Sidney UMC - Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/24/23 - Sermon - “Don't Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 4 of 6)

                                 Sunday 09/24/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:       “Don’t Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!”         

(“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 4 of 6)         

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45                                      

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 1:21-30

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 20:1-16

         Have you ever had that moment? You know when something breaks? Maybe you are home on a Saturday, and you have the day off. It could be a five-dollar item that broke or just isn’t working right. For some reason though you are just so angry about this. Could you just let it go? Well sure, but a better thing to do would be to spend five-hours trying to fix this five-dollar item. Not really! During these five-hours your anger and frustration grows and grows, and grows some more.

          Maybe at some point though you realize that five-hours of your time is worth more than five-dollars, or maybe you realize that it is a five-dollar item that you are trying to fix. At that point, maybe you looked at that five-dollar item in your anger and frustration, and realized that you can get an identical and working five-dollar item at the store nearby. So, you go and buy another one of these five-dollar items, bring it back home, and then look in confusion at the broken five-dollar item. You then think to yourself, “I can’t believe that I wasted almost a whole Saturday trying to fix this thing!”

          Has anyone here ever had an experience like this? Where something little has just driven you up the wall? Have you ever had a little incident or an interaction with someone that you let ruin your whole day? Maybe you got a stain on that new shirt, and your whole day was ruined? Perhaps someone gave you “a look” and it bothered you all day? Has anyone ever had something like this happen before?

          I say all of this, because my sermon title for this morning is called “Don’t Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” Now full disclosure, I am not only preaching this sermon, but I also hope I am listening to my own words, as sometimes I really “Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” sometimes.

          In addition to this, sometimes churches get “Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” If the mission of the Christian Church is to bring people to Christ, to have them be transformed, to have us all be forgiven, and for us to receive salvation, then it can be a struggle when some of us “Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” We all do it in different ways, and it is not always a bad thing. If bringing people to Christ and equipping people to serve and love others is what the church is supposed to do then, what would qualify as a foolish thing for a church to fight about? Does anyone here have any examples of a foolish thing for a church to fight about?

          I think part of the struggle here is that most people, myself included, want the church to be a holy place. A place where we worship, were we encounter God, and were love each other. Yet, we all, including myself have our preferences. Last week one of the chapters that I tied into our scripture readings from the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer was Chapter 7 called “The Preference-Driven Church.” According to Thom S. Rainer in his 2014 book, if our personal preferences are so strong that they take away from the mission of reaching people for Christ and equipping them for service and ministry in the world, then we have missed the mark. According to Thom S. Rainer some churches have declined and even closed, because while preferences can be important, they were so strong that they took over the mission of the church itself. The preference became more important that bringing people to Jesus.

         So far in this six-week sermon series called, “Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” I have talked about three topics from Thom S. Rainer’s book, that I have connected to our Sunday morning scripture readings. So far, we have discussed the need for deep faith in Jesus Christ. The need to follow Christ, to live for Christ, to love like Christ, and to serve like Christ. The Christian Church rises and falls on how much we can be like the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ.

          We then discussed the “Culture Of The Church,” and talked about how the way that a church loves, cares, and treats each other, is central to health and to the future of the church. Some churches at one time in history may not have been very welcoming, but in this era that we are living in, we must love and act like Jesus. Should we still repent of our sin and wrong doing? Yes. Should we still seek to become more like Christ? Yes. In the mist of all of this though, a healthy church culture is one that is loving, caring, and open. We want you to be here, and you have a place here.

          Last week we talked about how we as individuals, and as a church need to offer and receive forgiveness, love, and openness to and towards each other. Sometimes in our lives and in our churches, anger, frustration, and other things can fester. We all need to, myself included, to give and receive forgiveness, love, and openness. This way the church is at peace, we are showing that we care for and love each other, and we are inviting all people to be here. Everyone is loved, everyone is valued, and we are open to and care for each other.

           As I mentioned, my sermon for this morning is called “Don’t Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” I don’t know about all of you, but I can be a bit of a perfectionist sometimes. How about the rest of us?

