SERMON | Genesis 12, Romans 4:1-5 & John 3:1-17 | "Guided by the Promise" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, Indiana

SERMON | Genesis 12, Romans 4:1-5 & John 3:1-17 | "Guided by the Promise" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, IndianaAbraham and Sarah were approved by God before God even spoke with them.God called them not due to anything they’d done, but because God wanted them!They were regarded as righteous—in right relationship with God—not by doing anything…but by trusting.Yes, they did uproot their lives from everything familiar, comfortable, and affirming…but only after the promise was given to them.They WENT because they were guided by the promise.So, Paul says, their trust is really what made them right with God.So, Paul continues, it’s not our actions or works that make us right with God…rather, it’s our trust.I know, trusting God’s grace is so hard for us because our culture constantly tell us that we have to earn things.We herald those who come from nothing and MADE THEMSELVES something.We expect people to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps…” to work hard… and to not expect anything is theirs unless they deserve it.But this is the exact opposite of how God’s mercy and promise work and our western values can hinder our understanding.God loved us first—the whole world.God loved first.God has already done all that is needed for us to be renewed in mercy and receive the promise.Jesus death accomplished all that was needed.That’s what he said, “It is accomplished.”As in, “What I have done has created a reality that will forever be fulfilled…what I have done will remain done for eternity. It won’t need done again.”God’s love in Jesus is a gift.It’s already ours.It’s like God is giving us a huge hug while we stand there with arms to our sides.We need not do anything to earn God’s love.No amount of following rules or saying prayers or anything is necessary.We only need to have faith…to believe…to trust in this good news of God’s love.Now, rules and commandments and the law help us know what kind of behavior pleases God and helps us live into better relationships with God and people, but no amount of doing any of that affects the love of God that is already ours.Amen?Do you trust the good news even if it sounds too good to be true?Will you trust in God?Will you uproot from what you think you know about yourself, God, the world, others?Will you head out into the unknown of God’s grace and love?Will you be born of the spirit?Will you be born from above?Can you trust… can you place your faith in… can you believe…God’s love is already ours.God is proud of us.We…are…enough.If we can accept this…if we can accept God’s embrace and trust in it enough to embrace God back… it changes how we live and why we do the things we do.Receiving God’s mercy renews our relationship with God.This is an ongoing process, friends.Living into God’s grace is a constant uprooting because we journey into fully embracing God back step by step, day by day, awakening by awakening…Let us, as beloved members of this promise family, trust God in every moment,Trust God in every conversation of self-reflection about who we are,In every opportunity to move beyond our certainties,In every blessed moment we choose to see Jesus in the people around us, especially those who are most vulnerable—even if that’s the face that stares back at us in the mirror.Let us keep saying “yes” to trusting God, that we may allow ourselves to be guided by the promise.