Sermon for May 29th, 2016 - Revision history

Iraneal at 04:58, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 04:52, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 04:32, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 04:21, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 03:19, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 02:54, 29 May 2016

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Iraneal at 18:24, 28 May 2016

2016-05-28T18:24:04Z

Iraneal at 17:31, 28 May 2016

2016-05-28T17:31:08Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==Acts 11:19-30== 19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the..."

2016-05-28T17:16:29Z

Created page with "==Acts 11:19-30== 19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the..."

New page

==Acts 11:19-30==
19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. 20But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. 22News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; 24for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”

27At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. 29The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; 30this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

==First Church: First Called Christians==

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 Some of the church members stood up among them and said, "There are great needs in our community.  We have listened to the people, and we have heard their fears, their passions, their longings, and the desires of their heart.  It will be hard, but think we have the resources, the strength, the gifts, to help them.  Let us commit all of our resources, everything we have as a church, to help them, even if it's the last thing we ever do."
-And so they did.  They served people, putting the needs of the community above even their own needs, even above the needs of the church.  And they didn't die. They grew, as their words and their deeds and their reputation grew among the people of the community.
+And so they did.  They served the people, putting the needs of the community above even their own needs, even above the needs of the church itself.  And the church...did not die. No, it grew, as the words and deeds and reputation of its members grew among the people of the community.  And the people of the community (who had no interest in joining a church) were more than happy to join in the good work which the church was doing.
 And in time (not months, but years!) when the people of the community realized it wasn't a gimmick, or a trick, or a shallow attempt to convert them in order to keep the church alive...when the people of the community realized that they were genuinely loved, accepted, listened to, and cared for...

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:52, 29 May 2016
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	Many in the church thought the answer was to circle the wagons. Protect the building! Protect the money! Protect all the traditions, at all costs!		Many in the church thought the answer was to circle the wagons. Protect the building! Protect the money! Protect all the traditions, at all costs!

−	But other voices prevailed, which said, Diversify! Adapt! Throw open the doors of the building, and let new traditions grow alongside the old ones! Go out, and spread out, and BE the church to people who have no church.	+	But other voices prevailed. Voices which said, Diversify! Adapt! Throw open the doors of the building, and let new traditions grow alongside the old ones! Go out, and spread out, and BE the church to people who have no church.
		+
		+	And so they did. They went out in pairs--old and young, enthusiastic new members with experienced long-time members, each bringing something special to their work, each appreciating and not resisting what the other had to offer, even when they didn't always agree or understand each other.
		+
		+	They met with people. They taught people, even though many of them did not see themselves as "teachers."
		+
		+	Some of the church members stood up among them and said, "There are great needs in our community. We have listened to the people, and we have heard their fears, their passions, their longings, and the desires of their heart. It will be hard, but think we have the resources, the strength, the gifts, to help them. Let us commit all of our resources, everything we have as a church, to help them, even if it's the last thing we ever do."
		+
		+	And so they did. They served people, putting the needs of the community above even their own needs, even above the needs of the church. And they didn't die. They grew, as their words and their deeds and their reputation grew among the people of the community.
		+
		+	And in time (not months, but years!) when the people of the community realized it wasn't a gimmick, or a trick, or a shallow attempt to convert them in order to keep the church alive...when the people of the community realized that they were genuinely loved, accepted, listened to, and cared for...
		+
		+	Then, the people of the community gave this old church a new name.
		+
		+	I can't tell you what they named it. You'll have to experience that for yourselves.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:32, 29 May 2016
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	Diversification. Collaboration. Branding. Assessment and Action.		Diversification. Collaboration. Branding. Assessment and Action.
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		+	So how do we tie all that together? With a story, of course!
		+
		+	Once upon a time, there was a church. It wasn't the first church, but it was the First Presbyterian Church in El Paso. This church had seen some good times, but lately, for the past 20 years, it wasn't doing so great. In many ways, it was a church in trouble.
		+
		+	Many in the church thought the answer was to circle the wagons. Protect the building! Protect the money! Protect all the traditions, at all costs!
		+
		+	But other voices prevailed, which said, Diversify! Adapt! Throw open the doors of the building, and let new traditions grow alongside the old ones! Go out, and spread out, and BE the church to people who have no church.

