The Faith of Giving

The Faith of Giving
Sermon 3 in Series on Stewardship
Matthew 6:24-34, 1 Kings 17

We continue our series on Stewardship. Over the past couple of weeks we have looked at the fact that as a steward of all that God has entrusted to us we use our time, our energy, our finances, our everything to serve and honor God. Today we look at another aspect of stewardship: faith. Our passages today deal with faith, or trusting God fully and as we begin I want you to ask yourself, “Do I really trust God or do I place my trust in other things?”



Hmmmmm, Why did Jesus say this about the conflict of serving God and wealth then immediately talk about worry and faith? Could it be that when we try to serve two masters, or wealth instead of money, we find that our trust in God is shaken and we begin to worry about all the things that we don't have control over?
I think it's the same reason we have something printed on our currency and coins. I challenge you to find current US coinage or paper currency that does not contain the words “In God We Trust”. Even the government sees the danger in placing our trust in mammon, wealth, money. Yet, is that not what so many of us have done?
Let me ask you a question, Why do you work? Have you ever wondered if you work just for money, just to get wealthy, just to get more? Now I know that we all need to work to pay the bills or prepare for retirement. I know some of you here today are living off the retirement you prepared for so I'm not belittling that aspect of working and financial planning. I know that in order to plan for the future, take care of your family and your own needs, support charities such as our church, and give to the needy we must earn money, But what would be your answer if I asked you, “Would you still work if you didn't get paid?” “Would you still do what you do if money was not involved?” or are some of us miserable just to get wealthy? Who are we serving? Who is our master?
You see, when we start asking ourselves questions like this; When we start looking at what and how we spend and use what God has entrusted to us; When we start looking at how we hoard for ourselves vs. give for the needs of others; we begin to see who our master is. We begin to see who we serve. We begin to see where our faith lies.

But doesn't Jesus have a beautiful way to tell us not to worry about anything? I can just see Jesus sitting there on the hillside, surrounded by people that had followed him hoping to understand the meaning of life and faith. Here Jesus is surrounded by a sea of humanity looking out over his creation. The birds flying above them on a backdrop of blue. A bird sitting above them in a tree singing. The lilies of the field with their brilliant colors dotting the hillside. I can just see Jesus pointing the the people toward the beauty around them and reminding them how God cares even for these little seemingly insignificant things and how much more he care for them.
Once again, it is a question of faith. Where do we place our faith? Do we place our faith in ourselves - the ME and the WE? Thinking that we have all the answers and can do it all? Do we place our faith in money thinking we can buy our answers?

Let me tell you a story of one example of well placed faith. It comes from 1 Kings 17. It is the story of an unnamed widow in Zarephath of Sidon and happend during the reign of King Ahab of Israel. It was said that Ahab “did more evil in the sight of the Lord than any of the kings before him.” Ahab had married a Sidonian named Jezabel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, and built an altar to Baal in Samaria. When the prophet Elijah heard this he proclaimed God's word to Ahab and his kingdom, “There shall be neither dew nor rain for the years until I proclaim the drought has ended.” And then Elijah went into hiding with God providing for all of his needs. He lived in the wilderness by a creek and the ravens brought him food. When the creek finally dried Elijah went into the region of Sidon as directed by God. There he found a widow, the mother of a son. When he asked for help she quickly replied to bring him water but when he asked for a bite to eat we find just how bad things were for the widow. She says, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may eat it, and die.” An image of what may have been happening all over Israel, Samaria, and even into Sidon, the cost of King Ahab's sins was being felt far and wide.
But Elijah knew that God wasn't ready for this widow and her son to leave the earth. This man that had been fed by the ravens, had been protected from the wrath of Ahab and Jezabel, had been given drink by God from a drying creek, this man of God knew about placing your faith in God and he told this mother, cook for yourself and your son, but first cook for me then you will not go hungry.
She does as she is told and it is as Elijah said, the bowl of meal never ran out- the oil never ran dry. God provided for her and because of it she was able to provide for her son and for Elijah.

The plot thickens when her son dies before the drought ends and Elijah leaves. She blames Elijah, but Elijah calls upon God and through the power of God the young man is revived. Finally, this lady from the very land of Jezabel says, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.”

This woman had no money in which to place her faith. This woman had nothing left, yet when she placed her faith in God she saw results. She didn't get wealthy. She didn't seem blessed to those around her. She didn't look like she was anything different than anyone else. But through her faith her needs were met. Through her faith she was truly blessed.
Doesn't this sound like what Jesus was talking about in his Sermon on the Mount? Don't worry, believe, have faith.

