In a State of Readiness!

 16^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

                          Exodus 12:1-14

 

Focus Statement:    This scripture shows how the Hebrew people  to take the passover with Traveling                                    clothes on and ready to go.

 

Function Statement: Because of this sermon, the congregation will understand that we too should take                                     our passover lamb (Jesus) in a state of readiness, expecting something to happen!

 

1st Movement:

         I can remember way back when I was about to turn sixteen.  In our culture, sixteen seems to be that magical year when you assume more of the privileges & responsibilities of becoming an adult.  One of these is getting your drivers license.  The year before I got my drivers license was a year of getting ready.  My dad bought an old 64 Volkswagen Beetle for $25 I think.  That was cheap even back then, and there were reasons it was cheap!  It didn't run, it had the driver's side door and fender smashed in, and the bumpers were all rusty!  Oh yes, the windshield was broken too, and it was dirty!  (It was about 10 yrs old.) That was old back then!

We started out by dad pulling the engine in our backyard and us rebuilding the engine.  I worked with dad mostly cleaning parts and holding whatever he needed held as we rebuilt the engine together.  When we got that done, We bought a fender in the junk yard and replaced the one that was smashed, luckily we found one that was the same color, and we beat out the door the best we could.  Dad ordered out the windshield, and the rest was up to me.  I spent the rest of that spring and summer, taking off bumpers, headlights, wheels, etc. and sanding and painting them; cleaning the interior, touching up things here and there, and putting on pin stripping and decals!  When I would do this, I would have to move it back in forth in the driveway to get it to where I needed it to work on it.  That was not a real easy task for someone just learning to drive since this was pretty close quarters and it was a 4-speed standard transmission on the floor.  One time, I had a wreck with the swing set!  (Pause.)  I also took Drivers Ed. that summer, and we moved to Corning.  As soon as I turned sixteen, I was ready and I went down to get my license.  I didn't waste any time; I had anticipated this day for years, and I had been in a state of readiness!  Now, when I wanted to go someplace, I still had to have permission, but I didn't have to arrange for a ride.  It was great!

 

2nd movement:

In our scripture for today, this is just before the last plaque of the Egyptians comes to pass: the killing of the first born.  Moses is instructed for all the Israelites to take a lamb, kill it, put its blood on their door posts, roast it, and eat it.  If they will do this, the death angel will pass over their houses.  They are to do this in a state of readiness!  With their traveling clothes on: loins girded, sandals on feet, staff in hand, and in a hurry!  They are to be expecting something to happen because it is going to happen!  This lamb on the door posts will be a sign that will save their children & their animals!  The events that will happen that night will cause Pharaoh to order them to leave and they will be ready to go as commanded!  They will start their journey to the promised land!  If they hadn't been ready, Pharaoh might have changed his mind before they had a chance to leave, but that won't happen because they will be ready!  They took the passover - lamb in a state of readiness!

 

3rd movement:

The Christian Church quickly adapted this passover symbolism in thinking about what Jesus did for us.  They called Jesus the Lamb of God, the Lamb that was slain!  The lamb that if we put on our hearts will cause the angel of eternal death to pass over us!  We will be saved and live in the new kingdom!  A kingdom that begins now in the lives of believers!  We put Jesus on our hearts by trusting in what Jesus did for us; when we do this, God no longer sees our sins!  But what does it mean to put Jesus on our hearts, to trust in Jesus, with our traveling clothes on: in readiness?  I haven't heard this part talked about too much!

 

Before we look at what it means to put Jesus on in a state of readiness, what does it mean to Anot@ put Jesus on in a state of readiness?  Wouldn=t that be to trust in Jesus in a so - so way, not really expecting Jesus to mean much to us, not expecting Jesus to change us or our church, not really expecting Jesus to do much, not really ready for Jesus to do something in our lives?  Not really expecting Jesus to matter much, especially after 9-11! We have remembered 911 this week. Since 911, we tend to be less optimistic, less expecting something good! Just going through the motions.  Not expecting things to be different a year from now than they are today!  I am afraid sometimes we put on Jesus this way.  I am afraid we can look at our own lives and see that we aren't putting on Jesus in a state of readiness with our traveling clothes on, at least not all the time! 

