Sidney UMC - 22nd Sunday after Pentecost/Reformation Sunday - 10/29/23 - Sermon - “The Greatest Commandment!”

                                     Sunday 10/29/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The Greatest Commandment!”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17                                     

New Testament Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:34-46

          By a show of hands, how many of us love God? By a show of hands, how many of us love our neighbors and all people like we love ourselves? While I believe that most of us aspire to love God and to love our neighbors, and all people like ourselves, there is still so much suffering in the world. There is war between Israel and Gaza/Palestine, and there is a war between Ukraine and Russia. Jesus tells us to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, yet there is still so much suffering and brokenness in the world. Why is this?

          I ask this, because Jesus teaches us about loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves in our gospel of Matthew 22:34-46 reading for this morning. In an effort to trick Jesus, the gospel picks up, once again, starting with Matthew 23:34 saying:

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 23:34-40, NRSV).

          Jesus teaches us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is everyone. Christianity has existed for nearly 2,000 years. If this is true, and if we are supposed to love God and neighbor as ourselves, then what is going on? I mean shouldn’t we as humanity be past wars, violence, and the brokenness that is in the world today? If we love God and love each other, why is there still so much that is a struggle today? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of advancements have been made, and for many, life is better in many ways than it was years ago.

          Unfortunately, though, not all Christians, and sometimes the church in general, has not always embodied loving God and loving our neighbor as ourself to the fullest extent possible. We all, including myself, may have been guilty of that. In fact, this Sunday in many Christians Churches is also “Reformation Sunday.” This is a Sunday that makes light of the great reformations and new Christian Denominations that formed as far back as over 500-years ago. This Sunday often evokes names like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, etc. In some churches “Reformation Sunday” though has been an opportunity to attack the Roman Catholic Church. A person that attended a church that I used to pastor, told me that she grew up in a Lutheran Church in the 1960’s. She joked that growing up in her church, she called “Reformation Sunday” the “Bash the Catholics” Sunday.

          In 2017, which was the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation of Martin Luther nailing his famous 95-Theses on the door at the University of Wittenberg in Wittenberg, Germany, there we a lot of celebrations and remembrances. In fact, the Vatican in Rome acknowledged the 500^th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Further, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, invited some German teenagers that were both Lutheran and Roman Catholic to the Vatican in Rome, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The Lutheran kids had blue sashes, and the Roman Catholic kids had gold sashes. Then one of the Lutheran kids asked Pope Francis on the 500^th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, who are better Lutherans or Catholics. Pope Francis then tied a blue sash together with a gold sash, and said that he thinks we are all better together.

          Pope Francis also acknowledged that some of the practices that were occurring in the Roman Catholic Church 500-years ago were wrong, and needed to be reformed. As a result, some but not all Christians had lost the primary mission and focus of the church, Jesus Christ. This has led to the many Christian Denominations that we have today. To Pope Francis’ credit, he is very ecumenical, and sees the need for the broader Christian Community, of all stripes to be united as brothers and sisters. Through the 2,000-year history of the Christian Church there have always been Christians who loved God and neighbor as themselves really well, but there have also been harmful and hurtful things done, as well. Some people stopped going to church or being part of a Christian community of faith, not because of a lack of love of God, or a lack of a desire to love others as themselves, but because they saw strong examples of this not happening in the church and the community of faith. When the Christian Church is at its best, we are loving God and loving each other as ourselves. When the church looks like this, when it looks like Jesus, the church is strong and growing. People repent, give their lives to Christ, and they and the world are changed. When we hurt and harm each other however, this historically, is when church schisms have come and sometimes when harmful and bad things have happened.

          I am still an Evangelical Christian and a United Methodist Pastor, and I still believe in faith through Christ, and Christ alone, but all Christians are called to follow Jesus’ greatest commandments to us, that are once again:

³⁷ He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”    (Mt. 23:37-40, NRSV).

