Mt. Hope & Wauzeka Methodist Churches
Super Life
Scripture: Timothy 2:5
“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victors crown unless he competes according to the rules.”
1st Corinthians 9:24-27
Today is the Super bowl. How many of you will be watching it? Do you know it is expected that over 100 million viewers will be watching or following this game? Most of course watch only for the commercials. This is the only time anyone sits down to watch a show and is excited when a commercial comes on. Do you have any idea how much a 30 second commercial now cost during the super bowl? 1 million? 2 million? Double that and then add the one. That’s 5 million dollars per 30 seconds of advertisement. Americans this year are expected to spend 14.1 BILLION dollars this year on the Super Bowl. That breaks down to an average of $75 dollars per person that is spent on this one game. Each player on the winning team gets and additional $97,000. Don’t worry each player on the losing team each gets $49,000. In a Sunday afternoon that kind of money can be spent on entertainment. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?
Keep these statistics in mind today as you are watching the game. Now I want to read to you out of 2nd Timothy 2:5. Play by the rules. That is not always adhered too. Especially in the New England Patriot realm. People will do about anything to win. Win at all cost they say. Winning nothing else matters. But why? What do they really win? Paul gives us a good answer in 1st Corinthians. This is a scripture I have used in the past so maybe it will sound familiar to you.
Read 1st Corinthians 9:24-27.
Paul goes on about athletes who adhere to strict rigorous training to run a race. They all run the race, but only one wins it. And for what? What do they win? A crown or a prize that loses its glory and value. 14.1 Billion dollars is being spent on the Super Bowl today and last year 15.5 Billion was spent, yet as time goes on we barley remember who even played and won year after year. You can watch the TV show Pawn Stars and see Super Bowl rings being pawned. They lose their lust and value. All things are temporary. But Paul talks about something more than a perishable crown.
Paul says I do not run like a man beating the air and running aimlessly. NO, I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. He ends were Timothy picks up. Similarly, an athlete does not receive the victors crown unless he competes by the rules.
If a coach openly cheats, will his players play fair? No why would they? That is what Paul is eluding too. I must run my race so that others see how to run it. What does Paul gain if he fills the streets of heaven with converts to Christianity but never gets to set foot inside that pearly gate? What do I gain if I continually preach the good news of Jesus Christ, but never know him personally? What witness do we have if we will be disqualified for cheating?
I want you to think about this today during the game. Think about the wasted money that is being spent on this game. It will make you sick. That much money spent on entertainment for an afternoon. Then think about how much your monthly cable bill is and how much you spend in a year on TV and Movies. Now most of you have probably received your tax statements and now I want you to think about how much you gave this last year to charity. Ouch. It is easy for us to look at someone else wasteful spending and criticize them. But as I say to my boys as they nit-pick at each other. Glass Houses. People that live-in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Now I try to make it very clear when I mention money in a sermon. God does not need your money, he never has, and he never will. I do not care if you give a penny to this church. I just want you all to realize how much you have been entrusted with. We are disgusted by the wasted money spent on one day of entertainment for the Super Bowl, but we ourselves could do so much more with what we have been given.
I want to challenge you with this today as you watch the Super Bowl. Think about how much is being wasted on each commercial, and how much good could have been done with that 5 million dollars that was blown in 30 seconds. Then think about how long your life has been. Use your time and resources wisely and you can live a Super Life! Let’s Pray
Intro: How many of you have ever got your butt chewed by your parent? (Pause and let the people answer) Do did you like it when that happened? Think about a time when you got chewed out preferably by one of your parents. I want you to just let that memory stew in your mind for a while, because later we are going to talk about those time when we are being corrected and how it is good an necessary for all of to get a good chewing once and a while.
Scripture: Revelation 3:15-19
This scripture was written by the apostle John at the end of his life. He was given a revelation by Jesus Christ of what was to come. From this revelation we have warnings and promises, and now we are going to talk about one of those warnings to Christ followers. The church in Laodicea was a very wealthy community and their church was also very wealthy. The problem was that in their wealth they had become complacent. They no longer relied on Christ to support them, but rather their own material possessions. John describes them as being lukewarm. Does anyone like lukewarm coffee on a cold day? Or lukewarm water on a hot day? Or a meal lukewarm? Luke warm just doesn’t cut it does it? I would rather eat left over cold pizza, or fresh out of the oven hot pizza than rubbery lukewarm pizza. The believers in Laodicea did not take a stand for anything, and their indifferences led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ the church had become hardened and self satisfied, and thus were destroying themselves. Now I do not have a hidden sub message here, I am not referring to our church, but just follow me.
Laodicea was not doing what needed to be done, they were really messing up and failing Christ and everyone around them. They needed their butt chewed, and needed to be corrected quickly. Laodicea as I said earlier was a very wealthy city and therefore the majority of their church members were wealthy too. That’s why Jesus speaking through the apostle John tells them to buy Gold that has been purified in him. Jesus tells them to focus on spiritual wealth not monetary wealth. Spiritual wealth will carry with you to the next life not so much for monetary wealth. Now apparently Laodicea was known for their expensive dies and colorful clothes and also for an eye ointment. Now I did not do my research here and I am taking the word of my leader’s bible, and so far my leader’s bible has not led me wrong. So now listen to Jesus’ words when he says to them, “You say I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing! And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked!” To the town that is rich, known for its fancy beautiful dyed clothes, and for its miraculous eye ointment, Jesus says your poor, your blind, and you’re naked and you don’t even realize because of your pride and arrogance! It was time for Laodicea to get their butt chewed and to straighten them out.
In my intro you were asked to remember a time when you got your butt chewed out by either a parent or someone else. Now I was intending for you to think of a time when you deserved to get your butt chewed out. I will tell you a couple of mine. The first one was not with my Dad, but rather my best friends dad of whom I have great respect. We were supposed to leave for Wyoming late one evening with a bunch of friends and long story short at 3am we still hadn’t left and the trailer was still broke, so we all decided to go home and come back at 8am. At 3am in the middle of town I got into my diesel pick-up that had had no exhaust and stuck that gas peddle to the floor board. My truck was very loud and I was showing it off. Did I mention that it was 3am in the middle of town? When I showed up at 8:15 because I am always so prompt, I was not expecting to meet my friend’s very unhappy father in the driveway. Let’s just say that he or his neighbor who let him know were nearly impressed with the sound of my truck at 3am. I got a real good butt chewing and trust me I deserved it, and I promise you I never did that again well at least at his house!
Of course there is also the time that I flipped the skid steer over on its side when I was way too far down in the woods trying to pull firewood out. I knew there was no way dad would let me go down that far to drag our firewood so I just didn’t ask him and did it. That was not a fun call to make when I needed his help to flip the skid steer back onto its wheels. I deserved both of those butt chewing’s. My behavior was not acceptable, and it needed to be corrected. The loud exhaust at 3am didn’t really hurt anyone, but it was the fact that I was being disrespectful, rude, and inconsiderate of everyone else at 3am. It was the disrespect that needed to be corrected. When I flipped the skid steer, I could have been hurt and dad saw that coming before it happened, luckily I did not get hurt but I needed some correction so it didn’t happen again.
