Always Learning, Always Growing – September 7, 2025

Psalm 119:97-105, II Timothy 3:10-17
September 7, 2025

I consider myself to be a “lifelong learner”  Have you heard that expression?  How many are with me?  I have always loved learning new things, and I’m fascinated by everything I learn.  History and Science are two of my favorite TV channels!  (You can read that in my profile on our church web page.)  So I liked the idea of this sermon title, “Always Learning, Always Growing.”

Of course there is a down-side to that.  Sometimes we learn something – or maybe part of something – and then later we find out we were wrong.  And then we think, “Oh boy, how many people did I tell that to?”  So you have to be somewhat humble to be a lifelong learner.  You have to be willing to admit your mistakes and learn from them.

People say that, you know.  “We learn from our mistakes!”  Well, if that’s true, then I must be nearly a genius by now!  Because I’ve made a lot of mistakes!  I told my daughter once, “Yes, I do know how to do a lot of things.  But that’s because I’ve messed up a lot of things!”  When I think about how I fixed some things years ago, I cringe a little bit!  But again, that’s how we learn!  And hopefully, as I’m suggesting today, we are always learning, and always growing.

A couple of weeks ago, we blessed our children – right up here – as they began their new school year.  And I loved that!  You all came forward and blessed them as we prayed for them!  That was so great!  And then today we started our Sunday School for the fall.  And I think it’s important that we recognize that, too!  And as we think about that, I thought I’d take this opportunity to remind us that we are all “Always learning, and always growing.”  Learning is not just for the kids!  It’s not just for those years of “formal education.”  And I want to challenge you to think about what you’re still learning, and about what you’ve learned in the past, and what you hope to learn in the future.

As you think about that, I want to remind you of something I once heard a long time ago about those years of formal education.  I heard it said that you don’t just go to school to learn.  You also go to school to learn how to learn!  And sometimes I think that’s almost more important!  Because you’re not in school forever!  You don’t just go to school to learn.  You also go to school to learn how to learn!

Maybe you can remember back to your school days, when your teacher would be teaching something in the classroom, and inevitably some kid would raise his hand and ask, “Do we have to know this for the test?”  And everybody rolled their eyes!  Or I did, anyway.  Because I was thinking, “No.  You just need to know this!”  “This is what we’re learning!”  And I can still remember things I learned in High School and College and grad school!  I can’t remember where I put my coffee cup, or if I ate lunch yesterday.  But that’s another story!  We learn how to learn.  And we learn things that are important for life!  Not just for the test!

How many of you remember Father Guido Sarduchi, from “Saturday Night Live?”  He was this Italian priest character with a black priestly outfit, and a wide brimmed hat, and a great Italian accent.  And he was hilarious!  Well, he once did a comedy sketch called, “The Five Minute University.”  Does anybody remember that?  It was great!  He said, (And maybe I should try to do a little of his accent…) “Of all the things you learn in college, how much are you gonna remember five years later?”  “Not very much, right?”  “Well, at the Five Minute University, that’s all we teach you!”  “We just teach you what you’re gonna remember five years from now!”“So, you wanna learn Spanish?  ‘¿Como esta?’  That means ‘How are you?’  ‘Estoy bien.  Gracias!’  ‘I’m fine.  Thanks.’  That’s about all you’re gonna remember.  So, that’s all we teach you!”  “You wanna learn economics?  ‘Supply and demand.’  That’s it!”  You’re not gonna remember anything else!”

It was a hilarious sketch!  But is it true?  How much do we remember from what we learned in school.  I say again that the biggest thing we learned – I hope – was how to learn!  And I hope we developed a love for learning.  And that, I also hope, makes us lifelong learners.  Throughout our lives, we are always learning, always growing!

Now, I say all that, because sometimes people of faith forget that.  Sometimes they think that the learning of the faith is over.  Or, they think they’re past that learning stage.  And I want to remind you today, and encourage you, that the learning in our faith is never over!

The Apostle Paul would agree.  He told us in the letter to Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believe… and how from your childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which were able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ.” (II Timothy 3:14-15)  And he would say, “Grow in that learning!”

For Paul, the Christian faith is all about “always learning, always growing.”  He tells us that we are always growing more and more into the image of Christ.  That’s the goal of every Christian.  He says that in many places in his writings.  In his letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18)

That means that we are always learning, always growing in the faith!  And remember how Jesus described the Holy Spirit.  He was in the Upper Room with his disciples telling them about the Spirit that was to come to them.  And he said that the Spirit “would teach you all things and brings to your remembrance, all that God has said to you!” (John 14:26)  That’s learning and growing!

For Paul, faith was always active.  He always described the Christian life as something in which we are constantly moving forward.  He wrote this to the Hebrews.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

That’s it, isn’t it?  We “run the race.”  We “look to Jesus” who began our faith and who perfects us in our faith.  We don’t stand on the sidelines!  We’re one of the runners!  You know this idea is near and dear to my heart!  I’ve run some big races!  And it’s always great to have people on the sidelines, cheering!  It makes a huge difference – especially when you’re drained, and you’ve “hit the wall,” as runners describe the exhaustion that can come near the end of the race.

The Boston Marathon course goes by Wellsley College, which you may know is an all-women’s college.  And the tradition is that the women of Wellsley all come out to the race, and they stand on the side of the road, and they scream!  They call it “The Screech tunnel!”  It’s so loud you can hear it a mile before you get there!  And when you run past, it’s been described that you’re so juiced, that your feet don’t touch the ground as you go by!

But Paul would remind us that we’re not the spectators in the race.  We’re the runners!  It’s that great cloud of witnesses who are the spectators cheering us on!  They’re the ones who are screaming!  They’re the ones who step off the curb and run a few steps with us when we’ve “hit the wall” and don’t think we can go on.  That happened to me one year in Boston!  I was dead on my feet and a woman in a lavender business suit and heels, stepped off the curb and ran next to me encouraging me to keep running.  How could I not!  How could I not keep going!

In our faith, we are always moving forward, always running the race, always learning, always growing, always in the process of being conformed more and more the image of Christ, looking to him, the pioneer and perfector of our faith!

So, I want to encourage you in that today.  Keep on learning!  Keep on growing!  Be “lifelong learners” in the faith.  Know that learning – in the faith, as in life – is not just for the kids!  Strive to be people who are always learning, always growing.  Run the race with perseverance and joy!

Prayer

Eternal God, help us to be more and more aware of your Spirit in our lives, your Spirit who indeed teaches us all things, and brings to our remembrance all that you have said to us.  Help us to see more and more of your glory, as we are conformed to the image of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.