Unbinding the Gospel – Salvaged Faith

How Will We Care for One Another?

Posted on March 29, 2020Leave a comment

Text: Acts 4:32-35, 6:1-7

We aren’t quite to Easter yet, but I thought it might be a good idea to take a sneak peek into the future. The life of the early church, told by Luke in the book of Acts, has an awful lot of parallels with our experience right now! Everything was changing. The foundations were shifting underneath their feet. The old ways of doing things were tossed out. Something new was brewing.

You see, even in the midst of all of the uncertainty and fear and transformation they were experiencing, the disciples and the community of believers had tapped into the power of God. The Holy Spirit flowed among them. They were of one heart and one mind. They looked out for each other. They encouraged one another. They were grounded in their relationship with God. But they also never stopped sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others in the world.

We’ve been reading through “Unbinding Your Heart” together as a church this Lent and today I want to take us back to chapter three. Martha Grace Reese invites us to think about these three interwoven sets of relationships that we have… relationships that we see clearly in this passage from Acts chapter 4. Our relationship with God. Our relationships between church members. And our relationships with people outside the church.

As she writes:
“God works powerfully through these three sets of relationships in healthy churches. These great churches, large and small, have a spider-web wholeness about them. Touch one area of the web, and ripples shimmer across its entire surface. As individual relationships with God grow, people are able to be more real with each other within the church. As relationships within the church get richer, members of the church somehow know how to be better friends at work, in the neighborhood, coaching Little League…” (p. 45)

That was exactly what was happening with the early Christian church. They were deeply connected with God, devoting themselves to learning from the disciples and their prayer and worship life. Every day they met together and praised God. And the scriptures say that there was no needy person among them! Because they relied upon God, they had no shame or guilt about their situations. They were real and honest about what was going on in their lives and when a difficulty or challenge arose, they shared it…. And the community stepped up in response. Everyone cared for everyone else.

But here is the thing. This wasn’t an isolated and insulated group. Luke tells us that they were out there in the world, demonstrating God’s goodness to everyone. In just four chapters of scripture, the family of believers goes from 120, to three thousand, to five thousand! Talk about exponential growth! Daily God was adding to the community. (2:47)

That makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, Reese writes that: “If faith and church have changed your life, you’ll want to share that discovery with your friends. You want everyone to know that Christ lives. You want everyone to know that God loves us extravagantly. You want everyone to know that God will overwhelm their souls with grace and wash away their sins. You want everyone to understand to the soles of their feet that there is no sin, no resentment, no bitterness, no wound, no fear, no illness, no loneliness that Christ cannot forgive, dissolve, heal, cure, fill…. Nothing is more beautiful than this good news.” (p. 51-52)

I’m challenged by those words, because I know that I have been less than enthusiastic about sharing this good news with others. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard “no” too many times. Maybe it’s because I’m too worried about what they might think.

But our book also reminds us that all of these areas are interconnected. So maybe my, our, hesitancy to step outside and share the good news with others also has something to do with those other relationships.

Maybe our relationship with God needs some work. If that’s the case, then maybe before we step out there and start telling people about the good news we need to let it sink into our heart a little deeper. We need to spend some time in prayer each morning. Or read scripture each day. Or join a bible study. Or more regularly participate in worship.

Maybe our relationship with God is just fine, but there is a conflict or a struggle or we aren’t feeling supported by our relationships within the church. This happens far more than we want to admit. We feel slighted by not being invited to lead or serve. We have an interaction that rubs us the wrong way. We have made a mistake and instead of turning to the community, we turn away.

Or maybe there is a huge thing happening in our lives… the death of a loved one or a job loss or a new baby or a child coming home from college… and instead of bringing all of the joys and struggles and stress and realness of our lives to one another, we hold it all inside.

Or maybe, the church got so busy taking care of other things that they literally started neglecting some of their own.

That’s the situation the disciples found ourselves in by chapter six of Luke’s account. The numbers within the community kept increasing, but with more people came more work. Like most churches… c’mon, let’s be honest!… people started to group together with people that were like them. Same age groups, same ethnic background, same party or perspective. And because of this, some of the community was slipping through the cracks.

It’s hard to feel excited and passionate about your church if you aren’t feeling cared for. It’s hard to get out there and share the good news if you have needs yourself that are unmet. And it’s hard to learn how to step out of your comfort zone and talk with your neighbors when you haven’t even done so with the members of your own faith community.

A few weeks ago, Jerad Fischer shared with our church that deep relationships grow when you have something in common. And how awesome is it to discover that what you have in common with someone is God!