          When we take our eyes off the ball, and when we stop loving God with all we have and are, and we stop loving all people as ourselves, well, bad things can happen. Further, after Jesus gave us the greatest command for this morning, and the second greatest commandment, our gospel less from Matthew 22:34-46, then ends with 22:41-46, saying:

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴² “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? ⁴⁵ “If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

          What Jesus is saying here, is that not only is he a decedent or a son of King David, but that he is in fact greater than King David. To this end, one greater than King David, God in the flesh is commanding the world to love God with everything we have, and to love each other as ourselves. The first commandment or the greatest commandment is central to both Judaism and Christianity. We are to love God with everything we have. Yet, Jesus’ second greatest commandment to love your neighbor or anyone else as we love ourself was a shock to many. You see, at this time if you were from another tribe, another country, another religion, then we did not associate or talk with you. This means, that we did not treat everyone like equals, and love everyone the same. Jesus though, this morning is telling us to love God with all we have and to love all people the same.

          So emphatic was Jesus about this in fact, that Jesus said that all of the beliefs and laws of the Old Testament, plus everything the Prophets of the Old Testament, like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel taught can all be summed by loving God with all you have, and by loving your neighbor as yourself. Our Matthew 22:34-46 reading for this morning says in 22:40 once again:

⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”                    (Mt. 23:40, NRSV). 

          Jesus is saying that everything in the Old Testament, or the Law of Moses, the 10-Commandments, all the prophets, everything thing taught in the Old Testament can be summed by loving God with all you have, and loving your neighbor as yourself.

          With all this said, this can be hard sometimes, can’t it? I mean have you liked all the neighbors you have had, or all the people you have met? I had a seminary professor that used to say jokingly, “Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but Jesus never said that we have to like our neighbors!” This joke was saying that we are supposed to love everyone, but we don’t have to like everything that people do. We can love someone, but disagree about politics, social concerns, etc. Loving someone does mean that if someone is doing evil and hurtful things that we should not be ok with that. Loving people means being like Jesus, and this also can mean calling out evil and sin. What was done for example, in the killing of hundreds of Israelis a few weeks ago by Hamas terrorists was evil and was sinful. In no way did it convey the love of God or neighbor.

          Further, this does not mean that the 10-Commandments are bad, which they are not, but we are to love God with everything we have, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. The challenge then for the Christian is loving, even if we disagree, as we must speak the truth in love. I love all people, but for example, as I just referenced, I have been grieved at the recent slaughter of Israeli Jews by Hamas terrorists. It must be hard for many Israelis right now to think about extending love to Hamas terrorists. This of course does not mean that loving excuses great evil, because it does not. Jesus teaches us to love and to pray for our enemies. This can be very hard to do. Yet the most powerful thing God has given us, is love. God also tells to protect life, widows, orphans, etc., as life is precious.

          I am also grieved at the loss of Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip next to Israel. As I write this sermon over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli Defense Force or “IDF,” which is the Israeli Military is trying to remove all people that are in Hamas. This proves to be a challenge however, when the Hamas terrorists embed themselves in residential neighborhoods filled with children, the elderly, and other innocents. How do you remove the terrorists, without killing innocents? This is a tough moral, ethical, and spiritual question.

          Living out the greatest commandment and second greatest commandment can be hard sometimes. In our reading from Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 for this morning, we hear from the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, or the Jewish scriptures in Psalm 90:1 once again:

¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations (Ps. 90:1, NRSV).

          Loving God fully is central to both Judaism and Christianity, but I wonder if some Jews in Israel right now are struggling to do this. Perhaps some Palestinians feel the same way. Another way to put this, is something that I watched on part of one of the Grief Share videos that Sarah Pressler was showing to the Grief Share class this past Monday night. The speaker in the video was a pastor and an author. The speaker compared what we believe as Christians, to the lived experience of our beliefs. Meaning this is what believe, but how do we live that in a war, in a confrontation, etc. We believe in our Christian faith, but it gets tested in times of trial and struggle. Do we maintain the love of God and love of neighbors as ourselves at all times?

          Well, I know this, there has not been a Communion Sunday in my life where I did not need to say the prayer of confession. If I had always loved God and my neighbor perfectly, I would have no need to say a prayer of confessions, because I would have no sins to repent of. Yet I always make a mistake somewhere along the way. We all do, right?