Both of these times was the person chewing me out doing it because they didn’t like or love me? No they did it because they did love me and they wanted to see my behavior corrected and see that I was a respectful young man who continued to live a long life. Now I am sure that most of you have been on either side of the butt chewing equation. Sometimes you are the one chewing and sometimes you’re the one being chewed. Parents when you chewed out your kids why did you do it? Because you loved them right? Kids when you got your butt chewed and you knew you were wrong it still hurt when you got chewed out right? I hope you understand that your getting chewed out because your parents love you so much.
Verse 19 says “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” I try to write sermons that are very timely and relating to my life at the time that I give them, so let me tell you what has spurned this sermon. My nephew who I love and am very close too, goes back to college tomorrow. He has made some stupid freshman mistakes, and I had to have a butt chewing session with him late last night. It took me a couple of days to get up the courage to do this because it was very uncomfortable to do. He is 18 and I consider him to be a man and to act like one. It was hard as the one chewing his butt because I realize that some of the things that he has failed at is partially my fault. He was hurt when I said what I had to say, but as a loving parent I would rather see him suffer momentarily and to correct his wrong doings than watching him fail for a lifetime. “I correct and discipline everyone I love.”
This is what Jesus is doing to the church in Laodicea. They don’t realize that they are failing and that they need to be corrected. They are living a lukewarm life. They on the surface believe in Christ yet they put their faith and trust in their own wealth, fancy clothes, and eye ointment. Christ had to give them a good butt chewing to make them see things from a different perspective. Sometimes we need that too. Sometimes our mistakes and failures aren’t as obvious as other times. Like the 3am peddle to the floor, I did not expect the next morning to get my but chewed, but when I called dad when the skid steer was no longer on its tires I knew that chewing was coming. Brandon probably didn’t realize how far he was slipping down the wrong road until it was brought to his attention, and it was necessary.
Maybe that’s you this morning. Maybe you know that you are not living the life that Christ has called you to live, and you know your tires are not on the ground anymore. You got a chewing coming to ya, now listen up and change. “So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” Maybe your living your life like me at 3am and are not expecting a chewing the next morning. Maybe you slipped for so long you’re too far away to see the butt chewing coming. Either way it is time to get your life straight!
My challenge for you today is to stop being so lukewarm. Either you love Jesus Christ and your gonna follow him or you don’t. It really is that simple. When your dead and you stand before him that’s the only thing that is going to matter. Yes Jesus “I Love you and I’ll follow you.” There is no room in heaven for lukewarm Christians. You need to either be all in or all out. With that I will finish and let you ponder these thoughts this afternoon, and your actions will tell me your response.
Let’s Pray
New Year New Beginning
Intro: Happy New Year everyone! Here we go again with the New Years resolutions. Trying to change what we don’t like about our lives in 015 to be more like what we want in 2016. Since it is a time of New Beginnings I thought that we better look at where it all began. So today we are going to be reading from the beginning of both Genesis and John, to get a better understands of what our New Year’s Resolution should be.
Scripture: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
John 1:1-14
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I want to explain a little bit more about that tiny verse, but powerful statement. I want to tell you a little bit about the vastness of space. This simple statement that God created the heavens and the earth is one of the most challenging concepts that confront the human mind. What is the name of the galaxy that we live in? That’s tight the milky way. Anyone have any idea how fast the Milky Way spins in rotation? I didn’t think so. 490 miles an hour! That’s fast, oh wait I missed a zero; 4,900 miles an hour big difference huh? Whoops I did it again, I missed another zero, 49,000 miles per hour. I can’t even comprehend that speed, yet along the correct speed since I missed another zero. The speed that the Milky Way galaxy is spinning on its axis is 490, 000 miles an hour! Almost half a million miles an hour! Why is this important? Because I want to demonstrate how big God’s creation is.
The Milky Way spinning at 490,000 miles at this breakneck speed still needs 200 million years to make one revolution! 200 million years! That is too big for us to comprehend and if that bit of scientific knowledge is not enough for you here is more. Our galaxy the Milky Way is not the only one; in fact there are over one billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe. Scientists believe that the number of stars in creation is equal to the number of grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. Amazingly this complex sea of spinning stars functions with complete order and efficiency. To say that the universe just happened or evolved takes more faith than too believe that God is behind these amazing statistics. God did create this universe, but why?
God did not need to create the universe but he chose too. God is love and love is best expressed towards someone else so God created the world and the people as an expression of his love. God created this vast universe for us to demonstrate how much he loves us, but he doesn’t stop there with only his creation.
Read john 1:1-14
John uses the “Word” to describe God and Jesus. Or in Greek Logos, but what exactly is the “Word”. To understand what was being written, you must understand who was writing it. John was writing to all believers both Jews (people who understood the scriptures) and Gentiles (people who had no clue about the scripture), he had a broad reader base so he had to explain to all who Jesus Christ was. The “Word” was a term used by theologians and philosophers at the time and it was used in many different ways. To the Jews, the “WORD” was a source of creation when you read the psalms, and the “Word” was a source of God’s law and a standard of his holiness when you read through Hosea. To the Greek philosopher the “Word” was the principle of reason that governed the World, or the thought in the mind. It would be similar to what people now call Moral Law.
In the first 14 verses of john, he is describing who Jesus Christ. To the Jews this is blasphemous because John is saying that the creator became created in the form of a man Jesus. To the Greek readers the thought of the “Word” becoming human was unthinkable, because the “Word” was just that little voice in your head that tells ever because John is saying that the creator became created in the form of a man Jesus. To the Greek readers the thought of the “Word” becoming human was unthinkable, because the “Word” was just that little voice in your head that tells everyone in the world to be good. John explains that Jesus was a human being whom he personally knew and loved, yet was also the creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, and even though he became a man was still the one who holds all of creation together. All 100 billion galaxies are under his control.
What Jesus Christ did and taught are tied inseparably to who he is. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Even though Jesus took it upon himself to become one of his father’s creation and to live as a man, he never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the creator and sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. That is the truth about Jesus Christ, and the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternity to Jesus Christ. This is why John wrote his version of the gospel; to build confidence and faith in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that he truly was and still is the Son of God, both human and divine.
So where does this get us today, and why have I told you of this on the first Sunday of the New Year? Well some of us have made New Year’s resolutions to change something in our lives this year, to be a little different in 2016 than we were in 2015. It is a time of New Beginnings in a New Year, and I thought we should start the year off right. Before we try tackling any other changes we want to see in our lives in the near future, let’s first take care of our eternal future. I am challenging you today, to read John Chapter 1 verses 1:14 and to accept it as the truth. I want you to believe that Jesus Christ was the man and Son of God that John describes him as.
Jesus was there at creation, he came back to us on Christmas in the form of a baby to live a life just like us, then he died on a cross for us, and rose from the grave to live once again. He created our universe, and he wants to make you a new creation too. I challenge you to change this New Year, become a follower of Christ put your old life away and put on the change of a new creation in Jesus Christ.
