Series: Walking in the Way of Jesus “Generosity”

Sunday Sermon Oct 21, 2012            

 Matt 6:19-24 

 A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office…. A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor's office. After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said "Your husband is suffering from a very severe disease, combined with some horrible stress. If you don't do the following your husband will surely die.

"Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, and make sure he is in a good mood. For lunch, make him a nutritious meal. For dinner, prepare an especially nice meal for him. DON'T burden him with chores, as he probably had a hard day. DON'T discuss your problems with him. It will only make his stress worse. And MOST importantly, make love with your husband several times a week and satisfy HIS every whim. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely."

On the way home, the husband asked his wife:

"What did the doctor say?"

She replied, "You're going to die."

We end our 6 week journey today of “Walking in the Way of Jesus, 6 values of followership. Our journey has helped, I hope, us to understand the importance of discerning and having core values as a faith community. Values that I pray will help you carry out your mission ministry here at Cross. The Values I pray you will practice and live out…. Values such as Prayer… Worship… Learning… Serving… Relationship Building… and Today… Generosity.

In addition to our Generosity theme as a value, we will also use this as a transition into the next couple of weeks to focus on our Generosity as a gift. We’ll be using the word GIFT as an acronym for “Generosity In Faith Together” as a way demonstrate our stewardship. Today this is not a sermon about money, rather a sermon about the heart of Generosity.

Luther is said to have proclaimed that in the conversion process the wallet is the last thing to be converted.

Often, we in the church don’t like to hear anything about money. Many people say the church is about spiritual matters, not economic. Many do not believe money is a spiritual issue. This may surprise you, but money is a spiritual issue. In fact, Jesus talks about money several times…  Jesus mentions money 23 times in the gospels and alludes to it another 11 times, and money is mentioned some 200 times in the bible. I believe God must have thought money was important enough to mention it this much.

Jesus says in our story today… “Don’t store up treasures on earth…”

At the heart of the manner, “Where your treasure is, so will be your heart.”

 What does Spiritual Generosity Involve?

Generosity Involves Giving to God… as an act of Worship. 1Chron 29:10-20

Ancient Israel gave a tenth back to God as an act of worship for all the blessings God had given them.

READ TEXT 1Chron 29:10ff

David praised God and they worshiped God out of love & devotion for God’s blessings. The context of this text is one where David had encouraged the people to give towards the building of the temple. They accomplished this goal and now David is celebrating by worshipping God. The people are praise God for his blessing and goodness.

Trinity Lutheran Seminary professor Mark Powell in his book titled “Giving to God” says, “We are not asked to place money in the collection plate because the church needs the money, but because of our need to give as an act of devotion.

Devotion is a matter of the heart… it’s what happens when we give from the heart.

Generosity Involves Giving to God… as an Expression of Faith.

Ps. 24:1… “The Earth and Everything on it Belong to the Lord, the World and its People Belong to Him.”

An expression of faith usually means an act of trust. Everything belongs to God and God gives us the use of some of it. God trusts us to manage the gift. Were not the owners of anything… we are trusted to manage God’s gifts. How we manage these gifts determines our trust in God’s provision. When we have faith in something… we trust it will work. When I have faith in you to do what you say, I trust that you will do it. When we give back to God it is an expression of our faith and trust in God.

Generosity involves Giving to God… as a Spiritual Discipline.

-       Matt. 6:21Jesus says, “Your heart will be where your treasure is.”

Sam Clemens, known as “Mark Twain” was talking to a devote Morman one day on the practice of Polygamy. The Morman said, “There is nothing in the Bible that says a man cannot have more than one wife.” Clemens responded, “I may not be to well-read in the Bible, but I seem to recall something in there that says, “No man can serve two masters.”

What is the master of your life? What do you value most? If I looked at your checkbook, what would your treasure be?  A generous living value is the pathway to growing closer to the heart of God.

Closing:

Walking in the Way of Jesus, 6 Values of Following Jesus…

            Prayer, Worship, Learning, Serving, Relationships, Generosity

What should the church value?

What should the church be about?

I believe the church should be about BELONGING to a community of faith that prays and worships the Lord.

I believe the church should be about BECOMING faithful followers of Jesus that is about learning, serving and having relationships with others. And I believe the church should be about BELIEVING Jesus is Lord and Savior and God’s GIFT of GRACE & LOVE to ALL.

