RWJ/Pottersville UMC 10/28/12 Sermon - “They sacrifice for the greater good” (Qualities of a Good Leaders Series, Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 10/28/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “They sacrifice for the greater good”                                                              (Qualities of a Good Leader Series: Part 3 of 5)

Scripture Lesson: Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:46-52

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning, I am continuing on with my sermon series on the qualities of a good leader. In light of the presidential election that we have every four years, I thought that this would be a good opportunity for us to think about leadership. This leadership is not only leadership that is needed in the government, but all kinds of leadership. While leadership is needed everywhere, leadership is also very much needed here in the church. Once again, there are many qualities of good leadership, and I hope to highlight but a few of these many qualities with this sermon series.

          In my first week of this series, I talked about how good leaders are “humble before there people.” If we really want to serve the Lord, we must be a humble servant to each other. Last week I talked about how Christian leaders must be “Amongst the people.” If we are truly going to serve people, than we must be amongst them. Jesus was amongst the people, eating with sinners, healing the outcasts, loving the lost, and etc. To really be good leaders we must be amongst the people like that.

          This morning however, I want to talk about another quality of good leaders. This biblical quality is one “who sacrifices for the greater good,” or one who gives to others of themselves. By this, I mean one who truly understands that “it is better to give, than to receive.” For the next two weeks, I will be highlighting additional qualities of good leadership, and will finish this series the Sunday just after the presidential election. While we have all no doubt been going through various emotions and feelings through this president election cycle, I hope that we have also been able to dream about what our ideal leaders could and should be. Further, what kind of leaders can we ourselves be? Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

You see then in order to be a good leader we must sacrifice for God, for others, and do so in name of Jesus. By giving, we truly receive. One of my favorite writings on the topic of sacrifice was written by our late President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln wrote the following letter to a Mrs. Lydia Bixby of Boston, Massachusetts in 1864 during the Civil War. Here is what the late president said: “Nov. 21, 1864. Dear Madam, I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.  I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, A. Lincoln.”

Sacrificing for others. Jesus calls us to sacrifice for others. Jesus calls us to live for others, and give of ourselves, even when it is hard. 1 Peter 2:1-5 reads: "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." In sacrificing for the greater good we should not do this just for blessings from God, but because it is the right thing to do. By giving of ourselves, of our resources, of our time, and of our gifts and talents, God uses us to transform the world for Jesus. Hebrews 13:15-16 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

Whenever we deny ourselves and give to others, we imitate Jesus Christ. By taking the time and by doing what is needed to help others we are offering ourselves as sacrifices to Jesus. By loving others and serving others, we are living the way Christ taught us to live. In the scripture reading from Job this morning, God restored all that Job had lost. Job felt like everything he had been taken or sacrificed. Job learned that God is faithful if we really trust Him. In the Gospel reading this morning the blind man had faith. He believed and sacrificed for Jesus, and Jesus said after he made the blind man see, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

The famous writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Self-sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow.” Here is another really good quote: "You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing is worth dying for, when did this begin...? ...Should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots of Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard 'round the world?" Anyone here know who this quote is from? This quote is from our late President Ronald Reagan.

You see brothers and sisters, we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, but Jesus wants us to sacrifice for Him. He wants us to make the hard decisions, and to serve all people. To fully serve Christ, it involves sacrifice. It involves hard work, late nights, and plenty of coffee. We do we what do though, because Jesus Christ has died for us, and because He changes lives. May we seek this week to do for others, and to sacrifice for others, because Jesus calls us to make disciples for the transformation the world. With the power of Christ and in continually seeking Him, our sacrifice will pay dividends. It will pay dividends in growing congregations, in hearts changed, in lives made new, and in people living for the Lord. When I go to bed at night even if I am dog tired, I would hope that the Lord would say “Well done today, good and faithful servant.”

I would like to close with a story about sacrifice. Here is the story: There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass thru freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it. A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance thru the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man’s strength. Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. “Daddy, where are you?” His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, “Run! Run!” But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision. The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died. Now if you comprehend the emotions which went this man’s head, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. How does He feel when we speed along thru life without giving a thought to what was done for us thru Jesus Christ?

So this week brothers and sisters, may we seek to sacrifice for Jesus, may we give to others, may we help others, may we love each other. For good leaders, Christian leaders, sacrifice for the greater good of all people. May we serve the Lord sacrificially for each other in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

 

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 10/21/12 Sermon - “They are amongst the people” (Qualities of a Good Leaders Series, Part 2 of 5)

Sunday 10/21/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “They are amongst the people”                                                                 (Qualities of a Good Leader Series: Part 2 of 5)

Scripture Lesson: Job 38:1-7 (34-41)

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:35-45

 

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning, I am continuing on with my sermon series on the qualities of a good leader. As I said last week, if you are not already aware of it, we are in the midst of a presidential election season. As I also said last week, I don’t know how you could not be aware that it is a presidential election season! For some of us, this every four-year cycle of electing a president is exciting, for some it’s not exciting, for some of us it’s overwhelming, and so on and so forth. Many of us have all sorts of emotions around this and all presidential elections. Since it is a presidential election season though, I thought that it would be good to do this series on qualities that we as Christians should look for in a good leader. Specifically, as Christians what sorts of qualities, attributes, and characteristics do we want to have not only in a president, but all leaders.

          What sorts of qualities, attributes, and characteristics do we want in church leaders, community leaders, and etc.? I am asking all of us in this sermon series then, to think about of the all kinds of leadership that we want, and to think about developing further leadership in this church. Once again, this 5-week sermon series could not possibly cover everything that makes a good leader or a good president, so I have just picked some of these qualities to get us thinking.

          Last week, I talked about how as Christians we should desire a president or any leader who is humble. Jesus was humble, and Jesus calls us to be humble. When we get egotistical and all puffed up, we fail to be like Jesus, and most people are really repelled by such behavior. I think for all of us, we want leaders who are strong and courageous, yet humble. I think we want Leaders who are honest, open, and humble, whether we realize it or not.

