“Amazing Grace – The Power of The Holy Spirit”

This is the first message that I ever gave as a lay speaker. During a lay speaker class, I was asked how long it took to write my first message and I replied “three years.” I began thinking about being a lay speaker in 1988 but it was not until 17 November 1991 that I ever put together on paper the words for a sermon. Interestingly enough I never thought about the relationship between the title of this message and the fact that I was at Grace UMC when I gave it. I focused more on the hymn and what that hymn meant. That Grace UMC would make the turn around that it did (six months before this message, it was thought that the church was going to die; it survived those rough times and prospered over the years) is amazing and perhaps this was a way to foretell that.

Following the lead of my pastor, John Praetorius, I chose a reading and a text (as I have pointed out before, I didn’t start using the lectionary until 1995). I chose Matthew 28: 10 – 20 as the Scripture reading and 1 Chronicles 17: 16 – 17 as the text for my message.

The song “Amazing Grace” is an interesting one, both for its music and its message. This song is based in part on John Newton’s own life and experience (The Hymns & Hymn Writers of the Church, Tillet & Nutter, 1911). That experience can be understood from the passage from I Chronicles he used as the basis for the song:

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in thy eyes, O God; thou hast also spoken to thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast shown me future generations, O Lord God! (1 Chronicles 17:16 – 17)

At one point, he was a ship’s captain; more to the point he was a slave ship captain. One day, while on the regular run from Africa to the American colonies, he decided that what he was doing wasn’t right. He then turned his ship around and took the would-be slaves back to Africa. This was a rather dramatic move on his part, one that many people would have been afraid to make. Even Newton might have been afraid to make such a move, but the Holy Spirit gave John Newton the power to turn his boat around without fearing the consequences.

Saul also felt the power of the Holy Spirit when he was struck blind on the road to Damascus. More importantly, it was the same Holy Spirit which directed Ananias to go to Saul and help him.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosed to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:10 – 17)

Now Ananias may have been afraid to go see Saul on his own. After all, here was a man who had the power to throw Ananias in jail for simply believing in Jesus. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, he was able to go to Saul.

It was the same power of the Holy Spirit which lead John Wesley to question his own faith and how the Church of England ministered to the people of England. Without that Power to lead him, it would have been very difficult for Wesley to lead the Methodist movement.

We have all felt the power of the Holy Spirit at some time in our lives. The first time it came to me was in the form of my mother’s right elbow. When I was 12 and my family was living in Montgomery, Alabama, I grew tired of my mother elbowing me to keep me awake during the sermon. As a result, I decided to sit by myself. During that time, I begain to think about what it was to be a Christian. Shortly after we moved to Denver, Colorado, that summer I approached George Eddy, the pastor at the 1st Evangelical United Brethen Church in Aurora, about studying for the God & Country Award given by the Boy Scouts. Under his tutelage, I earned that award and joined the EUB church in 1964. Even today, that still rates as one of my personal achievements. I am also convinced that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit that lead my family and I here from Odessa, Texas and to this church. I did not know about Grace Church until I walked by it while visiting the campus during the summer.

What these stories show is the impact the Holy Spirit can have on individuals. It is that power which change’s one life and gives them the strength to change others. The idea of leadership within the church is what this Sunday is about. Jesus, through his disciples, has empowered us, as the laity, with the task of ministering to the world:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. (Matthew 28:18 – 20)

Finding leaders for the church has always been a problem. Consider Moses’ reaction to his nomination by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt:

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who make him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak. (Exodus 4:10 – 13)

Today is Laity Sunday, a day on which we honor all those who serve the chruch. Leadership is not limited to a select few, but is the responsibility of all members of the church. After all, when anyone joins the church, we as members also reaffirm our vows to “uphold it by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.” (The United Methodist Hymnal, page 48 (1989))

While I am a relatively new member of Grace Church, I still have an appreciation for its 130 year history. This is the most crucial time in that history. It is a time when this church can grow and expand its ministry in the neighborhood and the city. From the Talmud, we read

“In every age there comes a time when leadership suddenly comes forth to meet the needs of the hour. And so there is no man who does not find his time, and there is no hour that does not have its leader.” (I believe that I first saw this quote in Making of a President – 1960)

This is Grace Church’s time. Through the Holy Spirit, we are called to carry out the mission of this church.

How do we meet this challenge? First, our Church Conference is December 8th. As a member of the church, you are entitled to vote on matters before the church. We have started an Estimate of Giving program and you can return that card so that the church will be able to plan its budget. If you sing in the choir, serve as an usher, serve as a greeter after church, serve as a Sunday School teacher, or help with Fellowship Time between Sunday School and church, you serve the church. There are many other ways to help the church meet this great challenge.

The question that we as members of Grace Church must answer is “Are we willing to lead Grace Church in its mission and growth.” This is the same challenge John Newton faced when he turned his boat around and Ananias faced when he went to help Saul. If we do as John Newton, Ananias, John Wesley, and others have done and let the Holy Spririt guide and direct us, then we will be able to understand the meaning of the sixth verse of “Amazing Grace”:

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.”

“Notes for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost”

Here are my messages, sermons, and posts related to the 20^th Sunday after Pentecost –

“What Do You Do?” - Sermon given at Grace UMC on 24 October 1993. This was also Laity Sunday.

“Do You See the Light?” - Sermon given at Grace Memorial UMC (Independence, KS) and Sycamore UMC (Sycamore, KS) on October 16, 1994 (B)

“Are We Impatient or Just Waiting?” – Sermon given at Walker Valley UMC on 10 October 1999 (A)

“The AHA! Moment” - Sermon given at Walker Valley UMC on October 29, 2000 (B)

No sermon for October 21, 2001 at Walker Valley UMC – the Choir from Memorial Presbyterian Church presented the message in song.

“Rules for Living” – Sermon given at Tompkins Corners UMC on 6 October 2002 (A)

“The Evidence Before You” - Sermon given at Tompkins Corners UMC on October 26, 2003 (B)

“Now Is The Time”- Sermon given at Tompkins Corners UMC on October 17 , 2004 (C)

“Tenants of the Vineyard” – Posted on October 2, 2005 (A)

“What Will You Ask For?” - Sermon given at New Milford UMC on October 22, 2006 (B)

The Lost Generation – Posted on October 14, 2007 (C)

“Our Best Interests” – Sermon given at New Milford UMC on 28 September 2008 (A)

“What Gives You the Right?” - Sermon given at Dover Plains UMC on October 18, 2009 (B)

“The Answer to the Question” – Posted on October 10, 2010 (B)

“Carrying the Load” - Posted on October 30, 2011 (A)

“Notes for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost”

Here are my thoughts/messages/sermons for the 16^th Sunday after Pentecost:

Sunday, October 04, 1992 (A), Laity Sunday, Grace United Methodist Church, St. Cloud, MN, “Who? Me!”

