Serving God's People

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 27, 2008



Last week I mentioned a favorite verse about bible study- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Our study of the bible should be rigorous, it should be academic, it should be systematic, but above all it should be useful. Where as worship is in many ways gloriously impractical- it is about lavishly loving and adoring our God, transcending our lives, our space, our time; bible study, on the other hand, is wonderfully applicable to life. It will teach, rebuke, correct and train us. All for a purpose- to equip us for good works.

We are to life a live of good works, inspired and guided by our study of God's Word. This is the sign of service.

In the early 90’s an experiment was conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, their motto, “If your not mentally healthy, your nuts!” (just kidding!) They created a cage that was designed to comfortably house about 200 hundred mice. Plenty of food and water was provided in a sanitary environment, with all mortality factors (except aging) removed. They started with 8 mice. In 2.5 years the colony grew to a maximum number of 2200. Dr. John Calhoun oversaw the experiment and began to observe a series of unusual behaviors and phenomena. When the population reached this level, life in the colony began to disintegrate.

• Adult mice formed groups of about a dozen and began to isolate themselves from the other mice.
• Within these groups males, who usually protected their territory, withdrew and became uncharacteristically passive.
• The females became uncharacteristically aggressive and began to force out their own young.
• The young found themselves left to form their own groups. In these groups the young ate, slept and groomed themselves, but showed no normal assertiveness.
• As these groups became more isolated and independent, the colony eventually fractured. The most complex activity for mice, courtship and mating, ceased. Within five years the entire colony became extinct, despite the abundance of food and water, and the absence of disease.

What would be the results of a similar situation for humanity Dr. Calhoun mused? He suggested that we too would cease to reproduce, not people, but our own more complex functions- ideas, ideals, goals and living as creatures with values and morals. (Illustration from Improving Your Serve, Charles Swindoll)

We’re seeing it all the time. More people are alive today than ever before, which has translated NOT into our becoming the most relational and connected people in the history of the world, but simply crowded, lonely, isolated and distant from each other. If I have one bit of investment advice for all of you it’s this- fences. Invest in fences, because we love them. And I have to admit, the first thing I did when I bought my house was to build a fence. Our neighbor has a great big dog, Andy. And our first day in the house I was wondering how am I going to introduce this with the neighbor- "Hi, I’m George, I moved to London to plant a new church because I love God and love people. Just wanted to let you know that’s I’m gonna build a fence tomorrow!" In an answer to prayer, before I said a thing, my neighbor came over and said, "I have a big dog, you have three little kids- we should build a fence." And then amazingly, building a fence became like building a bridge for the two of us as we worked together and became neighbors.

But there’s an even better part to the story- a few weeks later, as we became friends with our neighbors on the other side, our kids kept jumping the fence between us, or they had to run all the way around the front of the house- so we built a gate in our fence to connect our back yards!

Building a gate in the fences that separate us has become a metaphor for my life and our ministry. Something about our world, about our lives, pushes us to isolate, withdraw, disengage, and build the wall. But there is an antidote. It’s a loving God who offers us an alternative.

Jesus was with his closest friends, his group of 12. Two of them, James and John, came to him with a request. They actually said do for us whatever we ask. Jesus says why don't you ask it first. They asked, "Let on of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory." (Mark 10:37)

They picked up on this rising tide of Jesus’ ministry. They knew that whatever Jesus wanted, he could get. They had heard Jesus’ teaching, seen him perform miracles, seen him raise the dead. And they rightly concluded that Jesus could pretty much have accomplished anything he wanted in the world. He could keep his show on the road, stick with the messages that really drew in the crowds, and start filling stadiums. He could have backstage passes printed up, and for the right price you could get the miracle of your choice. He could have gone into Jerusalem and set up shop, and then let the crowds come to him. He could have hired a staff and started to expand the ministry from there.

And his friends assumed he’d do something like this to bring glory to himself. They assumed, even after all the years and all the teaching and all they had witnessed, that Jesus really wasn’t too different from anyone else in the world. They assumed that when you took away all the layers that Jesus was going to be like anyone else, and he would use his position, his power, his popularity and his prestige, to build himself up.

What Jesus then said and did probably rocked their world more than anything else he could have said or done. This is one of those places where the teaching of Jesus, then followed by the example of Jesus, started to turn their thinking on it’s heels, and started to turn our thinking 180 degrees, and start to turn the whole value structure of the world upside down.

Jesus said,

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45)

Let me say that last verse again, it blows my mind. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45. I don't think we, collectively as a church, or as individuals, have even begun to grasp the significance of service in the ministry of Jesus. I don't think we've even scratched the surface of service. We have no idea how vitally important, how centrally important, service is to our Lord.

It’s fun to ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. The first job I remember wanting as a kid was to be a garbage collector. When the teacher asked why, I said, "They only work on Tuesday mornings, ride on the back of truck, and get to find all the cool stuff others throw out." When we’re kids we think that way. My daughter wants to be a dancing spy photographer. How cool would that be? My other daughter wants to be an artist. Like an adult I asked her the other day, “What kind of artist? What kind of medium would you like to specialize in- sculpture, painting, textiles, ceramics, fine arts, illustration?” She just looked at me like the idiot I am and said, “I just want to make art- all kinds.” Way to go dad, start getting your 6 year old to focus on her niche.

Here's the point- the disciples thought Jesus wanted to be a king when he grew up. What they didn’t realize was that he already was a king, the king of all creation. But he was showing them that he was going to be something else as he grew up- a servant. A servant who would give his life for us. His vision was child-like in it's simplicity- become a servant.