What we do with our faith, how we live out our faith in God has a direct impact on how we express our stewardship. When we don't trust God we trust ourselves, we trust our money, we trust our health, we trust... something other than God and we wonder by we don't feel blessed, we wonder why we don't feel happy, we wonder why we feel we always need more. Yet, when we finally place our faith in God and live that faith out the blessings will come and they will show up in all we do. They will show up in our worship. They will show up in our service. they will show up in our prayers. They will show up in our finances. They will show up in our witness. And once again we are back to where we were just a few weeks ago, realizing that the vows of membership as Methodists are not about just being United Methodist, they are about being disciples of Jesus Christ. That is what our stewardship is about. That is what our faith is about.

Today, I want you to close your eyes during the hymn of invitation. I want you to take a moment and reflect on where you have been placing your faith. I want you to ask yourself if you have been holding back from God because of a lack of faith, a lack of trust. I want you to ask yourself if you have what your work, your spending, your everything says about your faith in God.
Today, I want you to look within yourself and decide this day which master you will serve. Choose wisely.

Gifts

Gifts
The Final Sermon in a series on the Vows of UMC
and the First in a series on Stewardship.

Today, we conclude the series on our vows of membership in the United Methodist Church, that is to support the Church with our Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. In this series we have seen that these vows go beyond what it means to be Methodist. We find that these 5 statements are in fact statements of what it means to be Christian. They are rules by which we shape our life and align ourselves with Christ.
In this we have looked at how our Prayers aren't something that we start and stop, but they are a part of who we are. Our prayers are our connection to the source of our very power in God.
We have looked at how our Presence is more than just showing up on Sunday morning when it is convenient. Rather it is a part of living our lives in such a way that we are present with God and bring the very presence of God, Jesus in the flesh, into the lives of those around us.
We have looked at how our Witness is not just something that Paid-Professionals do, it is what we all do because we understand what God has done for us and we want to offer the abundant life offered in Christ to all who will receive it.
Last week we looked at Service and how we are to serve God in all aspects of our life and through all of us serving God, great things are accomplished. Our service isn't about us as individuals, it is what the people of God do collectively, thus doing more good. As an example we saw how the “Souper Bowl of Caring” started out as a few students taking a prayer seriously but now have raised some $80,000,000 since 1990, all of which has gone to local charities. That is the result of people saying yes to “justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.”

Now, today we come to the conclusion of this series and the start of the next. Today we talk about the 5th element of the vow of support. The vow to support the church with our Gifts. And yes, that is money. Let us read together a familiar scripture about giving, one that is read and rehashed over and over again as church after church enters building campaigns and capital campaigns, and anything for which they need to raise money. I hope that today we will see this passage, and another New Testament passage in a new light when we are done.


With it being Boy Scout Sunday and having our Webelos and Tiger Cub Scouts present, I find it fitting that we start today's sermon with a story of a young boy. So...
Once upon a time, in a land far far away... isn't that the way a story always to begin?
So, once their was this young boy, maybe 10 years old, let's call him Juan. One night Juan asked his mother for permission to take a long hike the next day through the countryside by the lake near their home. While Juan's mother was concerned about him being out on his own for the day, she trusted him and knew many of the people in the community, people that would be able to keep an eye on him as he traveled through the day. He got up the next morning and packed a lunch. It could have been any type of a lunch. Maybe it was a Lunchable. Maybe it was a tube of chicken and rice like what a child in Asia may carry. Maybe it was tortillas and tamales wrapped in foil like we would find in South Texas or Mexico. Maybe it is a pupusa revuelta like we would find in El Salvador. Maybe it's Kibbie wrapped in Grape Leaves like we would find in Syria and parts of the Meditaranian. Maybe it was fish and bread wrapped in reeds like we would find in the Middle East. Maybe it's just a PB&J.
Whatever it was, he packed just enough for himself and maybe a friend if he ran across someone, and he set out on his adventure for the day. Little did he know that his adventure would cost him his lunch.
As Juan wandered by the sea he began to hear a crowd. It wasn't an angry crowd – like what we have been hearing and seeing from the reports in Egypt. It wasn't even a jubilant crowd like we heard about Friday when the Egyptian President resigned. No, it was a crowd of thousands but it moved quietly, as though they were all following someone, trying to hear what was said.
People were whispering through the crowd, relating what those in the back had missed.
The crowd continued to follow a dozen or so who were at the front of these thousands of people until they were on a verdent green slope overlooking the sea.
Juan followed this crowd up onto the hillside and as he looked out from the top of the hill he was astonished at the beauty of what lay before him. Thousands of people, a literal sea of people with colors and textures sitting on this hillside as though the entire mass of them would ripple into the turquoise blue sea below them in the distance.
Juan couldn't hear what was being said so he began to make his way through this assembly of humanity, this sea of people from all places. As he approached the front he could hear what was happening, there was one at the front teaching. Once he could understand what was being said he found a patch of grass and sat to hear what could be so important that thousands of people would gather like this.
Juan had almost forgotten his lunch when he began to hear the grumblings of hungry stomachs around him. Others thought of it too because he overheard some of the men at the front discussing how they were to feed all these people. Hearing that, Juan decided he could share his food, maybe get a couple of bites of bread and give the rest away. The teacher looked at Juan and smiled as the helper, we'll call him a Andrew, took the little lunch packet to the teacher, maybe we could call him Jesus. Jesus took the fish and the loaves, the meager lunch of a young boy - all he had to offer, and with a prayer began to pass the offering of the boy out to the multitudes. Yet, the end of the time of sharing and eating, the Disciples gathered more scraps of food than the boy had even started with, 12 times as much as the boy had offered. Somehow, Jesus had taken what the boy offered and blessed it in such a way that all were filled and there was an abundance left over.

