I don’t know about you but sometimes the whole Christmas season leaves me feeling a little bit like Charlie Brown, who said, I just don’t understand Christmas. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down. Sometimes this entire season leaves me feeling just a little let down. It’s not the music, decorations or food – I love all that. It’s not the times we gather together for worship or fellowship – I love that. It’s not the message of God coming to be with us in Jesus because there is simply no greater story to tell. For me, I think it’s that when January comes and all the decorations are put away, nothing has really changed, and there is a part of me that wants our celebration of Christ’s birth to literally change the world.
The first Christmas changed the world, it changed everything, but can our celebration of Christ’s birth change the world in which we live? I have to hold out hope that it can, but our celebration of Christmas will only change the world if our celebration of Christ first changes us. Today I want to invite you to join me on a journey that can not only change how we celebrate the gift of Jesus; it can change us and if it can change us, it can church the world around us. The journey really only has three steps, but they are not simple because they challenge our very idea about what Christmas is all about, those 3 steps are to spend less, give more and love all. While we will explore these steps in more detail in the weeks to come, we need to know what they are today so they can shape our priorities and our decisions making in the days to come.
So are we willing to spend less in this holiday season? Now before you get too concerned, I am not saying spend nothing. Giving gifts is fun and important for many reason, but can we make the decision today to simply spend less. Can we buy one less gift this season, and then maybe take that money to help someone in need. Spending less can do three important things. #1, it will keep us out of deeper debt which is important for many of us, #2, it will remind us that Christmas really is not about what we find under the tree, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, it’s about God coming to live with us and with us, and it’s about living life the way Jesus taught us and showed us, and #3, spending less frees resources that we can then share with those who are in need and it is that simple act of sharing that can change lives.
You see, spending less leads right into the second step which is to give more. Now we are not talking about giving more gifts we are talking about giving more of ourselves. Can we give more of our time, love, prayers, talents, energy and resources to the work that matters most to God. This fall we learned that relationships are the most important thing to God. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The most important thing to God is relationship, so are we willing to give more of ourselves to God and to others to build and strengthen those relationships. Can we get involved in the ministry of Faith Church and get to know one another right here, and can we get involved in the work of the church in our community to get to know those around us? Can we give more to make sure Faith Church has an effective ministry today and a vital future tomorrow? As you have heard, today we have the opportunity to give to the Christmas dinner which will help feed families all across our community. Can we give our time, or money, or maybe our talents at baking pies and desserts, to help make this dinner an event that will people’s lives?
In the weeks to come we will also learn about opportunities to give ourselves to the work we do with Children and Youth. There will be opportunities for us to give our time as well as our money to our next generation. The real hope is that the gift of ourselves t our children and youth will help build stronger relationships one another and that together we will grow closer to God. We will also be able to give more of ourselves to the mission work we do through Faith Church. We will learn about opportunities to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide homes for the homeless, justice for the oppressed and comfort for those who are lonely and afflicted. If we will give more of ourselves to outreach and missions we will not just change the lives of others, but our lives will change. So in this season can we give more?
The third step is to love all. Think of the people who first worshipped Jesus. A poor peasant girl, a carpenter and some dirty shepherd were the first people gathered at the manger to worship Jesus. A while later some well educated foreign dignitaries, the Wisemen, arrived to worship the one who had born King of the Jews. The birth of Jesus screams out one message loud and clear – God loves all, from the weak and poor, to the rich and powerful. Jew and Gentile, black and white, all people, and so the call for us as followers of Jesus is to love all, not just a few, not just those we like or those who look like us, but all people in all places at all times.
So that’s it: spend less, give more,and love all. Three steps that can change the world, but only if we will first let these six words change us, and these words will only change us if we understand that as we spend less, give more and love all – God is with us. What really changes us and the world around us isn’t that we buy one less gift, or volunteer our time at the Faith Centre and reach out in love to others, what changes us is that we do these things with the power and grace of God working in us and through us.
God desperately wants to change the world around us, but God’s plan is to do this through us. Again, think back to that first Christmas. God changed the world through the birth of Jesus, but Jesus only entered into this world because two people allowed God to first work in their lives. If we will allow God to work in our lives, like Mary and Joseph, then through us, God can, and I believe God will, change our world. So let’s look at how God worked in Mary and Joseph and see how we can enter into this ancient story of God’s power and presence and love.
Luke 1:26-38
For Mary to say yes to God, it took incredible courage because she had no idea how Joseph might respond. She didn’t know if Joseph would understand what God was doing; she didn’t know if Joseph would stand by her side, or if he would cast her aside. It took real courage for Mary to say Yes to God’s plan and it was through that courage that God was able to accomplish his will and come to live with us.
So it is our courage in saying Yes to God that can change the world. Every time we have the courage to not think about what is good for us but focus on God’s will and say yes to God’s plan, God has the opportunity to not only shape our lives, but the world around us. But it takes courage to say Yes because we don’t know how the people around us might respond. Just making the decision to buy fewer gifts this season may not be understood by our family, friends and neighbors. People may accuse us of being a scrooge, or simply not caring. It takes courage to stand firm in what we hear God asking us to do, but if we will say yes, not only will our lives change, but through us God as the opportunity to change the lives of others and that’s what changes the world.