Now that is vision worth our aspirations. We should all want to grow up in Jesus to be servants. That is something we should all want to be, and until we are, we are still growing up. We are growing up to be servants, or we are not growing up at all, we are not growing in our faith, we are not growing as followers of Jesus, we are not growing as the body of Christ, his church, unless we are growing up to be servants. Because if we are not growing up to be servants we are missing the whole point people. We are glorious failing and what is so singularly, abundantly clear in the bible- we gotta serve God, and we gotta serve people.

But being a servant is hard folks. Being a servant is messy. Being a servant is inconvenient, and it’s inefficient, and it’s uncomfortable, and it’s unprecedented in most of our lives. I’ve gotta tell you, I can talk a good talk when it comes to being a servant, but I’m still learning how to walk the walk. I still struggle with being the servant I know I should be, that Jesus calls me to be. That Jesus modeled for me to be.

I love social workers. Some of my best friends are social workers, and I love hanging out with them because they remind me that there is one group of people in society who are crazier than pastors. People who say, "I want to be paid even less than pastors, get less thanks than pastors, and probably work harder than most pastors." You now I’m joking, but that’s what it’s really like- these people in our society, some of them social workers, others that don’t even have the title, and they just serve people like crazy, as if their life depended on it. They just serve until it hurts. They just give until they go without. They love until they are exhausted and have nothing left.

On one occasion Jesus was talking with a group of people and an expert in the law asked Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10 25) It’s a great question- one that isn’t afraid to face our mortality and our afterlife, while address our life here and now.

Jesus answered, because this guy was an expert in the law, "What is written in the Law (the books of Moses)?" He answered as Jesus had once before, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…strength…mind, and, Love you neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, great answer, bang on! Do this, and you will live. But then the bible says the guy wanted to justify himself. (Someday I’ll preach a whole sermon on that line, "justify yourself.") He needs a bit more clarity on this question. He needs some fence around the issue. Loving your neighbor, he recognizes, could be a fairly large job to take on. I have some neighbors who are pretty hard to love- and if any of my neighbors are here this morning, I assure you I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about my other neighbors. This guy wants to find a loop hole to this loving your neighbor thing, so he asks, "Who’s my neighbor?”

So Jesus tells a story…

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii [e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."(Luke 10:30-37)

“Go and DO likewise.” I’ve heard a lot of sermons on this passage, good ones even, but I’m going to assume today that you’re not completely dull and you get the story. We know what being loving looks like. We know what being neighborly is. We see someone in need, and we step in, we step up, and we serve them. WE love them. No more excuses. No more self-justification. We just do it. We do it even if they are different than us. We do it even if they hate us. We do even as it messes up our plans. We do it even if it costs us. But we do it anyways.

Before I even started on this message I had one nagging thought- ultimately service is about doing something, not just talking about it. So how could I talk about this in a way that actually does something? As the pastor of Connections I get the blessing and privilege of seeing God do some amazing things- providing just the right person at the right time. Just the right resource when it’s most needed. I’ve seen some things for which only God can get the glory! God did it again this week. I want to read you part of a letter that Robin and I were given this past week. This person wants to remain anonymous, so I'll read just a portion...

My dream is to make stuffed animals and to give them to poor children around the world who have so little...I though of our church and how small it is so I thought that would be a perfect small commitment project to try out...Now you can look in side the box. They are far from perfect, but I;m still learning. Someday I'll be so good at them."

When I read that last line I though, "Great, these really aren't going to be good and then somehow I'm going to have to break this persons heart and tell them nice try, but work harder." I opened this box and couldn’t believe my eyes. When I pulled one of these out- I was just brought to tears. They are beautiful. They are wonderful. Each little lion and lamb hand made, and even tagged, with a card with our churches name, a bible verse, and even a song, each individually packaged up and ready to be given out.

It is killing me to not share with you who this person is, but out of respect and gratitude, I will honor this person’s request to remain anonymous. But if I was to tell you, I don’t think you’d believe me. You have no idea who this person is. You’d never guess this person had the vision, the ability, and the capability to make this dream a reality. But this person did. They did this, and they are making this happen. And they started it here. And they have another shipment of stuffed hand-crafted stuffed animals going overseas to a groups of sponsored children.

So parents, after worship, over at our family ministry table, we have 30 "Snuggly Creatures" to share with your kids. Little lions for the boys, and lambs for the girls. I think we’ll have enough for all our kids, but let’s start with kids say 6 and under and see how it goes. And when your kids ask who do we thank for this, you get to explain to them that somebody loved them enough to make each one of these by hand. But we don’t know who that person is, and so we are just going to have to thank God for this person, and thank God for this gift.

Friends, that’s what Serving God’s People looks like. That’s not just talking about, that doing it. That’s loving the littlest, the most precious, the most vulnerable, the most impressionable members of our church. This is serving God’s people.

What are you going to do? We aren't getting it until we do it. This week is the week we decide, I'm not going to walk by my wife and take her fro granted, but I;m going to serve her. This week I'mnot goign to walk by my kids, but love them. This week I'm not going to walk by my coworker, the one nobody really likes, and I'm going to be a friend. This week I'm not goign to walk by my neighbors house, but I'm going to stop by, say hi, and see what happens. This week, let's all take a step in growing up, and let's start to become the servants Jesus call sus to be.

Studying God's Word

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 20, 2008

A collector of rare books was talking with a man who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that “Guten-somebody-or-other” had printed it.
"Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector.
"Yes, that was it!"
"You fool! You've thrown away one of the first books ever printed. Depending on the condition that book could have been worth millions!"
"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth much," replied the man. "Some guy named Martin Luther wrote all over it.”

Not many people are bible scholars, but most of us would know enough not to throw out a Guttenburg Press bible, especially one that had been owned by Martin Luther. But as valuable as that bible would be, the real value of any bible is simply found in one thing- reading it.

