Sermon, November 25, 2007, "Hopeful Future"

The following is a sermon I preached on my last Sunday with Faith Lutheran

Christ the King Sunday
November 25, 2007
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
“Hopeful Future”, Luke 23:33-43

This is weird. A dying man turns to Jesus, who is also dying; and the man asked: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus promised the man what he asked for. The man is dying and so is Jesus and, yet, he gives the man hope. By all appearances both of their lives were over. But the weirder thing is: we know that it isn’t the end of their stories. They didn’t give up. They put their faith in what is called the kingdom. One asked for a place in the kingdom and the other was giving out places. Two dying men talk like they had hope. And they are right.

What is this Kingdom? Where is it? How can we recognize it? Sometimes we want to say that the kingdom is out there, up there, after we die. Jesus said the kingdom is near. The kingdom is here.

Jesus used images through parables and stories to help us understand the presence of the kingdom. The kingdom is like a small mustard seed that grows into a big bush. The kingdom is like a treasure found in a field and the person finding the treasure sells everything he has in order to own the field and thus own the treasure. The kingdom is like a shepherd whose flock is not complete until he knows every sheep is safely in his care. The kingdom is like a father who runs down the road to meet his runaway son who is returning home, shamed. The father welcomes and restores his son back into the family. In all of those metaphors about the kingdom something changes.

This kingdom, according to Jesus, is about hope and people who are changed by this hope. The kingdom is wherever the redemptive love of God is doing something. It is this love of God that changes things. The dying man believed that hope to change things was possible even for him. And he was right. He asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom. Jesus assured him that very day he is remembered. And so are we. And so are we! Today… this very day… we are with Jesus in his kingdom. What would happen to us; what would happen to a community of people whose lives are lived as though they believed that?

Here is our point of curiosity: What happens to people when they know, figure out, or trust that they are also remembered and made a part of the kingdom, today?

If there had to be a story written about the church that is worth reading, it should be a story about people when they know they are remembered for God’s kingdom. This story would be about what becomes of them after they know that.

If I were to write that story about our years together I would want to write about the moments when there was trust in the presence of the kingdom of God. I would want to write about the people who believed that the kingdom was actually breaking in. I would want to tell about what happened to and through those persons as a result. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful story of hope?

In fact, that is exactly what I will remember about people in this faith community and the journey we shared. I will remember what happened to people when they had those moments of knowing that they were remembered in the kingdom of God.

I can’t help it. Deeply rooted in my call to ministry is a passion to see the presence of the kingdom of God at work in the lives of people. That is how God has wired me. Rooted in the Call of some pastors is to build buildings. Others will see it in being part of bigger churches. I am grateful that there are people called to do those things; that just isn’t me.

In the story about the awareness of the kingdom of God among us, you can be assured, therefore, that there will be things that will not be included. It isn’t that I want to ignore or deny them. It is because I don’t find them to be very life giving. I could tell the sordid details of congregational intrigue and I could fill you in on the gossip. It might have a fascination. It might have a wide audience. I just don’t find it to be life giving.

Neither will I remember to tell about budget meetings. It won’t be most council meetings, and even fewer Executive Board meetings; and my personal favorite meeting that will be left out of the story is about whether we should have an altar rail in the sanctuary. I won’t remember statistics about who is in and who is out of the membership. I won’t remember if we sang your favorite hymn or sang my favorite hymn. I won’t remember most of the stuff about which we seem to occupy church life. For those people who thrive on those things I will leave those matters for the way you will tell about the church… it is all yours.

I will remember what happened to people when they came near to the kingdom of God. I will remember when they knew in that moment they were remembered by God and it filled them with hope. I will remember the moments when God’s kingdom was present, real, alive, life giving. Those are the moments I treasure.

I am so grateful to God for those holy moments I was privileged to be part of. I have lived for those moments to pour the water over the head of a child or an adult and share in the miracle of God’s grace; I am always in awe of what God is doing when I have the privilege to preside at the altar where the bread and wine that will be shared will be received as the body and blood of Christ. I have loved seeing the courage of people who were faced with life-threatening circumstances… and that courage was not their own doing. It doesn’t get any better than to announce at the grave of a person who has died in Christ that not even death will be able to have its power over them.