Let’s Pray
Christmas Justice
So here we are again in Christmas Eve. Many of us have been here before a time or two and have heard the Christmas Story. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because of the census. Joseph did not reserve a room and ever place was booked up. Mary and Joseph had to sleep in the barn and gave birth to Jesus Christ, and laid him in strips of cloth in a manger. Shepherds watching their flocks in the fields got a grand show from an angelic choir announcing Jesus’ birth and they left their flocks and went to see Jesus. The star stopped over Bethlehem and much to our common belief the wisemen showed up a couple years later not right away in the stable. That is the Christmas story that you all came to hear. Tonight, though I am going to be preaching on some other familiar scripture this time of year from the book of Isaiah and some out of Psalms.
Isaiah 9:6-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
How many of you have heard this scripture before? For unto us a child is born! He shall be called “Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace.” Ever heard of Jesus described with those attributes? A Prince of Peace and a Wonderful counselor? Yeah, and if we looked at his life and death on the cross, we see that those are good attributes to who Jesus Christ was. You see Jesus show righteous anger in the Temple and flip tables over and call out the religious leaders. When Christ is hanging on the cross dying a horrible death you don’t see him telling the men who crucified him that they will surely burn in hell for what they have done, but rather he cries out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace, and he was and still is a Wonderful Counselor. I think that we could all agree that his life and the record of his life in any historical document proves this claim.
Now I would love to go into great discussion about the proof of Jesus Christ existence and that he truly was the undisputed Son of God, born of a virgin, died, was buried, and resurrected, and that he will come again! But that discussion would last us all the way into the next year…………..Hahahahaha your first cheesy see you next year joke, but anyway. If any of you would like to discuss this or have questions concerning who Jesus Christ is or you have skepticism, please talk to me and we will discuss your questions and find an answer together.
Now tonight if we can for the sake of this sermon agree that what was said about Jesus Christ out of the book of Isaiah 700 plus years before his birth. We can agree that he was a Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace. Well if we accept this piece of the scripture that was prophesied and came true, then we better accept some of the other pieces of scripture that were prophesied about Jesus Christ as well. Like this one.
“He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.” Jesus Christ will rule with fairness and justice for all eternity. How does that line make you feel? Some like it, and to some of us it scares us. Let me ask you what does the word justice, mean? Webster did not do a very good job of explaining it without using the word, but this is what I got. Justice: the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. Or Webster said it this way as well, “the quality of conforming to law.”
Now if our scripture tells us that Jesus is going to be the eternal judge and the one who hands out justice. What do we do with it? Many of us come here on Christmas and hear the story of how this tiny baby was born in barn, some shepherds heard about it and some wisemen gave him gifts. But guess what? This baby grew up! He was a man, and now Jesus is the one who will hand out justice to you and me! It is Jesus Christ who we will stand before and he will deliver to us our justice! Wow, now maybe some of us are thinking, oh crap! Christmas is not just about hearing some story of a tiny baby being born. It is a story about the man who was born who will judge us all one day. We will be judged by the law, and as Webster said the definition of justice is “the quality of conforming to the law.”
Jesus Christ the man knew the law, because Jesus Christ was the great, I AM that gave the law to Moses. Jesus Christ is the perfect judge who shows perfect justice because he followed through and grew up from this tiny baby and became a man. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life something none of us ever could do, and then he died in our place, as an atonement for our sin! But why did he have to do this? Because Jesus Christ kept the law, and the penalty for our sin was and is death. But Christ the man, took our sin on his sinless body and died on the cross in our place.
So what do we do with this knowledge? What do we do from here as we leave this service after we light the candles and sing Silent Night? Then we go off to our family and friends and celebrate together? What do we do? Do we go home and remember that Christ was born in a barn, angels announced his birth, and some wisemen gave him gifts and that is it? Or do we listen to all of the scripture that let’s us know that we will have to be judged one day by this baby who became a man, and now sits at the right hand of the Father!
You know it is never fun being the one who has to bring bad news. To be the one who tells everyone what they are doing is wrong, but I stand here and tell you all that you are sinners so that you may be saved. I want to read this viral facebook post to you that will help drive home my point.
I want to read to you all now a viral Facebook page posted by an officer from the North Ridgeville Police Department written to a teen driver who was ticketed for driving 100 miles per hour on December 16th.
To the 18 year old kid I stopped on SR 10,
You’re welcome. I’d like to believe that you were minutes away from creating an unspeakable Christmas tragedy when I stopped you. If not only killing yourself, you were well on your way to killing some innocent person who was minding their own business doing nothing else wrong but being in front of you.
You said you didn’t realize how fast you were going. That’s a lie. You may not realize when you’re doing 45 in a 35 but you are fully aware of every mile per hour at 100. You realize it with every bump you hit. You realize it as you pass cars so fast the wind moves your car. You realize it every time you drift over the line and when you move the wheel the car reacts a lot quicker than you’re used to. You absolutely realized it.
You were scared when I stopped you. You were visibly shaking and breathing hard. Unfortunately, you were scared one minute too late and for the wrong reason. You should have been scared that you were trying to kill yourself. I know you’re invincible. I know that you can’t even fathom your own death.
I can tell you dozens of stories of dead and broken 18 year old bodies that I’ve pulled from cars. Broken bodies that I’ve found in front yards after crashes. Unrecognizable bodies. They thought they were invincible too. They weren’t. They were gone so they missed the part where I had to tell their parents that they were dead. Part of your soul disappears every time you have to tell parents that their kid is dead.
I don’t KNOW your parents, but I know them. I know that when you leave every day they say “Be careful. Drive safe.” Those aren’t just words. That is the very last act of them pleading with you to come home safe. When they get a knock on the door, it’s not “Good afternoon ma’am. Your 18-year-old son just had a massive heart attack. It’s “Can we sit down? Your son has been involved in a very serious crash. I’m so sorry. He’s died.” When you leave the house, they know that, far and away, the best chance you have of dying that day is in that car. Sometimes you’re the innocent person hit by someone with no regard for anyone else and sometimes you’re the one with no regard for anyone else. Today you were the latter.
You seemed like a really nice kid who made a bad decision. I don’t feel bad about this ticket at all. In fact, I’m proud of it. I hope you’re paying it off for months and with every payment you think about how it wasn’t worth it. I hope you slow down. I hope that when your mom tells you to “drive safe” you make a promise to her, and yourself, that you will. I hope you can envision me sitting in your kitchen telling your screaming mother that you have been killed.
Slow down. Please. You are not invincible. I promise.
Police officers are there to serve and protect. In order to do this, they have to be real jerks sometimes and slap you with a fine. I have justly deserved several tickets that I have received multiple times. As a pastor I do the very same thing. My job is not to tell you that you can’t lie, steal, cheat, fornicate freely, drink excessively, be lazy, and cuss and swear like a sailor, because I want to kill your fun. A cop doesn’t pull you over for doing 100mph because your having too much fun. He does it to protect you and the innocent people around you. I tell you that you are a sinner, and you need a savior not so that I can kill your fun, but so that I can point you Jesus Christ who can save your soul!
