GO big: TRUST big, Christ Church Sermon, May 4 2025

[Music]

You're listening to a message from our

weekly worship at Christ Church in Bethl

Park, Pennsylvania. We're a United

Methodist congregation with the mission

of building inclusive community, sharing

Christ's transforming love. To learn

more about the church, including how you

can join us for worship online or in

person, visit

christummc.net. Thank you for listening.

[Music]

Our scripture reading this morning is

from Proverbs 3:es

5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your

heart and lean not on your own

understanding. In all your ways, submit

to him and he will make your path

straight. Hear what the Spirit is saying

to the church. Thanks be to God. Thanks,

Paul. Good morning.

So, I want you to imagine for a second

that you're standing on the edge of a

cliff. Behind you is everything that you

know, everything that's familiar,

everything that's comfortable. And in

front of you is this thick fog. You

can't see the ground. You can't see

where your next step is going to be. All

you hear is God's voice saying, "Trust

me. Step forward." Your heart races.

Your mind screams for logic, for

guarantees, for proof. But trust doesn't

wait on proof. Trust steps forward

because it recognizes the voice that is

speaking. So today, I want to encourage

you to hear God's voice, not just with

your ears, but deep inside your heart.

God is calling us to do something

greater. God is calling us to step out

into that fog. God is calling us to

trust big. Now trusting big doesn't mean

that we are just trusting God only when

life feels easy. It's not about trusting

God only when the sun is shining. It

only happens three days a year in

Pittsburgh anyway. It's not about only

trusting God when all the bills are paid

or when the health report is good or

when every door we knock on opens up to

where we want it to open up to. No,

trusting God is about holding on to God

when life feels like it's completely

upside down. When the ground under our

feet feels shaky. When we don't know

where that next step is. When we feel

like we're walking in the dark and the

only thing to guide us is that voice we

hear. You see, we're to trust big when

that job that we were hoping for falls

through. We're to trust big when that

relationship that we cared about ends.

We're to trust big when the diagnosis we

receive is not the diagnosis that we

wanted to hear. We are to trust big when

God says step out but hasn't shown us

exactly where that step is going to take

us. You see, trusting big is not based

on what we can figure out. Trusting big

is based on who God is, God's word,

God's promises, and God's faithfulness.

And we're reminded of this in Proverbs

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, which says, "Trust in the

Lord with all your heart. Lean not on

your own understanding. In all your

ways, submit to him, and he will make

your path straight." I want to point out

two important truths that come from this

passage of scripture. Number one, we are

to trust God with all our heart. Not

part of it, not just when it's

convenient, all of our heart all of the

time. And number two, we're not to lean

on our own understanding. Now, that's

hard, right? Because every part of our

being wants to know what the outcome is

going to be and what it's going to take

to get there before we start. But God

says, "No, no, no. That's not how it's

supposed to work. Just lean on me, not

on your own understanding." So God is

inviting us both individually and as a

church to trust big. This is not small

trust. This is not casual trust. This is

big trust. God wants us to put our full

weight on him and believe in what God

can do even if we can't see it in the

moment. We need to believe that God is

still making our paths straight. So

today, I want to invite you to lean in

and open your heart as we talk about

what trusting big looks like, not just

in theory, but in our real everyday

lives. You know, stepping out in faith

often requires courage because faith

begins where comfort ends. We like to

live our life in a safe place, in a

familiar place. But real faith starts

when we have to move to a place that is

uncomfortable, that is involving the

unknown. And that's when we have to put

our trust in the one leading us. Look at

the stories of scripture. Y'all heard of

Noah, right? You know how Noah started

building an ark before it was raining?

It hadn't been raining. They were in the

middle of a of a of a drought. The

people around Noah thought he lost his

mind. They thought he was crazy. They

were making fun of him. They told him he

was wasting his time. But he heard God's

voice. So, he listened to God's voice

over the opinions of all the people. And

because of his faith, his family was

saved. Then there's Esther. You've heard

of Esther. Esther was living in a

kingdom and she had an impossible choice

to make. She could stay silent and

protect herself or she could go to the

king and ask the king for for what she

needed what God wanted her to ask the

king for. Here's the catch. She was not

invited to talk to the king. So, when

you're not invited to talk to the king

and you go on your own, the king could

choose to have you killed right there on

the spot. But she took that step of

faith because she had heard God's voice

and God made her for such a time as

this. Then there's Ananas, a character

from the New Testament you may not have

heard of, but you probably heard of

Saul. And when Saul had his come to

Jesus meeting on the road and the light

came and he fell off the donkey and and

God told him to go to this place and

wait, well then God also went to Ananas

and said, "You need to go and talk to

Saul." Ananas is probably thinking,

"Hey, God, Saul kills Christians. I'm a

Christian. Why would I go talk to that

guy?" But he went and he talked to Saul.