I remember a couple of Sundays during our summer “Stompers and Chompers” VBS. You might remember if you were here, a line of yarn being attached up here behind the pulpit and lectern. It was kind of funny for a couple of weeks, as I would lift up on this line of yarn to ensure our candle lighter or acolyte, and the folks bringing the collection plates up to the altar those two Sundays could walk under this line of yarn without ducking down really far.

          You might also remember that on this line of yarn there were cut out construction paper dinosaurs and trees. They were spaced out on this line of yarn. Apparently though, they were not spaced out evenly. I really didn’t notice this, as the line of yarn was generally behind me for the whole service. After the service though, someone from our church came up front and said, “Pastor Paul those paper dinosaurs and trees are not evenly spaced on the line of yarn and it has been driving me nuts all service!” Well, this person fixed this problem, and it looked a lot better, truth be told. To be very specific or to be very precise can also be called being “Methodical,” which is where we get the name “Methodist.” So, to be honest I was pretty proud of this person!

          This correction of the paper dinosaurs and trees on the line of yarn however, did not affect the mission of the church. It also enhanced our “Methodical” nature and we should all be proud of that! So how then do not “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” Further, why do we “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!”

           I was very blessed this week to have a good and long visit with Les Gregory at his house on Bridge Street here in Sidney. Les, at one-hundred years old, was chatting with me about our legacies. By this, how will people remember us when we leave this earth. I asked Les for example, what Bridge Street looked like 300-hundred years ago. Of course, there was no Sidney at that point, but Les knew from his studies what the geography looked like pre-Sidney, pre-settlement. I then asked Les what Bridge Street would be like 300-years from now. We both smiled at the reality of how our lives on this earth seem so big and permanent. For many us, where we live might have been forest a few hundred years ago.

          What’s the point? We all sometimes get bent out of shape over little things, myself included. Yet, when you look at the expansiveness of the universe, and the smallness of our earth in this universe, sometimes it can make our little stresses seem so insignificant. It’s not that our problems and stresses don’t matter, but it is humbling to me to know that 300-years ago this church and Sidney itself weren’t here.

          In our reading from this morning from Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45, we reminded in 105:1-4, once again:

¹ O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples. ² Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. ³ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. ⁴ Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually(Ps. 105:1-4, NRSV).

          It’s hard to do this sometimes though, as the Psalmist said this morning, especially when we waste a whole Saturday trying to fix a broken five-dollar item. This morning, we have the great joy of bringing two people into the Universal Christian Church. This morning two people joined the living church on earth, as billions have over the centuries. We also are blessed to have two people join our Sidney United Methodist Church this morning as Professing Members, as hundreds have joined this congregation for nearly 200-years. I don’t know about you, but two new members of the church on earth through baptism, and two new members of the Sidney UMC, is not “small stuff!” It can be hard, but we all need to strive to not “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” We all do sometimes though, myself included!

          The Apostle Paul in our reading from Philippians 1:21-30 for this morning goes even deeper with this. The Apostle Paul is not just talking about behaviors and stresses, he is talking about our lives. In fact, starting in Philippians 1:21 once again, the Apostle Paul tells us:

²¹ For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, ²⁴ but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you                                 (Phil. 1:21-24, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul is suffering in his flesh, like we all do sometimes. The Apostle Paul wants to be with Jesus in eternity, but at the same time he knows that God has called to serve him on this earth. This great dichotomy is something we can all relate to when we are trying to focus of Jesus and at the same trying to not “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” The Apostle Paul often suffered greatly in his body, in his human condition, and while he was focused on Christ, sometimes the pain and the suffering in his flesh would be almost too much to bear. Yet, the Apostle Paul knew that God had called him preach, love, and endure until his time came. So emphatic about this in fact, the Apostle Paul continues on picking up in Philippians 1:25 saying, once again:

²⁵ Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, ²⁶ so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me. ²⁷ Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. ²⁹ For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well, ³⁰ since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have                             (Phil. 1:24-30, NRSV).

          We know that we are not supposed to “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” yet, we all do sometimes. Also, I think that sometimes in churches that some people don’t feel loved, valued, or feel seen as important. When this happens, many of us cling to and reinforce our preferences. Why? Well because if we are made to feel insignificant and or unimportant in the church, then we can feel significant in the roles and the preferences that we have within the church. When we all truly feel loved and valued however, I have found that if a table is moved an inch more then we think it should be moved, we tend to be more forgiving.

