Difference between revisions of "Sermon for May 22nd, 2022"

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3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
 
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
  
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==Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual Ministries: Teaching==
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==Spiritual Gifts (and how to give them): Teaching==
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On the first day of school, the stern, old teacher stood and the front of his classroom.  He wanted to make the point that anyone could succeed in his class with the right effort.  And so, he addressed his class, and said, "If any of you here today feel that you are incapable of learning, I would like for you to please stand up right now."  It was a rhetorical question.  In his 30+ years of teaching, no one had ever stood up, of course, simply proving his point.  But this time, after the usual long, awkward pause, one boy slowly stood to his feet.  The teacher, surprised and a little confused said to the boy, "Young man, you really believe that you are incapable of learning?" The boy responded, "No sir...I just hated for you to be the only one standing, what with you being our teacher and all!"
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Today's sermon is going to be a short one, since we have our stepping up ceremony still to come.  But some of you know that I like to start off the sermon with a little bit of humor, and considering today's audience is quite a bit younger I'm going to adapt my style accordingly and tell you some of my favorite teacher jokes.  
  
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Today we'll be talking about the third "gift" in our series on Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual Ministries: The gift of teaching.
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*Why did the student eat his science assignment?  Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake!
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*What's a teacher's favorite nation? Expla-nation.
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*Why did the teacher jump into the ocean? She wanted to TEST the waters!
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*What did the ghost teacher say to her class?  Look at the board...and I WILL go through it again.
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*Why was the geometry class tired? Because they were all out of SHAPE!
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*Why does a music teacher need a ladder? To reach the high notes.
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*What are ten things a teacher can always count on?  Her fingers!
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*What kind of school teaches you about ice cream?  Sundae School.
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*What is the difference between a Teacher and a Train? The teacher says “Spit your gum out” and the train says... “Chew, chew!”
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*Why Do Teachers Fart in Class? Because they are not private tooters.
  
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As many of you already know, before I went to seminary and became a pastor, I was a high school teacher for many years.  Even while I was at seminary, I stayed an extra year to pick up a second master's degree in Christian Education.  I did this because I love teaching--it's a big part of my identity and my self image. My personal blog is entitled "Mr. Locke's Classroom," and the tagline underneath the title reads: "I will always be a teacher. I will always be a student." 
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Today we're going to talk about teaching and learning, because teaching is one of the Spiritual Gifts mentioned in the Bible.  But before we talk about teaching, I want to talk about spiritual gifts.  What do you think of when you hear the word "gift?"  A Birthday present? A Christmas present? Something you give to another person?  A Spiritual gift is like that, but it's not something you can unwrap or hold in your hands or even see! A Spiritual gift is something that God helps you to DO for other people. Something that helps other people; something that makes them feel special or loved or happy.  
  
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It's a personal motto, of sorts, and I put it there when I was leaving behind my job as a high school teacher and entering into the ministry.  I knew that God was calling me to ministry, and I was excited about that, but I was also sad, because I genuinely loved every single minute of being a teacher.  I needed to remind myself (and my former students) that wherever I might go, whatever vocation I might pursue, whatever my official job title...I will still be a teacher.  It's just who I am.   
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Some people think that a spiritual gift is like a talent or an ability--like someone who can play a musical instrument, or someone who's really good at sports, or math, or drawing pictures.  Those are all good things; they ARE "talents;" but that's not what the Bible means when it says "Spiritual Gift." A Spiritual gift is something that God helps you to DO for other people, to help them--and ANYONE can give another person ANY of the spiritual gifts.  You don't have to be good at something to do it--that's why it's called a SPIRITUAL gift.  God helps us to do things for other people even when we're not very good at it!
  
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I love the fact that in the Presbyterian church, there is a long-standing tradition of refering to pastors as "teaching elders." Two weeks ago, I started teaching an intensive Bible study here at our church, and I can tell you that now just as much as ever, I am rarely as happy and excited as when I am teaching the people I love about things that I love.
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So today we're talking about the spiritual gift of teaching. And usually when we talk about teaching, we think of teachers.  Can you please stand up if you're a teacher?  We want to thank our teachers for helping us to learn, and to be better people.
  