And Saul's life was completely changed.

Saul became Paul and started a journey

that would change the world forever.

None of these biblical characters saw

the whole story. None of them saw the

full picture. They didn't have

stepbystep instructions on what to do

next. They just had the first

instruction of what to do, not knowing

where that would lead them, but they

trusted in the one that was calling

them. And that made all the difference.

You see, stepping out often means doing

something that does not make sense to

the world around us. It could be you

saying yes to a job that feels risky

because you know that God is leading you

to that job. Even if people around you

might say, "Oh, that's a big mistake."

Maybe it's forgiving somebody who has

hurt you deeply, even though every part

of your being is shouting, "They don't

deserve it." Maybe it's starting a

ministry or leading a small group or

serving in a new ministry that you've

never served in before or telling

somebody else about your relationship

with Jesus even though it means they

might make fun of you or you feel like

you're not equipped to do it or or

you're not prepared to do it.

Faith isn't about us being ready. It's

about trusting that God is ready. God

doesn't wait until we feel brave or we

feel strong or we feel perfectly

prepared. God just calls us to go and

asks us to trust big that God will give

us what we need when we get there and

all along the way. So, I wonder when was

the last time you and I trusted God to

move forward even if we were afraid.

Maybe it's been a little while. But we

need to remember that God's not looking

for perfect people. God's just looking

for willing people. God's just asking us

to say, "Here I am, Lord. Send me." But

to trust big, we also have to do

something else. We have to give up

control. Anybody like to be in control?

Everyone else is lying right now and

doesn't want to admit they like to be in

control. You know, one of the greatest

enemies of our faith is our desire to be

in control. We love to plan every detail

of our lives. We want to know how every

decision is going to turn out before we

take that first step. We want guarantees

that if we do these things, what we want

to happen will happen. We want certainty

before we're willing to move forward. We

want everything neat and safe and

predictable in a perfect little

package. But if we're truly going to

trust big, it means releasing the tight

grip that we have on our lives and

saying, "God, I don't see everything. I

don't understand everything, but I trust

you completely." You know, it's easy to

trust when we feel in control. It is

much harder and actually much more

powerful to trust when we don't feel in

control. Faith grows best when we don't

have all the answers, but when we trust

God in spite of having not having all

the answers. I want you to think about a

couple of other biblical characters that

you may have heard of that needed to

trust big and give up control. Number

one was Mary, the mother of Jesus,

right? young girl probably had all these

dreams about how her life was going to

look. Then one day an angel shows up and

tells her she's going to carry the son

of God. She had every reason to hold on

to her own plans and question and

resist. But that's not what Mary did. We

read in scripture that she responded by

saying, "May it happened to me just as

you said it would." She chose trust over

control. And through her obedience, God

changed the entire world. Think about

her husband to be, Joseph. Imagine how

he must have felt when he learned that

Mary was pregnant and it wasn't his. His

pride, his reputation, his plans for the

future were all at stake. He could have

walked away. In fact, he could have

chosen to have her stoned to death. But

God met him in a dream and told her to

told him to take Mary as his wife. And

he chose obedience over pride. He let go

of what he could control and put his

trust in something that he couldn't

control. In both cases, they let go of

what they could control and put their

trust in something that they could not

control. What about us? How's that look

for us? Maybe it's the future plans that

we have that we thought were perfect,

but we realized that God's dreams might

be even more perfect than our plans.

Maybe it's surrendering a relationship

that we have been trying to manage in

our own strength and instead we turn it

over to God and put our trust in God to

handle it the way it needs to be

handled. Maybe it's letting go of the

fear that keeps us up at night. You

know, fear over finances or fear over

our health or fear over how our children

would turn out. And we hand those

worries over to God. Now letting go and

giving up control does not mean that we

are careless. It means that we are being

faithful even if we don't see the full

picture. It means trading our small

limited vision for God's far greater

plan for our life. What would it look

like if all of us this week would pray

the simple prayer of God, not my plan,

instead your plan for my life, for my

career, for this church. Maybe it means

taking a step of obedience, not knowing

exactly how things are going to turn

out. Maybe it means saying yes to

something that will scare us. Maybe it

means that trusting in we will put our

trust in God even if we don't see every

single thing we want to see before we

make a decision. Maybe it means uh

receiving the peace that God is going to

give us instead of living into the

anxiety that we bring upon ourselves.

Because remember God's plan is always

better. God's plan is always bigger.