          In continuing on then in this series this week I want to talk about leaders that are “amongst the people.” When we look at the four Gospels in the Bible, we do not see Jesus going to just the powerful and the affluent. Instead, we see Jesus going to the woman at the well, whom nobody wanted to talk to, we see Jesus spending time with the homeless. We see Jesus healing, raising people from the dead, and declaring a new way to God. In fact, before the followers of Jesus became known as “Christians” in the city of Antioch, in the Book of Acts, they were simply known as The Way. This term “The Way,” simply meant, “The Way of God.”

Jesus I think never conducted an opinion poll of his favorability, before spreading His good news to a city. He never said, “Well Jerusalem is a swing state, so I will spend more time there.” I don’t know about you, but I seem to see presidents and a lot of leaders showing up when it matters, but I would like to see a president if even for 1-2 days a year, showing up when it doesn’t matter. I want to see a president go to a poor community that is not a swing state to be with the people. I mean are those people in that little community, in that state, any less significant than the folks in a big city or a swings state? In this way, I would argue that Jesus did not care about polls, or swing states, instead Jesus cared about people. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

People have jokingly said to me before, “Paul why don’t you run for political office?” I say, “that’s simple, because I would never get elected.” That person might then say, “well why do you say that?” I might then say, “because I want to be among the people, and I don’t care about smear campaigns, fund raising dinners, and etc.” In our Book of Job reading this morning, God in Job’s distress said, don’t you trust me? Did I create everything that ever was and ever is? Job’s love and his trust was being tested. In the Gospel of Mark reading this morning, Jesus said “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be among you must be slave of all.” We must be amongst the people.

          I don’t know about you, but I want a president who is amongst the people. You might say, “Well pastor is that really possible?” Obviously our president, whom ever that may be at the time, cannot possibly be amongst 320-million Americans in 50-states. What I want though, is to see just one a president or any high up leader, do something not for press, not for camera time, but because they want to be amongst the people. I want to hear the accolades and good deeds of a president or a presidential candidate not from them, but from those who know them. I want to hear all the great things that they do for people that they themselves never talk about. I want a president who is amongst the people, like Jesus Christ was amongst the people. Hebrews 13:1-3 “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” We must be amongst the people. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Mathew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

          You know whenever there is a calamity or a natural disaster we see leaders showing up surveying the damage, giving speeches, and helping. Are these leaders doing this though to be amongst the people, or to keep their poll numbers up? Do our leaders really care about the common people? I personally think that some do and some don’t, but if you think about past leaders, the one’s we tend to respect the most, are the leaders that were amongst the people.

          There is a good movie with Mel Gibson I saw a while back, called “We Were Soldiers.” Has anyone ever seen this movie? In this movie Mel Gibson portrayed an army officer named Colonel Hal Moore, a man who was a deeply religious Christian. In very first battle of the Vietnam War, the character that Mel Gibson portrayed, Colonel Hal Moore, said before the battle to all the soldiers, “when we go into battle, I will be the first to step foot on the field, and I will be the last step off, and I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together, so help me God.” The first time I heard that speech in this movie I had chills run down my spine. I thought to myself, “I would sign up and fight for Colonel Moore.” You see Colonel Moore was amongst his soldiers, and was the first on the ground, and the last one off. I am also sure that his men’s allegiance to him in battle was paramount compared to many other Army officers due to him being amongst the people.

          I think of church leaders like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was always amongst the people. I think of leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was constantly amongst the common people fighting for equal rights and opportunities. I think of church leaders like many of you here, who serve the Lord, and with most of us not even knowing half of what you do for people. When I think of other leaders that go amongst the people, I think of the first president of our republic, George Washington, who went amongst his soldiers, ensuring their well-being and care. Is there any wonder why George Washington was so popular? I know that we are all probably planning on voting in a few weeks, and I think we all should consider if our chosen leader is amongst the people. 

I would like to close today with a story. This is a story about being amongst the people, and sharing our time. Here is the story: A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waiting for him at the door. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?” “Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man. “Daddy, how much money do you make an hour? “That’s none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily. “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy. “If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.” “Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?” The father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you’re being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don’t have time for such childish games.” The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. “How dare him ask such questions only to get some money.” After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. “Are you asleep son?” he asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10.00 you asked for.” The little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. “Why did you want more money if you already had some?” the father grumbled. “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”

This week brothers and sisters share some time with those who need you. They need our time more then we will ever know. Let us as we continue on into this presidential season, to seek leaders and seek to be ourselves amongst the people. Amen.

 

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 10/14/12 Sermon - “They are Humble before there people” (Qualities of a Good Leaders Series, Part 1 of 5)

Sunday 10/14/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

 

Sermon: “They are Humble before there people”                                                    (Qualities of a Good Leader Series: Part 1 of 5)

Scripture Lesson: Hebrews 4:12-16

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:17-31 

 

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          As I am sure you are all too well aware, we have a presidential election coming up in less than one month. It seems to me that every four years when we have a presidential election cycle that many things happen within us. Some of us get excited, some of us get apathetic, some of us get angry, and some of us feel a whole variety of other ways. I think for most people though, even though they may disagree on politics, even though they may disagree on the issues, what they really want is good leaders. How many of you here want good leaders?

So to throw a disclaimer out about this sermon series that I am starting today, I am not trying to give a stump speech for either presidential candidate, but instead I am talking about qualities of good leaders.

          While many of us are focused on the presidential election coming up, we need good leaders in all capacities. We need good leaders in the military, our local governments, our schools, our businesses, and etc. Good leadership is something that most people want. While there are many qualities of good leaders, I have isolated for this sermon series, just some of these qualities. Hopefully, as we enter into this presidential election, this sermon series will make us more reflective on what qualities as Christians we think make a good leader. As Christians we have unique perspectives on what a good Christian leader is. While not all leaders are Christian leaders, we often as Christians still look a good leadership through our Christian moral and ethical lens. This is largely how we establish just what a good leader is.

          This morning, I put forth that from a Christian standpoint, a good leader must be humble before there people. A good leader is able to be at the level of the people whom they are serving. A good leader is not egotistical and above there people. In fact, scripture tells us that humility is actually a great form of strength and leadership. James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Matthew 18:4 says, “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The Lord when he looks for leadership wants humility. The Lord wants leaders who will humbly follow Him.