My joy is when someone “get’s it”. I love to be part of that moment when someone else says, “So, that’s it!” For such times… for such moments, I will invest whatever time it takes. I am grateful to God that God would allow me to be part of those holy moments when the kingdom breaks in and breaks through on someone’s life.

Yes, indeed, those are holy moments. Those are moments when we are bold to believe that God has remembered us. I am grateful for this ministry of holy moments; the relationships that have been formed around them; and I am grateful for the privilege to be welcomed into your life to share them.

Well, it is not important what I remember, however, is it? What is important is that God remembers. What is important is that God will never give up putting signs of the presence of kingdom right in front of us. What God has yet in store for your ministry is good. Seek it even if you must go around walls; venture into areas that are not nice; give out of your poverty of the things you have or don’t have. God will not withhold anything for those who seek ministry for the sake of the presence of the kingdom of God.

God’s kingdom, remember, is like a treasure hidden in a field… and it already is yours to own. I hope that your future is filled with the results of discovering what to do with this treasure. The future for those who own such a treasure is hopeful because the treasure is discovering what it is like to be in the hands of God. That is what the man on the cross next to Jesus had figured out. He saw Jesus was in the hand of God and he wanted to be where Jesus is. That shouldn’t be too difficult for us to also figure out.

May the God who is our hope and who directs our future, fill you with life, wonder, curiosity, and a continuing story with persons or even a congregation who find themselves all of a sudden in the presence of the kingdom of God and you spend the rest of your life discovering what to do about it. Amen

Sermon, Nov. 18, What have we learned?

Celebration Sunday, 40 Days of community
November 18, 2007
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
Exodus 15:11-13; II Corinthians 4:1-12; John 4:31-38
What we have learned

40 Days of community comes to an end today. What have we learned?

Usually when I hear that question: What have we learned, I recall when I was a child and I made bad decisions. My mom would first tell me about her disappointment but then she would ask that character building question: “What did you learn from this?” Of course, in her mind, where she was heading with that was for only one right answer – Don’t do it again.

Life experiences do teach us. They make us smarter about life. Building relationships also teaches us. 40 Days of Community has been about building relationships. What have we learned these 40 days of Community… about building relationships?

There were skeptics in the beginning. The content for building relationships in these 40 days of community was about worship, prayer, serving, and such things. This content was familiar and there were some people who didn’t believe there was anything else for them to learn about worship, prayer, serving, and such things. For some people, since the content wasn’t written by someone who belonged to the Lutheran community, the content for them was viewed as shallow or at least as suspect.

So, there was something to learn even before getting into the 40 Days of Community. We had to learn that this was not about what you know but who you will get to know. This was about building relationships through, what I identified when we began 40 Days of community as, Jesus’ table revolution.

What then have we learned?
We have learned that it is better together.

When we serve, when we worship, when we pray, when we love, it is always better together. We can worship on our own but when the Body comes together and lifts its voice to God with praise; and there are musical instruments or a pipe organ supporting and leading the singing – it is better together.

Serving is better together. Our Faith Groups during these 40 Days of Community served together to feed hungry people, serve the sick, and contribute to the needs of many people. Together they took on the opportunity.

Love is part of building relationships and love is always together. Love is directed toward another.

And when our groups met together, in that small circle of people, we could bear our hearts to one another. It always looks better when we can have other Christian brothers and sisters listening, sharing, and praying together.

Building relationships we learn that it is better together. A second thing we learned is that being together increases our courage. What took place when we came together in our small group increased our courage to speak, share, serve – even some of you got the courage to pray out loud in front of other people.

In our Community Hour each week we had someone from the congregation share a testimony from their life and their faith. Something stirred in me as I heard their stories; and every one of them gave me courage to face the challenges of my life.

Valarie, a cancer survivor, shared that God gave her courage to receive one day at a time.

Don, spoke about reaching out and the value of connecting into the life of another person for whom Christ died. The Faith community is a place where people can find the heart and mercy of God. That takes courage to share that with others.