All of us once lead a life that was destined for death, and unfortunately many of us still do. I am begging and pleading that you accept Jesus Christ as your savior before you meet him face to face on judgment day! Because it is very difficult for me to stand up here at the funeral and think about the high possibility that the person who is in the casket before me has chose Hell. I deal with broken and hurting people daily and I pray that they could just accept what Christ has done for them. Like the officer who pulled over this young 18 year kid who could have killed himself, I too am begging for you to slow down and save yourself and your innocent family members around you.
My oldest son Job’s middle name is Ryan. He was named after my friend who was killed in a car accident shortly after he turned 18. Doug and Pam would love to have their son back. Christ would love to spend eternity with you. So this Christmas, celebrate that Christ came back to us as a baby, but remember that this child who unto us was born, grew up and will deal with us justly when this life is over.
I am going to finish with this scripture from Psalms 96.
Psalm 96:10-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly.
11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.
Let’s Pray
What’s In A Membership?
Intro: Today our congregation is going to grow by one more member. You probably won’t notice as he is always here anyway, but on paper we will have grown by one more person on our membership role. Church Membership something to be proud of, but too often it is taken to lightly. Today Lance is going to talk about what it means to be a member of a church, and Ray gets to be our Guinea Pig.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:12-31
One Body with Many Parts
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,[a] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.[b]
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.
29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
Today Ray was accepted into the Mount Hope United Methodist Church. Oh, come one! Where is the applause and the cheering? Nope, not good enough, you can do better, hey Ray can see if your cheering for him or not he sits in the back! Now were talking that’s better. Did you know that this is not the only church that Ray has been welcomed into? Do you know that I also am a member of that church with Ray, but it is not this one? I technically am not a member of the Mount Hope UMC, my membership resides at Boscobel until I become licensed local. Who knows what church I am talking about?
The Holy Catholic Church. Not the Catholic Church that stands out on Irish Ridge Road, or anywhere around here that has a priest leading it. But rather a member of the Holy Catholic Church that the Apostles Creed speaks of. When we say the Holy Catholic Church, this is what the Apostles creed is speaking of. This comes directly from the UMC website. The Apostles' Creed is a statement of belief from the early church (probably from the first few centuries after Jesus' death and resurrection). When the creed states, "I believe in the holy catholic church," it refers to the universal church rather than a specific branch of Christianity. The word catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos which means "universal" or "general."
If you believe in Jesus Christ as I do, and as Ray stated that he did before all of us this morning then we are part of a much larger big C Church. We here at Mount Hope UMC are members of the little c church, but together across the world we are members of the universal big C Church. By being a true believer, we become members of the big C Church, thanks to the atoning blood of Jesus Christ we will all meet once again in Heaven after our earthly death. So, membership in the big C Church guarantees salvation through Jesus Christ. Ray’s membership to this little c church here at Mount Hope UMC, does not guarantee his salvation.
So, what does his and your membership to this little c church mean? Well let’s look at what the book of worship had to say. These are the words that our United Methodist book of worship suggest that we ask a member to agree to in order to join our church.
Lance: As a member of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
Ray said yes to this statement, now let’s break down what Ray just agreed to here today. How many questions did I ask Ray? Only 1. Will you faithfully participate in its ministries? Then it goes into what those ministries may be.
First and foremost, the first ministry that Ray has promised to faithfully participate in is its prayer ministry. As a member of this little c church, it is pivotal to have a relationship through active prayer with your Heavenly Father. What is the best way to get to truly know someone? Read about them? Talk to someone who knows them? Google them? Stalk them? These might be ways to kind of understand them, but if you really want to get to know them you have got to meet them and talk to them. You want to get to know God, talk to him tell him everything and then sit quietly long enough to hear the still small voice of a response. As a member of this church if you want to see it grow then actively involve the church and the prayer list people in your daily conversations with God.
The second way to faithfully participate is this little c church’s ministry is by your regular presence. How can you actively pray for those on the prayer list and for the other members if you’re not in church on Sunday to see or hear about them? If you are a member than you need to be active in worship. The energy that you bring to worship helps fuel the person next to you. Like our scripture said about the eye and the ear, both are necessary for the body to function. If someone said “hey look at this,” how would your eyes know to look if your ears didn’t tell them too? Ray’s attendance here is important for Janet’s, and especially mine! If the members aren’t here, I got no one to preach at on Sunday morning! As a member, attendance is very important. 3 years ago, Mount Hope UMC had only 4-6 people coming each Sunday. Now we average in the upper 30’s yet the membership numbers have actually dropped; do you see the difference attendance makes. Attendance is pivotal for a thriving little c church. Bagley and Cassville both closed with people still on the membership.
Third, your gifts. Typical UMC money talks. Sorry, all jokes aside. As a member, you are accepting some of the financial responsibility it takes to help grow a little c church. But enough about money. I feel the gifts that should be really talked about here, are the gifts that are spoken about in Corinthians. The spiritual gifts that make up a whole body. Every member of this body has an important role, from janitors to preachers. Paul uses a great analogy of different parts of the body all being important though they are considered lesser or greater by our standards, but they all need to be there. Question for you. How many of you have ever lost a little skin? How many of you have ever lost a leg? That’s me! The skin is the largest organ in the body and our first and most important line of defense. Legs are overrated. Every piece of our body is important and so is every member here.
4th. Your service. It is kind of hard to get anything done anywhere without someone actually lifting a hand to do it. Let’s put on our own church camp! If that hair brained idea of mine would have stopped there as an idea; kind of like the hog roast last year, it never would have happened. The hands and muscles of the body get the work done to further the ministry of Jesus Christ in the little c church. When everyone works together like last week trimming the hedges it is a beautiful thing.
The last ministry Ray was asked to faithfully participate in was the ministry of his witness. Ray you now represent the United Methodist Church in Mount Hope WI. How you live your life and your actions now directly represent me and your fellow believers here in this little c church. The effectiveness of your ministry and changed life will speak louder and clearer than any words I will ever speak from this pulpit. Dad told me how to castrate pigs, but until he showed me how I had no clue. Yeah, I know I could have used a different analogy like driving a car or saving money, but that wouldn’t catch your attention like the visual you now have in your mind of me and dad castrating pigs, with mom trying to help and hold the legs down. See much better than driving a car. Which reminds me of the rocky mountain oyster feed next Wednesday night! Just kidding. But seriously Ray and all of you who call yourselves members here, how you handle yourselves in public and in business represents the little c church. Your changed life shows that something real happened to you and through Jesus Christ and this little c church, your now different.
Now I have talked a lot about the little c church and how our members faithfully participate in the ministry here. But what about the big C Church. The Holy Catholic Church as it says in the Apostles Creed. Well if you are a member of that church, because you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior and by his blood you have been forgiven and redeemed; then you are more than willing to faithfully participate in the little c church’s ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness out of gratitude for what Jesu Christ has done for you.
Today I challenge you with this. If you are a member here, are you faithfully participating in all of our ministries? If you are not a member here and you are faithfully participating in all our ministries why are you not a member? And if you’re not either of those two what more of a sacrifice could God make than giving his own son’s life in your place on that cross? God loves you unconditionally and God longs to have you become a member of the big C Church. Is it time for you to get your own membership?