Sunday, September 12, 1999 (A), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “Forgiving and Forgetting,”

Sunday, October 01, 2000 (B), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “What Can We Do?”

Sunday, September 23, 2001 (C),Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “The Healing Process”

Sunday, September 08, 2002 (A), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “A Sense of Community”

Sunday, September 28, 2003 (B), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “Who Cuts the Barber’s Hair?”

Sunday, September 19, 2004 (C),Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “The Great Tulip Boom and Bust”

Sunday, September 04, 2005 (A), Vails Gate United Methodist Church, Vails Gate, NY, “Lexington, North Carolina”

Sunday, September 24, 2006 (B), Dover United Methodist Church, Dover Plains, NY, “Upsetting the Apple Cart”

Sunday, September 16, 2007 (C),Dover United Methodist Church, Dover Plains, NY, “It’s A Journey, Not A Thought”

Sunday, August 31, 2008 (A), Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church, South Salem, NY, “What Does It Mean To Be Called?”

Sunday, September 20, 2009 (B), “A Simple Act”

Sunday, September 12, 2010 (C), “A Blog for the Weekend”

Sunday, October 02, 2011 (A), “I Don’t Like Rules”

“Who? Me!”

Here is the message that I gave for the 16^th Sunday after Pentecost, October 4, 1992 at Grace United Methodist Church (St. Cloud, MN) and served as Laity Sunday. I based the message on Genesis 6: 11 – 14 and Mark 1: 16 – 20 (as I have previously noted, this was before I began using the lectionary as the basis for my message). This was also the third sermon/message that I ever presented.

And the Lord said to Noah “I want you to build me an ark”. What was Noah’s response? Did Noah check his calendar to see if he was available that week? Did he ask God to postpone the flood because he, Noah, wouldn’t be available? Maybe he thought that some of his friends were playing a joke on him? Noah lived in an area that got about one inch of rain a year so what was he supposed to think when God told him that it was going to rain for forty days and nights? We don’t know what Noah’s initial response was but we do know that he did what God asked him to do.

It hasn’t always been easy to get people to listen to God.  Consider Moses.  Here was the man God selected to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land; but what did he do?  He asked God to select someone else; “Who, me Lord?  Can’t you find someone else?” (Exodus 4:10 – 13) God did not let Moses off the hook but He did give him some help in the form of his brother Aaron.

It isn’t that we don’t hear God speaking to us, but that we often don’t know that He is.  In I Samuel 3:3 – 12 we read

the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down within the temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was.  Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel!  Samuel!’ He said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’  But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’  So he went and lay down.  And the Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’  And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’  But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.  And the Lord called Samuel again the third time.  And he arose and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’  Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.  Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel!  Samuel!’  And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for thy servant hears.’”

Samuel heard a voice but did not know that it was God speaking.  Fortunately, Eli understood and provided Samuel with the necessary guidance.  There have been others who have heard God speaking but, without guidance, could not respond.  Many others have probably never heard the voice of God.  Because of this, God sent His Son.

How did the twelve disciples respond when Jesus said, as we heard in the New Testament reading, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. (Mark 1: 16 – 20) Why should these men leave their livlihoods and follow Jesus?  Especially, as it was stated in the New Testament reading, since they did it immediately.  It wasn’t really practical to get up and leave their jobs and families behind.  There wasn’t anywhere else to go.  Wouldn’t it have been easier to stay as fisherman and eke out what living they could.  Times were tough and this man from Nazareth was asking them to leave their jobs and work for him, not knowing if they would every be paid for their efforts.  But they did, simply because they believed in what Jesus was doing.

Does God speak to us today?  In his book A Walk Across America, Peter Jenkins describes his journey from upstate New York to New Orleans and his attempt to discover who he is.  During that journey, he was drawn to an old fashion church revival meeting where he discovered the Holy Spirit.  There it became clear why he was on his journey.  Later, in the second volume of his journey, The Walk West, Peter and his wife Barbara describe the events that lead up to their marriage.  While they were in love with each other, they still had some doubts. After all, Peter was not just asking Barbara to marry him; he was asking her to walk from New Orleans to Oregon through Texas.  As Sandra will tell you, west Texas is no place to take your brand new wife.  One evening, while at an evening church service, the preacher, referring to Ruth in the Old Testament, asked “Will you go with this man?”  To Peter and Barbara, this was the sign that all would be well.

Following God requires faith and commitment.  When we have faith and a commitment to God, we can do anything.  Without either, our life is lost.  Ask Noah, Samuel, or any of the disciples what faith meant to them.  Ask the early circuit riders of the Methodist Church in America.  Without their faith in God, their efforts would have been meaningless.  Could they have survived the weeks on the trail as they traveled from one town to another preaching the Gospel if it were not for faith?   Francis Asbury, the first Bishop of the Methodist Church in America, made it a point to emphasize the physical struggles that they, these early preachers, would have to endure on their circuit.  It was not for the weak of body or spirit.  But for these early circuit riders, the Methodist Church might not have survived.

But it should also be noted that these churches would not have survived without the support of the laity either.  Because there weren’t enough preachers for all of the churches, the laity had to do the work of the church during the weeks when the preacher was not there.  How did those early congregations survive if it were not for faith and a commitment to God? Were it not for faith in God and a commitment to His work by the members of Grace Church, would this present building have been built?  That it was is a testament to that faith and commitment to do God’s work in St. Cloud.

Grace Church has a rich and distinguished history.  That is what today is about.  On this day we celebrate the role of the laity in the United Methodist Church, both in the past and for the future.  In picking the twelve disciples, none of whom were traditionally trained in the church, Jesus made the statement that it was the laity upon whom His church would be built.  It was the laity upon whom the foundation of the Methodist Church was built and upon whom the success of future churches lies.  But a history alone does not insure a future.

Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, stated that “We must disenthrall ourselves with the past and then we will save our country.” (What I Saw At the Revolution, Peggy Noonan) Lincoln was not saying that the United States should forget its past but that, if the country was to overcome the trauma and division that the Civil War brought, and move forward, it could not continue as it had.

Today God calls Grace Church.  He isn’t asking us to do something dramatic, drastic or beyond our capabilities.  God as never asked anyone to do something that they could not do.  It is just that many people don’t believe they have the capability of doing what God asks of them.  Nor is He asking us to forget our past.  He is asking that we look to the future.  For any church’s future to have a meaning, its members must work for it today.

Are you involved in the work of the church or are you committed to the work of the church?  There is a difference.  I am sure you have heard the story about the difference between involvement and commitment.  It happens every time you eat a breakfast of ham and eggs.  While the hen was involved in the successful production of the breakfast, the hog was committed to its success.  (I want to thank Hugh Bunday for this; he in turn will thank Dorothy.)  Are you involved or are you committed?

When we joined the United Methodist Church and when others join the church, we, along with the other members of the church, vow to “uphold the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.” (The United Methodist Hymnal, page 48 (1989).) What does this phrase mean? 

Do we meet our obligations to the church and the work of the church through our prayers?  Do you spend some time each day in prayer?  Will you pray for the success of next week’s Spiritual Renewal Mission?  There has been a sheet at the back of the sanctuary for the last four weeks asking people to sign up for one hour of prayer each day for the success of the Mission and for Grace Church.  Will you respond to the challenge by signing the sheet?

One month ago, John stood in this pulpit and told us how he prayed to  God for a sign that his ministry at Grace Church would be a success .  His prayers were answered.  He also asked for ten men to help rebuild the United Methodist Men’s organization here at Grace church.  Before he left church that Sunday he had six pledges.   This Saturday at 8:00, because of those six men and four others, we will be meeting to make that reorganization possible.

Next Sunday, Ken Krueger begins the Spiritual Renewal Mission.  Will you be here?  Will you come to each of the four evening services?  Will you bring a friend?  If everyone here today brought one friend, there would be more people in this sanctuary then have been in it for some 30 years.  IT CAN BE DONE!  But it requires a commitment.  Similar to the prayer clock, there is a sign up sheet for pew captains.  It is not necessary to be a captain for all five services; one is enough.  Will you take the challenge  put before you and sign up as a pew captain for one of those services?

What else can you do for the church?  Would you volunteer to serve as the lay reader one Sunday a month?  Would you sing in the choir?   Several members of this church, both old and young, new and long-time, have spoken to you about what Grace Church means to them.  I am sure that if you ask anyone of them, they would tell you that it can be very frightening to stand up here and say what is in your heart.  I am sure that everyone of them will also tell you that they did not come up here without first having spent some time praying and asking God for guidance and advice.  When the Holy Spirit is at your side, such things can be done.

Finally, our gifts.  We are currently in the midst of our Stewardship Campaign.  Two weeks from today is Stewardship Sunday.  On that day, we will ask you to make a financial commitment to Grace Church.  Between now and then, you will be receiving a note from the Stewardship Committee asking that you give serious thought to your financial commitment to Grace Church.  I realize that filling out pledge cards is a new thing for many in this church and that many will not return the pledge cards.  Grace Church struggled for many years but this year, because of the faith and commitment of the members of this church, is not one of them.  In returning the pledge card, you are making a commitment to insure that  the plans for Grace Church in the coming year are a success.

Commitment requires more than involvement.  Jesus could not have completed his task, his mission on earth, without a commitment to the cross.  His commitment to us was a total one.  Our commitment can never match his but we are never asked to do so.  We are asked to make a commitment so that others can understand the commitment Jesus made on the cross.

Today, God is calling Grace Church.  He is asking “Who will help me?; who will follow me?; who will do My work?”  Will your answer be “me?” or will it be “ME!”

“Notes on the 9th Sunday after Pentecost”

Here are my sermons/messages/thoughts for the 9^th Sunday after Pentecost:

Sunday, July 31, 1994 (Year B), Grace United Methodist Church, St. Cloud, MN, “Journey To The Promised Land”

Sunday, July 30, 1995 (Year C), Mulberry (KS) and Arma (KS) United Methodist Churches, “We Gather Together”

Sunday, August 13, 2000 (Year B), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “Life’s Little Rewards”

Sunday, August 05, 2001 (Year C), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “A Vision of the Future”

Sunday, July 21, 2002 (Year A), No message or post

Sunday, August 10, 2003 (Year B), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, What Have We Been Taught?”

Sunday, August 01, 2004 (Year C), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, lay speaker from the Gideons

Sunday, July 17, 2005 (Year A), “Tending The Garden”

Sunday, August 06, 2006 (Year B), Mt. Hope United Methodist Church, Mahopac, NY, “The Life We Lead”

Sunday, July 29, 2007 (Year C), Dover United Methodist Church, Dover Plains, NY, “What Shall We Say?”

Sunday, July 13, 2008 (Year A), Dover United Methodist Church, Dover Plains, NY, “There Is A Choice”

Sunday, August 02, 2009 (Year B), Lake Mahopac United Methodist Church, Mahopac, NY, “What Do You Do With The Gifts You Have Been Given?”

Sunday, July 25, 2010 (Year C), Hankins United Methodist Church, Hankins, NY, “To Build a New Community”

Sunday, August 14, 2011 (Year A), See “Thoughts for a week in August”

“Notes for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost”

Here is a compilation of my messages/sermons/posts for the 7^th Sunday after Pentecost:

Sunday, July 25, 1993 (Year A), Grace United Methodist Church , St. Cloud, MN, “The Church Present is the Church Future”,

Sunday, July 16, 1995 (Year C), Elk Falls (KS), Longton (KS), Elk City (KS) United Methodist Churches, “Who Will Work For the Lord?”

Sunday, July 30, 2000 (Year B), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “It’s the Little Things”

Sunday, July 22, 2001 (Year C), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “The Opportunity We Have”

Sunday, July 07, 2002 (Year A), no message or post

Sunday, July 27, 2003 (Year B), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “What is Power?”

Sunday, July 18, 2004 (Year C), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “A New Way of Looking At Things”

Sunday, July 03, 2005 (Year A), no message or post

Sunday, July 23, 2006 (Year B),“Where Shall God Rest?”

Sunday, July 15, 2007 (Year C) ,“What Are We Supposed To Do?”

