Sunday Morning Message

Join me this coming Sunday morning for the worship service, as Pastor Bill is away studying at Eden Seminary.

The Righteousness of God is Revealed Through Faith-Based on Romans 1:16-17, 3:22-28

What does baseball and the scripture have in common today? On the surface not a whole lot, but there are some deeper connections if you look real hard. Both subjects involve trades and changing lives in some form or another. Both deal with “look at me players” who are not living to the potential set forward by their managers. Also, both involve a sense of redemption. Baseball is the only sport in the world that celebrates a person who is able to hit a ball 30% of the time. In the same way, we are only able to live decent, Biblical lives about 30% of the time. Regardless of these facts, both sports are very forgiving of their players, allowing them many chances to prove themselves, despite errors committed, and a lack of production.

Our faith is something that we take seriously without really thinking about it. However, we are also seemingly bound to rules that dictate the way we live and act. There are some of us who feel the need to constantly serve others in the hopes of finding another star in our crown when we get to heaven, or another room in our mansion. Kind of like the baseball player who plays his whole career in a team sport, but only desires individual accolades, instead team goals. This is not truly faithful living and practices. To understand faith, you have to understand where you have been and where you are going in life.

Each and every one of us was born into the world as sinners. We have lived as sinners since Adam and Eve ascending into the Garden of Eden and disobeyed the commandments of God. Every human being after those two have been tempted by evil and engaged in sin. Some of us do it on a daily basis. Perfection in life has only been achieved once in life, and that was by Christ. Perfection is celebrated, especially in the world of sports, because it is a rare occasion. Perfect games in baseball, perfect seasons in football, and perfect managers for spoiled players are all a part of the game. Athletics also parallel life in the sense that we are not perfect, yet we try to boast of our many accomplishments to society. Just as baseball players are paid millions of dollars to succeed at hitting the ball 30% of the time, we have a tendency to do the same thing. We look at our personal accomplishments, or works, and compare them against others in the hopes of achieving a greater payday in the end. In the world of baseball, that is the player who spends their whole career working for individual accomplishment versus the team goals. These same players also make playing the game difficult and the team is never really successful, just look at the St. Louis Cardinals before Whitey Herzog took over and also when Tony LaRussa became manager.

To correct the world from this self centered, boasting society; Christ was sent to the earth as a part of a blockbuster trade. In exchange for his death, we are granted the proverbial “player to be named later.” I use this term, because it could mean that our lives will change when we are traded from a life of sin to a life of salvation. Our faith to a great part of this trade, is a response to knowing Christ in a different light. We are transformed by Christ’s love for us. Over time, we are granted missions of discipleship by Christ, and told to make a change for the greater team. Be the person in the clubhouse who changes the attitude and mood of the team.

It is through our faith that works come about and we are able to achieve many wonderful, heavenly things here on earth. This is where the Romans began straying away from the original intent of the gospel. They began engaging in works as a way to put another feather into their cap of Christianity, instead of expanding the glory of God for the benefit of others. In the same way, we have a tendency to engage in work here at the church in the hopes of improving our own individual place in heaven.

General managers of sports have the difficult task of supplying their team with talent in order to succeed on the field. Churches have the same task set before them, and that is to go into the world and teach people how to be a part of a successful team. A team that succeeds is a team that is happy. On the other hand, there are the teams that go out and find people just to fill the stands and profit from them in many ways. Mark McGwire was brought in to St. Louis in the middle of the 1997 season as a possible key to playoff teams of the future, but he also brought in people who were just interested in seeing moon-shot homeruns. The Cardinals never got far into the playoffs with McGwire, and his alienation of fans after retirement left a bad taste in the mouths of many. So much promise, but so little on substance.

In another similarity to sporting teams, people in churches have a tendency to use God at times of convenience. They thank God for allowing them to hit homeruns, steal bases, and pitch 100 miles per hour. I am unsure as to whether or not saying this on TV will win any converts any time soon. Jesus’ final words to his disciples were “go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Not one time did Jesus say for his followers to stay at home and drop his name whenever it was convenient. His message is one that is to be conveyed in both public and private, but not in a boasting way. God doesn’t care about any one team in sports, but he cares for every team and all their players. Just as God loves everyone of us to offer us the opportunity of life in Christ.