Let’s Pray.
Scripture: Timothy 2:5
“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victors crown unless he competes according to the rules.”
1st Corinthians 9:24-27
Today is the Super bowl. How many of you will be watching it? Do you know it is expected that over 100 million viewers will be watching or following this game? Most of course watch only for the commercials. This is the only time anyone sits down to watch a show and is excited when a commercial comes on. Do you have any idea how much a 30 second commercial now cost during the super bowl? 1 million? 2 million? Double that and then add the one. That’s 5 million dollars per 30 seconds of advertisement. Americans this year are expected to spend 14.1 BILLION dollars this year on the Super Bowl. That breaks down to an average of $75 dollars per person that is spent on this one game. Each player on the winning team gets and additional $97,000. Don’t worry each player on the losing team each gets $49,000. In a Sunday afternoon that kind of money can be spent on entertainment. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?
Keep these statistics in mind today as you are watching the game. Now I want to read to you out of 2nd Timothy 2:5. Play by the rules. That is not always adhered too. Especially in the New England Patriot realm. People will do about anything to win. Win at all cost they say. Winning nothing else matters. But why? What do they really win? Paul gives us a good answer in 1st Corinthians. This is a scripture I have used in the past so maybe it will sound familiar to you.
Read 1st Corinthians 9:24-27.
Paul goes on about athletes who adhere to strict rigorous training to run a race. They all run the race, but only one wins it. And for what? What do they win? A crown or a prize that loses its glory and value. 14.1 Billion dollars is being spent on the Super Bowl today and last year 15.5 Billion was spent, yet as time goes on we barley remember who even played and won year after year. You can watch the TV show Pawn Stars and see Super Bowl rings being pawned. They lose their lust and value. All things are temporary. But Paul talks about something more than a perishable crown.
Paul says I do not run like a man beating the air and running aimlessly. NO, I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. He ends were Timothy picks up. Similarly, an athlete does not receive the victors crown unless he competes by the rules.
If a coach openly cheats, will his players play fair? No why would they? That is what Paul is eluding too. I must run my race so that others see how to run it. What does Paul gain if he fills the streets of heaven with converts to Christianity but never gets to set foot inside that pearly gate? What do I gain if I continually preach the good news of Jesus Christ, but never know him personally? What witness do we have if we will be disqualified for cheating?
I want you to think about this today during the game. Think about the wasted money that is being spent on this game. It will make you sick. That much money spent on entertainment for an afternoon. Then think about how much your monthly cable bill is and how much you spend in a year on TV and Movies. Now most of you have probably received your tax statements and now I want you to think about how much you gave this last year to charity. Ouch. It is easy for us to look at someone else wasteful spending and criticize them. But as I say to my boys as they nit-pick at each other. Glass Houses. People that live-in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Now I try to make it very clear when I mention money in a sermon. God does not need your money, he never has, and he never will. I do not care if you give a penny to this church. I just want you all to realize how much you have been entrusted with. We are disgusted by the wasted money spent on one day of entertainment for the Super Bowl, but we ourselves could do so much more with what we have been given.
I want to challenge you with this today as you watch the Super Bowl. Think about how much is being wasted on each commercial, and how much good could have been done with that 5 million dollars that was blown in 30 seconds. Then think about how long your life has been. Use your time and resources wisely and you can live a Super Life! Let’s Pray
Intro: How many of you have ever got your butt chewed by your parent? (Pause and let the people answer) Do did you like it when that happened? Think about a time when you got chewed out preferably by one of your parents. I want you to just let that memory stew in your mind for a while, because later we are going to talk about those time when we are being corrected and how it is good an necessary for all of to get a good chewing once and a while.
Scripture: Revelation 3:15-19
This scripture was written by the apostle John at the end of his life. He was given a revelation by Jesus Christ of what was to come. From this revelation we have warnings and promises, and now we are going to talk about one of those warnings to Christ followers. The church in Laodicea was a very wealthy community and their church was also very wealthy. The problem was that in their wealth they had become complacent. They no longer relied on Christ to support them, but rather their own material possessions. John describes them as being lukewarm. Does anyone like lukewarm coffee on a cold day? Or lukewarm water on a hot day? Or a meal lukewarm? Luke warm just doesn’t cut it does it? I would rather eat left over cold pizza, or fresh out of the oven hot pizza than rubbery lukewarm pizza. The believers in Laodicea did not take a stand for anything, and their indifferences led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ the church had become hardened and self satisfied, and thus were destroying themselves. Now I do not have a hidden sub message here, I am not referring to our church, but just follow me.
Laodicea was not doing what needed to be done, they were really messing up and failing Christ and everyone around them. They needed their butt chewed, and needed to be corrected quickly. Laodicea as I said earlier was a very wealthy city and therefore the majority of their church members were wealthy too. That’s why Jesus speaking through the apostle John tells them to buy Gold that has been purified in him. Jesus tells them to focus on spiritual wealth not monetary wealth. Spiritual wealth will carry with you to the next life not so much for monetary wealth. Now apparently Laodicea was known for their expensive dies and colorful clothes and also for an eye ointment. Now I did not do my research here and I am taking the word of my leader’s bible, and so far my leader’s bible has not led me wrong. So now listen to Jesus’ words when he says to them, “You say I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing! And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked!” To the town that is rich, known for its fancy beautiful dyed clothes, and for its miraculous eye ointment, Jesus says your poor, your blind, and you’re naked and you don’t even realize because of your pride and arrogance! It was time for Laodicea to get their butt chewed and to straighten them out.
In my intro you were asked to remember a time when you got your butt chewed out by either a parent or someone else. Now I was intending for you to think of a time when you deserved to get your butt chewed out. I will tell you a couple of mine. The first one was not with my Dad, but rather my best friends dad of whom I have great respect. We were supposed to leave for Wyoming late one evening with a bunch of friends and long story short at 3am we still hadn’t left and the trailer was still broke, so we all decided to go home and come back at 8am. At 3am in the middle of town I got into my diesel pick-up that had had no exhaust and stuck that gas peddle to the floor board. My truck was very loud and I was showing it off. Did I mention that it was 3am in the middle of town? When I showed up at 8:15 because I am always so prompt, I was not expecting to meet my friend’s very unhappy father in the driveway. Let’s just say that he or his neighbor who let him know were nearly impressed with the sound of my truck at 3am. I got a real good butt chewing and trust me I deserved it, and I promise you I never did that again well at least at his house!
Of course there is also the time that I flipped the skid steer over on its side when I was way too far down in the woods trying to pull firewood out. I knew there was no way dad would let me go down that far to drag our firewood so I just didn’t ask him and did it. That was not a fun call to make when I needed his help to flip the skid steer back onto its wheels. I deserved both of those butt chewing’s. My behavior was not acceptable, and it needed to be corrected. The loud exhaust at 3am didn’t really hurt anyone, but it was the fact that I was being disrespectful, rude, and inconsiderate of everyone else at 3am. It was the disrespect that needed to be corrected. When I flipped the skid steer, I could have been hurt and dad saw that coming before it happened, luckily I did not get hurt but I needed some correction so it didn’t happen again.
