Introduction:

Relational evangelism:

Think about your relationships. We are all influencing other people for good or for bad. You are, we are, influencing other people.

When we think of the phrase “Relational evangelism,” the operative word is “evangelism.” If we are not sharing the Gospel with them then we really do not love them.

If we think about Phil. 2:5-11. Jesus died for our need, but what was the need? We needed salvation. He gave Himself up for us. Who are we giving ourselves up for?

I was researching this message and I was reading from the book Becoming a Contagious Christian and I was encouraged. I was encouraged because the best fertile ground for sharing the Gospel is NOT door to door evangelism, or “cold” calls. There is nothing wrong with those types, but the best fertile ground is in your relationships. If you want to be used of Jesus, be a friend. But don’t stop there. Be a friend and share Jesus with the friend.

Becoming a Contagious Christian says:

The fact is, all of us experience discomfort when someone outside our circle of friends tries to influence us about personal, significant matters. We all naturally gravitate toward people we already know and trust. Friends listen to friends. They confide in friends. They let friends influence them. They buy from friends — and that’s true of both products and ideas. So if we’re going to impact our world for Christ, the most effective approach will be through friendships with those who need to be reached. We’ll have to get close to them so they can see that we genuinely care about them individually and that we have their best interests in mind. Over time, that will earn their trust and respect.

Let’s read Luke 5:27-32:

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Theme: Build relationships and share the Gospel.

1. Let’s talk about the passage.
   1. Jesus talks to Levi, who is also called Matthew, and says “follow me.”
   2. The man immediately follows Jesus. There are no questions asked. It could be that they had conversations previously. He drops everything and follows.
   3. When he decided to follow Jesus there was no turning back.
   4. Verse 29 shows this to be true. He was a new believer and what did he do? He decided to share this with others. He decided to have a party. We now call these parties “Matthew parties” after him.
   5. We would think he would invite the religious people to his party in order to communicate, “I am now one of you,” but that is not what he did. He invited the other tax collectors.
   6. Tax collectors were known as thieves in those days. They were known as sinners who held allegiance to Rome. The tax collectors would take from other people extra money that would not go to taxes.
   7. But Matthew invited them over.
   8. What else did Matthew do? He invited them to his house.
   9. Matthew was willing to sacrifice his own home and pretty much have them over for a barbecue.
   10. This is an evangelism principle called “barbecue first.” We are to get to know them as we share the Gospel with them and they will listen more.
   11. I look at this and think, “I must be willing to host others, non-believers in my home for the Gospel.”
   12. So, these people are now all at Matthew’s house and you know who else is there? Jesus is also there.
   13. Jesus was later called a sinner because He ate with them, so what. He didn’t care.
   14. Jesus is there and they are all telling jokes, they are eating and they are drinking. Jesus was later called a glutton and a drunkard for eating with these types, but He didn’t care, He wanted to minister. (see Matthew 11:19)
   15. I don’t know what type of jokes Jesus was telling, but I think He had a good sense of humor. Maybe He said, “Why do cows go to math? Because they need a cooooow-culator…”
   16. They are partying. They are getting to know each other.
   17. Sometimes this is tough.
   18. Guess who is coming to dinner. In Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country there was an awkward moment when Captain Kirk invited The Klingons to dine with his senior staff.
   19. Play clip of Kirk inviting the Klingons to dinner.
   20. Do we have many non-Christian friends?
   21. We are the church and the church leaves the building every week and one of the best ways that we are to be the church is in our relationship.
2. Where do you find people?
   1. Suppose that you want to build relationships with non-Christians, but you wonder where to find people.
   2. Think about ways to get together with people you know. Are there relationships that could go deeper?
   3. People you used to know, are there relationships that you can reconnect with?
   4. People you would like to know, are there people that you can connect with but just haven’t?
   5. What about having a block party?
   6. What about having just a few neighbors over for dinner?
   7. There is also the ability to strategically shop at the same places and go inside at the gas station. Talk to the people who are at the cashier’s station. Build that relationship.
   8. Have a holiday party
   9. Have a “pie” party. This is a party where you invite people over and then they all pick up a pie on their way home from work.
   10. Go golfing with others
   11. Share everyday activities with others.
   12. Watch the game together.
   13. Make sure that you are looking to transition to spiritual conversations.
       1. Don’t wait too long to tell people you are a Christian.
       2. Don’t get drunk even if they are.

• If people share something ask if you can pray for them.

1. If people are commenting on scenery give credit to God.

1. Health clubs are good opportunities to meet people.
2. Sporting events are good opportunities.
3. Be creative.
4. God will use your relationships.
5. Most people come to know Christ through relationships.
6. You are the church, pretty soon the church will leave the building, be the church in your relationships.

Close:  

From Becoming a Contagious Christian

Mark learned this lesson the hard way. It happened a few years ago when our church was putting on a week-long presentation that combined contemporary music and drama to communicate Christianity to people who don’t normally go to church. He had bought four tickets for the Friday night performance, and along with his wife, Heidi, had invited another couple. But that couple cancelled at the last minute. Now it was the day of the event, and they were holding two extra tickets with no one to bring. Mark drove home from the office that evening, and as he turned into his driveway, he saw the young couple who lived next door walking on the sidewalk in front of his house. They weren’t married, had shown no inclination toward spiritual interests, and he only knew them by their first names. Still, he figured, why not give it a shot? “Hey, Scott!” he called out. “I was wondering if you two are busy tonight. You see, I’ve got these extra tickets to a concert at our church.” He quickly tried to dispel any stereotypes they might have and to convey that this would feature music they’d really like, that there would be professional-quality and up-to-date drama, good sound and lighting, and so on.

And then he asked if they would like to go. Push the pause button for a moment. If you think along the lines I do, you’re probably admiring the confidence Mark showed in forthrightly explaining this opportunity and inviting a couple he’d barely even met. It was the kind of thing a lot of us think about doing but find it hard to muster the needed courage. The only problem, as he found out, was that it was probably too bold and too quick. It risked the possibility of scaring them away not only from this, but also from future chances for interaction. Scott glanced shyly at his girlfriend for a moment and then looked at the ground. Somewhat awkwardly he finally said, “Um … thanks anyway, but I don’t think we’ll go this time … but, well, if you’d ever like to get together in the backyard for a barbecue, let us know.” As they walked away, Mark thought to himself, “Why didn’t I think of that? In fact, that’s the very thing I’ve been teaching in my evangelism seminars for years: you’ve got to barbecue first!”

As they walked away, Mark thought to himself, “Why didn’t I think of that? In fact, that’s the very thing I’ve been teaching in my evangelism seminars for years: you’ve got to barbecue first!” It’s so important that we make investments in friendships — what I sometimes call paying relational rent — in order to gain the person’s trust and respect, as well as to earn the right to talk to them about spiritual issues. Interestingly, Mark did follow up later with Scott. After a few weeks he called him and suggested that the four of them see a movie and then go out for dessert afterwards. When the night came, Mark and Heidi decided that they would not bring up topics related to church or Christianity. They knew they’d already gone too fast, and they determined to “barbecue” several times with the couple before even thinking about trying to steer the conversation into matters of faith. But to their surprise, that same night in the restaurant, Scott himself asked some questions of a spiritual nature![1]

So, my encouragement to all of us is that we build relationship with non-Christians and share the Gospel in the relationships. Don’t push it, but do wait for the opportunity.