Now, you may ask what this story has to do with money. You may ask, “what does this story have to do with the Malachi passage on tithes and the storehouses? Well, I say they have everything to do with one another. You see, Jesus has all that the boy has to offer. He took the gift of the boy that others may eat and be filled with an abundance left. What is the tithe for in Malachi? That the storehouses may be filled and that there may be an abundance to care for the needs of the priests who worshiped God, lead others in the worship of God, and cared for the widows and orphans. When this was done there was blessing. Malachi states this by saying that God will “open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” We find the same promises in Proverbs 22:9 - “Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.” or 28:27, “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing...”
So, What am I saying by juxtaposing the story of the boy offering his one basket of food and Jesus feeding the 5000 with the tithe passage from Malachi?
First, I am not saying that if you place 10% of your income in the offering plate each week you will get 12 times that amount back in financial blessing. Your tithe is not some financial investment scheme that you can compare to a Bernie Madoff scam. You do not give a tithe or an offering (which are different) because of what you are to get out of it. You do not feed the poor expecting them to give you something in return. No, you give out of generosity for what has already been done.



So, if I'm not trying to sell you on a spiritual monetary investment scheme what am I saying? That you, that we, will not be blessed unless we are obedient. Our blessing may or may not come financially, but when our gift is given with a generous heart, as was the gift of the boy in John's retelling of the feeding of the 5000, then God's blessings can flow.
We are to give to God what is God's, not just because we are told to. We are to give to God what is God's, not because we expect a blessing in return. We are to give to God what is God's because of our gratitude for what God has already done for us.
Gratitude that we are a forgiven people – though what we have done before God is unforgivable.
Gratitude that we are an accepted people – though we are unacceptable before a holy God.
Gratitude that we are a loved people – though we have failed to love as we were taught.
We give because of what Jesus has done for us on the Cross.
We give because we recognize that all we have and all we are is because of Jesus.
We give because we know that all we have and all we are belongs to God already.

That is why we as United Methodist specifically and we as Christians in general vow to support the Church – that is the Body of Christ – with our Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. That is who we are in response to what Christ has already done for us.

Service

Sermon 4 in the Series on Membership Vows to Uphold the UMC
SERVICE
Isaiah 58:1-10, Matthew 5:13-16, Micah 6:8

What is service? We vow to support the United Methodist Church with our Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. But what is service? It all depends on how you look at it.

Service from the root- To Serve...
-(sports) a stroke that puts the ball in - like in tennis or volleyball
-serve a purpose, role, or function – Like, This podium serves to hold my Bible and notes
-do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function – Like some of you serve on committees -and councils here in the community.
-be used by; as of a utility – our electric service
-help with food or drink – Food service, some of you will be served by a waiter or waitress later today.
-devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas - some of you served in the military.
-I could even get into animal husbandry if we get real deep into the definitions of service.

We could go on and on and on. In fact, I found 69 definitions for Serve or Service. I know some of them overlap but still, is there any wonder why we have questions about what our vow of service means?
We turn it into all these other things. In the end, we make our vow of service about showing up at church once or twice a week if it's not inconvenient. We make it about writing a check and placing it in the offering plate. We make it about being seen in the right place doing the right thing so others will know what we have done. So often it seems that our service becomes about us.
That's what God was telling the people of Israel through Isaiah. Their fasting had become about themselves. Little changed through the years. Micah tells of the problems with sacrifices rather than fasting. The people had pulled so far from God that they didn't even know how to get back to him. They fasted, they sacrifices, not an animal for the nation as was called for, but thousands of animals. There even seemed to be talk of sacrifices that included children. Not a pretty picture for God's People. Their sacrifices had become an abomination to the very God the people said they served.
But God does not leave them without an answer. Instead, God give the answer in both places...
Isaiah 6:10 - “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”
And in Micah 6:8 - “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Just as the people in those days of old, we too have the answers of what God calls us to do. We too have the answers of what it means to serve and, it really hasn't changed any. We are still called to free the oppressed, to share bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor in out of the cold, clothe the naked, we are still called to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. None of this has changed.
We see it all through the Gospels of Jesus.
You see, Jesus had a vision for what it would mean for his followers to be who he called them
to be. Matthew 5:13-16 shows us that image:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

We are a set apart people. We are a people called to be within this world but not of this world. We are a people that call ourselves Methodists, and that needs to mean something.

