All Saint's Sunday!
Introduction:
A. Today, we remember the saints who have gone
on before us!
B. Many of these people who we hold dearly and
who may have been very influential in passing the gospel on to us, if asked,
would probably have said their ministry was not very significant!
C. As we shall see today, God uses insignificant
people doing seemingly insignificant things to make a significant
difference in the world.
Prayer
II Kings 3:16
"and he said,
'This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.'" NIV
I. A Little Background.
A. Israel was in a bad situation:
1. They had had several mean and unGodly kings.
2. As a nation, they were living far away from
God.
3. Mesha, the king of Moab, was out to get them!
B. So the three kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom
teamed up together to go against Moab.
C. They came together and decided to call Elisha
to see what they should do.
1. He told them that the Lord said to dig some
ditches; so they did!
2. This must have seemed pretty insignificant to
them and
a little unnecessary! They were asking
for instructions on how to win a war, and Elisha said "the
Lord said to dig some ditches!"
3. In the morning, after their offering, the
ditches were mysteriously filled with water, supplying the necessary
water for people and cattle!
4. Besides this, when the Moabites looked down
from their advantage point, the sun made it look red, and they
thought it was blood!
5. They assumed the three kings had fought each
other, having
a very bloody battle in the night!
6. The Moabites rushed down the hill to collect
the spoils,
and being caught completely off guard by the very much alive Israelites, they were
defeated!
II. How does this apply to today?
A. Sometimes, we think God is foolish in telling
us to do some of the things God tells us to do! We think:
1. I can't do that!
2. Surely with my education, God doesn't want me
to do that!
3. That isn't really important!
4. Or even, somebody else can do it better!
B. But God knows; God doesn't ask us to do
things without a purpose!
C. So we need to find God's purpose for us and
dig in and "dig some ditches!"
III. How can we find God's purpose for us?
A. We need to get ready!
1. Do what we can to get ready to be used of
God!
2. Study the Bible.
3. Make good use of good Bible Study helps: commentaries, Bible dictionaries, Concordances, etc.
A word of caution here:
Commentaries are written by
People. People have biases. If the
commentary is
written by someone from a certain tradition, it will
have that bias. Maybe use
different commentaries
and make sure they all don’t have the same bias.
Sometimes it helps to use commentaries that are
written by a team of scholars instead of just one.
Being a United Methodist, try to pick at least some
commentaries that are written from a mainline
denominational tradition instead of fundamentalist!
B. We need to be patient and listen to God; God
will show us the plan in God's time!
1. We need to patiently consider why we think
God wants us to do whatever it is we feel God leading us to do. This involves considering:
a. how our doing this or not doing it will
affect God's
Kingdom overall. Will it affect the Kingdom
of God positively?
b. how our doing this or not doing it will
affect other
people in our lives. Positively?
c. how our doing this or not doing it will
affect ourselves. Positively?
d. will our doing this show God's love?
2. Our listening to God involves 2-way prayer:
a. our speaking and pouring our heart out to
God.
b. and our listening for God's guidance in our lives!
c. We tend to leave the latter out!
C. If we do find God's purpose and dig in, what
will happen?
1. As a church, we will see people coming to God
through
Jesus Christ!
2. We will see our young people grow up and
assume spiritual leadership roles!
3. God will see us through!
4. Sometimes, God takes the little things and
makes something great happen!!
Conclusion:
A. Little things, everyday things are what make
a difference!
1. Assuming the task that God has for us, no
matter how small and insignificant it may seem at the time,and doing
our very best at it!
2. Living for God faithfully every day!
3. Being an instrument of God’s Love every day!
B. IT'S TIME TO DIG SOME DITCHES! LET'S DIG IN AND BE USED OF
GOD!
C. Today, we are celebrating All Saint’s
Sunday. As you
entered
today, you were asked to write a Saint’s name down
that
has passed on and who has had an influence on you and
take
a candle.
1. Some of those people, if asked, would have
probably
said their lives were pretty insignificant, but yet,
they influenced you!
2. We are going to remember them as Geraldo
passes the
flame and the candle you have taken is lit in their
remembrance. I will then lead us in a prayer of
remembrance.
(Geraldo pass the flame while music is softly
played.)
Prayer
of Thanks for Saint’s
We
bless your holy name, O God,
For
all your servants who, having finished their
course, now rest from their labors.
We
thank you for their influence on our lives!
Give
us grace to follow the example
Of
their steadfastness and faithfulness,
to
your honor and glory;
through
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen
(Modified from BOW #415)
D. As we encounter Christ at the table today,
let’s ask God
to
help us assume the task God/Christ has for us and do
it
to the best of our ability!
Celebration
of Communion