          Did anyone happen to watch the vice-presidential debate this past Thursday night? I did, and I really enjoyed the debate. There was something I noticed though, that was of great interest to me. What I noticed, was that Vice-President Joe Biden laughed out loud at Congressman Paul Ryan, who is running against him, I think over 80-times. He laughed at him, in almost a mocking or a condescending way. Whatever your personal views on either of these candidates isn’t really where I am trying to go here, but I personally felt after the debate, “Wow Vice-President Biden wasn’t very humble in this debate.” It is unarguable that the Vice-President has many more years in government that Congressman Paul Ryan, so shouldn’t he have been more humble in this debate? Whenever I hear Senator John McCain speak, I am always humbled myself at how humble he is. When God calls leaders, scripturally, God is calling leaders who are humble.

          In the scripture reading this morning, Job struggled with being humble before the Lord. In fact, Job seemed angry with the Lord, and was filled with complaints. Job was a good man, but sometimes even good men and good women struggle to be humble. I am not saying we will all be able to do this every day, all day, but the Lord wants leaders who are humble. In the scripture reading this morning from the gospel of Mark Jesus said his famous scriptural quote “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” So given this scripture, was Jesus anti-rich people? I don’t think so necessarily. Instead I think Jesus was saying that many people who are wealthy are not humble. Many who are wealthy are not humble, because there wealth is there value. So when the rich man told Jesus all he had done, Jesus praised him. The rich man then pushed and said “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth,” speaking of the commandments. Jesus then responded, by basically saying do you really want to know me? Do you really want to follow me fully? Jesus then of course tells the man to sell everything he owns, give the money to the poor, and follow him. You see I think this just might have been a test in humility. Some people I know that have a lot are quite generous, and some that I know are not. I think that if the Lord blesses us with financial wealth we need to be generous, humble, and thankful for all that God has done for us. I think that the rich man was almost trying to negotiate his way into heaven. He sort of was saying, “I have done everything on the salvation check list.” I would like to think that Jesus was then thinking, “This man just doesn’t get it.”

          We need to be humble before our Lord. And make no mistake we need humble leaders. Not only as the president, but this church need humble leaders. I firmly believe that the Lord has big plans for this church, but He needs humble leaders to accomplish these plans. So with this said, I ask you this, “will you humbly serve our Lord?” By this, I mean what do you feel God is calling you do for Him? What ministries do you think you would be gifted for? God has gifted all of us differently, and I am asking you to reflect this week on your gifts and graces, and ask yourself “How can God use me?” Pray about it.

          I believe God has big plans for this church. Whether we start a 4^th Day Group, a Movie Night, a Covenant/Bible Study Group, Sunday School, or etc., the church needs humble leaders to build the kingdom of God.

          If you feel called to run a movie night, to leader a prayer group, to be a Sunday School teacher, to preach a sermon, or any other ministry, let me or one of the church leaders know. The pastor does not own the leadership of God’s church. We all are in the role of leadership in God’s church. You, my brothers and sisters, have great gifts and talents, and I ask you too humbly to go before the Lord and ask Him to use you, and He will. The church needs leaders, just as this country need leaders. Will you serve God? Will you take up the mantle of leadership in His church? Will come along side of me and the other leaders of this church to build a better community, build stronger families, build stronger bonds, and build a better life for us all? Won’t you come serve with us?

          Proverbs 3:34 says, “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.” When considering other leaders that I myself have always found humble, I think of President Jimmy Carter. Now once again, I am not getting into the politics of this particular president, but I have always admired his Christian faith. I have always felt that President Carter was and is a humble Christian. Last time I checked, President Carter was still building habitat for humanity houses and serving in many ways. I think of many of the instances of humility of President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.” The Lord wants humble leaders. Proverbs 15:33 says, “The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”

          I want a president who is humble. I want leaders of all things who are humble. The Lord wants leaders for this church who are humble. You will you humbly serve Him?

I want to close today with a story on humility. Here is the story:   

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead, the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bedroom up out of the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied…. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good nights’ rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole source of income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel “How could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” the angel accused. ” The second family had so little, but was willing to share everything and you let their cow die.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied.” The Older angel then said, when we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so arrogant, so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the hole in the wall so he wouldn’t find it. For the owner was not humble before the Lord. Then last night, as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead, because the farmer and his wife are humble before the Lord. “Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel said to the younger angel.

Sometimes we get frustrated, sometimes we don’t trust the Lord. We forget to realize that “Things aren’t always what they seem.” As you go forth this week, consider the gifts and grace that the Lord has given you. Ask Him how you can serve Him. Then come along side of us and build His kingdom, this family, and this community in the name of Jesus Christ. For the Lord needs humble leaders, and needs humble leaders all the way up the level of the president. Amen.

           

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 10/07/12 Sermon - “Do you serve Him when all is lost?” (Growing in faith series, Part 6 of 6)

Sunday 10/07/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

 

Sermon: “Do you serve Him when all is lost?”                       

(Growing in faith series, Part 6 of 6)

Scripture Lesson: Job 1:1; 2:1-10

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:2-16                         

 

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning I am concluding my six part “Growing in faith series.” In concluding this series, I am going to quickly touch upon what I have talked about thus far. In my first week of this series, I talked about “Walking our Faith vs. Talking our Faith,” and how if we had big and strong Christian Churches, that we could do incredible things for this community and the world with all our pooled gifts, time, and resources. The second week of this series, I gave a message called “Faith without works is dead,” and in this message I talked about the need to live our faith through doing kind and generous things for others. After all, what good is our faith if we don’t share it? In the third week of this series, I gave a message called “Would you deny Him?” In this message I talked about how we need to treat all people as if there were Jesus Himself. We need to try to love and care for all people, and when we fail to do so, we deny Him. In week four of this series, I preached a message called “Who is the greatest amongst us?” While we all are at different points on our faith walks, God equally loves us all, and we all need His saving grace. In this way we are all the greatest before God. Last week I gave a message called “What are our stumbling blocks.” In this message, I talked about how we are all struggling with different sins and different struggles. I then talked about how we must identify our struggles and our stumbling blocks, and help one another to not stumble.

