Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost - 10/02/16 Sermon - “Leadership" "Spiritual Gifts" Series (Part 5 of 7)

Sunday 10/02/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Leadership” (“Spiritual Gifts” Series – Part 5 of 7)
                            
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 137
                                            
New Testament Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Gospel Lesson: Luke 17:5-10

          My brothers and sisters, my friends, welcome once again on this the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. Twenty Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved and the Christian Church was born.
          As many of you know, I have been preaching a series on spiritual gifts. While there are many scriptures that discuss the various spiritual gifts that we all have, I have been preaching on the seven spiritual gifts that the Apostle Paul discusses in Romans 12:6-8.
Thus far in this spiritual gifts preaching series, I have preached on the gifts of “giving” or generosity,” of “mercy,” of “exhortation,” or “encouragement,” and last week of “teaching”.
This week, I want to talk about the spiritual gift of “leadership”. As many of you know, whenever I present a concept or idea, I like to define what it is, so that we all can know better what we are talking about.
In the Christian context, a leader can be defined this way: “This gift speaks to the various leadership roles found in the Church. While many think of roles such as administration, management of funds, strategy planning, etc. as functions outside of the supernatural realm, in reality individuals in these positions are just as in need of supernatural empowerment as are ministers of the gospel. Some writers consider the gifts of governments and leading to be the same gift, but others consider them closely related yet different” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift).
Given this definition within the Christian context, this means that leadership isn’t just the pastor. Leadership is a variety of positions, ministries, and etc. Being a lay leader is leadership. Being a choir director is leadership. Being one of our many beloved United Methodist Church committees is leadership. Leadership means that you have been called by God to take on certain responsibilities, make certain decisions, and to shoulder more than others might have to shoulder.
Being a leader means that you are able to carry more burdens, more stress, and sometimes much more work than others. It is truly a gift from God, and some of us have it abundance, and some less so. I do think though, that we all can be leaders in our own ways to.
In a more secular context, a leader can be defined like this:
1. A position as a leader of a group, organization, etc.
2. The time when a person holds the position of leader.
3. The power or ability to lead other people (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadership).
          So are you a leader? Do people follow you? Do you hold a position of leadership in this church, in your work place, or in the world? Do you know what weight and responsibility of leadership feels like?
          How many of us, if we are honest, are content to have as few leadership positions as possible? You see some of us don’t want to be the President of the United States. Some of us don’t want to be the boss where we work, and some of us don’t want to be the pastor of the church that we may attend. Yet while all of this is true, we so often have something to say about the President of the United States, the boss where we work, or the pastor of the church that we may attend.
          The spiritual gift of leadership, in the context of the Christian Church means that God has called you to lead, guide, inspire, build up, love, and make decisions. Many of us have opinions about church leadership, but many of us also don’t want anything to do with church leadership.
          For me personally as a pastor, I remember watching the preachers of the churches that I attended as a child. I remember thinking one Sunday, “man, pastor so and so, must have such a good and easy life. He does a church service, then lays in a hammock all week until next Sunday when he does another church service”. What I know now though, is that when someone is dying, when someone is spiritually devastated, when families are on the brink of erupting, when there are crises, I often get called. As a pastor, as this kind of Christian leader, I am called to shoulder the pain, the burdens, and the struggles of churches, of people, of communities.
          I don’t know some days if I have the spiritual gift of leadership as much as I would like to, but what I do know is that while Christian leadership can be hard, if we put our trust in Jesus we can do all things.
          The spiritual gift of leadership, I believe begins with putting our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, and allowing the power of God to lead and guide us. Strong Christian leaders then don’t just trust their brains, their instincts, and their training, they also have a strong faith in God. To be a Christian leader like a United Methodist District Superintendent or a Bishop, means that you must have incredible faith, to allow God to maximize your spiritual gift of leadership.
          Once again, the spiritual gift of leadership can manifest itself differently, and having the spiritual gift of leadership does not mean that you have to be a pastor, a district superintendent, or a bishop. Yet believe me when I say, that they all shoulder more than you will ever know.
          So, do you have the spiritual gift of leadership? Do you have the gift to motivate, guide, and direct people towards Jesus Christ? Do you have the gift of leadership in such a way, that people follow your leadership in the church and outside the church? We so often can be critical of leaders, yet I find that many people don’t want to be one of them. The gift of leadership is a great gift, but with it comes great responsibility. Do you have the spiritual gift of leadership? My sisters and brothers, our churches are always in need more leaders.
          I remember back to December 14, 2016, when there was a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. On that day, as many of you know, twenty-children were killed brutally and without cause.
