubt it remember, six weeks ago on Wednesday, what they ate.

Okay, I don't see any hand but unless you were fasting unto the Lord, do you think you ate something 6 weeks ago on Wednesday? Yeah, I think so. Why? Because we get hungry, because our bodies need food. Because we know if we eat food, then our bodies will be strong and nourished and we will be able to do the things that we want to do. And consequently, if we don't eat will shrivel up and we won't be so so healthy that same principle applies to our spiritual life. We must continue in the Journey of learning and studying and growing we continue that we continue in the word verbum. Dei logo, the idea that John introduced of this, this larger idea of that thing that that connects the entire universe together in one. We so she ate it in the New Testament with, with Jesus Christ. The Incarnate Son of God, if you continue in my word me, but also in the scriptures, we continue in the scriptures. So there's this element of the word that is the word written, and there's the word incarnate in this is a key idea in Presbyterian. Thought we are very committed to this book. We hold it with high Authority, it's the authoritative witness to God's. Testimony and Revelation to us for the faith. And for Life, practice wire, ministers have to go through, Greek and Hebrew. We have to learn the original language because we hold very high and important. But we also hold the Incarnate Word, The Living Word, Jesus Christ, as the word of God as also a high importance because that lives in each believer as the holy spirit in Africa years and years ago. Thirty years ago we were in the area that people are largely in oral tradition. There's not a lot of written things. There weren't any at that time, a couple of tracks but the people in this Village heard the word of God. They put it in their mind, they brought it to their Villages, they spoke it around the campfire and night, and they ruminated and thought about it, prayed over it memorized and somehow, God, spirit being Carnot, word of God, Drew those Christians in amazing ways in the face until the time, when portions of the written word, came their way and people learned how to read and somebody could read the whole thing to their people and amazing connection between the word written in the word incarnate.