I have looked for some other words than my own to explain what it means to uphold the UMC with our Service. A statement from the Website of Nimmo UMC, Virginia Beach, VA explains it like this...
Jesus called disciples to follow him, and he sent them out in his name. The pledge to uphold the church by our service recognizes that we are a sent people; that we have a purpose which goes beyond weekly gathering for spiritual growth.
"But what can I do?" This is the question for many who feel they do not have the gifts or talents to be of service. Remember, though, that God has called you into the church because God wants YOU for who you are and for what you have to offer. By becoming involved in avenues of service, you may discover gifts and talents you did not know you had.
How you serve depends upon your interests, your gifts and abilities, the time you have available, the needs of the church, etc. … Beyond that, it means adhering to a life style in which the welfare of others is a primary goal.
This is a ministry which exceeds the capacity of any single person or congregation. Membership in the United Methodist Church is a membership in a world-wide community of faith. We can, and do, make a difference in the world -- all over the world -- as we uphold the church by our service.

We have a varied group here. We have children, youth, young adults, middle age adults, adults nearing retirement, and those in various stages of retirement. We are a congregation made up of business people, ranchers, educators, laborers, supervisors, entrepreneurs, and everything in between. There is no limit to what we could accomplish as a church if we were to all begin serving God as we were created. We would be in service in this community feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. We would be in service around the state as we work with the Conference in building and repairing homes for those in need. We would be in service around the world as we bring medical supplies and clean water to refugees in other parts of the world. There is no end to what we could do.
To close I want to show you a video about what can happen when a few kids take the words of a prayer seriously and begin to serve. In 1988, Brad Smith, a Seminary Intern at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC delivered the words "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat" as a part of the pastoral prayer that Super Bowl Sunday. Little did he know what would happen from it.

Since that prayer was the spark that ignited the fire we now call Souper Bowl of Caring over $73,000,000.00 has been raised for local food banks and charities.
My question for us today is, What will we happen if just the few of us took seriously our vow to SERVE? How many lives would be changed?

Vows of Membership - Witness

(Most of this information was learned at an Evangelism Workshop led by Rev. Danny Tinney and Bishop Mike Lowry. I greatly appreciate their guidance through the process to becoming an Ordained Minister in the United Methodist Church.)

Part 3 of the Vow of Membership Sermon Series
Witness


This week the sermon will be much different than you are accustomed to. In fact, some of you may not consider this a sermon at all. Notice in your bulletins... you have some work to do during this sermon so take out a pen, or borrow a crayola from your child's worship packet, or take the pencil from the pew and lets get to work. You see, I could stand up here and tell you about being a witness. I could confront you about not inviting others to church. I could accuse you of not introducing people to Christ but at the end of the day nothing would have changed. So, we are going to do this a little different.

To start with, I have selected 2 scriptures that were not a part of the Lectionary. Turn with me if you would to Matthew 28:19-20, now take your finger and hold that spot and turn back a few pages to Matthew:22:36-40.