So the disciples looked out at the community and realized they needed to be more intentional about how they cared for one another. They needed to help the church build new relationships within the community itself that cut across all of those old lines of cliques and comfort zones and familiarity. They called some leaders to step up and reach out to care for one another.

Friends, I think that’s the kind of situation we find ourselves in today. In a world that is so uncertain and unknown, it’s time for us to be more intentional about our relationships, too. It’s time for us to go deeper in prayer and worship and time with our God. And it’s time for us to really reach out and care for one another as a community of faith.

This week, we are sending out assignments for our caring connections groups. Every member of our faith community has been grouped together with others. Some of these are people you might know, and others are new relationships that you haven’t built yet. But in each group, we’ve got families and elders, retired folks and working parents, children and youth.

And just like the apostles called upon the members of that early faith community to reach out and serve one another, that is your task as well. When you get your caring connection assignment, your job is to reach out to those members of your faith community. Send them a card. Call them up on the phone and ask how they are doing. Find out if they have access to our worship on Sundays. See who might need groceries. Draw pictures and mail them. Look out for one another.

As much as the world feels like it is upside down right now, I have to tell you that I am excited. I’m excited about the opportunity to let the distractions fall away. I’m excited about the time we get to spend with God in a new way. I’m excited about building these new relationships that are going to strengthen our church for the long haul. I’m excited about discovering new ways of “being church.”

And I believe… I know… I have faith… that as we deepen our relationship with God and we solidify our relationships with one another, all of that love and energy and grace is going to spill over into the world and it will impact the relationships we have with every other person we meet.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

You Have Everything You Need

Posted on March 22, 2020Leave a comment

Text: Mark 6:34-44

This week, all of our lives changed.

I’m not just talking about this congregation…. Or people of faith… but everyone… everywhere.

Our lives were turned upside down.

We have had to stop.

Stay home.

Make adjustments.

For some, these are minor inconveniences.

For others, the impact of the coronavirus threatens their physical or financial wellbeing.

While our leadership here at the church has been busy putting into action plans that will help us to connect and care for one another, I’ve also been doing a lot of praying for our neighbors.

I’ve been thinking about people who don’t have a community of faith to encourage them or check in or point to hope during this time.

Our vision as a church is to be out there in the world, loving, serving, and praying, so that all who hunger might be fed by God’s grace.

So I’ve been asking… where is there hunger in our world right now?

How might we be called to respond?

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus looks out upon the crowds… the multitudes… the neighbors and strangers all huddled together and has compassion on them.

He aches in his very core for these people who are hungry for a word, a touch, a glimpse of something new.

So he stops everything he was about to do and teaches them.

Spends time with them.

Connects with them.

You know… he does what Jesus does.

After a while, the disciples start to notice their own stomachs growling.

It had been a long day.

Their own hunger and exhaustion and stress and concern was all they could think about.

“Send the people away,” the disciples urged.

“Let them figure something out for themselves.”

“That way we can figure out what to do for ourselves.”

It makes sense, right?

We’ve all been told to put on our own oxygen mask before we put one on someone else if we are flying.

We’ve all been told that we can’t continue to keep giving and giving and not take time to stop and refill our cup, too.

After all, this whole story begins with Jesus and the apostles in a worn out tired place.

They had just gone out to do a whole lot of ministry and had just returned.

In verse 30, it says that so many people were coming and going that they had no time to eat!

So Jesus invites them away to a quiet place to rest for a bit.

Only… when they get there, that’s when they get overwhelmed again by the crowds.

What is a weary disciple to do?

Jesus answer surprises us: Look at what you have.

Look at who you are.

Take stock of it all.

You already have everything you need.

Or rather… what you need, is what they need.

You are not different from them, or separate from them.

There is no “them” at all.

It’s just all of us.

Right here.

All stuck in the same place with the same needs.

So whatever we have to take care of ourselves, it’s good enough to share with everyone else.

What is the hunger of the world right now?

What are the needs in our community?

What are people longing for?

Well… what do you need?

Because… honestly… they are probably the same.

On a normal day… all we really want is to feel loved, accepted and comfortable in our churches. We want to grow in our faith.

In these kinds of times… those things are mostly true, too, but we also have some other needs.

Peace in the midst of anxiety.

Groceries in a time a social distancing.

Connection when all around us is isolation.

Stability when everything feels uncertain.

And what are the resources we have to meet those needs?

Well, we have words of comfort in scripture… but also things like prayer and breathing deep and the ability to turn off the news and watch the birds sing.