It was a quiet moment, in a small town, when a young girl said yes, and that courageous decision changed her life and changed our world forever. Can we enter into that same story today? It’s a quiet moment, this is a small town and if we will say yes to Gods will and if we will agree with God’s plan, this might be the very moment when our lives will change. This might be the very moment when God will start working through us to change the world around us. In this moment of quiet worship, will we say yes to God and begin a journey of walking in the light of God’s love and power?
Saying yes to God will most likely cause us to change our plans, so are we willing to make those changes? When Joseph was called by God to change his plans, he did. When Joseph heard that Mary was pregnant, he wanted to end the relationship quietly, but God had other plans. Matthew 1:19-24. Joseph’s original decision to dismiss Mary quietly was a very gracious thing to do. Joseph could have made Mary’s pregnancy a public issue, he could have disgraced Mary, or even have her put to death, but he didn’t. Once God explained what was going on and that the child to be born was indeed from God, Joseph was willing to change his plans. The call of God literally changed Joseph’s life, and because Joseph was willing to make those changes, the world changed.
My hope is that when we hear the call of God in this Advent season, we will also change our plans. If we are going to spend less, give more and love all, some things are going to have to change. Spending less will require us to make some fundament changes about how we live not just in these next four weeks, but through the rest of our lies. We need to look at and evaluate our priorities. Giving more will also call us to change our priorities so that our lives can reflect the life and heart of Jesus. Not thinking of ourselves first but finding ways to help others and love others each and every day is a new of thinking and living and it will require us to change direction.
Will we be open to God changing our plans, priorities and passions this season? Can we begin some new traditions with our families where together we work to make a difference in our community, or in a community in Sierra Leone, the Sudan or South Dakota? If every family connected to Faith Church made some changes so that we spent less and gave more and loved all, I am convinced that Bellefonte would look different, Centre County would look different and our world would look different, but we have to be willing to make some changes, and those changes need to start today.
God can change the world by changing us, and we are changed when we enter into this ancient story and find the courage to say Yes to God and change our plans, but there is one more place where we can enter into this story and experience the presence and power of God, and that is through the shepherds of Bethlehem. After the shepherds heard that a savior had been born, they went to find the child, and after they found him, they celebrated. Luke 2:17-20.
After the Shepherds found Jesus they celebrated his birth and it was their celebration, their worship, that changed people’s hearts and lives. Our celebration of Jesus can still change the hearts and lives of others so we need to celebrate the coming of Emmanuel – God with us – and we have lots of opportunities to do that in the weeks to come. There is the Christmas musical in a few short weeks, there is a worship celebration we are hosting at the Marion Walker Middle School in Zion, and of course there are our candlelight services on Christmas Eve. Each celebration gives us the opportunity to not only celebrate the gift of Jesus, but it gives us the opportunity to invite others to celebrate the gift of Jesus as well and maybe it will be that celebration which will change their lives.
This Advent and Christmas season can be different if we will enter the story and have the courage to spend less, be willing to change our plans so we can give more, and celebrate the birth of Jesus by loving and inviting everyone to celebrate with us. We can not let this season pass us by in whirlwind of activity, we can’t arrive in January wondering what it was all about and feeling a little bit let down, we need to accept the light of Christ into our lives and allow God to dwell deep within us. So let’s enter into this ancient story and together take this advent journey and allow the presence of the living God to change us and through us to change the world.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thanksigiving ~ The Chair
Mstislav Rostropovich is widely recognized as one of the greatest cellist of the 20th century and many consider him one of the greatest cellists of all time. Rostropovich lived in the Soviet Union all his life and during the height of the cold war he spoke out passionately for human rights and artistic freedom. The more he spoke out, however, the more his own rights and freedoms were curtailed by the Soviet government. His concerts, foreign tours and recording projects were all canceled and the state-run media imposed a black-out of his name and all his activities. Finally the state gave him an exit visa so he could perform in Paris, but once his concert was over the government refused to allow him to return. In 1978, the soviet government stripped Rostropovich of citizenship and informed him that he and his wife could never return home.
On Nov. 9, 1989, 20 years ago this month, Rostropovich heard that the Berlin Wall was coming down and the communist regime in East Germany was falling apart. His heart was full of gratitude because he knew with the whole Eastern bloc coming undone, his exile from Russia would soon be over and he would be able to return home. As news of the Berlin wall coming down spread, Rostropovich thought about how he might be able to express his thanks and gratitude for this great moment, so he came up with a plan. He caught the first plane he could to Berlin, jumped into a cab and told the driver to take him to the wall. When he arrived at the wall it his intention was to play his cello, but when he got there he realized that he suddenly had to worry about something he had never had to worry about before: a chair. You can't play the cello without a chair and in every concert or rehearsal he had played the chair had always been provided for him. Never before in his life did Rostropovich have to worry about a chair, but now he had to find one. So he began knocking on doors of homes close to where the cab had let him off and finally a German family produced a small kitchen chair and Rostropovich was able to sit in that chair in front of the wall and play his cello.