          Friends, I value your gifts, graces, and talents as you work for the Lord, and I know that you value mine. I just hope that my personal preference never gets in the way of what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in this church. My preferences, while I have some, are never ever more important than the saving gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

          With that said, how many of you would like to be able to put in an honest day’s work, and get paid $1,000 dollars at the end of the day? Many of us would like deal every day! If we did get this deal, would we be concerned about others that got the same deal too?

          Our gospel of Matthew 20:1-6 reading for this morning touches on this. In this passage from Matthew, commonly called “The Laborers in the Vineyard” we have a landowner hiring day laborers for his vineyard. I like to think that this is harvest time, but maybe it wasn’t. The landowner in this passage of scripture hires day laborers throughout day, meaning that some people work more hours than others, but the landowner pays them all the same amount money. In looking at our gospel of Matthew 20:1-16 lesson for this morning then, lets pick up starting in 20:1, which says, once again:

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵ When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶ And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius (Mt. 20:1-9, NRSV).

 

          So, the landowner hired day laborers for his vineyard early in the morning, at about 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 5:00 PM. All of these workers who were hired at different times throughout the day though, were all paid the same amount, one denarius. They were not paid the $1,000 dollars I joked about. None of these people had work for that day prior to the landowner hiring them to work in his vineyard, so they were likely grateful for the work.

          The workers then lined up to get there day’s pay. Some workers grumbled though, because the landowner paid all the workers the same amount of money. I mean this isn’t fair if some worked since early in morning, and the rest only worked an hour or two. To this grumbling and discontent the landowner of the vineyard responded. Picking up in Matthew 20:13, it says, once again:

¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first will be last”                       (Mt. 20:13-16, NRSV).

 

          God is just and generous, and sometimes God rewards us in ways we don’t expect. We should not be jealous or envious if God blesses someone else for what we feel like is less effort than we put in. Further, our reward in Christ is true whether we come to him early in the morning of our life, or towards end of our life. It is not about competing with each other; it is that God loves us all the same. Whether we come to Christ at age 9 or 99, we all get the same reward. God is generous and loving, even if we feel short changed.

          It can be hard for us to remember just how blessed we are. It can be hard for us to not “Get Stuck On The Small Stuff!” and to get stuck on our preferences and our own likes. When we as people can stay focused on Christ, when the church can stay focused on Christ, and when we can truly love each other, then the work of the gospel can flourish. At this point we are less worried about little things, as we are too busy looking up and out to see how Christ can us in the church and in the world. So, friends, “Don’t Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/17/23 - Sermon - “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!” (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 3 of 6)

                                 Sunday 09/17/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:               “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!”               

(“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 3 of 6)       

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21                           

New Testament Scripture: Romans 14:1-12

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 18:21-35 

          Two weeks ago, I started a 6-week sermon series partially based on a great little book that was published back in 2014, called “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer. In this book Thom S. Rainer discusses why many churches in our country are shrinking and even closing. Each week, in this 6-week sermon series, I am comparing parts of this book to the scripture readings we have for a given Sunday. Today my sermon is called “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!”

          So far in this sermon series I have preached a sermon called “Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus!” and last Sunday a sermon called “The Culture of the Church!”. In looking at the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer and our weekly scripture readings, churches that grow and flourish are generally rooted in deep faith in Jesus Christ. When we have deep faith and “Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus!” we are changed, the church is changed, and world is changed.

           The culture of our church, or how we love and operate must also be reflective of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which we discussed last Sunday. This morning once again, I want to talk about “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!” Our gospel of Matthew 18:15-20 reading from last Sunday certainly touched on this, but I want to expand on this even more this Sunday. Last Sunday Jesus walked us through how to ask for forgiveness if someone sins against us in the church, and how where two or three are gathered that Jesus is among them.

          With this said, the chapters that I want to tie into this morning’s sermon from “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer with our scripture readings are chapter 6 “The Great Commission Becomes the Great Omission,” and chapter 6, “The Preference-Driven Church.” Again, the reasons that some churches shrink and close are varied, but this book seems to touch on many common reasons for this.