Christianity then is both a free gift of salvation and eternity offered to us through Jesus Christ, but is also a lived experience of being made fully into the image of Christ. Heaven and eternity are free to us if we but turn to Christ, but becoming fully like Christ is something that we pursue are whole life long. As a result of this, as I age and grow closer to Christ, I am loving God even more, and loving my neighbors and all people even more like I love myself.

          In our reading from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 for this morning, the Apostle Paul reminds the church in Thessalonica or the Thessalonians, that they were persecuted in Philippi. Philippi where the Apostle Paul founded a church, to whom we wrote to the Philippians there. The Apostle Paul tells us 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 for this morning, once again, that despite persecution and great opposition in Philippi he and his group of leaders preached Christ. They preached the gospel, and the love of God and neighbor. They did not do this for personal gain, or for any self-centered reason, other than to bring people to Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds the Thessalonians this morning that he and his group of leaders were gentle and loving with them. Further the Apostle Paul completes are 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 reading for this morning, saying in 2:8 to the Thessalonians, once again:

⁸ So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us (1 Thess. 2:8, NRSV).

          Why do I think that the Sidney United Methodist Church continues to grow? Is it simply because we are Methodist? No. Is it because we are a Protestant Church? No. I think we are growing because we all pursing the great commandments of:

“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’                                                 (Mt. 23:38b-39, NRSV).

          I have doctrinal beliefs, and I believe for example, in the Apostle Creed, the Bible, and that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Most Christians in fact, believe these things, yet, if we are not pursuing the love God fully, and if we are not loving our neighbors and all people as ourselves, we are only people with beliefs and not practices. What we believe, I think matters, but if we don’t live it out, if we don’t pursue God, and if we don’t seek to love everyone, then we have missed the mark. Among many other reasons, I truly think that this is why so many churches are shrinking and closing.

          I am convinced therefore, that growing and thriving churches in 2023, and going forward, will grow and thrive, not simply because they are Methodist, Baptism, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, etc., but because they are churches seeking to live out faith in Christ, and to love others. I am still a Methodist, but before all of that I am sinner redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and my Lord and Savior has called me to love God with everything I have, and to love my neighbors and all people as I love myself. The strength of the Christian faith then, lies not in a building, but rather it lies in a person, named Jesus Christ our Lord. Our hope, our redeemer, our savior.

          This same Jesus this morning commands us to love God with everything we have, and to love our neighbors and all people like we love ourselves. When we do this, we live out the love of God and the love that have for each other, in a such a way, that faith in Christ, and the community of Christ becomes Irresistible. Amen.  

Sidney UMC - 20th Sunday after Pentecost/Laity Sunday - 10/15/23 - Sermon - “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding”

                                   Sunday 10/15/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23                                       

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 4:1-9

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:1-4

          We have some very challenging and yet encouraging scriptures for this morning. Specifically, I am talking about our reading from Philippians 4:1-9, and our gospel of Matthew 22:1-14 reading. In fact, my sermon title for this morning was taken from Philippians 4:7, which says, in part, “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding.” The Apostle Paul, through Jesus Christ, is calling us to very deep levels of faith and holiness, and not just for us, but to praise God and to love each other even more.

          Let me read to you Philippians 4:4-7 for this morning. Philippians 4:4-7 says, once again:

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus       (Phil. 4:4-7, NRSV).

          I, and I hope all of us, truly aspire to not be anxious about anything, and to have “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding.” These teachings from the Apostle Paul through Jesus Christ, I would say, are aspirational. I want to rejoice and praise God every minute of every day, I want to be gentle and loving, I want to not be anxious about anything, and I want to constantly be praying and thanking God. I want to have every minute of every day “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding,” but sometimes I don’t.

          Anyone else here this morning, hear the words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, or the Philippians in our reading this morning, and think to yourself, “well that is hard!” I mean how can we never be anxious, always be at peace with God, always be gentle and loving, and always be connected and praying to God every minute of every day. I want those things for us all, so that our faith will grow together and change the world. Yet, we live on this earth that is sometimes a crazy place.