          This week, I am going to be concluding this series of growing in faith, by asking you, “Do you serve Him when all is lost?” By this, I mean to you trust God and serve the Lord when it seems you have hit rock bottom? For many of us, we arrived at this point in our lives at different time for many different reasons. Maybe we lost a good job for no reason. Maybe we experienced the death of loved one. Maybe we went through a painful divorce. Maybe our plan for our lives has not turned out to be our reality. It is easy for us to get bitter, to blame God, and to turn from God. We also can turn from God when we have unrealistic temptations. I would argue here this morning that the devil is always tempting us. Maybe he is tempting us with money, relationships, power, houses, cars, and etc. I want you to listen to this thing I am about to say very closely though. This thing is the devil cannot tempt with you with something that you do not want. Did you here that? The devil cannot tempt you with something that you do not want. Sometimes, in my flesh I get stressed over money, I get stressed over material things. In reality though I don’t want the money or the material things really, I just want to know that God will take care of me. You see God will provide for us, but the devil whispers to us, “Do you have enough money?” The devil then says, “Do you own a big enough house?” The devil then says, “You have not amounted to much in life?” Or maybe the devil says, “Since you are divorced, can anyone really ever love you again?”

          I think that these deceptions and temptations from the devil are the cause of much of our sorrow. I mean if the devil tells me that I need to buy a big house and I do not want a big house, then how can the devil tempt me with a big house. This is because the devil cannot tempt with something you do not want. In my Christian walk, I am learning to want nothing but the Lord. This as we all know is very hard. If we truly wanted nothing but the Lord though, this really narrows the margin on what Satan can tempt us with doesn’t it?

          When we experience extreme loss, we sometimes ask God, why did this happen? It is so easy to start to blame God, to blame others, and to feel empty angry inside. Sometimes we go through spiritual droughts; sometimes we are on the mountain top. The question I try to ask myself in everything that I do though is “where is Jesus Christ in all of this?” “Do we serve Him when all is lost?” Do we realize how much God loves us when we feel empty? Do we realize how much the family of God loves us when we feel empty? Would we serve God with nothing but ourselves?

You see when we are empty this is the best time for the devil to tear us down. This is when the devil will tell us that we are worthless. The devil wants us think that we are unlovable, that we are rotten to the core, but Jesus Christ always love us. In fact, God loves you so much, and there isn’t a thing that you can do about it. Even when we feel like He isn’t there, He loves us. When we feel empty and broken, we don’t need to stop at just prayer to be healed, but we also have each other. Believe me when I say that the devil doesn’t like the fact that we are in worship right now. God loves us, and the devil cannot tempt us with something we do want.

 In the scripture reading from Job today, Job lost everything and at time was angry at God. In this scripture Job did not sin with his lips, but he at times in the book of Job had anger, frustration, and doubt. In this way God was testing him. In our lives we will have times that we feel empty, broken, and weak, and God is there. We have each other to lift us up, as we are broken. God’s love then shines not only from Him to us directly, but He shines that loves to us through others.

In the Gospel of Mark reading this morning, Jesus talked about the way we should aspire to live, and talked about having hardness of the heart. You see, when are broken, we need to believe that Jesus is there for us, but He won’t necessarily fix us immediately or make everything better right away. Sometimes in the great mystery that is our faith Jesus wants us to struggle and to tarry so that we may know Him better. Sometimes bad things happen and the mysteries of God are beyond us, but He still loves us and has a plan for us.

I think of the story I heard on the news a few years ago of when a person went into an Amish school house and shot and killed several Amish children. I remember that the families of these murdered children forgave the killer and I think ever might have went to visit and love the man in prison who did that. To me I wondered how could people trust God this much in the face of such calamity and loss? I mean he murdered their children? There served Him when all was lost? How can you and I serve Him when all is lost? If everything is lost and we trust God, I mean truly trust Him, will he be faithful? I think He will, because God is always faithful. He might not be faithful in the way we think he will be, but he is always faithful.

About a two years ago, a family that my wife works with where a couple of hours away for Thanksgiving dinner, and enjoyed Thanksgiving with their extended family. After a great and blessed Thanksgiving dinner, the family drove home, and when they approach there house, they realized that while they were at Thanksgiving dinner, that there house had burnt to the ground. This occurred, due to some old wiring. Luckily, the fire department was able to get all of animals out alive, but the family lost virtually everything. They had no insurance to cover a fire. They lost everything. Quickly clothing drives and fundraisers got together a great deal of things for the family. Interestingly enough, when this mother came into my wife’s office a couple of weeks later, she seemed calm and pleasant. You see this woman is a devout Christian, and even through this she trusted God. The family now has another house they live in and God has provided everything that they need to be successful. Do we trust Him like this?

Do we really trust and serve God when all is lost? Do we really trust that God will carry us through? Can stop losing sleep over stress and worry at night? Maybe we should just give God our problems and go to bed. After all, God is going to be up all night anyway.

I would like to close today’s message with a story. This story is about a terrible storm. Here is the story: A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately. A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.” The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.” As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.” The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!” The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop. A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!” Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned. When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t you come and save me? And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”

You see when we serve and trust God when all is lost, we not only can trust in God, but we need to realize that sometimes our hope is found in each other. I saw a shirt a couple of years ago that said, “Sometimes God performs miracles, but the rest of the time He sends me.” When all is lost God has promised that He will be faithful either directly or through His people. Let us this week look to God and each other when we feel lost. Amen.

 

   

 

           

 

 

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 09/30/12 Sermon - “What are our stumbling blocks?” (Growing in faith series, Part 5 of 6)

Sunday 09/30/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

 

Sermon: “What are our stumbling blocks?”                       