          Amidst this terrible national tragedy, I saw great leadership. I saw a community come together, I saw leaders lead, and I saw the clergy of that community come together. Imagine the kind of leadership that the pastors and the priests in Sandy Hook showed in December of 2012. Yet, I would suspect they were and are so blessed by God for shouldering some of that pain, suffering, and grief, and doing it for God.
          My sisters and brothers, the spiritual gift of leadership is a great gift. Do you have it? Do you know anyone that has it?
          One of the goals of my ministry is and has been to train and raise up leaders, for anything from committees, to serving in other capacities, and maybe even pursing becoming pastor. One of the things that a good Christian leader or pastor does is inspires, challenges, grows, and leads the people they serving, and this all starts with faith in Jesus Christ.
          One of the great leaders in the Bible is the Apostle Paul. A Christian covert, who would go on to show great leadership, among many other spiritual gifts. This morning, we were given a small portion of the Apostle Paul’s second Epistle or letter to this young friend and brother in Christ Timothy.
          The Apostle Paul begins this Epistle or letter by saying, “Paul, and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Tim. 1:1-2, NRSV). What Godly words, and what words of a true, humble, and loving Christian leader.
          The Apostle Paul tells Timothy that he remembers him “constantly in” his “prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3). He tells Timothy, “I long to see you so that may be filled with joy” (2 Tim. 1:4). The Apostle Paul then complements and encouraged Timothy in his faith, and then says, “For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:6-7, NRSV). The Apostle Paul this great Christian leader, is doing what Christian leaders do, which is to raise up leaders like Timothy, through the power of God.
          The Apostle Paul then encourages Timothy to keep the faith, to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ, to cling to the love of God (2 Tim. 1:8-14, NRSV).
          My brothers and sisters, do you have the gift of spiritual leadership? Where is God calling you? Is God calling you to give, to show mercy, to encourage, to teach, to lead?
          This morning in our Gospel of Luke reading, we have a great scripture. In this scripture, the disciples are asking to Jesus to give them more faith. In fact, this gospel reading begins by saying, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Lk. 17:5a, NRSV). Jesus then replies by saying, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Lk. 17:5b, NRSV). Jesus is calling us not be self-righteous, but to lead by example, and to trust God.
          Jesus then gives an example of serving a slave, instead of asking a slave to serve you. Jesus tells us to lead, by example. According to one of my Bible commentaries it says this, “what God needs is a faith that is pure and simple, that is, faith with integrity (17:6-10). Our faith does not make us powerful authorities by humble servants of God” (Africa Bible Commentary). Christian leaders, good Christian leaders, are strong, but humble.
          My friends, my brothers and sisters do you have the spiritual gift of leadership, in that you a called to serve in one of the various leadership roles in the church, or serving God in general? If you think you do, let me know, as I want to raise up as many leaders that God enables me to raise up.
          In closing, I want to tell you a story about a leadership. A story about one of the best military generals that this country has ever had, General then President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower. As many of you might know, on June 6, 1944 the United States, in concert with our Allies launched the largest amphibious military invasion in world history. This invasion was called “Operation Overlord,” or as many of us now know it, “D-Day”. That fateful day that many of us have seen reenacted in movies like “Saving Private Ryan,” where thousands of our young men hit the beaches in France on a quest to rid the world of Nazi terror and evil. On this day, we lost many good men.
Well this story comes to us from Time Magazine, and this story was written by Relman Morin on June 6, 2016, on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. This article more specifically is read as an excerpt from the book 'Dwight D. Eisenhower: An Associated Press Biography' (http://time.com/4358164/dwight-eisenhower-d-day/).
This article therefore will give us a glimpse into the mind of General Dwight D. Eisenhower on how he personally felt the day before he would lead the largest amphibious military invasion in the history of world. This article begins by saying: “Here, we pick up with Eisenhower on the day before the invasion of Normandy… Dwight D. Eisenhower stretched out in the back of his staff car, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. He was bone-tired. A feeling of numbness began creeping over him. For many months all his thoughts had been concentrated on this hour, planning and working toward it, and now it was at hand with all the unimaginable consequences for good or evil, for success or the most disastrous military debacle in history. His watch showed 9:10. It was the night of June 5, 1944, the night before D-Day”.
“The car rolled through the gates of the airfield and started the long journey to his headquarters in Portsmouth, passing through the blacked out towns and villages. His aides in the front seat of the car remained silent. They thought he was sleeping.”
“Instead of sleep, a montage of memories passed through his mind, pictures new and old. They all pointed toward this hour and came together in it, the apex of a pyramid”.
“The paratroopers on the airfield he had just left were camouflaging their faces with linseed oil and paint and they had said, “Don’t you worry, General. We’ll take care of this for you”…men of the 101st Airborne Division…he shook hands and turned away and a tear glistened in his eye…theoretically, to an officer, soldiers are just “bodies”…you don’t think of them in terms of Joe Jones or Charlie Smith; you think of casualties in terms of percentages, statistics…some of these men, Eisenhower knew, would be dead very soon and he did not think of them as statistics…he stayed with them until they began boarding the C-47s and gliders and now they were on their way to the drop zones, the Douve and Merderet Rivers and the town of Sainte Mere Eglise”.