Prayer

I have heard it said that:
A great COMMITMENT to the great COMMANDMENT and the Great COMMISSION will build a great CHURCH.
That being said, I want us to look at each of these real quick. To start with, the Great Commandment. Jesus was being questioned by the Pharisees about the greatest commandment of Moses' Law. Rather than giving one answer to them, Jesus upped the ante so to speak. This was his custom, when we was challenged to answer the Pharisees he would usually give them more than they bargained for. This time, he answers with the common answer showing them that he knew what they were looking for. He recited the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5 known as the Shema because of the way it starts, "Hear O Israel, Love the YHWH with all you heart,and with all your soul, and with all your strength." In other words, Love God with all that you are, ever have been, and ever will be. "Ahhh" the Pharisees say, "He's not as dumb as we thought, He has studied the Scriptures." But then Jesus added Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself." What Jesus is saying is that in order to love God you must love your neighbor. This isn't just some 'touchy-feely' kinda love, this is an action love. A love that is manifested in the way you live and breathe. It is the kind of life Jesus talks about in Matthew 25 where says that the ones that feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, visit the lonely... to these will be accounted as righteous for when you serve one of the least, you are serving Jesus.
This is one step in building a great church. This is one step in evangelism. This is one step in being a witness for Christ. The next step comes in the Great Commission.
Do you realize that we have gotten this verse wrong all these years. We have placed all the focus on GO. Don't get me wrong, we need to GO places and spread the word of God in other places. We need to get away sometimes to love our neighbors in South East Texas, or Appalachia, or Espanola, NM, or Haiti, or Liberia Africa... These things are important and we need to continue them; BUT, the focus of this verse is not GO. In fact a student of the Greek will tell you that the word GO here is in the passive form, meaning "as you go on your way..." The only imperative verb in this verse is MAKE.
We are commanded to MAKE Disciples of Jesus Christ. We are to Make Disciples by going, Baptizing, and Teaching. Isn't it interesting the way we make Disciples is first to Baptize, then to Teach. Wow, how often do we think of it in the other way...
"Well, they're not ready to be Baptized, they don't understand what it means yet."
"Well, they're still living in sin so we can't Baptize them yet."
"Well, they don't understand the doctrines of the Faith so we can't Baptize them yet."
No, all that comes later, first pour the Grace of God over them, then teach them... The truth is, none of us really understand what it all means anyway. We are all just pilgrims in this strange land trying to find our way home, aren't we?

Now, this is where it get's tricky and this is where I could spend a couple of more hours on the topic. We could talk about techniques. We could look at models of evangelism. We could discuss the Roman vs. the Celtic way of Evangelism. We could discus Modern Era vs. Post-Modern Era. We could argue Christian vs. Post Christian Era. At the end of the day though, you would still walk out of here saying, I don't know what to do.
So, we are going to take a few minutes today to put some concrete answers down as a start at what it means to be a witness to Christ. Evangelism is simply introducing someone to Christ. And we only have 1/3 of the job to do.
1. We know that God is at work in the life of the person, showering them with Prevenient Grace - that grace that comes before we even know it.
2. We are responsible for what we do as individuals and the church.
3. The respondent is responsible for what they do.

We only have 1/3 of the responsibility in Evangelism. As long as we do our part, we leave the rest up to God and the other person.

So, in 25 words or less, how would you introduce someone to Jesus that has never heard of him? Take a few minutes as write your answer down.

I know that some of you may not be able to finish right now. I pray that you will take it home and continue looking at this, but we need to move on.

Anyone want to share?

Now, what are your 3 Core Convictions - Not scripture but can be from Scripture... This is what you believe, the why you are a Christian.
An example would be Jesus is God in the flesh that walked here on earth.
What three Scriptures mean the most to you... They may be early childhood verses that you memorized in VBS or SS. They may be pivotal verses that changed your life. don't just write the reference, do your best to write them down from memory.


What difference does it make that you are a Christian? Write the answer.



Name three people that you associate with that don't go to church and may not be a Christian.


What you have just done is create a template for sharing your faith with others.

You have thought about and stated who Jesus is to you. You have stated why you believe what you believe. You have remembered those verses that have become a part of your life. And you have thought through why you are a Christian and why someone else should be.

With this in hand you have the tools to not be afraid to start a conversation with someone about your faith. I don't mean that you should walk up to a stranger and ask them "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity" or "Do Ya Know Jeeesus?"

No, look at those three people you named. You already have a relationship with them. If you are living your life for Christ, they already know about your faith and may have questions. All you have to do is seize the moment and let God do the rest...

Sermon 1, Worship...

Sermon 1,
Preached August 8, 2010
FUMC Wortham

Worship
Luke 12:32-40

This week we begin a series on Worship. We will look at worship from several angles but first let us ask, What is worship?
For some it is a service we come to, for others it is a chance to gather with others and make contact (maybe a business contact or a contact with other humanity as so many of us are shut-in in our homes for one reason or another), maybe it is a time of fellowship or a time to sit and learn a moral lesson or a time to hear something to help us through a time of crisis. All these are good things but if that is all our worship is we would be better off joining a country club or fraternal organization because we can get all that in other places. Our worship has to be so much more... it should be so much more.

Today we are simply going to spend a few moments looking at another aspect of worship. Jesus didn't spend much time talking about worship, instead he would talk about our life. He would talk about finances - the second most mentioned topic in the gospels. Jesus would talk about his prayer life. He would talk about caring for the needy. And, Jesus would talk about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the most often mentioned topic in the New Testament, being mentioned 86 times in the Gospels and 984 times in the New Testament.

We have talked about the Kingdom of God before - that it is not so much about an earthly kingdom as we think of but rather a relationship. The Davidic example of kingdom was based upon the relationship.. That David was one of the people who became a king, not a part of a ruling class that inherited the kingship. That is what this Kingdom is about... relationship.