(Growing in faith series, Part 5 of 6)

Scripture Lesson: Psalm 124

Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:38-50                        

 

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning I am continuing on with my six part series called the “Growing in faith series.” In the first week of this series, I talked about “Walking our faith vs. Talking our faith,” and fulfilling the mission of the Christian Church changing the world for Jesus Christ. The following week I gave a message called “Faith without works is dead,” and in this message, I talked about how doing good works for God is a means of God’s love and grace that we express to the world. In week three of this series I gave a sermon called “Would you deny Him?” In this message I talked about denying Jesus Christ. At times we all deny Jesus Christ, but He calls us to serve Him and all people. Last week I gave a message called “Who is the greatest amongst us?” In this message I talked about what are world would look like if we saw all people as equal spiritually. That we are all children of God, and that we all need the grace of God.

          This week however, as part five of this series, I want to talk about our stumbling blocks. In fact, the title today’s sermon is called, “What are our stumbling blocks?” Or to say it differently, what are those things that keep us from being all God wants us to be? What are our vices, our sins, or the struggles that trip us up? In the Psalm reading this morning, the Psalmist or writer of the Psalm said, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” and then continued on with how Israel was saved and protected by God. How many times has the Lord been on our side? How many times have we said, “Clearly God was with me during that?”

          Yet we still struggle, and yet we have stumbling blocks. We all have our crosses to carry in this world. Why some struggle with alcohol addition, why some struggle with gambling, while some commit adultery, and while some steal as there vices we may never fully know. The reality though is that we all have our stumbling blocks. In fact, I want you during this sermon to think about your individual stumbling blocks. What are they? Further, how can we remove these stumbling blocks or these strongholds? Also why do we have the stumbling blocks we do? Are our stumbling blocks worse than others? Why do we have the stumbling blocks we have, when it seems like no one else does?

          I believe sometimes that God gives us stumbling blocks to test our faith, but sometimes these stumbling blocks come from the devil. The Apostle Paul in scripture for example had that famous “thorn in his side,” even though no one knows exactly what that thorn was. So, some stumbling blocks I think come from God to grow and test our faith, but some come from the devil. When Jesus was in the desert the devil tempted him. The devil said “turn these stones into bread.” The devil said, “I will give all the kingdoms of earth if you will but bow before me.” The devil went on to tempt our Lord in many other ways as well. Jesus did not stumble though. Jesus did not succumb to temptation. I would encourage you that when you struggle with the stumbling blocks that you have that are not from God, that you do not tackle the devil on your own. In fact, I would tell you to not even engage Satan, as we cannot beat him. But Jesus can! When you feel Satan tempting you with one of the stumbling blocks he has given you, this is what I want you to tell him, “He rebuked you!” “In the dessert Satan, Jesus Christ rebuked you!” The devil has no authority over you, because He rebuked him. Remind the devil of this the next time he tells you that aren’t good enough, that you aren’t smart enough, that he tries to convince you that you are weak, or not able. You tell that devil “depart from this place,” “for He rebuked you.”

          In the Gospel of Mark reading this morning, Jesus said do whatever you need to do to avoid your stumbling blocks. Do what is necessary to fully serve the Lord, and to tell Satan, “He rebuked you!” Sometimes though, telling Satan that “He rebuked you” isn’t enough. This is why in the coming weeks I am going to be discussing and attempting to implement small covenant groups in this church. These small covenant groups will be groups where you and some of the members of this church get together weekly or periodically, whether for dinner, or coffee, or whether you do this every Sunday after church at lunch with each other. In these small covenant groups we have the opportunity to have a bible study, to pray, and to talk with one another about our struggles, to encourage one another. You see we all struggle, and we need to be in covenant groups with each other to grow and stay connected more fully to the Lord. I am as of right now projecting on starting a small covenant group the 4^th Saturday of every month in the church parsonage in Johnsburg. More details to come in the next couple weeks about this. I think these small groups will not only help us to keep our stumbling blocks in check, but they will help us grow together as a family, and they will help our church grow.

          I have a vision for this church, and when I was in Ohio this past week, I heard the Lord whisper in my ear “I am not done with these communities.” I envision a church where we have small groups that meet with regularity, where we monthly dish to pass dinners that I have already started, where we have times to come together as family, like the movie nights I have implemented. I have already seen new people come into this church, and I have a vision brothers and sisters that we keep growing! In the next couple of months, I am going to be looking into Sunday school curriculums and the possibility of having at this church, yes I said this church, Sunday school again. Some of you might be saying, “Well pastor, that all sounds well and good, but can we really accomplish this?” I would ask those people, do you trust Him? Do you really trust Him? Did he not rebuke the devil? Why can’t we grow? Why can’t we have a Sunday school? Why can’t we have small groups? Why can’t we have dish to pass dinners and movie nights? Why can’t this church grow by 20 or by 30 people? Why not?

          Sometimes, I think this is the devil whispering in our ears, “your church can’t grow, and it will die eventually.” I say to that devil, “He rebuked you!” I remember hearing a Billy Graham quote about the Lutheran and the Methodist Church some time ago. Billy Graham remarked that the Lutheran Church and that the United Methodist Church are “sleeping giants.” “What if,” he said, “they awoke?” For He rebuked him.

          As we consider our own sins, our own stumbling blocks, and our own struggles, I would encourage you to repent to the Lord, and repent to each other. Ask almighty God for forgiveness for what you have done and ask Him for the strength to turn from those sins, and really on your brothers and sisters in the Lord for strength to grow and overcome your stumbling blocks.

          In closing this morning, I have a short story that I feel illustrates our sins and our stumbling blocks. Here is the story. A reporter went to hell and heaven to see what they were like to report back to the world. In hell there was a massive banquet table, and yes not in heaven, but in hell. This banquet table went on as far as the eye could see. On this banquet table there was every good food you can imagine. Think of the best Thanksgiving spread that you have ever seen and multiply this by ten. The food on this table would be like nothing you had ever seen. Yet the people at this banquet table in hell were starving. They had not eaten in weeks, or months, or even years. There punishment for their evil and wicked ways was to starve and yet not die, but yet at the same time see all of the food. It was interesting though that the reporter noted that the devil gave each person at the banquet table a long spoon to eat with. Yet each spoon was too long to pick up food and then reach back to put it in their mouths. Some of the people tried to choke up on the spoon, but the devil would always stop them when they tried. So the only way the devil would let them eat was with this long spoon, yet it could not reach their mouths. These people were angry, and were all focused on their own hunger.