While you probably want to hear more of this story, I decided to tell you just some of this story about General Dwight D. Eisenhower and the “D-day” invasion, to emphasize that leadership is great, but can be very hard. Yet God makes men and women with different gifts and graces. Some of us are given small, medium, large, and even massive amounts of the gift of spiritual and general leadership. My brothers and sisters, do you have the spiritual gift of leadership? Is it a great gift, but it can also be a tough and a hard gift. Next week I will be talking about the spiritual gift of “Prophecy”. Today, this week, and always, may we put our trust in the greatest of teachers, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/25/16 Sermon - “Teaching" "Spiritual Gifts" Series (Part 4 of 7)

Sunday 09/25/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Teaching” (“Spiritual Gifts” Series – Part 4 of 7)
                            
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
                                            
New Testament Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Gospel Lesson: Luke 16:19-31

          Friends, sisters and brothers, welcome again on this the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Nineteen Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved in and on those first disciples, giving birth to the Christian Church. Those first disciples then went forth in Jesus’ name, loving, healing, and forgiving. God had given them, as God has given us all, different gifts and graces. These gifts and graces are part of what God gives us, to enable us to effectively do the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world.
          For some of us, we might say, “I know my spiritual gifts”. Yet others might say, “You know, I don’t know if I know my spiritual gifts”. If every single one of the many spiritual gifts were all different colors, and if we suddenly had those colors on us like clothing, we would then be able to look around this sanctuary right now and see many different colors. Sometimes our spiritual gifts are very apparent, but sometimes they can be buried down deep within us.
          In now officially being in the season of fall, with Sunday School and Public School being restarted, and with all of the busyness that comes with this season, I have been preaching on spiritual gifts. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Or maybe you need to be reminded of what your spiritual gifts are. The seven spiritual gifts that I have been preaching on come from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Romans 12:6-8.
          So far in this spiritual gifts preaching series, I have talked about the gift of “giving” or generosity,” about the spiritual gift of “mercy,” and last week about the spiritual gift of “exhortation,” or “encouragement”.
          This morning, I want to talk about the spiritual gift of “teaching”. As someone who is a permanently certified New York State teacher, that has been a fulltime public school teacher, I can say that “teaching” is hard. “Teaching” can also be very rewarding, and to be teacher means that you have the ability to connect with the people you are “teaching”. Beyond this, if you have the gift of “teaching,” you have the ability to explain things to people, or to students, in such a way that they will understand what you are trying to say to them or to teach them.
          In defining the spiritual gift of teaching in the Christian context, a definition is: “Someone who devotes his or her life to preaching and teaching the Christian faith. When teaching is provided for the Church by God, two gifts are actually given—to the Church is given a teacher and along with the teacher comes a divine capacity to teach” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift).
          A general definition of a teacher is: A person who provides education for students (https://outlook.live.com/owa/?id=64855&path=/mail/inbox).
          The challenge with the spiritual gift of “teaching”, at least in the context of the church, is being able to take a biblical concept, or a scripture, and discuss it in such a way, that when folks leave the church service on Sunday, they will understand and grow from what the worship service. The spiritual gift of “teaching” is truly a gift indeed.
          I would ask you to think and reflect for a moment, about those teachers that you had in school, those pastors, those coaches, and those other folks who just had a way of explaining things so they made perfect sense. Can anyone here say that they had or have people in their lives like that? Perhaps you had a teacher, a minister, a coach, or a co-worker, and or etc., and they just always or still do have a way of explaining things to you, so that they made sense.
          I remember one worship service that my classmates and I attended in seminary school, we had a professor doing the sermon for us that evening. Everyone just loved this professor, but when he preached, in about one to two minutes, he had lost me. This professor used so many $5-dollar words and concepts that I had never heard of before. Granted I was early on in my seminary studies at this point, and I hadn’t learned many of these ideas and concepts yet, but this professor did not effectively “teach” me where I was that night.
          One of my goals as your pastor, is to try to preach and teach in such a way that it makes sense, that it connects with you and your life, and that you understand it.