We end the chapter about values, and begin another on the great GIFT God has given. The pages in the book continue to be turned, and God continues to bless us greatly.

See You Out on the Road

Series: Walking in the Way of Jesus “Relationships”

Sunday Oct. 14, 20122                     

Eph. 4:1-6, Jn. 13:31-35

A son asks his mother; “Mom, if dad should happen to die, do you think there’s another man in the world just like him?” His mother replied, “Maybe, and it would be just my luck to get him.”

Prayer

We continue in our series, “Walking in the Way of Jesus, 6 Values of Discipleship.” We’re learning that values are an important part of being a faith community and we’re learning that the 6 Values were focusing on in this series should be the values of every church community. In truth, these values should be the model of how ministry is carried out. So far… we’ve focused on the values of Prayer… Worship… Learning… Serving… and today our focus will be on… “Relationships”

From the beginning, God has wanted to be in relationship with all of creation and most especially with humanity.

To get started… I’d like you to open your bibles to Gen. 2:18

“The Lord said, “It isn’t good for the man (Human) to be alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.”

Let’s look at the word “Man” some translations “Human”

Hebrew word used… “Hu-mmis” meaning Ground, Dirt, Earth

Literally… “Dirty Being” or Earthling

To be fair… Eve means “HelpMate” or “Partner”

Let’s read this in context… The Lord said, It isn’t good for the “Dirty Being” to be alone. It kind of gives a different outlook about us doesn’t. What’s important to understand here is that created Humans as a valued part of his creation, and at the center valued all creation.

 In our gospel story Jesus tells us, “You must love each other, just as I have loved you” because with God, relationships are important. Jesus is demonstrating I believe a core value of God. And, I believe this is important for several reasons, and I’d like to share 3 reasons I believe God desires us to be in relationships.

Our First Relationship is to God… Duet. 10:12… Matt 22:37

Duet. 10:12 Moses says, “People of Israel, what does your God want from you? The Lord wants you to respect & follow Him, to love & serve Him with all your Heart & Soul.”

Matt 22:37 Jesus is challenging the Pharisee’s on the most important commandment by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Soul, and Mind.”

God created humanity to be connected to him and to each other. God created us to be in relationship with one another. For us today, one way to understand this connection is thru baptism. That’s when God grabs hold of us… and never let’s go. We may want to turn the other way and run, but God doesn’t let go. God holds on no matter what and waits for us to turn back to Him.

Our Second Relationship is to One Another… Acts 2:43-46

People Gathered Together… Spent Time Learning… They Prayed Together… Broke Bread Together… Shared Everything with Each Other… and were Generous Together.

Desmond Tutu was asked about the term “Ubunto.” He says, “Ubuntu is the essence of being human… we say a person is a person through other persons. You can’t be human in isolation. You are only human in relationships.”

One way to build relationships is to be in a small group. I understand there may have been some negative aspects about small groups in the past here at Cross. But you do have positive small groups here at Cross.

o   Your different music groups … are small groups.

o   Tues morning bible study is a small group.

o   Sunday morning learning groups are … small groups.

o   You’re doing some of this all ready and I want to encourage you to develop more of them.

The point of a small group is to be in relationship with others for spiritual growth, friendships, encouragement, and loving care.

I like to look at small groups having 4 elements

§  Have Fun Together.

§  Learn Together.

§  Pray Together.

§  Serve Together

That’s it…I believe if you’re in a small group living out these 4 elements consistently, you are growing your faith.

Lastly, Our Third Relationship is to those Outside the Community

              Luke 19:5-7… Mark 10:17ff… John 4:9…. Acts 10:27-28

Tell me if this is true for you… in the morning you leave the garage door goes up & when you come home in the evening the door goes down and you rarely come out for much of nothing. That’s how much of suburbia lives. Many of us don’t know our neighbors… we may see them and wave or say hi, but for many, we don’t know them, which, is much different from how many of us grew up. It seems we are disassociating with people today.

If you look closely at the bible passages I’ve listed there is a common theme. Jesus spent most of his time with people outside of his sphere of friends. Most of the time Jesus was spending time with “SINNERS.”