God's plan is always always comes in

better timing than our own. So when we

let go of control and we trust big, we

find out just how faithful and just how

powerful God really is. And then finally

to trust big, we got to believe in God's

provision. When we step out in faith, we

actually step in to God's provision.

That's a powerful statement that is

rooted in scripture. It's rooted in

stories that are found throughout the

Bible. When we trust big in our

relationship with God, we're

acknowledging that not just God's

ability to to lead us where we need to

go, but his willingness to lead us where

we need to go and meet our needs along

the way, even if it seems impossible,

even if it seems daunting, even if it

seems overwhelming. Think about the

story of Ruth. She left behind her home,

her culture, and everything that was

familiar to her in order to follow her

mother-in-law,

Naomi. Anybody in here willing besides

me to leave everything that they know

and follow their

mother-in-law? She might be watching. I

just want that on

record. But Ruth's journey wasn't

without

hardships. It was it it required

sacrifice. But in the midst of it, God

didn't just provide for her survival.

God actually ended up putting her in to

the genealogy of Jesus. She became part

of the redemption story of the entire

world. How many of you remember David in

the story of David and Goliath? Did

David have any chance to beat Goliath in

his own power? I mean, he had a

slingshot, five stones, he's like 5'2

and Goliath is like 9 foot6. He had no

shot. And yet with God's power and

putting his trust in God, God provided

for victory not only over the giant

Goliath, but also into his future as he

became one of the greatest kings Israel

ever knew. God gave him abundant

provision even though in the moment it

looked like that would never happen. And

then we think about the disciples. The

disciples who left their careers, left

their homes, left everything that gave

them security in order to follow Jesus.

The Bible tells us that they weren't

guaranteed wealth or an easy life. They

were actually guaranteed persecution and

hardship and loss. But as they were

following Jesus, God still met their

daily needs. God still did miracles in

this world and on into eternity beyond

what they could ever see or what they

could ever understand. You see, God's

provision is often unexpected. It comes

in ways we can't even imagine.

Sometimes it might be through the right

conversation at the right time, hearing

a word of encouragement for somebody or

giving a word of encouragement to

somebody. Sometimes it's a strength that

we need in the moment that we didn't

realize that we had a resilience that

only God can give us. Other times it's a

provision to open a door to something we

didn't expect. A chance to move forward

even though we thought all the

opportunities were gone. Sometimes it's

it's allowing us to do something that is

beyond anything we could imagine. And we

want to be careful not to miss those

opportunities when God gives those

opportunities. God gives them all the

time. The question is, will we recognize

it and follow God or stay safe and live

into our fears? I remember the first

church I served in Ohio. Uh our first

Sunday, there was 11 people there. Four

of them were related to me.

little tiny church, right? So, I'm in

this church and there's this big problem

in the two towns that are on either side

of the church. All the high school kids

kept hanging out, riding their bikes and

skateboards and everything else in front

of all the businesses that were in these

two towns. Our church was small. I think

our annual budget, if I remember

correctly, was just a little over

$18,000. That was our annual budget. And

I'm I'm old, but I'm not that old. So

this was a little tiny tiny church. So

we had no money. But this is a big

problem in the community. So I went to

all the businesses and I said, you know,

my church is catacorner from the high

school. I can see the high school from

from the front door of the church. If I

were to run an afterchool program from 3

to 6 for those kids that are hanging out

in front of all your businesses, would

you make a donation to help cover the

cost? Cuz we got zero money. I mean,

there were weeks the only money in the

offering plate was my money. So, I

wasn't sure who was even really even

paying me,

right? And they started making

donations. I had enough donations

verbally given to me that we could meet

our yearly budget as a church in order

to run this after school program. I went

to the school and I said, "Hey, I want

to do this after school program. You

have your own busing system. Would you

be willing to bust the kids over to the

church right after school and then pick

them up at 6 and take them home to their

houses?" They said yes. I got everything

lined up. It looked unbelievable. God

was providing for us to do ministry in

this community. I was 22 and I had not

yet talked to church

counsel. So, I went to church council

and I laid out the whole plan, told them

everything and they said, "Absolutely

not. Those kids will ruin the carpet of

this

church." I didn't handle that well as a

22-year-old. Unfortunately, and I don't

not going to say this is because of

that, but that church is no longer open.

They closed. The name of the church was

Justice United Methodist Church. It was

spelled JUS T- US. So just Us United

Methodist Church. And they lived into

it. But they were so afraid of what

could happen to their church. They

missed the opportunity that God was

providing outside of their church. They

missed it. When God provides, we don't

want to miss it. God's going to provide

in ways that might be extremely scary.

And yet, we got to take that step of

faith. Faith and trust go hand in hand.