So here’s the point today- I want you to read the bible. I want you to be a student of God’s word. Now if you can promise me you’ll read your bible, we can wrap this up really quick and all go golfing.

Why read the bible? In the context of our signs of belonging, we have established this- first we belong to God- he made us, he redeemed us, he loves us, he wants to us to know we are his and he is ours- we belong. And so we worship him. That’s the start. Not only do we worship him, we becomes stewards of all the has given us- we talked about stewarding our time, talents and treasures last week. Now here’s where being a student of God’s word fits in- because he loves us, because we belong to him, because we are to worship him, because God wants us to be stewards, he has not left us in the dark wondering how to do all this. He has literally given us a book so that we can know the story of his love for us. SO we can know how to worship him, so we can know how to be stewards. Why read the bible? Because God loves us enough that we are not left wondering how to work all this stuff out.

One of the things someone here on any Sunday will see is that when it gets time for me to start talking, I’m always talking in and around this- the bible. In fact, when we were working on dreaming up our church this became one of our central values-

“We love biblical truth and cultural relevance.”

In fact, we believe that statement, though it is one of our values, is fundamentally flawed- for we believe that because the bible is true it is by default, culturally relevant. The bible is true and thus cannot be anything less than profoundly relevant to our world and culture. But in the eyes of the world, we recognize and understand that is not the case. Today people approach the bible with skeptisim, but most don’t even approach it at all. It is old, antiquated, irrelevant, and if anything, some believe, has done more harm than good in the world.

In fact, what we hear more often is people saying, "I don’t believe the bible is true." When I hear that I’m like, OK, that’s an easy one to fix, I have one right here, it really does exist. But that’s not what we mean when we might say I don’t believe in the bible. What people are actually saying, I think, is that because of things they’ve heard or read about the bible, they don’t think it’s a reliable source for truth and cultural relevance. But that’s far too simplistic. A lot of the bible is poetry- how can you say poetry isn’t reliable? There are hundreds of prayers in the bible. Is there a standard for prayers- people pouring their hearts to God? A lot of it is history that has been verified by outside sources and archeological study. A lot of it is simply an outline for the religious practice of Judaism. You can’t just say, I don’t believe in the bible.

All of us need to understand some things about the bible because the bible is the most influential piece of literature in our culture, and in our world. That’s a pretty grandiose statement, but it really is true. The bible is pretty much understood to be the foundational document of our culture, which is fascinating because it was not written in our culture or context. We need to read the bible if for no other reason than becoming culturally literate. We need to read it because there are things that you think are in the bible, that really aren’t, and if you going to defend the bible, you need to know what you’re talking about. Or, conversely, if you are attacking the bible, you should really get to know what’s in there so you can really rip it apart. There are some things in the bible that are truly amazing. You need to do yourself a favor, and maybe for the first time in your life, start reading this book.

Many of you already read the bible. Awesome- you’ll like this sermon because I’ll tell you what you already know and believe, and well, that always makes us feel good. Many more of you probably want to read the bible, you believe it is the word of God, you believe it contains truth and relevance for your life and faith, but you still don’t read it, because it’s hard to read, and hard to understand, and sometimes difficult to apply, and you end up feeling a lot of guilt. Notice I didn’t say you don’t read the bible because your too busy. This isn’t the time management talk, but we make time for the things that are important to us. “I’d love to go to the bathroom more frequently, but I just don’t have the time.” But I digress. Some of you don’t read the bible, don’t care to read the bible, and don’t understand why pastors make such a big deal out of reading the bible. I’m so glad you’re here, and I hope that today I can answer some of your questions about the bible, and maybe even get you to start reading it too.

Because my hope, my prayer, my hearts desire is that all of us walk out of here this morning saying wow, the bible is so relevant, so wonderful, so important to my life and growth, that I just can’t help but want to read this thing for myself. I want to make a regular and systematic practice of reading the bible, on my own, and in a small group.

What is the bible anyways?
To start, let’s get something straight about what this bible is- it’s more like a whole library of books. In fact, bible is the Greek word for Books. Its very name is plural. Anyone know how many books are in the library of the bible? Right- 66. And if you grew up Catholic, there’s even more! And the 66 books of the bible have a natural division. Anyone? Right, New Testament and the Old Testament. Now the big question, what does Testament mean? Covenant. A contract. The old covenant created a context for God to begin his plan of redemption, which is then fulfilled in the new covenant. The 66 books were written over a period of 1500 years, they start with the writings of Moses, about 1400 years BC, and come through to the most recent ones, which were written in the second half of the first century AD. The Old Testament leads up to a 400 year silence. In all, there are over 40 contributors to the bible- shepherds, priests, prophets and kings; fishermen, craftsmen, politicians, and government employees. It was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and King James English (actually, Aramaic). It contains History, Law, and Prophets (Here’s how to sound really smart- call it the TaNaK- Torah (law) Nviim (prophets) and the Ktuvim (writings)). Within those books are poetry, wisdom literature, and prophesy. Then there are the four gospels that tell the story of Jesus, Acts which tells of the birth of the church, and the letters which provide guidance for the church and individuals. Finally we have one Revelation into things to come.

A collection of books, spanning 1500 years, numerous authors, telling, now here’s the best part- telling one essentially seamless story about God’s work in the world, from creation, through the fall into sin, along this trajectory of redemption, leading to the birth of God own son Jesus. Jesus lives, dies for our redemption, rises from the grave, reveals himself to his followers, ascends to heaven, and sends the Holy Spirit, gives birth to the church, and promises that this movement will grow until Jesus comes back, and heaven and earth become as one.