 

So what does it mean to put Jesus on in a state of readiness?  It is to come to Christ expecting it to really make a difference in our lives!  It is to expect Christ to change our lives!  It is to live in anticipation of what God is going to do with us!  It is to expect to change and be different a year from now than we are today!  It is to expect Jesus to do something in our church and with us!  It is to be excited about the prospects of what Jesus can do through our church!  It is to really expect Jesus to use us to share the love of God and for that love to really make a difference in our community and in the people we know and love! It is to expect people to come to Christ and to be changed!  It is to expect that even after 9-11 Jesus can still make a difference!  It is to live in anticipation of what Christ will do and to expect God to work miracles in and through us! It is to study and  prepare because we just know that God is going to do something in and through us! Let's close our eyes and ask ourselves this question, "What does it mean for me to trust in Jesus with my traveling clothes on, in a state of readiness?" (PAUSE) Am I expecting Christ to do something in my life?  (PAUSE)  In part, it means making ourselves available for God’s service.  It means living in expectation of what Christ will do and looking for the ways Christ is moving in our world and blessing us!  As we encounter Christ at the table today, let’s draw closer, let’s put on Jesus, let’s put on Jesus with our traveling clothes on fully expecting Jesus to do something with us and through us!  Thanks be to God!

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

God Hears!

 15^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

                            Exodus 3:1-15

 

Focus Statement:    This scripture shows how God heard the cries                    and prayers of the Hebrew people and called a                        human (Moses) to be the instrument through

                     which those prayers would be answered.

 

Function Statement: Because of this sermon, the congregation

                     will leave with a desire & determination to

                     be instruments through which God can work.

 

1st Movement:

     July, 2002, workers were in a mine in Somerset County, PA going about their daily job when they accidentally dug into an abandoned, poorly documented, mine filled with water and of a sudden water came crashing in from that water filled mine, flooding the mine with an estimated 75 million gallons of water.  They were trapped and ran and climbed as high in the mine as they could, but that was 240 feet underground.  As water closed in around them, it seemed that all chances for survival were gone.  One of the miners, Mark Popernack who was a United Methodist, tells that at one point they all got a piece of cardboard and wrote their last words on it.  They all thought they were going to die; it seemed they had lost their struggle against the rising water.  About this time, he says, "All we had at this time when the water reached us, all we had left was God and hope."  That seemed to be all their families had as well.  His wife, family, and church were praying about their safe rescue.  His wife said the first day she thought they would come out, but the next day she thought there is no way they are coming out alive.  Local ministers counseled the waiting families, one of which was Rev. Barry Ritenour of Bethany St. John's United Methodist Church.  I am assuming that is Mark's church.  He worked and wondered all the while if what he was telling the families was right, "What if I'm telling these people the wrong things?  What if what I say to them, and the whole thing goes sour, am I going to destroy their faith?"  Rescuers quickly put pumps in place to start pumping water out of the mines.  They tapped on some kind of ventilation duct, I believe, to find out if any were alive below; they got a response, but they had no idea how many were alive.  They began drilling a shaft down to the mine where they were 240 feet below.  The miners were trapped 77 hours in this cold, wet mine, but they were finally rescued.  All of them survived!  (UMC, CNN websites, and wikipedia)

     People prayed!  God willed that these people would be saved!  God heard their cries and prayers, but what if no one responded to God's call to go and help these miners?  What if God couldn't have gotten anybody to run the drills and the pumps?  What if God couldn't have gotten anyone to think up a rescue plan?  What if there were no pastors counseling the scared and terrified families?  What if?

 

2nd movement:

     In our scripture this morning, we have Moses at the burning bush.  This is Moses' call to be God's deliverer!  We all know how this comes out!  Moses agrees to go with the help of Aaron to the Pharaoh of Egypt and demand that he let the Hebrew people go!  There are plagues on the Egyptians until finally Pharaoh orders the people to leave!  It is a big deal!  It is a grand story!  Moses, with God's help, is very successful!  It is a story that the Hebrew people will tell for years to come:  how God delivered them from Egypt! 

     But I want to notice one thing in particular about the story today.  God tells Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.  Indeed, I know their sufferings, . . . ."  God wanted to do something; God was sympathetic to their cries.  God is not a God who is indifferent to human suffering!  Even here in the Old Testament, God is very compassionate to the suffering of God's people.  What we see here though is that God wanted someone through which to carry out the plan.  Someone through which to do something!  What if Moses hadn't gone?  What if God couldn't have gotten anyone to go?  What if? (Read Life Application Topic from Wesley Study Bible.)