Both of these times was the person chewing me out doing it because they didn’t like or love me? No they did it because they did love me and they wanted to see my behavior corrected and see that I was a respectful young man who continued to live a long life. Now I am sure that most of you have been on either side of the butt chewing equation. Sometimes you are the one chewing and sometimes you’re the one being chewed. Parents when you chewed out your kids why did you do it? Because you loved them right? Kids when you got your butt chewed and you knew you were wrong it still hurt when you got chewed out right? I hope you understand that your getting chewed out because your parents love you so much.
Verse 19 says “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” I try to write sermons that are very timely and relating to my life at the time that I give them, so let me tell you what has spurned this sermon. My nephew who I love and am very close too, goes back to college tomorrow. He has made some stupid freshman mistakes, and I had to have a butt chewing session with him late last night. It took me a couple of days to get up the courage to do this because it was very uncomfortable to do. He is 18 and I consider him to be a man and to act like one. It was hard as the one chewing his butt because I realize that some of the things that he has failed at is partially my fault. He was hurt when I said what I had to say, but as a loving parent I would rather see him suffer momentarily and to correct his wrong doings than watching him fail for a lifetime. “I correct and discipline everyone I love.”
This is what Jesus is doing to the church in Laodicea. They don’t realize that they are failing and that they need to be corrected. They are living a lukewarm life. They on the surface believe in Christ yet they put their faith and trust in their own wealth, fancy clothes, and eye ointment. Christ had to give them a good butt chewing to make them see things from a different perspective. Sometimes we need that too. Sometimes our mistakes and failures aren’t as obvious as other times. Like the 3am peddle to the floor, I did not expect the next morning to get my but chewed, but when I called dad when the skid steer was no longer on its tires I knew that chewing was coming. Brandon probably didn’t realize how far he was slipping down the wrong road until it was brought to his attention, and it was necessary.
Maybe that’s you this morning. Maybe you know that you are not living the life that Christ has called you to live, and you know your tires are not on the ground anymore. You got a chewing coming to ya, now listen up and change. “So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” Maybe your living your life like me at 3am and are not expecting a chewing the next morning. Maybe you slipped for so long you’re too far away to see the butt chewing coming. Either way it is time to get your life straight!
My challenge for you today is to stop being so lukewarm. Either you love Jesus Christ and your gonna follow him or you don’t. It really is that simple. When your dead and you stand before him that’s the only thing that is going to matter. Yes Jesus “I Love you and I’ll follow you.” There is no room in heaven for lukewarm Christians. You need to either be all in or all out. With that I will finish and let you ponder these thoughts this afternoon, and your actions will tell me your response.
Let’s Pray
New Year New Beginning
Intro: Happy New Year everyone! Here we go again with the New Years resolutions. Trying to change what we don’t like about our lives in 015 to be more like what we want in 2016. Since it is a time of New Beginnings I thought that we better look at where it all began. So today we are going to be reading from the beginning of both Genesis and John, to get a better understands of what our New Year’s Resolution should be.
Scripture: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
John 1:1-14
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I want to explain a little bit more about that tiny verse, but powerful statement. I want to tell you a little bit about the vastness of space. This simple statement that God created the heavens and the earth is one of the most challenging concepts that confront the human mind. What is the name of the galaxy that we live in? That’s tight the milky way. Anyone have any idea how fast the Milky Way spins in rotation? I didn’t think so. 490 miles an hour! That’s fast, oh wait I missed a zero; 4,900 miles an hour big difference huh? Whoops I did it again, I missed another zero, 49,000 miles per hour. I can’t even comprehend that speed, yet along the correct speed since I missed another zero. The speed that the Milky Way galaxy is spinning on its axis is 490, 000 miles an hour! Almost half a million miles an hour! Why is this important? Because I want to demonstrate how big God’s creation is.
The Milky Way spinning at 490,000 miles at this breakneck speed still needs 200 million years to make one revolution! 200 million years! That is too big for us to comprehend and if that bit of scientific knowledge is not enough for you here is more. Our galaxy the Milky Way is not the only one; in fact there are over one billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe. Scientists believe that the number of stars in creation is equal to the number of grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. Amazingly this complex sea of spinning stars functions with complete order and efficiency. To say that the universe just happened or evolved takes more faith than too believe that God is behind these amazing statistics. God did create this universe, but why?
God did not need to create the universe but he chose too. God is love and love is best expressed towards someone else so God created the world and the people as an expression of his love. God created this vast universe for us to demonstrate how much he loves us, but he doesn’t stop there with only his creation.
Read john 1:1-14
John uses the “Word” to describe God and Jesus. Or in Greek Logos, but what exactly is the “Word”. To understand what was being written, you must understand who was writing it. John was writing to all believers both Jews (people who understood the scriptures) and Gentiles (people who had no clue about the scripture), he had a broad reader base so he had to explain to all who Jesus Christ was. The “Word” was a term used by theologians and philosophers at the time and it was used in many different ways. To the Jews, the “WORD” was a source of creation when you read the psalms, and the “Word” was a source of God’s law and a standard of his holiness when you read through Hosea. To the Greek philosopher the “Word” was the principle of reason that governed the World, or the thought in the mind. It would be similar to what people now call Moral Law.
In the first 14 verses of john, he is describing who Jesus Christ. To the Jews this is blasphemous because John is saying that the creator became created in the form of a man Jesus. To the Greek readers the thought of the “Word” becoming human was unthinkable, because the “Word” was just that little voice in your head that tells ever because John is saying that the creator became created in the form of a man Jesus. To the Greek readers the thought of the “Word” becoming human was unthinkable, because the “Word” was just that little voice in your head that tells everyone in the world to be good. John explains that Jesus was a human being whom he personally knew and loved, yet was also the creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, and even though he became a man was still the one who holds all of creation together. All 100 billion galaxies are under his control.
What Jesus Christ did and taught are tied inseparably to who he is. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Even though Jesus took it upon himself to become one of his father’s creation and to live as a man, he never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the creator and sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. That is the truth about Jesus Christ, and the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternity to Jesus Christ. This is why John wrote his version of the gospel; to build confidence and faith in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that he truly was and still is the Son of God, both human and divine.
So where does this get us today, and why have I told you of this on the first Sunday of the New Year? Well some of us have made New Year’s resolutions to change something in our lives this year, to be a little different in 2016 than we were in 2015. It is a time of New Beginnings in a New Year, and I thought we should start the year off right. Before we try tackling any other changes we want to see in our lives in the near future, let’s first take care of our eternal future. I am challenging you today, to read John Chapter 1 verses 1:14 and to accept it as the truth. I want you to believe that Jesus Christ was the man and Son of God that John describes him as.
Jesus was there at creation, he came back to us on Christmas in the form of a baby to live a life just like us, then he died on a cross for us, and rose from the grave to live once again. He created our universe, and he wants to make you a new creation too. I challenge you to change this New Year, become a follower of Christ put your old life away and put on the change of a new creation in Jesus Christ.