You are the church, pretty soon the church will leave the building, be the church in your relationships.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Hybels, Bill; Hybels, Bill; Mittelberg, Mark; Mittelberg, Mark (2008-09-09). Becoming a Contagious Christian (p. 98). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Introduction:

When I was in college I was sitting in chapel when the President of the University shared a story which I will never forget. There was an adult book store opening in a community and there were many Christians outside protesting. They were standing with their signs when a group of Christians entered with mop buckets, brooms and cleaning supplies. They came into the book store and said, “We are here to serve you, we want to clean for you.” The store owners were shocked. All the other Christians were protesting and now this group wants to work for free! Surprisingly, if I recall the story correctly, that store was shut down eventually, but not because of the protest. The owners became Christians because of service. Why can’t we serve with no strings attached? Too often we are not known for service. Or, maybe we are known for service when we are a group of Christians, but why not individually?

Tony Campolo tells a true story of a Jewish boy who suffered under the Nazis in World War II. He was living in a small Polish village when he and all the other Jews of the vicinity were rounded up by Nazi SS troops and sentenced to death. This boy joined his neighbors in digging a shallow ditch for their graves, then faced the firing squad with his parents.

Sprayed with machine-gun fire, bodies fell into the ditch and the Nazis covered the crumpled bodies with dirt. But none of the bullets hit the little boy. He was splattered with the blood of his parents and when they fell into the ditch, he pretended to be dead and fell on top of them. The grave was so shallow that the thin covering of dirt did not prevent air from getting through to him so that he could breathe. Several hours later, when darkness fell, he clawed his way out of the grave.

With blood and dirt caked to his little body, he made his way to the nearest house and begged for help. Recognizing him as one of the Jewish boys marked for death, he was turned away at house after house as people feared getting into trouble with the SS troops. Then something inside seemed to guide him to say something that was very strange for a Jewish boy to say. When the next family responded to his timid knocking in the still of the night, they heard him cry, “Don’t you recognize me? I am the Jesus you say you love.”

After a poignant pause, the woman who stood in the doorway swept him into her arms and kissed him. From that day on, the members of that family cared for that boy as though he was one of their own.[1]

So, today I begin a sermon series titled, “The Church has left the building.” This is important because the church is not a building. The building is simply a facility. In fact, I know of a church which has been growing rapidly that has been portable for some twelve years. They have not owned a building.[2] But we are all the church and as part of the church we represent Christ wherever we are. Today we will talk about serving or should we say, “Service with a smile.”

My theme and challenge:

Serve others with the heart and mind of Christ.

Let’s read two Scripture passages:

Matthew 22:37-39:

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]

Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

1. Serving with the heart and mind of Christ begins in our thinking:
   1. In looking at the Philippians 2:3-4 passage I have note in one of my Bibles: ⁵ tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; (“be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”^[3]
   2. The Christian is to think about others. It begins in our thinking.
   3. Twenty-five years ago, when the New York Yankees were the dominant team in major league baseball, the manager would say to the rookies, “Boys, it’s an honor just to put on the New York pinstripes. So when you put them on, play like world champions. Play like Yankees. Play proud.” In similar fashion, the apostle Paul is attempting to inspire and to motivate the believers at Philippi by challenging them to walk worthy of the name by which they are called.[4]
   4. I like that story. We are reflecting Jesus. We are Jesus to other people. Walk worthy of the name we represent.
   5. The following is a true story. Granted, it happened several years ago. But I wonder how often such scenarios unfold. Two pastors were at lunch together. The older pastor paid for their previous meal, so the younger pastor picked up the tab for this meal. The younger pastor paid cash for the meal, so his older friend asked if he had included a tip. He said he forgot the tip, so he put some cash on the table. As they were departing, the younger pastor said he forgot something, and returned to the restaurant. The other pastor saw him through the window. The younger man went back to the table, picked up the cash, and put it in his pocket.
   6. What a sad story. The other pastor went back later and apologized and also gave a tip. We as Christians are to reflect Christ.
   7. This starts with our thinking. My thinking must not be about me first. I must perish the “me first” thinking.
   8. In preaching this passage I know that many, if not most, if not all of our congregation are pretty good at serving others. However, we all need reminded all the time. I know that I do. I also need reminded that I first must change my thinking.
   9. The passage says, “‘In Humility’ value others above yourselves.” It starts with a mindset.
   10. As Paul writes about this he gives an example and that is Jesus. Jesus valued us and that is why He went to the cross. Later in verses 19-20 Paul gives the example of Timothy who also valued the welfare of others.
   11. So, I ask all of us and I ask myself as well:
       1. How is our mindset?
       2. When we serve others is it because we love them or we are just duty bound?
       3. Do we look down upon certain people as “below” us?
       4. What about racial issues? Do we love others of different races and do we want to serve them as much as our own race? I have recently become more aware of something called “White privilege.” It is true that when I am running down a certain street I do not have to worry about being stopped by the police purely because of the color of my skin. Or, I do not have to think about training my children to be prepared to be looked upon differently because of the color of their skin. I have read articles written by African American Pastors and they write about having to teach their children to dress differently because of the perceptions based off of their skin color. Please know, I am not criticizing the police for these things or making judgments, but I am saying that we all have certain perceptions based off of first impressions of others and we must try to limit and eliminate them as quickly as we can. The first step is recognizing them.
       5. Another application is really not action oriented, but word oriented. Do we try our best to communicate love through our words and non-verbals? Sarcasm can be humorous or it can cut like a knife.
   12. I want to say something about loving others. A major goal is real love shares Jesus with people. If we really love them we make sure we share Jesus with them.
2. Serving with the heart and mind of Christ ends in action.
   1. A woman wanted a pet so she bought a parrot. She asked them at the pet store if it will talk and they said yea. She takes the parrot home and put it in its cage and it didn’t talk. After a while she goes back to the pet store and says, “it doesn’t talk.” They said, “Did you buy it a mirror. It must look at itself in the mirror and then it will talk.” She gets a mirror and the parrot still doesn’t talk. She goes back to the pet store and they said, “Did you buy it a ladder? Once it has a ladder it will talk.” She gets a ladder and it doesn’t talk. She goes back to the pet store. They said, “Did you get it a swing? When it swings it will talk.” She gets a swing and it still will not talk. After a few weeks it dies. She goes back to the pet store and says that it dies. They said “did it say anything before it died?” She said yea it said, “Don’t they have any food at that pet store.” [5]
   2. So, we want to make sure that people are receiving the basic needs. We want to make sure they have food.
   3. But these actions are not always material thinks. I know that some of us on some days do not have a penny to spare, but that is not to say we cannot love other people.
   4. Listen to this from Taylor Swift when she was eighteen years old:
   5. “I wrote that about the scariest feeling I’ve ever felt: going to school, walking down the hall, looking at all those faces, and not knowing who you’re gonna talk to that day. People always, How did you have the courage to walk up to record labels when you were 12 or 13? It’s because I could never feel the kind of rejection in the music industry that I felt in middle school.“[6]
   6. We can love people by befriending them and I am going to talk about that later this month in relational evangelism.
   7. But, I believe there are little ways I think we can help people.
      1. Praying with and for people. We will never know how much of a difference this will make.
      2. Sharing the Gospel with someone. You know that is a free gift you can share with another person?
      3. Bibles: give one away.
      4. Help people with meals. There are many times that our congregation serves people by helping them with meals during hard times.
      5. Visiting shutins and those in the hospital. Our caring committee can use your help. This is an easy thing for young moms to do. Take your children with you and visit a senior saint. Or, visit some of your own family members.
      6. Volunteer at the Alliance of Churches office.
      7. Volunteer at the Alliance Community Food Pantry.
      8. Sew for someone, teach someone to sew. Teach someone to cook. Help out at the Alliance Pregnancy Center.

