by Rev. Paul Baker, July 2025

Micah 6:8 “. . . and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

What a joy it is to join with you in worship this summer! Please know that I am grateful for your many kindnesses these weeks. Know also that I am challenged by the depth of your faith and look forward to learning more from you in the weeks ahead. Some of you may know that my favorite verse in the Bible is quoted above—Micah 6:8.

Do justice.

Love kindness.

Walk humbly with God.

Let me propose to you that these eight words taken from Micah 6:8 convey the entire message found in the sixty-six books of that sacred text we know as the Holy Bible.

Some clergy friends have told me that every sermon of mine that they have heard is based on Micah 6:8 . . . and their observation contains at least a grain of truth. I certainly hope that the messages I offer will in fact invite everyone to incorporate these words of wisdom from the prophet Micah in their lives.

In English, the word faith is a noun signifying belief, the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by someone else. Therefore, we often say we have faith in what the writers of the Bible assert. We believe.

In Hebrew, however, the word for faith is a verb, not a noun. In Hebrew, your faith is manifest in what you do. It is this distinction that informs the author of the New Testament book of James when he declares that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). And the works we are called to do, the faith we are to live can be found in those eight words from Micah: do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.

So in this and in every season of our lives, I would invite you to reflect on Micah 6:8 as you ponder the question of your faith, of what you believe. And it is my prayer that, when my days on earth are accomplished, my life will be remembered as one that sought to do justice, that was directed by kindness, and, by the power of God’s Spirit, that I walked humbly with our God.

-Rev. Paul Baker