First Presbyterian Church of Winchester

Serving Christ and Neighbor in Winchester and Beyond since 1800

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Service Times
  • Help with WATTS Week!
  • Are You New?
    • Service Times
    • Directions & Parking
    • Accessibility
    • Child Care
    • Sunday School
    • Membership
  • About Us
    • Beliefs
    • History
      • Boyd Memorial Chapel
    • Affiliations
    • Baptism
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Request to Use the Facilities
    • Church Leadership
    • Staff
    • Employment
    • Facebook
  • Ministries
    • Children’s Ministry
      • CM News
      • Kids Sunday School
      • Child Care
      • Safe Sanctuaries
      • Sign up for the Weekly CM Email Blast
      • Vacation Bible School
    • Youth Ministry
    • Adult Christian Education
    • Weekday Preschool
    • Mission and Outreach
    • Rise Against Hunger
    • WATTS
    • Care and Compassion
    • Prayer
    • Music
      • Children’s Choirs
      • Youth Choir
    • Worship
      • Watch Worship Online
      • Worship and Discipleship Council Collaboration
      • New Stone Gathering
    • Congregational Life
    • Stewardship
      • Make a Pledge!
      • Questions and Answers About Pledging
      • Planned Gifting
      • Automatic Withdrawal
        • Printable Form
      • Frequently Asked Questions About Donating Online
      • Donate
  • News & Events
    • View Online Worship Services
    • Coronavirus
    • eNotice
    • Calendar
    • Subscribe to Weekly eNotices
    • Member Directory
  • Sermons
    • Dan McCoig
    • Amanda Thomas
  • Donate
  • WATCH WORSHIP
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / May 24, 2015 Sermon: “When the Spirit Groans”

May 24, 2015 Sermon: “When the Spirit Groans”

May 26, 2015 by Todd Bowman

May 24, 2015

“When the Spirit Groans”

The Rev. Maren Sonstegard-Spray

Romans 8:22-27

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 

Every year when we go on the Commissioning Retreat with our 8th grade students we spend time talking about how we understand God – how our understanding of God has changed and what that says about God.

We look at two questions:  What was God like when we were children and what is God like now?  And everyone has to draw or write their thoughts.

And over the years I have done this there is a pretty clear pattern.  Looking back, many people say they pictured God in a very solid way.  God is an old man, seated or standing on clouds or somewhere above the earth. Sometimes God looks like Jesus, too.   God ends up being a mix of the wisest people we know and the pictures we see in Sunday school classrooms.

But in general God is somewhere else – usually above us.  To use a big churchy word, God is transcendent – big and vast and mysterious and far away from our human experience.  God is the great creator who set the universe in motion and then watches.  This doesn’t mean that we think God isn’t loving, but God does feel far away.

But then when we get to the pictures of what God is like to us now, there is a fundamental shift.  Almost across the board, God has moved nearer.  God is the invisible Spirit all around us, God is in nature, we know God through the people closest to us.  Again to use a churchy word, God is immanent – indwelling, near, knowable.

This whole patterns mirrors the story we see in the Bible.  God begins as creator, the great mover and shaker, but when God creates people he gets close enough to breathe life into them, and walks with them, and makes it very clear that community and nearness and relationship with God is what we were intended for.

We are the ones who push God away.

And the rest of the Biblical story shows God moving closer and closer:  meeting with his people in the Tabernacle, and then in the temple, coming in Jesus Christ to walk among us, and finally in Holy Spirit, here and now and always, so near that we do not really know where we begin and the Holy Spirit ends.

And one of the hardest parts about believing in God is that God is invisible.

How can you know what you cannot see?  God as an old man on a cloud – that, we can wrap our minds around – God as Jesus who was born and lived and died – it’s a little weird but still we can picture it.  How can you picture Spirit?

To know the Holy Spirit, we have to have some sense of what the Holy Spirit does, how the Spirit moves – it is just like the wind which we cannot see, but we can see how it whips leaves off of trees.

So Paul tells us, that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness because there are times when we do not know how to pray.