 

3rd movement:

     What do we pray and cry for today?  I think we can safely say from this scripture that God hears our prayers and cries.  But how does God answer our prayers?

     We pray for people to be healed physically!  Sometimes God answers yes to this prayer.  Sometimes when the answer is yes, God miraculously does this; we really don't know how, but it happens!  More times than not, God uses people like Doctors, Nurses, and those who study medicine.  What if nobody answered that call?  (pause)

     Sometimes we pray for Spiritual healing.  I don't want to go as far as to say that God can't heal someone spiritually without our help, but many times God uses people in this process: a word of testimony, a sharing of our understanding of a scripture, teaching, preaching, etc.  What if nobody answered these calls? (pause)

     Sometimes we pray for church growth!  Why isn't God hearing our prayers?  Or is God hearing?  How can church growth come about?  Does God do this by Godself?  What if God can't get anyone to go? What if God can’t get anyone to give the invitation?  What if God can’t get anyone to go and tell about a church that wants to love them just as they are?  What if God can’t get anyone to do something?  (pause) 

     People in our world have experienced much loss: the floods in Nepal, the war in Iran and the middle east, wildfires and droughts, shootings in schools, people being wrongly deported or even worse killed, and the list goes on.  Tragity has struck.  Prayers are going up.  I can't explain why things like this happen; I just know it is a part of life.  I believe that God hears those prayers and that God hurts with these folks and all of the people of the world.  I believe God wants to do something:  I believe God is doing something through people who are receptive to God's call: United Methodist Committee on relief and other similar agencies, Churches, friends and neighbors who really know how to love.  Are you hurting today?  God Hears! Bring that hurt to Christ as you encounter Christ at the table today!  Is God calling you to be the answer to prayer for others? Is God calling you to do something? As you encounter Christ at the table, as you come and stand on Holy Ground, ask Christ, “What do you want me to do?  Show me! Here I am, use me!” You just might be the answer to someone’s prayer! Thanks be to God!

Prayer of Confession & Service of Communion

 

Possible follow-up song:  Matthew West “Do Something!” from YouTube.

Sincere but Lost!

 14^th Sunday after Pentecost!

                         

Introduction:

     A.   Have you ever heard someone say when referring to

          someone's religion, "It doesn't matter what you

believe as long as you are sincere?"

 

     B.   I have heard this statement made many times.

 

     C.   If it doesn't matter what we believe, what are we

worried about?  Everyone will go to Heaven anyway!

 

     D.   The truth is it does matter what we believe!  I'm

afraid there are people today who are Sincerely Lost!

 

     Trans.

          Let's look today at a man who was very sincere and who          came to Jesus, learning some lessons from what was

said!

 

                              Prayer

                          Matt. 19: 16-22

 

I.   What did this young man have going for him?

 

A.      He was a ruler!  We learn this from Luke's gospel –

Luke 18:18  (Possibly of the Sanhedran - B.K.C.)

 

B.      He was religious!  He was a "good" Jew!  He had kept

the commandments that Christ listed to his knowledge!

               * We might say he was sincere! *

 

     C.   He was rich!  All three gospel accounts of "The rich

          young ruler" present him as rich!

 

     D.   To most people, he looked like he had it all!  Yet he

          felt like something was missing!

 

II.  What did he lack?

 

     A.   He failed in his love for people!

          1.   He'd just told Christ that he loved his neighbor

as himself yet his action here proved the

contrary!

          2.   "You have to love people more than things!"

               a.   My mother told me this one time when it was

                     much needed, and I've never forgotten it!

               b.   Our world would be a much better place to

live if people believed and practiced this!

                     1)   People wouldn't be cheating others and

                          hurting them to get ahead!

                     2)   People would be generous and make

prevision for the less fortunate!

                     3)   People wouldn't lie about a product to

                          sell it!

                     4)   People would practice Love not revenge

                          when their property was damaged!

                     5)   People wouldn't purposely damage

another's property!

                     6)   There wouldn't be people hungry or

                          starving!

                     7)   There wouldn’t be homeless!

 

     B.   He lacked one other thing!  He failed to accept and

          follow Christ!

          1.   John 3:16-18   He that doesn't believe in Christ

is condemned!

          2.   This is the one that I'm afraid gets a lot of

people today, even like this man, religious

people!