          In addition to having deeply rooted faith in Jesus Christ, and having a healthy and Christlike church culture, we individually, and as a church, need to practice “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness.” There are times where we all mess up, where all fall short, and we all sin. Sometimes we sin against each other, and sometimes we realize that we lost our cool, or acted in an un-Christlike way. Forgiveness, for some of us, can be heard sometimes, but if we want peace, if we want to draw closer to God, then we have to forgive!

          In the Book of James, it says in 5:16:

16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective                    (Jas. 5:16, NRSV).

          So, we are to confess our sins to each other, pray for each other, and James says that “the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective (Jas. 5:16b, NRSV). I also know that every month on communion Sunday that when we have our prayer of confession that I comment that I would like to sit this one out, but I can’t! I definitely can’t for our first Sunday communion service in October.

          For those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, some of you know that “I had a moment” this past Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. I got home really late from the church on Tuesday, and I was tired, frustrated, and drained. I sat in my old recliner and just prayed, “Help Me Jesus.” I then posted this on my Facebook page, “Help Me Jesus…” Well, you know how the internet is! By morning I had multiple phone calls, messages, etc. In hindsight, I guess Jesus sent me the help I asked for!

          It seems silly now, but it was a series of crazy things that built up to your pastor feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. So, was my prayer answered? Oh yes and yes! My struggles were partially what I call “First World Problems.” You know issues we have that would not even be an issue in countries where people don’t have the abundance that we have in countries like ours. For example, if the grocery store is out of Pepsi, this a “First World Problem,” as you won’t die as a result.

          This past Sunday my desktop copier in the church office decided to become demon possessed, and I spent hours on Sunday trying unsuccessfully to fix it. So, I ordered a new cheap printer, and on Tuesday night was unsuccessful in getting that new printer/copier to work right. So, it’s now about 11:00 PM on Tuesday night, yes I know, crazy late. So, I walked into the church sanctuary to load up my Power Point for the service this morning. Well, the projector was dead, and didn’t work.

          So, I got Keith’s big green later, and I climbed up the latter and started messing with the project to get it to work. After about half an hour, I stood on that later a little after 11:30 PM, and thought, “this is crazy, I’m going home!” Keith and I finally got this fixed after a long time of trial and error on Wednesday, and my church office printer/copier is mostly working now.

          I look back at Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, I now think “what was I so upset about?” So, I took some time to reflect and pray about this. What I realized is this, I am so devoted to the mission of this church, that sometimes a series of little things can really get me upset. I went home on Tuesday night feeling defeated, exhausted, and lonely. I then got an avalanche of love as an out pouring though.

          During the morning on Wednesday, as Keith and I were trying to fix the projector, Keith started flipping circuit break switches back and forth. A couple times I heard Sarah Pressler say loudly in the church office, “My lights and computer just turned off!” As I was buzzing in and out of the office with Keith trying to fix all of this Sarah said at one point, “Boy Pastor, the devil is after you today!”

          I laughed as I sat down to finally write this sermon on Wednesday afternoon as the Book of Exodus said of the devil, in 15:9, for this morning, once again:

⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them’                      (Ex. 15:9, NRSV).

          Even though this scripture is part of the full 15:1-21 reading often called “The Song of Victory,” of the Israelites or Jews fleeing slavery in Egypt, there is still a mention of evil. So, what is it that gets under our skin? Is it “First World Problems,” or is it something else? Do we ever get upset over little things? What causes us to get really worked up. When we get upset, when we miss the mark, when we sin do not give and receive forgiveness? Do we show and live the love of Jesus Christ even though we all fall short sometimes?

          “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness,” are central to healthy faith, healthy lives, and healthy churches. I think on Wednesday of this week I told a couple people sorry that I was grumpy and or intense. Looking for and offering “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness” is central to our faith, our lives, and a healthy church.

          I remember a church my mother and my stepfather used to attend had a pastor in it that had some hurtful things to them. My mother and stepfather were committee leaders in this church, and both sent letters of resignation to the pastor and explained why they were leaving the church. The pastor never called, never sent a letter, or never stopped by for a cup of coffee to try to work things out. We are called to do our best every day to live like Jesus Christ. We are called to fulfill the great commission, to bring people to Christ, the make sure that they are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we are called to teach them to live and love like Jesus.