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Some of you know that one of my favorite hobbies is homebrewing beer.  But even there, as anyone who has brewed with me can tell you, one of my favorite aspects of homebrewing...is teaching whoever will listen about the different varieties of beer and the process of making it.  
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In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which our school is based upon, parents are considered to be the first and most important teachers in any person's life--can you please stand up if you are a parent? We want to thank you for teaching our students every day, too!
  
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The same is true of technology and gadgets, another passion of mine. If I love something, I want to know everything there is to know about it...and I want everyone around me to know everything there is to know about it, too! I am simply, profoundly, and unapologetically...a teacher.  So if anyone can claim to have the "spiritual gift" of teaching, it should be me, right?
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But wait...can you please stand up if you have ever taught something to another person--like if you've taught someone how to tie their shoes, or if you have taught someone the words to a song, or if you have helped someone to figure out a problem? By now, I think everyone should be standing up...because it's true that everyone, sometimes, gets to be a teacher.  Everyone gets to give that spiritual gift of teaching to help other people. You can sit down now!
  
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Well...if you've been listening the past few weeks, you already know that that isn't quite how spiritual gifts work.  In verse 6 of today's passage, Paul teaches that "We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us."  The word "grace" here does not mean talent or innate ability, but (as it is used elsewhere in the New Testament) its meaning is closer to the word "office" or "opportunity."  God gives us the opportunity.  We are the ones who give the gift.
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In our school this year, I've watched so many times as our students have helped each other to figure things out--in band or music class, in all of our project cycles, out on the playground--they are all young, growing teachers as well as learners, and I think I can speak for all the teachers when I say that we learn just as much from them as they do from us.
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So whether you are a great teacher or a lousy one, whether you love teaching or whether you'd rather not, this is a gift that we are all called upon to give.  In the great commission found in Matthew 28--Jesus' last instructions to his followers--he says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to obey everything that I have commanded you."
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He didn't say, "Go, baptize and make disciples of all nations...and you three over here, you're pretty good at teaching, so you teach everyone to obey everything that I have commanded you."   Basically, we are all teachers.  And not just teachers of homebrewing, technology, English literature, or molecular biology, although I'm grateful those who can and do teach these things. But as Christians, we are specifically charged with teaching "everything that I have commanded you," or the scriptures, which is where we find Jesus' commandments, his teachings, the example of his life.
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And that's really what our school is all about, what the Reggio philosophy is all about, and I think what Jesus was all about, too. You've heard it said that in "giving we receive, and in pardoning we are pardoned." I think that also works with education: In teaching others what we know, we learn even more ourselves.  
  
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"Wait a minute, pastor...are you saying that you expect ME to actually TEACH other people the BIBLE?  Isn't that YOUR job?" It is my job.  And it is OUR job, too. As Presbyterians, we believe in the Priesthood of ALL believers, and the Community of Saints (which is you and me!). We are team teachers.
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But how do you teach?  How do you give that spiritual gift of teaching to another person?  Do you just say lots of stuff and hope they understand?  Do you just say, "Watch this! Now you do it!" Do you open your brain, pour it out into a bowl and then shove it inside another person's head? I wouldn't recommend any of these approaches as the best way to teach someone something.
  
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"But pastor, I couldn't possibly teach the Bible...I don't know nearly enough about it!"  Ironically, I hear that objection most often from people who have spent their entire lives in Sunday School classes and Bible Studies of one sort or another.   
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The word EDUCATION is a very old word...it goes all the way back to Ancient Rome and the Roman people, who spoke Latin.  They came up with the word "educate" by putting together two even older words: EX + DUCO.  DUCO means to take or pull or lead something, and EX means OUT. To take out, or pull out, or lead out.   
  
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Still, the Bible is a pretty complex subject, and teaching it isn't for the fainthearted, so I'd like to offer three things: First, a personal confession; second, what I think is the very best reason for teaching the Bible; and third, some practical ways in which you can give this spiritual gift in our community.
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So to educate someone doesn't mean to put things in their head that weren't there before. It actually means to help them find and draw out what was already there, already inside them, just waiting to be discovered.  Think about that for a minute.  You already have everything inside your brain that you need in order to solve any problem you will ever encounter. But sometimes you need a friend, a parent, or a good teacher to help you draw it out. 
  