Close:

An Elderly Woman Reaches Out to Homesick College Students

Daniel Meyer tells the story of an elderly woman who heard a sermon in which she felt God encouraging her to look for ways in which she could use her particular gifts and situation to minister to the needs of others. She thought about her gifts and realized that she’d been told by others that she had the gift of hospitality. She lived alone in a small apartment near a large university and had afternoons free. She pondered the needs around her and the people who tugged at her heartstrings. To her mind came the students nearby who were so far away from home. It was then that an idea both strange and simple suddenly arose. She got a stack of three-by- five cards and wrote on each one the following words: “Are you homesick? Come to my house at 4:00 p.m. for tea.” She included a phone number and address and then posted the cards all around campus.

After a slow start, homesick students began trickling into her house each week for tea. When she died ten years later, eighty honorary pallbearers attended her funeral. Each one of them had been a student who, once upon a time, found a hot cup of tea, a sense of home, and the gospel of Jesus in the hospitable heart of this faithful servant.[7]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Anthony Campolo, Who Switched the Price Tags

Swindoll, Charles R. Read in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN 1998. Pages 6-7

[2] Grace Chapel in Minerva, Ohio

^[3] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Php 2:3.

[4] Bill Hybels, “The Certainty of Suffering,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 164.

[5] Chuck Swindoll

[6]– 18-year-old country music star Taylor Swift speaking about the inspiration for the song “The Outside”, Entertainment Weekly, February 8, 2008, pg. 42

[7] Daniel Meyer, Witness Essentials (InterVarsity Press, 2012), p. 186

Introduction:

This is the last sermon in the “You are the Church” series. We have talked about preparing for Sunday morning worship. We have talked about being here now, meaning being present when we are here. We have talked about being fed and feeding yourself. We have talked about congregational praise. We have talked about being the church throughout the whole week. So, now we come back to Sunday.

Back when I was an associate pastor my senior pastor told me, “I want you to know that right now you preach periodically, but it can get draining when you preach every week.” He would say, “Sunday’s just keep coming.” Every week I work on a research paper for you and present it to you. It is my God given task and I will be judged for how I do this. I will be held accountable to God for how I handle this book we call the Bible. If I misrepresent the Bible and use it incorrectly, woe is me. I am sure that I have actually. Pray for me with this. That is actually one way that you can prepare for Sunday morning worship, pray for me as I present the Scriptures to you. Pray for me as I stand between God and His people.

I don’t want to neglect to mention that we have other singers and musicians that need prayed for as well. Preparing for Sunday morning worship ought to mean that you pray for them. We have Christian Connections teachers and others involved on Sunday morning. Pray for them. We believe that God speaks to us, so we must pray that He will.

So, today I will talk about the 3 R’s of discipleship which we ought to take care of before Sunday morning worship.

Repentance

Restitution

Reconciliation

My theme and application today is: You are not ready to worship if you are not right with others. This can be intentional or by ignoring a problem with someone else.

Let’s read Matthew 5:23-24:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

1. Background: Let me tell you what is going on.
   1. Listen, right here Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and they thought they had everything all together. But that was not the case. In this passage Jesus is telling them you can have it all together, but someone else is angry with you.
   2. Look what Jesus say, “leave.” Jesus says to leave.
   3. Can you imagine? You arrive early here at First Baptist. You sit down to worship. Then you realize that someone is angry at you or maybe there is a barrier in a relationship, maybe a misunderstanding. So, what do you do? You get up and go in the parking lot and call them. Or, you go to your house, but you work it out. You apologize. You try to clear it up.
   4. Jesus is saying that you are not right with God when you are ignoring a problem with someone else.
   5. It could be that you have tried to make things right with someone else, but they won’t work with you. I don’t think that is what Jesus is talking about in this passage.
   6. I am sure, in a group of people this size, some of you have barriers in your relationships with your children and you have tried to work it out.
   7. I would ask, have you tried in humility? Have you tried to own up to your faults and apologize?
   8. I am sure that some of you have tried that and they still won’t accept it. They still won’t reconcile.
   9. You can try other things. You can try a mediator, a counselor, a group called Peacemakers, but sometimes you exhaust all your options.
   10. If that is the case I don’t think Jesus is addressing you.
   11. I think Jesus is talking about people who are ignoring problems. 1 John 4:20: Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sisteris a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
   12. In this case Jesus is talking about worship, making an offering to God.
   13. Jesus says to seek reconciliation while you can.
   14. If you look at the next few verses Jesus talks about the time coming where you are turned over to the judge for your crime and then you cannot do anything. The judge throws you in jail. Back then they had debtors prison. So what is envisioned is that you have failed to pay a debt and you realize that so you make that right prior to worship. Otherwise, you are thrown in debtors prison and you can’t pay a debt if you are in prison.
   15. What this means is if you ignore a problem with someone, then your relationship with Christ is hindered, even broken. Maybe you don’t know Christ. You could die tomorrow; we are never promised another day. Then you die and go to hell and you can no longer fix that relationship. Fix it while you can.
   16. You are not ready to worship if you are ignoring a problem with someone else. We love God and love people.
   17. Preparing for worship means loving others and we do that through: repentance, restitution and reconciliation.
2. Repentance: first we repent.
   1. Repent means to apologize and turn around.
   2. You come to worship and you realize that what you said to your wife was wrong. You said the eggs and bacon and pancakes and grits that she made you was terrible.
   3. You apologize, but say the exact thing later in the day. She makes steak and potatoes and you say they are just terrible. You say that she is absolutely a terrible cook. Were you really repenting? No. You were sorry, but you were not repenting. Further, you are now cooking your own meals.
   4. You need to realize, we need to realize, that we may need help being respectful and loving.
   5. Mercedes will say she is sorry, but she does the same thing later. BUT she is four years old. We are adults.
   6. Further, it is not enough to say we are sorry, we must ask for forgiveness. When we ask for forgiveness we ae humbly acknowledging failure and giving the person the ball. We teach Mercedes this. We tell her to say she is sorry and to ask for forgiveness.
   7. You are coming to worship and you are fighting the whole way to church. You sit in the parking lot and think, “What do we do?” Apologize and agree to take responsibility and work not to do it again.

• Restitution: So you repent, but you must make restitution.
  1. This goes along with forgiveness.
  2. Give them the opportunity to help you make it right.
  3. In Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus gave half his possessions to the poor and paid back four times the amount to people he had cheated. In Philemon 9-18 Paul  tells Onesimus to return to his master; Paul will pay all his debts.
  4. That is restitution.
  5. Restitution is generally, restitution is ___paying___ back something of material value that has been taken ___wrongly___ . It is a way to “___settle___ the ___account”
  6. Restitution:
     1. is consistent with biblical teaching
     2. helps release us from the effects of past sin

• weakens our prideful nature; brings forth humility

1. helps remove stumbling blocks from other people’s paths
2. reduces our tendency to repeat the same sin
3. demonstrates the sincerity of our repentance

1. We are not ready for worship when we are ignoring repentance and restitution with someone else.

1. Reconciliation: we must reconcile with others.
   1. Reconciliation is more important, even more important, than giving.
   2. In this passage Jesus is saying that this is critical.
   3. Like restitution, reconciliation “settles the account.” However, it is in the realm of ___character  Bitterness is the ___cancer___ of human relationships.  It grows where ___unforgiving___ spirits dwell.  It also prevents us from receiving the forgiving ___grace___ of God (Matthew 6:15).
   4. Reconciliation involves:
      1. Confrontation (Matthew 5:23-24; Galatians 2:11)
      2. Compassion (Ephesians 4:31-32)

• Concession (sometimes) (Romans 14:1)

1. You are not ready for worship without pursuing:
   1. Repentance
   2. Restitution
   3. And reconciliation.
2. Notice that I said pursuing this. This may take time, but you have to at least try. If you are ignoring problems with a brother or sister then you are not ready to worship.
3. Follow Matthew 18:15-17: Talk to the person alone. Then bring someone else with you, then bring another person with you.