          This why the chapter of an “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer is called “The Great Commission Becomes the Great Omission” (AOADC pg. 39). Being like, living like, and loving like Jesus is in part to strive towards “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness”. Sometimes when someone offers me forgiveness, or when I forgive someone else, I feel as free as a bird. Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive, or that you are angry at?

          In our reading for this morning from Romans 14:1-2 on not judging each other, we have a beautiful scripture reading for this morning, that starts with 14:1 saying, once again:

14 Welcome those who are weak in faith but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ² Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³ Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on slaves of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. ⁵ Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. ⁶ Those who observe the day, observe it for the Lord. Also those who eat, eat for the Lord, since they give thanks to God, while those who abstain, abstain for the Lord and give thanks to God. ⁷ For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” ¹² So then, each one of us will be held accountable                      (Rom. 14:1-12, NRSV).

          This is really a beautiful scripture that calls us to love each other, to realize that we all have our differences, and a scripture that calls us not to judge, but to lovingly hold each other accountable. We are not called to sin, to hate, or be harmful to each other, even though we are all guilty of this sometimes. The gospel of Jesus Christ, “The Great Commission” calls us to holiness, righteousness, hope, glory, “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!”

          Churches that are growing and thriving, and churches that are filled with “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!” Being open to people that are not like us and might do things a little differently than we do them, is a good thing according to Romans 14:1-12. In the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer chapter 7 is called “The Preference-Driven Church”

For anyone that has seen the recent movie “Jesus Revolution,” which is now on Netflix, the pastor in the movie feels called by God to bring a bunch of hippies into his California church in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. The problem is that some church leaders don’t want these kids to come in because they are very different than they were. Yet the Apostle Paul tells us otherwise in Romans 14:1-12. One of the funniest moments in this movie is when one or more of the church elders are worried that if the hippies come into their church barefoot, then they will dirty their newly installed shag carpet. As Thom Rainer says in chapter 7 of his book this church in the movie Jesus Revolution was “The Preference-Driven Church”.

          So, what does the pastor do the next Sunday, he was a bowl and towel and he washes the feet of these hippies at the doorway of the church, to ensure there clean and washed feet won’t dirty the new shag carpet in the church. “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness” these are essential for strong faith, a strong church, and for life.

          In our gospel of Matthew 18:21-35 reading for this morning the Apostle Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness. In fact, our gospel reading for this morning, is says starting from 18:21 once again, this:

²¹ Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times (Mt. 18:21-22, NRSV).

 

          Think of someone you forgave once, but really didn’t want to. Imagine forgiving them seventy-seven times? (Mt. 18:22b, NRSV). Jesus is giving this large number to the Apostle Peter to tell him forgive an unlimited number of times.

          To better illustrate this, Jesus then tells the parable or the story commonly called “The Unforgiving Servant.” Here is how the parable or story goes, once again:

²³ “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, ²⁵ and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³² Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ³⁵ So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart” (Mt. 18:23-35, NRSV).

 

          The slave’s debt was forgiven by his lord, but then that same slave demanded a debt from a fellow slave. This slave did not forgive the other slaves’ debt. The Lord then brought the original slave back to see him who’s debt he forgave, and called him wicked for not forgiving the other slaves’ debt, as his debt was forgiven.

          Churches that are growing and flourishing are rooted deeply in Christ, have a loving and healthy church culture, and practice “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness.” Next week is part 4 of this sermon series, and we will be talking about “Don’t Get Stuck On The Small Stuff! Sometimes I get can get stuck on the small stuff, so I hope I preach good to myself next Sunday! May we this day and always, as followers of Christ offer all people “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/10/23 - Sermon - “The Culture Of The Church!” (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 2 of 6)

Sunday 09/10/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:             “The Culture Of The Church!”                         (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 2 of 6)                     

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 12:1-14                                      

New Testament Scripture: Romans 13:8-14

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 18:15-20

          Last week, I started a 6-week sermon series partially based on a great little book that was published back in 2014, called “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer. I had a picture of the cover of this book on the screen last Sunday, which has a picture of a scalpel on the book cover. In this book Thom S. Rainer discusses why many churches in our country are shrinking and closing.