Let’s Pray
Christmas Justice
So here we are again in Christmas Eve. Many of us have been here before a time or two and have heard the Christmas Story. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because of the census. Joseph did not reserve a room and ever place was booked up. Mary and Joseph had to sleep in the barn and gave birth to Jesus Christ, and laid him in strips of cloth in a manger. Shepherds watching their flocks in the fields got a grand show from an angelic choir announcing Jesus’ birth and they left their flocks and went to see Jesus. The star stopped over Bethlehem and much to our common belief the wisemen showed up a couple years later not right away in the stable. That is the Christmas story that you all came to hear. Tonight, though I am going to be preaching on some other familiar scripture this time of year from the book of Isaiah and some out of Psalms.
Isaiah 9:6-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
How many of you have heard this scripture before? For unto us a child is born! He shall be called “Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace.” Ever heard of Jesus described with those attributes? A Prince of Peace and a Wonderful counselor? Yeah, and if we looked at his life and death on the cross, we see that those are good attributes to who Jesus Christ was. You see Jesus show righteous anger in the Temple and flip tables over and call out the religious leaders. When Christ is hanging on the cross dying a horrible death you don’t see him telling the men who crucified him that they will surely burn in hell for what they have done, but rather he cries out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace, and he was and still is a Wonderful Counselor. I think that we could all agree that his life and the record of his life in any historical document proves this claim.
Now I would love to go into great discussion about the proof of Jesus Christ existence and that he truly was the undisputed Son of God, born of a virgin, died, was buried, and resurrected, and that he will come again! But that discussion would last us all the way into the next year…………..Hahahahaha your first cheesy see you next year joke, but anyway. If any of you would like to discuss this or have questions concerning who Jesus Christ is or you have skepticism, please talk to me and we will discuss your questions and find an answer together.
Now tonight if we can for the sake of this sermon agree that what was said about Jesus Christ out of the book of Isaiah 700 plus years before his birth. We can agree that he was a Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace. Well if we accept this piece of the scripture that was prophesied and came true, then we better accept some of the other pieces of scripture that were prophesied about Jesus Christ as well. Like this one.
“He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.” Jesus Christ will rule with fairness and justice for all eternity. How does that line make you feel? Some like it, and to some of us it scares us. Let me ask you what does the word justice, mean? Webster did not do a very good job of explaining it without using the word, but this is what I got. Justice: the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. Or Webster said it this way as well, “the quality of conforming to law.”
Now if our scripture tells us that Jesus is going to be the eternal judge and the one who hands out justice. What do we do with it? Many of us come here on Christmas and hear the story of how this tiny baby was born in barn, some shepherds heard about it and some wisemen gave him gifts. But guess what? This baby grew up! He was a man, and now Jesus is the one who will hand out justice to you and me! It is Jesus Christ who we will stand before and he will deliver to us our justice! Wow, now maybe some of us are thinking, oh crap! Christmas is not just about hearing some story of a tiny baby being born. It is a story about the man who was born who will judge us all one day. We will be judged by the law, and as Webster said the definition of justice is “the quality of conforming to the law.”
Jesus Christ the man knew the law, because Jesus Christ was the great, I AM that gave the law to Moses. Jesus Christ is the perfect judge who shows perfect justice because he followed through and grew up from this tiny baby and became a man. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life something none of us ever could do, and then he died in our place, as an atonement for our sin! But why did he have to do this? Because Jesus Christ kept the law, and the penalty for our sin was and is death. But Christ the man, took our sin on his sinless body and died on the cross in our place.
So what do we do with this knowledge? What do we do from here as we leave this service after we light the candles and sing Silent Night? Then we go off to our family and friends and celebrate together? What do we do? Do we go home and remember that Christ was born in a barn, angels announced his birth, and some wisemen gave him gifts and that is it? Or do we listen to all of the scripture that let’s us know that we will have to be judged one day by this baby who became a man, and now sits at the right hand of the Father!
You know it is never fun being the one who has to bring bad news. To be the one who tells everyone what they are doing is wrong, but I stand here and tell you all that you are sinners so that you may be saved. I want to read this viral facebook post to you that will help drive home my point.
I want to read to you all now a viral Facebook page posted by an officer from the North Ridgeville Police Department written to a teen driver who was ticketed for driving 100 miles per hour on December 16th.
To the 18 year old kid I stopped on SR 10,
You’re welcome. I’d like to believe that you were minutes away from creating an unspeakable Christmas tragedy when I stopped you. If not only killing yourself, you were well on your way to killing some innocent person who was minding their own business doing nothing else wrong but being in front of you.
You said you didn’t realize how fast you were going. That’s a lie. You may not realize when you’re doing 45 in a 35 but you are fully aware of every mile per hour at 100. You realize it with every bump you hit. You realize it as you pass cars so fast the wind moves your car. You realize it every time you drift over the line and when you move the wheel the car reacts a lot quicker than you’re used to. You absolutely realized it.
You were scared when I stopped you. You were visibly shaking and breathing hard. Unfortunately, you were scared one minute too late and for the wrong reason. You should have been scared that you were trying to kill yourself. I know you’re invincible. I know that you can’t even fathom your own death.
I can tell you dozens of stories of dead and broken 18 year old bodies that I’ve pulled from cars. Broken bodies that I’ve found in front yards after crashes. Unrecognizable bodies. They thought they were invincible too. They weren’t. They were gone so they missed the part where I had to tell their parents that they were dead. Part of your soul disappears every time you have to tell parents that their kid is dead.
I don’t KNOW your parents, but I know them. I know that when you leave every day they say “Be careful. Drive safe.” Those aren’t just words. That is the very last act of them pleading with you to come home safe. When they get a knock on the door, it’s not “Good afternoon ma’am. Your 18-year-old son just had a massive heart attack. It’s “Can we sit down? Your son has been involved in a very serious crash. I’m so sorry. He’s died.” When you leave the house, they know that, far and away, the best chance you have of dying that day is in that car. Sometimes you’re the innocent person hit by someone with no regard for anyone else and sometimes you’re the one with no regard for anyone else. Today you were the latter.
You seemed like a really nice kid who made a bad decision. I don’t feel bad about this ticket at all. In fact, I’m proud of it. I hope you’re paying it off for months and with every payment you think about how it wasn’t worth it. I hope you slow down. I hope that when your mom tells you to “drive safe” you make a promise to her, and yourself, that you will. I hope you can envision me sitting in your kitchen telling your screaming mother that you have been killed.
Slow down. Please. You are not invincible. I promise.
Police officers are there to serve and protect. In order to do this, they have to be real jerks sometimes and slap you with a fine. I have justly deserved several tickets that I have received multiple times. As a pastor I do the very same thing. My job is not to tell you that you can’t lie, steal, cheat, fornicate freely, drink excessively, be lazy, and cuss and swear like a sailor, because I want to kill your fun. A cop doesn’t pull you over for doing 100mph because your having too much fun. He does it to protect you and the innocent people around you. I tell you that you are a sinner, and you need a savior not so that I can kill your fun, but so that I can point you Jesus Christ who can save your soul!