          When looking at our scriptures for this morning, among many other things, we can learn a great deal from reading the Psalms in the Old Testament. They are truly filled with emotion, power, real joy, and struggles. In our reading this morning from Psalm 91, the Psalmist teaches us with vivid language about who God is. The Psalmist says, “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust” (Ps. 91:1-2, NRSV). You see the Psalmist is saying and is “teaching” us to rely on God, and take to “shelter” in God (Ps. 91:1, NRSV). The Psalmist is saying that when we trust God this much, we will then be able to say that God is “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust” (Ps. 91:2, NRSV).
          In the reading this morning from 1 Timothy 6:6-19, the Apostle Paul is “teaching”, loving, and encouraging his young friend Timothy. The Apostle Paul tells his young friend, “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these” (1 Tim. 6:6-8, NRSV). The Apostle Paul is “teaching” and reminding his young friend Timothy that we were born on this earth with nothing and we will exit this earth with nothing. Since this is true, focus on God, on Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul says, as those are the only true sources of “godliness combined with contentment” (1 Tim. 6:6-8, NRSV). The Apostle Paul is saying, trust God brother Timothy.
          The Apostle Paul then says those famous words, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10, NRSV). The Apostle Paul goes on “teaching” and says to Timothy, “But as for you, man of God, shun all of this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:11-12, NRSV). The Apostle Paul again is “teaching” Timothy how to live for God and not the world. The Apostle Paul was such a great teacher, as he wrote things down so that they just made sense.
          In our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus tells us the parable, or the story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus”. Now the greatest of all the teachers was and is Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches us in this story about a wealthy man who had everything, but that the wealthy man never helped a poor and hungry man named Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-20). Lazarus would lay outside of the gates of the house where the rich man lived, covered in sores, and rich man’s dog would like Lazarus’ sores (Lk. 16:20, NRSV). The rich mad had an abundance of food and likely threw out extra uneaten food every night, but never offered any of the food or comfort to Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-21, NRSV).
          Larazus then dies and goes to heaven, where Abraham is, and the rich man dies and goes the other way (Lk. 16:22, NRSV). Lazarus then goes to visit the rich man in hell with Abraham by his side (Lk. 16:23, NRSV). The rich man calls out to Abraham who is with Lazarus, to have Lazarus dip his finger in water and cool his tongue, as he was burning in the great fire (Lk. 16:23-24).
          Abraham then speaks to the rich man in the flames, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you in agony” (Lk. 16:25, NRSV). Now the rich man by the way has shown no remorse or apology to Lazarus, but begs Abraham to have someone go and tell his five living brothers to change their lives and repent (Lk. 16:26-30, NSRV). Abraham tells the rich and now tormented man, that his brothers won’t get any short cuts, and that they need to follow and obey God, just like everyone else (Lk. 16:31, NSRV).
          In the parable or story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus”, Jesus is among many other things “teaching” us how to treat each other. It is not a bad thing to work hard and to get ahead, but Jesus is saying remember and care those less fortunate than you. Jesus, who among many other titles, was and is a “Rabbi,” which is Hebrew for “teacher”.
You see, Jesus didn’t just come to earth, to die for the forgiveness of our sins, but Jesus also came to earth, among many other things, to teach us parables or stories like this, and how to live a better life. Jesus wants us to be like God, like him. When Jesus told the parable of story of the “Prodigal Son” for example, he was teaching us about “mercy”, love, and forgiveness.
          In all of these ways my brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth to die for us, but he also came to teach us how to live and love better. All of these things that Jesus said and taught are recorded in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We also have great examples of “teaching” all through the Bible, like our readings this morning from Psalm 91, or 1 Timothy, and of course the parable or story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” that I just discussed from Luke 16.
          My brothers and sisters, I believe that the teachings of Jesus Christ are powerful, and because of this, I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. I believe that in Jesus dying for us, and “teaching” us that if we follow his ways and his teachings, then we will be showing and changing the world with a hope that nothing can compare to. For the gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
          So my sisters and brothers, do you have the spiritual gift of “teaching”. It can be a tough and a challenging gift. It is also a gift that bears great responsibility. If you do have the spiritual gift of “teaching” how will you use this gift this day, this week, and so forth, to change the world for Jesus Christ. Next week I will be talking about the spiritual gift of “leadership”. May we all be blessed this day by our great teacher, our God who is three in one, one in three. Amen.



         
         
         


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/18/16 Sermon - “Exhortation" (Encouragement) "Spiritual Gifts" Series (Part 3 of 7)

Sunday 09/18/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Exhortation” (Encouragement)
                   (“Spiritual Gifts” Series – Part 3 of 7)
                            
Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
                                            
New Testament Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 16:1-13

          My friends, my sisters and brothers, welcome again on this, the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Eighteen Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved, and the Christian Church was born. From the first day of the Christian Church on Pentecost, to today, part of what made the church so successful was and is people utilizing their spiritual gifts. Our spiritual gifts, are gifts that God gives us all in different amounts, and in different ways.
          As many of you know, two week ago I started a spiritual gifts preaching series, in an effort to remind us, or to have us for the first time, discover what our spiritual gifts are. For a few weeks now I have made available our spiritual gifts survey and chart, so that you might discover, or rediscover your own spiritual gifts.
          Depending on what you consider a spiritual gift, scripture can list as many as twenty-five, or much fewer. Our spiritual gifts survey includes sixteen spiritual gifts, and I am preaching on just seven of them. The list that I am preaching is again from Romans 12:6-8. Also once again, many of the spiritual gifts are attributed to the Apostle Paul’s Epistles or letters, and perhaps one of the Apostle Peter’s Epistles or letters, and are eluded to in the Old Testament.
          If someone in this church, or a friend, or a family member were to ask you, “what are your spiritual gifts,” would you have an answer for them? What are your spiritual gifts? As I said, I am just preaching on seven of them, but there are many spiritual gifts.
          So far in the preaching series I have talked about the spiritual gift of “giving” or “generosity,” and how God has given some us the gift of “giving” our time, our talent, and our resources. We must really have deep faith in God to give a lot, as we need to trust that God will honor our giving.
          Last week I talked about the spiritual gift of “mercy,” of showing forgiveness, love, compassion, caring, empathy, and concern, even when it is not expected or deserved. “Mercy” is a gift from God, and as I heard Rev. Bob McCune say once in a sermon, “When you forgive people, you disarm them”. Showing people “mercy” when it is not expected, can cause someone to break into tears, or to change considerably. Do you have the spiritual gift of “mercy”?
          This week, I want to talk about the spiritual gift of “exhortation,” or “encouragement”. In defining the word “exhortation,” it says according www.merriam-webster.com:
1. An act or instance of exhorting.
2. Language intended to incite and encourage.
         
          In some Bible translations however, when you read Romans 12:6-8, instead of the Apostle Paul listing the spiritual gift of “exhortation,” it says the spiritual gift of “encouragement”. Now these two words are pretty much the same thing, but the word “encouragement” is much more common to us today than is “exhortation”. For this reason, let me also give you the definition of the word “encouragement”, according to www.merriam-webster.com. The definition is:
1. The act of making something more appealing or more likely to happen.
2. Something that makes someone more determined, hopeful, or confident.

3. Something that makes someone more likely to do something.

          For those who have heard of Zig Zigler, one of his famous quotes is: “Encouragement is the fuel on which hope runs.” Based on the definitions of “exhortation,” and “encouragement,” it would seem that anyone who can motivate and get someone feeling better could be defined as an encourager, or a motivator.

