1 24 3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c573637a79a6433566032f68c0ce01a3.pdf c511f53812a08221db1efdc04560d232 PDF Text Text Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation Reformation Day Sunday Text: I Samuel 8:7; I Samuel 9:16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXIII, October 30, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon ". . . The Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but have rejected me from being king over them.' " ". . . you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me." In the lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures you will notice a reference to the book of Judges. I am not going to read that, but that simply is a reference that says that after Joshua, Moses' successor, died, there arose a generation that knew not the Lord – a very serious portent of bad things to come. The book of Judges talks about that period of time between the settlement in Canaan of the children of Israel, and the first king, Saul. It was a period of a hundred or two hundred years. It was a time when leadership was charismatic. A leader would arise, would be filled with the Spirit of God, execute a task and then retire to his farm, or her farm. Deborah, Gideon and Samson, those great Bible stories are recorded in the book of Judges. The last and greatest judge was Samuel. Samuel was a priest, prophet, judge, and ruler. He led Israel for many years and then as he grew older the people were concerned because his sons were not following in his steps, and they wanted a king like all the other nations, so they asked Samuel for a king. Israel had been a loose confederacy of tribes, and they had gotten together to do certain things on specific occasions, but they were rather loosely connected as semi-independent tribes. But now, recognizing the threat from without, they request a king. The scripture lesson lists in the first book of Samuel a Saul source and a Samuel source. I do that so that you can see that there were two points of view that come together in this lesson. There are two traditions, and the author purposely let both traditions stand. The one tradition said that the people of Israel were vulnerable and in danger, and God said to Samuel, "Anoint Saul. Through this © Grand Valley State University   �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   first king I will deliver my people." The Samuel source, the conservative point of view, rejects that idea and resists the movement toward monarchy. I list these two sources so that you could feel the two of them that are interlaced together in these chapters. First, the ninth chapter of I Samuel, the fifteenth verse: "Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 'Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.'” Doesn't that remind you of Israel in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh? The cry comes to God, God raises up Moses, and the people are led to freedom. Now here they are in Canaan, but they are in a situation again of danger, and so God says to his leader, Samuel, "I hear their cry. Anoint this man. I will, through this man, deliver them." Samuel saw Saul. The Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people." Now that happens. Then in the tenth chapter and the first verse, Samuel took a vial of oil, poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you shall save them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord had anointed you to be prince of his heritage." If you go on to read the eleventh chapter, Saul gains a great victory and everyone says, "Wow, what a man. He's our man." They are all ready to go. They are excited. The other point of view is expressed in the Samuel source, the eighth chapter and the fourth verse: "Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, 'Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations.' But it displeases Samuel when they say, 'Give us a king to govern us.' And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds, which they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, hearken to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.' " Then follows a serious indictment of monarchy — In a word God says, "Tell them that once they get a king, the king will be on the take. Take their money. Take their sons and daughters. Take their animals. Take their property. They are in for trouble because governments tend eventually to become oppressive and coercive. Just let them know what they are in for." Then in the nineteenth verse of that chapter, the people refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but we'll have a king over us." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I set for you this Biblical story because you have two traditions next to each other, and it was a hinge-point in Israel's experience. We know about the confederacy, the tribal union. It was very much like the early colonies in this country. Those thirteen colonies did not have a strong central government. They were a confederacy. They each yielded of their sovereignty some of their power and some of their rights in order that there might be a central government to do certain things for them that they couldn't do for themselves: national security, for example – trade, commerce, that kind of thing. To this day in this country that tension continues to exist in our nation. Do you remember Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers, and how he argued for a strong central government. There was a conflict at that time. In the nineteenth century this country went through the terrible tragedy of the Civil War and, though it was really over the question of slavery, what was being tested was this form of government, a federal government where they could instruct the states to give rights to people or could instruct all states to release their slaves. The governors of some southern states back in the 60s, in the Civil Rights days, argued for states rights over against the interpretation of the constitution from the federal government which said that it is wrong to segregate in schools and all of those so called Jim Crowe Laws that demeaned and dehumanized the black race. So we know about confederacy. It is a kind of government that has power on the periphery and less so in the center, as opposed to the federal form of government where there is power at the center that can dictate to the respective units of government. That was what was going on in Israel. They were a confederacy. A charismatic leader would arise on occasion to meet a specific crisis and then go back to the farm. And they had a central shrine where they worshiped together, and where they renewed their covenant. But God was their king, that was their understanding, and they had no strong central government or strong national leader, no dynasty, no imperial house. But as a kind of loose tribal confederacy they were vulnerable to the attacks of people on their borders, and once they got established people began to get some possessions. They built barns, and had fields and oxen and one thing and another. They said, "We don't want to be vulnerable to these attacks. Every six months or so somebody comes in and burns our fields. We need a strong leader. We need a strong government. We need security. We need secure boundaries." Sound familiar? So they came to Samuel who had been the greatest spiritual leader in Israel since Moses and they said to him, "Your sons aren't following in your steps. You are growing older. We need to move on to another form of government. We need a king." Well, if you read the one source, it sounds as though that was a movement that was not only approved by God, but initiated by God in response to the cry of the people and who said, "Through this man whom you are to anoint, I will deliver this people." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But if you read the Samuel source you see that God not only does not initiate it, God doesn't even approve of it, but sort of reconciles God's self to the inevitable, and says "Go ahead and do it, but warn them because they are in for trouble. Just wait until the king really establishes a royal house." That's the situation. That's the focus of the morning as we think about the culture wars, the battling for the soul of a nation. There were conservatives who said, "Foolish people, you want a king? Don't you remember that it was Moses who led us out of the oppression of Pharaoh out of the bondage of Egypt? Don't you realize that in establishing a royal house you will be bringing yourselves right back into a situation where there is oppression from on top? The conservatives had a point. They did remember. That was the best thing about the conservative mind. It remembers the values of the past. It has a memory of those things that were valuable and important and significant and that had a shaping determination of a people. But there were progressives as well, and they said, "To be sure. But on the other hand, look, we simply can't survive this way." The conservatives said, "Trust God," and the progressives said, "We do trust God, but look what's happening. We are being assaulted, invaded. The marauders come in. We are at a loss, we are victims. And, it's not going to change." So they went at it, these conservatives and progressives, and the Biblical story allows both of those voices to be heard. Now it is interesting that on Reformation Sunday we should have a scripture lesson that has two traditions that are at variance with each other because one of the models of the Reformation was sola scriptura— Scripture alone is our authority. But I would raise the question: If scripture alone is our authority, which of the traditions are you going to buy into? Where would you have been in this discussion? Are you a conservative or are you a progressive? Do you remember the values of the past and try to preserve them and perpetuate them, or are you one who believes in the movement of history, that new times demand new forms and new structures? Do you set things in concrete or do you remain fluid and flexible with the ongoing movement of history? The Reformation was a time that gave us this insight, which ought never to be forgotten–the Latin model I can't repeat but its translation is– the Church re-formed according to the Word of God and always being re-formed. In the sixteenth century there was a situation where the Church, not the nation Israel in the thirteenth century B.C.E., but now in the sixteenth century C.E. you have a church that had become a mammoth world power. There was a union of throne, and altar, and thus times during those centuries of Christendom, a medieval age when the Church was the most powerful human institution. It was not simply a religious institution. It was cultural, it transcended national boundaries, it was powerful, and it became decadent, just as decadent as any imperial house that has no checks on it. And the reformers said, "Something has © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   to change. The Church needs to be renewed. We need a reformation of the Church." Institutions don't change until something blows sky high. Martin Luther, of course, was the one who blew it. Martin Luther, brilliant, powerful, vulgar, a bull in a China shop, was excommunicated. He returned the favor and excommunicated the pope. And we were off and running. At that time, just as in the experience of Israel, it was a hinge-point in human history. It was Luther who said, "We must re-form and we must become the body of Christ in a total new structure. The other is the Babylon, the harlot that is in bondage, and God has turned away from it." A humanist scholar, a Dutchman named Erasmus was a faithful son of the Church. He and Luther communicated. Erasmus was a renaissance scholar. He was a part of the fifteenth-century revival of learning in Europe where they rediscovered the classical culture of Greece and of Rome and the old language of the Semitic peoples. And in that renewal and revival there was a whole blossoming of the human spirit in the fifteenth century, and it was a preparation for that breakthrough in the sixteenth century, the religious Reformation. Luther wrote to Erasmus, "Join me." Erasmus said, "No, I am going to stay." Luther said, "You can't stay. That Church is decadent and it is dead." Erasmus said, "You want to break it, rend the Body of Christ. For your renewal the price is too high. I will stay within the Church of the Body of Christ. We must not rend this institution that is, after all, in all of its corruption and decadence (which Erasmus readily admitted), nonetheless still the Church of the Living God." Luther left. Protestantism is the consequence. Erasmus stayed and in the following century the Roman Church reformed itself, as always happens in human culture. It's action and reaction. As the Reformation identified or created its identity over against Rome, the reforming Roman Church reformed itself over against the Reformation. Yet we have had this tragic split for all these years. Who was right, Luther or Erasmus? The conservatives who came to Samuel and said, "Don't do this." or the progressives who said to Samuel, "Give us a king." Who was right? Who was wrong? In human history, there's not right and wrong. There are wise choices, foolish choices. There are marvelous breakthroughs and dead ends. It's not a simple question of something being right or wrong. In the ambiguity of the human situation, in the ambiguity of the text of history at any particular time there are a lot of factors that have to be factored in. Erasmus was right. The price was too high. It was tragic. Luther was right. Nothing would happen without the break. Of course, some four or five hundred years later for us to