Pastor Rob started out his sermon today with a meaningful skit portraying how easy it is to be task oriented and to organize our ministry into a time slot instead of realizing that ministry can happen any time there is someone who needs a listening ear and a heart that cares.
The Challenge:
Reach the Lost
So what?
The Gospel Message is easier to hear if first spoken by an act of service.
Basin Theology-
OK. Everyone. Wake up. This is it!!!!~A
#1-Pilate's basin theology-Used his basin to wash his hands of guilt and his involvement with someone who needed him.
#2-Jesus' basin theology-Used His basin to wash His disciple's feet.
There is a pull in our lives to use one basin or the other.
We can either use our basin to wash our hands of being involved in people's lives
or we can use our basin to serve others and bathe their 'feet' from the dirt and grime that comes from daily living in a fallen world.
Jesus' disciples were arguing who was the greatest and Jesus, being the greatest, knowing who He was, where He had come from and where He was going, took a towel...
We still want to be the greatest. We boast about numbers..how many come to our church, what our church is known for, etc. etc. We like having our little trophies lined up in a show case.
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There are three main areas where we, as a church, have an opportunity to impact our culture.
1-Our Time; our schedule
2-Acts of Service; helping others
3-Money; Giving of our financial resources
The Greatest barrier to making an impact in our world is our own selfishness. We put ourselves first. We refuse to take the towel.
If we really want to see the church explode, we've got to be willing to die to ourselves, our money, our need and get our eyes on others. We all know people who need Jesus but we also know people who need our time, our money, and things we can do for them. If we wash people's feet with these resources in a personal way, the gospel will spread. People will ask us why we are doing this and we can share with them that since Jesus loves us, we want to love them too.
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I have several thoughts regarding this message.
#1-The Basin Theology is huge. That's why I highlighted it in hot pink. We need to revisit this thought and think about it.
Suppose we have a conflict with someone in our home or in the church. Do we wash our hands of the situation or do we wash the feet of another? One action is impersonal rejection and indifference and the other is entirely personal and full of unconditional acceptance and love. I am going to be thinking about this for awhile.
#2-I think that the most important act of service and time is the ministry of intercession. I worry about the older folks in church who do not have the energy to do anything for anybody and may have no money to give. I want them to know that interceding for the church body and for those who do not yet know Jesus is the greatest ministry that they can engage in.
#3-Acts 1:8-Jesus is telling the disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon them...they will be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. We've always said that Jerusalem is our community but I wonder if Jerusalem represents our own homes. What about acts of service and time given to our own families? Sometimes, the plumber's wife has to wait a long time to get her kitchen pipes fixed. Sometimes, the families of those who serve others have to wait a long time to get their own roof patched or back shed cleaned out. If we make a meal for others, we should make sure our families are fed as well. What a tragedy it would be if we gained the whole world and lost our own loved ones.
And Samaria-Could Samaria represent the places where we would least want to share the gospel; the places and people who we want to wash our hands of and have nothing to do with? Perhaps these people are living in lifestyles we find abhorrent. Samaria is a tough place to show love but we have to go through this town before we can reach more of the world.
It's easier to share Christ in the uttermost parts of the world than it is to share Christ where people have known us all our lives.
Serving our family quietly, invisibly, in our homes gives integrity to our public ministry.
But that's not why we do it.
We do it because God gave us our families to show love to first.
It is at home that we learn to truly serve for the right reasons.
It is at home where we first learn to die to ourselves and live.
#4~Is our church body's root system and trunk sturdy enough and strong enough for our tree to spread out its branches and bring others in? What if our branches are full of new people and the trunk is hollowed out and our roots shallow? What will happen to us when the strong winds blow? How deep are our roots of holiness, forgiveness, faithfulness, and kindness? How can we tell others about the power of God to change lives when our own lives are falling apart? Are those who have called on His name long ago, loving His name more today? Are we growing stronger and deeper in the knowledge and mercy of God? I think about these things alot. Jesus left us with the Great Commission but He left us with a great deal more than that.
There are epistles written just for those who have responded to the Great Commission's invitation. The love of God is wide but it is also deep.
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Adi fell asleep on my lap and then Freeman took her so I could write notes. Alli was sitting beside me and held Adi for awhile, too, and then Adi came back to my lap to do some drawing. Suddenly, a warm wetness filled my lap. I looked at Alli in horror. Gingerly, I carried Adi out in front of me. Lindsay met me out back, full of apologies. I soon found out that the only thing worse than warm wetness is cold wetness. When I came back to my seat, I looked down at my Bible, open to John 13. Puddles of you know what making memories on my pages met my gaze. We took Kleenexes and soaked up the puddles and I placed some dry Kleenexes in between the pages. I used Clorox wipes on the pages at home. I told Lindsay about it, later, and she was chagrined. "I'll buy you a new Bible if it's ruined." "It's fine," I reassured Lindsay. "John 13 will be a bit wrinkly from now on, but nothing's ruined." Freeman thinks he was lucky to have just handed her off to me. She looked so innocent, too,..
2 comments:
The church.......the church. I believe that we as a church are to grow into maturity as a body. We are to strive for unity. We are to devote ourselves like the early church did in Acts to the teaching of the word, to the breaking of the bread, to fellowship and to prayer. This was with one another and GOD added to their numbers daily. God does the adding while we as a church act like a family with devotion. Lynn and I lately have been realizing that we both have probably never experienced church as God had intended it. Much of what we see is a man-made version.
Whenever the church has a focus outward I get nervous. This has often bothered me (my reaction) and puzzled me. Am I arrogant and unloving to the unsaved?
No, I don't feel so, I just feel that similar to our Burkholder family if we were always trying to bring people into our home, our family we would never grow as a family. But if we (Lynn and I) focus on growing our family and there is a devotion to one another, that is appealing to the world, that draws people in. God grows numbers, we are to function as a church with wide open doors putting on our towel to one another even if that someone is going to reject us like Judas did to Jesus.
That passage is one of my favorites but it has been so because of Jesus acknowledging where He had come from, where He was going and even with that awesome knowledge of truly who He was he washed the disciples feet. His extreme security enabled Him to serve with extreme humility.
BANG!
Thank you for your sermon notes and your insights of them.
There are churches whose deeds are not complete..........like in Sardis found in Revelation. What does that mean?
There are obviously different giftings. The evangelist may be the one who is always pushing to reach the lost. The teacher may be the one who is always pushing to disciple the found. Both are necessary as are all the gifts. I am learning to not feel guilty for not being out there 'saving' people. God has put me in the place where I am and a number of the people I come into contact with are hurting, needy, believers. They are not secure enough to take a towel. They don't know who they are. I want so badly to help take them to a place of wholeness and security. I want to go with them to that place because there is always more to learn. There is always more love to give Him. And He is coming back for a glorious church-without spot or wrinkle. We're going to have to go alot deeper into Him in order for that to happen.
I love you and our conversations!!!! XO Annette
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