What Rostropovich played that day, was a piece of music he had never recorded. He played a Bach cello suite and when asked why he chose that particular piece, he said, I chose Bach to say thank you to the great God. Bach is known as a sacred composer who often expressed his faith and trust in God through music, and so Rostropovich chose that specific composer as his way of thanking God for the changes that were about to take place. I don’t know if Rostropovich had Psalm 65 in mind, but look at verse 8, those living far away fear your wonders (or they are in awe of your power and strength) and as morning dawns and evening fades (or when a new day is coming – when there is a new beginning) you, God, call forth songs of joy. In the new day of freedom that was coming for Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, God called Rostropovich to come forth with songs of joy and a Bach cello suite was the song he chose.
Before his death in 2007, Rostropovich was able to return to Russia and he held several concerts in his homeland. This month we have celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and as we think about that historic event and the testimony of this amazing musician, I want us to think about one simple thing, the chair. In this season of thanksgiving, this chair reminds us of all the things in life that we take for granted, but shouldn’t. Rostropovich had always taken for granted that there would be a chair to sit on when he wanted to play the cello. As the wall was coming down, not only did Rostropovich give thanks to a great God, but he began to give thanks for all the people who helped provide for him and take care of him throughout his life. Sometimes it’s when things aren’t there when we need them, or when they are suddenly taken away, that we realize just how important they are.
I wonder if that’s how the Pilgrims felt during the first year they struggled to survive in this new land. When they left their home in England in search of freedom, I wonder if they knew how hard it was going to be? In England they had everything they needed, life may not have been easy at times, but they had homes and food and clothes and doctors and a secure and stable life. They had what they needed, but when they arrived here, they had nothing. I’m sure there were times that first year when they realized just how much they had taken for granted when they lived back in England, in this new world they didn’t even have a chair. The first year for the Pilgrims was a difficult one. For every home they built, they dug 7 graves. Life was so fragile that I’m sure they didn’t take anything for granted and at that first harvest they stopped to gave thanks to a great God for all the simple things that he had provided, like food, shelter, the help of the natives, and a chair to sit on.
My fear is that because we have so much around us all the time that it becomes easy for us to take many things for granted, so maybe this chair can help remind us of all the things God has given us for which we need to stop and give thanks. If we go back to Psalm 65 we begin to see some of the things God has given us that we should never take for granted. Psalm 65:2 says, you who hear our prayers. Too often I think we take for granted that God hears our prayers. Think about it, every time we cry out to God – God is there. Whenever we are in need – God is there. Every single word we pray God hears and we can’t take that for granted.
If we read through the gospels we find many stories of people crying out to Jesus. There was the blind beggar who cries out Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me – and Jesus hears him and has mercy on him. Jesus heals the man and restores his sight. There are the 10 lepers who cry out to Jesus for healing and Jesus hear them and heals them. Jesus even hears those who cry out in the silence and the desperation of their hearts. There was a woman who had been sick for 10 years and in her desperation she silently reached out her hand to touch the hem of Jesus robe and while she doesn’t make a sound, Jesus hears the cry of her heart and heals her. God hears us – every word we cry out to him in our hearts – God hears and God responds according to his will and purpose and plan.
God not only hears us, but God forgives us. Look at Psalm 65:3. What I like about this verse is that it doesn’t say, when we sin (singular) that God forgives us, it’s when we are overwhelmed by sins (plural) that God forgives us. God knows that our failures and sins are going to be many in life. God knows that daily we will fall short of what he wants for us, and yet when we are overwhelmed by all of this sin, God forgives us. God’s love and grace is always there and we can not take that for granted. Everyday we need to give thanks to a great and gracious God.
So the chair can remind us that God is always with us to listen and forgive and as it says in v. 5, draw us close to him, but the chair can also remind us of all the people God places in our lives to help us. Rostropovich took for granted the people who always provided for him a chair, but on that day he was thankful for a German family who gave him a chair. I wonder how often we take for granted those people who love, serve and care for us on a regular basis. As we gather with family and friends this coming week I hope we will take the time to give thanks for those closest to us who offer so much love and support, but there are so many other people that help and support us that too often we overlook. Too often we take for granted firefighters, police officers, emergency service personnel, doctors, nurses, teachers, the list goes on and on. There are so many people in our community that work hard to serve and protect us and too often we take them for granted, we just assume they will be there when we need them. Again, what a great time of year to stop and simply say thank you to all those who help us.
On Friday I was in the bank and in case you didn’t know, last week was bank teller appreciation week. At first I thought that seemed to be stretching things a little bit, but then I thought about how at the branch I use the tellers have always been nice to me, they have answered my questions when I had a problem and never made me feel bad if something I did went wrong, so when I got to the counter I made sure I took a moment to say thank you and let them know what a good job I thought they always did. The teller’s face turned all red and she got a big smile and said I was only the second person who had said thank you. We need to do a better job at appreciating those people who serve us. Even if it is there job to serve us, it means so much for people to hear those two words.