So, what does all this talk about the Kingdom of God have to do with worship? Maybe it would be helpful to hear from another theologian about the Kingdom of God and what it is. Dr. Brian McClaren is a professor, author, theologian, and pastor who has studied this concept in detail and relates it to our Post-Modern culture.


http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00248&hittail_ok=1&fyi=secure_ssl_not_required

We recite the Lord's Prayer every week, yet do we really think about, do we really want God's will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven?
Our very life, our job in this life, is to bring God's Kingdom to earth as ti is in heaven.
Our very life, our worship of, to, and for God is to reach this end...

Frederich Buechner says "Phrases like Worship Service or Service of Worship are tautologies. To worship God means to serve him. Basically there are two ways to do it. One way is to do things for him that he needs to have done – run errands for him, carry messages for him, fight on his side, feed his lambs, and so on. The other way is to do things for him that you need to do – sing songs for him, create beautiful things for him, give things up for him, tell him what’s on your mind and in your heart, in general rejoice in him and make a fool of yourself for him the way lovers have always made fools of themselves for the one they love.

A Quaker Meeting, a Pontifical High Mass, the Family Service at First Presbyterian, a Holy Roller Happening – unless there is an element of joy and foolishness in the proceedings, the time would be better spent doing something useful." (Buechner, Frederick. Wishful Thinking: A Seekers ABC. Frederick Buechner, New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, p.122)

In other words, what we do, how we serve, the very life we live are our worship...
That worship is part and parcel to bringing God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.

And now for the "So What?" So what does this mean for us? So what difference does this make? It comes down to one questions that you have to answer. What can you do to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth? What can you do to bring your worship into the world around you?
Maybe it means for you that you carry a case of water in your car and give it to a hot worker that is in need of a cold drink. Maybe for you it is to buy a meal for a family in need. Maybe for you it is to work at the Food Pantry or the Christian Clothes Closet... and the list goes on...

Whatever it is, you have to decide and you have to do it.

Sermon 2, The Sacramental Nature of Corporate Worship

Sermon 2,
Preached August 15, 2010, 11:00
FUMC Wortham

Our Worship is Sacramental
Galatians 2:19-20

Last week we looked at how our worship is a life style, that it is not just for 1 hour a week but that we are to be worshiping God with our lives. Romans 12:1 tells us to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, this is our spiritual act of worship.” In other words, a sacrifice is something that is placed on an altar before a god and given fully to that god. When we follow this verse we lay our bodies before God and give ourselves fully to God, not as a dead sacrifice that is given once but as a living sacrifice that continues to give and serve until we are taken from this earth. This is our spiritual worship.

But, lets not fool ourselves, when I say we are going to talk about worship the first thing that comes to our minds is what happens when you walk through those doors on Sunday morning from 11:00 – 12:00.

So, being mindful of that, we will be looking at the aspects of our Corporate Worship over the next three weeks and at the 5th Sunday Service to be held at Victory Church on August 29th.

Our Corporate Worship is the times we gather together to hear God's Word proclaimed and to sing praises to God. Our corporate worship is the time that we as the Body of Christ are drawn closer together and closer to God.
Something that seems to bog down discussions of Corporate Worship is when the discussion turns to styles of worship – We argue over what type of music is to be heard, whether video and lights are to be a part of the worship, who should participate, should it be contemporary or traditional...
The truth is to get past this we need to look at how worship has changed ove the years
Think of the change from a sacrificial system – that goes all the way back to Cain and Able,
or the nomadic worship of the Israelites in the Tabernacle that traveled with them,
or the Temple Worship of the Years in Jerusalem
or the Synagogue worship that followed after the Temple was destroyed
or the House church worship of the 1st Centuries of Christianity
or the Monastic worship of the early Catholic church
or the Cathedral worship of the Dark Ages
or the early Protestant worship in Germany and Sweden
or the Stoic white-washed worship of the Puritans
or the Pioneer worship of the Wild West
or what we now call traditional worship, or High Church, or contemporary Worship, or Emerging Worship, or the New Monasticism...

Volumes are written about each of these and I think it best to steer clear of trying to say that one is better than the other.
Rather than that, we are going to look at aspects of our worship and what they mean. Over the next 4 sermons we will look at how Corporate Worship is:
Sacramental
Communal
Incarnational, and
looks toward a future hope in Christ.

This week our topic is that Corporate Worship is Sacramental.

So, What is a Sacrament?
The word sacrament is the Latin translation of the Greek word mysterion – i.e. Mysterious
Way back in around 400 AD, Augustine of Hippo said that a “Ssacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality.”
The Book of Common Prayer says that a “Sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace.”
Sacrament. It sounds so Catholic doesn't it? In fact where we have 2 Sacraments in the UMC, the Catholic church recognizes seven.
Penance (Confession)
Confirmation
Matrimony
Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction or Last Rites)
Holy Orders (what we would call Ordination)
and the last two that we recognize as well
Baptism and
Communion.

