Skip to main content

This is Us: A People Who Serve

A People Who Serve Sept. 1, 2019
Scripture: Acts 9:1-15, 1 Corinth. 9: 19-27

Today we’re concluding our series called, “This is Us,” where we’ve been looking at three key words that define the type of church and the type of disciples we believed God has called us to be here at Lakeside. Three weeks ago, we talked about the desire to be a people who know God. God has designed us to be in relationship with him, and we shouldn’t settle for anything less. Last week, we talked about love, and how God has called us primarily to be a people of love. We wrap up today with the word serve. You might remember in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus once said he came not to be served, but to serve. And he invites us to the same way of life. As the “hands and feet” of Jesus, and as people who want to be like Christ, we are called to serve. Would you read with me…


A young church planter took his team to a local restaurant, week after week, to meet new people, dream of ministry possibilities and understand more about the local community. And every time they met they ran into the same waitress. Over time they struck up conversation with this young woman, who was un-churched and really had no church experience or desire. But a few months later, to their surprise, this same waitress pulled the church planter aside and said, “I want to be baptized. I want to be part of what your team is doing. And I want what you have.”  Stunned, the church planter asked the young woman, “What was it that led you to this decision?”  She said, “I’ve never felt so loved and valued by a group of people.” You know, I love these stories, and I’ll never grow tired of hearing them. They serve as important reminders that God is on the move in the world, and no matter the narrative that is spun by the news, or disgruntled people or folks who just have a beef with the world simply because they need to have a beef, God is undeniably on the move. I also love these stories because this is exactly what I believe God has called to us do at Lakeside: to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ. And as this story reveals, God’s Spirit is always on the move, ready to bring about transformation to our world one person and one conversation at a time. 


When our oldest ancestors first allowed sin to creep into their lives, they could not have guessed the chain-reaction of pain and turmoil that would follow. When sin entered the world, God’s perfectly created world was thrown back into chaos. Paul’s words in Romans 8 point to this. He writes, “Creation was subjected to frustration and groans for the day it will liberated from decay.” Early in my life, I believed that God’s primary concern (and maybe his only concern) was to liberate humans from spiritual decay. In typical church language we call this personal salvation. Our work was done, I thought, when we led someone in a prayer of salvation or got them to come to church. And that is so, so important. But the more I studied the ministry of Jesus and his followers, the more I understood that God’s hope for us encompasses so much more. I believe God is interested in reclaiming all that’s been lost and restoring all that’s been broken. In theological circles, this work is called the missio dei- God’s mission.  And this mission has been hardwired into the depths of your being.  


When you shed tears over news of child abuse and you wonder what you can do about it, you are glimpsing the motivation behind God’s mission. When you’re walking around the dam and see trash that someone has carelessly deposited, you are experiencing the broken-heartedness of God. When you participate in a fundraiser for a young woman with cancer because you can’t stand to her battle this disease alone, you are experiencing what Romans calls the “groans of creation.” Every time you say, “This is not right!,” and “This is not the way it should not be,” I can assure you that God is saying the same things. And He invites us on that mission to redeem and restore creation- one life at a time.


One life that was radically transformed and invited into that missio dei was a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus. When we first hear about Saul, it’s in the context of the horrible stoning to death of a disciple named Stephen. As people are pelting Stephen to death, Saul is doing his part to add to the “groans of creation.” We don’t read of Saul actually picking up a stone, but he’s  there, and he’s clearly a leader who is urging them on. But on his way to Damascus, the direction of Saul’s life begins to shift. Quite unexpectedly, Saul finds himself in an encounter with Jesus who simply reshapes Saul’s life with one word: “Go.”  


As far as the missio dei is concerned, go just might be God’s favorite word. Go is a word of commissioning; it’s a word of sending. This is God’s mission strategy. He is a sending God. In the redemption plan revealed by Scripture, the plan God unleashes to bring the world back to Himself, there are three important acts of sending. First, God the Father sends the Son, an action that shows just how serious God is about his mission. Secondly, God sends the Holy Spirit, who empowers and comforts and makes possible the next sending, which is the sending of the church. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus, God sends the church- Saul of Tarsus, the disciples and you and me- into a world that God deeply loves. At our core, we are a people who are sent by God to serve.


A few years ago, I was explaining this idea to a friend who wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this. She was scared to death to even consider that God might be sending her, because in her own words, “What if he sends me to Africa?  I’m scared of snakes.” Well, the truth is, God does and will send some of us to Africa, just as He’ll send others to serve in places like Honduras and Haiti. But God is also just as likely to send you to serve the people and places you already know. “Go” may not require you to quit your job, sell your home and relocate your family, but it does invite you to love deeply the world around you.


Saul of Tarsus, who was an unlikely candidate to be used by God, was sent to announce Good News to those who had no clue they even needed good news..  And he quickly learned that he had to change his tactics.  While chasing Jesus-followers out of temples and scaring the living daylights out of them, Saul utilized means of fear and submission. He would dominate and subdue and belittle anyone who challenged his long-held beliefs. That’s a strategy for conquering, but it’s not a very good strategy for transformation. Instead, God shows us a better way.