continue to reiterate the sixteenth-century insights is to fall into the pattern of fundamentalism. For us to continue to talk about Reformed distinctions is to forget that we, with history, continue to move. We inaugurated a new President at Western Seminary, and you can hear him preach tonight. As Peter said, "He's a great guy, a good scholar, a good preacher." The Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches are getting together for that © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 6   service, and I think that's nice. But if you really want to celebrate Reformation Day today, then why don't we get together with the Roman Catholic Church and all the other churches in the community to recognize that the split back then was tragic, as well as necessary. Then, of course, if we really want to be prophetic, next year let's gather all the churches across all the barriers and also some people from Islam and our Jewish friends and let's have an inter-faith service of worship that recognizes that the future does not lie in the perpetuation of the divisions of the past but the overcoming of those decisions and the healing of relationships. What we need in this world is reconciliation. We live at a hinge-point in culture, which is as critical as that faced in Israel when they were trying to decide whether to have a king or stick with the old forms. We are at a hinge-point in history, which is as critical as the sixteenth century. We are in this nation today in the midst of a culture war. If you had the misfortune of listening in one evening to the Republican Convention a couple of years ago when Pat Buchanan said, "we are in a warfare." If you listen to the rhetoric of Randall Terry, the anti-abortion person, if you receive the propaganda of the religious right, you will find that what they want is the restoration of yesterday, failing to recognize that history is a stream that moves on. Now the conservatives back in Israel had remembered some important things that ought never to be forgotten — and that is the value of the conservative. But the progressives knew that new times demanded new forms — and that is the value of the progressive who recognizes that history is movement, and that yesterday's answers reiterated become fundamentalism today. Today's crises and dilemmas demand deliberation and decision today, in the light of the Biblical story, in the light of the Church tradition, with the exercise of human intellect, and in the evaluation of human experience. It not sola Scriptura. If we really want to be true to the Reformation and continue being Re-formed then we've got to stop throwing those models around, as though once that model is set, everything is set. That is not sola Scriptura. It is one witness. It is a valuable witness. This is our Book. This is our story, but the story has been lived out over centuries of time. We take that tradition seriously. Rome was right about that. Rome has always been right about that. This Book ought always to be a prophetic critique of tradition. But we weren't born in a vacuum. We take seriously the roots from which we come, and we use our heads. For God's sake, we use our heads, we think. To have an external authority that we simply clamp onto ourselves without being able to think, to liberate ourselves, is to deny we are made in the image of God, to think, for God's sake. Then, of course, human experience. You can't just speculate in the abstract. You make decisions in the concrete context of human experience. For example, the people who are pro-choice are not necessarily pro-abortion. They have other values they are looking at. What does it mean to be human? There are other human values that they weigh over against the value of the fetus. It's not easy folks. It's not simple, you see. To get up with all kinds of violent rhetoric and to © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 7   make out as though there is a simple easy course, and every God-fearing person would go that way is to deny the reality of the whole course of history in which we see it even in this Biblical example today, where there were Godly people who were trying to find out what it meant to be the people of God in the twelfth and thirteenth century B.C.E. Some said, "Don't you dare anoint a king." And others said, "You'd better anoint a king." And both of them had a text. And we have a text for both of them. Some of us will tend to be conservative. Some of us will tend to be progressive. But in the culture war of this nation today, what is so absolutely imperative is that we begin to talk to each other and to listen, that we be done with this sloganeering and just thinking that once you've said the cliché the argument is over. Look at the data, listen to each other, be in dialog, respect each other, esteem each other. Modernity was born in the French Revolution actually. The Renaissance detoured by the Reformation of the sixteenth century and came to full flower in the eighteenth century with the Enlightenment. The French Revolution, which overthrew the authoritarian divine rights, etc. had as its slogan, "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." If we remove the sexist language, "Liberty, Equality, and Community." That was the birth of the modern. Unfortunately, the modern came to birth in reaction. It had to come in reaction. These things always move in history by reaction. You bust something open, and consequently modernity has been colored with secularism and it has given birth to atheism, which is a recent phenomenon of modernity. But we are moved beyond that. We are in a postmodern age. We know that modernity lost mystery, transcendence. But now, before the face of God, in serious reverence and deep engagement, it is time for us to spearhead a new movement of reconciliation. Some of us recently, had an opportunity to stop in Coventry at the Cathedral. Perhaps you've read the story of how Churchill had gotten possession of the machine by which the Nazis coded their messages and he learned that Coventry was to be bombed a couple of days hence. It was a great industrial center with this great cathedral. Churchill had to wrestle – Do I simply give away the fact that I can break the code or do I simply let it happen and preserve the code and the ability to break the code? He did the latter. Coventry was terribly bombed. The Cathedral was in ruins. And they have allowed the ruins to stand. In the midst of the ruins they have built a magnificent new Cathedral. The morning after the bombing someone went in to take two of the old timbers from the roof that were smoldering and tied them together in the form of a cross. And with the char wrote on the stone ruin, "Father, forgive." If you would go there today, you would find there is still a charred cross. Behind it, etched in stone of the ruins, in gold now, "Father, forgive." There is a magnificent chapel off to the side. It is the Chapel of Reconciliation. Someone, the morning after the bombing, took the old square nails out of the beams and wired them together into a cross. The nailed cross, which perhaps you've seen, has become a symbol of reconciliation. © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 8   It is time for Christ Community to lead in a ministry of reconciliation. It will not try to reinvent yesterday, but believe in tomorrow when all God's children will kneel and embrace each other. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1f8ace430c49ad2039781db4b7e16e45.mp3 31f476273ee8681425944f84ce35a08d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIII Series The First Testament Scripture Text I Samuel 8:7, 9:16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941030 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-30 Title A name given to the resource Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 30, 1994 entitled "Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Samuel 8:7, 9:16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Justice Liberation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c60d76570f483ad109b8c0eaa2f0ed83.mp3 186ce5fbef6cd95bf0dc0746e89c1525 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/250b88562b0abfbfcf85c71c2766aa29.pdf e0bb52769d7bb906428e19d7fa348a95 PDF Text Text Life Turned Upside Right From the Lenten sermon series: The Way to Life Text: Philippians 3: 10-11 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent III, March 2, 1986 Transcription of the spoken sermon All I care for is to know Christ. To experience the power of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings, in growing conformity with his death… Philippians 3:10-11 Revolution or Transformation in human life or historical institutions is often described as things being turned upside down. But something that is turned upside down would seem to be other than in its native, true position or situation. Therefore, this message is entitled "Life Turned Upside Right" because, while we point to a radical transformation of human personality - specifically the Transformation of the Apostle Paul, we are pointing to a new human condition which is not contrary to nature, but rather the restoration of human nature according to the intention of Creation. Therefore, I point you this morning to the call to human transformation, which is really a call to realize God's intention for us, that we live not out of our own resources, but wholly out of His grace. Paul expresses the goal of his life following his encounter with Jesus Christ and finding his life turned upside right as caring only …to know Christ. To experience the power of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings, in growing conformity with his death, if only I may finally arrive at the resurrection from the dead. The Apostle stands as the great example of radical conversion in the New Testament. Sometimes that very fact creates a distance from many of us who have grown up, nurtured in the faith from our earliest years. We have never known that wrenching from death to life, from darkness to light. We have grown up within the covenant of Grace of which our baptism is a sign; we have never known a time when we did not know about God, a time of not knowing Him, and © Grand Valley State University   �Life Turned Upside Right Richard A. Rhem Page 2   we have never known a time when we did not in some fashion trust in God. How, then, can the experience of a Paul be relevant for us within the nurture of the Church? Let us reflect on that for a moment. Was Paul's situation so different from ours? Is he really an example of radical conversion from darkness to light, from death to life, and thus without instruction for the Church situation? Certainly there was radical change; certainly there was deep existential encounter; certainly there was the sense of moving from darkness to light, from death to life. But in what context did that radical transformation occur? Was it not precisely within the context of the Covenant of Grace? Was it not precisely within the context of the community of faith? Did Paul find in the face of Jesus some new God? Not at all. Did Paul move from atheism or agnosticism or blasé indifference to faith and zeal? Not at all. What, then, was the radical change? How, then, was life turned upside right? If it was not from world to Church, from non-belief to faith, from indifference to commitment, wherein lay the transformation? The Scripture passage gives a clear answer: The radical change was the movement from securing one's life by one's own efforts, to finding one's life secured by the grace of God. The radical change was from doing, to trusting. The radical change was from living by the "performance principle," to living by the Grace principle. In my wrestling with this familiar testimony of the Apostle, I was suddenly struck with the total relevance of Paul's experience for us, for the People of God in the Church. This is a message precisely for us who are religious, who know the truth and live within the community of faith. Is it not precisely we in the Church who need to be converted? Is it not we who must be called again from all self-securing performance and all reliance on our fine accomplishments or religious activity, even zeal for the Kingdom and reminded that life is gift and all is of sheer grace? Is it not ourselves, serious, diligent, faithful, who need more than others to be pointed to grace as our only hope and salvation? Paul's God was the God of Israel; the God of Israel was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's Bible was the Torah, the Old Testament which pointed to the way of life. Paul's community was the Covenant Community, Israel, of which the Church is the continuation. All that was true of Paul was positive. Listen to his own recitation of who he was and the seriousness with which he lived. …If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of © Grand Valley State University �Life Turned Upside Right Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, blameless. Philippians 3: 4b-6 Was that all bad? No. On the contrary, that was all good; it spoke of both high privilege and conscientious responsibility. What, then, was the fatal flaw of the old Paul? Simply that all of that which he cited was the ground of his confidence; his righteousness was a self-righteousness; the principle of his life was the performance principle. He sought to secure his existence, to secure his life, his acceptance with God and his reputation with his neighbors by his racial lineage, his religious affiliation, his record of service and diligence of dedication. Paul simply trusted in Paul. But not really. We are never finished when we are doing it ourselves; there is always one more thing to do, one more base to cover, a little more exertion to