          For example, I was laying in bed next to Melissa last weekend on Saturday October 7^th, which I guess with the time zone differences, would be Sunday October 8^th in Israel. As we were watching the news we heard about this massive attack on Israel. Rockets were fired into Israel, and we are now learning that hundreds and hundreds of people were massacred or taken prisoner. It seemed that Hamas terrorist group militants took particular joy in the murdering, torturing, assaulting, and taking hostages. People were beheaded, and babies were killed. Some Hamas militants filmed what they did on the phones of the people they harmed and or killed. The same Hamas militants then sent the videos of these things to the family and friends of the victim or victims.

          I don’t know about you, but yes, this definitely took my peace. I felt anxious, and had thoughts of the Book of Revelation and the Tribulation before the return of Jesus Christ our Lord. I heard on the news that this was largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust in World War II. Further, I also heard that some of hostages that were taken by Hamas were Holocaust survivors. Imagine taking an elderly person with that blue ink tattoo on there arm that was put on them in the Holocaust to mark them live stock.

          I know that no country in perfect, and all countries make mistakes, Israel included, but I was shocked by the brutality of the pictures and witnesses of what I saw. I mean did the families of these victims, when they heard and or saw this terrible news have “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding.” Did the families of these victims when they saw or heard the news of what happened to their family and friends feel:

anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4:6b, NRSV).

          My guess is that most friends and family that found out what happened were not. It is not that the Apostle Paul is wrong, he is right, but sometimes it is hard to keep our peace and our calm, despite us trying hard to do so. It’s not that we don’t want to, but life can get pretty crazy down here on earth sometimes.

          As I started to write this sermon about not being anxious and having “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding” I had to leave the church to visit Marion Yerger in Norwich. Marion is a woman of great Christian faith, and is a real joy for me to visit with. I remember driving through Guildford and I was really just focused on driving, and I did feel a bit tired. All of the sudden I looked down, and I realized that I was going about 70 MPH! Well, where I was on Route-35 where I was 55 MPH!

          I remember thinking to myself, “I didn’t even realize I was speeding!” As I slowed down, I saw a police officer in their vehicle on the shoulder, so turned down the road by Historical Society in Guilford, on the way to Norwich. Just then the police lights came on. Oddly enough after everything that has been going on lately, I had little to no anxiety about this situation. I laugh now, because I don’t think I have been pulled over in 10-years or more.  I remember sitting on the side of the road in my car thinking “what do I need? Oh yeah license and I also need my registration!”

          The officer approached my little golf cart of a car, and I immediately tell the officer that I was speeding, and that I didn’t even realize it. The officer asked where I was headed, and I told the officer that I was headed to visit a parishioner in Norwich. The officer then came back a few minutes later and gave me a warning. I was very grateful for this, and hopefully I don’t get pulled over for another ten-years!

          Why did not get anxious and lose my peace during this. I didn’t because I realized that I had unintentionally made a mistake, and I admitted immediately. I think the officer really appreciated my honesty, and given a lot of other things going on this world, it just didn’t get under my skin like I could have.

          Sometimes, some people are able to maintain peace and calm because they have seen so much that it takes a lot for them to lose their peace and calm. Again, I want us all to have peace and calm every day, but once again, we live on this earth. It can be hard for us then, to always live up what the Apostle Paul, through Jesus Christ calls us to this morning.

          The Apostle Paul names a couple of converts to Christianity in the beginning of our Philippians reading, and he urges them to be of the same mind in the Lord. The Apostle Paul encourages his “loyal companion” to help Euodia and Syntyche with there faith in Christ. The Apostle Paul also mentions Clement, which some scholars believe is the same Clement who became Bishop of Rome, or what many now call the Pope.

          The Apostle Paul then tells us in Philippians 4:4:7 what we have been talking about so far this morning. Lastly the Apostle Paul ends our reading from Philippians 4:1-9 for this morning with 4:8-9, saying:

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:8-9, NRSV).

          Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, is not invading another country, torturing, massacring, assaulting, and taking people hostage. Some Palestinians might also argue that Israel has committed atrocities to. No country is perfect, but as I said, what happened in Israel, and is still going on in Israel from Hamas took my peace. So much so, that getting pulled over after more than ten-years of not getting pulled did not really get me anxious or as worried as it could of. It was still serious, but in light of other things in the world, it seemed less important.