Can we send a note with our children to the schools thanking the teacher or custodian or principal for a job well done? Can we send a note to a doctor or nurse who helped us through a difficult time? Can we say thank you to those in our community who volunteer time and energy to help serve and protect us? I’m thankful that as part of our Christmas dinner we do try to remember and give thanks for the firefighters, police and emergency service workers in our community by making sure they have a dinner on Christmas day. And let me just say right now to all of you (because in some way or another all of you will help I know) thank you for working so hard and giving so much to feed so many on Christmas Day. You are not taken for granted, I and many many others appreciate all that you do in Jesus name.
As we remember and give thanks for the people who help us, we can’t just think about the people who support us here and now, what about all the people in the past who have helped us get to where we are today? Stop and think about what you are sitting on right now? Rostropovich took for granted his chair, do we take for granted the pews that are always here for us? Do we take for granted this church that so many people over so many years have worked hard to provide for us? Actually, many of you were probably here when the original church was built, or when 20 years ago these pews were put in. If you were here then, let me say, “Thank You.”
As we give thanks for those who have provided for us, we need to ask ourselves, am I willing to give and serve and sacrifice so that there can be a chair here for the next generation? We have the opportunity in the months and really the years to come to help put a new roof on the building, and pay off our mortgage which will be a blessing to the generations who follow us. My hope is that 20 years from today there will be a pastor standing right here saying that the congregation gathered for Thanksgiving that year can’t take for granted those who went before them, but that they need to stop and give thanks for a congregation that 20 years ago said, we are going to put a new roof on the building, and we are going to put in a new Heating and AC system, and we are going to pay off the mortgage so our children and grandchildren will have a place of worship and ministry, and just a place to experience life and faith together. My other hope is that many of you will also be here 20 years from today actively involved in the life and mission and ministry of Faith Church.
So the chair reminds us that we can not take for granted all the love and grace that God has given us and all the people God has given us, but the chair also reminds us not to take for granted the world in which God has placed us. If we look at Psalm 65:9-13 we see all the things God gives us for which we need to give thanks. God provides water for the land. He sends showers to soften the earth so food will grow. God blesses the crops and brings forth the harvest, a harvest which we will share in this coming week, and because of the water, grain and livestock that God provides, we are able to experience not just the feast of Thanksgiving, but all the joy of life. Everywhere we turn in this world we can see something for which we can give thanks; the question is will we take the time to thank God? Will we take the time in the middle of family, food, football and the frenzy of this season to simply stop and give thanks to God, the one who created and gives us everything?
Do you know that the number one command of scripture isn’t to love God or love our neighbor – it is to remember. Over and over again God calls us to remember who he is and what he has done and the reason God calls us to remember so many times is because God knows that in the midst of all the busy-ness of life, we will forget and will take for granted all that he has given us. So this thanksgiving, take an empty chair and put it at your table as a reminder to give thanks to a great God for all that he has done, and allow the empty chair to remind you of all the people who have shaped your life and continue to love, serve and care for you, and allow the empty chair to be a reminder that the God who created the heavens and the earth is still the God who listens to us, forgives us and draws us close to him.
On Nov. 9, 1989, 20 years ago this month, Rostropovich heard that the Berlin Wall was coming down and the communist regime in East Germany was falling apart. His heart was full of gratitude because he knew with the whole Eastern bloc coming undone, his exile from Russia would soon be over and he would be able to return home. As news of the Berlin wall coming down spread, Rostropovich thought about how he might be able to express his thanks and gratitude for this great moment, so he came up with a plan. He caught the first plane he could to Berlin, jumped into a cab and told the driver to take him to the wall. When he arrived at the wall it his intention was to play his cello, but when he got there he realized that he suddenly had to worry about something he had never had to worry about before: a chair. You can't play the cello without a chair and in every concert or rehearsal he had played the chair had always been provided for him. Never before in his life did Rostropovich have to worry about a chair, but now he had to find one. So he began knocking on doors of homes close to where the cab had let him off and finally a German family produced a small kitchen chair and Rostropovich was able to sit in that chair in front of the wall and play his cello.
What Rostropovich played that day, was a piece of music he had never recorded. He played a Bach cello suite and when asked why he chose that particular piece, he said, I chose Bach to say thank you to the great God. Bach is known as a sacred composer who often expressed his faith and trust in God through music, and so Rostropovich chose that specific composer as his way of thanking God for the changes that were about to take place. I don’t know if Rostropovich had Psalm 65 in mind, but look at verse 8, those living far away fear your wonders (or they are in awe of your power and strength) and as morning dawns and evening fades (or when a new day is coming – when there is a new beginning) you, God, call forth songs of joy. In the new day of freedom that was coming for Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, God called Rostropovich to come forth with songs of joy and a Bach cello suite was the song he chose.