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I told you that the tagline to my blog, and one of my personal mottos is, "I will always be a teacher.  I will always be a student."  I wrote those words when I was leaving one kind of classroom as a teacher, and headed into another kind of classroom (seminary) as a student.  But I also believe there's an important connection between those two things, being a teacher and being a student, between teaching and learning.
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And sometimes you need to BE that good friend, parent, or teacher for someone else--that means being patient and kind, it means not just telling or showing, but helping your friends to figure things out for themselves and to find their own voice.  It means being willing to walk with someone, or to sit and just listen.  Sometimes teaching someone means asking just the right questions at the right time...and then being ready to learn from them as much as they are learning from you.
  
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Here's the confession: In high school, I was a pretty lousy student.  I was a smart kid, but I made a lot of C's, D's, and even F's.  Even in college, I failed my introductory Math class three times before finally talking my way into a passing grade.  I graduated from college with the bare minimum GPA required to graduate.   
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One of my favorite ways to teach is to tell stories...and then to let you figure out what you think the story means! So I want to end today with a story about a dog named Charlie.   
  
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Three years later, I started graduate school for the first time, and to my mother's shock and surprise, I made straight A's and finished my program with a 3.98 GPA.  Ten years after that, I graduated with high honors from Princeton Seminary, where the lowest grade I ever made was a B+ (and that only twice!).   
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Charlie's owner had read somewhere that if you gave your dog apple cider vinegar every day, it would help him live a long time and be healthy.  But Charlie was a pretty big dog, and so every day Charlie's owner had to chase him around the house, wrestle him to the ground, pry open his mouth, and pour down the Apple Cider Vinegar.  Neither Charlie nor his owner enjoyed this very much, and each day it left both of them miserable and exhausted.  One day, Charlie just couldn't take it anymore, and while his owner was trying to hold him down, Charlie kicked out his leg, and the bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar went flying across the room, spilling everywhere all over the floor. Charlie looked very relieved as his owner left the room to go get some towels to wipe up the mess.  But when Charlie's owner came back into the room, what did she see?  To her shock and amazement, she saw Charlie, standing right in the middle of the puddle, licking up all the Apple Cider Vinegar from the floor.  Turns out Charlie really liked Apple Cider Vinegar...he just didn't like someone forcing it down his throat!
  