Now I’m going to boil it down even more- what is the bible? God’s Record of the creation, the fall, redemption and consummation of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now that we know better what the bible is, let talk about- How to read the bible. Now I have to confess something. I actually cringe when I hear people say, I’m going to read through the whole bible. Now I know some of you have done that, and more power to you, but most people don’t have the basic background knowledge, and then because it doesn’t make much sense, they don’t stick with it, and because they don’t stick with it they get discouraged, and then they feel guilty and beat themselves up and put it away and their worse off than when they started.

You may know the routine- You pick up the bible and it's super exciting at first, everything is created, the women are naked, snakes talk, sin messes up everything, there's murder, incest, it’s wild stuff. Abraham, Isaac Jacob and Joseph have amazing stories. Exodus has talking bushes and plagues and babies getting killed, not that that’s cool, but it holds our attention. Then what happens- you hit the laws. And if you make it through that you get to a giant census in Numbers, which unless you’re a statistician or accountant isn’t the most thrilling stuff. Deuteronomy backtracks, the history is picked up again, then the whole time line goes wonky, and out of left field they start throwing in poems, prayers, prophecies and even a book all about sex (now everyones like, which one is that, that’s where I’m starting.)

SO what you need to do is get yourself on a plan.

FIRST, get yourself a time. Mark 1:35 tells us this about Jesus,

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

Now here’s where I’m not legalistic- It doesn’t have to be the morning. Else where Jesus goes off at night. But the point is that he made the time, and made it a priority. So make the time- wake up 15 minutes earlier. Take a break at lunch. After dinner, before you cleanup the dishes, before you go to bed- I don’t care when you do it, I just want you to do it! Get yourself 10-15 minutes. If you read more, great, again, this primarily to help people get started.

Next, take your bible, and read.
Let’s say this sermon actually works, and some of you wake up early, head to Starbucks for coffee and take your bible along to read, where do you even begin. Wonderfully, the bible has a built in bible reading plan. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. tells us,

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The way the bible is going to actually begin then teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us for every good work is through regular, systematic study. As you read ask yourself: what is this teaching me? IS this rebuking me? How can this correct me? How is this training me? And as you do this you’ll find yourself equipped for every good work that God has planned for you.

Many bibles have built in reading plans. Not all of them do. So we’ve provided one for you. This is designed for someone who wants to start right from the beginning, and get the whole story of the bible in 180 days. I like it because even if you’re only 50% faithful to the plan, you can get through it in a year. Personally, I think you can set 5 days a week as a goal. Reading each day of the work week, maybe missing a day and making that up on the weekend.

Take a look at the plan. You’ll see it simply goes through the bible, giving you just a chapter or two a day. You’ll go pretty much straight through the creation, the stories Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua. Then when the bible stops being chronological, this is where the plan helps. Check out “The Golden Age” days 45-46. There’s an episode in King David’s life where he commits adultery and murder and almost loses everything. Day 45 gives you the story straight up. Day 46 however, gives you the prayer that he said in light of that episode, psalm 51. It’s one of the most amazing insights into the human spirit ever recorded. And now you can read it in the context of the author’s life. That’s how cool the bible is, it gives you commentary on the history, and that’s how a reading plan can help. In the story of the Kingdoms, some of you didn’t know the people of God had a kingdom, let alone a divided kingdom. Well here you’ll bounce from the history of what was happening, to the prophets who lived during those times and what they had to say.

Stick with this plan, and you’ll get a sweep of the entire bible. And as you do you’ll find this- the creation is pretty straightforward. The fall is pretty self explanatory. The consummation is pretty mysterious, but essential to know where all life and history is going. But the story of redemption is 99% of the story.

Here are some final encouragements:
One- set the time. Make it a priority. When you mess up, just get over it and get on with it.

Two- get on a plan. This is an excellent plan to give you an overview of the whole bible. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready for more, and there’s lots more. You could get super ambitious and work through readings from every book of the bible. You could get super-duper ambitious and go through every word of the bible. In today’
s world there is not shortage of plans and resources to help you.

Three- get in a group. The bible ultimately is lived out in community, so we study it in community. Join a Connections group, or talk to us about starting your own.

Finally, if you do this I can make you this promise. I will. And if it doesn’t play out, come to me and talk to me and tell me, I’ll buy you lunch, because I’ve never seen anything but the following happen.

When we get into God’s word, we get close to God. And as we get closer to God his word does remarkable things in your life. You’ll be going through something, then when you read the bible, you’re going to be amazed to find out the the bible actually reads you. You wonder, "How did it know exactly what I needed to hear?" You’re going to be in a conversation with someone, and they are going to say something, or ask something, and you’re going to get the chills, because you’re going to say, "I just read something this week that might really be helpful."

It might not happen everyday, but you’ll see it happen. And you’ll be pumped. And you’ll actually tremble sometimes when you read the bible. And then you’ll probably get busy. And get distracted, because that happens to new and growing Christians a whole lot, and there’s a reason for that I’m not going to get into today. And then you’ll stop feeling so close to God and equipped by God. And you know what you need to do then,

Make the time, and get on the plan.

Do you remember ordering something in the mail as a kid? My daughter Eden has discovered some magazines for kids that have some contests going on, so she has entered into a few of these. And now every morning she is the first to want to check the mail. I love it- now I just give her the keys and she checks. She is so excited every morning at the possibility that this might be the day that her prize comes.

And I think we can get that way about God’s word. That we can wake up, or take a break, or get ready to go to bed with this excitement, that we are about to open God’s word, his revelation to us. And sometimes it’s going feel like getting a prize, it’s just going to click immediately. Other times, we’ll wait. We’ll take the truth, the story, the teaching, and we’ll store it away in our hearts, because we know the day is coming when that is going to be useful. But more and more, as we study God's word, we be equipped for every good work, and we'll be happy to do it because we know we belong to God.

A downloadable version of our Bible Reading Plan can be found at our website.