To put things into context, God is in charge of our lives and there is nothing we can do about it. As much as we might not like things going on the world, we are still obligated to use our faith to respond to the ills of the world. Instead of using measuring sticks to determine the levels of faith amongst Christians and non-Christians, we must use our faith to dismantle those measuring sticks. We have the responsibility of looking at all people as children of God and being disciples to them in loving ways. Like athletes, we have to engage in learning discipleship from the best and then use those skills to share with others. What God made right for us, we have the ability to make right for someone else. No laws or church derived code will improve heaven here on earth, unless we take the time to explain to people why Christ is so important. That has to be done faithfully and courageously.

Our faith feeds off the righteousness of God. When God made the decision to send his son into the world, a new creation was made. A creation that involved improving the game of life right now, in exchange for perfect life later. We have to prepare our lives for many successful seasons and some dry spells. We need to train our faith for slumps and wonderful times, without thinking about the future perfection. Through this process, we have to maintain our modesty and humility, as we look up to Christ as the greatest player of the game.

I am thankful for the man I was traded for in life. My life has been made better with the help of Christ and the many other disciples who have encouraged me and tutored me to be successful in faith. I am able to bear fruit for once in my life (even though, statistically it is about 30% of the time) and feel fortunate enough to share it with others. Hopefully the fruit that I am able to share with others will develop and allow them to bear fruit to share with others. It is only by the grace of God that we are able to train others to make heaven here on earth. Thanks be to God for the ability to train in faith and to receive his righteousness.

The Great Commission-Based on Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission is probably the most daunting task we have to face in our lives as Christians. We have been given the duty to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all people. Wouldn’t it be a little easier to stay at home and try to make disciples of all people? Sure, but where is the challenge in that? Why is it so difficult for us to have a working relationship with Christ, when he is our boss? Why is it so hard to reach out to people who may never know the awesome love and power God has for their lives? So many questions, and yet there so little action on our parts to understand what it is we need to do as Christians.

First of all, please allow me the opportunity to expand on these verses a little bit and show how awesome these verses can be for your life. Understand this about the verses, that this is the first time that the remaining disciples had been gathered in one place after the death and resurrection of Christ. Many still remained skeptical of his power and enduring legacy for their lives, and yet they gathered one last time outside Galilee for his final commandment. These founding fathers of our church were an imperfect bunch who pretty well abandoned their teacher out of fear and doubt, yet something led them back to hear him one last time. In this last meeting in the same area where he gave the Sermon on the Mount and experienced his temptation, Jesus makes three very important statements that have impacted our lives almost 2000 years later.

First, Jesus established the fact that he has been given the authority over the heavens and the earth. Jesus establishes himself as the boss over all of heaven and earth, thus demanding obedience from those who call on his name. Jesus has the power to empower his disciples with missions in life and allow them to change the lives of others in the world who don’t know him all that well. More importantly, Jesus demands that whatever mission is given to his followers be carried out to the fullest. For me, Worship On Wednesday is my calling to disciple others. I am perfectly human and susceptible to failing, but while I have this mission in life, my eyes need to be focused squarely on Christ to deliver this mission. People in the military are the same way, as they focus on a mission until it is complete.

The second major impact on our lives is that we are responsible for making disciples of all nations. For the disciples hearing Jesus at this time, there must have been sheer terror, as the known world was pretty big for them. As it was, the Romans were ruling the world with an iron fist, and worship of the Roman rulers was required. Anything out of the ordinary resulted in death. For these men to go out into the world and make disciples, they were risking their lives for something they weren’t completely convinced of at this point. Remember that doubt was a major influence for some disciples not to see Christ up until this very point. Going into the world, meant going to places that never knew Christ, or even had rejected Christ. We know the disciples spread throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and even into Africa. Most of the disciples met a tragic fate, but imagine the consequences of not spreading the word of God? We would not exist today, and Jesus Christ would merely be a footnote in history.