All of us once lead a life that was destined for death, and unfortunately many of us still do. I am begging and pleading that you accept Jesus Christ as your savior before you meet him face to face on judgment day! Because it is very difficult for me to stand up here at the funeral and think about the high possibility that the person who is in the casket before me has chose Hell. I deal with broken and hurting people daily and I pray that they could just accept what Christ has done for them. Like the officer who pulled over this young 18 year kid who could have killed himself, I too am begging for you to slow down and save yourself and your innocent family members around you.
My oldest son Job’s middle name is Ryan. He was named after my friend who was killed in a car accident shortly after he turned 18. Doug and Pam would love to have their son back. Christ would love to spend eternity with you. So this Christmas, celebrate that Christ came back to us as a baby, but remember that this child who unto us was born, grew up and will deal with us justly when this life is over.
I am going to finish with this scripture from Psalms 96.
Psalm 96:10-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly.
11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.
Let’s Pray
What’s In A Membership?
Intro: Today our congregation is going to grow by one more member. You probably won’t notice as he is always here anyway, but on paper we will have grown by one more person on our membership role. Church Membership something to be proud of, but too often it is taken to lightly. Today Lance is going to talk about what it means to be a member of a church, and Ray gets to be our Guinea Pig.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:12-31
One Body with Many Parts
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,[a] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.[b]
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.
29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
Today Ray was accepted into the Mount Hope United Methodist Church. Oh, come one! Where is the applause and the cheering? Nope, not good enough, you can do better, hey Ray can see if your cheering for him or not he sits in the back! Now were talking that’s better. Did you know that this is not the only church that Ray has been welcomed into? Do you know that I also am a member of that church with Ray, but it is not this one? I technically am not a member of the Mount Hope UMC, my membership resides at Boscobel until I become licensed local. Who knows what church I am talking about?
The Holy Catholic Church. Not the Catholic Church that stands out on Irish Ridge Road, or anywhere around here that has a priest leading it. But rather a member of the Holy Catholic Church that the Apostles Creed speaks of. When we say the Holy Catholic Church, this is what the Apostles creed is speaking of. This comes directly from the UMC website. The Apostles' Creed is a statement of belief from the early church (probably from the first few centuries after Jesus' death and resurrection). When the creed states, "I believe in the holy catholic church," it refers to the universal church rather than a specific branch of Christianity. The word catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos which means "universal" or "general."
If you believe in Jesus Christ as I do, and as Ray stated that he did before all of us this morning then we are part of a much larger big C Church. We here at Mount Hope UMC are members of the little c church, but together across the world we are members of the universal big C Church. By being a true believer, we become members of the big C Church, thanks to the atoning blood of Jesus Christ we will all meet once again in Heaven after our earthly death. So, membership in the big C Church guarantees salvation through Jesus Christ. Ray’s membership to this little c church here at Mount Hope UMC, does not guarantee his salvation.
So, what does his and your membership to this little c church mean? Well let’s look at what the book of worship had to say. These are the words that our United Methodist book of worship suggest that we ask a member to agree to in order to join our church.
Lance: As a member of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
Ray said yes to this statement, now let’s break down what Ray just agreed to here today. How many questions did I ask Ray? Only 1. Will you faithfully participate in its ministries? Then it goes into what those ministries may be.
First and foremost, the first ministry that Ray has promised to faithfully participate in is its prayer ministry. As a member of this little c church, it is pivotal to have a relationship through active prayer with your Heavenly Father. What is the best way to get to truly know someone? Read about them? Talk to someone who knows them? Google them? Stalk them? These might be ways to kind of understand them, but if you really want to get to know them you have got to meet them and talk to them. You want to get to know God, talk to him tell him everything and then sit quietly long enough to hear the still small voice of a response. As a member of this church if you want to see it grow then actively involve the church and the prayer list people in your daily conversations with God.
The second way to faithfully participate is this little c church’s ministry is by your regular presence. How can you actively pray for those on the prayer list and for the other members if you’re not in church on Sunday to see or hear about them? If you are a member than you need to be active in worship. The energy that you bring to worship helps fuel the person next to you. Like our scripture said about the eye and the ear, both are necessary for the body to function. If someone said “hey look at this,” how would your eyes know to look if your ears didn’t tell them too? Ray’s attendance here is important for Janet’s, and especially mine! If the members aren’t here, I got no one to preach at on Sunday morning! As a member, attendance is very important. 3 years ago, Mount Hope UMC had only 4-6 people coming each Sunday. Now we average in the upper 30’s yet the membership numbers have actually dropped; do you see the difference attendance makes. Attendance is pivotal for a thriving little c church. Bagley and Cassville both closed with people still on the membership.
Third, your gifts. Typical UMC money talks. Sorry, all jokes aside. As a member, you are accepting some of the financial responsibility it takes to help grow a little c church. But enough about money. I feel the gifts that should be really talked about here, are the gifts that are spoken about in Corinthians. The spiritual gifts that make up a whole body. Every member of this body has an important role, from janitors to preachers. Paul uses a great analogy of different parts of the body all being important though they are considered lesser or greater by our standards, but they all need to be there. Question for you. How many of you have ever lost a little skin? How many of you have ever lost a leg? That’s me! The skin is the largest organ in the body and our first and most important line of defense. Legs are overrated. Every piece of our body is important and so is every member here.
4th. Your service. It is kind of hard to get anything done anywhere without someone actually lifting a hand to do it. Let’s put on our own church camp! If that hair brained idea of mine would have stopped there as an idea; kind of like the hog roast last year, it never would have happened. The hands and muscles of the body get the work done to further the ministry of Jesus Christ in the little c church. When everyone works together like last week trimming the hedges it is a beautiful thing.
The last ministry Ray was asked to faithfully participate in was the ministry of his witness. Ray you now represent the United Methodist Church in Mount Hope WI. How you live your life and your actions now directly represent me and your fellow believers here in this little c church. The effectiveness of your ministry and changed life will speak louder and clearer than any words I will ever speak from this pulpit. Dad told me how to castrate pigs, but until he showed me how I had no clue. Yeah, I know I could have used a different analogy like driving a car or saving money, but that wouldn’t catch your attention like the visual you now have in your mind of me and dad castrating pigs, with mom trying to help and hold the legs down. See much better than driving a car. Which reminds me of the rocky mountain oyster feed next Wednesday night! Just kidding. But seriously Ray and all of you who call yourselves members here, how you handle yourselves in public and in business represents the little c church. Your changed life shows that something real happened to you and through Jesus Christ and this little c church, your now different.
Now I have talked a lot about the little c church and how our members faithfully participate in the ministry here. But what about the big C Church. The Holy Catholic Church as it says in the Apostles Creed. Well if you are a member of that church, because you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior and by his blood you have been forgiven and redeemed; then you are more than willing to faithfully participate in the little c church’s ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness out of gratitude for what Jesu Christ has done for you.
Today I challenge you with this. If you are a member here, are you faithfully participating in all of our ministries? If you are not a member here and you are faithfully participating in all our ministries why are you not a member? And if you’re not either of those two what more of a sacrifice could God make than giving his own son’s life in your place on that cross? God loves you unconditionally and God longs to have you become a member of the big C Church. Is it time for you to get your own membership?
Let’s Pray.