            Sometimes the people we have known with the greatest amount of the spiritual gift of “encouragement” have been coaches from our sports teams, teachers, salesmen, and maybe even clergy. These are sometimes people that when they speak they seem to have a God given ability to motivate, inspire, and to yes “encourage”. People with large amounts of the spiritual gift of encouragement are sometimes people that inspire you, people that you would follow as a leader, and people often times that you respect greatly.
          For many of us we might say that a parent, or a grandparent, or another family member or friend gave us a lot of “encouragement” growing up. Maybe we were lucky enough to have parents, or grandparents, or others who would encourage us when we were down. People who would pick us up, when we have fallen.
          I have found for me that the best encouragers that I have encountered in life were people that were optimistic and seemed to liven everyone else up. These tended to be people for me who no matter how bad things got believed that God was leading and guiding them.
          One of the biggest and strongest people in my life that I know has a whole lot of the spiritual gift of “encouragement,” is mother Susan. My mom was single mother for a number of years, went back to school at night, and worked her way up the corporate ladder. She retired from IBM in a low level executive role and had many men and women reporting to her. For many years she was treated differently in the business world because she was a woman, but she was and is tough. I call her mom, or “Judge Judy” depending on the situation.
          While my mom has struggled, she always could see the silver lining in every single situation, and her spiritual gift of “encouragement” has been so helpful for me. Do you, or does someone you know have the spiritual gift of “encouragement,” or “exhortation”?
          When we heard the scripture this morning from the prophet Jeremiah, we heard deep discouragement. Jeremiah says, “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick” (Jer. 8:18, NRSV). Jeremiah, the great prophet of the Lord is deeply grieved as he knows that God’s judgment is coming the Jewish people. Jeremiah knows that God will purge the sinful, and then drive the Jewish people into exile. Jeremiah is discouraged and grieved over this, yet God has called Jeremiah to among many other things, encourage his people in the truth of God’s love.
          In our reading from 1 timothy, the Apostle Paul is instructing and encouraging his young friend “Timothy”. Though the Apostle Paul is responsible for countless people coming to know Jesus Christ, Timothy might have been his biggest success story. Church tradition holds that first bishop of Ephesus, where the Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle or letter to the Ephesians, was Timothy. Clearly Paul had great hope and trust in his young friend, and clearly he believed in how Timothy could effectively use the gifts that God gave him.
          The first thing that the Apostle Paul tells his young friend Timothy in this morning’s reading, is to pray for people, and for our leaders, so that all might come to know Jesus Christ. So that all might live righteously before God.
          What the Apostle Paul then tells young Timothy, I think was to encourage him. The Apostle Paul says, “there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6a, NRSV). The Apostle Paul is encouraging young Timothy to have faith in Jesus Christ, and believe in what is possible through him. I think that I can safely say that the Apostle Paul had the spiritual gift of “exhortation,” or “encouragement”. The Apostle Paul seemed to be able to inspire, motivate, and encouragement so many people.
          Our gospel reading from the gospel of Luke this morning, Jesus tells us the parable of the “dishonest manager”, who was praised for being shrewd (Lk. 16:1-9, NRSV). You see in the parable a rich man had a manager, who poorly managed his property and possessions (Lk. 16:1-9, NRSV). The rich man then fired the manager, and then manager invites in all of the rich man’s debtors in, and then the not fired manager he lower their debts (Lk. 16:1-9, NRSV). The manager did this to curry favor with the debtors, as he was just fired, and would now need friends more than ever (Lk. 16:1-9, NRSV). The rich man then commended the now fired manager for garnering support from the debtors by being prudent and shrewd with his debtors. Now perhaps the debtors who now owed less were encouraged by owing less, but other than that, I don’t think that this parable of “the rich man’s manager” is largely about the spiritual gift of “encouragement”.
          Yet this scripture from the gospel of Luke ends with a challenge from Jesus Christ, that says: “You cannot serve God and wealth” (Lk. 16:13b, NRSV). This statement is certainly a challenge, but it can also be “encouragement” to follow God and to not put our trust in the things of this world.
          So my friends, brothers and sisters, do you have the spiritual gift of “exhortation” or “encouragement”? Has God given you the spiritual gift of being able to lift people up when they are down, to motivate them, and to make them feel like that can what they are called by God to do?
          I would like to bring this message to a close this morning with a story on, yes you guessed it, “encouragement”. This story is called “Cory Weisman’s Basket,” and this story is taken was reported by Frank Record, called “When there’s more to winning than winning.” NPR Radio, Feb 22, 2012.
          Here is how the story goes: “In February 2012 Cory Weissman led out the men’s basketball team of Gettysburg College for their last game of the season. Four years earlier he had suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on one side. Four years of rehab and he was able to walk with a limp, but was still not able to play competitively. But before his stroke he had been on the varsity team and the Gettysburg coach wanted to give him a few seconds on court as a senior. So Cory was nominated captain and led out the starting five for what was both his first and last game for Gettysburg, for he was now due to graduate.”
“Knowing the struggle it was just to be there, the crowd and the players from both teams greeted him with wild applause. The Gettysburg coach gave him a few minutes on court before benching him.”
“With one minute to go Gettysburg was well ahead and the coach sent Cory back out on court. The Washington coach called time out and instructed his players to foul Cory Weissman. For those who don’t know basketball this was a very generous act, for it meant Cory would be given two shots at the basket.”
“Cory takes his place at the free throw line, feels the weight of the ball in his hands, lifts and shoots. It misses badly. But he has a second and final shot left. Again he feels the weight of the ball in his hands, lifts and shoots. This time the ball flies straight through the hoop, and the crowd breaks out in thunderous applause.”
“The assistant vice president for athletics at Gettysburg, David Wright, later wrote to Washington College: “Your coach, Rob Nugent, along with his … staff and student-athletes, displayed a measure of compassion that I have never witnessed in over 30 years of involvement in intercollegiate athletics.”

The spiritual gift of “exhortation,” or “encouragement”. Do you, or does anyone you know have this spiritual gift? May we all be encouraged and filled this day with the love of God, through Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/11/16 Sermon - “Mercy" "Spiritual Gifts" Series (Part 2 of 7)

Sunday 09/11/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Mercy” (“Spiritual Gifts” Series – Part 2 of 7)
                            
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 14:1-7
                                            
New Testament Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Gospel Lesson: Luke 15:1-10