          To the reporters surprise though when he went up to heaven, there was the same exact banquet table, with the same exact food. Interesting that the devil had all of this in hell and that God did exactly the same thing. Just like the devil, God gave the people long spoons to eat with, and the same rules applied to the saints at this banquet table, as it did to those damned at the banquet table in hell. It was interesting though, that in heaven all the people at the banquet were well feed, and happy. How could this be though the reporter asked God? How could the exact same circumstances be in place in heaven as in hell, yet those in hell were starving? God looked at the reporter and smiled. Then God simply said, “Look at them, what do you see?” As the reporter looked, he noticed that one saint got a spoonful of food and reached it across the table to feed someone else. In fact, everyone at this banquet table did this. God then smiled and looked at the reporter and said, “You see My saints are well feed, because they feed each other.” In hell it didn’t and wouldn’t have ever even crossed the mind of the damned to feed each other.

          You see, we need to feed each other brothers and sisters, or we will starve. We need to tackle our stumbling blocks not only before God, but before each other. So this week think about what your stumbling blocks are, go to God with them, and go to each other with them. As I continue to develop our small covenant groups, I ask you to consider what we could do for the Lord if our stumbling blocks were removed. May we love each other in the name of Jesus Christ this week. Amen and halleluiah.

           

 

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 09/23/12 Sermon - “Who is the greatest amongst us?” (Growing in faith series, Part 4 of 6)

Sunday 09/23/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “Who is the greatest amongst us?”                       

(Growing in faith series, Part 4 of 6)

Scripture Lesson: Psalm 1                          

Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:30-37           

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning I am continuing on with my six part series called the “Growing in faith series.” In the first week of this series, I talked about “Walking our faith vs. Talking our faith,” and in this message I talked about how much Christian Churches as a whole could accomplish for our communities, our country, and the world, if our churches were filled with people. If we had large churches that were filled with people that gave generously of their time, there gifts and talents, and there resources, we would have more than enough resources to provide for the poor and all those in need. In my second week of this series, I gave a message called “Faith without works is dead.” In this message, I talked about how we as individuals cannot work our way into heaven through good works. Doing good works is important though. As Christians, we should do good works, because we are new creations in Jesus Christ. Out of this great love and blessing that God has given us, we must bless others to the glory of God. Last week, I gave a message called “Would you deny Him?” In this message I talked about denying Jesus Christ. We have all at different times have denied Jesus Christ through both our thoughts and our actions. When we see someone in need, when we see someone suffering, and when we can help someone and we don’t, then we deny Jesus Christ.

          As we think about all that the church could become in walking our faith, as we think about the good works that God calls us to do, and as we think about doing to the good works and doing the service that God has called us to do, the question I have for you this morning, is “Who is the greatest amongst us?” I mean who here is the greatest? In exploring this question, I would ask you to think of five historical persons other than Jesus Christ, who you would say are the best people that have ever lived. Just think about this for minute. On my short list would be Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, Saint Augustine, Abraham Lincoln, and the Apostle Paul. I am sure I could come up with many more names, as I am sure that you all could come up with more than five names, as well. Anyone here have any names that I didn’t have on my list of five names? Thank you for sharing.

          I think in our culture we tend to rank people by who is the best, and by who is the worst. I think of the recent Olympic Games in London. For many of us, the focus was on who is going to be the best. Who is going to win the gold? We very much live a culture, of “who is the best,” and “who is the worst.” This idea of who is the greatest, I think is not new. In fact, in the Gospel reading from Mark this morning, Jesus’ 12-apostles got into an argument over who was the best apostle. Have you or your kids for example, ever gotten into an argument over who is the best NFL quarterback in history? I am sure that you can think of a few names right now, if you’re an NFL fan. Interesting though, what Jesus says to his apostles in the Gospel reading this morning, in response to their argument over who is the greatest.

          Jesus said if you want to be first or the best, you must be last. Jesus also said “you must be a servant all to people to be the best.” Jesus then said that you have to have faith “like a small” child to really know Him. In looking at this, Jesus said the best comes in last, the best is a humble servant, and the best must trust Him like a small child. When looking at this scripture then, I would ask you this morning “who is the greatest amongst us?”

          In the reading of the first Psalm this morning, God called up us to live righteously. God calls us too love others, and to not be wicked to each other. How can we really love each other and Jesus Christ though, if we think that we are better than each other? I think to really be righteous, to really be Godly we must do our best to love all people with the love of Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus Christ wants to be in a relationship with us all.

           Think about this church specific church for a minute, who is the greatest in this church? Who is the best Christian here? Is it you? Is it you? Is it that person? What if none of us are the best? What if we are all equal before almighty God? What if we began to view each and every person as a creation of the hands of God? After all, were we all not made at the potter’s wheel of the master? Are we all not sinners? Are we not all in need of the grace of God, and the salvation of Jesus Christ?

          So I ask you then, “who is the greatest amongst us?” Is there a greatest amongst us? I remember when Billy Graham’s wife died, he said something to the effect of, “I hope when I get to my wife lets me live in one of the rooms in her mansion in heaven.”

          I think that we might get different rewards in heaven, but aren’t we all fallen? Aren’t we all broken? You see I think as Christians to really grow in faith, to really grow, we must see all people as equals. What a hard thing to do isn’t it? This does not mean we should not respect our elders, that we should not respect our leaders, our bosses, or that we all have the same amount of possessions or money in life, but it does mean on a spiritual level that we all equal before almighty God. Everyone sitting here today was made at the potter’s wheel of almighty God, and so we are all in need of God’s grace and salvation. Imagine a church where we see all people who come through this door as equally children of almighty God. I remember hearing the famous boxer Mohammed Ali say “I am the greatest!” Certainly one could argue that he is the best boxer ever, but spiritually I would argue that we are all spiritually on the same playing field.