Before his death in 2007, Rostropovich was able to return to Russia and he held several concerts in his homeland. This month we have celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and as we think about that historic event and the testimony of this amazing musician, I want us to think about one simple thing, the chair. In this season of thanksgiving, this chair reminds us of all the things in life that we take for granted, but shouldn’t. Rostropovich had always taken for granted that there would be a chair to sit on when he wanted to play the cello. As the wall was coming down, not only did Rostropovich give thanks to a great God, but he began to give thanks for all the people who helped provide for him and take care of him throughout his life. Sometimes it’s when things aren’t there when we need them, or when they are suddenly taken away, that we realize just how important they are.
I wonder if that’s how the Pilgrims felt during the first year they struggled to survive in this new land. When they left their home in England in search of freedom, I wonder if they knew how hard it was going to be? In England they had everything they needed, life may not have been easy at times, but they had homes and food and clothes and doctors and a secure and stable life. They had what they needed, but when they arrived here, they had nothing. I’m sure there were times that first year when they realized just how much they had taken for granted when they lived back in England, in this new world they didn’t even have a chair. The first year for the Pilgrims was a difficult one. For every home they built, they dug 7 graves. Life was so fragile that I’m sure they didn’t take anything for granted and at that first harvest they stopped to gave thanks to a great God for all the simple things that he had provided, like food, shelter, the help of the natives, and a chair to sit on.
My fear is that because we have so much around us all the time that it becomes easy for us to take many things for granted, so maybe this chair can help remind us of all the things God has given us for which we need to stop and give thanks. If we go back to Psalm 65 we begin to see some of the things God has given us that we should never take for granted. Psalm 65:2 says, you who hear our prayers. Too often I think we take for granted that God hears our prayers. Think about it, every time we cry out to God – God is there. Whenever we are in need – God is there. Every single word we pray God hears and we can’t take that for granted.
If we read through the gospels we find many stories of people crying out to Jesus. There was the blind beggar who cries out Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me – and Jesus hears him and has mercy on him. Jesus heals the man and restores his sight. There are the 10 lepers who cry out to Jesus for healing and Jesus hear them and heals them. Jesus even hears those who cry out in the silence and the desperation of their hearts. There was a woman who had been sick for 10 years and in her desperation she silently reached out her hand to touch the hem of Jesus robe and while she doesn’t make a sound, Jesus hears the cry of her heart and heals her. God hears us – every word we cry out to him in our hearts – God hears and God responds according to his will and purpose and plan.
God not only hears us, but God forgives us. Look at Psalm 65:3. What I like about this verse is that it doesn’t say, when we sin (singular) that God forgives us, it’s when we are overwhelmed by sins (plural) that God forgives us. God knows that our failures and sins are going to be many in life. God knows that daily we will fall short of what he wants for us, and yet when we are overwhelmed by all of this sin, God forgives us. God’s love and grace is always there and we can not take that for granted. Everyday we need to give thanks to a great and gracious God.
So the chair can remind us that God is always with us to listen and forgive and as it says in v. 5, draw us close to him, but the chair can also remind us of all the people God places in our lives to help us. Rostropovich took for granted the people who always provided for him a chair, but on that day he was thankful for a German family who gave him a chair. I wonder how often we take for granted those people who love, serve and care for us on a regular basis. As we gather with family and friends this coming week I hope we will take the time to give thanks for those closest to us who offer so much love and support, but there are so many other people that help and support us that too often we overlook. Too often we take for granted firefighters, police officers, emergency service personnel, doctors, nurses, teachers, the list goes on and on. There are so many people in our community that work hard to serve and protect us and too often we take them for granted, we just assume they will be there when we need them. Again, what a great time of year to stop and simply say thank you to all those who help us.
On Friday I was in the bank and in case you didn’t know, last week was bank teller appreciation week. At first I thought that seemed to be stretching things a little bit, but then I thought about how at the branch I use the tellers have always been nice to me, they have answered my questions when I had a problem and never made me feel bad if something I did went wrong, so when I got to the counter I made sure I took a moment to say thank you and let them know what a good job I thought they always did. The teller’s face turned all red and she got a big smile and said I was only the second person who had said thank you. We need to do a better job at appreciating those people who serve us. Even if it is there job to serve us, it means so much for people to hear those two words.
Can we send a note with our children to the schools thanking the teacher or custodian or principal for a job well done? Can we send a note to a doctor or nurse who helped us through a difficult time? Can we say thank you to those in our community who volunteer time and energy to help serve and protect us? I’m thankful that as part of our Christmas dinner we do try to remember and give thanks for the firefighters, police and emergency service workers in our community by making sure they have a dinner on Christmas day. And let me just say right now to all of you (because in some way or another all of you will help I know) thank you for working so hard and giving so much to feed so many on Christmas Day. You are not taken for granted, I and many many others appreciate all that you do in Jesus name.
