The Neighborhood Podcast

Laity Sunday (February 9, 2025 Sermon)

• Rev. Stephen M. Fearing

Share episode

This episode explores the scripture's profound messages of love and fear, emphasizing that perfect love casts out fear and calls us to embody this love in our daily lives. Through personal reflections and biblical insights, we highlight the importance of loving one another as a true reflection of our faith.

• Discussion on God’s assurance in Isaiah 43 
• Examination of love as foundational in 1 John 4 
• Personal stories illustrating love’s impact 
• Triangle of love concept connecting God’s love and community 
• Call to action encouraging authentic love in relationships

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Speaker 1:

Please join me in prayer for the prayer of illumination. Lord God, good shepherd, by the leading of your spirit, help us to listen for your voice and follow in your paths all the days of our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Today's first scripture lesson is Isaiah, chapter 43, verses 1 through 7. You heard Stephen pay attention.

Speaker 1:

But now thus says the Lord he who created you, o Jacob, he who formed you, o Israel, do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you, because you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you. I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west. I will gather you. I will say to the north, give them up. And to the south, do not withhold, bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

Speaker 2:

Holy wisdom, holy word, Fear not, for I am with you. Fear not, for I have redeemed you and loved you, blessed you and called to by me. You are mine. Fear not, fill up the threads of the fire, fill up the threads of the water. Fill up the threads of the water. Fear not, and troubles surround you and trials confound you. We are not afraid. I am your God. Feel not, my Lord, god, my God, I will always surround you. I'm full of you, full of you, full of precious to me, dear to me, dear to me. I have called you my name. I am the Lord, god the end knows. You are mine, you are mine. Thank you, daniel, daniel.

Speaker 2:

Why not everyone? He was Daniel, my Lord, daniel, daniel, daniel, daniel, daniel, daniel, my Lord, daniel, daniel. Why not everyone? He took a burden from the lion's head and took it from the belly of the whale and the Hebrew children from the valley of the sand. And our God, our God, delivered at all, delivered at all. Thank you, my Lord. Delivered at all. And why not everyone? From the windows east and the windows west. It was like a judgment day, and every poor soul that never did pray Will be glad to pray that day. David, my Lord, deliver, daniel deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel. David, my Lord deliver Daniel. And one of every one. And why not everyone? Dejah, my Lord deliver Daniel. Dejah, my Lord deliver Daniel. And why not everyone? And why not everyone?

Speaker 4:

And one of everyone and one of everyone, you, kids, and thanks be to God. All right, friends. There are three paragraphs of the next reading, so I would like to have three volunteers. Don't panic, it's okay. It's okay. Three volunteers who would like to read. Who would like to read the first paragraph for us for that? 1 John 4, 7-21. He wants to read the first paragraph for us. Alright, eleanor Jordan, friends, let us hear again what God is saying to. God's church Beloved. Let us love one another, is saying to God's church.

Speaker 5:

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way. God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, god lives in us and his love is perfected in us.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, Eleanor. Ed is going to read our second paragraph for us.

Speaker 6:

Go ahead, Ed going to read our second paragraph for us. Go ahead, ed. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit, and we have seen and do testify that the father has sent his son as the savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the son of God and they abide in God. So we have known and believed the love that God has for us.

Speaker 4:

And who wants to finish this up today? Oh, take someone in the back here.

Speaker 7:

Donna Searchfield is going to finish up our reading. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because, as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say I love God and hate their brothers or sisters are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this the commandment we have from him is this those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Speaker 4:

holy wisdom, holy word. All right, eleanor and Ed and Donna, thank you all very much. All right, so you all had homework. Either one of these two passages that we have had read for us, either the Isaiah 43 passage or the 1 John 4 passage. What stood out to you? Anybody want to raise their hand? You don't have to preach a sermon on it, it's okay. Just, is there a particular phrase or word that stands out to you? And if you want to share, why, then? You most certainly may. I see Miranda back here shaking her head. Yeah, yeah, what stood out to you, miranda? Which passage and why is that? See?

Speaker 3:

if my husband's watching, he might remember this. I'm going to cry Because you are precious in my sight, honored, and I love you. Thank you. I'm going to cry Because you are precious in my sight, honored, and I love you. When we left the hospital after we had Josephine, we left without her. We had to leave her there in the NICU and that was one of the hardest things I think we've ever done. And when the nurse was wheeling me out she said that to me. She was like you are precious in his sight and loved and highly favored and you just have to trust, and I held on to that every day that it was going to be all right, and I'll never forget her saying that to me. So reading it today has gotten to me a little bit, because it's something that right now, when you can feel really alone and really scared, is just something to hang on to, that you're not alone and that we're all precious in his sight. So sorry for crying, thank you.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, Miranda. Well, yeah, that passage Isaiah 43, comes in the midst of what we call the Babylonian exile, when the Israelites were going through a very traumatic event. Everything had been turned upside down and in the midst of that, God says I haven't forgotten about you, you are precious and you are loved. So, thank you, Miranda. What? Else stood out to us in the reading of either one of these passages.

Speaker 7:

Yeah, Lib.

Speaker 8:

So I did this at membership committee. Imagine a triangle. God's up here and God is love. God showers his love down on us. Imagine a little person over here at the bottom and another person over here at the bottom and another person over here at the bottom. The more they love God, the closer they get together and love each other.

Speaker 4:

That'll preach. Thank you, lynn. Anybody else, anything else of these two passages that spark? Anybody else, anything else of these two passages of Sparking?

Speaker 9:

Yeah, Gwen. The ending of John says those who say I love God and hate their brothers and sisters are liars, For those who do not love brother and sister whom they have seen cannot love God who they have not seen. I think a lot of our leaders need to pay attention to that.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, as if you didn't get the message enough with this passage of love. It certainly does hit the nail on the head right there. By the way, love is mentioned, by my count, 28 times in that passage that we read today. 28 times of that agape love that Ellie and the children were talking about, that self-sacrificing what do you call it? No matter what, no matter what love. That's a good way to say that.

Speaker 3:

Anybody else?

Speaker 4:

have something they would like to lift up or share that stood out to them? Anybody else have something they would like to lift up or share that stood out to them? If none other, I'll share with you. What stands out to me in closing this day is simply that phrase in the first John 4 passage that says there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear.

Speaker 4:

There is much fear that is in our world this day and I'm reminded of the words I mentioned it yesterday in Doris Mingle's funeral, the words of former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, michael Curry, who famously was known to say if it isn't about love, it isn't about God. So that phrase that perfect love casts out fear reminds me that whenever there is so much in our world that seeks to divide us from one another or seek to succeed by way of fearing or stoking fear, I don't know what that is, but it's not love, at least not by how the Bible defines it. So, friends, let us go out in word and in deed to love God and, as the epistle writer says, to abide in God's love, for God abides with us. Friends, in the name of God, the creator, redeemer and sustainer. May all of us, god's beloved children, say amen.