Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1st Corinthians)
You are not lacking. You are not lacking in faith. You are not lacking in hope. You are not lacking in love.
Faithfully you dug up the parking lot. Remember the years of embarassament and worry about it? Remember the sinking feeling it was one of those things that ought to have been done? Remember the sinking holes and the worry that one of our beloved elders would fall on the ice holes or trip while carrying in a pie on a hot summer day? Faithfully you did what needed to be done for a long time. And it was not so bad. And there was no leaking. And the project came in under budget. And you have made a wonderful good start at repaying the loan. The monthly cost of this is down to the $200 range. You can do this. Faithful ones, you can do this.
Hopefully you have looked at the future, and reached out to our Christian neighbors. Hopefully, when it seems there is no reason to hope, you are holding out your hands. Hopefully, you will keep your hands out and keep your eyes peeled for the new thing that God is doing in this neighborhood. We will only see Jesus is we are looking. We will only meet him, and engage in the work he has for us if we are looking up and out even as we are taking care of business within this house. Hopefully we open our hearts and hands to join the work that God is already doing outside our doors. Hopeful ones, you can do this.
Lovingly you have continued to feed hungry children. Every time I think this project is impossible, when someone gets tired or sick or just plain ornery and it seems like we cannot possibly feed another 17 children manna starts to fall from heaven. Gifts of money and litteral manna, more bread that we can use, pours in. Gifts of time pour in. Two new volunteers have come to us, ready and eager to serve breakfast. And I think there is another waiting in the wings. Lovingly you will stir the eggs and flip the pancakes. Lovingly you will feed each other. Encouraging the sick and the downhearted. Visiting the elders.
The message I want you to take away from today’s gathering around God’s Holy Table: YOU can do it. You can be the church that you long to belong to. YOU can effectively and joyfully follow Jesus to minister to the lame and the blind, to the Pharisees, and sorrowful women, to the lepers and the tax collectors. YOU are the church that Claremont needs. Not the church as it once was, or as it might be if circumstances were different or if the bank accounts were bigger, or if there were more people gathered. YOU are the church holy, faithful, hopeful and loving right here and right now. YOU can do it. You can go into the future knowing that God is faithful, and has called you in to fellowship with Christ. You can do what God asks you to do.
Claim your gifts, and use them. (Annual Meeting Homily, January 14, 2014)
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1st Corinthians)
You are not lacking. You are not lacking in faith. You are not lacking in hope. You are not lacking in love.
Faithfully you dug up the parking lot. Remember the years of embarassament and worry about it? Remember the sinking feeling it was one of those things that ought to have been done? Remember the sinking holes and the worry that one of our beloved elders would fall on the ice holes or trip while carrying in a pie on a hot summer day? Faithfully you did what needed to be done for a long time. And it was not so bad. And there was no leaking. And the project came in under budget. And you have made a wonderful good start at repaying the loan. The monthly cost of this is down to the $200 range. You can do this. Faithful ones, you can do this.
Hopefully you have looked at the future, and reached out to our Christian neighbors. Hopefully, when it seems there is no reason to hope, you are holding out your hands. Hopefully, you will keep your hands out and keep your eyes peeled for the new thing that God is doing in this neighborhood. We will only see Jesus is we are looking. We will only meet him, and engage in the work he has for us if we are looking up and out even as we are taking care of business within this house. Hopefully we open our hearts and hands to join the work that God is already doing outside our doors. Hopeful ones, you can do this.
Lovingly you have continued to feed hungry children. Every time I think this project is impossible, when someone gets tired or sick or just plain ornery and it seems like we cannot possibly feed another 17 children manna starts to fall from heaven. Gifts of money and litteral manna, more bread that we can use, pours in. Gifts of time pour in. Two new volunteers have come to us, ready and eager to serve breakfast. And I think there is another waiting in the wings. Lovingly you will stir the eggs and flip the pancakes. Lovingly you will feed each other. Encouraging the sick and the downhearted. Visiting the elders.
The message I want you to take away from today’s gathering around God’s Holy Table: YOU can do it. You can be the church that you long to belong to. YOU can effectively and joyfully follow Jesus to minister to the lame and the blind, to the Pharisees, and sorrowful women, to the lepers and the tax collectors. YOU are the church that Claremont needs. Not the church as it once was, or as it might be if circumstances were different or if the bank accounts were bigger, or if there were more people gathered. YOU are the church holy, faithful, hopeful and loving right here and right now. YOU can do it. You can go into the future knowing that God is faithful, and has called you in to fellowship with Christ. You can do what God asks you to do.
Claim your gifts, and use them. (Annual Meeting Homily, January 14, 2014)
Sermons