 

a.      This is about believing that God did in

Christ what we can’t do for ourselves!  God made a way for us to be forgiven and given a chance to live for God after we have messed it up.  It isn’t about what we have done! It is about following Jesus. People that don’t get this may be very Religious; they are

religiously working for the church, but they are sincere but Lost!

 

b.      Our works should be an outflow of our faith! 

We work because of our love for God and for people! We work because we have found a better way! Working without the faith and for any other reason may make us think we are okay, like the rich young ruler, but in reality we are sincere but lost. Our works become a false security!

 

                     False security:

                     1)   We may be sincere and may feel sure we

                          are alright because we never miss a

                          Sunday!

                     2)   We may be sincere and may feel we are

                          alright because we are a member of a

                          church!

                     3)   We may be sincere and feel sure we

                          are alright because to the best of our

                          knowledge we live a clean, moral life!

We are not like “those” people!

Whoever “those” people are!

 

c.      These things are good, and we may be sincere in doing them!  We may be sincerely trying

to be good people, but that in itself isn't

                     enough! (Eph. 2:8-9)

 

                     ^8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not

your own doing; it is the gift of God— ^9 not the result of works, so

that no one may boast.^[1]

 

d.      Works can be a means of grace. They can be

an avenue through which God makes Godself known to us and we come to faith.  Sadly, this wasn’t the case with the rich young ruler!

 

1)      So if you are working and don’t have

faith the answer is not to just stop working!

 

2)      Once when John Wesley was suffering

from self-doubt and struggling with his faith and wondering if he should stop preaching, his mentor, Peter Bohler, told him:

 

“Preach faith till you have it: and

then, because you have it, you will

preach faith.”

 

3)      So our works can be part of the journey

but not the end of the journey.

 

III. The bottom line is this, if we haven't accepted that God

has done for us what we can't do for ourselves and because

of that are serving God with all our lives, we are lost!

 

     A.   We can have our names on every church roll in

          Forsyth and be lost!  Joining the Church and                    serving through the church are good and needful. It is

through our service that God’s work gets done, but           Church membership in itself does not save us!

 

     B.   We can be at church every time the doors are open and

          be lost!

 

     C.   We can take an active part in the church and be lost!

 

Conclusion:    John 14:6 " “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes

     to  the Father except through me. ^[2]"

 

     A.   This man had done all these things, yet he lacked the

          most important one!

 

C.      How about us?  Have we accepted what God has done for

us that we can't do for ourselves?  We have to get off of this self-sufficiency kick when it comes to this; we can't do anything to make us right with God!  We can only accept what God has done for us, believing in what God has done for us with all our hearts and serving God as a result of it!  Are we really following God, or are we, like we are so use to doing in many other areas of our lives, trying to take care of it ourselves?  As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, do we need to receive what God has done for us that we can't do for ourselves?

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

---

^[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville

^[2]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville

Let's Get to Work!

 13^th Sunday after Pentecost!

Introduction:

A.   What does a key do for you?

 

B.   It gives you the ability to enter a building doesn't it! It also gives you the ability to decide who else enters the building!

 

C.   Jesus told Peter one time he was going to give him the keys to the Kingdom; let's look and see what Jesus might have been saying.

 

                              Prayer

                          Matt. 16:13-19

 

I.   Let's look at this scripture. (especially vs. 19)

 

A.   Here of course Jesus was talking to Peter.

 

1.   But I think this can be applied to the church.

2.   The church that was built upon this rock (Jesus Christ).

 

B.   This was a very positive statement about the church!

 

1.   He was saying my church won't be dead, but it will  e alive!

2.   It will be going about doing things:

a.   It will be opening the doors for people to come

to God.

b.   And binding them up with the Love of God.

 

II.  If Christ was this positive about the church, then what can cause a church not to be effective?

 

A.   Traditions:

 

1.   Traditions aren't necessarily all bad; they can help make things operate smoothly, and there can be traditions that are really meeting people's needs, that really help us to worship.

     a.   Traditions like the Apostles Creed, Nicene

Creed, liturgy in worship, help us keep

connected to the Christians that lived closest

to the time of Christ!

               b.   Tradition is one of the 4 parts of the

Quadrilateral that helps us decern the will of

God when Scripture is not clear on the subject.

               c.   Christian tradition is important!

               d.   I am glad to be a part of a church that honors

and finds value in those traditions of the early

church!