expend. And then there is also always the fear that somewhere, sometime we might slip, we might fall, we might lose our grip, grow weary, cynical or indifferent and, if it all depends on our performance, where will that leave us? Legal rectitude and zeal - that was it for Paul. The Greeks, he writes in another place, seek after wisdom - a rational explanation of reality into which they can fit their existence and in which they can find themselves within the structure of reality. And there are other possibilities Hedonism, perhaps - just living for pleasure, keeping the engines of our being fired up with one titillating experience after another - and so on. But Paul's life was turned upside right - radically, that is, the very core of his being was transformed. He moved, not to a new God, a new People; he moved to a new basis upon which to place his life - God's grace - apart from his background, affiliations or performance. Listen to his own statement: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ… Philippians 3: 7-9 That is a radical conversion. But not as we often think of radical conversion as turning from atheism or agnosticism to God; from the world to the Church; from non-religious practice to serious religious practice; from disobedience to obedience. No. This radical conversion happened within the being of a person serious about God, religious in practice, and totally dedicated to religious service. © Grand Valley State University �Life Turned Upside Right Richard A. Rhem Page 4   It was a movement from trusting self-securing endeavor to trusting only the gracious God. It was a movement from seeking to justify one's existence to resting in the justification which is gift. It was a movement from compulsive drivenness that can never find peace, to rest and peace that frees one to live with vitality. It was a movement from humorless heaviness to joy and lightness of spirit. But is not such a view of radical grace rather dangerous? Might it not lead to presumption, slackness, carelessness, frivolity? Let us simply note its effect on the Apostle. …that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… Philippians 3:10 Power, courage to suffer for Jesus' sake, conformity finally to the death Jesus died in obedience to God's will for the sake of the world, all in the hope of final resurrection, life in his light forever. Let me bring Paul's witness to our present situation - have you met Jesus and heard him say cease from all self-securing activity, which stems from insecurity and creates hostility? "Rest in me." Lent is a time to learn again obedience. Obedience is faith - resting in the gracious God. In the posture, life is turned upside right. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent III Series The Way to Life Scripture Text Philippians 3:10-11 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19860302 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-03-02 Title A name given to the resource Life Turned Upside Right Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 2, 1986 entitled "Life Turned Upside Right", as part of the series "The Way to Life", on the occasion of Lent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Philippians 3:10-11. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Covenant of Grace Divine Intention Lent Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/464b1eb62053df6c35ed462ef8342aa9.mp3 cf9d4b8d96760f9368f21d4cf4eaff11 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c74e44ab7a3365f9c7fad18100cc5c86.pdf e134ceba68982673df8ef23e77c70d87 PDF Text Text The God Who Never Gives Up On Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Hosea 11: 8-9, 32; Hosea 14: 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 25, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God is our Ally. He will never give up on us - not because finally we will come round and deserve His love, but rather because His love, flowing out of His own depths, will never let us go. That is the theme of this message: He will never give up on us; He will never let us go. This is a message about the unconditional love of God. It is a message about what is translated from the Hebrew word hesed as God's "steadfast love." This is a message about God our Ally Who has called us into a covenant relationship to which He remains faithful even when we prove unfaithful. This message is a love story, the story of a love beyond compare, a love beyond human conception. This is the story of a love that will never give up, never let us go; a love that will finally heal us and bind us to the bosom of God. The message comes from Hosea, a great Eighth Century B.C. prophet who experienced deep pain in his own marriage and therein discovered the pain of God at the unfaithfulness of His people Israel, but discovered something more amazing - that God's love is unquenchable. The first three chapters of Hosea deal with biographical material from the prophet's own life. There has been much debate about the interpretation of these chapters. I cannot give you the whole discussion, but will summarize what I believe is the most adequate understanding of Hosea’s experience. In Chapter 1:2, we read, …The Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the Lord.” This was probably a reflection after the fact. Hosea married Gomer and she proved unfaithful. The verse above summarizes what happened rather than indicating that Gomer was a harlot before Hosea married her. The first chapter © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   records Goner's unfaithfulness. Although it is not clearly stated, it would appear that Hosea divorced Gomer because of her wantonness. (cf. Hosea 2:2a, 4-5a). Then in chapter 3:1, we read, And the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress; even as the Lord loves the people 0f Israel, though they turn to other gods..." So, Hosea redeems Gomer - buys her back out of the bondage of her harlotry and restores her as his wife. In his own experience, thus, he found a "lived parable" that pointed to the unquenchable love of God. He was tormented by his separation from Gomer, he felt maimed and incomplete, and he realized that however little Gomer might deserve his love… yet she retained it to an undiminished degree, and he was constrained even against his own judgment to attempt to restore the old marriage relationship. The mystery of the compulsive power of his own love for Gomer made Hosea reflect upon the love of God for erring Israel. It was thereon that he founded his message of hope for his people… (Interpreter Bible, Vol. VI, p. 562) Martin Buber writes, That a particular person should be bound to love another particular person in utter concreteness, is there such a thing as this? The word can only be spoken to one who already loves. He loves, he still loves the faithless one, he cannot suppress this love, but he does not want it, for he feels himself degraded by it. ...Into this state of soul God's word descends, "Continue loving, thou art allowed to love her, thou must love her; even so do I love Israel." (The Prophetic Faith, p. 113) Hosea loved Gomer still. He redeemed her and brought her back. She did not deserve such love and grace. But if Gomer did not deserve such merciful treatment as Hosea felt constrained to give her, no more did Israel merit the mercy and love of God. Her redemption from sin and shame was an act of God’s grace and of his love that would not let her go. (Interpreter Bible, p. 562) The statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love is beautifully stated in the first verse of the eleventh chapter. Now the figure is not the marriage relationship, but that of God the Father and Israel the son. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But Israel was unfaithful; she worshipped the Canaanite gods. Tenderly, God nurtured her. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love… (11:4) But still they failed to live faithfully in that covenant love. They succeeded only in eliciting God's anger. Judgment was surely coming; Hosea could feel it. Hosea prophesied around 745 B.C. Jeroboam II had brought the Northern Kingdom to prosperity, but Hosea could see the dry rot in the soul of the nation. Judgment would come and judgment did come. In 721, the Assyrian Empire came in and overthrew Israel, dispersing the ten northern tribes. But judgment was not the final word. Judgment was only a means to the end of finally bringing His people to their senses and causing them to return to Him. Listen to the "last word:" How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come, to destroy. (11: 8-9) There you have the text, a text to ponder. There you have a statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love, a love that will never give up on us, a love that will never let us go. In God's relationship to Israel, we see mirrored His relationship to all nations. God created the nation Israel in the event of the Exodus. Israel was a chosen nation. God elected Israel to be a representative people for all peoples. We cannot fathom the mystery of that choice, that election. It was not an election of one nation cutting off the rest of the nations, but the choosing of one on behalf of the rest. It was a particular choice with a universal purpose. Remember the call to Abraham: …by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. Genesis 12: 3 The basis of God's choice of Israel was simply love: It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you…but it is because the Lord loves you… Deuteronomy 7: 7-8 © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Israel was the representative of us all. Berkhof calls Israel God's "Experimental Garden." In her concrete history – thus in the arena of our history – it has been demonstrated that the human covenant partner will never prove faithful. ... in an experimental garden the soil and what can be done with it are tried out, so that other fields, to which these experiments are applicable, may benefit from it. ... in the Old Testament, Israel, in distinction from other nations, is more than once pictured as a specially cultivated and tended vineyard, from which might thus be expected a greater yield, but whose unproductivity arouses the greater anger of God. (Christian Faith, p. 245) Pointing to Israel's election, Berkhof shows that as a People she had a special privilege and a special task; the outcome of the Old Testament is the demonstration in our history of the faithlessness of the human covenant partner and the faithfulness of the Divine covenant partner. Berkhof writes, And we who are witnesses of this way know that Israel is no better or worse than the other nations, but that her guilt and fate disclose the way of the whole human race. The abiding relevance of the Old Testament is that the experimental garden Israel has shown once and for all how unfruitful we humans are in our faithfulness to God and our neighbor; and then, too, how unimaginably faithful God remains to mankind which ever and again seeks life apart from him. (p. 245f) What is the solution? Certainly there is no hope from our side; there is no solution possible from the human covenant partner. When God moved to effect a solution through the gift of Jesus in whom He dwelt in fullness, we crucified him. This is the New Testament history that corresponds to Israel's failure. Thus we have in both Old and New Testaments the concrete history of radical human guilt. What is the solution? The solution is the radical grace of God, which flows from the unconditional love of God. It was this insight that gripped Hosea, written indelibly in his own soul through his personal experience. God says, in effect, “You deserve to be given up; I should give you up. But how can I give you up? I will not give you up.” In his book Unconditional Love, John Powell writes, In the Old Testament God reveals himself to the People of Israel as a God of unconditional love. His gift of himself in the choice and creation of "My People" is totally unsolicited, undeserved and unmerited. ... God decides, God chooses, God offers his gift of love. He is by his own free act forever committed to his People. The prophet Hosea uses the image of God taking a bride: "And I will betroth you to me forever." (2:19-20) Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "Even if a mother should forget the child of her womb, I will never forget you." (49:15). © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The unconditionality of God's love for his People is a constant refrain in the Old Testament. God has promised and God will always be faithful to his promise. Jeremiah writes of God's constant willingness to forgive: "With an eternal love I have loved you. Therefore, in loving-kindness I draw you to myself." (31:3) (Unconditional Love, p. 97F) Hosea understood the faithfulness of God to his covenant which was rooted in a love that would never give up. As Bernard Anderson writes, Just as Gomer played the harlot, so Israel had broken the covenant. According to Hosea, this was the real historical tragedy, and all the contemporary troubles of Israel were only symptoms of it. The "wife" whom Yahweh had chosen and betrothed to himself had become a whore. A "spirit of hostility" had inflamed the people, and they had become estranged from their God. (4:12) Hosea's critique of Israel's society went far deeper than a mere condemnation of social immorality, political confusion, or religious formation. He was concerned with men's motives, with the devotion of the heart, with the things in which men place their trust. (Understanding The Old Testament, p. 247) Sounding the keynote of Hosea's message, Anderson writes, The deepest note struck in the book of Hosea is the proclamation that God's "wrath" or judgment is redemptive. God's