As we remember and give thanks for the people who help us, we can’t just think about the people who support us here and now, what about all the people in the past who have helped us get to where we are today? Stop and think about what you are sitting on right now? Rostropovich took for granted his chair, do we take for granted the pews that are always here for us? Do we take for granted this church that so many people over so many years have worked hard to provide for us? Actually, many of you were probably here when the original church was built, or when 20 years ago these pews were put in. If you were here then, let me say, “Thank You.”
As we give thanks for those who have provided for us, we need to ask ourselves, am I willing to give and serve and sacrifice so that there can be a chair here for the next generation? We have the opportunity in the months and really the years to come to help put a new roof on the building, and pay off our mortgage which will be a blessing to the generations who follow us. My hope is that 20 years from today there will be a pastor standing right here saying that the congregation gathered for Thanksgiving that year can’t take for granted those who went before them, but that they need to stop and give thanks for a congregation that 20 years ago said, we are going to put a new roof on the building, and we are going to put in a new Heating and AC system, and we are going to pay off the mortgage so our children and grandchildren will have a place of worship and ministry, and just a place to experience life and faith together. My other hope is that many of you will also be here 20 years from today actively involved in the life and mission and ministry of Faith Church.
So the chair reminds us that we can not take for granted all the love and grace that God has given us and all the people God has given us, but the chair also reminds us not to take for granted the world in which God has placed us. If we look at Psalm 65:9-13 we see all the things God gives us for which we need to give thanks. God provides water for the land. He sends showers to soften the earth so food will grow. God blesses the crops and brings forth the harvest, a harvest which we will share in this coming week, and because of the water, grain and livestock that God provides, we are able to experience not just the feast of Thanksgiving, but all the joy of life. Everywhere we turn in this world we can see something for which we can give thanks; the question is will we take the time to thank God? Will we take the time in the middle of family, food, football and the frenzy of this season to simply stop and give thanks to God, the one who created and gives us everything?
Do you know that the number one command of scripture isn’t to love God or love our neighbor – it is to remember. Over and over again God calls us to remember who he is and what he has done and the reason God calls us to remember so many times is because God knows that in the midst of all the busy-ness of life, we will forget and will take for granted all that he has given us. So this thanksgiving, take an empty chair and put it at your table as a reminder to give thanks to a great God for all that he has done, and allow the empty chair to remind you of all the people who have shaped your life and continue to love, serve and care for you, and allow the empty chair to be a reminder that the God who created the heavens and the earth is still the God who listens to us, forgives us and draws us close to him.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
All Saints Day 2009
Today is the day many churches celebrate All Saints Day. It’s a tradition that goes back to the soxth century and it began as a day to remember and honor those who had been martyred or killed because they held tightly to their faith in Jesus Christ. For the first 500 years of Christianity there were severe persecutions by the Roman government and many people were killed for the faith and the stories of these faithful men and women inspired others and their lives and their faith were remembered and celebrated. Through the years, All Saint’s Day has become a day where we not only remember those saints from the ancient past, but it’s also a day for us to give thanks and remember all those men and women of faith who have died in the past year. Just as we heard Paul in his letter to the Corinthians gives thanks for the men and women of faith who encouraged and blessed him, so should we thank God for those who have gone before us because it has been God’s grace flowing through them that has encouraged and inspired us. God kept them strong until the end and today we know that they stand blameless before Christ Jesus in the fullness of God’s glory.
The first time I remember celebrating All Saints Day was my first year as a pastor in Altoona. It was the tradition in that church to read the names of all the church members who died in the previous year and ring a bell after each name. Just a week or so before that Sunday my own Grandmother had died and so as we prepared for that All Saint’s Day, I began to ask myself that all important question… what does it men to be a saint? What’s interesting is that I ask myself that question each year as All Saints Day approaches. I always thought about saints as those men and women who lived extraordinary lives of faith long ago. They were the people who persevered through great hardships and endured horrible persecution in an effort to remain faithful to Jesus. I always thought about saints as those people who are referred to in Hebrews 11:33-39a.
While these people certainly are saints, is this what it means to be a saint? Are saints only those extraordinary men and women of faith, or is a saint something else.
When we look at how the Bible defines a saint, we see something very different. When Paul’s writes to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae, he addresses each letter to the saints and the faithful brothers and sisters in each city or region. For Paul, saints weren’t those who were living extraordinary lives of faith – they were the people who simply believed in Jesus as the Christ. Saints were those who trusted in Jesus for forgiveness, salvation and new life. They were the men and women who walked day after day trusting in the power of God’s Holy Spirit to help them and to change them. Perhaps it is Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that best explains what it means to be a saint. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul says, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other translations say, those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, so a great definition of being a saint is someone who is sanctified in Christ Jesus and calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So if a saint is someone who is sanctified in Christ Jesus, what does it mean to be sanctified? Sanctification means to be purified from sin, or to be washed clean, but let’s be clear that we do not purify ourselves. On our own we can not wipe away our sin or wash ourselves clean, that’s why Paul says that we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Sanctification is a process where we trust God to forgive us or cleanse us from our sin, and then trust the Holy Spirit to free us from the bondage to sin so that we can live a new God-centered life. I think sanctification is best symbolized in baptism. We go under into the waters of baptism and are washed clean. Paul talks about sanctification as this process of cleansing in 1 Cor. 6:11. What Paul says so clearly here is that we are washed clean and forgiven not because of anything we have done, but because of what Jesus has done for us, it is Jesus who forgives us, so it is Jesus who sanctifies or cleanses us.