 

2.   But traditions can be bad, usually more recent

traditions!

a.   They may not be meeting any needs at all, but because that is the way we've always done it,  that is the way we are going to continue to do  it!

b.   They can cause us not to accept change for the better!

c.   They can cause us not to try new things to meet  people's needs!

a.      They can keep us from moving into the 21^st century.

e.   They can keep us from doing something that God wants us to do, and that is when it becomes bad!  It can cause God's church to be ineffective!

 

B.   Another thing that can cause the church to be ineffective is Inconsistent lives of Christians:

 

1.   As a church we teach many things.

a.   We teach that God should be first in our lives!

b.   We teach that we should support the church and its ministries!

c.   We teach that Christians should live clean,

moral lives!

d.   We teach that God loves us!

 

2.   But if we don't show this by the way we live every day of our lives, we aren't being consistent, and we are causing the church to be ineffective!

     a.   If they view us as a hypocrite by the way we live,

they won’t want what we have. They will not view

us as being genuine!

               b.   If they don’t feel loved by us, if they feel

judged by us, that will color their view of God,

and they won’t want God in their lives!

               c.   But if they feel loved and haven’t been loved

by other so called Christians, they might just

want to come and visit that church that helped

make you who you are!

 

3.   When we do show this by how we live, people on the

outside will want what we have!

 

C.   Poor leaders can make the church ineffective!

 

1.   Ministers that preach one thing and at the same time are doing something else!  This not only loses respect for them but also for the church!

 

2.   Teachers:

a.   That don't live what they teach.

b.   That don't prepare!

c.   That don't work on their teaching skills!

d.   This can cause us to be ineffective.

1)   We need to do our part!!

2)   We are responsible for the job we do!!

 

III. What can cause the church to be effective?

 

A.   Loose them to be forgiven and given a new chance at life!

Offer them Christ!  Unconditionally!

 

B.   Bind them with the Love of God!

1.   In our world today, our country today, we need to love

like we have never loved before!

2.   We need to let go of our preconceptions about people!

Our preconceptions will cause us to not invite or open

the conversation!

a.   Maybe their skin is a different color than ours

and we have all these preconceived ideas about

how they are! Preconceptions that will keep us

from inviting!

               b.   Maybe their hair is longer, shorter, a different

style, not as clean, and we don’t open the

conversation.

               c.   Maybe they have tatoos and we do not like tatoos,

or maybe they don’t have tatoos and we do and we think they

are self-righteous and wouldn’t listen to us,

so we do not make the invitation.

               d.   Maybe they dress poorly and look homeless, so

we do not make the invitation. 

               e.   The list goes on. When we see people who are

different and because of that do not make the invitation, we have not taken the key to open the door, to unbind them for God!

f.   Listen to Paul’s instruction from Romans

12:1-18. Let love be genuine! Rejoice in hope! Extend hospitality to strangers! Live in harmony with one another. Live peaceably with all!

               g.   We have the key!  If we do not make the

invitation or open the conversation, people may

never know the love of God!

 

          3.   If they show up at church, do we make them feel welcome

no matter how they look?

a.   Do we make the effort to talk to them?

b.   Do we show them around or tell them about the

church?

               c.   Do we let them sit in the seat we usually sit

in without making them move and feel unwanted?

               d.   If they keep coming, do we let them become a part

of us?  We have the keys!  It is up to us!

    

          4.   I do not see any of this being a big problem in general

here.  I think it is just good for us all to be

reminded about the ways people can not feel included

or loved!

 

5.   We are responsible to reach out to people! God has

given us the keys!

a.   Are we doing it?

b.   We can make a difference!

c.   If we'll stick together and work together for Christ, we'll change some things!  We may not change the whole world, but we can brighten the corner where we are!

d.   We can continue to grow and bring people into

the Kingdom of God and the church!

               e.   We can positively influence Forsyth with the Love of God!

               f.   I am reminded of another of Jesus’ parables: if we will sow the seeds, some will sprout and grow!

 

Conclusion:

A.   We hold the keys; it's up to us!  Let's get to work!!

 

B.   Has something in this message touched you? Do you feel like

you have missed some opportunities to bring the love of

God to someone because of preconceived ideas? Have you

failed to be loving?  Have you failed to give the

invitation?  Do you need to get to work for God? You can

bring it to God as we encounter Christ at the table this

morning, and we can leave and get to work!

 

                       Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion