A Legacy of Faith

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  May 12, 2024

Please note: Pastor Heidi will be on sabbatical for the months of June, July, and August.  During that time, sermon notes and recordings will not be posted.  You are always welcome to join us in person.  You may also listen to the services on the conference call line (339) 207-7394 each Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  

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Read John 15:9 – 17 (NIV)
 
Thinking about Mother’s Day, reminds me of a story I saw once about a little boy who posed this question to his, “Mom, if Mother’s Day is in May and Father’s Day is in June, when is Children’s Day?”  To which the mother simply replied, “Every day is Children’s Day.”
 
And that generally is the case… particularly when we think about what it means to truly love our children… with our whole heart… whether we gave birth to them or if they were gifted to us by the Lord to love as if they were our own. 
 
Every day really does feel like Children’s Day.  For as Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
 
I think we all want to be more child-like under those circumstances…

But today is the special day that we set aside to honor mothers… both those who are living among us as well as those who have gone on before us. 
 
So, let me say once again Happy Mother’s Day!
 
Now as I was looking at the Lectionary for this week and trying to figure out what would be an appropriate text to use for Mother’s Day, none of them really seemed to lend themselves to the subject of Mothers… at least not from my perspective.  So, I decided to go with a text that felt like it would be a better fit for the theme of the day.
 
But to be honest, thinking about Mother’s Day this year was somewhat of a struggle.  Beyond the fact that my mom is still at Judson Park and can’t be here with us physically… I could not help thinking all week about one of my very dear friends for whom this will be her first Mother’s Day without her precious daughter, Cathryn, who passed away a little less than six weeks ago, and also our beloved, Gwen..
 
Add to that the fact that another family member just lost her husband four days ago… only ten days before what would have been their 39^th wedding anniversary. 
 
Let’s just say, the looming specter of grief made for a challenging week in trying to prepare a reasonably celebratory sermon for Mother’s Day.
 
But I am grateful that even in our times of grief… even as we may be wiping tears from our eyes… the memories and the legacies of our loved ones can still bring us joy and peace. 
 
In reality, for many people, Mother’s Day can be filled with mixed emotions as we celebrate the Moms who are still with us even as our hearts may be overwhelmed at the thought of mothers and grandmothers who are no longer here.
 
But even as we think about our mothers and those who have been like mothers to us… whether still with us or no longer here… we can use this day – Mother’s Day – as a time to reflect on their lives as well as the love and the legacies that they have passed on to us… particularly those who have gifted us with: A LEGACY OF FAITH.
 
And so, let us turn our attention to our New Testament lesson for the morning… to the Apostle Paul’s letter to his young protégé, Timothy… someone who was known to be one of Paul’s closest companions… who likely knew Paul better than anyone else… someone who Paul loved as if he were his own son.
 
Now, in the text, Paul essentially weaves together a thread that ties together multiple legacies that have been passed on from one generation to another. 
 
Starting after the salutation found just before our text, Paul’s letter opens with words of thanksgiving to the God he serves… the same God that his ancestors served… in essence, acknowledging A LEGACY OF FAITH that had been passed on to him from previous generations… A LEGACY OF FAITH that Paul indicates now is lived out and expressed in his constant prayers for Timothy.
 
Paul then says that he recalls Timothy’s tears… likely tears that were shed at their last parting, perhaps before Paul was arrested and taken to prison in Rome.  This is evidenced by Paul’s expressing a longing to see this young man so that his heart may be filled with joy… joy that is possibly an indication of a long-awaited reunion.
 
Paul then reflects on Timothy’s sincere faith which he says first lived in Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice… what could best be described as A LEGACY OF FAITH… a legacy passed on by women who scholars indicate were early converts to Christianity… possibly as a direct result of Paul’s ministry.
 
Paul then reminds Timothy of the gift of God that has been passed on to him… a gift passed on as part of Paul’s own LEGACY OF FAITH… a gift bestowed on Timothy through the laying on of hands at the time of his ordination. 
 
Paul encourages Timothy to fan this gift into flame… to use it to build up the body of believers… without fear or trepidation… simply put because the gift of God’s Spirit is one of power, love, and self-discipline rather than fear. 
 
This is a precious gift of God that has been passed on to him… so there is no need for Timothy to be afraid to spread the Gospel… rather Paul encourages Timothy to preach and proclaim the Good News of Jesus the Christ, just as he has done… to continue his LEGACY OF FAITH… of carrying the Message to the masses… emboldened by the power of God and the grace of Christ Jesus.
 
Now, these first few verses of our text for the morning were highlighted in an old devotional that I came across the other day, entitled “A Faith Worth Passing Down” (https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/today-s-devotionals/in-touch-may-17-2012.html). 
 
And in that devotional, the author, Charles Stanley stated, “The most precious thing we can pass down to our children is our faith – the confident conviction that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised.”
 