Some of us have the ability to go out and shop or order things online.

We have phones and cards and computers to build connection in new ways.

We have a firm foundation in God that we lean on in times of stress.

Those are our loaves of bread and fish.

And we could use them all to take care of ourselves… which we’ll do…

But what would it look like to place them in God’s hands and let these small simply things abundantly multiply and spill over and feed not only our bodies and minds and souls, but that of our neighbors as well?

In our study and prayers around “Unbinding Your Heart” and “Unbinding the Gospel” the fourth chapter and week is all about what people outside of our churches need.

And it’s really simple.

They want to know that they are loved by God and that the church loves them.

That’s it.

And most people, our book tells us, are open to becoming part of a faith community during a time of change in their lives.

At a time when they were seeking and open for something different.

A time… maybe not unlike now.

It’s why the crowds of people had gathered there in that deserted place to meet Jesus.

They were already looking…

Already seeking…

Already longing…

Already hungry…

As we take stock of our resources and check in with one another and build new online connections, I think that the very things we are going to be doing and starting are exactly the kinds of things that our neighbors outside the church are looking for, too.

I kept thinking about how we are putting together church groups so that we might connect and care for one another over the coming weeks and months.

And about the online opportunities we are starting.

And I realized that my neighbors, Cheryl and Ann, probably need the exact same thing.

They are an older couple and don’t get out much anyways and already experiences some isolation.

So I just walked over to their house and left them my phone number.

I told them that if they need someone to pick up groceries, to give me a call.

If they feel stuck inside, give me a call.

And maybe next week, if I get braver, I’ll invite them to join us online for worship.

We already have everything we need to share with others during this time.

We’ve got the love of God in our heart.

We’ve got a peace that passes all understanding.

We’ve got phones and computers and cards and pen and crayons to make connection.

We’ve got time… blessed time… to work on our relationships.

All we need… all that any of us hunger for… is to know that we are loved.

That we are not alone.

That someone is thinking about us.

Watching over us.

What a better way for us to go out there and be the church…

To let loose the good news of God on this world.

To share it with everyone.

Deeper Water

Posted on March 8, 2020Leave a comment

Text: Matthew 18:18-20, Luke 5:1-10

I’ll often come across a quote or a few paragraphs in a devotional that I’ll save for later, thinking – Ahh! This will make a good sermon illustration!

Today, as we think a little bit about diving into deeper water in our prayer lives, I remembered a story told by the seventeenth century French mystic Jeanne Guyon in her book, “Experiencing the Depths of Christ.”

But before I get to her writing, a little about Madame Guyon herself.

She grew up very religious, spending much of her childhood in a convent until she was forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 15.

By the age of 28, Madame Guyon was a wealthy widow with three surviving children.

But the piety of her youth was what drove her and she continued to have mystical experiences of God. She felt called to share these teachings and eventually left her children into their grandmother’s care and left behind most of her personal possessions to do so.

At one point, Guyon was imprisoned for her teachings on prayer, which focused on constant prayer and inward stillness which brings us into the presence of God. Her writings were considered heresy at the time because they prioritized stillness over vocal prayer and pious action.

So imagine this woman, who has not had an easy life. But through it all, she believed God was with her in the midst of her trials and suffering. Madam Guyon wanted others to experience the depths of a relationship with God that she herself had found.

She tells the story of a traveler who has embarked on a long journey… a quest of sorts. But when the man comes to the first inn along the way, he stops there and remains there forever.

Why?

“He has been told that many travelers have come this way and have stayed at this very inn; even the master of the house once dwelt here… Oh soul! All that is wished for you is that you press toward the end… Only remember this: Do not stop at the first stage.” (Guyon, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ)

Do not stop at the first stage.

I wonder how many of us have stopped at the first stage of our prayer lives.

We recite the Lord’s prayer.

We have a few prayers we turn to before meals.

We might even have a daily devotional we pick up a few times a week that includes a prayer at the end of every reading.

But for many of us, we pray in much the same ways we did as children.

We learned some of the basics of prayer and then stopped at that stage along the way.

We forgot about our destination, what we were striving for in the first place: a life spent in the presence of God and a faith connected with the power of God.

While we spend a lot of time thinking about the prayer that Jesus taught us, we forget what else Jesus taught us about prayer.

Ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9)

If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains… nothing will be impossible (Mt 17:20)

If we ask for anything in agreement with God’s will, God listens to us… we know that we have received what we asked from God. (1 John 14-15)

And from our gospel reading today:

What your bind or loosen on earth will be bound or loosened in heaven.