As we trust big in God's provision, we

learn that stepping out into the unknown

is not stepping into fear. It's not

stepping into uncertainty. It is

actually stepping into the ones the arms

of the one who's already there and will

give us everything we need to do what we

do. Just like he provided for Ruth, just

like he provided for David, just like he

provided for the disciples, God is going

to provide for us when we take that

first step. So the question for us today

is where is God asking us to trust big?

Maybe it is stepping into a new ministry

opportunity that God has for you. Maybe

it is serving in an area where you never

thought in a million years you would

serve. Maybe God is calling you to lead

others. Maybe God is calling you to

support somebody who is in need even

though you may be unprepared or

inadequate in your mind. Trusting big

means saying, "God, I believe you can

use me even if I don't think I can do

what you're asking me to do." It might

be a hard conversation that you have to

have with somebody that you love where

that relationship is at a crossroads.

Maybe it's confronting someone in love

and and to trust big in that situation

means that God will give us the words we

need to say and God will open up our

ears to hear the words that we need to

hear. Perhaps God is asking us to take a

risk in our generosity. Maybe we feel

called to give beyond what we feel

comfortable. Not just with our finances,

but with our time, with our energy, with

our emotional

availability. Trusting big here means

giving beyond what is easy. Giving

beyond what is convenient. When it comes

to finances, it might be giving for the

first time in your entire life. It might

be taking that step to tithe 10% of what

you make. It might be giving beyond the

10% of what you make because you're

putting your trust in God and not just

in what you see in your bank

account. Maybe that's what it means. Or

maybe it's following that dream that you

have on your heart that seems

impossible. Maybe there there's

something that God has been just pushing

you and pushing you and pushing you and

you're afraid to take that first step.

To trust means don't let doubt take a

hold, but step out in faith knowing God

will equip you every step of the way. We

got to look at this not just

individually. We got to look at this as

a church as well. Where is God asking us

as a church to step out

together? God might be inviting us to

look for new ways to live into our

mission of building inclusive community,

sharing Christ transforming love.

God may be asking us to trust big when

we look for new ways to

serve. God might be allowing us to reach

neighbors, our neighbors, in ways we

never thought possible if we're willing

to trust big. You know, it's easy to

stay comfortable. It's easy to live in

what we know. But God is calling us to

trust him with the unknown. We can't

move into the next chapter of the story

that God has for us if we keep staying

where we feel safe. If we keep only

doing what is familiar, we're going to

miss out on the miracles that God has in

store for us. Because I can guarantee

you that we cannot see God's miracles if

we're not willing to take God's steps.

So maybe today you're standing on the

edge of that cliff right at the edge and

behind you is everything that you know,

everything that's familiar, everything

that's comfortable, the predictable. And

in front of you is just fog, just

questions, just the unknown. You can't

see the ground. You don't know what's

next. But the same voice that called

Noah to build, the same voice that asked

Esther to speak, the same voice that

told Ananas to go, the same voice that

told Ruth to leave, the same voice that

told David to fight the giant, the same

voice that told Mary and Joseph to give

up control. That's the voice that you

hear when you're standing at that edge.

And that voice is saying, "Trust me.

Step

forward." Not because we have all the

answers. Not because the path is clear,

but because God is trustworthy and we

recognize who is talking to us. And

here's the beautiful part. You're not

stepping out alone. God's going to

surround you with people, a community of

faith. That's what the church is all

about. We can walk together. We can

encourage each other. We can stand up

with each other when we're tempted to

step back into what's familiar. Just

like Ruth had Naomi, just like David had

Jonathan, just like Paul had Barnabas,

God puts people around us to help us

trust big when our strength feels small.

So today, will you trust big? Will you

lean in to God's voice more than the

fear that you feel? Will you take that

step? Not just because you have faith in

God, but because you know that God has

given you support as you do it. Because

when we trust big, when we step out,

that's when miracles begin. That's when

God parts the water. That's when God

makes the path straight. That's when God

shows us again and again that he is

faithful. So go ahead, step forward.

You're not alone. God is already there.

And so are we.

Let's pray. Lord, we're so grateful for

the examples that you've given us

throughout scripture of what it means to

trust

big. Lord, sometimes we have no idea

what the next step is going to look

like. We have no idea how it will get

done, but we still hear that voice, that

voice in the fog, and we know it's

yours. Help us to have the courage to

listen to that voice over everything

else that is telling us the opposite.

and trust that you will meet the needs

every step of the way as we stay focused

and connected to

you. Thank you for loving us. Thank you

for giving us the example. And thank you

for giving us the courage to follow

where only you can lead us to go. We ask

all this in your son's name. And

everyone said, "Amen.