This is profound statement for many reasons.  First, that we will be weak – it is not a maybe thing, but a given.  Sometimes we want to believe that if we just have enough faith, God will protect us from every possible harm – we won’t ever have to feel afraid or out of control or anxious or alone – nothing will ever happen to the people we love.  But that is not how faith works.  We will feel weak and overwhelmed and fearful and desperate, and where is God when that happens?

I recently returned from the Festival of Homiletics, which is a huge preaching conference with the best preachers and writers from around the country, and we basically spent the day listening to sermons and lectures about sermons – and you may think that sounds like no fun at all because you barely want to hear one sermon.  But there were 1800 people there who loved it.

One of the presenters, Diana Butler Bass, is a historian and sociologist who pays attention to how the religious landscape in our country and in the world is changing.

One thing that she pointed out is that the questions we ask about God are changing.

And she talked about the questions we were asking about God when the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary school took place and a 20 year old gunman killed 20 children and 6 staff.  And there was a national outpouring of grief.  The news was covering all the shocking details, but Diana said she watched a different conversation that was taking place on social media.

And the question that was most asked was, where is God?

Diana says that 50 or 60 years ago the question would have been different – it would have been, what is God doing or what is God up to or why did God allow this to happen?  Now the question is, where is God?

And the answer that she discovered most often was, God was with the children.  God was with the teachers who gave their lives protecting them. God was with those who suffer.

Diana Butler Bass says that is a profound shift in our understanding of God – but it is a shift to exactly what Paul was saying – in our weakness, in our darkest moments, God is there.

And God is not only there, but active.

Hear Paul’s words again: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

There will be times when we do not know how to pray.  And we could read that and think that means, something terrible has happened or I’m up against something that I do not know what to do about, and I don’t know exactly what words to pray – do I pray that God takes away my depression or do I pray that God walk beside me through it?  Do I pray boldly for healing for my dear friend who has cancer, or do I pray that my friend will have God’s peace and comfort no matter what happens?

In our weakest moments it is not always easy to know how to pray.  And in those times, the Holy Spirit prays for us – we don’t have to fear that we don’t have enough faith or the right words.

Another way to read that is, in our weakest moments we don’t even know how to relate to God, because prayer is the way we keep company with God.

Maybe there are times when the pain is so great that we can’t even turn our hearts and our minds to God – we cannot bear to pray. Sometimes we are so angry at God – and we cannot stand the thought of praying.

Here is where we hold on to God’s promises, even when we are incapable of prayer, the Spirit groans for us.

The New Revised Standard version makes the Spirit sound too polite – “the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”

Other versions get it better, I think, saying that the Spirit speaks for us with wordless groans.  When you are desperately overwhelmed with grief or hopelessness or pain, do you sigh?

If you are like me, a wordless groan is probably a much closer description.

And Paul does not say that the Spirit gives us the power to pray.  No, when we cannot bear to cry out to God, the Spirit cries out for us.

I came across a blogger who writes about two friends who are suffering.  He writes: “I currently am praying for two old friends who are suffering terribly and anticipating that things will get much worse. One has a tumor just in front of her ear. The cancer has wrapped itself around the nerve that controls her cheek, tongue, and eye. The necessary surgery could result in a numb face, a drooping eye, loss of taste, and worse. Every time she sees a doctor, something else is discovered. She is very good at asking for prayer, specific prayer for a new doctor, for a surgery date, for the surgery itself, for patience. She is groaning, but she can still put her groans into words.

Another friend has suffered severe eye damage as a result of a freak accident with a rope on a fishing boat. Her iris, her retina, cones and rods, cheekbones, and more have been so severely injured that she may never see again. That would be a tragedy for anyone, but she lives to read, watch movies, gaze on her beloved grandchild, put together puzzles—her eyes are her life. The saga of her injury and the consequent medical treatment drags on and on, with ever increasing bad news. At one point her loyal husband said, ‘I can’t pray anymore. I don’t even know what to pray.’”