For sure each of these are Sacred Moments, times when God's grace is revealed to us in special ways, but as Methodists we recognize as Sacraments only the events that Jesus himself participated in directly, that is Baptism, as he was baptized by John the Baptizer, and Communion as Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper or Communion.
Each week our worship should point toward these sacraments but how so, maybe it would be helpful to look at each of these for just a moment to see what they mean to us and then how they are a part of each week of worship.

Baptism - it is the door through which we enter the church and become a part of the Body of Christ.
We don't just recognize Methodist Baptism but we recognize all baptisms that come through churches that proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord.
We baptize all ages.
Since the earliest times children and infants have been baptized into the church.
- A legend I have heard says that during the early years of the church in Jerusalem, the Christian church would adopt children that had been abandoned at Gehenna (the Trash Dump/Incinerator outside Jerusalem). These children would be brought into the community of faith and baptised as a representation of God's grace on their lives and their full acceptance and membership in the church.
- Also, the baptism of children signifies for us God's initiative in the process of Salvation
“John Wesley preached “prevenient grace,” the grace that works in our lives before we are aware of it, bringing us to faith. The baptism of children and their inclusion in the church before they can respond with their own confirmation of faith is a vivid and compelling witness to prevenient grace.” (UMC.org)
(http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1697379/k.9027/Baptism_Overview.htm)
We believe that Baptism is forever... It doesn't need to be done again. That is because we believe that baptism is a God thing, not a human thing. By saying that we need to be baptized again we are saying that God messed up when we were baptized. To be sure, we can mess up. We can fall away. We may need to redo our part but God doesn't. To take care of that we have a liturgy that is a Sacred moment in our lives just like any other. We call it a Service to Remember our Baptism, or to Reaffirm our Baptismal Vows. We recall the promises we made when we received God's Prevenient grace in that special way at our Baptism.
Finally, we believe that Baptism is the beginning of a lifelong journey with God. While it doesn't “save us,” in fact baptism isn't even necessary for salvation – just ask the thief on the cross, instead, our baptism starts us on the path toward salvation. It's not a once and done thing, but instead it is a beginning of a process of growth as we commit our lives to God and each day, through God's mighty grace we grow closer and closer to the perfection that we are called to in Christ.
Each week when we gather in corporate worship we remember our vows before God and our commitment to Christ and the Body of Christ. When we gather together as believers in the faith, we remember that Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River. We remember that the Disciples baptized believers in the early church as its numbers grew. We remember the grace that God poured upon us as we were baptized. We celebrate the sacrament together each week, or at least we should.
By the same token, we remember the sacrament of the Lord's Supper – Communion. In the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine we remember that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and that Christ will come again. Each week as we worship together our worship should point toward the Sacrifice of Christ – that Christ died for us, the sinners – remember, Romans 5:8, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
We didn't deserve the sacrifice. We didn't deserve what Christ did for us that Good Friday. We sure didn't deserve what Christ did for us that blessed Easter morning. Yet, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As we come together for Corporate Worship each week our worship should point toward the sacramental nature of our life with and for God. And just as we stated last week, it can't just stop with what happens on Sunday morning. Our very lives should reflect our Baptism into the Body of Christ and our Communion with Christ and the believers of all times.

What does that look like? How does that play out in our daily living?
What did Christ tell us that we as the Body of Christ are to do and be?
Matthew 25 reminds us that we are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick
visit the lonely...
Matthew 28:19-20 reminds us to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey the thing that Jesus has taught us.

What do we do in our lives that look like that? Maybe it's the Food Pantry. Maybe it's the Christian Clothes Closet. Maybe it's going to the Nursing Home. Maybe it's going to the Hospital, or the Prison, or a mission trip...
I can't answer that for you, but this week, as we worship corporately and you go to worship with your life, I pray that you will find where and how it is that God is calling you to worship him as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Sermon 3, The Communal Nature of Corporate Worship

Sermon 3, Preached Sunday August 22, 2010
FUMC Wortham

The Communal Nature of Worship
Acts 2:42-47

We have been looking at Worship... We have seen that worship isn't something that is simply an event we attend on Sunday; it is something that is connected with our life. Worship comes out of our mission and ministry in the world around us and thus results in us gathering together on Sunday Morning to corporately worship God. Last week we looked at the Sacramental Nature of our Corporate Worship. Next week we will see the Incarnational Nature of our Corporate Worship and the the fact that our Worship should point to a future hope in Christ. But, that future hope isn't something that is “pie in the sky by and by” No, it is something that starts right here, where we are in this community. Therefore, we are looking at the Communal Nature of our Corporate Worship today.

