September 1
"LET OUR LOVE BE
GENUINE"
Romans 12 : 9-13
Word of Life : Those who follow Christ are
called to let the Holy Spirit shape us to
be a people of Love in a world that can be cruel, not only when we feel
like it but always.
INTO THE WORD:
As I
was preparing for today's Sermon, a song came to mind, They
will know we are Christians by our love. I suspect that many of you
know this song. It goes they will know we are Christians by our Love, by our
Love; We will walk with each other side by side, we
will guard each person s dignity and each person s pride. For they will know we
are Christians by our Love.
Yes, Love is the identification badge that we as God s
Children need to wear. But as
EXPLORING
THE WORD:
Today's
second lesson presents us with several commands that are to shape us in being genuine in our love. However, before we look
at these texts I believe we need to clarify our understanding of love.
There are lots of ideas about what is love out there. Infact the greeks were smarter than us in that they had 3 words to
identify love, philos = brotherly and sisterly
affection we have for family and friends, eros = the
romantic love we have for that special person in our lives, and agape = the
love that Jesus is describing, perhaps the best description of this kind of
love is found in READ 1 Cor. 13: 4-7.
Now
that kind of self sacrificing love is powerful and what Jesus tells us to
strive for in our relationships.
We also, need to clarify one
other thing about love this morn. There is a myth in our culture that love
is a feeling. However, If
love is a feeling than I can only act lovingly when I have that feeling.
I don t believe that is what
We can choose to be loving any time we wish, whether
we feel like it or not.
So I
believe that love is a decision an act of the will, Which is why
TELL ABOUT MRS.
VANDERMEY AND TIMOTHY, [Loving a boy that made it hard to love him takes
unconditional acceptance and perseverance]
TELL ABOUT JAMES MARSH AND
HIS AUNT ALICE [Loving a family member who is cranky, takes a willingness to
look beyond the rough exterior to see the person inside and hold them dear.]
INTO THE WORLD:
Letting
love for others be genuine is not easy. Sometimes it takes a lot of will that is powered
by the Spirit to reflect the love of Christ to others. This is not easy, but
this is important! Our world is faced with difficulties and troubles, and while
we can't take the troubles away the love that God can
pour through us for others can bring hope, joy and even peace. God has made it possible
for us to share in the greatest joy of all, so my Friends let me join
September 8
SERMON BASED ON MATTHEW 16 VERSES 13 TO 20
And on this Rock I will build my church
Word of Life:
People
who share a common understanding that Jesus is both Lord and Savior are the
ones who form the foundation of the church. For it is through their actions and
lives that the light of God s love continues to shine.
INTO
THE WORD:
Lets do a
word association to get us thinking this morning. When I say church what comes
to mind. For some it is the building that is located here at 5th
and
People who according to the Gospel lesson
today, share a common belief, that this Jesus who
walked on the earth some 2000 years ago, was in fact the Messiah sent by God to
saved us from the power of sin, death and evil. And
that same Jesus is now the reigning Lord of our world, so we have invited him
to be the reigning Lord of our lives.
EXPLORING
THE WORD:
We may wonder, what happens to us when
we take that belief into our hearts and hold it firmly there. St. Peter in our
second lesson has some beautiful words that describe what takes place in us.
He says Once
you were not a people, but now you are God s people. When we believe with our
whole hearts that Jesus is our Messiah we will
surrender to him all our hearts and in return he gives us a new identity. We
are now Children of God, heirs of the promise of life in all its fullness even
unto eternity.
But that is not all, St. Peter says We have been called out of our darkness so that we may
proclaim His mighty acts. In other words we have been
redeemed from sin, death and evil s power over us so that we can be signs of
God s love in this world for others.
TELL
ABOUT THE BOY AND THE SUGAR BOWL
INTO
THE WORLD:
We have a tremendous heritage of
saints who have Jesus sticking out all over them, that for us in this place. Some I did not have the privilege of knowing.
John Fletcher, who I mentioned last evening, as the one who helped to get the
Sunday school ministry started and who from his meager salary was able to share
enough that both churches here in
C. P. Bastian
was another one I have read about and admired. His down to earth approach gave
the Gospel message a reality that brought lots of
people to faith. But there have also been a host of
ones who I have known and who you have known through this community of faith.
These ordinary saints have showed the love of God in what they said, in how
they lived and even in how they died.
Mrs. Philson, was another one
that caught my attention. Her dedication to teaching the adults for so many
years and helping them grow in wisdom and love of God is very inspiring. Then
there were others I did have the opportunity to know and was
made richer for knowing them. Like Otie Bockes, Jack Shipley, Vic Harris, Ida Kimmel, and Helen
Spangler to mention just a few.
There are some even
now who have lived among us and shown us the love of God, in how they
have lived and by what they have done. This my friends
is the People of God, who form the church. The people to who
we also belong, because like them we share a common belief that Jesus is our
Messiah and Lord. So let us use
this anniversary celebration to recommit ourselves to being God s people in
this place. Amen
September 15