1 John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. It is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross that forgives us because it is the death of Jesus that God accepts on our behalf.
You see, our sin separates us from God and the Bible says the wages of sin is death, but instead of demanding our death, God accepts the death of Jesus for us and so it is Jesus blood shed on the cross that forgives us and begins this process of sanctification, but sanctification isn’t just being cleansed or forgiven – it also involves living a new life. Go back to baptism, we are cleansed and forgiven in those waters, but then we come up out of those waters to live a new life. We don’t become clean just so we can go out and get dirty again – we are cleansed so we can live a new life and that new life is only made possible through the grace and power of God.
Too often when we think of God’s grace we only think about the forgiveness that is ours through Jesus and we forget that God’s grace also equips us to live a new life of faith right here and now. While it is the blood of Jesus that forgives us, it is the resurrection of Jesus that tells us that we can go forth in power to live a new life. The waters of baptism wash us clean, but we then rise up to live a new and holy life. Forgiveness and new life have always gone hand in hand. In Lev. 11:44 God says sanctify yourselves and be holy. Forgiveness leads to new life. Sanctification is the first step, but then we have to go on and be holy. Now being holy doesn’t mean being perfect, but it does mean going forth to live a life that is centered on and draws upon the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of God.
1 Peter 1:13-16. Again we are called here to be holy, and we see that this holy life is a life of discipline, obedience and action, but the holiness doesn’t come from within. Holiness doesn’t come from just trying harder; it grows and develops in us as we allow the grace of God to work within us. Holiness comes when we trust God’s grace to help us become all that we want to be and all that God wants us to be. Again, too often we only think of God’s grace as the love that forgives, but God’s grace is also the power that changes. It’s God’s grace that gives us the power to overcome anxiety and addiction, doubt and despair, hopelessness and heartache. God’s grace is a powerful force that will change our lives and lead is in a new direction if we will allow it to.
One of the most beloved songs of the church is Amazing Grace and I don’t know about you, but when I sing it I tend to think about just the first part of that first verse. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I think about God’s grace just in terms of forgiveness and salvation, but the song goes on to talk a lot about the transformation that takes place in our lives when we allow God’s grace to have its way in us. It is God’s grace that opens our blind eyes so that we can see the truth of who we are and how we are living and who God wants us to be. It’s God’s grace that leads us through dangers, toils and snares and gives us the strength to not just face our problems but to overcome them It’s God’s grace that gives us patience as we wait for problems to be resolved and it’s God’s grace that will lead us home, and that’s not just the home in heaven that God prepared for us through Jesus Christ, it’s a home – or a life of faith that can be lived today and tomorrow and the next day. God’s grace isn’t just here to forgive us; it is here to change us, to sanctify us and help us live a new Christ-centered life.
So a saint isn’t someone who is extraordinary, a saint is someone who allows God’s grace to help them look more and more like Jesus. A saint is someone who asks for God’s amazing grace to cleanse them, and then accepts God’s grace to change them. A saint isn’t someone who has super powers or a superior faith, but someone who simply calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s really all that is needed for sainthood today, all we need to do is call on the name of Jesus Christ and trust in the power of God’s grace to cleanse us and help us live a holy life.
And that’s what communion is all about. We don’t gather at this table trusting in our own ability to cleanse ourselves from sin, and we don’t gather here because we are so good at living a holy life, We gather here specifically because we know that we can’t. As saints, we gather here to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask God to forgive us and as saints we ask God for the grace to strengthen us. This is a meal of the saints, not just because we are gathered here with all the saints who have gone before us, but because it is through the bread and the cup that God’s amazing grace forgives us and then empowers us. So let us come to the table and with all the saints around the throne and let us call upon the name of the Lord, our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.
The first time I remember celebrating All Saints Day was my first year as a pastor in Altoona. It was the tradition in that church to read the names of all the church members who died in the previous year and ring a bell after each name. Just a week or so before that Sunday my own Grandmother had died and so as we prepared for that All Saint’s Day, I began to ask myself that all important question… what does it men to be a saint? What’s interesting is that I ask myself that question each year as All Saints Day approaches. I always thought about saints as those men and women who lived extraordinary lives of faith long ago. They were the people who persevered through great hardships and endured horrible persecution in an effort to remain faithful to Jesus. I always thought about saints as those people who are referred to in Hebrews 11:33-39a.
While these people certainly are saints, is this what it means to be a saint? Are saints only those extraordinary men and women of faith, or is a saint something else.