          A good analogy for this is thinking about Calvary or Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. The Roman centurions nailed him to the cross, and then raised the cross up into a hole so that it would fall into place. Imagine if you were at the crucifixion. Imagine if you tried to reach up and touch the cross of the savior. Would a tall person be able to touch the cross better than a short person? The reality is that the ground at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ is level. We can call access the life saving message of Jesus Christ’s Gospel, and we can all touch the cross. For the ground at the foot of Jesus Christ’s cross is level. We are all God’s children, and Jesus Christ beacons us all. He wants us all. He wants the tall, the sort, the person who society has rejected, the person who struggles with addiction, the person who has made some bad life choices. Jesus Christ wants us all. Our challenge then in growing in our faith is to “love all people into the Kingdom of God.” By this, I mean that most people come to the faith and come to know Jesus Christ through loving relationships with His believers. If we really love all people, and we really see everyone as equal at the foot of the cross, then I think our church will grow. I think that people would come here on Sunday morning not because they were forced to, not because they felt that they had to, but because they wanted to. They would say that I love going to this church! I love the people here! They love me so much and treat me so good! They accepted me in with all my flaws and all my vices! I fell at home here! This is my place of peace!

          I hope and pray that we can all continue to grow in faith to make this church a place that is so loving, that is so biblical, and that is so focused on living the Gospel of Jesus Christ that our church grows tremendously.

          I want to close today with a story. This story was told by a well known speaker. Here is the story: A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" The hands went up in the air. "Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started grinding it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, crumpled and dirty and asked, "Now who still wants it?" Again the hands went up into the air." The speaker then said, my friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was worth $20 regardless of what I did to it." Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know but by who we are!

          So this morning brothers and sisters let us realize that we are all God’s children. We are all broken people, but we are all loved equally by God. In fact, you cannot do anything to make God love you more than He loves your right now. As one pastor said it once, “God knows all about you, and He loves you just the same.” Let us this week seek God, grow in faith, and love all people as children of God. Praise God and Amen.

RWJ/Pottersville UMC 09/16/12 Sermon - “Would you deny Him” (Growing in faith series, Part 3 of 6)

Sunday 09/16/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “Would you deny Him?”

(Growing in faith series, Part 3 of 6)

Scripture Lesson: Proverbs 1:20-33                           

Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:27-38           

 

          Good morning brothers and sisters! I greet you in the name our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had a blessed week and I am happy to be worshipping with you here this morning!

          This morning I am continuing on in my six part series called the “Growing in faith series.” In my first week of this series I talked about how as a church we need to do our best to “Walk our faith vs. talking our faith.” I talked about how if our churches were full of people who gave generously then we would have more than enough resources to serve the community and meet the needs of those who are without. I talked about how the Christian Church could fully take care of the needs of the poor and be the strong center of this community if we really worked at it. Last week, I talked about how “Faith without works in dead.” Specifically, I talked about how if we are going to fully live the gospel of Jesus Christ that we must do good things for the Lord. We must serve the Lord and do good things for others, because almighty God has called us to love others in the name of Jesus Christ. When we give we receive, and we should do good things for others, because we love to serve the Lord. We are so blessed when we give, and we should give freely because the Lord so freely gives to us and blesses us.

          Today the title of my sermon is “Would you deny Him?” By the title of this, I mean would we deny Jesus Christ? When I say deny Him, we might think of a variety of things. We can think of the Apostle Peter, when he denied Him three times. We can think of the Apostle Thomas when he doubted Jesus. When he said, that he would not believe unless he put his own fingers in the nail holes and spear wound of Jesus Christ. What up about the rich man that refused to sell everything he had and follow Jesus? In fact, in the gospel according to Mathew in chapter 19:16-22, it says:

          “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

Jesus then said in verse 24 of the same chapter, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." In this instance the rich man denied Jesus Christ. He denied the savior, the Messiah. This does not mean that we all have to sell everything we own and give all of our money to the poor to follow Jesus Christ. I think some people like missionaries are called to do that, and the rest of us are able to support those folks called to these special ministries.

          While these are big examples of denying Jesus Christ though, don’t we all deny Him at times? In the reading today from the book of Proverbs it talked about seeking wisdom from God. I think that we need to listen to the still small voice of the Lord, and that we need to seek him in all things. For if we don’t listen for Him, than how can we truly follow Him? In the Gospel reading this morning from Mark, Jesus said to one of His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” They gave all sorts of answers, such as John the Baptist, Elijah, and a prophet. The apostle Peter however, said to Jesus “You are the Messiah.” Later in the scripture, Jesus then said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up there cross and follow me.” Jesus then goes on to say, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

          So Peter said that Jesus was the savior, the Messiah. What did Jesus mean though, when He said, “take up there cross and follow me?” Jesus I think was calling not just for believers, but for disciples. What is the difference you might ask? Believers have accepted Jesus Christ as there Lord and savior, but disciples live for the Lord. You see we can accept the Lord, or we can live for the Lord. I think many people in many instances have learned a Christianity that is centered on the idea created by our Methodist Church founder John Wesley, called “Cheap grace.” When we merely accept the Lord, and that’s it, it’s cheap grace. We have accepted Him in our hearts, but not fully, it’s cheap grace.

          When we embody “Cheap grace” we deny Him. When we see someone suffering and we can help them and we don’t, we deny Him. If we seek to serve our own interests and our wants, not others, or the church, what difference will that make if we as Jesus Christ said, “Gain the whole world and lose our own soul?” I don’t visit the sick and shut-ins for example, just because I am supposed to, but because if I don’t I deny Him? Because I love Him and all of you so much, I do what I do. Not because this is a job, not because I love to drive 4-hours to get here, but because I serve the Lord. But do we really trust Jesus Christ? I mean really trust Him?

          Last night at the RWJ Johnsburg UMC we had our first movie night. We saw a great Christian film called “Facing the Giants.” I arrived early to attempt to try to navigate the technology for the movie. Luckily I had help! I then went into the basement to pop some popcorn for the movie night. The church basement had several people in it toiling and decorating for my welcoming party this afternoon. I was so touched by the fact that these loving people of the Lord sacrificed their time and energies for my wife and I. Melissa and I have felt truly loved by you all since we have been here. Well I have anyway. You will have to ask my wife herself!