Close:

So, preparing for worship means that we must seek a right relationship with others. Having a barrier with another means we have a barrier with God.

This week prayerfully commit to healing a relationship. Or, at least try. You are not responsible for their reaction. You are only responsible for your attempts to make things right. Pray first.

What does this look like? Just call the person up and see if you can go to Bob Evans for lunch or invite them over. When you meet ask openly if you have offended them in any way. Go from there. Pray. Pray. Pray.

Let’s celebrate together

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

The intro and conclusion was different:

It is Sunday. This means that we are supposed to be at church, right? We are here to worship, we are here to grow, we are here to see our friends and maybe learn something and then we are done. True?

I don’t think so. We need each other through the week.

Have you ever been lonely?

I remember being in elementary school and at that time I had school friends and then friends at home. I did not want to cross connect those groups. If I knew you from school and saw you outside of school, I think it was a reminder of school. Obviously, as I got older I got over that. But during that time, I was also very lonely at school. I was an extreme introvert and that plagued me up until high school. In addition to that when I was in kindergarten they started taking me out of class and making me take special tests. Eventually, the specialist teacher, not my actual kindergarten teacher, was walking me back down the hall to my kindergarten class. She sat me on the bench and said, “You may wonder why we are doing these things.” I said, “Yes.” She then explained that some people need some special education or something like that in kindergarten terms. From first grade through half way through third grade I would leave my normal kindergarten class at certain points in order to join this learning disability class. That is what they called it, though till this day I don’t really know what my real disability was. I remember being told, “You will always have a learning disability, it will always be more difficult for you to learn things.” Well, I hated it. At least through first grade and part of second grade I felt different. I was already a shy and introverted kid and had a difficult time making friends, but it didn’t help that I was in and out of my home room class. The learning disability teacher would give me a picture of a clock and say, “At this time get up and walk out of the room and come to my class.” For a second grader it just felt like everyone was looking at me when I left and came back in. I remember entering my normal class and they had books out and were in the middle of something and I was wondering what they were doing. I always felt behind the rest of the class, even though I was really being helped. I remember in second grade we had three sessions of recess: morning, after lunch and then afternoon. At the beginning of the school year I went out to recess with my class. Then my learning disability teacher came out and yelled at me all the way into the school telling me that I am not supposed to go to recess because I am supposed to join her class during that time. She said I was told that. Therefore, for the rest of that year, I did not have morning recess. I know they meant well and I know I was helped, but it was hard emotionally. By third grade I was excelling and half way through the year I was able to exit the learning disability class for good. I did have to go to a tutor, but I was so relieved. Sometimes that catches up with me. I am still a very slow reader, though I think I learn things better now than ever and maybe it is because of that class. They always reminded me how grateful I should be that I had a school with a special class like that. I remember in an inductive Bible study class in seminary and something hit me. It was as if the devil was telling me, “What are you doing? Who do you think you are looking at these Greek words. Remember those days in the learning disability class? You can’t learn this stuff.”

I don’t write all that to make you feel sympathy for me. My point is that I was lonely. I hated school. I couldn’t make friends and that experience made my introvert self have a more difficult time making friends. I needed friends. I needed a friend my age, or more friends my age at school. I needed support. Now, they came eventually and I got through. I am here. But it was rather difficult. I remember thinking about what it would be like to be a normal kid, as if there is such a thing. We need each other. We all need each other. We are not meant to be alone.

I heard someone say:

“A friend is someone who walks in when everyone is walking out.”

Today, let’s talk about the church:

My theme: You are the church all week long.

The Application: Stay connected, support each other emotionally, spiritually and with real-felt needs.

Let’s read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰ If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. ^[1]

1. We must let people into our lives.
   1. I do not doubt that many of you are connected with others. But I wonder, are you connected with others?
   2. Do you let other people into your life? Do I let others into my life?
   3. A problem with social media is that we only allow people to see what we want them to see. Many times I can only show the face that I want to.
   4. There are major problems with depression because of Facebook and social media. Truly, we get online and we see how happy these other families look, we see the vacation spots they are going to, but we don’t see their struggles.
   5. Of course because of this we don’t let others into our lives. We are ashamed.
   6. Don’t compare everything you know about yourself with everything you don’t know about someone else.
   7. We are stronger together.
   8. We must be willing to be humble and let others in our lives.
   9. We must get rid of pride and let others in.
   10. We must get rid of envy and let others in.
   11. We must understand that many times they are dealing with things we are as well.
   12. It will feel so good to share what you are going through with others.
   13. We must let people in in three ways: emotionally, spiritually and with real felt needs.
       1. Emotionally: many times this is really difficult. It is for me. It is hard to share emotions; they are so personal. But we aren’t meant to live alone. We need the support.
       2. Spiritually: This is difficult because we have privatized religion. But we cannot be helped if we not share with others. Listen, we can’t live the Christian life alone. We cannot discern God’s will on our own.
          1. We must check ourselves and see why we will not share our spiritual state with others.
          2. We must check for pride. Maybe we will feel less than someone else.
          3. Oftentimes the spiritual and the emotional go together.
          4. Meet with another believer and pray about your struggles and also your desires.
          5. Are you waiting on a spouse? Pray about that with a close friend.
          6. Are you struggling with your job? Pray about that with a close friend?
          7. Are you struggling with weight and diet? Pray about that with a close friend?
          8. Are you lonely? Pray about that with a close friend.
          9. Do you have a son or daughter or grandchild dealing with drug abuse or maybe an abusive relationship? Pray about that with a close friend.
          10. In praying with another believer you are supporting yourself emotionally and spiritually. You are also helping the situation.
          11. We become like rope weaved together and strengthened.
       3. Physical felt needs: This is the easiest to get help with. It is not humbling, or nearly as humbling asking for help with a move as it is asking for emotional help. It is hard to admit to depression. But for someone it is. So, the challenge is to let people in to help you with physical, felt needs.
   14. We must be willing to be involved in the lives of others.
       1. I must be willing to sacrifice for others.
       2. This goes both ways. We must be willing to listen to others and to pray with others.
       3. We must be willing to be that close friends.
       4. The Bible says a friend sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
       5. Also, if someone shares their heart with you. Share something back. Share a struggle you have.
       6. We grow as Christians together. We grow stronger together. We weave that rope together as a Christian family when we add tension to the rope.
       7. The passage says that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. George Sheen once told me that he has a rope machine and it takes more than one person to make the rope.
       8. It also takes a church sharing together through the week to really be the church and really help us grow.

Close:

High school youth group and JROTC changed me.

You know, I had trouble making friends all the way through Jr. High. I was heavily bullied in Jr. High and I fought back which made it worse. The kids were cruel. We were the class of 2000 and so many people made a big deal of that. My aunt taught our class and said she never had a class like we were. She meant we were the worst. Maybe it was all the entitlement. But high school came and in ninth grade I was invited to a youth group. I met good friends at the youth group and I saw them at school as well. Now, I had friends at school with similar interest to me. Now, at school I could talk about the Bible and Christian things with friends who I knew through youth group. It was great. These new friends introduced me to other friends. I joined Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp. which is a high school military training group. I met more friends that way and I came out of my shell. I also had a few part time jobs and that helped me get out of my introvert shell as well. Things changed. School was not as bad. I still have friends that I met in high school youth group who I still keep in touch with. One of them is my wife and she became my permanent room-mate.

We need each other.

We need each other emotionally, spiritually and with physical felt needs.

