Shepherd's Heart 10/2/26
The words we use matter.
We all know this. A few words can shift the atmosphere in a room- I’m proud of you… I believe you… I’m sorry. Sometimes a sentence from years ago can still echo inside of us, for better or for worse.
Words create worlds. The words we use make the framework with which we interpret and engage the world around us. I think this is one of the reasons that Scripture takes language so seriously. God himself wields the power of words. He speaks creation into existence- “Let there be light”- and it was so. As image bearers and co-creators with God, we have some of that same power within us and the words that we choose to set loose.
We name things. We tell stories. We make promises. We confess. We bless. We pray. We sing. We preach. We declare that Jesus is Lord. And in each of those actions we are not just communicating ideas, we are naming a reality around which our lives are being formed.
This is the idea behind our sermon series Language of Belief.
Over these weeks, we are giving our attention to some of the essential words of our faith. Ones we use in our worship and encounter in Scripture that can sometimes be so familiar that we forget their profound depth. Words like righteousness and justice, unity and wisdom, faith and grace.
I have joked a few times over the last few weeks about how we could’ve easily made this sermon series into a yearlong adventure. We could have picked twelve “churchy” words and spent a month on each one because each one of the words in our series could use 4 whole Sundays to unpack them. These words are foundational to knowing the character of God and the call of discipleship. I want a deep dive word study on each one!
The heart of this series is that we would go back to these words and sit with them for a minute. To listen again. To recover the beauty and meaning of words that can become so familiar.
How do we talk about God’s love? How do we comprehend chaos and evil from God’s perspective? How do we speak about hope when life is difficult? How do we describe the mysterious ways God is present with us?
Scripture gives us rich, powerful words. And over time, those words begin to shape us. This is one of the reasons we come together each week. We don’t just gather to learn information. We are learning, together, to speak the language of faith and ultimately, to learn how to live it.
When we say, “God is gracious”, we are learning to see the world through his ways of grace.
When we say, “God is just”, we are learning to trust in his bigger story when our world doesn’t seem to match up.
When we say, “God is with us”, we are learning to look for the Spirit at work even when we feel alone.
These words of faith that God gives us in Scripture matter because they help us name what is true and align us with God’s reality. I hope that is one of the things we will discover together during Language of Belief: that these words of faith are not just words we learn. They are words we can live. The more we return to the power of these words, the more we will be formed by them in how we live our faith. After all, faith is not simply about having the right vocabulary. It is about allowing the story of God's love to become the story by which we live.
So as we continue this series, I invite you to pay attention—not only to the words we hear on Sundays, but to the words you use throughout the week.
What words are shaping you? What words are you offering to the people around you? And what would it look like for the language of our faith to become the language of our everyday lives?
May a word or two from this series stick with you for a while. May you discover a deeper meaning that moves you to a greater love for the Lord.
And may we become a people whose words sound a little more like grace, a little more like hope, and a lot more like love. May the words we speak help create spaces where people can encounter the goodness of God.
Walking with you,
Pastor Elisabeth
We all know this. A few words can shift the atmosphere in a room- I’m proud of you… I believe you… I’m sorry. Sometimes a sentence from years ago can still echo inside of us, for better or for worse.
Words create worlds. The words we use make the framework with which we interpret and engage the world around us. I think this is one of the reasons that Scripture takes language so seriously. God himself wields the power of words. He speaks creation into existence- “Let there be light”- and it was so. As image bearers and co-creators with God, we have some of that same power within us and the words that we choose to set loose.
We name things. We tell stories. We make promises. We confess. We bless. We pray. We sing. We preach. We declare that Jesus is Lord. And in each of those actions we are not just communicating ideas, we are naming a reality around which our lives are being formed.
This is the idea behind our sermon series Language of Belief.
Over these weeks, we are giving our attention to some of the essential words of our faith. Ones we use in our worship and encounter in Scripture that can sometimes be so familiar that we forget their profound depth. Words like righteousness and justice, unity and wisdom, faith and grace.
I have joked a few times over the last few weeks about how we could’ve easily made this sermon series into a yearlong adventure. We could have picked twelve “churchy” words and spent a month on each one because each one of the words in our series could use 4 whole Sundays to unpack them. These words are foundational to knowing the character of God and the call of discipleship. I want a deep dive word study on each one!
The heart of this series is that we would go back to these words and sit with them for a minute. To listen again. To recover the beauty and meaning of words that can become so familiar.
How do we talk about God’s love? How do we comprehend chaos and evil from God’s perspective? How do we speak about hope when life is difficult? How do we describe the mysterious ways God is present with us?
Scripture gives us rich, powerful words. And over time, those words begin to shape us. This is one of the reasons we come together each week. We don’t just gather to learn information. We are learning, together, to speak the language of faith and ultimately, to learn how to live it.
When we say, “God is gracious”, we are learning to see the world through his ways of grace.
When we say, “God is just”, we are learning to trust in his bigger story when our world doesn’t seem to match up.
When we say, “God is with us”, we are learning to look for the Spirit at work even when we feel alone.
These words of faith that God gives us in Scripture matter because they help us name what is true and align us with God’s reality. I hope that is one of the things we will discover together during Language of Belief: that these words of faith are not just words we learn. They are words we can live. The more we return to the power of these words, the more we will be formed by them in how we live our faith. After all, faith is not simply about having the right vocabulary. It is about allowing the story of God's love to become the story by which we live.
So as we continue this series, I invite you to pay attention—not only to the words we hear on Sundays, but to the words you use throughout the week.
What words are shaping you? What words are you offering to the people around you? And what would it look like for the language of our faith to become the language of our everyday lives?
May a word or two from this series stick with you for a while. May you discover a deeper meaning that moves you to a greater love for the Lord.
And may we become a people whose words sound a little more like grace, a little more like hope, and a lot more like love. May the words we speak help create spaces where people can encounter the goodness of God.
Walking with you,
Pastor Elisabeth