          My sisters and brothers, my friends, welcome once again on this the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. Seventeen Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved in that Upper Room so long ago, and the Christian Church was born.
          On that day, those first disciples of Jesus Christ went forth loving, healing, and forgiving in Jesus Christ’s name. All of those first disciples and the many more to come had different gifts and abilities, just like we do today. When we come together as God’s people, as the church, we are then able to use our God given gifts and abilities, and our God given spiritual gifts, for the glory of God. It is important therefore, to know what our God given gifts are. Perhaps you already know what your God given gifts are, as well as your God given spiritual gifts.
          Of the many spiritual gifts, or gifts that God gives us all to grow and serve God through the church and in general, I started a sermon series last week that discusses seven of the many possible spiritual gifts.
Two weeks ago, I also gave out a spiritual gifts survey, and I also have a scriptural chart of spiritual gifts, as well. If you haven’t already taken the spiritual gifts survey, or picked up a spiritual gifts chart, I would encourage you to do so. In taking the spiritual gifts survey, perhaps you will just be reaffirming what you already know, or perhaps you will be discovering your spiritual gifts from God for the first time. Also, in beginning a new school year, and in many things picking up in these fall months, I thought that it would be a good time to see, or to re-see where God has spiritually gifted us.
          Once again, the scriptures that discuss spiritual gifts, are largely listed in the Apostle Paul’s letters, and are Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, and also 1 Peter 4:11. There are also a couple of potential references to spiritual gifts in the Old Testament, as well. For example, it says in Joel 2:28, “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28, NRSV). These few Old Testament references though are not nearly as clear and or straight forward as the ones in the New Testament, but do indirectly discuss spiritual gifts.
          While the list of spiritual gifts can be debated as in how many of them there are, and while our spiritual gifts survey lists sixteen spiritual gifts, I have decided as I said, to focus on just the seven spiritual gifts that Apostle Paul lays out in Romans 12:6-8.
          Last week, I first discussed the spiritual gift of “giving” or “generosity,” and how “giving” is a spiritual gift from God. In giving, we get to decide how we will give of our time, our talent, and our resources, and in doing this, we must trust God to honor and bless our various types of giving. To really have the spiritual gift of “giving” or “generosity”, is to give very generously, and to trust in God in doing so.
          The spiritual gift that I want to discuss this morning that the Apostle Paul lays out in Romans 12:6-8, is the spiritual gift of “mercy”. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the definition of the word “mercy” means:
1a. Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also: lenient or compassionate treatment.

1b. Imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder.

2a. A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.

2b. A fortunate circumstance.