I encourage you to join one of the Christian Connections opportunities at the church. Most of you know each other pretty well on the surface. Go deeper. Meet with one of our brothers or sisters for prayer. Meet often. Don’t just meet every other month.

We are the church through the week. God speaks through His Church. You won’t discern His will alone.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

^[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ec 4:9–12.

Introduction:

I have keys up here, why?

Why do I need keys?

Do you all lock your doors? Why?

God has given all cultures general revelation. God has written on our hearts that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. This is God’s common grace to us. This is really not unlike how even in the animal kingdom they know how to take care of their young, this is because God has written it on their hearts. The Ten commandments are a formalization, writing down, of what is right and wrong. We know that in other ancient cultures they had similar lists of right and wrong such as the Code of Hammurabi. God has given us this common knowledge.

The Ten Commandments have been important to us for most of human history.

Play clip:

Movie clip:

Today is ask the Pastor Sunday and we want to talk about the relevance of the Ten Commandments. The question was submitted:

Does the New Testament teach all 10 commandments from the Old Testament? If so, where and how? If not, why not?

Today we will talk about the relevance of the Ten Commandments.

My theme sentence:

The Ten Commandments are still relevant: Love God and love people.

We just watched the Ten Commandments and so we are not going to read the passage. You can find them first in Exodus chapter 20. But I want is to read Matthew 22:36-40, please turn there with me.

Let’s read Matthew 22:36-40:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

1. The First four commandments relate to our relationship with God.
   1. In the passage we just read we see a person come to Jesus and ask what the greatest of the commandments is.
   2. This person was a lawyer and seems to be testing him.
   3. That is when Jesus gives the answer.
   4. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
   5. That sentence spoken by our Lord sums up the first four commandments:

(1) “Do not worship any other gods besides me” (Ex. 20:3).

(2) “Do not make idols of any kind” (Ex. 20:4).

(3) “Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God” (Ex. 20:7).

(4) “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. 20:8).^[1]

1. We love the Lord our God so we do not have any other gods. Now, that is a sermon on itself which we will save for another day.
2. If we love the Lord, God we are not going to set up idols. That is another sermon we will save for another day.
3. We love God so we are not going to misuse His name. That is another sermon for another day; however, I will say that misusing the Lord’s name happens way more than we realize. We actually do not even know how to properly say the Lord’s name in Hebrew because the Hebrew people thought of His name as so sacred they would not say it out loud.
4. The fourth commandment is regarding the Sabbath Day. This is referenced in the New Testament but never as a commandment as such. It still fits in relation to God because we see at the end of creation the Lord rested. We are called to cease activity.
5. It is never listed as such a command in the New Testament, but we can easily make the case that we need a day of rest. This does not mean laying on the couch. This means a cease from our normal work. I think working on the house can be okay, if it is not your normal work. If your normal job is cleaning houses, you need a break from that. If your normal job is building houses, you need a break from that. If your normal job is teaching, you need a day off. We need rest.
6. In your bulletin, in the sermon notes, we have included a chart with the references to the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament and the references in the New Testament. When you look up those passages you can see that they are all critically important in the New Testament, though as I said the Sabbath is never given the same commandment. Though we do see that Jesus did observe the Sabbath.
7. But I wish to make the case to you that all of the Ten Commandments fall under Jesus’ response to the lawyer which is summed up, Love God and Love people. So, let’s talk about loving people.

1. The last six commandments relate to our relationship with others.
   1. This is summed up in Jesus’ words: And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
   2. Jesus Himself said that all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
   3. Jesus is saying that the Old Testament law and all of the prophetic writings fall under the commandments to Love God and to Love people.

(5) “Honor your father and mother” (Ex. 20:12).

(6) “Do not murder” (Ex. 20:13).

(7) “Do not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14).

(8) “Do not steal” (Ex. 20:15).

(9) “Do not testify falsely” (Ex. 20:16).

(10) “Do not covet” (Ex. 20:17).^[2]

Conclusion:

Let’s play a game. It is called crossover, but I don’t know that you all want to cross over so, let’s just play raise your hand:

• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by murder, directly or indirectly.
  • I had a co-worker murdered.
• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by some not honoring their father or mother.
• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by stealing.
• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by lies.
• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by covetousness.
  • Maybe we have hurt ourselves in this way.
• Raise your hand if you have been hurt by a lack of rest.

As I said, these Ten Commandments can easily be ten sermons. But I hope we all realize they are all critically important, still relevant. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Prayer

^[1] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ex 20:1–8.

^[2] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ex 20:8–17.

Introduction:

How many of you are breathing right now? How many of you have breath?

I got an idea, how about we try to hold our breath until the end of the sermon. No one wants to try that. I think I can go about thirty seconds without breath and that is about the same amount of time I can go without talking or eating. Breathing is very important in life. Actually, one could argue “to live is to breathe.”

Everyone let’s take a deep breath. Let’s do it together. Let’s breathe in and now let’s breathe out.

You all have breath and Psalm 150 tells us that means we can praise God.

Let’s read Psalm 150.

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

I am continuing a series titled: “You are the church.” Today I focus on Congregational praise.

Theme and challenge:

I want to challenge you to praise God with your breath. That is my theme and challenge.

According to Psalm 150 you are to praise the Lord.

1. In verse 1 we see the call (150:1)
   1. They are called to praise the Lord.
   2. Notice that the verb “to praise” is used 13 times in these six verses. It is used twice in each verse and 3 times in verse 1.
   3. I would say that praising the Lord is pretty important.
   4. This is the conclusion of the Psalms and it is all about praise. But this Psalm is not simply about praise, I believe it is more community driven.
   5. Praise the Lord “in His Sanctuary.” This is likely the Holy of Holies and in the temple. It is awesome that we are now the Temple of God. (1 Cor. 6:19) We can praise the Lord anywhere.

1. In verse 2 we see the cause (150:2)

Chorus: Awesome God

1. Why do we praise God?
2. We praise God for His acts of power.
3. We praise God for His greatness.
4. When we praise God we are loving God. God loves us (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19), we are loving God back.

• In verses 3-5 we see the celebration (150:3-5)

Shout to the Lord

1. This is a celebration.
2. When we have a birthday party, do you do that alone?
3. Can you celebrate on your own? I don’t think so. No, you invite a group of people and you celebrate.
4. Worship, praising God, is something that we do as a community.
5. Look down at verses 3-5. We can’t do this on our own, can we?
6. We have instruments.
7. This is a loud worship service.
8. Take your finger and stick it up in the air and now point it at yourself and say, “I am the church.”
9. You are the church and you are here to praise God.
10. We are celebrating how awesome God is. We are loving God.

In verse 6 we see the culmination (150:6)

Be the Center (verse 1 and chorus)

1. Do you have breath?
2. Try it again, let’s take a deep breath.
3. Now, let’s praise the Lord with our breath.
4. Everyone let’s say, “I love you Lord.”

1. Some Applications and I am applying these to myself as well. They are in this first person.
   1. Do I take praising God seriously?
   2. How do I view the hymns and songs in a worship service?
      1. Am I singing them to God?
      2. Am I singing them like I mean them and like I actually care?
      3. What is going on in my head? Am I just going through the motions.
      4. What about prayer? Am I echoing the prayer to God?

Conclusion:

Research in the field of bioacoustics has revealed that every day we are surrounded by millions of ultrasonic songs. Did you know, for instance, that the electron shell of the carbon atom produces the same harmonic scale as the Gregorian chant? Or that whale songs can travel thousands of miles underwater? Or that meadowlarks have a range of three hundred notes? Supersensitive sound instruments have discovered that even earthworms make faint staccato sounds! Arnold Summerfield, the German physicist and pianist, observed that a single hydrogen atom, which emits one hundred frequencies, is more musical than a grand piano, which only emits eighty-eight frequencies.

