Sidney UMC - World Communion Sunday/18th Sunday after Pentecost - 10/01/23 - Sermon - “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls” (“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 5 of 6)

Sunday 10/01/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “You Have One Business On Earth - To Save Souls” 

(“Why are some churches shrinking and closing?” Series: Part 5 of 6)    

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16                                    

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:1-13

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 21:23-32

          So, I have a question for us to think about this morning. How many of us have run into someone before that we haven’t seen in years? Maybe it was someone at a high school reunion? Maybe it was someone you fell out of touch with, and you suddenly saw them at a wedding, a funeral, etc.? How many of us have ever had an experience like that before?

          Maybe you hadn’t seen the person in five-years, ten-years, twenty-years, or even more. When we see someone that we haven’t seen in years, a lot of times, we can have memory flashbacks. You might remember “back then,” and you might remember times gone by. We then of course see the person as they are now. If you hadn’t seen someone in twenty or more years, I can imagine that we would all change just a little bit. We might have a little more gray or white hairs, for example.

          What I have find interesting though, is that when I see someone that I haven’t seen in a long time, is to think of how they used to be. You know that wild guy or gal that you knew in high school? Suddenly you see them after 20-years and they are in a suit and leading a large company. You then think, “what a change from high school!” Or maybe you run into the biggest trouble maker you knew in school, and after all these years, you ask the person, “so what are you up to now?” The person then responds and says, “I’m actually a United Methodist Church Bishop”. Then you think, “Well this person has really changed!”

          Sometimes when see someone that we haven’t seen in years, people might ask, for example, “Hey I heard you saw John at the high school reunion?” Then you may say, “Yes I did, and he hasn’t changed a bit!” Funny how that works in life. Sometimes people we haven’t seen in a long-time change, and sometimes they seem to be exactly the same person that we knew long ago. As I am talking, continue thinking about people that you have seen, after years of not seeing them. Were they the same? Did they change? If they did change, how much did that change?

          I say and ask us to think about all of this, because becoming a Christian is to change. Someone might come up to you on the street that you saw a week ago, for example, and announce, “Guess what I believe in Jesus and I’m a Christian now!” You might leave that conversation though, thinking that they haven’t really changed that much.

          Either way, my sermon title for this morning is taken from a quote from the founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley. This quote is “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls”. The idea behind this quote is that the primary mission of the Christian Church is to bring people into a repentant and saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Some churches have what is called an “Altar Call,” and some churches ask people to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior.

          Yet, while I believe that salvation and eternity in Jesus Christ is a free gift offered to all of humanity, it does also imply a change. For example, maybe you knew someone years ago that wanted nothing to do with God or the church. You then see them after years, and now they are walking with Jesus. In fact, they seem like a completely different person. You might notice that the mission of the Sidney United Methodist Church is on the front cover of our bulletin. It says our mission: “Is to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ, And equip them to transform the world”. So come to Christ, and be changed.

          An example of this change in Christ that I have heard and use a lot, is walking in the woods with a compass to tell us what direction we are going in. It is good to know were north, south, east, and west are, if we are lost in the woods. Imagine though that if you and a friend were walking in the woods with compasses, and you turned your compass just one degree in a different direction from the person you were walking with. It would probably take a lot of miles of walking for both of you to truly to be far apart, as it is only one degree of difference. Over time though the two of you could end up completely different places in the woods. Faith in Christ can be a lot like this. We can be changed immensely in the moment of coming to Christ, but change should continue through our earthly lives. We are continued to continue to be refined and to be more like Jesus.

          When I quote John Wesley’s quote for my sermon title “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls,” I don’t believe that this just about getting people to heaven one day, but it also about how our changed lives can change Sidney and the world. Some of us have run into people after years and they were exactly the same as when we knew them years ago, and some of them seemed like a completely different person. One degree change on a compass over a period of time can put us into a completely different place.

          As many of us know, I have been preaching a six-week sermon series in part connected to the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer. In this book Thom S. Rainer discusses various reasons why some churches are shrinking and closing, and what we can do to stop this shrinking and closing.

          So far in this six-week sermon series, I have talked about the need to be deeply rooted in Jesus Christ, and how deep faith in him will change us, change the church, and the change the world. Jesus is the church, and faith in him through the power of the Holy Spirit is what changes us.

          We also talked about the “Culture Of The Church,” and how that a church functions, lives, loves, and does ministry together connects directly to how the church culture is. A church that is loving, welcoming, caring, and Christ-like is a church that is much more likely to have a bright future.

          We then discussed the need to forgive, to love, and to be open to each other. When we are hurt or holding anger or a grudge this can greatly weaken the church and the “Culture Of The Church”. We need to forgive, love, and be open to each other.

          Last week we talked about how as individuals and as the church to “Don’t Get Stuck On the Small Stuff!” In life, both as persons, and as a church, we all have our own preferences and our own likes. With this said, if our own personal and own church preferences begin to hurt the mission of the church, then we have to ask ourselves about our own preferences. Many churches like to do certain things in certain ways, which is ok, as long as it not harmful to the church, to the people, or the mission of the church.

          In the quote I am using once again for my sermon this morning, the founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley, I think explains what as Christians and as the church we are called to do. This is why my sermon title once again is the John Wesley quote, “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls”.