If we continue in Christ word, we're truly disciples a disciple. My photo of sauteed is one who follows. It's a pedagogical relationship in in the biblical world. It was you followed a rabbi. If you were a student you saw what they did? You listen to them speak? And I think last year at some point I gave this but it's worth repeating in the Babylonian talmud. A blessing to Young students was may you be covered in the dust of your rabbi. The idea here is following so closely to your master teacher that the dust from that person sandals kicked up and was all over. You are we following Jesus? That closely. It's at our goal are we truly disciples? Well we are will know the truth and the truth is a large concept talking about but the context of right and wrong of fake news and real news on whether I can research this to prove this or or find out the answer to this or say, hey, Siri do Google search and find out the answer. That's not what's being talked about. Hear, what is being expressed is. You will know the truth. In other words, you will know me later. John says, in 14:6. I am the way I am the truth. I am the life. Jesus is the truth. So he's telling he's pointing these early followers to himself saying, you will know me. Yes, all these other things you may learn. They may come to you, they will help you in your daily life. But the true truth is found in Jesus. And if we do that, then there is a freedom in Christ. The freedom in Christ is such that we live, not as a slave, but as a son, or a daughter, not as one who has no inheritance. But one who inherit Abundant Life now as John rights and John 10:10, I've come that you might have life and have it to the full and Abundant Life in the Hereafter. After these Earthly vessels have gone. So, as we think about this text, we see some important aspects. And all of them are very important to our understanding is Presbyterian and I just want to take a little moment and and connect that with some things that I hope won't be too boring. But just an ideas about our Presbyterian structure and who we are Presbyterians comes from prison, has Buddha roast means elder or Elder ones, not necessarily agent, but could be, but ones who are wise. Once her wise in the faith and you can see how the name of our denomination Presbyterian comes from this very word, presbuteros. Governed by Elders, were governed by Elders in a democratic representative form. By the elders. And as we move through these, these Elders, those are the ones we ordained. The other week goes, form the session and the session is the local churches expression of leadership. And then we have the Presbytery were part of the Central, Florida Presbytery of cluster of churches, which were part of the Senate were part of the Senate of the South Atlantic. And then we're part of the larger Church, the general assembly where we all connect one with another each of those Alexa its own Representatives. So that there's a fair representation of both elder or lay people and clergy and they all come together to make Mutual steps forward. Actually, as the race mentioned, in the prayer on the larger level are Presbyterian disaster, relief service at Presbyterian Disaster. Assistance is already on the ground helping over in Naples, Fort Myers area. And there's this thing you may have heard like per capita, we Give a penny a day for each head that we have and it goes into this till and some of those fun, the general assembly is giving on your behalf to help people right now in Hurricane Relief. That's me, that's part of the connectional system of our denomination and we you can tell our continuing, it's a continuing thing. We we actually build each other up and encourage one another to do more and more and more, because we are continuing in the word. Don't know if we just think back to that the history of the church most Christian churches. All Christian churches really Trace their Roots back to Acts chapter 2, the birth of the church. But from there, we have all sorts of different going to hear and goings there. 1517. Martin Luther nail his 95 Theses on the door and Wittenberg Germany. He wasn't happy with the way. The church of his day was being run and he gave 95 reasons why a lot of them had to do with authority in the running of the church and interpretation of scripture. John Calvin was another follower of the Protestant Reformation and begin riding in Geneva and wrote. Some of the foundational theological documents of our our Fakemon John Knox went and studied with John Calvin. I got to walk under this guy everyday, John Knox, his stat statues at new College in Edinborough. He wanting a really Pleasant fellow. Hey, let you know he was a guy part of why we wear a black robe is John Knox. He got rid of all the clothes and the fancy stuff and went back to the plane academic down. He also got rid of a lot of nice art of broke a lot of things glass windows and painted. A lot of beautiful frescos and mirrors over with whitewash Fat Willy's at John Knox, also formed the idea of this representative government of our church, what? She brought to the new world after the Westminster assembly, and that became part like it or not of our government is structured. Thank you Presbyterian. Seaport flush out. I'm throwing Tomatoes, I don't know the First Presbyterian Church started in the in the late seventeenth Century. The First Presbyterian, begin and in 1706 in Philadelphia, that's a parchment from the original set. The minutes of that Presbyterian meeting, we love our minutes, don't like your committee chairs and Donna. See you not in for a Min Pin Pat. Y'all typed a lot of minutes. I'm sure we love keeping records. They're all of these things. They also led to a union. But then once that got together, what do people like to do when we can't stand each other? So he split populist movement, some people didn't like it, that was slavery. Some people didn't like that, the church split apart, came back together in 1983 the northern and southern Parts into the pcusa of which we are. But along the way we lost some to the PCA which is the Presbyterian Church in America and then most recently, the Ecco that have angelical Covenant order, a presbyterian underwater other little Presbyterian, Presbyterian Church in that kind of thing. The point is we have striven to continue together. Sometimes we have not been able to and we have decided, it's best to part our way sometimes that has happened but more often and tried to continue in following God's word, so that we might be truly God's disciples. There are several distinctives of our denomination. We'll talk about that in, in a weave, it into some sermons, 25 solar's, 5ive solutely, Essentials of the Presbyterian and Reformation faith. And we'll talk about that. A little more in in weeks to come, but what does it mean for me? What does it mean for you to say wearing the Presbyterian hat? Well, first and foremost, it means I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. And as a follower of Jesus Christ, it means that I'm going to live or try to live in a christ-like manner. I'm going to follow my Rabbi in such a way that I emulate that person. I'm going to be as much as I can like that person in for me, that's Jesus. And I value that about our focus. And in our church, it also means that because of my faith, in my choice of being Presbyterian, I'm going to try my best to lead a Godly example. You've heard the adage you, you may be the only Bible someone ever reads. How I treat the AT&T person after my bill is $100 more than it should have been. Well, somebody's watching me. And I better be gracious. We also as Presbyterians and give give give.

The beautiful campus is a result of giving people came out and gave of their time. Helps in Southwest Florida are because people like you are giving of their meme. The Turks working in Madagascar are part of your ministry of giving. And being here is part of what we do. As we give, we are giving people. Finally, we care about the world. We care about everything about this world that God Mazen God loves, we are not an island unto ourselves. We care about other people. We care about each shoes that are involving all of us. In our society, about Justice about oppression about violence, all these things, you will hear us discussing because we care about him and we want God's love to be a part of that conversation.

So Jesus is really not giving us a presbyterian.

Come follow me. And whatever hat you wear with, it's a presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or Lutheran or whatever at. So maybe that's a way that you were trying to express that Faithfully. And for me, this has been an important journey of my life to be part of the Presbyterian Church. But ultimately the call is not from our denomination. Ultimately, the call is from Christ to come to the stable. To join him in this feast and to receive a new life. So that you may go forth and give New Life to those who are hurting in this world. Oh man.