Science writer Lewis Thomas summed it up it this way: “If we had better hearing, and could discern the [singing] of sea birds, the rhythmic [drumming] of schools of mollusks, or even the distant harmonics of [flies] hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet.”[1]

All of creation is worshipping God. When we come together to worship, are we praising God?

You are the church, please come and praise God as a body of Christ.

Jesus said in John 4:23:

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Let’s praise Him now.

Prayer

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Adapted from Mark Batterson, All In (Zondervan, 2013), pp. 118-119

When Mercedes was born we had to feed her all the time. Seriously, we had to feed her and feed her and feed her and change her and change her and change her. Now, we don’t have to do either. I mean, she can feed herself and she is fully potty trained. It is great. I will say, it is great when they start talking, but when we are trying to order at the drive thru and she is in the back saying, “I want a milk shake!” I wish she couldn’t talk. But the point is that she is growing up. I remember when she was starting to hold her own bottle. She didn’t know how to tip the bottle back so she would tip her whole body back and fall backwards. I remember the first time we fed her a type of baby food, I think it was bananas, she did not let us take the spoon out of her mouth. She loved it so much that she just wanted to suck on the spoon. But she was used to a bottle and a bottle you don’t take out of your mouth to get more. Mercedes had to grow out of these things. You know how many times I hear her say that she does not like a certain type of food? That does not mean it is not important.

In like manner, we as Christians must grow. We must learn to feed ourselves. We must learn how to eat solid food. Sometimes this is difficult. Sometimes we choke on the solid food. Sometimes we don’t like it, but we must take it in. We may not like vegetables, but that does not mean we do not need them. You need them. I need them. We may only like the sugary items, but you cannot only have sugars. You need meats. We need protein. In the Christian life sugar is the feel good messages that may not take a lot of thinking or struggling. But the meat contains the deep messages and content that we may struggle through. The deep things of the Christian life may not be just content. The deep things of the Christian life may be, “Where is God when life hurts?” You don’t get into the depth if you don’t learn to feed yourself.

Today, I want to talk about feeding yourself.

Theme:

You are the Church, being fed and feeding yourself.

You are all the church if you have believed in and committed to Christ. As part of the church I am to feed you, but you are also to feed yourself.

1. My main point of application is to learn to feed yourself and grow as a result. Let’s read Hebrews 5:11-14:

Hebrews 5:11-14:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.^{x [1]}

14. Starting in chapter 4:14 the writer transitioned to write about the High Priest. Prior to 4:14 the writer was warning the Hebrew people not to fall away. The writer gave the example of the Hebrew people in Numbers 14. This was the situation when Moses sent spies to see the land of Canaan. All but two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, were scared of the people in the land. Because of their lack of faith, God punished Israel by making them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. The writer was writing about Jesus as the great High Priest from 4:14 until now. In 5:6 the writer says that Jesus is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. The writer spends the next few verses (until 5:10) talking about Melchizedek. Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14. He was a priest-king. He was the king of Salem. Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe, being 10 percent of his spoils from the battle he had with the kings of the east who had taken his nephew Lot. Melchizedek was a priest who was not of the priestly line which would be the line of descent from Aaron or the Levites. Jesus is the great High Priest even though He is not from the line of Aaron or the Levites. Abram submitted to Melchizedek and Abram was prior to Moses and prior to Aaron so it should follow that Melchizedek is someone important.
15. That is how we get to here. But in this passage the writer says that he would like to give them more, but he can’t because they are stuck as babies. The content I just gave is straight from the Bible but we do have to follow it.
16. I have referenced Mercedes and could also reference Abigail about growing up. Abigail is learning to peddle her bike, learning to put her shoes on and so much more. But Mercedes is two years ahead of her. For some time now, Mercedes has wanted to run with me. I love running with my children, but they are getting too big. But we still go out and run several times a week. Well, a few years ago I weighed like twenty-thirty pounds less and I was a much faster runner. Mercedes also weighed less as she was just two years old. I was running the Alliance Rotary Castle run. Mercedes and I were running and we were moving. It was great. She was riding along just talking and singing. Then we started coming down Glamorgan or some street over there and I saw Tonya Penturf. I thought how cool it would be to pass Tonya when I am pushing a baby. Of course Tonya is much, much, much older than me so I should run faster. We passed her and then Mercedes threw her shoe. I then had to stop and pick up her shoe and Tonya passed me. Tonya finished ahead of me and Dave Penturf gave me $20 for letting his wife beat me. But when we run Mercedes will say, “Daddy, can I run with you?” I will say, “No, Mercedes you need to ride in the jogging stroller.” She will say how she can run so fast and even show me. She wants to run with me so bad. Someday, I believe that she will grow up and I hope I can run with her then. Mercedes has to grow up for this and we expect her to grow up. We expect her to grow stronger.
17. We want, we desire, we expect that children grow up and get stronger.

One of my favorite preachers says this:

I love babies. I think others ought to have as many as they wish. I think it’s a delightful, enjoyable experience to watch babies grow up and to become little people, little men and women, adolescents, and functioning persons. But you and I know that there are some things about little babies that are not very attractive. We humor them because they’re babies.

            Here’s a list of things: they are dependent and demanding. They are unable to feed themselves. They are unable to stay out of messes. They love to be the center of attention. They are driven by impulses such as hunger, pain, sleep. They’re irritated when they are dirty, even though they made the mess, and you’ve gotta clean it up. They have no manners, no control. They have little attention span, no concern for others, no abilities or skills.

            Now these are natural things that are part of babyhood. But when you see adults with those characteristics, something tragic has happened, something terribly unfunny. The Christian who is not interested in growing wants to be entertained. He wants a diet of milk when he cries for it. He wants his way. And he’s gonna get it, no matter how many he will have to disrupt to get it.

            You see, in order for a Christian to handle solid food, he has to have a growing, mature digestive system. He needs teeth. He needs to have an appetite that is cultivated over a period of time for deep things, for the solid things of God. Spiritual babies must grow up. Some of the most difficult people to live with in the church of Jesus Christ are those that have grown old in the Lord but haven’t grown up in Him.[2]

1. Sometimes we stay as babies.
2. On the other hand, sometimes we only eat once a week. We think it is enough to be fed spiritually only on Sunday, yet we wonder why we vomit the spiritual content. We wonder why we are nauseous the rest of the day. We wonder why we have spiritual Charlie horses. We wonder… I once heard that when people are starving and they start eating they get sick. For example, people who were prisoners of war and finally get out start eating. When they eat they get sick. This is because their body cannot handle it. In that case it is not their fault. But it is my fault if I willingly refuse to eat except on Sundays and then gorge myself, making myself sick.
3. Sometimes I like to run twice on one day of the week so that I can skip the next day. Sometimes I like to run extra long one day and skip the next day. However, sometimes my body cannot take that. My body is more equipped to handle 7 runs that are 6 miles than one run that is 42 miles. Or, actually, my body can handle 5 runs that are 6 miles and then 1 run that is 20 miles.
4. You cannot sacrifice spiritually as a Christian all week and catch up on Sunday.
5. Let me make a disclaimer. If you are a new Christian God will give you something on Sunday. The problem is that after you have been a believer a certain amount of time and you ignore the Spirit through the week, then I highly doubt God will give much on Sunday. This is because you have been desensitized to the Spirit. I know that is a strong statement, but it is our fallen human nature. We ignore something so long and then our minds get used to it. For example, I know there are things in your house that you don’t notice, this is because you no longer intentionally notice them. You don’t use that item.
6. True story: a church got a new piano, but people would not allow them to get rid of the old piano. It was donated by someone or something like that. So, it was no good, but the church could not move it out of the sanctuary without upsetting people. They didn’t use it but it had to stay in the sanctuary. Well, they moved that piano an inch or a few inches back every week. They had a large side aisle and they just gradually moved that piano back until it was gone and no one noticed. No one noticed because it gradually moved back. We do that spiritually, don’t we? We gradually push God out of our life.
7. So, here is the grand application. Learn to eat strong spiritual food. Spend time with Him through the week. Invest in your relationship with Jesus.