Excellent online bible reading plans can be found at
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

Stewarding God's Gifts

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 13, 2008

A staff can be more than just a stick. It can symbolize a lot of things. It might even symbolize a person’s life. There are many professions that are associated with certain objects - teachers have their books, police officers have their badge, doctors have their stethoscope, lawyers have their pitchfork! For a shepherd it’s this- a staff. And we're going to talk about this staff this morning.

We are talking about the Signs of Belonging here at Connections. Last week we talked about the relevance of signs to inform, direct and protect our lives. We talked about the longing to belong. The desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We have this on many levels as people. We might have this great sense of belonging with our family or friends, but feel totally disconnected from the culture or world around us. We’ve all had those wonderful moments of belonging, and those seasons of feeling rootless- moving out of the house, to a new community, a new country, a new job.

Last week we started by talking about our first sign and the foundation of finding true belonging- finding our belonging in God. We were created by God, we have been saved by God through Jesus, and we are called to belong with God in the community of Christ-followers, the church. And we express this great sense of belonging in the thing called worship. We start our week Sunday morning, Soaring in Worship, then we live it throughout the week.

But how do we do that, really? How do we live a life of worship? Through this thing we call Stewardship. Today we go deeper into what it looks like to life a life of worship. And we believe that this idea, this practice of Stewardship is the start. And it’s as simple, and complex, as saying “God, in worship of you, everything I have, everything you’ve given me, belongs to you. And I will use it for you.” Stewardship is embracing this idea that you are not your own, and your stuff is not your stuff alone. But really that you belong to God, and your stuff belongs to God- all your stuff- your time, your talents, and your treasures, as we’ll get into it.

(The rest of the sermon now is totally ripped off- I heard a guy, and I don’t even remember his name, tell this story, and it has stayed with me for years.)

A baby named Moses was born and had all the potential for a great future, for he was a child of God’s chosen people. But in another way he was still born- as good as dead. He was born a baby without a future, without a hope, without a chance to live. Moses was born in Egypt, and into slavery. Pharaoh had enslaved God’s chosen people, and when they continued to grow and multiply, he began to kill them. He ordered that every male baby born be thrown into the Nile to drown or be eaten. The Nile was sacred to the Egyptians, and this was a fitting sacrifice.

Moses mother couldn’t bear the thought. She hid him in the house as long as she could, but babies have a way of letting their presence be known. After three months, she threw him in the Nile, but inside a basket that would float. Moses older sister Miriam watched to see what would happen. She saw Pharaohs daughter come down to the river to bath; she saw her take the baby; then without missing a beat, she approached the daughter and asked if she should get one of the Jewish women to help. And so inside of an hour Moses went from stillborn, to being the firstborn of Pharaoh’s own daughter. God has amazing plans for his people, doesn’t he!

Moses grew up and discovered the truth of his life and his people. One day, in a fit of rage, when he saw an Egyptian beating one of the Jewish slaves, he struck the Egyptian, killed him, and hid him in the sand. But he was discovered, and fearing for his life, he fled into the desert. There he settled down, took a wife, started a family, became a shepherd, and tried to put his past behind him. The baby of promise, stillborn, raised in Pharaoh’s palace, on the run for murder.

Moses probably thought that was the end of his story. For forty years Moses was an alien in the land, and his people, the Jews, remained enslaved in Egypt. But God’s plan for Moses was just beginning. God took this stillborn baby and gave him life; he took this proud prince and humbled him in the desert. Now, and only now, was Moses ready to begin his life’s mission and true calling.

Moses is out tending his flock, when he sees a burning bush. He notices that the bush burned, but the fire did not consume it. Moses went to see this strange site, when stranger yet, the bush began to speak. God laid his plan on the line- I’m going to free my people, and you are going to lead the way. Moses says he couldn't do it. And he was right. He couldn't. That’s exactly the point.

God only calls us to those things that we are incapable of doing without him. In fact, I would argue that it is the litmus test of a calling- if it’s a calling, if it’s really from God, it’s more than we can handle or accomplish on our own. God seems to have a knack for calling humble, lowly people to remarkable things- Abraham, you will be the father of nations! Uh God, if you hadn’t noticed, my wife and I can’t even have a kid, and now we’re looking forward to retirement. When he calls Gideon to be his judge, he hides in a winepress! When he calls Saul to be the first King of Israel, he hides in the storage shed. When he calls David to be the next inline, he’s the runt of the litter in his family!

If there’s one pattern that God seems to fall into, and there really are very few such patterns in our otherwise always surprising God, it’s that he qualifies those he calls, rather than call those who are qualified.

He qualifies those he calls, rather than calls those who are qualified.

Because if he did, he’d have nobody to call on. He loves to take us out of our comfort zone. He loves to call people to things bigger than they are. He loves to stretch us, have us depend on himself, and in so doing, he glorifies himself. That’s really what it comes down to- God uses lowly people to do amazing things, so that God gets the credit. And the best part is, from God’s perspective, that as the world looks on they say, surely their God is the living God. Moses’ call and ministry is no exception.

Moses had all sorts of excuses on why he couldn’t be used by God: who was he- an alien, a murderer, a disappoint to everyone. What if they don’t believe me? Who shall I say sent me? I’m dumb, I can’t think fast or speak well. Moses had all the excuses in the world, but God had a plan, and he had only one question for Moses.

What’s that in your hand? Moses replies- a staff, a stick I picked up off the ground, a piece of wood. Nothing special. I use it to keep my sheep in line, to lean on when I’m tired, to steady myself as I walk, to defend myself when animals attack. It’s certainly useful, but it’s just a staff.

But then God tells Moses to do something- throw it on the ground. Open your hand Moses, and throw it on the ground.