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What changed?  It wasn't the subject matter: I took a Bible class in undergraduate and made a D-, and I failed English Literature once in High School, too.  It wasn't age and maturity--there were only three years between my last college course and my first graduate course.
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Students, Families, and Teachers of First Presbyterian Elementary School, and People of First Presbyterian Church--I hope you all have a wonderful summer! Keep learning, keep teaching, keep showing up, and keep stepping up...today and every day of your lives.  May God bless you and keep you.  I'm so proud of you all.
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But in those three years...I had started teaching.  I taught high school in the fall and spring, and then took graduate courses in the summer.  When I walked into my first graduate class, I thought to myself, "I want to be the kind of student that I would want to have in my classroom."  And then when I went back into my classroom in the fall, I thought, "I want to be the kind of teacher that I would want to have as a student."
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The very best reason to teach something is to learn it better.  People often tell me, at the beginning of a class or a Bible Study, that they are there to get to know the Bible better.  That's great.  It's a good reason to take a class. But after you take the class, and before you sign up for yet another one, go teach someone what you learned.  You'll understand it better and remember it longer than you ever would in an entire lifetime of hearing someone else teach it.
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And don't let a lack of knowledge or preparation stop you from jumping in.  I told you I was a lousy student in college: I majored in English literature, but didn't actually read much English literature in college.  Most of what I know about English Literature, I learned about 24 hours before my high school students learned it.  Because there is nothing that drives a teacher to read and study quite like lying awake at night imagining the sea of raised hands and hard questions you will face in the morning.  It's amazing how quickly you can become an expert in something when others are depending on you to understand it.
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I promised I would end with some practical ways you can share the gift of teaching in God's community.  There's no better model for us than Jesus, whose teachings have lasted for two thousand years and continue to influence countless people in every part of the world:
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1.  Jesus taught children.  In Matthew 19, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs."  We have a lot of children in our community, and even if you think you don't know much about the Bible, you probably know more than enough to teach a child some of the basic Bible stories that are part of our faith.  Here at First Presbyterian Church, we're using the Jesus Storybook Bible curriculum to do this, and if you have children of you own, I'd encourage you to get a copy of this great adaptation of the bible and read it to them on a regular basis.  Another way you can teach children is through our local mission partner, Project Vida:  They have a constant need for volunteers in their children's afterschool program. Maria Murray has been going to Proect Vida and simply reading to kids for years and years, and I know she would love to see more people join her in that effort.
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2.  Jesus taught large crowds, as he did when he preached the sermon on the mount; he taught small groups, like he did when he taught his twelve disciples in the upper room; and he taught one on one, like he did with Nicodemus, with Peter, with the Samaritan woman.  When you help with the leadership of our worship service (and there are plenty of opportunities in this area!) you are teaching the crowd; when you volunteer to lead a Sunday School class or a Wednesday night program, or one of our small group ministries--or even start a small group!--you have the opportunity to teach in this smaller, more intimate setting; and when you reach out in friendship to someone in our community that you might not otherwise know, you have an opportunity to teach (and learn!) one on one. I have seen older members of our congregation "adopt" younger members as "honorary" children and grandchildren, and I have seen younger members teaching some of our seniors how to use iPhones and facebook.
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3. Finally, Jesus taught with words, and stories and parables, but perhaps he taught us best through his actions and the example of his life.  Here at First Presbyterian Church, there are certainly opportunities for you to teach with your words, and I hope you also share your story with others.  I hope you tell others what this place--and God's love--have meant to you in your life.  But wherever you go, within these walls or without, whether you are speaking or silent, remember that your actions and decisions are always teaching the people around you something; they are teaching what you really believe, they are teaching what you really stand for.  Jim Henson put it best.  He said that people "dont remember what you try to teach them.  They remember what you are." 
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One more quote, and I'm done.  This one is from Lee Iacocca, who said, "In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else." 
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Well, I think we're more rational than Lee Iacocca gives us credit for, and I think that the best one of us actually was a teacher.  His disciples called him "Rabbi."  And following his example, we don't have to settle for something else.
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So teach well, and may God give you opportunities to teach often.
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May you learn to teach, and may you teach to learn.
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May you love to teach, and may you always teach his love.
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Latest revision as of 11:45, 28 May 2022

Romans 12:1-8

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Spiritual Gifts (and how to give them): Teaching

Today's sermon is going to be a short one, since we have our stepping up ceremony still to come. But some of you know that I like to start off the sermon with a little bit of humor, and considering today's audience is quite a bit younger I'm going to adapt my style accordingly and tell you some of my favorite teacher jokes.

  • Why did the student eat his science assignment? Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake!
  • What's a teacher's favorite nation? Expla-nation.
  • Why did the teacher jump into the ocean? She wanted to TEST the waters!
  • What did the ghost teacher say to her class? Look at the board...and I WILL go through it again.
  • Why was the geometry class tired? Because they were all out of SHAPE!
  • Why does a music teacher need a ladder? To reach the high notes.
  • What are ten things a teacher can always count on? Her fingers!
  • What kind of school teaches you about ice cream? Sundae School.
  • What is the difference between a Teacher and a Train? The teacher says “Spit your gum out” and the train says... “Chew, chew!”
  • Why Do Teachers Fart in Class? Because they are not private tooters.

Today we're going to talk about teaching and learning, because teaching is one of the Spiritual Gifts mentioned in the Bible. But before we talk about teaching, I want to talk about spiritual gifts. What do you think of when you hear the word "gift?" A Birthday present? A Christmas present? Something you give to another person? A Spiritual gift is like that, but it's not something you can unwrap or hold in your hands or even see! A Spiritual gift is something that God helps you to DO for other people. Something that helps other people; something that makes them feel special or loved or happy.