Sunday, June 29, 2008 (Year A), Dover United Methodist Church, Dover Plains, NY, “Just What Is The Right Thing To Do?”

Sunday, July 19, 2009 (Year B), Gaylordville United Methodist Church, Gaylordville, CT, “Where We Gather”

Sunday, July 11, 2010 (Year C), Cornwall United Methodist Church, “Drawing A Straight Line”

Sunday, July 31, 2011 (Year A), Bellvale United Methodist Church Sugarloaf United Methodist Church, “Who Sits At Your Table?”

Sunday, July 15, 2012 (Year B), Grace UMC (Newburgh, NY) Vespers in the Garden Series, “The Church For Others”

“The Church Present Is The Church Future”

This was the message that I gave at Grace UMC (St. Cloud, MN) for the 7^th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), 25 July 1993. My scriptures for this Sunday were Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 9 and Matthew 25: 13.

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The measurement of time is an interesting thing. The development of our civilization can be marked by how we measure time. While we use watches and clocks to measure the passage of the day, people in John Wesley had to rely on bulky and unreliable clocks. People in Jesus’ time marked the passage of time through the use of hour glasses. Early man had only the movement of the sun and stars. While we have calendars to tell us what day of the month it is, early man had to rely on the changing of the seasons. It was against that backdrop that the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 8)

But time meant more to this writer than simply passages through life.

“What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3: 9 – 11)

Against a background of day-to-day life and the struggle to make a living, the writer saw that God was a part of his life and that he was a part of God’s plan for the world. He knew that without God, life held no promise, that there was no hope in the future. The same is true for us today. As we begin to look towards the year 2000 and the new millennium, we ask what the future will bring us. Will the future bring us hope and good fortune? Or will it bring us pain and misery? Will God remember or forget us in the passage of time?

It has long been noted that the coming of a new century brings with it renewed anticipation for the Second Coming of the Lord. There are some who say that the all of the disasters we have endured this summer, the floods in the Midwest, the excessive heat in the East, and the drought in the South, are all signs that God is displeased with us and His return is imminent.

We are not the first generation to say this. Every generation before us has had someone who looked at society and all of its troubles and interpreted it to mean that now is the time for the coming of the Lord. But Jesus told us that we would never know when he was coming.

“Then the Kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’” (Matthew 25: 1 – 13)

Nor will we know how he will come. In Matthew 25: 31 – 46 we read,

“But when I, the Messiah, shall come in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my throne of glory. And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and place the sheep at my right hand, and the goats at my left.”

“Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.’”

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?”

“And I, the King, will tell them, ‘When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!’ Then I will turn to those on my left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry and you wouldn’t feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn’t give me anything to drink; a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’”

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And I will answer, ‘When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.’”

“And they shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life.” (Matthew 25:31 – 46)

Jesus may come this afternoon and we might not know it. After all, even Jesus’ own disciples did not recognize him at first after the resurrection. So what can we do if Jesus should ask us what we did to help Him?

There are a number of possibilities. First, we could run away. But then we would be like Jonah. Remember what happened to him? When first called by the Lord, Jonah chose to flee. In chapter 1 of the book of Jonah, we read

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god; and they threw the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we do not perish.”

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, on whose account this evil has come upon us? What is your occupation? And whence do you come? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Take me up and throw me into the sea; the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried to the Lord, “We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood; for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.” So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1: 1 – 15)

Jonah did not simply go to the next city or county to get away from God. He tried to put as much distance as he could between himself and God. It would be like trying to hide from the authorities in New York by going to Los Angeles. But it doesn’t matter where we hide, God can still find us. And, like Jonah, when we get trapped by our efforts to escape, until we come to the Lord, He will not help us.

Second, we could ignore the problem. After all, if God is angry with this country, He has the power to simply wipe it off the map. But, if we choose to take no action, we are like the servant given the single talent. Turn to the parable of the servants and the talents, Matthew 25: 14 – 30. I want to use this parable in its literal terms, using the word talents to mean the skills and abilities we bring to the church. If you recall, the first servant was given ten talents which he used wisely. Because he did so, he returned twenty talents to his master. Likewise, the second servant, given five talents, returned ten talents to his master because he too had used them wisely. But look at what happened to the third servant in this parable, the one who choose to hide his single talent and not develop it. In Matthew 25: 24 – 30 we read

“He also who had received the one came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ (Matthew 25: 24 – 30)

Just as this third servant lost his single talent because he failed to use it, if we do not use our talents, those skills and abilities that God has given to us, we will die. This death may not be a physical death but it will certainly be a spiritual death, leaving us without any hope for the future. A church which ignores its responsibilities to society, a church which does not seek to be a positive force in its community, will likewise die.

Finally the third possibility. Instead of running away from the Gospel or ignoring it completely, we can accept the Gospel message in our hearts and take the Gospel message to the people. Jesus knew that the Gospel message must be taken to the people. He sought a ministry outside the temple walls. In closing the Sermon on the Mount, he told the people

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 13 – 16)

To take the Gospel to the people is undoubtedly the toughest choice we can make. It is tough enough to accept the Gospel; it is even tougher to live the Gospel message. Stephen was stoned to death because he chose to preach the Gospel and challenged people to choose a life in Christ.

John Wesley understood that challenge. He knew that if English society was to change, it’s heart must change first and that could only be done through the Gospel. Forbidden by law to preach in the Church of England, Wesley and his followers, our forefathers in the United Methodist Church, took the message of the Gospel into the fields and the streets of England. On more than one occasion, crowds were encouraged to harass and physically abuse Wesley and the other Methodist preachers. Many an earlier Methodist preacher was put into jail for preaching the Gospel. But we cannot expect others to know the Gospel message if we do not let them know.

But there are rewards. Because they were kind to three strangers, Abraham and Sara, both in their ninety’s, became the parents of the future nation of Israel. Because Wesley preached the Gospel, because Wesley sought to make fundamental changes in English society, many historians feel that the violent revolution which occurred in France was avoided in England.

We do not know when Jesus will come again nor how he will do so. But how we as individuals and as a church act today determines our tomorrow. If we run away from God, we will never receive rest. We will be like Jonah, trapped and with no hope of escape. If we ignore God, we will be like the writer of Ecclesiastes crying that all our work is in vain. We will have no future.

Accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior will not solve society’s problems. But by placing Jesus in our hearts and in our souls, we gain the power by which those problems can be solved. We can become like the other two servants whose talents, whose skills and abilities multiplied when they did the work of their Master. We go beyond a simple day-to-day existence. Through our acceptance of Jesus Christ, we receive that special guarantee of the empty tomb, the promise of everlasting life as our future.

“The Road Taken”

This was the message that I gave for the 6^th Sunday after Pentecost, 10 July 1994, at Grace UMC (St. Cloud, MN). The Scriptures that I used for this message were Psalm 23 and John 14: 5 – 7.

I will use this title and the passage from the Robert Frost poem from which it comes in later sermons, sermons which mark the end of my time at that particular location. I do not remember if that is part of the reason that I used the poem in this message; I would again stand in the pulpit two weeks later and let every one know that I was leaving St. Cloud to return to Kansas.

The return to Kansas in 1994 did not go as I had hoped but it did mark the beginning of my lay speaking and ministerial career.

I want to take you on a little journey through the Ozarks. You start in the southeast corner of Kansas in the town of Oswego and head south on US 59. You will pass through several small towns until you are south of Miami, Oklahoma. There you turn east on US 60. Follow 60 until you get to Sikeston, Missouri, where it intersects US 61. Turn right on 61 and go one block. You now turn left again onto US 62. You then take 62 west down into Arkansas to Imboden where you come into US 63. Follow 63 south to Memphis where you pick up US 64. Take 64 west back through Arkansas through Little Rock to Conway. In Conway, go north on US 65 to Springfield, Missouri. This, by the way, will take you by Missouri 76 which is the cutoff to Branson. Try to time your drive so as to avoid most of the congestion (that would be about 2 in the morning). When you get to Springfield, take Interstate 44 to St. Louis. I-44 is the old US 66. Once you get to St. Louis, just a little south of Busch Stadium and the Arch, you intersect US 67. Take 67 south past the eastern edge of the Ozarks and the western portion of the Missouri bootheel until you get to Little Rock where you will get on Interstate 40, which is also US 70. Don’t worry about the skip in numbers. US 68 is somewhere in Ohio and a little too far away for this trip. Take I-40 towards Oklahoma. Now you have two options; you can stop at Fort Smith and go north on US 71 to Joplin or you can continue on until you get to US 69. For this trip the second option is the one you want. Once you get to the US 69 exit, go north on 69 to Columbus, Kansas.

Now I know that you probably haven’t got the slightest idea where you are. But, when you get to the intersection of US 69 and Kansas 96, assuming the Kansas Department of Transportation is through for the season (yes, Kansas has the same seasons as Minnesota – winter and construction), turn left and follow K-96 for about twenty minutes. If you do that, you will be right back where you started in Oswego, Kansas. I might also add that if you follow 96 for about another forty miles or so, you will be in Independence, Kansas, where Sandra lives. Stop by and say hi if you have the chance.

Now, it is one thing to get lost in the Ozarks. At least you know where you are and it is easy to get back to “civilization”. But what happens if you don’t have a map or directions to follow.

We are fast approaching the next century. The recent issue of U.S. News and World Report(July 11, 1994) notes that tomorrow, July 11^th, there will be 2000 days until January 1, 2000. In the same report, it was reported that only 26% of Americans feel that the world will be in better shape when the next century comes around. Forty-two percent (42%) feel that the world will be worse. The road we are traveling on is coming to a fork. We must decide today which path to take.

We must also realize that we cannot turn to the government to provide the direction we should take. What Abraham Lincoln said some one hundred and thirty years ago is still true today. Governments are of, by, and from the people. If the people are lost and confused, the government will be likewise. If people are to have a firm sense of direction for the coming year, that direction must come from us, both as individuals and as the church, and no one else.

The United Methodist Church began, in part, because of the direction society was taking. Though the upper class may have benefited from the Industrial Revolution, the lower class were often forgotten. It was only the members of the upper class that were immune to the problems of long hours working in intolerable conditions and with limited health care that the working class and poor had to contend with every day. To cope with the stress that such conditions and the attitudes of society produced, many of the working class and poor turned to drugs and alcohol. I do not for sure but I would not be surprised if the statistics on domestic violence then are similar to the statistics today.

Wesley contended and argued that society could be changed and that it was the church that could make that change. It was through Wesley that the first Sunday school was started; not as we know it, but as a way of educating the populace (keep in mind that many children worked six days a week in the factories and Sunday was the only day when they could go to school). It was also Wesley and his followers who took the lead in dealing with the alcoholism and substance abuse so prevalent in English society at that time. Historians today agree that it was primarily because of the work by Wesley and his followers that England did not undergo the violent revolution that France did at the same time.

John Wesley understood the need for the church to present a message the people understood but a church blind to the needs of its members or its community cannot do its work. You cannot preach of the power of the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ when people are hungry, homeless, or suppressed by an indifferent society. John Wesley also understood that an individual, having accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, had the responsibility to show that he had done so. This meant helping the community.

I had the opportunity two weeks ago to hear Dr. Rose Sims preach at Red Rock Camp. As John told you last week, she was asked to take over a church in south Florida that had 7 members, all over 70 years of age. It was also in a part of Florida that some had described as part of the Third World. For all practical purposes, the church was closed and she was there to perform the funeral. Yet, today that church has over 350 members and is perhaps the central strength of a small town. If you get a chance, you should read the book she wrote describing the rebuilding of churches in Missouri and Florida. The best description of her work with the Florida church was written by a reporter, George Lane, of the Tampa Tribune. He wrote

“Once the rural church was the strength of America, and the Methodist Church in Trilby and hundreds of other towns like this are fertile soil for the church’s rebirth in Florida., America, and maybe the world. What is happening at the Trilby Methodist Church offers new hope. When the world is at its worst, that is when the church must be at its best.” (New Life For Dying Churches, Dr. Rose Sims)

If you ask Dr. Sims how all of that was accomplished she will tell you it was because the work done at Trilby was done for Jesus. The secret of the rebirth of the Trilby Church was that the preaching of the Gospel was accompanied by work in the community.

We are being asked to do God’s work. The call to do God’s work is a very frightening thing. It is a call most people would probably not want to receive. And I am not talking about people just in our time. Consider the following statements.