Now when God asks Moses to throw his staff on the ground, he’s obviously asking for an act of obedience. But there’s more to it than that. It’s an act of symbolism. Moses may not have known it, and the truth his he probably didn’t. If a bush was talking to you you’d probably just do what it says! But God was about to begin the transformation of Moses and bring everything that had happened in his life up until this point together- and he was about to teach Moses the shepherd, that God was the great shepherd. He was about to teach Moses that like a shepherd leads his sheep. God was going to lead his people. And like a shepherd loves his sheep, God was going to love his people. And like a shepherd cares for and watches over and protects the sheep- God would do all this and more for his people. God has a way of taking that thing that is closest to us, most defining of who or what we are, and asking us to lay it down at his feet.

God wanted Moses to do one thing. One thing to begin this transformation, this new journey…(release)

And from that moment of release, that staff is never the same. That staff becomes a snake that displays the power of God. That staff strikes the Nile, where Moses was to die, and turns it into blood. That staff is stretched out over the Red Sea, the natural divide that kept the people trapped in Egypt, and the waters part, and the people are delivered into the Promised Land. That staff strikes a rock, and life-giving water pours out. That staff is raised high, and the people of God defeat their enemies and live. That staff, from that moment, was no longer the staff of Moses, but the staff of God. And in fact, at several of these key points in Moses life, he calls the staff the staff of God, and not his own.

What’s in your hand this morning? Everything in our hands, everything we have, everything at our disposal, is to be given to God. That’s what stewardship means. It means we let go of the things we hold on to, we give them to God, and then when we pick them up again, they have been transformed. They can now be used for His glory.

We often talk about three categories of things we hold, three things we steward for God- our time, out talents, our treasures. Let’s talk about them in reverse. God asks us to bring him our treasures. At the end of every service I mention that we provide offering envelops in the bulletin, and ushers to collect them. This is an ancient practice as old as the bible- where those that worship God, that have identified themselves as the people of God, give an offering to God The bible gives us guidance that the base offering is 10% of our income. Special gifts go above.

We haven’t made a big to-do about giving money at Connections, that is by design at this stage, but today begins a transition. And it’s simply this- we love God and people too much not to talk about money. We have learned the freedom of stewardship and it’s too good not to share.

Money is not in fact the source of joy for our lives- it is the single greatest source of frustration, stress and worry. More than anything else people report that money troubles are their single greatest problem. More arguments in marriage are over money than anything else. People are in more debt today than ever before. People go to school so they can make money. They work all week long to get money. They play all weekend long and spend money.

It would be unfair and irresponsible of the church to not talk about money when it may be the single greatest obsession of our lives. It would be irresponsible for us not to share the principles of making, giving, saving, using and enjoying money found in the bible- and yes, all those are there and we are going to talk about them- because stewardship involves all of those things- how to make money, how to give money, how to save money, how to spend money and how to enjoy money.

Stewardship of our money, of all our treasures- our homes, our cars, our furnishings, our toys- is about not letting them take control. It’s ironic that we call our stuff possessions. Because the truth is that too many folks are in fact possessed- they can’t break free from their stuff. They belong to their bills, their creditors, their desires for more things. They belong to their stuff. It owns them, and really, that’s no way to live.

Often in the church people have heard that Jesus talked about money more than anything else. Not true. People should read their bible a little more (we'll talk about that next week). Jesus talked about the kingdom of God more than anything else. He preached about experiencing the power of the kingdom of God in our lives. Next to that, he spoke on money. More directly, he taught that the single greatest barrier to experiencing the power of God in our lives was the love of money- or to put it another way- worshiping money. That's why stewardship of our money, and all our treasures, is absolutely essential for following Christ.

We also must steward our talents. A lot of folks brought their musical instruments in their hands this morning, and they’ve laid those talents before God. Others brought a bible to teach the children in our nursery and classrooms. Others brought the coffee and the hope that they would create a warm and inviting environment. Others brought a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, because they have the talent of inviting and bringing.

Moses was uniquely talented and experienced to do the job God called him to do. Likewise you are uniquely talented and gifted to be used by God in some amazing ways. Some of those talents I know we need to use here. We have a 100 jobs to fill, and that’s just the start. We need more folks with the talents and experienced needed to set up, to lead in music, in prayer, in sound, lighting, camera. Web design and management. We need gifted actors and actresses. But it goes beyond this- what’s in you hand- a paintbrush? A keyboard? A stethoscope? A gavel? How had god gifted you, and how will you use that gift for his glory? How will you steward that talent for him?

And you know what, the weirder and wackier you are, the better the plan God has to use you in a wonderful way. My mom likes the bible, she likes art, and she likes shells. So she collects shells and paints bible verses on them. Then she visits folks in the hospital and gives them hand made shells. And the response has been amazing. So if God can use a retired school teacher who likes the bible and shells, he can use you!

Finally, we have to steward our time. How will you steward the days God has given you? Will you spend you time on yourself, or will you give it to God? And if you think your too young to use your time for God, your not. In fact, the younger you are the better- because if you can start giving your time to God now, he can use you for a life time. And if you think you’re to old, Moses was 80 years old when God began his mission. So anyone here under 80- God is still getting us ready for our mission. Anyone here over 80- congratulations- You’ve finally arrived!

I know this- whatever we give, if we give with a sincere heart, God will take it, and God will use it. God has a great history of doing this- he used Miriam’s tambourine to sing His praises. He used young David’s slingshot to bring down Goliath. He used a widow’s last bit of flour and oil to feed her family and Elijah. He used a boy’s lunch to feed more than 5,000. He used widow’s pennies for His glory. He used Mary’s perfumed to anoint his burial.