purpose is not to destroy, but to heal. Through historical crises that shake the very foundations of human self-sufficiency, Yahweh acts to free his people from their enslavement to false allegiance and to restore them to freedom in the covenant loyalty. Just as Hosea's love was greater and deeper than Gomer's infidelity, so Yahweh's love for Israel is truly steadfast. It is a divine love that will not let his people go, despite their fickleness and harlotry. His "wrath" is not capricious, vindictive, and destructive; it is the expression of a holy love which seeks to break the chains of Israel's bondage and to emancipate her for a new life, a new covenant. (Ibid., p. 251) ... divine judgment is not the last word ... (verses 8-9). For even in the hour of catastrophe Yahweh does not abandon his people, nor does his love for them cease. It is not his will that Israel be destroyed as Admah and Zeborm were leveled during the holocaust of Sodom and Gomorrah, (cf. Gen. 19:24-25; Deuteronomy 29:23). Rather, the purpose behind Yahweh's judgment is love, like that of a parent who lovingly disciplines a wayward child. These verses passionately describe a struggle, as it were, within the heart of God - a struggle that doubtless reflects the agony of Hosea's experience with Gomer. But the triumph is on the side of the love that will not let Israel go. (Ibid., p. 252) Thus Hosea ends his prophecy with words of healing, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I will heal their apostasy; of my own bounty will I love them. (14:4) The secret of such love lies in God. We cannot fathom it; we can only bow before its majesty. It is beyond human comprehension. God points to His own "Godness" as it were, differentiating Himself from us. ... for I am God and not man. Such is the amazing story of the love of God. It is interesting to relate Hosea's sense of God's love that never gives up on us to Paul's struggle with Israel's rejection of Jesus. Romans chapters 9-11 relate that struggle. Paul cannot understand how to put together God's faithfulness to his covenant promise with Israel's disobedience. His final conclusion is that, through Israel's rejection, the Gospel is being brought to the Gentiles. He concludes that section of struggle with these words: For in making all mankind prisoners to disobedience, God’s purpose was to show mercy to all mankind. (11:32) Then he breaks out in a great doxology, praising the God of so great salvation. What are we to make of this amazing love story, this tale of unconditional, unquenchable love? Must it not seem too good to be true? If it seems too good to be true, it is because we are not accustomed to hearing this message stated simply and straightforwardly. As the message has come to us filtered through centuries of Church tradition - our own Church tradition included - the message has been garbled and the unconditional love of God has been hedged in with numerous qualifications and conditions. I think it accurate to say that for the most part the message that has come through is that of a conditional love of God, conditional on our response, conditional on our good behavior. We speak much of grace, but we operate on the basis of good works and self-righteousness. Is it not perhaps that we are afraid to let the truth of the radical grace and unconditional love of God out because people might really believe it and presume upon it, take advantage of it? Do we dare tell people that the love of God will finally overcome their disobedience, their unfaithfulness, their unworthiness, their fickleness, in a word - their sinful rebellion and self assertion? Do we not rather make God's gift of salvation conditional on saying the right words, confessing the right beliefs, conforming to accepted morality? Have we not transformed the Gospel of God's radical grace and unconditional love into a morality game? Has not the message of the Church been strongly flavored with "Santa Claus theology" - that is – not "You better be good 'cause Santa's coming to town," but "You better be good 'cause Jesus is coming again?" © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   That is so very human, just like us. We use reward and punishment on our children; good behaviour gets a reward; bad behaviour gets punishment. That seems only reasonable; that seems like a just mode of operation. Is that not also the way God operates? The answer is simply, "No." Is that not why when He makes His amazing declaration about not being able to give up on Israel, He explains, ... for I am God and not man. Similarly in Isaiah 55 we read after the gracious invitation to return to Him Who freely forgives, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts; and as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return until they have watered the earth, making it blossom and bear fruit, and give seed for sowing and bread to eat, so shall the word which comes from my mouth prevail; it shall not return to me fruitless without accomplishing my purpose or succeeding in the task I gave it. (Isaiah 55:8-11) God is God. God is other than we are. In His dealings, Love always triumphs. God will never give up on His People. His anger burns. His judgment falls. But His love wins out and the last word is grace. We hardly dare let this good news be known for we fear then we will lose our hold on persons, we will lose our control factor. A good dose of threat and a pinch of fear, the reinforcement of the guilt that is present and well deserved tends to keep the Church in the driver's seat and the people subservient and docile. What would happen if we really let it out that God's love is the final reality, the last word? A great Christian leader and spiritual giant of an earlier day, A.W. Tozer, wrote a beautiful essay entitled, "God Is Easy To Live With." He writes, Satan's first attack upon the human race was his sly effort to destroy Eve's confidence in the kindness of God. Unfortunately for her and for us he succeeded too well. From that day, men have had a false conception of God, and it is exactly this that has cut out from under them the ground of righteousness and driven them to reckless and destructive living. (These Times, 1-74, p. 10) He points out how our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion. Instinctively we try to be like our God and if He is conceived to be stern and exacting, so will we ourselves be. We can speak of salvation by grace, but we reduce the glory of the Gospel to the drudgery of legalism. Tozer goes on: © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   From a failure properly to understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. The Christian life is thought to be a glum, unrelieved cross-carrying under the eye of a stern Father who expects much and excuses nothing. If we think of Him as cold and exacting we shall find it impossible to love Him, and our lives