          In our reading from Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 for this morning we hear these words in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. These scriptures, these words were written to be the guide, the faith, and the practice of our Jewish brothers and sisters. In Psalm 106:1-2 for this morning, it says, once again:

¹ Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. ² Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord or declare all his praise?         (Ps. 106:1-2, NRSV).

          There are Christians and Jews that have no doubt read this scripture in the last week in Israel, Palestine, and even Gaza. Many Christians around the world like us are reading this scripture. I wonder though, for the folks that are in Israel, Palestine, and even Gaza, if it is harder to follow and embrace this scripture given what is going on there?

          You see, it’s not that we don’t want to have “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding,” it’s just that sometimes life makes it harder for us to have peace. If you are having a terrible day and someone tells you to just have the peace of God, you might actually get angry with them. It is not always an easy thing to do for some of us.

          Where have we all had peace and calm this past week, and where have we lost our peace and calm? Further, how can we do better? The more and more we become like Jesus Christ, the more we can pursue, calm, love, hope, mercy, and kindness. These things are also offered to us through God, even if there are times that they are hard to do.

          Our gospel of Matthew 22:1-4 lesson for this morning is often called, “The Parable of the Wedding Banquet”. Most pastors that I know do not like officiating weddings. I love weddings though! It’s exciting, there’s food and cake, and people are generally happy. This wedding that Jesus talks about in this parable or story is a little different however. Let’s look at the “The Parable of the Wedding Banquet” once more. Picking up starting in Matthew 22:1 it says, once again:

22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come     (Mt. 22:1-3, NRSV).

          Jesus is inviting us all to that eternal and heavenly banquet feast with him, but we will come to Christ? Jesus calls us, but will we respond to his call? At this point in the parable or the story, the king has sent his slaves out to call those who have been invited to wedding banquet, but they do not come.

          Picking up in Matthew 22:4, it says, once again:

⁴ Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them (Mt. 22:4-6, NRSV).

 

          Not only did the second group of slaves go to gather those invited by the king to the wedding banquet, but the people refused to come again. Even worse some seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. In response to this, Jesus says in his parable or story, starting in Matthew 22:7, once again, that:

⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests (Mt. 22:7-10, NRSV).

 

          Those called and invited by the king were invited not once, but twice. It was not uncommon to invite people with two invitations in the ancient world that Jesus lived in. The second invitation however, was met with contempt and violence. In ending our gospel of Matthew 22:1-4 scripture, we finish with 22:11-1 saying, once again:

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹² and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt. 22:11-14, NRSV).

 

          Even if most of the Pharisees, the scribes, and the other religious leaders rejected Jesus, after at least two invitations, all the rest of the world, including us are invited to wedding banquet feast of Jesus Christ. Even if some of the original covenant people, the Israelites or the Jews rejected Jesus, the invitation is now opened up to the entire world. This being said however, take the invitation of Jesus Christ seriously. Do not take for granted the salvation that we are offered in Christ, lest we end up in darkness weeping and gnashing our teeth. Jesus tells us that all are welcomed by him, but take him and his gospel seriously.

          If we do, then when we witness a human massacre, the torture, assaults, and people being taken hostage, then we will most certainly say that as Christians, and followers of Jesus Christ, that this sort of brutality is beneath the gospel of Lord and Savior Jesus. Yes, we are all invited by Christ to his heavenly banquet feast, but like the wedding guests didn’t take the invitation seriously, we need to stand for treating all people with love and dignity. The children of God, the children of Abraham are never called to slaughter, abuse, torture, and take hostages any of the people that God has made in his image. Again, the Palestinians had made claims against Israel for doing same.

Even so, if we are not careful this can cause us to lose “The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding”. May we be praying for all those are suffering, on both sides, for those who are or have been abused, and may we me live up to the standards of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sidney UMC - 19th Sunday after Pentecost - 10/08/23 - Sermon - “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 6 of 6)

Sunday 10/08/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving

Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!”

