As I attempt to get back into a normalized work routine and continue my healing and recovery from the hip replacement surgery, I find it to be an ongoing learning experience as to what my limitations are on my physical and mental strength. Some days I am "energizer bunny" and other days I am completely "wore out". I am focusing on self-care, soul care, family time, and trying to do what I can for work. That doesn't even touch the surface of housework or many other responsibilities or desired activities. So, things drop and fall through the cracks. And that is okay. Letting go is part of the journey. Not an easy one, but part of it.
One thing I wanted to do was to post the sermons this month. Not because they were super wonderful or anything, but because they have spoken to me and stuck to me. They haven't let me go and in an attempt to get them part way out of my system, I figure if I post them, they are out of me. Usually, preaching them gets them out of me and onward, but not this month. Yet, time and energy have been limited resources.
Thus, I will start today by going back to August 5th and posting that sermon, a few reflections, the bulletin covers and go from there.
I don't know what, if anything, anyone will glean from these, but for me, it will allow some clearing space for my heart, soul, and mind.
Remember that the sermons that are posted are not the exact sermon given as things are added or taken away in the moment.
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| Image on Flintstone bulletin cover |
“What Is God’s Goal For Us?”
Ephesians 4:1-16 (CEB)
August 5, 2018 (11th Sunday after
Pentecost)
Flintstone UMC, Simpson UMC
Ephesians
4:1-16 (CEB)
4 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
7 God has given his grace
to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. 8 That’s
why scripture says, When he climbed up to the heights, he captured
prisoners, and he gave gifts to people.
9 What does the phrase “he
climbed up” mean if it doesn’t mean that he had first gone down into the lower
regions, the earth? 10 The one who went down is the same one who
climbed up above all the heavens so that he might fill everything.
11 He gave some apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His
purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the
body of Christ 13 until we
all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us
to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the
fullness of Christ. 14 As a
result, we aren’t supposed to be infants any longer who can be tossed and blown
around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the
tricks people play to deliberately mislead others. 15 Instead, by speaking the truth with love,
let’s grow in every way into Christ, 16 who
is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together
by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds
itself up with love as each one does its part.
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THIS
IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS BE TO GOD.
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Today’s sermon title is
a question: “What is God’s goal for us?”
In order to answer that question, we first have to answer another
one. “Does God have goals for us?” Hmm…. Think about that one for a moment. How did you answer it? How you answer that question will guide your
answer for today’s sermon.
If we believe that yes,
indeed, God has goals for us, then we will be open to the guiding of the Holy
Spirit and we will listen for what those may be. In today’s Scripture passage, might you have
heard some goals?
In verse 13, we heard
that “God’s goal for us is to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured
by the standards of Christ.” As we look
at the surrounding verses, we recognize that this has nothing to do with
physical age, but rather it is a commentary on our spiritual growth, how we are
growing in our discipleship and relationship with Christ.
As we seek to grow as
disciples of Christ, we are reminded in this passage that we all have gifts to
use and to share for the building up of the body. In today’s passage, we heard
some of the gifts named and their purpose: “11 He gave
some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His
purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the
body of Christ 13 until we
all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son.”
When I came into this
appointment in 2015 you were beginning a study of the spiritual gifts. We focused on spiritual gifts that first
year, learning what our gifts were and how to apply them. It is good to revisit our gifts every so
often, to see if we are using them, to see how we are using them, and to see if
there are any changes. Some gifts are given for a season. What are your gifts
and how are you using them for the building up of the kingdom? If you aren’t
sure, then talk to one of the CLMs (Certified Lay Ministers), one of the Lay Servants, or one of the
pastors, and we will help you assess your spiritual gifts.
As we seek to
understand our gifts and to grow deeper in our walk with Christ as disciples, a
key component is prayer.
In the study Companions in Christ written by Rueben
Job and Marjorie Thompson, they note: “A loving, living relationship with God
is impossible without prayer. We cannot
know the mind and heart of Christ, receive God’s direction, hear God’s voice,
or respond to God’s call without this means of grace.” (A Guide To Prayer for All Who Walk with God, 283.)
So, how is our prayer
life, individually and corporately? Are
we spending time listening to God?
If we truly desire to
become mature adults in Christ, then our prayer life as individuals and as a
congregation will reflect that.
Jane Vennard’s A Praying Congregation offers help for
any congregation desiring to become more prayerful.
As I’ve only begun her
book on this, I only have a few quotes to share with you initially:
“Praying congregations
are lively places made up of diverse people who are longing to take prayer
seriously. In these congregations
members want to learn about prayer, wrestle with hard theological questions,
and learn from one another.” (1)
“The ministry of a
praying congregation is to help people prepare their hearts for prayer—to
recognize their desire to pray and help them explore these longings.”(3)
“In a praying
congregation, we do want to know how it goes with another’s soul. So we ask, and then we listen.” (10)
Prayer is key to our
growth and maturity as followers of Christ. If we are to attain the goal of
becoming mature in Christ, we are going to need to become a praying people.
We will also heed the
words in the beginning of today’s passage that remind us how to live as mature
Christians in verses 1-4, where the apostle states: ’I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you
received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility,
gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of
the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You
are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope.”
Last week in Greensboro, NC, on our way to the Methodist retreat,
I saw a sign in yards that read, “love and acceptance practiced here”. I came home with that sign from one of those yards because of the
love practiced by one home owner who gave me the sign. During a wonderful conversation I learned that homes and churches had those
signs posted around community. That message of love and acceptance is what this
passage is saying to us, that we, as Christians are to preserve the unity of
the Spirit with the peace that ties us together, as we accept each other with
love.
Today we gather around the table to share in table fellowship, to receive
the greatest gift of grace offered to each of us, recognizing that we come
together as one.
As we seek to grow as
disciples of Christ, may we seek God in prayer so that we are better equipped
to be and make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world.
Amen.
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| "Love and acceptance practiced here" sign from Greensboro, NC |
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