When just two of us get together and pray about something, God goes into action in response. (Matthew 18:18-19)

If we pray… stuff will happen!

Not little stuff… BIG. GIGANTIC. POWERFUL. MOUNTAIN SIZED stuff!

That’s what scripture tells us.

That’s what Jesus keeps reminding us.

Prayer is powerful.

So why is it such an after thought?

Even in the church, this institution dedicated to the teachings of Jesus, prayer seems to be icing on the cake, rather than the main course.

Think about our typical response to things.

When we see a problem or we have a goal, we create a team!

We have meetings and we plan and organize and we get approval.

And then we work.

We work our tails off trying to make something happen.

And at the end of the day we find ourselves so busy and exhausted and barely one step farther along the way.

Maybe, MAYBE, we had a devotion and a prayer at some step along that journey.

But not always. And not often. And not primarily.

Martha Grace Reese reminds us that churches are not declining or struggling because we are lazy.

We work really hard.

Maybe the problem is that we aren’t praying as much as we work.

In Luke’s gospel, Simon and James and John found themselves in this very situation.

They were hard workers.

They had been up all night and put in the hours.

And yet, they had nothing to show for it.

Until they listened to Jesus’ invitation to go a little deeper.

To row out a little farther.

To push beyond what they had always done.

Was it simply that there were more fish out deeper in the water?

Surely, that can’t be it… for they knew these waters like the back of their hand.

Was it that they just put in more hours of work?

A whole nights worth of effort didn’t accomplish what miraculously came in through one toss.

No, what changed is that they had spent some time with Jesus.

And they listened to what Jesus asked of them.

In “Unbinding the Heart,” Reese shares the story of the Benton Street Christian Church and their evangelism team.

As they got started in their work, Reese asked them to not make any decisions for three months to but simply spend their time in prayer.

This was incredibly difficult for this church full of do-ers and they got frustrated that the only thing they could report was that they were praying… but they did it.

They got together and prayed.

They prayed between meetings.

They prayed every day.

They got teased a little… but then they started getting prayer requests.

And by the time their three months of prayer was done, they had vision and energy and direction and one month later had fifty people involved in the ministry.

As one of the volunteers later said, “It was incredibly difficult for these four ‘can-do’ women to wait in prayer… a year and a half later, all four of us would say our prayer lives have been permanently impacted by this experiment… the entire church is still being impacted by this willingness to risk praying first.” (p30)

Isn’t that a funny phrase…. To risk praying first?

What risk is there in praying first?

What risk is there in stopping to ask God to be present and to guide our work?

I’ll tell you what the risk is…

Something might happen.

Something might change.

And it just might be us.

Richard Foster once wrote, “prayer is the central avenue God uses to change us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”

Or to put it another way, if we are content with the status quo, we are probably not people who turn to prayer a lot in our lives.

The opposite is also true.

If we believe God is active in the world…

If we see that something needs to change…

If we want to transform our very way of being in the world…

Then prayer has to be part of the process.

It is key to the journey.

It isn’t just one stop along the way…. It is the very road beneath our feet.

Two weeks ago, our church leadership team thought together about the work we have before us this year and the role and responsibilities each of us will play along the way.

One of the things that we focused on was our vision statement.

Can we read that aloud together?

Through personal engagement in and partnership with our community, we will live a life of love, service, and prayer, so that all who hunger might be fed by God’s grace.

We’ve been working hard on making this happen.

We try to create opportunities for people to personally engage and reach out to our partners like CFUM and Women at the Well and Simpson Youth Academy.

We focus on physical hunger through our food pantry and meal programs.

We reach out to meet that hunger for connection and relationship.

But do you know what we haven’t done.

We haven’t invited all of you to pray about this vision.

We haven’t stopped to ask God to help us accomplish this work.

As much as we talk about love, service, and prayer… as much as we even practice intercessory prayer for one another’s joys and concerns… we have not prayed as a community for our work together as a church.

It’s almost as if we took all of the power of God to bring fruit and change and life to our congregation and we locked it up in a box.

Today… let’s set the power of prayer free.

Let’s let the good news of Christ loose on the world.

Let’s turn this work over to Jesus.

Just as Christ urged Peter, James and John out into deeper waters, this next week, each day you’ll get an email inviting you to pray for Immanuel.

Not just for our people.

But for the vision God has given us.

For the work before us.

Let’s not stop at the first stage.

Let’s not be content resting before our journey is complete.

But together, let us keep pressing onward, deeper, out into that place where the presence and power of God can truly change us and this world.

May it be so. Amen.