Some people think that a spiritual gift is like a talent or an ability--like someone who can play a musical instrument, or someone who's really good at sports, or math, or drawing pictures. Those are all good things; they ARE "talents;" but that's not what the Bible means when it says "Spiritual Gift." A Spiritual gift is something that God helps you to DO for other people, to help them--and ANYONE can give another person ANY of the spiritual gifts. You don't have to be good at something to do it--that's why it's called a SPIRITUAL gift. God helps us to do things for other people even when we're not very good at it!

So today we're talking about the spiritual gift of teaching. And usually when we talk about teaching, we think of teachers. Can you please stand up if you're a teacher? We want to thank our teachers for helping us to learn, and to be better people.

In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which our school is based upon, parents are considered to be the first and most important teachers in any person's life--can you please stand up if you are a parent? We want to thank you for teaching our students every day, too!

But wait...can you please stand up if you have ever taught something to another person--like if you've taught someone how to tie their shoes, or if you have taught someone the words to a song, or if you have helped someone to figure out a problem? By now, I think everyone should be standing up...because it's true that everyone, sometimes, gets to be a teacher. Everyone gets to give that spiritual gift of teaching to help other people. You can sit down now!

In our school this year, I've watched so many times as our students have helped each other to figure things out--in band or music class, in all of our project cycles, out on the playground--they are all young, growing teachers as well as learners, and I think I can speak for all the teachers when I say that we learn just as much from them as they do from us.

And that's really what our school is all about, what the Reggio philosophy is all about, and I think what Jesus was all about, too. You've heard it said that in "giving we receive, and in pardoning we are pardoned." I think that also works with education: In teaching others what we know, we learn even more ourselves.

But how do you teach? How do you give that spiritual gift of teaching to another person? Do you just say lots of stuff and hope they understand? Do you just say, "Watch this! Now you do it!" Do you open your brain, pour it out into a bowl and then shove it inside another person's head? I wouldn't recommend any of these approaches as the best way to teach someone something.

The word EDUCATION is a very old word...it goes all the way back to Ancient Rome and the Roman people, who spoke Latin. They came up with the word "educate" by putting together two even older words: EX + DUCO. DUCO means to take or pull or lead something, and EX means OUT. To take out, or pull out, or lead out.

So to educate someone doesn't mean to put things in their head that weren't there before. It actually means to help them find and draw out what was already there, already inside them, just waiting to be discovered. Think about that for a minute. You already have everything inside your brain that you need in order to solve any problem you will ever encounter. But sometimes you need a friend, a parent, or a good teacher to help you draw it out.

And sometimes you need to BE that good friend, parent, or teacher for someone else--that means being patient and kind, it means not just telling or showing, but helping your friends to figure things out for themselves and to find their own voice. It means being willing to walk with someone, or to sit and just listen. Sometimes teaching someone means asking just the right questions at the right time...and then being ready to learn from them as much as they are learning from you.

One of my favorite ways to teach is to tell stories...and then to let you figure out what you think the story means! So I want to end today with a story about a dog named Charlie.

Charlie's owner had read somewhere that if you gave your dog apple cider vinegar every day, it would help him live a long time and be healthy. But Charlie was a pretty big dog, and so every day Charlie's owner had to chase him around the house, wrestle him to the ground, pry open his mouth, and pour down the Apple Cider Vinegar. Neither Charlie nor his owner enjoyed this very much, and each day it left both of them miserable and exhausted. One day, Charlie just couldn't take it anymore, and while his owner was trying to hold him down, Charlie kicked out his leg, and the bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar went flying across the room, spilling everywhere all over the floor. Charlie looked very relieved as his owner left the room to go get some towels to wipe up the mess. But when Charlie's owner came back into the room, what did she see? To her shock and amazement, she saw Charlie, standing right in the middle of the puddle, licking up all the Apple Cider Vinegar from the floor. Turns out Charlie really liked Apple Cider Vinegar...he just didn't like someone forcing it down his throat!

Students, Families, and Teachers of First Presbyterian Elementary School, and People of First Presbyterian Church--I hope you all have a wonderful summer! Keep learning, keep teaching, keep showing up, and keep stepping up...today and every day of your lives. May God bless you and keep you. I'm so proud of you all.

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