We celebrate this remarkable thing at Pentecost – that God has come again and again throughout history, but this time, this time it is for good.  God doesn’t watch us silently from the clouds, but when we don’t even know what to say to God, God is there too.

When we groan, God groans too.

When we struggle to understand a diagnosis, when we worry about a loved one’s future, when we feel betrayed or alone, or don’t even know who we are anymore, God is there.  This is the promise we celebrate at Pentecost.  Amen.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Serving Christ and Neighbor in the Heart of Winchester and Beyond

View Online Worship Services

Facebook Feed

Instagram Feed

firstpresbyterianwinchester

First Presbyterian Winchester
Worship at home with us this morning! Click the li Worship at home with us this morning! Click the link bio to go to our Facebook page, YouTube Channel, or our Virtual Church webpage for worship at 10 AM.
eNotice - Link in bio (FPC News) We're putting tog eNotice - Link in bio (FPC News) We're putting together care packages for our healthcare heroes! Have coffee with the pastors over Zoom this Sunday! and more! #winchesterva #pcusa
Whoo-hoo! Many friends were able to sign-up to hel Whoo-hoo! Many friends were able to sign-up to help with FPC's WATTS Week, but we still have some spots to fill out! In Guest Services, we need a few friends to assist on each day, and on the last day--Saturday, January 30. If you are able to volunteer, please sign-up wherever you can. Go over to http://ow.ly/Jd0w50D9PNO and take a look at each tab to see where help is needed. Instagramers, click link in bio. We do not have much time left before our assigned WATTS week. Please prayerfully consider how you can help if you are able. WATTS week is Saturday, January 23-Saturday morning, January 30. If you have signed up to donate supplies or food, come to the church parking lot for a drive-thru WATTS donation drop-off on Saturday, January 16 from 2pm-3pm, and Thursday, January 21 from 4pm-5pm. If you cannot make those dates, please contact the church office at info@fpcwinc.org. Drop-off via our kitchen door will also be available on Wednesday & Thursday, 1/20-21 from 10am-4pm.
Our Adult Faith Formation class begins tonight in Our Adult Faith Formation class begins tonight in 1/2 hr at 7:30pm.
Instagramers, click the link bio, we have the Zoom class link and class materials buttons in our Linktree.
OR...
To access the online class, click here: http://ow.ly/LE0K50D8TYJ
To access the class materials, click here: http://ow.ly/jfju50D8U1g

Led by Pastor Dan McCoig Jr. See you soon!
Special Announcements. Click in bio for latest FPC Special Announcements. Click in bio for latest FPC News.
(1) Adult Faith Formation MLK Jr Class Series begins TONIGHT at 7:30pm. Access via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89841223984
(2) WATTS needs YOU! You can donate money and/or supplies! We do need volunteers to assist in-person but we have safety protocols in place. Please read this email or go to fpcwinc.org/watts and click the Sign-Up Genius links for details on how to help and availability. WATTS hosted at ONE site this year at 308 N. Braddock Street. FPC's week to help is January 23-30.
(3) We are putting together care packages for our healthcare heroes! We are in need of donations and/or handwritten notes.
Read this special email for details and information.
Have you signed up yet to help with WATTS Week for Have you signed up yet to help with WATTS Week for FPC? This year will be a little different due to COVID-19. Go to https://www.fpcwinc.org/watts and click the Sign-Up Genius logo to be taken to the online sign-up forms. Please read each tab's description and details on how to help. If you need assistance, please send an email to info@fpcwinc.org for help.