3. Compassionate treatment of those in distress.
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercy)

            To show someone unexpected love, forgiveness, compassion, and or empathy, can be, based on the circumstances, the gift of “mercy”. Another definition of “mercy” is that it is: “Possibly identical to the gift of helping or serving, the mercy-shower possesses a ministry of visitation, prayer, and compassion to the poor and sick” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift).
          I suppose another way to define the spiritual gift of “mercy” is to show the kindness, love, and forgiveness that I just explained, but doing this when it is hard, or when it is unexpected.
          In the gospel of Luke 6:36 Jesus tells us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36, NRSV). In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to Titus in the New Testament, he said 3:5 of Jesus Christ, “he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit. 3:5, NRSV).
          When Jesus Christ was hanging and dying on the cross, he said of those killing him in the gospel of Luke 23:34a: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34a, NRSV).
          “Mercy” my brothers and sisters. Showing people kindness, love, compassion, empathy, and concern, and sometimes when it is undeserved and not expected. Last Sunday in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis formally made Mother Theresa into a saint of the church. For me, when I think of the now Saint Mother Theresa, I think of among other spiritual gifts, the gift of “mercy”. This was a woman who gave all that she had, and who showed incredible kindness, love, compassion, and empathy. Since she did this, is was transformative, and it change countless lives.
          I also think of the great sacrifice made by so many men and women on and after September 11, 2001. I remember fire fighters, police, and civilians working tirelessly to save lives. I remember the fire fighters who died trying to get people to safety. Friends, I am talking about the spiritual gift of “mercy”. Do you have the spiritual gift of “mercy”?
          The reality my brothers and sisters, is that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of all of the spiritual gifts, as he had and has all of them, at the fullest of levels. If you haven’t gotten the scores on your spiritual gifts surveys in some of the categories that you hoped for, realize that the only one who had all of these spiritual gifts perfectly was Jesus Christ. Since Jesus Christ modeled and lived great “mercy”, love, and compassion, we are called to do our best to do the same. As it is, some of us have been given by God a great amount of the gift of “mercy,” and some of us have not. Do you, do I, and have the spiritual gift of “mercy”? If yes or no, how much of the spiritual gift of “mercy” has God given you? Further, do we not realize that when come together as the church, that all of the gifts of God, of Jesus Christ are present? This is why coming together as the church is so important, and is so vital, as we need all of the spiritual gifts of God to fully complete our mission.
          In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Hebrews, he said in 4:16: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16, NRSV). Friends, when we sinners, come to Jesus Christ in our brokenness, when we come to Jesus Christ with all the mistakes and troubles that we have, and when we repent ask him for forgiveness, he will show us “mecry”. When we tell Jesus that we have put our full faith and trust in him, and that we want him to be the Lord of our lives, then Jesus promises us forgiveness. Through the Holy Spirit, we can then be filled, renewed, regenerated, and forgiven, and through this, Jesus Christ has said that he will not only show us forgiveness, love, compassion, but also great “mercy”. Has God given you the spiritual gift of “mercy” like this? For as the Apostle Peter writes in his first Epistle or letter in 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Pet. 1:3, NRSV).
          Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ, the living God in the flesh came to earth to love, heal, and forgive. In doing so he showed us and still shows us great mercy. Jesus wants to forgive and show us all great mercy, and all we have to do is say yes to Jesus Christ. In doing this, we will be shown great mercy and love.
          In effort to connect our gospel of Luke reading this morning with the spiritual gift of “mercy,” the gospel begins by saying: “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk. 15:1-2, CEB).  Jesus was being criticized for showing love and mercy.
          Yet, don’t all sinners need forgiveness? Don’t we need forgivness? Shouldn’t we want to eat with sinners, as we want them to know the freedom that we have found through Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ had love, compassion, kindness, and “mercy” for all people. Jesus showed “mercy” to the woman at the well, to the lepers, to the blind man, to the man with the withered hand, and so many others. Do we show that kind of forgiveness, love, compassion, and “mercy”? Do you have the spiritual gift of “mercy”? Being able to forgive, to “turn the other cheek,” and to show love when it isn’t easy.
          The gospel of Luke reading this morning then continues with Jesus telling us a parable, or a story. Jesus first tells us the parable of “the lost sheep,” and in this parable or story, Jesus talks about if a person has a hundred sheep, and one becomes lost, how we should go and find the lost sheep (Lk. 15:4-7, CEB). What Jesus is talking about here is the need to extend love, kindness, compassion, and “mercy” to all people. The idea that God loves us so much, that he will seek us out, even if we are the one and only lost sheep. When we come Jesus, Jesus then says in the gospel, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk. 15:7, CEB).
          You see sisters and brothers, Jesus Christ came to seek out the least, the lost, and the lesser-thans, and he showed them great “mercy”. The spiritual gift of “mercy” is a great gift indeed. Do you have the spiritual gift of “mercy”?
          The gospel of Luke reading concludes this morning with Jesus telling another parable or story. This is the parable of the “ten silver coins” (Lk. 15:8, CEB). In this parable, Jesus says, “What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” (Lk. 15:8, CEB). Jesus then says of the lost silver coin, “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost’ (Lk. 15:9, CEB).
          Jesus then ends this reading by saying, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk. 15:10, CEB). This gift of salvation, the gift of Jesus Christ. Do we have the spiritual gift of “mercy”? Are we willing to forgive, love, and show compassion, empathy, and “mercy” to those around us? Are we will to show love and “mercy” even to people that have hurt us, or have harmed us? Do you have the spiritual gift of “mercy”? Jesus Christ had to the upmost.
          To begin to bring this message to a close this morning, I want to talk about one the greatest examples in the bible of the spiritual gift of “mercy”. In the gospel of Luke 15, Jesus shares the parable, or the story of “the prodigal son”. Most of us know this story well, that a rich land owning man gave to his youngest of two sons his inheritance early. This means that the rich land owning father gave his youngest son 50% of his wealth.
          This youngest son then squandered and spent all of this money on wild and loose living. The youngest son was then down to feeding pigs, and had nothing. He then decided that he could either starve to death or go back home to his father and beg to live as one of his father’s servants.
          Now remember he had spent one-half of the father’s life savings, and had now greatly embarrassed his family and his town. According to the laws in the Jewish Torah, the folks in the town that youngest son lived in would be well within their right to kill this young man for his sinful and disgraceful behavior.
          One would think that the father himself would be angry at his youngest son, and would not want to see him again. Perhaps some would think that the father would be glad if folks from the town strung up and killed his youngest son as a punishment for his sinfulness, if she should ever return.
          Yet the father, like God the Father, showed great “mercy” on the youngest son. God will also show us mercy, if we ask for it. So the rich land owning man saw his youngest son saw his youngest son coming up the road from a distance away. You know the one who had spent half of his father’s life savings?
Yet his father must have known that his son at any point could be killed by the folks in the town, and his father also probably saw how skinny and depleted his son looked. Like God, who has great compassion for us, the father saw his “prodigal son” and he ran to him. He ran to his son to protect him, and to love, and to show him “mercy”. The father put a robe on his son, a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet, and had his fatted cow buttered for a feast for his “prodigal son”. The father then says in Luke 15:24, “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ (Lk. 15:24, CEB).
          Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of “mercy” and he will embrace us and forgive us for anything that we have done. All we have to do like the “prodigal son” is come to him. When we do, like the “prodigal son’s” father, Jesus will say, Luke 15:24, “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ (Lk. 15:24, CEB).
          So friends, so we have the spiritual gift of “mercy”? Has God blessed us in this way, or do we have other spiritual gifts? Next week I will be talking about the spiritual gift of “Exhortation,” also known as encouragement. May we all this day, and always find and give away the great “mercy” of God offered to us through Jesus Christ. Amen.