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 So...diversification...collaboration...and the third thing is branding.  Branding?? Wait a minute--they had that in the first century?  Sure.  They probably didn't call it that, but in verse 25, we read that after Barnabas and Paul had been at work for "an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians."
-They were first called Christians.  They were first given a name.  They didn't give themselves that name, but it was given to them by others. That's branding.
+They were first called Christians.  They were first given a name and an identity.  They didn't choose it for themselves, but it was given to them by others, who recognized what they were about. That's branding.
 I know this, because our amazing and talented Director of Family Ministries, Hope Griffin, taught me about branding a few weeks ago.  She's taking correspondence course from Cornell University on marketing and branding, and is quite busy putting all that she's learned to work for the benefit and ministry of First Presbyterian Church.
-*Branding.  Christians.  Takes patience (a year) and process to establish a reputation. Met. Taught. Called.
+It would take another sermon entirely to explain how we got to this point, how our brand became so tarnished, but the nutshell version is this: People judge us by our actions and our words. And both have been lacking in recent years.  But a more important question, I think, is this:  What do we do about it?  The easier approach is to leave the label "Christian" behind and move on. After all, people followed Jesus before they were called Christians, and could do so again.  The harder approach is to restore the brand again.  How?  The same way it was established in the first place: Meeting with people.  Teaching people.  Building relationships and trust with people.  And remembering that we don't have much control over what people call us.  But we do have control over what we do, what we say, and who we strive to be like.  If they like Jesus, maybe that would be a good start.
-*Assessment and Action. These two go hand in hand, can't have one without the other.  Sometimes assessment of situation comes directly via the spirit, and sometimes via wise discernment, observation. Action is "each according to ability" everyone has their part, and yet two are delegated to represent the whole.

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 The next thing is collaboration.  One of the greatest and most productive partnerships in the New Testament is born in this passage, in verses 22-25:  News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.
-Saul and Barnabas will go on many adventures, crossing many miles of land and sea in the book of Acts as they spread the gospel together.  But who are they?  Barnabas comes from Jerusalem.  In fact, he is sent by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to see what's going on in Antioch.  This implies that he is a trusted part of the "old guard," the original Jewish followers of Jesus.  He is sent to be the voice of experience and wisdom.  Saul (also known as Paul), by contrast, is the rookie.  Remember just a few weeks ago, we heard his conversion story, how he went from persecuting the church to becoming its newest convert.
+Saul and Barnabas will go on many adventures, crossing many miles of land and sea in the book of Acts as they spread the gospel together.  But who are they?  Barnabas comes from Jerusalem.  In fact, he is sent by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to see what's going on in Antioch.  This implies that he is a trusted part of the "old guard," the original Jewish followers of Jesus.  Saul (also known as Paul), by contrast, is the rookie.  Remember just a few weeks ago we heard his conversion story, how he went from persecuting the church to becoming its newest convert.
 *Branding.  Christians.  Takes patience (a year) and process to establish a reputation. Met. Taught. Called.
 *Assessment and Action. These two go hand in hand, can't have one without the other.  Sometimes assessment of situation comes directly via the spirit, and sometimes via wise discernment, observation. Action is "each according to ability" everyone has their part, and yet two are delegated to represent the whole.

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 This time, deciding to be more blunt, the father said, "They're the names of church members who died in the service." At this, the boy froze in place, refusing to go any further.  Fearfully, he looked up at his father and said, "Which service, Dad...the 9:00 or the 11:00?"
 *Collaboration.  Barnabas and Saul. Intergenerational mentoring.
 *Branding.  Christians.  Takes patience (a year) and process to establish a reputation. Met. Taught. Called.
 *Assessment and Action. These two go hand in hand, can't have one without the other.  Sometimes assessment of situation comes directly via the spirit, and sometimes via wise discernment, observation. Action is "each according to ability" everyone has their part, and yet two are delegated to represent the whole.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:24, 28 May 2016
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	This time, deciding to be more blunt, the father said, "They're the names of church members who died in the service." At this, the boy froze in place, refusing to go any further. Fearfully, he looked up at his father and said, "Which service, Dad...the 9:00 or the 11:00?"		This time, deciding to be more blunt, the father said, "They're the names of church members who died in the service." At this, the boy froze in place, refusing to go any further. Fearfully, he looked up at his father and said, "Which service, Dad...the 9:00 or the 11:00?"
		+
		+
		+	What's going on here?
		+	*Diversification. In times of trouble/persecution, two options, two ways to survive: dig in/buckle down/circle wagons... or spread out, diversify, evolve. they chose to spread out.
		+	*Collaboration. Barnabas and Saul. Intergenerational mentoring.
		+	*Branding. Christians. Takes patience (a year) and process to establish a reputation. Met. Taught. Called.
		+	*Assessment and Action. These two go hand in hand, can't have one without the other. Sometimes assessment of situation comes directly via the spirit, and sometimes via wise discernment, observation. Action is "each according to ability" everyone has their part, and yet two are delegated to represent the whole.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:31, 28 May 2016
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	==First Church: First Called Christians==		==First Church: First Called Christians==
		+	Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so I'm reminded of the story about the little boy who was walking one Sunday morning from Sunday School to the worship service. As they were walking down the long hallway to the sanctuary, the young boy saw a giant plaque with a long list of names on it, and so he asked his father what it was, and what all those names meant.
		+
		+	The father told his son, "those are the names of people from our church who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country." Confused, the boy said, "Ultimate sacrifice? What does that mean?"
		+
		+	Choosing his words more carefully this time, the father tried again: "Well, son, they're the names of brave young men and women who gave up their lives in the last war." The boy's eyes grew wider, but still he was confused. "Gave up their lives? What does that mean?"
		+
		+	This time, deciding to be more blunt, the father said, "They're the names of church members who died in the service." At this, the boy froze in place, refusing to go any further. Fearfully, he looked up at his father and said, "Which service, Dad...the 9:00 or the 11:00?"