The Name Game

September 28, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series: The I Am Statements of Jesus

Sermon 1 of Series:

“I Am”

Revelation 22:13 CEB

Matthew 16:13-16 CEB

Exodus 3:12-15 CEB

The Name Game by Shirley Ellis

“The Name Game”

Let us pray…Pray for the Spirit’s leading and that God’s word would be heard…

When I was growing up, my brother and I used to love a song by Shirley Ellis called The Name Game. The song would go through various names and sing them in a fun way. For instance…Shirley! Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!

Lincoln! Lincoln, Lincoln bo Bincoln Bonana fanna fo Fincoln Fee fy mo Mincoln, Lincoln! (We used to love to use the name Art…think about that for a moment…let’s do Art…Art Art bo Bart Bonana Fanna fof Fart Fee fy foMart, Art) It is all about the name.

What is it about names? Expectant parents spend many hours trying to find the perfect name for their unborn child. It has to be the perfect name that would exemplify the child. When I was born my dad went to my grandmother and told her that I was going to be named Ruth. Now my mother hated the name Ruth. There was already two Ruth’s in the family and I was not going to be the third one. Well…my grandmother asked her if she ever read the story of Ruth in the bible. My mother hadn’t so she decided to read the story. After reading it she decided that Ruth was the perfect name for me. (I hope that I have lived up to my name…)

Not only are we given names from our parents, we also go by many other names. When we are asked who we are we might say something like, a mother…a father…a pastor, a domestic engineer…the list goes on. These names, we give ourselves, describe what we do, not necessarily who we are. Although saying we are a child of God describes who we are in Christ… Even Jesus used words that described not only who He was but what He does. Jesus stated “I Am” in seven places in the New Testament.

We have entered into the Season that we begin to look forward to the manger…the Season that we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus is the Savior of the world but He is so much more than that. As we prepare to welcome in the babe in the manger, we are going to take a look at those seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made while He walked among us. My prayer is that as we do, we will realize what really happened that day, how that one day changed the tide of sin and death. It’s all about the name and what goes along with that very same name…not just who but what that name implies.

Now as I read the scriptures from this morning, we hear a couple of different ways Jesus is described. The Revelation piece tells us that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and the End. Jesus was there in the beginning. He is the beginning, the middle and the end and He will still be standing in the end of days.

When Jesus asked who the people thought He was he was given various answers but when
he asked who Peter thought He was, Peter knew for sure…He was the son of God…the Christ…the Messiah…not only who Jesus was but what Jesus was and is still today…the first and the last…the beginning and the end. It’s all in the knowing that makes a difference in how we respond…

When God called Moses to free His people Moses wanted to be in “the know” of who was sending him. He needed a name that he could use…a name that would be proof that he was sent by God…a name that was given to him to invoke trust. The name is found in Exodus 3:12-15… Listen to this name as I read the passage and see if it would invoke trust in you as well…

Exodus 3:12-15 Common English Bible (CEB)

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

God’s special name

13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.

The forever name of God…one that last for a life time…The beginning…the end…and all that is in between… This is the name we remember to this day…God the Great I Am. I am always with you…I am with you in the desert places…I am with you in your joys and sorrows…I am with you in the storm and will bring you to still water…I Am…

It’s all about the name…it’s all about the whom and the what… It is who we are or what we are or both. Do we have a name that fits us? Do we have a name that shows the world not only who we are but what we are? We have the name of Christians…Christ followers…does that name we are given rain in us, out of us and on to the world around us? May the showers of heaven pour down on you and me so that the world will know the name above all names…our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. What’s your name and what do you do?

Let us pray…pray for Christ’s followers to live up to the new name we are given in Christ Jesus…