Finally, Jesus tells us while making disciples, be good teachers of the things he has taught us and remember that he is with us always. Jesus is more than our boss, he is our best friend when we need one the most. He is with us when we confront hatred and violence. He is with us when we try to answer hard questions or make important life decisions. He is there when we need to love someone just a little bit more, due to their not loving us. Jesus does not allow us to pick and choose what to believe, instead he commands us to obey all of his commandments and instill that same obedience into the people that we are reaching out to. The task of reaching out to people today is probably as dangerous, if not more so than it was during the time of Christ. Each year we hear about martyrs in other countries trying to spread the word of God, yet they are cut down in the process. As our world grows more unstable, it is imperative that the missions of Christ continue.

Just imagine what your life would be like if you had never known Christ, or no one introduced Christ to you. For some folks here, they still don’t know Christ like I do, but they are moving one step closer to knowing. For the believers, I tell you this—Jesus has not abandoned you. Jesus is with you always and at every end of the earth. I think of my sister Erin who has been in Iceland for the past four years or so, which is one of the most remote places on the earth. Even though she has been with her husband and son, she still feels the presence of Christ with those she comes into contact with.

What are you supposed to do with your life as a Christian? First, you are always a student of the teachings of Christ and the apostles. You are a student of life and how to improve your life and the lives of others around you. Second, you are to share the message and teachings of Christ with others, making them disciples of Christ. They will look up to you for guidance and direction. Finally, you are to know that Christ is with you always and forever. There is not one single place you can hide from God, as much as you might try. That is why I encourage everyone in this church to seek those hiding from something in their life and be a spirited force for their lives.

In closing, I was reminded of how powerful the role of discipleship is in the lives of those around us. A friend of mine from college called me this week wanting to know if I was involved in teaching a bible study and I said I was not at this time. He said, “Man, I just feel like there is something inside of me that needs to be fixed and something has to get right.” I told him about our options and he said that he needed the fellowship more than anything else and is willing to come to WOW sometime, time permitting, as he lives in St. Charles County. But then he began telling me about a person whom he worked with who was a confessed atheist, but was interested in understanding the beliefs of a Christian. Here was an opportunity for two people to work on bringing someone out of the dark and into the light.

Now I ask you this…What would you do in this situation? Would you stay at home, or would you go to the mountain for this person? What would you do for my friend who hungers for spiritual food? Would you feed him, or let him die? The mission is clear, go into the world and make disciples. Christ is with you, now and until the end of time.

Julie and Glenn Update

Julie and I have been busy over the past 2 weeks, due to a death in the family and an evolving job situation. Sorry for not keeping the posts completely fresh, but we hope you still get something out of them.

Gifts of the Spirit-Based on 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

This past week, I was reminded of the kindred spirit that all people have, especially when it comes in times of grief. Seeing all the wonderful people at my Uncle Bill’s funeral made me see people in a new light. The people who had been very important to my uncle had gathered their many gifts and contributed to the greater life that was being remembered. Some people gave gifts of money or other items to the family during the grieving process. Others gave the gift of encouragement while many of us were feeling pretty low at moments. Probably my uncle’s favorite gift was the gift of gab. He could spin tales for hours and hours if allowed to do so. Many of his former work friends were spinning a yarn for him while he lay at peace.

God has blessed our lives with many gifts. The most important gift is the gift of Christ who gives us grace and eternal salvation. Yet, we have a tendency to forget about the gift of the Holy Spirit within our lives. As believers we the faith, it is important for us to recognize that within our lives are gifts of the spirit. Throughout the New Testament, we see the examples of spiritual gifts bestowed upon believers. These are gifts that are used to draw the community of Christ together and make it stronger. The gifts of the spirit are also bestowed upon other believers through us, as their faith grows and is strengthened. For the Corinthians, they were unaware of the many other gifts that were necessary to impart for their community to grow with Christ. They were focused on the gift of tongues, but they were not doing a whole lot with it, except for themselves. Speaking in tongues still remains a gift, but it is noted in the scripture that interpretation is also necessary.