“But, Lord, I have never been a man of ready speech, never in my life, not even now that you have spoken to me; I am slow and hesitant.” (Exodus 4:10)

That was Moses’ response when God called him to go the Pharaoh and begin the journey to the promised land. And then there was

‘Ah! Lord God,’ I answered, ‘I am not skilled in speaking; I am too young.’ (Jeremiah 1: 6)

That was Jeremiah’s response to being called by God to be a prophet.

Remember Jonah?. Jonah didn’t simply protest the call of God. He tried to put as much distance as he could between himself and God.

But to escape from the Lord Jonah set out for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board to travel with it to Tarshish out of the reach of the Lord. ( Jonah 1: 3)

Even Peter, the disciple on whom Jesus wanted to build his church, denied his Lord at the most crucial time.

Yet, there has never been a case where God called on someone to do his work and then left that person alone. He always provides the skills and the means to accomplish the task. To Moses, God said

The Lord said to him, ‘Who is it that gives man speech” Who makes him dumb or deaf” Who makes him keen-sighted or blind? Is it no I, the Lord?’ Go now; I shall help you to speak and show you what to say.’ (Exodus 4: 11 – 13)

To Jeremiah’s cry that he was unprepared, God replied

But the Lord said, ‘Do not plead that you are too young; for you are to go to whatever people I send you, and say whatever I tell you to say.’ (Jeremiah 1: 7)

In writing Psalm 23, David showed that God would provide the comfort, support, strength, and security one needed to do unpleasant tasks. Israel in the days of David was not a hospitable place. The valleys were not well lighted avenues but deep and dark inlets in the hills. The darkness of the valleys offered robbers excellent places in which to hide. One did not go into such valleys unless there was a very good reason. When Jesus spoke of shepherds seeking lost sheep, people understood the dangers involved and the extra effort it took needed for such searches.

God said the same to Jeremiah, “Fear none of them, for I shall be with you to keep you safe.” (Jeremiah 1: 8) If we accept the Lord in our lives, then we have nothing to fear from whatever road we travel.

So it is for us. We are like the disciplines at the Last Supper, wondering what will happen next. Turn to John 14. Jesus has just laid out the betrayal by Judas and the indicated that Peter would deny Him. But he also said

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you , I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14: 1 – 8)

When I began working on this talk, I thought of the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. It is the last stanza of the poem which I turn to now.

I shall be telling this with a sigh,

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.(“The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost)

We are at a junction in our lives. Two roads stand before us. One looks like a pretty good road and it is the one that everyone else seems to take. The other road seems to be about the same though not many people take it. It is hard to tell which one we should take. But the decision is very simple. One road has a sign, an empty cross, which say to each one of us “Follow me”. And that is the road taken.

“Notes on the 5th Sunday after Pentecost”

This is the 995^thpost to this blog and there have been 1, 500 comments. Of course, the number of comments is misleading because any link to a previous post is counted as a comment. But to inch closer to that mystical and magical 1000^th blog is something else. With my writing schedule as it is, it is hard to say what #1000 will be.

And I want to thank all those who visited the blog last month. For the 5^th time since I began counting statistics, there have been over 2000 visits to the blog. My thanks!!!

So here is a compilation of my messages/sermons/posts for the 5^th Sunday after Pentecost:

Sunday, July 19, 1992, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), Grace United Methodist Church, St. Cloud, MN, “Simple Gifts”

Sunday, July 02, 1995, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C), Elk Falls (KS), Longton (KS), Elk City (KS) United Methodist Churches, “What Cost Freedom?

Sunday, June 29, 1997, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), Alexander Chapel United Methodist Church, Mason, TN, “Giving Your All”

Sunday, July 16, 2000, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “Getting What You Asked For”

Sunday, July 08, 2001, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “The Task At Hand”

Sunday, June 23, 2002, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), Walker Valley United Methodist Church, Walker Valley, NY, “Faith Of Our Fathers”(This was also Father’s Day.)

Sunday, July 13, 2003, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “Three Kings”

Sunday, July 04, 2004, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY, “To Set Us Free”

Sunday, June 19, 2005, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY – Lay Speaker

Sunday, July 09, 2006, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), “Working Together”

Sunday, July 01, 2007, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C), Pine Plains United Methodist Church, Pine Plains, NY, “Find The Cost of Freedom”

Sunday, June 15, 2008, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), Lake Mahopac United Methodist Church, Mahopac, NY, “When Is The Time?”

Sunday, July 05, 2009, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), Gaylordville United Methodist Church, Gaylordville, CT, “By Whose Authority?”

Sunday, June 27, 2010, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C), New Milford United Methodist Church, Warwick, NY, “What Does It Take?”

Sunday, July 17, 2011, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year A), “Stairway To Heaven”

Sunday, July 01, 2012, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), Rowe United Methodist Church, Milan, NY, “Honoring the Future”

“Simple Gifts”

This was the message that I gave at Grace UMC in St. Cloud, MN, for the 5^th Sunday after Pentecost, 19 July 1992.  This was the 2^nd time that I had been in the pulpit and I was still using the model of a specific verse rather than the lectionary.  The scriptures that I used were Matthew 25: 31 – 46 and 1 Peter 4: 10 -11.

Have you ever wondered why John Wesley, an ordained minister in the Church of England, wanted to change his church?  Can you imagine how his father Samuel, also an ordained minister in the Church of England, must have felt?  Here was his son, a good son no doubt, trying to change the Church of England.  It must have been very embarrassing for the senior Wesley to meet with other pastors who wondered what John was trying to do.  I have a fairly good idea what my father would say if I were to try and make radical changes at St. Cloud State but I cannot nor do I dare repeat those words in church. 

Now, it should be pointed out that Wesley never considered himself a Methodist nor was he interested in creating a new church.  All he wanted to do was reform the Church of England.  The development of the Methodist Church, later the United Methodist Church, came as a result of Wesley trying to answer two questions:  What was the nature of salvation and what was the role of the church in dealing with society’s problems.  It is that second question that I will address today.

England in Wesley’s time was undergoing a series of rapid changes brought about in part because of the Industrial Revolution.  We tend to think of the Industrial Revolution in a positive light because it enabled more people to work, earn more money, and, in general, improve their way of life.   At the beginning, however, that was not always the case.  For many workers, the pay was low and there were no retirement or health care plans.  Because there were no child labor laws, it was not surprising to find children as young as 10 working in the factories.  People worked from sunup to sundown six days a week and dare not take a day off for any reason because they were likely to get fired.  If they owed someone money, they were likely to be put in a debtor’s prison until their family could get the money to pay the debt.  Alcoholism was not uncommon.  Welfare was dependent on the whim of the rich and the patience of the poor.

