Who's Really In Charge Here?! (Providence)
Sermon Recap: This sermon explores the relationship between fear and faith, arguing that the central spiritual question is not whether we experience fear, but whether we trust it. Beginning with the question, “What are you afraid of?”, the preacher invites listeners to identify the fears that quietly shape their lives—fear about health, family, finances, loss, or the future. He suggests that fear becomes dangerous when it moves from being an emotion to becoming an authority.
Using Abram and Sarai’s call in Genesis, the sermon highlights how God rarely provides certainty, roadmaps, or guarantees. Instead, God offers promises and asks for trust. Abram and Sarai must decide whether to trust God’s promise or the persuasive voice of fear.
This theme is traced through Romans and the Gospel, showing that biblical faith is not denial of reality but confidence that God’s faithfulness is more decisive than present circumstances. Abraham, the hemorrhaging woman, and the grieving father all choose trust over fear.
The sermon concludes by encouraging listeners to name their fears honestly before God, while refusing to grant them the authority that belongs to God alone. Fear can predict what might happen, but only God determines the future. The foundation of faith is not our certainty, but God’s faithfulness.
(Given 6-7-26, St. Augustine's Church, Kingston RI)
The doctrine of providence is one of the most important—and often least understood—teachings of the Christian faith. Simply put, providence is the belief that God not only created the world, but continues to sustain, govern, and care for it. Christians confess that God has not abandoned creation to run on its own. The God who made the world remains actively involved in it, guiding history toward his purposes and faithfully caring for his creatures.
This conviction appears throughout Scripture. Jesus tells his disciples that not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father's knowledge and care (Matthew 10:29). The psalmists repeatedly celebrate God's ongoing provision for all living things. The Apostle Paul declares that in God "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Creation is not a machine that God wound up and left behind. It is continually sustained by the presence and activity of its Creator.
At its heart, providence answers a basic question: Who is really in charge of the world?
Christians have never denied the reality of human freedom, natural processes, evil, suffering, or tragedy. Yet, the doctrine of providence insists that none of these things has the final word. History is not ultimately governed by luck, fate, political power, economic forces, or random chance. God remains Lord over creation and is at work even in circumstances that appear chaotic or confusing.
This doesn't mean, however, that everything that happens is God's will. Scripture regularly distinguishes between what God desires and what human beings actually do. Wars, injustice, violence, and sin are not simply things God wants to happen. At the same time, the biblical witness maintains that God is able to work through and despite human rebellion, bringing about purposes that are often hidden from us in the moment.
For many Christians, providence becomes most important not in moments of certainty but in moments of uncertainty. When life unfolds according to plan, it's easy to assume we're in control. Providence reminds us, however, that our lives have always rested in God's hands. The doctrine offers neither easy answers nor detailed explanations for every hardship. Instead, it offers confidence that God's faithfulness extends into places where our understanding cannot.
Ultimately, the doctrine of providence is a confession about the character of God. Christians believe that the universe is not governed by impersonal forces but by a God who is wise, good, and faithful. The world may often appear fragmented and unpredictable, but providence affirms that God has not abandoned his creation and that his purposes will not fail. For that reason, providence has traditionally been a source of both humility and hope. Humility, because we are not masters of our own destiny. Hope, because the One who governs all things is the same God revealed in Jesus Christ.
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