If you look at much of the church today… it resembles the church of Jesus’ day in many ways… only the righteous can be part of the church.

In fact… Jesus’ friends argued about associating with unclean people.

o   Luke 19….Zachaeus… Tax Collector…. SINNER

o   MARK 10… Rich Guy… wouldn’t give up wealth… SINNER

o   John 4… Samaritan Woman… SINNER

o   Acts 1- Cornelius… Roman Soldier… SINNER

Could we even say… Dennis…. Pastor…. SINNER????

Can we say this about all of us?

I met a truck driver once who told me, “People spend more time trying to figure out God, rather than just inviting God in.”  

Closing:

 A few years ago was a movie titled “Into The Wild.” Perhaps you saw it. It’s the true story of a man named Chris McCandless. The movie is about him graduating from college and feeling restless about his life. He turns down an offer of his father giving him a new car for his graduation. He and his dad didn’t have to good of relationship. So he decides to leave everything behind… he burned his drivers license and SS card and heads out to Alaska.

He journals his travels from the deep south to the Midwest, down the Colorado river, to Mexico and up the west coast , and finally to Alaska. He has difficulties surviving and buying some books on survival along the way. One day he’s looking at one of them about eatable plants and discovers that he has eaten some that were poisonous, and begins to die. As he writes in his journal for the last time and as he recalls all the relationships he has had he says,

“There is Real Happiness When It Is Shared.” Then he dies.

Ultimately… life comes down to relationships… no body says on their death bed I need more money… or  wish they had more toys. In the end it’s about our RELATIONSHIPS.

See You Out on the Road

 

Series: Walking in the Way of Jesus “Serve”

I had computer problems last week. Actually... my computer crashed and had to get another computer.... I was unable to post last weeks sermon.

So... here is last weeks message about the Value of "Serving"

Sunday Oct. 7, 2012                                                                            

Eph. 4:7-13, Matt. 20:20-28

Prayer

We’ve been on this journey of “Walking in the Way of Jesus, 6 Values of Followership” over the past few weeks. These 6 values are important to the faith community because they help ground you to living life closer to Jesus. These 6 values really become the faith foundation of the faith community. And over the last few weeks we have reflected on their importance. The importance of being a faith community grounded in Prayer, Worship, and last week Learning… Today our focused value is “Serving”

I want to start by saying, that I’ve observed many people at Cross being faithful servants. Thank You!!! Thank You good and faithful servants. While it’s good that many of you are serving…. There are many you who are not. I don’t say this to be critical, but to encourage you to use your gifts and passions to serve.

Jesus calls us to serve...it’s an important part of walking in the way of Jesus.

Jesus says in our story today, “If you want to be great, you must be a servant.”

Many translations say, “Slave”… of course the word “Slave” has negative connotation to it for us.  But a slave in Jesus’ day was not necessarily a bad or abusive thing. Matter of fact, slaves we part of the household… part of the family. In Jesus’ day slaves were the ones who did much of worked in society.

And we think people are lazy today… Slaves during this time in history were really the lower and middle class population. If you think about it… this is still the case… what classes of people still do the largest share of the work in our society?

Paul tells us in Eph. That Jesus chose some to be Apostles, Prophets, Missionaries, Pastors, and teachers so that people would serve.

Paul also tells us in Romans 12 & 1Cor 12… “That everyone has a spiritual gift to serve.” The truth is that God has blessed each of us with a passion and a gift to serve in the community…. Each of us has a passion that God empowers us with.

It’s important because as the late Tennis Pro Arthur Ashe has stated, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”

That is really what Jesus is telling James & John, and their mother.

What does this mean for us?

Some people have just gotten a bit nervous about this question.

We All Have Gifts & Passions

Slaves were chosen in Jesus’ day by their giftedness… by what they could do best. Paul picks up on this when he says Eph 4, “Christ chose some…” All of the disciples didn’t decide to follow Jesus just for the sake of going with him… no… Jesus chose them! Jesus chose them because he knew their gifts and passions. Jesus knows your gifts and passions as well. And you’re not too OLD nor too YOUNG. Nor if you think you’ve already done your time serving in the Sunday School. There is no retirement system in God’s world.

I like to ask people… What are your passions?

They don’t necessarily have to be churchly or religious.