God’s way is evident in the event that makes Christmas Christmas- a word knows as incarnation.  The incarnation was not simply about the birth of a baby.  It was about the Son of God entering our reality. It was about God putting on flesh and experiencing life as we know it, understanding our challenges, sensing our pain, walking in our shoes. For thirty-three years Jesus walked the same dusty roads as his followers. For thirty-three years he fished in their lakes, dined at their tables, worshipped in their temples, cried at their funerals and partied at their weddings. And in doing so, Jesus entered the real, lived out experiences of their lives and became what they needed. For some, He became Healer. For others, He became Friend. For some, He offered comfort, and for others forgiveness of sins. But at all times, Jesus looked to the interests of others over and above his own, and took on the nature of a servant. And he slowly began to change the world.


A friend of mine once found himself at a hospital, pleading desperately for his son’s life.  My friend had spent most of his adult life as a truck driver and admits that he had made very little time for God. It was about 3:00 in the morning and his son’s life was in jeopardy. And in the room walked his pastor. Now, my friend had been a nominal worshipper at best. While his wife and kids were at church, he had better things to do. He was usually firing up the grill, pulling on his Steeler jersey and preparing for the big game. But that would never again be the case when the pastor walked in to room. Because when the pastor walked in to the room, my friend did not see the pastor. He saw Christ. “In that moment,” says my friend, “he was Christ. He was Christ to me.”


None of us can expect to be Christ. But together, we are the “body of Christ.” Together, we offer the world a glimpse of hope that none of us could ever hope to offer alone. As the Bible reminds us, God has given each of us gifts, like the different parts of a body. And when each member of the body does his or her part, Christ is made known. Christ reveals himself through us as we go into the world to serve. This is why is Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) writes in his letter to the Corinthians, “To the Jews I became a Jew, to those under the law I became like one under the law, to the weak I became weak.  I have become all things to all people that I might by all means save some.” As we engage the world and “become all things to all people,” there are those who will see Christ and experience good news taking hold of their lives.     


The longer we follow Christ, the more we see that God is on the move and calls us to join in that movement. We do so not by disengaging the world and cloistering ourselves as a museum of saints, but instead by “putting on flesh,” by knowing, serving and loving all those around us.  This is how a persecutor finds himself an evangelist, a reluctant waitress finds herself in the waters of baptism and a truck driver finds himself as an ordained pastor. Somebody was sent by a Sending God. Somebody went to serve as an essential part of the missio dei.  And somebody became “Christ in the moment” for each of them. Will you serve Jesus by serving others? Will you say yes even if you want to say no? Will you go when your name is called and offer yourself to the work of God’s Kingdom. This is us. And this, I believe, is how God is calling us to live out our faith here at Lakeside. I pray that you will willingly use your gifts and allow Christ to reveal himself through you. Amen.




 

    

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Making Disciples

Sunday evening I arrived home following a fruitful (and a bit tiring) Annual Conference. Joe represented our churches in a professional and prayerful manner.  Thanks Joe for your hard work and dedication!  This year's legislation passed without much conversation, which means that very few resolutions and petitions were of divisive subjects. Instead of turning into a weekend best described as polarizing and political, this year's Annual Conference was primarily peaceful and attentive to worship.  You might ask the question, "Did you accomplish anything this year?" And to be honest, I'm not sure how to answer that question.  Was there helpful legislation?  Yes.  Will the legislation turn into action? Maybe. Hopefully. Will that action result in vital churches and the making of disciples?  Hmm... The mission of the United Methodist Church (and thus the mission of the three local churches I serve) is to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation o

FOCUS: Creating Renewal

Creating Renewal             This past week I had the privilege of leading the music time at Vacation Bible School. And let me tell you, what a blast! I left for home every night completely exhausted, but also completely refreshed in my soul. Spending those nights singing and dancing with young disciples renewed my faith and replenished a joy that I didn’t know was even missing! But that’s what happens when faith catches fire. Vitality happens. New life happens. You might even call it revival! And that’s what we’re discussing today: how to seek vitality and renewal in our congregations. It’s one of our five areas of focus, five areas that we believe have the capacity to change the world. And I remain convinced that if we seek renewal and revival in our churches, the world will be drawn in to the magnificent and life-giving work of Jesus Christ. Would you read with me… Acts 2 is sort of like the gold standard for church life. When Jesus told the disciples to

This is Us: A People Who Love

August 25, 2019 This Is Us: A People Who Love  Scripture: Matthew 17: 34-30  Last week we began a sermon series called This Is Us, and during this series we’re exploring three core words that define the type of people God has called us to be at Lakeside. We wrestled last Sunday with the idea of knowing God, setting aside some time to be present with God and to learning how to trust Him. But knowing God is only half the story, because if we know God, our lives should begin to take a new shape, the shape of love. If you have your Bibles… I smiled a few night’s back when our youngest daughter, Carmyn, pulled up beside me and asked if we could read a story. I love those moments. And so I quickly said yes and thought that this would be like any other night- I would do the reading and she would do the listening, because that’s how we’d always done it. But my assumption was wrong. Before I could grab the book, Carmyn turned to a page and began to read…at least that’s what she