So what is God asking from you this morning? Chances are you have no further to look than your hand. What have you brought today? What will you give to God? If you give, God will take it, and He will make it His. He will take your child, and now you must raise your child as His. He will take your pledge and use it for the building of His kingdom, and he will take the rest too, because it all belongs to Him. He will take you talent and glorify himself. He will take your hand, and make you his own.

And perhaps there is no greater thing to give this morning. Just as the staff of Moses became the staff of God, so we can become the people of God. Won’t you open your hand, won’t you open your heart, and won’t you take a chance, open your hand and give yourself over to God this morning?

Signs of Belonging: Soaring in Worship

Series: Signs of Belonging
Sermon: Soaring in Worship
George J. Saylor
April 6, 2008

I want you to think about this question- have you found the place where you belong?
Have you found the place where you have the deep and abiding assurance that you belong?
The place where you are accepted for who you are, all your strengths, and all your shortcomings?
The place where you serve a vital role, and others serve you in vital ways?
The place where you are so woven into the very fabric of the place that perhaps it would be impossible to pull out with tearing the thing apart, the place where if someone else pulled themselves away, that it would tear you apart?
Have you found where you belong? Have you experienced the sense of belonging?

We probably don’t even realize our deep need to belong until we have our first experience of not belonging. They are traumatic experiences in our lives- the first time we get cut from a team. The moment we find out we weren’t invited to a friends party. The day we open the letter and find out we don’t get into the school of our choice. All of us, I suspect, have had the moment, or maybe we feel like we are continually living in that moment, of wondering, “Where to I fit in? Where do I belong?”

I am continually intrigued by this tension in my own life and in the lives of those around me. All of us seem to live in this push and pull of wanting to be ourselves and to be part of a group. We obsess about finding our voice, our individually, our own unique style and expression. We want to stand out from the crowd. Then something happens to us and we have that moment of realization that more than anything else we desire a sense of belonging to something bigger than just ourselves. We long to find our peeps, our posse, our purpose, our entourage.

We have to find our place of belonging. It’s as human as the need to eat and sleep and breathe. Here at Connections we have a couple of convictions about belonging:
We were created to belong to God. This is the ultimate connection we must make, the ultimate belonging that must happen in our lives.
We were created to belong as a group, what we would call being the church.
We were created to belong socially, in a smaller network of friends.
We were created to belong personally, invest with a few true friends.
And we were created to belong intimately. With a spouse, with family, maybe with one or two life long friends.
Belonging is not a simple thing, it’s not even as simple as yes or no. It’s multifaceted and works out on many levels in our lives.

For the next five weeks we are talking about the Signs of Belonging here at Connections Community Church. We want people to know that these are Signs that mark and identify this church. Today I want to you first understand why they are important.

First, I like signs. Signs are very helpful. Bill Engvall has made a career out of offering people signs. Signs serve several absolutely vital functions in our lives and in our world. Signs give us information. Signs tell me where the grocery store is. They tell me what movies are playing and at what time. Signs tell me what’s on sale. They tell me who’s appearing next weekend at the JLC.

Not only do they give us information, they give us direction. You want to go to Toronto, follow the signs. Along the way they show us that we are going in the right direction, that we are going the right speed, that we are making progress. Signs keep us from getting lost, or, should we be lost, they help us get back on the right track. Signs get us to where we are going.

But even more, signs create order out of the chaos of our lives. Imagine if they took all the stop signs in London away. Signs show us the limits of safety, they warn us of danger, they keep us out of danger, they keep control and order of our lives where otherwise there would be chaos and anarchy. We need signs to navigate the world today.

In the same way we need signs to navigate our lives. We need signs to help walk the path of God, to help us arrive at the destination we were created for, if we should get lost they get us back on track, and they help keep us out of trouble and harms way.

What were we created for? Oh I’m so glad I asked that. We were created for Belonging. Like Bob Dillon sang so many years ago, you gotta serve somebody in this world. You belong to somebody or something. When you were born you belonged to your parents. Maybe now you belong to your spouse. Maybe your boss. Maybe your addiction- a bottle, a drug, adult websites. Maybe you belong the money you want to make, or the money you own. The fact of the matter is that we all belong to somebody or something.

The bible teaches about the belonging we were made for. The bible teaches us that we were created to belong to God. And this may be one of the most offensive truths of our faith in our culture. You are not your own, but are to belong to the one who made you. Ephesians 2:19 says

“You are a member of God’s family, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian (LB).”

As we talked about before, the bible story paints a picture of perfect belonging at creation. Adam and Eve belonged to God, they belonged fully to one anther, they belonged in the Garden of Eden. We, humanity, messed up, and we’re still messed up. But we never lost the innate need to belong, the created norm of having that place and experience of belonging. So God came to buy us back through Jesus Christ.

The story is told of a boy who lived by a river and loved the water. Watching boats move up and down the river, he decided to make his own little toy boat. For days he carefully crafted the vessel, making sure everything was just perfect, just the way he wanted from stem to stern. When it was finished to his satisfaction he carefully carved his initials in the hull to mark it as his own. Then he took it out for it’s inaugural launch. He was so excited to set the ship free he pushed it out into the water where it quick caught he current and began moving downstream. Frantically the boy followed along shore as best he could, but he couldn’t keep up, and eventually lost sight of his boat. He went home with a broken heart. A week later as he was walking through town he happened by a unique toyshop, and to his amazement he saw his boat in the window. He knew in an instant it was his. He ran into the shop and told the owner that was his boat in the window. The shop owner was unmoved by the boys pleading and told him he bought the boat from a fisherman, and the boat was his. Seeing the situation clearly as he did, the boy did not hesitate. He ran home, took out all his savings, and spent it all to buy back his own boat. As he walked out he looked at his boat and smiled, saying, "Little boat, you are now twice mine- first I made, and now I have bought you."