So what are the spiritual gifts that are present, or should be present in every community? Prophecy is the gift of being able to see far ahead, to see the prize and then focus our eyes on it. Service is the gift of dedicating our lives to others and to God’s creation, becoming caregivers like the Good Shepherd. Teaching is the gift of speaking with wisdom, and sharing what we and those who have gone before us have learned. Preaching is the gift of speaking with wisdom, sharing the riches of the wisdom of God. Encouraging is the gift of coaching, meaning you bring out the best in others. Healing is the gift of making people whole when they have physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual ailments. Giving is the gift of making sure that others who are doing the work of the Lord have the right resources at the right time. Leadership is the gift of showing others the right way to God. Finally, mercy is the gift of going beyond fairness, and standing up not only for justice, but also for kindness. Please understand that no single person receives all of these gifts. However, all these gifts together along with the people blessed with these gifts, make up the whole body of the Christian community.

Hearing what some of these gifts are, you can identify in your mind who has these gifts within this church. For prophecy, I look back to some of the leaders who came before us in establishing an endowment for the church. Had this not been put into effect, Dover Place would not exist as it is today. I see Rosemary Taylor as the embodiment of service, as she faithfully comes to church to work on the Digest, organize the Busy Bees, and also be the wonderful greeter on Sunday mornings. I see Deb Hazlewood and Tim Baskins as the wonderful teachers who give knowledge to our children and adults for Sunday School. Pastor Bill and Cari have the gift of preaching wonderful messages at any given time. I see Bob Petrich as a man who has encouraged this neighborhood to better itself and find new life amongst the changing world we live in. I see my mother and Aunt Jan as healing forces within my life, but also the lives they are around. Their words and ability to be healing have been amazing to the lives they have touched. I see Jackie Witt, the Hovis’, and Hazlewood Family as being givers when the church needs something that is important. They give of their time, resources, and talents in a way that is spiritually uplifting. I see Lisa Foglesong as a leader who can be misinterpreted at times, but she has a vision for the church that can be realistically carried out. Finally, I see Bert Flowers, George Fischer, and the Parker Family as ones who have the great gift of mercy. These are people who are willing to reach out to others in times of need and willing to sacrifice themselves when others are in trouble.

After hearing these examples, where do you stand with a gift to contribute? There are spiritual gift inventories that can be used in case you want to find out your spiritual gift. If you don’t know your gift, take the time to find out what it is, because you are important part to this community. Not using your spiritual gift is almost a “kick in the shins” to God. You are not making the church community a better place, nor are you reaching out to someone who needs to know God better. You don’t have to be the greatest teacher in the world, or the best preacher to save someone, but you can be a friend. Cari’s illustration this past Sunday as being rays of light to others is so important to our ministry here. Drawing in on those rays of light that have been given to us is very important, because it brings all of us closer together.

The community of Christ is as strong as long as all the tools are used to make us strong. Knowing these gifts of the spirit makes us more susceptible to sin in the world and other temptations. By building on those strengths, we are able to change others around us for the better. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is what makes this church and this community stronger. I feel blessed by your presence every week and hope that your lives will continue to grow and be blessings to others.

All The Lonely People, Where Do They Belong?-Based On John 14:15-21

I was reminded of one of the most morose songs this week after reading the lectionary and some of you might know it. Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles is one of the most depressing songs looking at lonely people, even asking the question “where do they all belong.” There are two main characters in the song, Eleanor Rigby who we can assume is an older woman without much of a life in front of her, or behind her for that much. She may even be destitute in the sense that she is picking up the rice after a wedding and then returning to an empty home. Father McKenzie is the minister of the church where he must have spent a lot of time, but he is a man who lacks faith as the song says he is “writing a sermon that nobody will hear.” “What does he care?” Eleanor Rigby dies and is only left with her name in the church yard, nobody came to the service, and Father McKenzie presided and didn’t even save her. He wiped the dirt off his hands and walked away. All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?

According to Christ, they belong in communion with believers who are willing to give them a new life and a new beginning. However, there are many here among us that are very much like Father McKenzie in that we lack the faith, or even the obedience to try to make a difference in the lives of others. We have the tendency to wipe our hands clean and walk away from the grave of someone we don’t even know and return to our own lives of mediocrity. Of all the lonely people in the world, Father McKenzie could have easily reached out to the poor lonely woman picking up rice off the front of the church. He didn’t. Did Father McKenzie know Eleanor Rigby, or did he just walk past her as an aloof man of God? How do you go through life and look at all the lonely people and not do something about it? Where do you think they belong? More importantly, are you reaching the lonely people? Are we as a church reaching all the lonely people?