So, what is “Community”? According to Wikipedia, a community is a group of interacting species sharing an environment. From a more sociological standpoint, a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location.
Thus Wortham is a Community, Kirvin is a Community, even parts of towns are communities... I grew up in Lone Star,TX – a town of only 2500 people but with in the city limits we had editions – I lived in the Edgemont Edition – it was a community in and of itself. And, of course, our church is a community.
If we were to really go deep in to the linguistics of the word, "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift")... In other words, we are a gift to one another when we come together.

Now that we have the science behind the word I can branch out and share with you what I think the word sounds like it should mean – and from a Biblical standpoint I think it is a better definition. It seems to me that it is made up two parts too, Comm – like in communication, and unity – like in sticking together, being united. So, let's talk about that first part.

Comm.. as in communication. As a community we have to communicate with one another. When we stop communicating something else starts happening. The same thing goes on in relationships of all kinds: friendships, marriages, politics, business, you name it. Tell me if this doesn't sound like something you have experienced...
You have a bad day at work and a co-worker says something to you that you take as offensive. You haven't spoken much over the past few days and you think back to when you borrowed that coworkers book and hadn't yet returned it. “Well”, you think, “all he had to do was ask me to return the book, he didn't have to be so snotty about it.” and you go on. The Co-worker, who had forgotten he even loaned you the book, is having a bad day too – The boss had been on both of your cases and you didn't know it – He didn't realize he snapped at you but he did notice your response and that you treated him differently at the recent birthday social in the break room. “Well,” he thinks, “what's got her all upset?”
Still you two don't communicate and each of you begins to notice little things the other one did and then it starts – what we call in the the counseling field as “Stinking Thinking” That's a technical term for letting your mind run wild and stink up the relationship – thinking you know what the other one thinks when they say something and blowing it out of proportion.
Before you know it, You think he is after your job and he thinks you have it in for him and are in cahoots with the boss trying to get him fired. Each of you “triangulate” that is you get people on your side. Now it's not only a problem with two people in the office, suddenly it is affecting more. The others get so stressed about your “stinking thinking” that they go home and tell their spouses about it. One of the spouses works out at the YMCA with the Boss in the mornings and asks the Boss about it. Now the Boss is involved... Well, the Boss has been upset because profits have been declining for the last 6 weeks and now he thinks it's because of the conflict in the office. He sets up a meeting with the employees and now, someone is going to get fired.

Whew. Sounds like the script for a evening sit-com, or maybe a crime drama... but you get my point. All this could have been alleviated if only the original two had communicated and worked it out. Neither one of them meant to hurt the other one but then “stinking thinking” got in the way of everything.

Even more important than that, when we fail to communicate within the community of faith, we affect our own worship as well as the worship of others. We affect our relationship with God and others. I could name a dozen or more people right now that have changed their attendance at church or church involvement because of conflict that hasn't been resolved. Some of the situations go back as far as 6 or 7 years. Their change in attendance has affected others and if it isn't resolved it could affect others for generations to come. Don't get me wrong, we are not a bad church. This happens in all churches and even all social groups – But that makes it neither right nor acceptable.

Communication is the first step in building unity within any community. Especially the community of faith.

So, let's look at that word, Unity. The root is unite, to come together for a common purpose. We as the Body of Christ unite under the banner of Christ. We come together to worship God. We gather to care for others as Christ taught us.
Dan Kimball, Author and pastor, says that we are to be “a gathering where the holy God who created the universe and everything in it will be worshiped. We are creating a time for the saints to gather and encourage one another, a gathering where unbelievers joining us will know without a doubt that God is among us.” (Emerging Worship, Dan Kimball, p. xvi)
Communication and Unity – now I know linguistically that is not the make up of the word community, but it sure works when you place it next to the Bible. In the passage we just read we see the disciples – those that followed Jesus, communicating with one another, gathering to worship in unity, and caring for one another. We see in this early formation of the church a model of what we are to be, what we should be, who we should be. The question is, “is that who we are?” Or is that who we say we are until you get to know us? Or is that who we want to be but haven't quite made it yet?
I know we aren't there yet – no place is. But my hope is that as we continue to become more and more like Christ we will become more and more like the image of the Church Christ has showed us. My prayer is that each day we are becoming more and more of a community than less of a community. To wrap this up I want to let you hear from a young man, a pastor, a graduate of Duke Divinity School, a leader of what is called an intentional Community of Faith called the Rutba House outside of Durham, N.C. Hear his words about his community and think about ours.
[Video – workofthepeople.com, v00752, “Christian Community”- Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove]
{Read Acts 2:46-47} and close with prayer.