1. Let’s talk about feeding yourself.
   1. Try to read Scripture most days of the week.
   2. Try to read a chapter. Pray first for the Lord to guide you and speak to you and then read.
   3. As you read, make an application.
   4. Try to pray every time you think of something, but also have dedicated prayer times.
   5. Meet with another believe and pray and sharpen each other.
   6. Read some books to aid your spiritual growth. Just read a few pages at a time. I can recommend some:
   7. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “The Cost of Discipleship”
   8. Rick Warren: “Purpose Driven Life”

Close:

I referenced Mercedes having to learn how to feed herself. That is true. Eventually she learned how to drink her own bottle and then she learned how to eat and drink and walk and talk and much more. Now she even rides a bike. But some day I expect her to grow up. Someday my prayer is that she can take care of herself, really. My prayer is that my children grow up to be responsible.

As Christians we need to grow so that we can be responsible spiritually. We need to be able to feed ourselves and then we can actually help feed other believers.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

^x Isa 7:15

^[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Heb 5:11–14.

[2] Swindoll, Charles R. Read in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN 1998. Page 80.

Today is, once again, question and answer Sunday. Today is also Father’s Day. So, I am going to put the two together.

Question: “How long do we wait for the Lord?”

I want to talk about this while talking about fathers in the Old Testament and the New Testament. I ultimately cannot answer the “how long” part. This is situational. This also deals with a broader subject of knowing God’s will and how do we know what we are waiting on is something God wants us to wait on. These are specifics that I cannot answer for everybody. I would love to sit down and talk with you about God’s will and what you are waiting on.

A 10 year old girl sent a letter to God.  It read:  Dear God, when exactly will hell freeze over?  My dad said that’s about the time I’ll get my new pony.

I know that people are waiting on a spouse. They are waiting for God to bring the special someone to to them.

Others are waiting on a someone to come back to them. Maybe they have had a disagreement of some sort. Or, maybe their spouse has had an affair. Maybe their child or children have been the prodigal. Maybe their child or children have walked away from God and they are waiting for them to come back.

Others may be waiting on an answer. They are wondering why something has happened to them or has happened a certain way. They may be wondering why they have an illness or a family member has an illness. They are waiting and asking God for answers.

Some are waiting on a new job. They are sticking with their current job, but they hate it. They are sickened by their job. They want a new job and they keep asking God to give them the new job. They want God to help them understand why they are in this current job.

Others are waiting on something else. The question was “How long do I wait on God?” Let’s talk about Biblical examples of fathers waiting on God.

My title is:

Title: Father’s in waiting

I will give some insights on waiting on God.

1. Examples of Fathers waiting in the Bible
   1. I am limiting this to fathers because there are many people who are waiting for the Lord in the Bible. Isaiah 40 even says: but those who hope in the Lord
      will renew their strength.
      They will soar on wings like eagles;
      they will run and not grow weary,
      they will walk and not be faint.
   2. Psalm 40:1: I waited patiently for the Lord;
      he turned to me and heard my cry.
   3. I will summarize the following dads waiting and you can read about them later. The references are in my notes.
   4. Just think about Abraham. In Genesis 15:4 the elderly Abram is promises a son. Isaac was born years later in Genesis 21. In Genesis 21:6 it says that he was 100 years old when Isaac was born. We know that Abram was less than 86 years old when he was first given the promise of Isaac. Genesis 16:16 says that Abram was 86 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
   5. Waiting is tough and I imagine Abram and Sarai had a difficult time waiting. They must have thought repeatedly about taking matters into their own hands until they actually did and Sarai gives Abram her maid to mother the child. But that child was not the child of promise. Abram was to wait on the Lord.
   6. Now, here is an important application: Abram was to wait, but God had given him special revelation on multiple occasions of God’s future for him.
   7. We better not get our own idea and claim we are waiting on the Lord. First, we must discern God’s will.
   8. In the New Testament there is another example of a father waiting on the Lord. There are at least two. One of them is Zacharias. We can read about him in Luke chapter 1. He was elderly and had not had any children. The angel visited him and he was told that he would not be able to talk until the baby was born (Luke 1:20). That must have been a long 9 months of waiting.
   9. Another example is Joseph the step father of our Lord Jesus. In Matthew chapter 1 he is going to divorce Mary, but then God communicates to Him. Then in Matthew chapter 2:13 Joseph is told to take the child, Jesus, to Egypt for safety. Then in 2:19 an angel communicates to Joseph to bring the child back to Israel.
   10. Joseph constantly waited, following the Lord’s instruction.
2. Recommendations on waiting for the Lord
   1. Remember the patience of God: 2 Peter 3:8: But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
   2. God is waiting, God is outside of time.
   3. Patience is a virtue: 1 Cor. 13:4: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
   4. David says there are three things to do as you wait –
      1. Wait quietly— “I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5 NLT)
      2. Wait patiently— “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” (Psalm 37:7 NLT)
      3. Wait expectantly— “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.” (Psalm 105:5 LB)[1]

When God Makes You Wait

In his book It Happens After Prayer, Pastor H. B. Charles Jr. provides the following helpful illustration of why God often makes us wait for the answer to our prayers.

One hot afternoon, a certain woman walked to her neighbor’s produce stand to buy grapes. The line was long. And each person seemed to get special attention. But she waited patiently. When she finally made it to the front of the line, the owner asked for her order. She asked for grapes. “Please excuse me for a minute,” was the answer. Then the owner walked away and disappeared behind a building. For some reason, this rubbed the woman the wrong way. Everyone in line before her was greeted warmly. They were given special attention. And, most importantly, they were served immediately. But she was forced to wait. And when she got to the front of the line, she was forced to wait some more. She was offended. She felt the owner took her regular business for granted. The longer she waited, the angrier she became.

Finally, the produce stand owner reappeared. And with a big smile, he presented her with the most beautiful grapes she had ever seen. He invited her to taste them. She had never tasted grapes so good. As she turned to leave with her delicious grapes, he stopped her. “Oh yeah, I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” said the farmer. “But I needed the time to get you my very best.”

How long have you been in line waiting on God to get to your request? How long have you been waiting in line for God to meet a need, solve a problem, or open a door? Whatever you do, don’t get out of line. And don’t stop praying. Wait on God.[2]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Prayer

[1]These come from Rick Warren: http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/wait-expectantly-for-god-to-answer

[2] H. B. Charles, It Happens After Prayer, (Moody Publishers, 2013) p. 37; submitted by David Finch, Elk Grove, California.

We have applications for both of us.