God looks at us in much the same way- first he made us, then he bought us back through sending his own Son Jesus Christ. He made us, he knit us together in our mothers womb. Then we drifted downstream. But Jesus came to buy us back, to die on a cross to atone for our sin. And now Gods says to us, you are twice mine- twice you belong to me- I made, and I’ve bought you back. This is the message of Easter, and this is the belonging offered to us in Jesus Christ.

Just after Easter, we find that the church is born. It’s growth and development is outlined in the Book of Acts- the acts and actions of the new church being lead by the Holy Spirit. In the first chapter we find the last encounter with the risen and living Jesus before he ascends to heaven. In the second chapter the Holy Spirit comes on the followers of Jesus and their lives are transformed. They instantly go from this rag-tag bunch of turncoats, confused, afraid, disorganized, ready to run away, into this groups that boldly goes out and preaches the good news of life in Jesus. And more than that, they instantly find this community of belonging. At the end of that second chapter we read this:

2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

That is a picture of belonging, and that passage outlines everything we are going to talk about the next five weeks. What were the signs, the marks of this new community, this thing called the church, the body of Christ, the family of God? We see at least five things clearly outlined:
∑ Soaring in Worship- they gathered in the temple courts to worship, they praised God, they broke bread and prayed.
∑ Studying God’s Word- the devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.
∑ Stewarding God’s Gifts- the held everything in common as they gathered in each others homes.
∑ Serving God’s People- they gave to everyone who was in need.
∑ Sharing God’s Love- they enjoyed the favor of all the people, and the Lord added daily to their number those who were being saved.

I want to focus for the remainder of our time on that first sign- the sign of worship. And I want to propose to you that finding your place of belonging in this world begins with this thing called worship. What is worship- it’s most basic definition- ascribing worth to someone or something- to say you are worthy of my love, my affections, my admiration, my emulation, my everything.

When we begin to look to the scriptures we begin to see that worship is actually a very big thing. Is it about one hour Sunday morning? Absolutely. The followers of Jesus from day one gathered on the day of the resurrection. They read the scriptures, they prayed prayers, they sang songs, they took communion, they baptized new believers, they welcomed outsiders in to hear the good news. And then it ended and they went home and went on with their same-old lives.

Of course not- it was the springboard that propelled them into everything else, always asking the question- does this glorify God. What is outlined is that basically, all our lives are to be worship. Worship isn't everything, it's the ONLY THING!!

Colossians 3:17 tells us, whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” And that’s really the gauge of worship. If we have confidence that what we are doing brings glory to God, if everything we do and say we can do and say in the name of Jesus, then it qualifies as worship. As the bible says we then worship God from waking to sleeping, in eating and drinking, at work and at play, in making love and raising kids. If you can do it to the glory of God, then it is worship, and it is what you were made for.

Nearly 400 years ago a bunch of reformers got together to write out a teaching tool to help people understand the Christian life. One of the things they wrote is called the Westminster Catechism and it begins with this question, which is absolutely brilliant, What is the chief purpose of humanity? That’s like the million dollar question. That’s what we are all ultimately asking- what the purpose of life, and in particular my life? 400 years before the purpose driven life folks we asking this question. 1600 years before that God gave the answer. Join us next week as we look at the answer.

No, I’ll spill the beans- to glorify God and enjoy him forever! That's what we as humans were made to do, or to put it another way, what makes us most human, is to bring God glory and enjoy him in the process, forever. That is what worship is all about. It’s about fulfilling your created purpose. And that simple, pithy, direct answer tells us three of the most important things we can ever learn about worship:

• It’s about God’s Glory;
• It’s about our pleasure;
• It’s about eternity.

The first sign of true worship is that it’s about God’s glory. The bible is abundantly clear on this. When Moses went to pharaoh and demanded that he set the people of Israel free what was the reason- so that they could go and worship God. When God gave the first commandments to the people what was the first one, worship the Lord your God alone. Already he was revealing that we were created to worship and drawn to worship and that we must only worship God. Psalm 29:2 says, Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. And as we’ve already said, when the church was born it’s first sign was the sign of true worship. Bringing glory to God the Father through Jesus the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Worship is to Glorify God and to enjoy God. It kills me that the world thinks worshipping God is boring. It’s like the greatest travesty the world has ever seen- that somehow we’ve made worshipping the living God lifeless and dull, that we’ve taken the greatest revelation ever given to us, the bible, and made it irrelevant. It’s supposed to be a delight, it’s supposed to be a joy, it’s supposed to be awesome. Psalm 100 tells us to worship God with thanks in our hearts, to worship God with joy! John Piper says that God is in fact most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

And lastly, we worship forever. Worship is the start because it’s to bring God glory, it’s be a joy to us, because it’s to go on forever. So we best not be wasting our time messing up worship and doing it in a way that neither God nor people enjoy, because we are gonna be doing it a long long time. The final image we have in the bible is the revelation of John, where he sees through this window into heaven and what he sees is that at Jesus’ return heaven and earth collide, and the worshippers of God from every tongue and tribe and nation gather around God and party! They celebrate, they praise, they worship!

And because we worship God forever, we start with the end in mind. The first sign of belonging in the household of God is to gather on the first day of the week for worship. It’s what the followers of Jesus do. It starts our week and sets the tone of the whole week to come. It has been characterized by singing, by praying, by reading and talking about God’s word, by taking Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, and by baptizing new believers. The bible commends the gathering of worship to all believers and urges us to continue this practice and invite other to join us.

Let's close this service, but continue our worship, now and forever. Amen.

Doubt

Series: Vantage Point
Sermon: Doubt
George J. Saylor
March 30, 2008

http://connectionschurch.blogspot.com/2008/04/doubt.html