Image description: The color purple background. In the color white, the WATTS logo with outstretched hands sheltering a person icon. Also in the color white, it reads: WATT Week for FPC is January 23-January 30. The entire season of WATTS will be permanently hosted at First UMC at 308 N. Braddock St. What is needed: dinner sponsorships, perishable and disposable dinnerware donations, and guest services helpers. Find Details on How to Help or Donate at fpcwinc.org/watts
#winchesterareatemporarythermalshelter  #winchesterva #pcusa
FPC Epiphany Seasonal Team Newsletter - Click link FPC Epiphany Seasonal Team Newsletter - Click link in bio, click first button (FPC news), then click the most recent link.
Worship at home with us this morning! Worship at home with us this morning!
This Week's eNotice - Online Holy Communion this S This Week's eNotice - Online Holy Communion this Sunday  Online Ordination and Installation of Ruling Elders Worship on Zoom this Sunday  Drive-Thru "Remembering Our Baptism" event in the church parking lot THIS Sunday afternoon  Sign-up for WATTS Week and more! Click link in bio, then click the first button to FPC's news, then click the recent link.
Screen readers: black and white simpe, line drawin Screen readers: black and white simpe, line drawing of a person baptizing another in a river, with a dove flying above. Text: January 10 is Baptism of the Lord Sunday, a day on which Christians commemorate Jesus’ baptism by John and remember their own baptisms. We invite you to a drive-through commemoration from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on January 10 in our Cameron Street parking lot [weather permitting]. Wooden hearts will be anointed with oil by Dan and Amanda and placed in persons outstretched hands using an extended reacher with the words “As God’s beloved, remember your baptism.” In response, you are asked to speak quietly or silently, “I remember my baptism and will show the love God has shown me to others. Amen.” ALL ARE WELCOME!
Screen Readers: Watercolor of the Holy Spirit as a Screen Readers: Watercolor of the Holy Spirit as a dove, over water, with pastel colors. 
Ordination and Installation of Ruling Elders of First Presbyterian Church of Winchester, Virginia, after our live-streamed worship on Sunday, January 10, 2021. 11:30 AM via Zoom. Access by click the link in bio and click the "Ordination" button.
This Sunday Only - Ordination/Installation Service This Sunday Only - Ordination/Installation Service and Drive-Thru event at FPC! Plus, sign-up to help, through donations or as a helper, for FPC's WATTS Week! Click the link in our bio, then click the first button view details of this email. Click the second button to sign-up for WATTS Week, whether through donations or as a helper.
Worship at home with us this morning! Click the li Worship at home with us this morning! Click the link in the bio, then click the live stream button.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2021!Click on the link, click on o HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2021!Click on the link, click on our linktree, click on the latest link!
Worship at home with us this morning! Click the li Worship at home with us this morning! Click the link in the bio, then click the live stream button.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! and it's Friday! eNotice is here! MERRY CHRISTMAS! and it's Friday! eNotice is here!🎄 Click the link in the bio, then the first button to see the latest eNotice. #winchesterva #pcusa #christmas #matthew25
Screen Readers: Click link in bio, then select the Screen Readers: Click link in bio, then select the second button "Pastor Dan's Christmas Letter" for the text. #winchesterva #christmas #christmaseve #pcusa
Screen readers: Join us for an illuminated, safe, Screen readers: Join us for an illuminated, safe, and outdoor Christmas Eve Service. Dress warmly--masks and distancing required. Bring a chair if needed. 5 pm (service will be brief). This service will occur regardless of the weather. If raining/snowing, cars are welcome in the parking lot (first come basis) and friends are welcome to stay in cars with windows down for sound. Luminaries and candles will be available. Our parking lot is located on South Cameron Street, near the intersection of Cork and Cameron Streets. #winchester #winchesterva #christmas #christmaseve #pcusa #worship
Join us virtually or in-person on Christmas Eve! W Join us virtually or in-person on Christmas Eve! We will premiere our virtual Lessons and Carols worship by noon, and you are welcome to join us in-person (masked and distanced) in our parking lot at 5 pm for a special worship service. This year's Christmas Eve offering will go to the Helper Fund. If you would like to make a donation online, go to our website, fpcwinc.org, and click "Donate". Online donors: be sure to designate your giving.
Join us tonight at 5 pm in our South Cameron Stree Join us tonight at 5 pm in our South Cameron Street parking lot.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Return to top

First Presbyterian Church of Winchester | 116 South Loudoun Street | Winchester, Virginia, USA, 22601

Tele. No.: 540-662-3824 | Fax: 540-662-8498