When we look at how the Bible defines a saint, we see something very different. When Paul’s writes to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae, he addresses each letter to the saints and the faithful brothers and sisters in each city or region. For Paul, saints weren’t those who were living extraordinary lives of faith – they were the people who simply believed in Jesus as the Christ. Saints were those who trusted in Jesus for forgiveness, salvation and new life. They were the men and women who walked day after day trusting in the power of God’s Holy Spirit to help them and to change them. Perhaps it is Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that best explains what it means to be a saint. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul says, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other translations say, those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, so a great definition of being a saint is someone who is sanctified in Christ Jesus and calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So if a saint is someone who is sanctified in Christ Jesus, what does it mean to be sanctified? Sanctification means to be purified from sin, or to be washed clean, but let’s be clear that we do not purify ourselves. On our own we can not wipe away our sin or wash ourselves clean, that’s why Paul says that we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Sanctification is a process where we trust God to forgive us or cleanse us from our sin, and then trust the Holy Spirit to free us from the bondage to sin so that we can live a new God-centered life. I think sanctification is best symbolized in baptism. We go under into the waters of baptism and are washed clean. Paul talks about sanctification as this process of cleansing in 1 Cor. 6:11. What Paul says so clearly here is that we are washed clean and forgiven not because of anything we have done, but because of what Jesus has done for us, it is Jesus who forgives us, so it is Jesus who sanctifies or cleanses us.
1 John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. It is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross that forgives us because it is the death of Jesus that God accepts on our behalf.
You see, our sin separates us from God and the Bible says the wages of sin is death, but instead of demanding our death, God accepts the death of Jesus for us and so it is Jesus blood shed on the cross that forgives us and begins this process of sanctification, but sanctification isn’t just being cleansed or forgiven – it also involves living a new life. Go back to baptism, we are cleansed and forgiven in those waters, but then we come up out of those waters to live a new life. We don’t become clean just so we can go out and get dirty again – we are cleansed so we can live a new life and that new life is only made possible through the grace and power of God.
Too often when we think of God’s grace we only think about the forgiveness that is ours through Jesus and we forget that God’s grace also equips us to live a new life of faith right here and now. While it is the blood of Jesus that forgives us, it is the resurrection of Jesus that tells us that we can go forth in power to live a new life. The waters of baptism wash us clean, but we then rise up to live a new and holy life. Forgiveness and new life have always gone hand in hand. In Lev. 11:44 God says sanctify yourselves and be holy. Forgiveness leads to new life. Sanctification is the first step, but then we have to go on and be holy. Now being holy doesn’t mean being perfect, but it does mean going forth to live a life that is centered on and draws upon the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of God.
1 Peter 1:13-16. Again we are called here to be holy, and we see that this holy life is a life of discipline, obedience and action, but the holiness doesn’t come from within. Holiness doesn’t come from just trying harder; it grows and develops in us as we allow the grace of God to work within us. Holiness comes when we trust God’s grace to help us become all that we want to be and all that God wants us to be. Again, too often we only think of God’s grace as the love that forgives, but God’s grace is also the power that changes. It’s God’s grace that gives us the power to overcome anxiety and addiction, doubt and despair, hopelessness and heartache. God’s grace is a powerful force that will change our lives and lead is in a new direction if we will allow it to.
One of the most beloved songs of the church is Amazing Grace and I don’t know about you, but when I sing it I tend to think about just the first part of that first verse. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I think about God’s grace just in terms of forgiveness and salvation, but the song goes on to talk a lot about the transformation that takes place in our lives when we allow God’s grace to have its way in us. It is God’s grace that opens our blind eyes so that we can see the truth of who we are and how we are living and who God wants us to be. It’s God’s grace that leads us through dangers, toils and snares and gives us the strength to not just face our problems but to overcome them It’s God’s grace that gives us patience as we wait for problems to be resolved and it’s God’s grace that will lead us home, and that’s not just the home in heaven that God prepared for us through Jesus Christ, it’s a home – or a life of faith that can be lived today and tomorrow and the next day. God’s grace isn’t just here to forgive us; it is here to change us, to sanctify us and help us live a new Christ-centered life.
So a saint isn’t someone who is extraordinary, a saint is someone who allows God’s grace to help them look more and more like Jesus. A saint is someone who asks for God’s amazing grace to cleanse them, and then accepts God’s grace to change them. A saint isn’t someone who has super powers or a superior faith, but someone who simply calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s really all that is needed for sainthood today, all we need to do is call on the name of Jesus Christ and trust in the power of God’s grace to cleanse us and help us live a holy life.
And that’s what communion is all about. We don’t gather at this table trusting in our own ability to cleanse ourselves from sin, and we don’t gather here because we are so good at living a holy life, We gather here specifically because we know that we can’t. As saints, we gather here to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask God to forgive us and as saints we ask God for the grace to strengthen us. This is a meal of the saints, not just because we are gathered here with all the saints who have gone before us, but because it is through the bread and the cup that God’s amazing grace forgives us and then empowers us. So let us come to the table and with all the saints around the throne and let us call upon the name of the Lord, our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)