          If we were to do an autopsy on a deceased church, like autopsies are done on deceased persons, could we discover the cause or causes of death? An autopsy on a deceased person can tell us how the person died, but if an autopsy was done on a closed church, would that autopsy tell us some things? Well Thom Rainer thinks it would tell us some things.

          While the Sidney UMC is doing well and growing, I thought that this book would be informative for us, and that it would help to further equip us to continue to grow in faith and as a church. For all of these reasons I started a 6-week sermon series last Sunday called the (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series. In this series I am trying tie the book by Thom Rainer with the scripture readings for each Sunday. In doing so, I am walking through some key things that we need to do as Christians and as a church to avoid shrinking and beyond.

          Last Sunday, I encouraged us all, myself included, to heed Jesus words in Matthew 16:24, where Jesus tells us as I rephrased in my sermon title for last Sunday: “Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus!” The depth of our faith and our walks with Christ and how we live and share this faith, will directly corelate to others growing in faith. If our faith and love is strong, and if we live this both individually, and as a church, then we will continue to have a strong church indeed.

          I mean think about if you are part of something where people’s hearts aren’t really it, then how can it really grow and flourish. When we truly love our faith, when we truly love Christ, then the church flourishes.

          Well then what else can we do to deepen our faith and to grow an even stronger church? I will address this in my second installment of this sermon series called “The Culture of the Church”. In this message I want high light Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of Thom S. Rainer’s book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church”. Chapter 4 is titled “The Church Refused to Look Like the Community,” and Chapter 5 is titled “The Budget Moved Inwardly”.

          In discussing my sermon title “The Culture of the Church,” I have two stories that I would like to share with you. The first, many of you have heard, and I may have told you a few times, but it is very fitting for my sermon this morning. This story may be a little different, and this story took place in my home state of Illinois. This story specifically is about Pastor James MacDonald who serves a large church in the Chicago, Illinois area. Let me read this article for you from “The Christian Post” titled: “Pastor James MacDonald Disguises Himself as Homeless Man to See How Churches React.” This is what the article says:

“Illinois megachurch Pastor James MacDonald recently disguised himself as a bearded homeless man and camped outside of two Harvest Bible Chapel campuses before Sunday services to see how congregants would react. MacDonald, the founder of the seven-campus Chicagoland area congregation whose "Walk in the Word" radio and television programs are seen by millions worldwide, posted the video of the experiment on his Facebook page Monday. As Christ calls on his followers to help the "least of these" in society, MacDonald wanted to put Harvest Bible Chapel congregations to the test to see how well they are living out the biblical commands to not only love God but also "love your neighbor as yourself." The video starts off showing MacDonald dressed in layers with a fake beard and long gray fake hair as he rolls a shopping cart down the street toward one of the Harvest campuses. MacDonald then takes a seat right in front of the building, putting out a cup for change and a sign. Churchgoers in the video couldn't help but notice the hairy homeless man sitting with his legs crossed by the entrance as they walked by him to enter the church. The beginning scenes of the video show congregants walking right past the homeless MacDonald without offering much in the way of help. Another scene shows the homeless MacDonald sitting outside of another Harvest Bible Chapel campus as churchgoers walk by him to get to their Sunday services. "The closer a person is to us and the less common the struggle, the easier it is to love," MacDonald says in the video. "God forbid I find out my wife has three months to live, I would quit my job and quit everything, right? What if it's just an acquaintance of yours and what if the problem is recurring. ... How common is homelessness? How frequently is the homeless person someone dear to us personally? Never."