          The chapters from the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer that I will be connecting to today’s message are Chapter 8 “Pastoral Tenure Decreases,” and Chapter 9 “The Church Rarely Prayed Together”. According to Thom S. Rainer long term pastorates are good, if the pastor and the church are a good fit together, and if they are united in mission and vision (Autopsy Of A Deceased Church, pgs. 55-62). If a church has a new pastor every one or two years and this has been the case for a while, I would be interested in knowing how well that church is doing with pursuing its mission. I mean why is that church going through pastors like water?  

          According to Thom S. Rainer in his book, for most pastors, year 1 is the honeymoon phase, year 2 and 3 is the conflicts and challenges phase, year 4 and 5 is the crossroads phase, and year 6 to 10 is the fruit and harvest phase. According to Rainer if you have a good pastor, with a good church, pursuing the church’s mission the most fruit and harvest or growth generally happens in years 6 to 10 a pastoral appointment (Autopsy Of A Deceased Church, pgs. 58-59). I pray then that we are about to have a mighty harvest of growth in this church, and in general.

          In Chapter 9 of the book “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer, Rainer said that churches that are shrinking and closing rarely pray together. For those people that came to our prayer and healing service last Sunday night, boy did we ever pray together! We should be praying for each other, for our church, and for its mission, so that we can continue to be transformed, as God uses us to further transform Sidney and the world. May we be praying, praying for each other, for our church, and for the world.

          With all of this said, if we are deeply rooted in our faith in Christ, if we have a loving a caring church culture, if we forgive, love, and extend openness, and if we don’t sweat the small stuff, then what? The answer is we focus on the mission of our church which is on the front cover of our bulletin, once again. Our mission at the Sidney UMC is “Is to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ, And equip them to transform the world”. Our vision to accomplish this is to 1. Love God, 2. Serve Others, 3. Transform the World.

          I think of building blocks or Legos, and when we put the pieces of this together, we are then completely positioned to successfully pursue the mission of the church. This is why the founder of the Methodist Movement John Wesley said “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls”.

          In fact, did you know that in 1959, when the Methodist Movement was celebrating its 175-Anniversary in this country that there were 15-million Methodists in this country. We were the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and today we have a little over 6-million United Methodists in this country. We also have a lot more people in our country today than we had in 1959. So, what is going on? Making sure that we are deeply rooted, loving, caring, forgiving, and not stuck on the small stuff, means we are united together through Jesus Christ.

          When people are brought into relationship with Jesus Christ, it changes them, and for most of us it continues to change us like walking in the woods with a compass moved one-degree off center. A church mobilized like this, even in a community and in an area that is in decline, can still be a mighty force to be reckoned with!

          In connecting this with out scripture reading for this morning, we hear of what God has done and can still do. What can God do in Sidney and in the Sidney Area? In our reading from Psalm 78:15-16, we hear about God bringing water from rocks. For anyone that has ever heard the term, “You can’t get water from a rock”! In our reading from Psalm 78:15-16 for this morning, we hear once again of God:

¹⁵ He split rocks open in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. ¹⁶ He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers (Ps. 78:15-16, NRSV).

          Is it possible through God, in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit that the Sidney UMC can continue to be renewed, to grow, and flourish. I believe so, and our Visioning Team that is meeting for the first time on Zoom on the computer tomorrow night at 7:00 PM believe so too. If you want to be part of our Visioning Team, just let me know!

          In our reading from Philippians 2:1-13 we hear about being united or in one accord in Jesus Christ. In looking at our reading from Philippians 2:1-13 again, we hear starting in 2:1:

2 If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, ² make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil. 2:1-8, NRSV).

          We will ever agree fully on the best sports team? On politics? On Pepsi or Coke? On other things? Probably not, but we can be fully united in the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Who according to the Apostle Paul even though was God in the flesh became like one of us, and even like a slave. God in the flesh dying for us. We live out our faith in Christ together, and this is the strength our personal faith, and the faith of the church.

          Further, the Apostle Paul completes our Philippians 2:1-13, reading for this morning saying about Jesus Christ and us this:

⁹ Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name, ¹⁰ so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:9-13, NRSV).

 

          When I was going through the ordination process in our Upper New United Methodist Church Annual Conference, we were asked to pick a verse of scripture that we could relate to. The verse I often picked was Philippians 2:12, that says once again:

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, (Phil. 2:12, NRSV).

 

          Many churches in this day in age have real struggles and real challenges, but we still have Jesus Christ and the timeless mission of the church.

          In connecting this all to our Gospel of Matthew 21:23-32 reading for this morning, Jesus is called out on the carpet for his teachings, his actions, and his miracles. Starting in Matthew 21:23, it says once again of Jesus:

²³ When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things (Mt. 21:23-27, NRSV).

 

          So, Jesus is challenged in his teaching, in his actions, and his miracles. What is visible and is clear though is that Jesus is rejected due to the desire of those in power to retain their power and authority.

          Jesus then speaks once again, and says in Matthew 21:28-32, this:

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him (Mt. 21:28-32, NRSV).

 

          Jesus is saying to the chief priests and the elders that people who have very low status in the society that he lived in, believed in him. People that are overlooked and treated as lesser than, without the chief priest’s and elders’ education, status, and wealth believe in him, and yet the chief priest’s and elders reject him.

          Jesus came to transform humanity, and thereby transform the world. Whether we move towards Christ one degree of center, or whether we move even quicker, the founder of Methodist Movement John Wesley said, “You Have One Business On Earth – To Save Souls”. Let’s pursue the mission of the church. Amen.