Against that background was the belief that being poor was a fate given to you by God and there was very little you could do about it.  If you were poor, it was because you lead a sinful life and were to be pitied.  To this, Wesley responded

“Has poverty nothing worse in it that this, that it makes men liable to be laughed at?…Is not want of food something worse than this?  God pronounced it as a curse upon man, that he should earn it “by the sweat of his brow.”  But how many are there in this Christian country, that toil, and labor, and sweat, and have it not at last, but struggle with weariness and hunger together?  Is it not worse for one, after a hard day’s labor, to come back to a poor, cold, dirty, uncomfortable lodging, and to find there not even the food which is needful to repair his wasted strength?  You that live at ease in the earth, that want nothing but eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand how well God hath dealt with you, is it not worse to seek bread day by day, and find none?  Perhaps to find the comfort also of five or six children crying for what he has not to give!  Were it not that he is restrained by an unseen hand, would he not soon “curse God and die”?  O want of bread!  Want of bread!  Who can tell what this means, unless he hath felt it himself?  I am astonished it occasions no more than heaviness even in them that believe.” (From John Wesley’s sermon “Heaviness Through Manifold Temptations”)

Wesley asked “How should the church respond?”  There were those who felt that the troubles of society at that time – the terrible working conditions, the lack of care the upper classes showed for those less fortunate, the terrible health conditions, the alcoholism – were an indication that God had lost faith in the people on earth. The Shakers, whose hymn “Simple Gifts” was the basis for the title of my sermon, were a Christian group formed as a response to these social conditions.  For them, the only solution was to leave the present society behind and create a new one dedicated to the glory of God.  The Shakers may have had the right idea because the movement flourished here in America during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.  However, the Shaker movement did not last because the evils which caused the problems in the first place were never corrected. 

It was Wesley’s contention that society could be changed and that it was the church that could make that change.  It was through Wesley that the first Sunday school was started; not as we know it, but as a way of educating the populace (keep in mind that many children worked six days a week in the factories and Sunday was the only day when they could go to school).  It was also Wesley and his followers who took the lead in dealing with the alcoholism and substance abuse so prevalent in English society at that time.  Some argue that Wesley’s concerns and actions were one reason why there was no social unrest in England at that time. 

How would Wesley react if he were preaching today instead of the 1750′s? Historians are already calling the 1980′s the “Decade of Greed” or the “Me Decade”.  The prevalent attitude of these last few years has been that it is perfectly alright to earn as much money as you could and not worry about others because eventually the riches would reach them as well.  For some, Michael Milliken and Ivan Boesky are heroes.  Milliken is credited with finding a way to use what we call “junk bonds” to finance corporate takeovers.  For his work in 1985, Drexel Burnham, the company Milliken worked for, gave him some 550 million dollars as bonuses for his co-workers and himself.  He gave 50 million to his co-workers and kept the remaining 500 million dollars for himself.  Boesky was one of many who bought and sold companies using the bonds Milliken sold.  To earn this money Milliken and Boesky used a technique known as insider trading.  This procedure is illegal and both these gentleman went to jail and paid substantial fines.  The resulting legal problems also put Drexel, Burnham out of business even though many of the people who worked in the firm did nothing wrong.

During this same period, many individual bought stock in various companies. In doing so, the price of the stock rises.  In this way, and it is perfectly legal, they would make a profit when the stock was sold. However, other individuals combined this idea with a threat to take over control of specific companies if those companies did not buy back the stock at much higher prices.  In order to get the money to pay this “greenmail”, companies had to let workers go or sell parts of the company.  While some may have made money in this way, many others found themselves out of work.

While some may say the 80′s were a successful time for America, there are some economists who wonder if the current amount of corporate debt is too much and if we are not going to see more and more companies go bankrupt. Also forgotten in the joys of people earning more money than ever before is the fact that the number of homeless has increased; that the number of unemployed continues to rise; and substance abuse, both alcohol and drugs, is increasing.  We read where the R. J. Reynolds tobacco company has been asked to stop using “Joe Camel”, the symbol for Camel cigarettes, because it gives the wrong message to young children.  I find it very frightening that we have to spend time in school teaching our children what not to do rather than focusing on more positive things. I truly wonder what John Wesley might think of our society today. Keep in mind that Wesley was not against the rich or becoming rich. On many occasions, he preached that we should “gain all we could” and “save all we could”.   But we should do so in a manner that does no harm to others and to be careful that our gains are not made at the expense of others.  

But we need not worry, because it is not our fault.  All last week, we listened to the Democrats tell us that society’s problems today are the fault of the Republicans.  I do not doubt for a moment that when the Republicans meet in Houston next month, they will tell us that these same problems are the fault of the Democrats.

Now I chose the idea and scriptures for this sermon before the conventions began.  I feel, as I am sure Wesley would, that the solution to these problems will not come from the government.  In preaching that we should gain and save, Wesley also told us to “give all we could”. 

It was his feeling that the only way that someone will ever know that the Holy Spirit is present in you is through your works.  Wesley sought a church which cared for society and which would make the world a better place.  After all, as I read from the Scripture, Jesus told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, or take care of the needy, not the government.  Jesus also warned us what the penalties would be should we ignore the needy:

“‘There was a certain rich man,’ Jesus said, ‘who was splendidly clothed and lived each day in mirth and luxury.  One day Lazarus, a diseased beggar, was laid at his door.  As he lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.  Finally the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham in the place of the righteous dead.  The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went into hell.  There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham.’”

“‘Father Abraham,’ he shouted, ‘have some pity!  Send Lazarus over here if only to dip the tip of finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in these flames.”

“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing.  So now he is here being comforted and you are anguish.  And besides, there is a great chasm separating us, and anyone wanting to come to you from here is stopped at its edge; and no one over there can cross to us.’”

“Then the rich man said, ‘O Father Abraham, then please send him to my father’s home — for I have five brothers — to warn them about this place of torment lest they come here when they die.’”

But Abraham said, ‘The Scriptures have warned them again and again.  Your brothers can read them any time they want to.’”

“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them.  But if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will turn from their sins.’”