          I also had a large clergy meeting yesterday with our district superintendent Rev. Bill Mudge. I joked with Bill and said, “You know Bill my wife and I would move up here full-time if you would give me a bigger position.” Bill knew I was joking of course, and he knew that I want to stay at the two churches I am pasturing as long as possible. Bill then smiled and said though, “I’m not planning on moving you from those churches anytime soon, because they love you too much.” I then smartly looked at him and said, “Well I guess the checks I gave them have cleared then!” Being the youngest clergy person by far at this meeting by at least 20-years, Bill wanted my insight for the clergy group as to how to grow our churches.

          Here is what I said to him. I said “first of all, I don’t just want people to come to church I want disciples of Jesus Christ. I want committed Christians who want to change this community in name of Jesus Christ.” He then said, “Well Paul how do you think we do that?” I then said, “We love each other radically in the name of Jesus Christ.” He then said, “What do you mean radically?” I then said, “Bill we love everyone that comes into this church. We love them whether there drunks, drug addicts, covered head to toe in tattoos, black, white, purple, big, small, or anything else.” I then said, “And we do this, because every human being on this earth was crafted at the potter’s wheel of Almighty God, and because died for us all. If we are all creations of God, then Jesus died for all of us, and who are we to judge someone else? For when we don’t welcome all people into the house of the Lord to worship Him, then we deny Him. When we judge someone who comes in here, and we think we are better than them, then we deny Him. When we decide that certain people’s sins are greater than others, then we deny Him.” To God, I believe that sin is sin, is sin. I do not believe that there are degrees of sin. I believe all sin is sin. I think that if we seek to grow our faith and to grow our great church, that we must do this with the radical love of Jesus Christ. We should seek to live the gospel of loving God and our neighbor, and through us may people see Him. Imagine if every person we saw for the rest of the day today in our minds looked like Jesus Christ. What if, to take it a step further, we literally thought that every person we saw today was in fact Jesus Christ? How would we treat them? How would we love them? What if the homeless man on the street is really an angel from heaven? Do we deny Him? Are we really ready to love like this?

          I envision a church and a faith were people love all people who come through the door of the church, a church where we really and truly love people for Jesus Christ. Whenever we don’t love someone, then we deny Him. A church where we boldly and unapologetically preach the Word and where we are all loved greatly. A church where you are comfortable here, a church you love coming to, a place of peace, a place of joy, a place of family. When we don’t strive for all of these things, do we not deny Him?

          I want to close today with a good story. The story concerns a Christian monastery that had fallen upon hard times. Once a great order, as a result of waves of anti-monastic persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the rise of secularism in the nineteenth, all its branch houses were lost and it had become decimated to the extent that there were only five monks left in the decaying mother house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly it was a dying order.

          In the deep woods surrounding the monastery there was a little hut that a rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for a hermitage dwelling. Through their many years of prayer and contemplation the old monks had become more spiritually aware, so they could always seem sense when the rabbi was in his hermitage. "The rabbi is in the woods, the rabbi is in the woods again " they would whisper to each other. As he agonized over the imminent death of his order, it occurred to the abbot at one such time to visit the hermitage and ask the rabbi if by some possible chance he could offer any advice that might save the monastery.

          The rabbi welcomed the abbot at his hermitage hut. But when the abbot explained the purpose of his visit, the rabbi could only commiserate with him. "I know how it is," he exclaimed. "The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the Jewish synagogue anymore." So the old abbot and the old rabbi wept together. Then they read parts of the Torah or the Old Testament and quietly spoke of deep things. The time came when the abbot had to leave. They embraced each other. "It has been a wonderful thing that we should meet after all these years, "the abbot said, "but I have still failed in my purpose for coming here. Is there nothing you can tell me, no piece of advice you can give me that would help me save my dying order?"

          "No, I am sorry," the rabbi responded. "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you."

          When the abbot returned to the monastery his fellow monks gathered around him to ask, "Well what did the rabbi say?" "He couldn't help," the abbot answered. "We just wept and read the Torah or Old Testament together. The only thing he did say, just as I was leaving --it was something cryptic-- was that the Messiah is one of us. I don't know what he meant."

          In the days and weeks and months that followed, the old monks pondered this and wondered whether there was any possible significance to the rabbi's words. The Messiah is one of us? Could he possibly have meant one of us monks here at the monastery? If that's the case, which one? Do you suppose he meant the abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. He has been our leader for more than a generation. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man. Everyone knows that Thomas is a man of light. Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred! Elred gets crotchety at times. But come to think of it, even though he is a thorn in people's sides, when you look back on it, Elred is virtually always right. Often very right. Maybe the rabbi did mean Brother Elred. But surely not Brother Phillip. Phillip is so passive, a real nobody. But then, almost mysteriously, he has a gift for somehow always being there when you need him. He just magically appears by your side. Maybe Phillip is the Messiah. Of course the rabbi didn't mean me. He couldn't possibly have meant me. I'm just an ordinary person. Yet supposing he did? Suppose I am the Messiah? O God, not me. I couldn't be that much for You, could I?

          As they contemplated in this manner, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one among them might be the Messiah. And on the off chance that each monk himself might be the Messiah, they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect.

          Because the forest in which it was situated was beautiful, it so happened that people still occasionally came to visit the monastery to picnic on its tiny lawn, to wander along some of its paths, even now and then to go into the dilapidated chapel to meditate. As they did so, without even being conscious of it, they sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that now began to surround the five old monks and seemed to radiate out from them and permeate the atmosphere of the place. There was something strangely attractive, even compelling, about it. Hardly knowing why, they began to come back to the monastery more frequently to picnic, to play, to pray. They began to bring their friends to show them this special place. And their friends brought their friends.

          Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more and more with the old monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another. And another. So within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and, thanks to the rabbi's gift, a vibrant center of light and spirituality in the realm.

          What is the point of this story brothers and sisters? How do we love each other to grow in our faith, and to grow our church? What if, just what if you are the Messiah? Or you? What if the man you see on the street corner today is the Messiah? Let’s go forth this week, treating everyone so wonderfully because they could all be the Messiah. Praise God and Amen.