I met Frank at my first call congregation when he came to church after his wife had died. She had died two years prior and felt something was missing. He was a faithful church participant, but couldn’t bring himself to go back to the church he and his wife belonged to. So… he came to us… After Frank had been attending for a few weeks I asked Frank if we could get together. Frank invited me over to his home for lunch. After visiting for a while Frank told me that he didn’t have much to offer the church. As the conversation went on I asked Frank if he had any hobbies. He gestured to come with him to a bedroom and opening the door there were model airplanes everywhere. Frank had more than a hobbie… he had a passion for airplanes. Parts and planes were everywhere.

Later I was talking with the principle at an elementary school and she asked if I knew anyone who worked with model airplanes. Yes I do… She knew of three boys at the school who had an interest in airplanes. We put Frank and the three boys together. Frank didn’t realize at first that his passion was indeed God’s work thru him. Frank was able to share his faith experiences and passion about airplanes with 3 boys who may have never have heard about God.

All of us have the same opportunities to use your giftedness & passions to share the love and grace of God.

Serving Creates Involvement IN Community

Serving IN community is pretty comfortable for many of us. Serving in worship, caring for the facilities, music, SS, and special projects are generally pretty easy for us to participate in. Serving IN community is a good way to gain confidence and connect with those you know. But this is not all there is…. Yes God calls us to use our gifts and passion IN the community… But also…

Serving Creates Involvement OUT in Community

You’re doing and have done some of this… McRest… Community Dinners, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, LSSM… Mission trips to New Orleans etc. These are important opportunities to share your gifts and passions. These opportunities also enhance our faith and give us a different perspective on what others are dealing with in life. Perhaps… these mission activities can be reignited to serve OUT in community in the near future.

Lastly… Be Willing to be the Face of Jesus.

God isn’t looking for individual greatness, but individuals willing to be the face of Jesus to others. I once met a young man who was struggling with life. Nothing seemed to be working in his favor. I couldn’t fix the issues he was struggling with, but I could listen to his story and invite him to come be with the rest of us who were struggling to find God’s love as well. I couldn’t fix his problems… but I could demonstrate God’s grace the best I could.

That is really our challenge today… to demonstrate grace in an ever-more judgmental world.

My friends… that is SERVING…

Closing:

I often ask congregations… What are your dreams?

The usual answers are… To Grow…. To have the seats filled in worship…. To have lots of kids and young people….

At one congregation after all the usual responses an older woman raised her hand and said, “Until we become a congregation focused on being missional and serving others, we will not grow as a congregation.”

I believe for me… and I pray for you as well… as Joshua states, “As for me and my family… we will serve the Lord.”

See You Out on the Road

Series: Walking in the Way of Jesus... "Learning"

Sunday Sept 30, 2012                                  Duet. 6:1-9, Jn. 14:23-27

At Trinity Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio, the congregation was asked to respond to some questions on a 3 x 5 card. The first question was, 'What first attracted you to Trinity?' Seven-year-old Jennifer spelled out her one-word answer in the large letters of one just learning to print: 'God.'

When the question was posed, 'What is your prayer for Trinity?' eight-year-old Matthew wrote, 'That they will always be here to help other people.'

Trinity's pastor then said: It seems the kids are teaching us what it means to be church.

Prayer

We’re half way thru our series; “Walking in the Way of Jesus… 6 values of discipleship/followership. These 6 values become the model of what ministry should be about, and I believe the model that empowers mission ministry, and fosters a greater relationship with Jesus. Over the past 2 weeks we’ve reflected on the importance of Prayer and why it should be a value to the faith community. Being a community of prayer is how that community discerns what God is calling them to be about. Last week we focused on the value of “Worship” and the importance of worship being the element of giving rather than getting. That worship is our complete devotion to a loving and grace-filled God.

Today our focused value is; “Learning” and the importance of being in God’s Word.

In our readings today, Deut. 6… Read Text,  Col. 3:16… Let the message about Christ completely fill you… John 14:26… The Spirit will teach you Everything. God desires us to be in His Word… desires us to be connected to Him thru His Word. For many this is a daunting task… to read the Bible.

How many of you have Bibles at home?

How many of you read them even a little

I must confess… I would like to do a better job.