But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19 – 31)

The message today is not about giving money to the church nor is it advice on how to vote this coming November.  Those are choices made individually and privately.  It is a message of action and using the gifts and talents that God has given us to bring the Holy Spirit, the same spirit behind Wesley’s words to “give all we can”, to St. Cloud today.  As Peter wrote

“God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings. Are you called to preach?  Then preach as though God himself were speaking through you.  Are you called to help others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies, so that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ – to him be glory and power forever and ever.  Amen.” (I Peter 4:10 – 11)

There is no doubt in my mind and heart that Grace Church is alive and growing and that the Holy Spirit is present among us.  But for that growth to mean anything, we must go beyond ourselves.  A church which sits idly by will surely die.  E. Russell Praetorius, John’s father (the pastor of Grace UMC, St. Cloud, then and, as of this writing in 2012), wrote some twenty-seven years ago:

“Some churches die of self-centeredness because they never get beyond themselves.  They fail to recognize that the real purpose of Christ’s Church is not to enjoy itself but to save the world.  These lack a vision of world conquest for Christ and are satisfied with the status quo.” (A. B. Utzman and E. Russell Praetorius, 1965 Official Record of Minnesota Conference. Evangelical United Brethren Church.)

Jesus sought a church of action.  He was not content to sit in the temple, read the words of the Torah and wonder what they meant.  He was in the countryside ministering to the needs of the people.  As Wesley knew, the most difficult time any church faces is that moment when it decides to take its ministry outside the walls of the building and into the community.  By putting our beliefs into action, we earn the freedom from sin gained through Jesus’ sacrifice.  The question before us then is how do we use our talents?

We can use our talents in many ways.  Now, the work of the church is never easy but it is made easier when we work together.  And as Jesus promised, the rewards for doing his work are much greater.  Look at what is ahead for Grace Church and ask yourself “What can I do?” Our greeter program starts again in two weeks.  Will you be there when it is your turn to greet friends and visitors to Grace Church and make everyone feel like they have friends here?  Irene stills need Sunday School teachers, both as regular teachers and as substitutes.  Perhaps that is where you can help.  Will you be helping with the painting of the church this week?  Will you be here on October 11^th to hear Ken Krueger preaching?  Will you help to see that each of one of these pews is filled for the services on the 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th?

The UMW Bazaar, scheduled for October 3^rd, promises to be the best Grace Church has ever had but that promise can only be met if you take part.  Today, the UMW starts “Operation Schoolroom”. This mission project provides students in Sierra Leone and Liberia the school supplies they need for the coming year.  You can help this project either by buying the supplies indicated on the insert in your bulletin or by helping put the kits together on September 12^th.

Our Hog
Roast is also set for September 12^th as a way to mark the beginning of our Stewardship Campaign and the beginning of Sunday School.  It has not been decided what we shall do with the money we raise from this event but with your help that will be a substantial amount.  There are many ways to help with this and I trust that when you are called to help you will do so.

(I will add some comments about the hog roast at the completion of this message.)

Are you a member of one of the work areas of Grace Church?  Do you participate when there is a meeting?  As chair of the Finance Committee, I am asking each of the work areas to consider how we can best serve the needs of the church and the community.  Can we find ways for Grace Church to answer Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and help the homeless?  These need not be big steps nor will we have to do it all by ourselves.  But what we give must be, as Wesley asked, all that we can give. 

Through your help, by participation or pray, the mission work of Grace Church, both in St. Cloud and elsewhere, can be accomplished.  As Peter wrote, our talents are gifts from God.  We have also been given a far more important and far more simpler gift.  In John 3:16 we read

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I close by asking what will you do with that gift?

Some thoughts about the 1992 Hog Roast –

The year before, in 1991, we came up with the idea of a hog roast, even though no one in the church had any clue how to roast a whole hog. But everyone thought it sounded like a great idea and we went to work.  At that point in the discussion, I wasn’t involved.  Came the day of the hog roast, a Saturday, and we found out that it was also the day practice for the hockey season began (remember this was Minnesota).  So the turnout wasn’t that great and there was about 200 pounds of roast pork left.  What were we going to do with all that pork?

This is where I came in.  At the church in Odessa, Texas, where we had been members, each of the Sunday School classes was responsible for a meal each week during our mid-week services.  So my wife and I said that we would make sandwiches and sell them after church on Sunday. 

Sandra spent the better part of Saturday night preparing baked beans, chopping the pork while I went out and got the other materials we needed.  Following service on Sunday, the congregation gathered in the community room for a wonderful lunch of BBQ sandwiches.  When all was said and done and the expenses were paid for both Saturday and Sunday, we netted a profit of $4.50.

Now, let’s fast forward to the summer of 1992 and the plans for the next Hog Roast.  There were some on the administrative council who felt that the 1991 Hog Roast had been a failure and something not worth repeating.  I rose to defend the work and proclaimed that we had made a profit.  I did not mention how much of a profit it was; only that it was a profit.  And I took on the big step of organizing the 1992 Hog Roast.

We had learned from the previous year that the date was critical so we made sure that it did not conflict with other things, such as hockey games.  This allowed us to invite local college students.

Obtaining the hog was no problem; a member of the church was a hog farmer and all we had to do was give him a letter thanking him for the donation of the hog.  I came home from the administrative council meeting and told my wife to work on getting people to donate beans, salads, and deserts.  Then I had to focus on getting the cook since we had found out that no one really knew how to roast a hog.

But there was one member of the church who did but he didn’t come to church all that often.  So I went and asked if he would help roast the hog and he agreed.

The 1992 Hog Roast was a success.  I don’t recall how much money was raised though I am sure we did make a profit.  But then again this was never intended to be a fund-raiser.  It was designed to bring people to the church and in that regard it was very successful.  Not only did quite a few college kids come to the dinner and come back to church but the individual who I asked to roast the hog found his niche in the church and he became a big part of the church and the revival of the United Methodist Men.  I was able to turn the 1993 Hog Roast over to the UMM and go onto other things.

When I hear people talk about fund raisers as a way of balancing the budget and things like that, I cringe.  I don’t like fund raisers and I have said so.  In my sermon/message for today (“To Honor The Future”) I pointed out that there are many individuals who focus on paying the bills so that there is a church; for many such individuals, fund-raisers are a part of the process. But if we focus on the people first, then fund-raisers become superfluous.  In Grace’s case, the 1992 Hog Roast was part of the turn-around of a dying church and its rebirth.

All I will take credit for is getting the cook.  The rest took care of itself.