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

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 19                                          

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 3:4b-14

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 21:33-46

          This morning we are concluding our six-week sermon series called the “Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Sermon Series, which references the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer. In this book, written in 2014, Thom S. Rainer discusses common and often overlapping reasons for churches shrinking, and or closing. Rainer also discusses how to reverse this trend. So far in this sermon series, we have discussed many of the problems causing churches to shrink and or close, and we have also discussed some of the solutions to these problems.

          In connecting the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer with our Sunday lectionary scripture readings, so far, we have discussed, the need to have deep, abiding, and growing faith in Jesus Christ. We have discussed how the “Culture Of The Church” is vital to church growth, to discipleship, and to how people feel treated and loved. We have a healthy church culture at this church. We also discussed the need to forgive each other, to show love to each other and all people, and to be open to other people and their stories. We then talked about how when churches get stuck on small things that are not vital to their stated mission, then the mission can suffer. When the mission suffers, the church can shrink, and or even close over time.

          Last week, I talked about the founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley’s quote, “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls”. This means not only leading people to Christ, but then us all growing in Christ together. We can, and hopefully all have or will come to Christ, repent of our sins, put our trust in and on the Lord Jesus Christ, and were or will be filled with the Holy Spirit. Since I came to Christ, I have done what I just said many, many, times over. The business of the church is to lead people to Christ, to receive salvation and eternity, but also to continue becoming more and more like Christ. Being a Christian isn’t just the spiritual event of coming to Christ, but it is also our daily walks with Christ.

          On this last week of this sermon series based on the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer, my sermon title for this morning is a long title. It is called, “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” If the business of the church is as the founder of Methodism John Wesley said, “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls,” then how do we this as people and as a church. One good way to sum up all of this is my sermon title “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!”

          In the gospel of Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his disciples and us:

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20, NRSV).

          You may have noticed that in Matthew 28:19, Jesus begins the verse saying:

“Go therefore” (Mt. 28:19a, NRSV).

          This means therefore, that many disciples of Jesus Christ can be made inside of these walls, but many will also be made outside of these walls. People that come to Christ outside of these walls may never come to worship or to church, so how do we get to these people? If many people are feeling lonely, in need of community, and or wanting to know more about God, how can we reach them?

          We have a variety of ministries already to help with this. Some are in house here, like Sauce and Cross, the Grief Share Group, Book Studies, etc. Some are also external, like our weekly Ecumenical Men’s Lunch, etc. This past Monday night October 2^nd, some of our church leaders, and one person from another church, met online to launch a “Sidney Visioning Team”. We prayed, we dreamed, and we discussed how we can reach Sidney, and the Sidney Area for Jesus Christ. This Visioning Team, myself included, wants to strengthen our current ministries, but also potentially launch new ministries. Not programs, but ministries, specifically designed to draw people closer to Jesus Christ. If a church has a church dinner for example, but no one talks about the church or Jesus, then how will people know about him?

          According to Thom S. Rainer in the last two chapters of his book, many churches that shrink and or close often have two things in common. Rainer covers this in Chapter 10 of his book, “The Church Had No Clear Purpose,” and Chapter 11 of his book, “The Church Obsessed Over the Facilities”. Many churches that shrink and or close, according to Rainer do not have clear purpose for existing. People go to church on Sunday, but why does the church exist? Rainer said that some people from some churches that shrunk and or closed told him that: “We were going through the motions,” “We became more attached to our ways of doing church than we did asking the Lord what He wanted us to do,” “We were playing a game called church. We had no idea what we were really supposed to be doing,” “We stopped asking what we should be doing for fear that it would require too much effort or change” (AOADC, pg. 73). It is true to say friends that the Christian Church in the United States, Canada, and much of Western Europe is in a place that it has never been in before. Our churches tend to be in a place of decline and eventually closure. Can we reverse this trend? The answer is yes!