How many of you realize that Sunday is the loneliest time of the week? While many people are in houses of worship with family and friends, there are still others at home in bed alone. They may not be physically alone, but they are in a state of loneliness from a spiritual perspective. Many people may be alone by choice, or because the church has abandoned them in one way or another. Still others, come to houses of worship trying to reach out for connections, but are denied because the house of worship has become a social club befit with stature and outrageous comparisons of status. Sometimes church conversations swirl around lunchtime reservations, business meetings, and church finances; and yet there is a desperate soul or two waiting to be embraced and welcomed back into the family. How do we reach out to those in this world without Christ in them?

The first thing we need to do is take a good look at ourselves and find out if we are guilty of keeping Christ all to ourselves. Are we so wrapped up in the our world that we are so selfish to share the love of Christ with others? Are we not willing to sacrifice our initial plans to spend a little extra time with someone who needs to know Christ’s love a little more? I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time approaching people new to the congregation. Julie (my fiance) is the extroverted half that I never had, and she has helped me meet people and made me feel comfortable. There have been times where I will visit churches out of town and hear amazing messages, but the minister and his flock don’t have one minute to share. That is not the kind of church that Christ set forth. In I John 2:3-5, “3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.”

Being alone also implies that the church cannot keep to itself and wax about how good things will be when Jesus returns. We must stand up and have faith in the teachings while we are here. There is a vast wealth of knowledge that we as a body of believers can share with others. We can share the need to love one another, helping a neighbor, being peacemakers in times of conflict, and so many other nuggets of greatness. Whether or not we live those, can only be determined by those we are trying to minister to. We cannot become so lazy with our faith and simply use it when the chips are down. Our faith is an ever evolving and ever changing part of being a Christian. Max Lucado makes the point that “faith with no effort, is no faith at all.” Using your faith out of convenience is not the way to live. Cars, dishwashers, cable TV, and Starbucks are things of convenience, but not your faith.

The last point I want to emphasize this evening is that as long as you believe Christ is in your heart, Christ is always with you. Christ may have left us in the physical sense, but the spirit is always with us even as we go throughout the life we are blessed with. We are interconnected with our faith, our spirit and everyone around us. When we look at other people, remembering that they too were created in the image of God is important in reaching out to someone who is lost. We also need to help the people who are lost realize they are not lost after all, but they are searching for Christ in all the wrong things. People search for Christ in the loneliest of places. Places like nightclubs, house parties, bars, and even houses of prostitution. There are many folks in our lives that we haven’t even met that are searching aimlessly for Christ in all the wrong places.

I continue to be involved in the personal security world (on a really part time basis), but it started out in a bar in Soulard for me. In the year after graduating from college, I needed a second job to help get my feet on the ground and to move out of my mom’s house. So I became a bouncer for a saloon in the "wilds" of Soulard. This world of being able to determine who was "in" and who was "out" almost gave me a messianic complex, in that I was able to allow people into this popular venue, or send them home miserable. As time went on, I noticed a pattern every weekend. The same people came to the bar and they sat in the same place, ordered the same drinks, and had the same conversations. This is the most depressing situation I had ever been around, but I realized that these people were seeking something greater in their lives, but didn’t know where to find it. Oddly enough, there was a church right across the street from the saloon, but none of the parishioners ministered to the patrons. Now that same church has been closed due to a lack of attendance.

Are we able to save everyone, of course not! I would much rather us reach out to the Eleanor Rigby’s in this world, and not be like Father McKenzie. There is no reason for us to keep the faith to ourselves. Go out on a limb, because that is where the fruit is. Like camels, Christians unload their baggage on their knees. Reach out to those lonely people, because unfortunately John Lennon and Paul McCartney didn’t know about Dover Place Christian Church. This is where all the lonely people belong, who cares where they come from?