Will You Come & Follow Me - Rev. Donald Wachenachwanz - May 31, 2026

Matthew names the women alongside the Twelve and lets the first resurrection sermon ride on their tongues. The women become apostles in the plain sense of the word, the ones sent to say, He is risen, and the men only echo them later. The gospel itself speaks as love stronger than death, grace so great it hands out eternal life, and that proclamation keeps multiplying through women and men to this very room.

The Trinity keeps the church humble. Dispensations sound tidy, but the Spirit hovers at creation, Wisdom speaks when God says let there be, and the Word keeps working still; so beginnings, middles, and ends all run together in God. Roles language helps a bit, creator, redeemer, sustainer, yet each role shows up in the others, so the names never cage God.

Interfaith questions press the issue: is it one God or three. The doctrine answers with a bow, not a flex, because a triunity that is fully one and fully three sits past tidy math. Doubt then comes in as a gift. Matthew’s line says they revered him, and they doubted, and that pair belongs together. Miracles by definition carry both edges, impossible and yet here, so a holy hesitation stays baked into faith.

Belief in Scripture speaks more like belovedness than like mental assent. Faith sounds like trusting and staking a life, not passing a test, and that trust lives with the holy and the wholly mystery God is. Humility follows. Control slips out of human hands most days anyway, so trust hands it back to God in others, even in those doing what looks wrong, because God keeps working in them too.

Latin persona adds another picture. One actor can wear more than one mask without ceasing to be one actor, so three persons name real action without making three gods. Pi adds one more pointer. An endless, patternless number still shapes the wheels that carry the world, so incomprehensibility can still hold everything together. Today’s call lands simple. Let the church give up on knowing it all and controlling everything, and live inside the Triune God. Gratitude then circles back, because the chain of women who preached first keeps singing, and the song still points to the same love, grace, and life.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Women proclaimed resurrection as apostles The first announcement of Easter came through the women, and Scripture treats their testimony as the seed of all later preaching. Apostleship in this telling is not a club of twelve but a calling to witness, open to all whom God sends. This recognition reshapes leadership, honors voices long minimized, and names where the gospel actually began rolling. [28:42]
• 2. The Trinity keeps Christians humble A God who is three and one resists neat diagrams, which is the point. Humility grows when certainty lets mystery sit at the center, not at the edges. That humility then makes room for real dialogue, deeper worship, and a slower, kinder speech about things too big to nail down. [35:07]
• 3. Faith means trusting love, not certitude Biblical belief leans into belovedness, not into mental lockjaw. Trust stakes a life on God’s character when explanations run thin, and it stays relational, not argumentative. That shift turns faith from a quiz into a way of belonging that can endure seasons of not knowing. [38:43]
• 4. Let go of control under God Control finally proves too small for a human hand, and too slippery besides. Trust releases the chokehold, believing God is at work in and around even those who unsettle or offend. That release is not apathy but courage, the courage to act faithfully without needing to run the whole show. [39:45]
• 5. Mystery invites worshipful, honest doubt Reverence and doubt can ride together without canceling each other. Miracles, like pi, signal realities that cannot be reduced yet still govern real life. Honest doubt then becomes an altar, a place where humility, wonder, and obedience actually deepen. [44:14]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [28:42] - Women as first apostles
• [31:30] - From preface to Trinity focus
• [32:00] - Not dispensations but triune presence
• [33:42] - Roles language helps, not enough
• [34:22] - One God and Muslim dialogue
• [35:07] - Trinity meant to humble certainty
• [36:18] - Matthew: reverence and doubt together
• [37:40] - Miracles and the edge of doubt
• [38:43] - Faith as trusting the Beloved
• [39:45] - Surrendering control to God’s work
• [41:18] - Persona: one actor, many masks
• [43:00] - Pi and the shape of mystery
• [44:14] - Living inside the incomprehensible God
• [45:37] - Gratitude for women who still proclaim

1. In Matthew 28:16-20, how does the text describe the disciples’ response to seeing the resurrected Jesus? What two reactions are mentioned side by side?
2. According to Proverbs 8:22-31, what role does Wisdom play in creation, and how does this connect to the sermon’s discussion of the Trinity?
3. The sermon highlights that “reverence and doubt can ride together” in Matthew’s account. What specific phrase in the Bible passage supports this idea?

1. Why might Matthew include both worship and doubt in the disciples’ response to Jesus’ resurrection? How does this pairing challenge common assumptions about faith?
2. Proverbs 8 personifies Wisdom as present at creation. How does this imagery reshape our understanding of God’s work in the world before and after Jesus’ life?
3. The sermon argues that the Trinity is meant to “keep Christians humble.” How does the doctrine’s resistance to “tidy math” or explanations foster humility in practice?
4. The phrase “they revered him, and they doubted” suggests doubt is not opposed to faith. What might healthy, holy doubt look like in a believer’s life?

1. Where do you feel pressure to have “certainty” in your faith? How could embracing mystery or doubt in those areas deepen your trust in God’s character? [35:07]
2. The sermon encourages releasing control and trusting God’s work in others, even those who “unsettle or offend.” Who in your life is hardest to trust in this way, and what step could you take to let go of judgment? [39:45]
3. Women were the first to proclaim the resurrection, yet their voices have often been minimized. How can you actively honor marginalized or overlooked voices in your community or church? [28:42]
4. The Trinity is compared to pi—a patternless number that still “shapes the wheels.” When has God’s incomprehensibility felt frustrating? How might it also bring comfort in times of uncertainty? [43:00]
5. The sermon says faith is “trusting love, not certitude.” What practical habit could help you focus less on intellectual agreement and more on relational trust in God? [38:43]
6. Think of a situation where you’re tempted to “control the whole show.” What would it look like to act faithfully in that moment without needing to force outcomes? [39:45]