will be ridden with servile fear. ... The truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and His service one of unspeakable pleasure. He is all love, and those who trust Him never know anything but that love. Unfortunately, many Christians cannot get free from their perverted notions of God, and these notions poison their hearts and destroy their inward freedom. These friends serve God grimly, as the elder brother did, doing what is right without enthusiasm and without joy, and seem altogether unable to understand the buoyant, spirited celebration when the prodigal comes home. Their idea of God rules out the possibility of His being happy in His people, ... Unhappy souls, these, doomed to go heavily on their melancholy way, grimly determined to do right if the heavens fall and to be on the winning side in the day of judgment. We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands everything and loves us still. Tozer had read Hosea. He makes such an important point. It is precisely the knowledge of God's unconditional love that has the power to change us inside out. What have we produced in so much of the history of the Church? Not happy, grace-full persons, but fearful, guilt-ridden persons whose external conformity to the Law is a mask over seething hostility and rebellious resentment. James Sandeishas written a book with the interesting title, God Has a Story Too. He points out that the Bible is a story about God's action first of all, not about human reaction. He argues that we moralize the Bible when we should theologize the life. By this he means that the biblical narratives are stories not about human achievements, human obedience, human goodness. We are not given a series of models to emulate in the Bible. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife and laughed when God said they would have a child. Moses murdered and was a fugitive from justice. David was guilty of murder and adultery. Paul persecuted the Church. Peter denied Jesus. The Bible is the story of what God can do through the likes of such people - in spite of them. The story is God's story - a love story, a story of a love that never quits, a love that never gives up on us, a love that will never let us go. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   Thus when we become wiser than God, feel we must guard the morality of persons and keep their religious practice in line by qualifying the burning passion of His unquenchable love, we not only distort the amazing wonder of that love, we also miss the greatest single catalyst for transforming human personality and the greatest motivation for a life of trust and devotion lived in the light of His grace. Moralism produces self-righteous, proud and judgmental persons. Legalism produces tense, guilty persons lacking joy and assurance in the freedom of grace. Stressing a conditional acceptance produces fear and finally despair. In a word, the shading of the truth of God's love that knows no limits simply backfires; it does not accomplish the purpose. It does not work. In a quarter century of pastoral ministry, I must say that it is grace that is most difficult to receive and God's unconditional love that is most difficult to believe. We do not deserve it. We know we do not deserve it. We are guilty people and we know it. We despair of ourselves; why wouldn't God despair? We condemn ourselves; why wouldn't God condemn? We are faithless and fickle; we resolve, we perform, we fall away again, we have done it a thousand times; will the pattern ever be broken? And here is the greatest peril of spiritual existence: We despair and give up. Rather than responding to the call of the higher, we give up and yield to the lower. We write ourselves off: "Hopeless Case." The old Baptismal liturgy contains great insight and wisdom. Explaining the meaning of the sacrament, it teaches that Baptism is a sign and seal of our ingrafting into the body of Christ... By this assurance we are called to new obedience: to hold fast to this one God, ... to trust and love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and to forsake the world, crucify our old nature, and walk in a new and holy life. Fine. That is what we are committed to. But who can realize that high calling? The Saints, right? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter and Paul? Maybe the Elders. Maybe even the Deacons. But that holy life is hardly within the range of ordinary mortals, is it? Maybe for some. Some folks seem full of goodness and steadiness and from all outward © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page10   appearance it would seem they are walking the straight and narrow. But as for me ... Then our liturgy comes with profound spiritual insight: And if we sometimes, through weakness, fall into sin, we must not therefore despair of God's mercy, nor continue in sin, since Baptism is the sign and seal of God's eternal covenant of grace with us. There you have it! Again, the liturgy does not at the point of our weakness issue a warning, but reminds us of a promise. It does not focus on what we ought to be, but on what God has already established. Baptism is a sign and seal of an Eternal Covenant of Grace. That Eternal Covenant of Grace flows from the heart of the Eternal God, which is Love; unquenchable love, unconditional love, love that will not quit, love that will not give up on us, love that will never let us go. Radical grace. Radical love. That is mind-boggling. If that is Who God is, then He is easy to live with, easy to love, a joy to serve, a delight to please. God is our Ally. He will never give up on us. His love will finally triumph. I do not know how; sometimes through judgment, sometimes through adversity, sometimes through death. That is His prerogative; for us the "how" remains a mystery. But the "that" is clear: Love is the last word. God is love. He will never give up on you! References: Bernhard W. Anderson. Understanding the Old Testament. Prentice-Hall, 2nd edition, 1966. Hendrikus Berkhof. Christian Faith: An Introduction to a Study of the Faith. Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979. John Joseph Powell. Unconditional Love: Love Without Limits. Resources for Christian Living; first printing edition, 1978. A. W. Tozer, “God Is Easy To Live With,” These Times, 1, 1974, p. 10. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Bernhard W. Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 1966 John Joseph Powell, Unconditional Love, 1978 A.W. Tozer, "God Is Easy to Live With," 1974 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850825 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-08-25 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 25, 1985 entitled "The God Who Never Gives Up On Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace God's Unconditional Love Hebrew Scriptures Hosea Judgment Prophet Transformation