Timothy’s faith grew just the Apostle Paul’s faith grew because of seeds planted by mothers and grandmothers and forefathers.  Seeds of faith planted through godly examples of living a life of trusting and serving God and God’s people… seeds that ultimately grew into A LEGACY OF FAITH.
 
And we… both mothers and fathers alike… whether we are biological parents or stand in the gap as parental figures placed in the lives of the children around us… each of us has a responsibility to plant seeds of faith through our godly examples just as those seeds have been planted in our lives by those who came before us.
 
But I think it is fair to say that it is not just our elders who have the ability to do some planting.  Even our young people are capable of planting seeds of faith in our lives and the lives of others by their example as well.
 
Each of one of our lives is on display for everyone around us to see… whether we know they are watching or not.  It is why we need to live lives of integrity – lives that honor God through our words and deeds – because we never know who is watching or listening. 
 
In fact, one definition I have heard used as it relates to integrity is that it is doing the right thing for the right reason even when we think no one else is looking.  However, the fact of the matter is that someone is ALWAYS looking.
 
Perhaps you have heard me say a time or two before that our lives may be the only Bible some people will ever read.  Or perhaps you have heard me share one of my other favorite sayings, “Out of 100 people, one will read the Bible… 99 will read the Christian.”
 
So, the question becomes, what do people see when they read us and look at our lives?  Do they see people of faith and integrity… who are using the gifts that God has given us?  Or do they see people ruled by doubt and fear?
 
Paul told Timothy that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (v. 7, NKJV). 
 
And in the same way that Paul encouraged Timothy to “fan into flame the gift [that] God” had given him… we too, must continue to stir up and use the gifts that God has placed in each one of us… rather than allowing fear to paralyze us. 
 
And as we use the gifts God has given us, we will set an example for others that encourages them to use their gifts as well… in essence, producing A LEGACY OF FAITH for them to follow. 
 
But in addition to telling Timothy not to be afraid… Paul said that he should not be ashamed to testify about the Lord.  In other words, do not be embarrassed or reluctant to share your faith with someone else. 
 
It is not a far stretch to say that each one of us who is here has had someone at some point in time who has shared their faith with us.  It may have been our mothers or grandmothers like Timothy’s or perhaps it was one of our forefathers like Paul’s.
 
Whatever the case may be and whoever the person or persons may have been… we have been called to go and do likewise… to tell somebody else about the Good News of Jesus.
 
It’s kind of like that old Faberge shampoo commercial… you’ll tell two friends and they’ll two friends and so on and so on and so on.
 
That’s how our LEGACY OF FAITH grows and how the body of believers continues to expand from one generation to the next. 
 
It’s like Jesus said to His disciples in what we refer to as the Great Commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19 – 20).
 
But along with that command to “go,” Jesus also gave them the assurance that He would be with them “always, to the very end of the age.”
 
The Lord promised to be with them and He promises to be with us as well… not just once in a while… but ALWAYS.  That means even in the midst of circumstances and situations that seem to be more than a little daunting… like sharing our faith with others… Jesus has said He will be with us.
 
The Apostle Paul offered words of encouragement to Timothy to keep sharing the faith and love that come from Christ… and perhaps these words can be an encouragement to us as well. 
 
Listen again to verses 13 and 14 from our text as they are found in the Message Paraphrase:

So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

We have received a precious gift… A LEGACY OF FAITH that has been passed on to us.  It is a gift that Paul says is worth guarding… but it is also a gift that we can in turn share with others. 
 
And whether it was through A LEGACY OF FAITH passed on to us by our parents, grandparents, or siblings, or by a preacher, a teacher or even a friend… once that LEGACY OF FAITH has been shared with us… it is up to us to claim it as our own so that we can live it out and pass it on to others. 
 
And while that may not always be easy… we must remain faithful just as the Lord has always remained faithful to us… even in times of suffering. 
 
As we read in verses 8 – 10 in the text from the Message Paraphrase:

Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.

Paul then went on to say:

This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.

There was no need for Paul to feel regret… despite the hardships he faced including at times being beaten and imprisoned… because Paul knew the Lord was faithful and would be right there with him to the very end.
 
And in the same way the Lord has promised to be faithful to us as well… to never leave us nor forsake us (see Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5).
 
So, whatever challenges come our way… we can face them, as Paul suggests, without fear or trepidation… trusting that the Lord will be right there with us… strengthening and protecting us as Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Thessalonica.  “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
 
And with that I want to leave us with these additional words of encouragement that are found in Hebrews 10:23 which says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
 
So, on this Mother’s Day, as we honor and remember those who have shared their LEGACY OF FAITH with us… let us hold onto hope and give thanks for the faithfulness of God… the One who has given us so many amazing and indescribable gifts… not the least of which is the precious gift of mothers.
 
Hymn of Discipleship: Great Is Thy Faithfulness #86.

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