• Stats: 90% of have a least 1 Bible in our homes.
• Typical families have 3 Bibles
• 35% of adults read the bible in a typical week.
• Those that read, read about 10 min. a day.
• Avg. Luth. Reads the Bible at a 7-8 Gr. Level
• Episcopalian…4-5 Gr level
• R.C….2-3 gr level
• Mormons read their bible at a 12 gr. Leve

Why is it so difficult for us to get into the Bible?

For many… we’ve relied on the Pro Clergy to tell us. Some find it hard to understand. For some the Bible was written for a different time… and Not Relevant for us today. To Busy…. And or TOO LAZY

A few years back the ELCA was so concerned that they’ve launched an initiative called “Book of Faith” becoming fluent in the first language of faith in order to encourage people to get into the bible. Did Cross participate in this?

4 reasons I believe it is so difficult to get into the Bible.

The Bible is challenging John 3:3-16, Mark 10:17-26

We’re challenged to understand how something written long ago can be relevant for us today. In John 3 the story of Jesus & Nic… and Jesus telling Nic he must be born again. Nic was challenged to understand how one could be born a second time.

Jesus and the rich man… he obeyed the Commandments, but Jesus tells him to sell everything and give it away. He left sad. The rich man couldn’t let go of his possessions and was challenged to understand why giving up what he owned was going to get him anything. The two passages shouldn’t necessarily be taken literally, but they do challenge us to think differently.

The Bible is Confrontational Luke 13:1-3

Pilate had some people killed and Jesus tells people, “If you think they were worse than you, you are mistaken.” He tells them to turn back to God, if you don’t you will be killed too. This is kind of in your face. When we read the bible it confronts us to look at ourselves. We often don’t want to do this. We would rather not bother… so we don’t.

The Bible is Correctional Matt.16:21-28, 1Cor. 3:1-3

In Matt. 16:23… a familiar story of where Jesus corrects Peters understanding. Jesus tells Peter… Get behind me Satan. You see… Peter wanted Jesus all to himself. Jesus can’t die… Jesus can’t leave and the bible corrects us when we think we have a better idea.

Paul does this too. He’s talking to a group of Jesus followers who are mature in the faith supposedly. These are people who aught to know and yet Paul corrects them by saying, “You’re like babies…” In the Bible… God…speaks to our sinful humanness so that we will look at our lives, and make changes… changes that will enhance our lives…. Not take away as some may think.

The Bible is a Connectional Book: Eph. 1:3-5, 2Tim. 3:16

Connects us to something bigger than us and helps us to envision how life can be purposeful, and bring hope. Other religious books don’t quite offer the same content as the bible. Substituting religious books doesn’t quite work. These are only supplements.

Ways to get into the Bible

Be Intentional

Make a commitment to read a section, or chapter before you go to work, at lunch, or before bed. Make a commitment… then follow through.

Read the Bible at worship.

Open the bibles in pews & read along… maybe even be a person who reads Sunday’s readings.

When I was on internship we had a leadership retreat at a Methodist church and when we went to worship on a Saturday evening they intentionally handed bibles out as you entered worship. They wanted to get bibles into the hands of the people.

Be part of a Group.

We offer several Learning opportunities for adults on Sunday morning.  3 children’s learning at 9, 10, and 11… middle & high school. There is a young adult group “Current” that is meeting. There are many opportunities to be in a learning environment. If you don’t see a group that fits… start new one.

Take Responsibility to Learn.

You don’t need me…. I or any pastors are not meant to be the spiritual dispenser of the bible. YES… we have some schooling and knowledge, but we are here to equip and mentor you on your faith journey… to help you Learn together. Furthermore, it’s not always about the answer… but the questions! And one thing to keep in mind… you don’t become proficient at something by having someone give you the answers… you have to practice.

Closing:

Learning is a life-long enterprise and if we are serious about passing on the faith we must get into God’s Word as a community. We must make it a priority if we are to experience the kind of spiritual growth God desires of us. It is in Grace that we can begin again and take the step in Walking in the Way of Jesus and to value “Learning” in this faith community.

Our challenge today in the midst of our discomfort is to admit we have fallen short in our journey to be dwellers in the Word, and there is no better time to restart our efforts to be learners and to be in God’s Word.

 

See You Out on the Road.