Sunday Sermon Notes

June 4th marked the 26th anniversary of my church. We had some special music and saw faces we had not seen in awhile. The afternoon was spent at a local park where there was a gigantic picnic and many types of games for children of all ages.

Sunday's sermon was one I had been waiting to hear for quite some time. It seems to me that most churches fall into a routine of one type or another. Either they focus too much on outreach at the expense of time spent truly seeking God's presence & discipling those who are within the church, or too much emphasis is placed on the internal workings of the church and it becomes a 'bless me club.' In essence, the church is missing out on a "whole life" approach. (Pastor used a pie to illustrate) He quoted someone...I wish I could remember who. The quote was lengthy but the point was this: a real loss of vision & perspective has occured in many churches and "rather than what we can do for the church, we are thinking in terms of what the church can do for us."

I have seen our church swing in these wide arcs. Sometimes it has been at the expense of people very close to me. Sometimes it has been at my own expense. Yet, Andy and I chose to stay because we believe in the overall mission & vision of our church. We've done a little visiting around and nowhere else seemed to fit. Besides, by church hoping people often become part of the problem rather than being part of the solution.

Pastor mentioned the possibility of us not fully grasping the love of Christ and what it means. He said when we can understand His love for us (individually), we become capable of truly loving others. Further, if we try to love God without a revelation of His love for us, our love for Him can become legalistic and full of bondage. It is the true love of Christ that makes us want to serve. (My personal thought is that we cannot fathom unconditional love. Therefore, we love conditionally. That is what makes our approach to God and His love legalistic - there are rules and formulas we must follow in order to be loved and love in return.)

While Pastor was talking, I had some things strike me:

His faithfulness to me,
My unfaithfulness to Him.
His acceptance of me,
My rejection of Him.
And still He loves wretched me.

About that time Pastor said this:

We never run the risk of knowing God loves us and then finding out He doesn't. We do run the risk of feeling like we love Him, but later find out we don't love Him as much as we thought we did.

Here is a neat tie-in for the whole-pie approach:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25

Verses 19-23 talk about the "me and God" aspect, or the "my church and God" - the internal workings. Take note the concept doesn't stop there. Because we can draw near, have assurance, remain hopeful, we should spend time working on the "outside," whether on an individual or community basis. God has been talking to me at great length about this lately. It started about a week ago and I guess this sermon confirmed that I need to become more active in the lives of those He has placed in my path. I admit I have become complacent and/or apathetic when it comes to discipling others. Pastor had an answer for that too, lucky me! "Apathy equals not a compelling enough vision." If we lose vision, it is our own doing (those are my words).

And so the question is this: Are we focused on God's hand (and what He can give us) or His face? To use Pastor's paraphrase of John 21:15-17: "If you love Me, then you will love what I love."

Here's a cool thing:

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." Ex 12:24.

God's priority was NOT to give the commandments, but to have Moses as a person. To see Moses and let Moses 'see' Him. That is what He wants from us, too. He doesn't necessarily want us for what we can give. He wants us for us!

This brings us back to understanding His love for us and gaining the ability to share that same love with others. Pastor ended up with three points that he said he presented to the pastors and elders meeting.

1. It is not right to birth children and then not care for them. (Internal discipling of newer believers & members)

2. It is not right to not care for the people we already have. (Availability to meet needs of more established members who are going through life changes & day-to-day issues.)

3. Those who are able to provide spiritual care need to realize it is time to step up.

I know this is really long. I hope you stuck with me through the whole thing. It was a good & true word with a broad perspective. That is what we all need: a broader perspective that is sprinkled with the knowledge and love of Christ.

Oh. And expect a follow-up of this. One of my friends had something to add that I want to share with you! (tomorrow?)