James MacDonald, pastor of the seven-campus Harvest Bible Chapel in Illinois, pulls off a fake beard he wore when he dressed up like a homeless person. A video of MacDonald's experiment was posted to Facebook on Oct. 15, 2018. | (SCREENSHOT: FACEBOOK/JAMES MACDONALD) The video then shows the bearded homeless MacDonald walk through the church sanctuary with his shopping cart. He then walks on stage and begins to take off his beard and layers of clothes to reveal his true identity. "So I took a few moments a couple of weeks ago and camped outside of a couple of our campuses and I wanted to see how we were doing when it is hardest to love," MacDonald told the congregation. "Do you know that your father in Heaven is giving the same graces to the person that is hardest for you to love? He is giving it. He doesn't play favorites. He is giving the grace to everyone. If we are going to love like our father in Heaven loves, we don't get to play favorites. By favorites I mean, so often we love the people when there is some benefit in it for us." MacDonald used the video experiment to make a point during his sermon that Sunday that "it's hardest to love when the problem is most common and the people are least known." "So how did our church do in the video?" he asked. "I am going to tell you now — awesome." MacDonald explained that he was "crying inside that beard" because of the generosity and love shown to him by the congregants who either brought him food or took the time to pray with him. Although the first few scenes of the video showed congregants walking past the homeless MacDonald, the final minutes of the video show the numerous churchgoers who offered him prayer, food, drink, money and even "the Word of God." Others even invited the homeless man into the church to join them in worship. "I dressed up as a homeless man and sat outside our church. What I witnessed blew me away," MacDonald wrote on Facebook” (https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-james-macdonald-disguises-himself-as-homeless-man-to-see-how-churches-react.html).

          The second story that I want to share with you, is one that you have probably never heard before. It’s a story from a student that I used to tutor when I was a seminary student, and when I tutored for the Ithaca City School District. This student knew that I was a Christian, and that I was in seminary. Yet, this student was not a person of faith. I remember one day he told me why he thinks many churches are hypocrites. This is what he told me:

“You know what Paul; I saw a really nice church in New York City when I was there one weekend. The church was massive and beautiful, and the people pulling up that Sunday were all well-dressed. Many of them had fancy cars, and they all walked into this really nice church. I watched carefully as they all walked in. There were a lot of them, as they went in one by one. What I then realized however, was that the neighborhoods around this church looked really run down and poor. Yet, it didn’t look like any of the people from these neighborhoods went into the church. All the people that I saw drive in and enter the church, all seemed to drive from a distance from the church. These people attended a nice church surrounded by impoverished neighborhoods and I didn’t see a single person from these neighborhoods walk into the church.”

The student then said to me, “When I saw that kind of hypocrisy Paul, I decided that the church wasn’t for me.”

          I remember being stunned in that moment. I agreed with my student, but at the same time I didn’t really have a good response to the student, other than I agreed with the student.

          When I read chapter 4 of Thom S. Rainer’s book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church,” I immediately remembered this story that my student told me over 10-years ago. Chapter 4 once again is a called, “The Church Refused to Look Like the Community.” Our community has changed a lot in recent years, and as a result our church is a church that includes all kinds of people. We have people that drive a distance to be here, but we also have people that walk here from right down the street, as well. Our church is looking more and more like the community that are in. I truly believe that my student that I tutored over 10-years ago would say that we are a church that has all kinds of people. We a church representative of the community in which we live. When we focus of serving and loving others, the church flourishes, faith grows, and we see God renewing our faith community and us.

          I am proud to be part of church that has a healthy “Church Culture.” A church that seeks to love and care for each other, a church that can’t wait to share the peace of Christ every Sunday, and a church truly loves Jesus. If we are not growing in our faith in Christ, and if the church does not have a healthy culture, then what are we offering the people we encounter, or who walk through our doors? The answer is, if this were the case, the people would not see deep faith, and would not feel welcome. I know that these things are not as cut and dry as I am saying, but Thom Rainer has done his homework on this book and others. When we try to live and love like Jesus, the church grows and flourishes. This means that while budgets are tight, we still need to realize that the mission field of the church is beyond the doors of this church. We have a duty to serve and love, no matter what. The church exists to serve, love, and care for all people.

          In our Book of Exodus 12:1-14 scripture for this morning, we have the story of the first Passover in Egypt. Moses had been asking the Egyptian Pharaoh incessantly to let his people go. Moses will go on to part the Red Sea and begin the 40-year long journey of leading the Israelite or Jewish people to the Promised Land. What makes Pharoah finally give in to Moses though, was the first Passover.