1. Let’s start by learning from Martha for church.
   1. Let’s notice first that Martha was caring.
   2. Let’s talk about caring as a church. Jeff is going to make a special announcement that connects to our church and how you can be caring.
   3. This is an application. You can all be caring as Martha was caring.
   4. I believe that we can learn from both Mary and Martha. Sometimes Martha gets a bad reputation and, after all, she is rebuked by Jesus. But I think there are some good qualities to learn from Martha. However, if you have these good qualities, don’t gloat in them, notice the things to improve on.
   5. Today’s focus is on the church gathering and my applications will be in accordance with that subject.
   6. Notice that Martha was welcoming. It says that she “opened” her home to him.
   7. She welcomed Him into her home.
   8. But we soon find out that though she welcomed Him into her home, she missed Him.
   9. àWe find out that she is very busy
   10. àWhat is it like to on the one hand be very welcoming, but on the other hand be so busy that we don’t notice people. On the one hand we say, “Come over.” But when they are over we serve them, but we really don’t fellowship with them.
   11. What does it mean to be welcoming?
   12. Greek word is a verb: To take under one’s care, as if placing the hands or arms under a person or thing, to receive hospitably and kindly.
   13. We see this word about four times in the New Testament.
   14. How welcoming are we?
   15. Being welcoming does not mean condoning sin or denying who we are. Truly, I know of a seminary of a major denomination that was going to cover their cross so that a speaker could come for a conference.
   16. When we are that welcoming we compromise truth and Jesus is not welcomed.
   17. Do you notice people when they are here?
   18. Do we all greet them?
   19. Do we all have conversation with them?
   20. In the next few verses we see that though she was opening her home to Jesus, once He came in she really did not pay attention to Him.
   21. Such is the case with some of us. We may welcome people into our church and we say come and visit, but we really do not talk to them or visit with them when they are here. We all love each other and we can tell that we do, but we ignore others. It may be because we are so busy. But in this passage we see that busyness is not an excuse.
   22. That is a message about noticing others, but what about Jesus?
   23. Could it be that we get so busy, even at church, that we miss Jesus? Could it be that our busyness through the week keeps us from Jesus on Sunday?
   24. We may be here, but are we here?
   25. In verse 41, in the Message, Jesus says that she is “fussing” about things.
       1. That is what I do I fuss and Mercedes shows my weaknesses. I get frustrated when things don’t work right. Then I see Mercedes throwing a fit when her shoes don’t go on right. I think “where does this come from?” It comes from me.
       2. I can get so busy and then frustrated and miss Jesus.

• On Sunday we are here to worship in community, but life makes us skip or miss out when we are here.

1. Don’t miss it, it does seem that Martha wants to be with Jesus. She is just busy. I get this because I am always thinking about details too. Let go, worship.

1. Learning from Mary for church
   1. It appears that Mary is one where we would think, “Teacher’s pet.” Mary is the student who when you are sitting in class and class is about over and you think “great, no homework!” But then Mary says, “Teacher you forgot to give us homework.” You are sitting thinking, “Noooooooo!”
   2. Mary was close to Jesus, look:
   3. We find out more about Mary in John 11:2: It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.^[1]
   4. Mary has a theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkdjfwMwfXw
   5. Slow down by Nichole Nordeman

Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone

1. Jesus rebukes Martha, but not Mary.
2. We love from Mary to focus on Jesus. We learn to be here now.

• What can we learn for Sunday mornings?
  1. How can you be here now?
  2. Maybe if you start out Sunday mornings earlier or maybe on Saturday night and pray you can ask the Lord to prepare your heart for worship.
  3. Maybe you need to cut something out, so no to something. Maybe you are too busy.
  4. Maybe you are too busy, even at church and you are missing Jesus.

Close:

One writes:

While I was serving in Paraguay, a Maka Indian named Rafael came to sit on my porch. I was eating and went out to see what he wanted. He responded, “Ham, henek met.” Again I asked what I could do for him, but the answer was the same. I understood what he was saying but not its significance: “I don’t want anything; I have just come near.”

I later shared the incident with a local veteran missionary. He explained that it was Rafael’s way of honoring me. He really didn’t want anything; he just wanted to sit on my porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure just being near me.

“What brings you here, my child?” the Lord asks.

“Ham, henek met.”

Doesn’t that reveal the heart of true worship?[2]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 11:2.

[2] Stuart Sacks, Villanova, Pennsylvania

You are the church, good things happen when we come together:

What happens when we mix Vinegar and Baking soda? It fizzles up, it reacts. There is a reaction when the body of Christ comes together. The Holy Spirit is powerful when we come together.

An athlete must prepare. Actually, marathon runners prepare the night before and even days before.

How a runner eats the day before can ruin his or her run. What a runner does the day before can ruin his or her run. I love running marathons because I have an excuse to carb load the days prior to run. Seriously, all the books tell you to eat more carbs in the days prior to your marathon. There was actually someone training for a half marathon and she was struggling. She went to talk to her doctor and the doctor asked about her diet. She replied that she would eat about 1300 calories a day. The doctor told her that that is not enough. You have to eat more.

So, can how we live our lives on Saturday impact our Sunday? Can what we do on Sunday morning affect Sunday worship?

Do you believe people are saved in a worship service?

Do we believe that God can teach you something in a worship service? What is this about? Is this simply about making yourself feel good, then don’t read the Bible because there are some hardcore passages in there. Or, is this about God shaping you to be more like Him.

Do you believe you are here to express your love to God and worship Him as worthy?

You are the Church, Part one: Preparing for Sunday morning Congregational worship My theme today is that we must prepare for worship.

To begin, let’s read Mark 1:35:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

1. Jesus modeled prayer.
   35. We just read this in Mark 1:35.
   36. Even though Jesus had a lot going on He retreated for prayer.
   37. If you read the verses before this the whole city is gathering at the door where Jesus was so that they can be healed.
   38. Jesus was a busy man. He was very important. Yet, He retreated for prayer.
   39. He knew He needed time with the Father.
   40. I struggle with this. Honestly, let’s apply this together. My struggle is because many times I act like I can live the Christian life by my own power. I’ve talked about the Holy Spirit, right? So, why don’t I spend more time with God through the Spirit. It is like I do not believe in prayer. The Bible says The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16) So, why do I not function like I believe that. How about you?
   41. I will tell you that in the last few months I have been convicted to pray through the church on Saturday and or Sunday. I walk through each room and pray as the Spirit leads me. I pray for the childcare children by name and most if not all of you by name. This is part of my preparation for Sunday morning worship.
2. Old Testament examples
   1. In Exodus 19 God instructs Moses to instruct the people to prepare themselves to encounter God. In verses 10-11: And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
   2. There was preparation to meet God.
   3. In Exodus 40 there are 34 verses of instructions for Moses building the Tabernacle.
   4. Today our Tabernacle is us. The Holy Spirit resides in us (1 Cor. 6:19), but when we come together we are the people of God.
   5. We must take this seriously and prepare.

• How do we prepare?
  1. I am very planned. But before children there were many times when Meagan and I had an idea and we just did it. We would think, “Let’s go out to eat,” and off we go. We would think, “Let’s go get a movie,” and off we go. That is just the way we could function then. Now, we have children. We must think more seriously about things.
  2. Likewise, as Christians we must take church seriously. We must take corporate worship reverently.
  3. Reflect: It is often hard to concentrate on God when the world and its cares try to take first place in our hearts. What gets in the way of your ability to focus on God and hear what He says?
  4. Spend time in prayer Saturday night and/or Sunday morning.
  5. Pray that God will open our hearts to hear Him.
     1. Pray for others that they will come to know Him as Lord and Savior.
     2. Pray for me and those that lead worship.
  6. Spend time in the Word. Read the passage that will be preached on.
  7. Perceive what Jesus has done for us through His sacrifice on the cross.
  8. Praise Jesus for our salvation and for the freedom to worship when and where we choose.
  9. Prepare to share what we have learned with the world, teaching others to follow Jesus step by step.

Close:

Do you believe that God will work through Sunday morning worship?

As Christian we must prepare for Sunday worship just as we prepare to build our house or do any other job.

Close regarding the church:

You are the church. Today we get to recognize graduates and celebrate as a church. Further, we prepare for church, we prepare for life.

 Sunday morning is preparing for life.

Today, we recognize graduates…

Let’s celebrate together

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)