          One of the things that is vital for churches going forward though, is that we have a mission as a church. We have a reason for existing as a church. Due to this, we print the mission and the vision of our church on the front of our church bulletins. Once again, the mission of the Sidney United Methodist Church is: “Is to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ, And equip them to transform the world”. The vision of the Sidney United Methodist Church is: “1. Love God 2. Serve Others 3. Transform the World”. As I said last Sunday, we have been blessed this year with eleven new professions of faith/members in our church. If people were to ask us why the Sidney UMC exists, we can tell them that the Sidney UMC exists to “Is to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ, And equip them to transform the world”. We can also tell them that vision of the Sidney United Methodist Church is: “1. Love God 2. Serve Others 3. Transform the World”.
            We started a Visioning Team this past Monday night to discuss how to better live this mission out. My sermon title then is a broad view of what I believe Christian Churches should be doing, which is “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” It is nice, as well, to have a nice church building, a nice parsonage, and nice facilities, as Thom S. Rainer said in Chapter 11 of his book, “The Church Obsessed Over the Facilities”. There is difference in having the church look good, keeping the church and the facilities up, and having the church and the facilities be above the mission of the church.

          We are truly blessed here at the Sidney UMC with the best Trustees Committee I have ever served with in my life. Yet, while we want the church, the parsonage, and all our facilities to function well, we are not putting these things ahead of the mission of our church, which “Is to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ, And equip them to transform the world”. It is good to have a good building and facilities, but if we have no clear mission and if we aren’t pursuing that mission, then what are we maintaining everything for?

          As I said, I have been honored to be on the best Trustees Committee that I have ever served on in this church, but our Trustees are more focused on the Great Commission than the building and the facilities. We want things to be kept up, but we also want to bring people to Christ, and for the church to flourish.

          When our “Sidney Visioning Team” met this past Monday night, a big part of what we discussed is what my sermon title is called, once again: “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” When the church shifts to continue to be even more outwardly focused, we are able to engage and connect with people who may never walk into a church. Since many people don’t go to church anymore, how can we connect with them, love them, share Christ with them, and help them in other ways?

          In the first century of the church, the Apostle Paul went to places on missionary journeys preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to some people that had never heard it before. He befriended many, heard their stories, learned from them, shared Christ, built and launched ministries in various cities, and built up the church. The Apostle Paul went to the people. This is a hard thing for many of us, but the more we connect with others, then the more we can share our faith with them. Not only this, we offer people a sense of community, a sense of hope, and the love of Jesus Christ.

          When many of us grew up, most people went to church every Sunday, and were active in the church. Since this is no longer the case, we must shift in various ways to be more like the first century Christians. Through friendships, connections, and coming together, we are called to love people into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is why as a church “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!”

          In looking at our reading for this morning from Psalm 19, from the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, we hear of the praise and glory of God. The Israelite or Jewish people in the Hebrew Bible had a tendency to obey God and then stray from God. They knew who God was, but sometimes the realities and the fallenness of this world got in the way. Nevertheless, we have Psalms like Psalm 19 for this morning that speak of God’s love, glory, and mercy. In fact, I know various pastors who recite Psalm 19:14 before preaching every sermon, which says:

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Ps. 19:14, NRSV).

          As our Jewish brothers and sisters wrestled with God before Christ came into the world, may we still seek to praise God, seek God, love God, and follow Christ.

          In our reading for this morning from Philippians 3:4b-14, the Apostle Paul is comparing his life as a Jew, before he became a Christian. When the Apostle Paul lived under the Old Testament Law of Moses he lived like a Jew, but now the Apostle Paul is a Chirstian. As a result, the Apostle Paul now lives under the grace of Jesus Christ. Since the Apostle Paul converted to Christianity, formerly Saul of Tarsus, we hear from him morning about this change from Judaism to Christianity in our reading from Philippians 3:4b-14. In fact, starting in Philippians 3:4b for this morning, it says, once again:

⁴ even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless (Phil. 4b-6, NRSV).

 

          The Apostle Paul begins our reading from Philippians 3:4b-14 for this morning, saying that in everyway he was a good Jew. He was circumcised on the eighth day according to the Jewish Law of the Old Testament, he was a Hebrew born of Hebrews, he was a Pharisee, he followed the Law of Moses in the Old Testament, and persecuted the Christian Church.