          You see, God told Moses and Aaron to take a pure and spotless lamb, or to share one depending on the family size, and slaughter it. Then the blood of a pure and spotless lamb must be spread on the doorposts and lintels of the houses of the Jews. There are then other specific instructions of the eating of the Passover dinner, including how to cook and eat the lambs. That night death would Passover, hence the term Passover, every house in Egypt. All the houses that had the blood of the lamb on them, would be spared the death of their first-born son. The next day many Egyptians, including the Pharaoh were grieved at the deaths of there first-born sons. The Jews were then reluctantly freed from Egyptian slavery.

          On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus sat in the famous Upper Room in Jerusalem, probably the same room as the Pentecost Story, and they shared the Passover Sedar or dinner. This had become a Jewish tradition, and part of the Jewish religious practice since that first Passover in the Book of Exodus. Yet at this dinner, Jesus took bread and wine, broke the bread and offered the bread and wine as his broken body and his shed blood. In our Exodus 12:1-14 scripture for this morning, a pure spotless lamb is sacrificed and his blood is spread on doorposts and lintels so that the first-born son would be saved on that first Passover.

Yet, Jesus in the Last Supper story is making himself the eternal innocent and spotless lamb for eternity. With the bread and the cup of Holy Communion, Jesus is saying that he, whom John the Baptist called “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of world” will break his body and shed his blood to save all of humanity. Further, not only to save the first-born males for a night, but to save all people everywhere, for eternity. If we believe in Jesus, and come to him as Lord and Savior eternal death will pass us over beyond this life. Spiritual death will pass us over here on earth, and spiritual death will pass us over for eternity.

          As we look through the gospel lessons on the Last Supper, I believe that we also get a great model on how “The Culture of Church” is supposed to be. Jesus, through Holy Communion offers himself as a living sacrifice for humanity, and Jesus asks us to live sacrificially for others. Jesus shows us how to serve each other with the washing of the feet, and lastly tells us to love each other. Given all of this, if a church is going to stop declining and grow, “The Culture Of The Church” must be loving, caring, and genuine.

          The Apostle Paul speaks well of this in our reading for this morning from Romans 13:8-14. Once again, Romans 13:8-14 says:

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹¹ Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹² the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³ let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires      (Rom. 13:8-14, NRSV).

 

          The Apostle Paul tells us to not owe anyone anything, to love each other, and to love your neighbor as yourself. We are called to lay aside darkness, put on the armor of light, live honorably, and be like Jesus Christ.

          Not to be judgmental, but when I have in the past visited churches that were cold and unfriendly, while I didn’t like being in those churches, I would ask myself why the church was like that. Why didn’t they greet me? Why did not seem friendly to another? Further, did they not realize that doing this would eventually kill their church?

          Friends, I truly believe that if some closed churches had a church autopsy, that “The Culture Of The Church” could be a factor in their decline and or closure. Having a strong and loving “Church Culture” is central to a growing and flourishing church.

          In our gospel of Matthew reading 18:15-20, it says, once again,

¹⁵ ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ¹⁶ But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. ¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them’ (Mt. 18:15-20, NRSV).

          Next Sunday September 17^th, my sermon will be called, “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness”. I am going to touch on our gospel lesson for this morning then, but I will get more in-depth with conflicts within the church next Sunday. I don’t mean conflicts within our own church, but do you know that some church congregations have split in half, formed new churches, or split for other reasons? For example, I heard of a church about 30-years ago, where the then pastor had an affair with someone in the church, and this caused half of the church leave.

          Jesus in our Matthew 18:15-20 passage is talking about forgiving and asking for forgiveness in the church among people. He lays out the steps of how to do this, so that there might be harmony in the church. I have been in churches before where there were clear factions, as well as some clear anger and hostility. Whenever I know there is a problem within the church, I like to tackle the problem immediately, so that everyone feels loved, cared for, and heard.

          As I said though, I will go more in-depth with this topic next Sunday on

 “Forgiveness, Love, and Openness!” Today then, let’s celebrate that we have a loving

 and healthy “Church Culture,” but let’s keep making it even better to glory of our Lord

 and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.