          The Apostle Paul, who was first the Jewish Pharisee Saul of Tarsus, then encounters Christ on the road to Damascus, Syria and becomes a Christian. In explaining this change from following the Old Testament Jewish Law to the New Testament under Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul picks up, starting in Philippians 3:7 saying, once again:

⁷ Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith (Phil 3:7-9, NRSV). 

          The Apostle Paul, now a Christian, is saying that he is no longer bound by the law of Moses in the Old Testament, but instead is bound by the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. According to the Apostle Paul, Jesus/the New Testament is a new and better covenant than the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. Instead of having to follow all of the laws and all of the teachings of the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul said that he is righteous through Jesus Christ, who is the New Covenant. The Ten Commandments, and many of the teachings of the Old Testament don’t need to be discarded, but as Christians we have grace and love under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ our Lord.

          To this end, the Apostle Paul continues and ends our reading for this morning, picking up in Philippians 3:10, once again saying:

¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹² Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:10-14, NRSV).

 

          Jesus ushers in the New Covenant or our new agreement in him, and the Apostle Paul is explaining his conversion from Judaism or the Old Covenant to Christ under the New Covenant.

          In connecting our Gospel of Matthew 21:33-46 reading for this morning with Thom S. Rainer’s book and our sermon title “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” we have what is commonly called the story or the “Parable of Tenants.” In this story or parable, a landowner leased his land to tenants, and the tenants would then pay the landowner with some of the produce they grew. The land owner would then have his “rent” of sorts collected. The gospel reading begins in Matthew 21:33 with Jesus saying, once again:

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went away. ³⁴ When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them in the same way (Mt. 21:33-36, NRSV).

          Jesus is telling this story or parable to compare the Old and New Covenants. You see, Jesus is saying that the Land Owner is God. The first group of people that the landowner or God sent to collect the “rent” were the first group of Old Testament Prophets. These prophets were sent by God to call the Jewish people to repentance, and many rejected them. The tenants, or the people of Israel, the Jews, did not stay on track despite the first group of prophets in the Old Testament. Some of these prophets were also treated horribly, as was the landowner’s slaves sent to collect the “rent” from the tenants.

          Since the landowner or God did not get what his people or his “tenants” promised him, the landowner or God then sent another group of slaves, which represents the second group of prophets in the Old Testament. Like wise the “tenants,” or people of Israel largely rejected this second group of slaves or prophets. The landowner or God was promised something by his “tenants” or his people in exchange for there blessings and livelihood, yet they rejected the landowner or God’s collectors or prophets.

          Since the first two group of slaves, or the first two groups of prophets did not yield what the “tenants” or people of Israel promised to God, the landowner or God then sent his son to collect. Two groups of prophets in the Old Testament are sent to the Jewish people, and are largely rejected. So, the landowner or God, sends his son, or Jesus, to collect and straighten out his people. The gospel of Matthew 21:33-46 reading then picks up saying in 21:37, once again:

³⁷ Then he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him (Mt. 21:37-39, NRSV).

          All of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible prophets are largely rejected and mistreated. The Landowner or God then sends his only son Jesus Christ, and he is treated no different. In fact, they seize the son, or Jesus Christ, and kill him. You see they want the landowner’s or God’s inheritance.

          Jesus then says after two groups of people, and the landowner’s son were abused and rejected, what will the landowner or God do now? Picking up in Matthew 21:40, it says, once again:

⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? ⁴³ “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruits. ⁴⁴ The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet (Mt. 21:40-46, NRSV).

          Jesus is saying, that the landowner or God, saw two groups of his slaves, or all the prophets of the Old Testament be abused and rejected, and the people will then reject the landowner’s son or Jesus Christ. Due to this, Christians follow Christ or the New Covenant, as through Christ are forgiven eternally, and once and for all, through his cross. Jesus is also telling us that if we reject the people of God, and reject him, then God may not bless us. If we are seeking God, and if we turn to God, we can be more expectant that God will turn towards us.

          Since as Christians we live under the New Testament or the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, the mission of the Church is one where “Everything Is About Reaching Out, Serving Others, and Gathering for Jesus Christ!” The more we can do this, grow this, be united in it this, the stronger our church and all churches will be! Amen.