Linda witnessed that sometimes we don’t choose our way of life it chooses us. She spoke about family life with the presence of mental illness and the need for the courage to press on.

Kathy reminded us of the big heart of the people of Houston who opened our city to Katrina survivors. Serving one another takes courage to get out of our comfort zone, and when we do, we know it is the right thing to do.

Rachel shared that learning to live a generous life comes often through those teaching moments in life. Living a generous life comes through the decisions we make to be stewards of the things we have and the relationships we can build.

Each of these persons spoke about faith in God. Faith, that is lived out as courage and trusting that God really does go with us. God’s presence is not in some passive way as to just go along; but God, by his presence, gives intangible things that translate into courage to live.

Paul spoke of this in his letter to the church. He says that the courage he and others had experienced was a power from God. He wrote: “we are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

This power to press on is from God, he says; and notice it was done in community. WE, he said, are hard pressed – but not destroyed. This courage we discovered – he said – is not from us – it is from God. It is as a community they could say together: This is coming from God for us.

We have learned it is better together. We have learned that being together increases our courage to live and to serve. A third thing we have learned is that what we do together is part of something bigger. I can’t think of anything major that happened in these 40 Days of community; but there were many little things that took place. New relationships began; people learned to pray; some people got out of their comfort zone to pray aloud or to serve other people in new ways. Even through those small things there was growth. Hearts grew a bit more compassionate; attitudes grew softer; perhaps a marriage found some healing to go on together; or someone with a personal problem gained new insight.

These were just many small things that we might not even know now what will become of them but God will use these things for something bigger. Jesus said to his disciples: God will bring in the harvest. Just look around you. What was sown is ready to be harvested even before it was expected to be harvested.

We all can rejoice that we have had some part along the way. And some of that happened in small ways in your Faith groups during these 40 days of community. We are part of something bigger than ourselves. We do what we can and leave it to God for what will yet happen.

So, what have we learned these 40 Days of community?

We have learned about Building relationships; Building Believers; Serving to Share Christ is BETTER TOGETHER.

We have learned that these things are part of a process of maturing in the faith. Take into your heart what has been learned. I hope it will create in you a desire to want more. Be hungry for more, because the truth is, we need one another.

Our Faith Day school sings a song: If we hold on Together. The children sing this song hand in hand, swaying from side to side. I am going to read just a little bit of that song, and as I do I want you to do as those children do when they sing this song. Take the hand or lock arms with the person next to you. Hold on together, the song says. So, let’s do it in a visible way, right now.
Are you holding on? Just this time, no one will care if you decide to sway back and forth.

Here are the words of the song:

Don’t lose your way with each passing day.
You’ve come so far, don’t throw it away.
Live believing dreams are for weaving,
Wonders are waiting to start.
Live your story, faith, hope, and glory.
Hold to the truth in your heart.

Now, here is the refrain. Make sure you are holding on.

If we hold on together,
I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by for you and I.

Hold on together. Not for dreams…but for the real life stuff… which takes courage, faith, and much love. Hold on together because it is better together.
Build together. Believe together. Share Christ. Together. Live your story, faith, hope and glory. Together. If we have learned that, we have learned much. Amen

Sermon, Serving Together, November 4, 2007

Serving Together
40 Days of Community Series
November 4, 2007
Jeremiah 29:11-14; Galatians 6:2-10; John 13:3-17

CBS News does a human interest story every Friday on their regular evening news program. This past Friday the story was about “picking up Butch.” It is a long tradition at Middlebury College to pick up Butch. The Freshmen are oriented to this tradition and year after year the tradition is passed on to “pick up Butch”.

Butch is a man in the community who is disabled. For the last 30 years students have picked up Butch to take him to football games, basket ball games, and baseball games. The students literally have to pick up Butch at his home, put him in a wheel chair, and push him to the campus. Rain or shine.There are students who pick up Butch to take him to other places as well; and the school has been picking up some bills to support the family. If a college or university wants to be known for traditions, here is one where it is a privilege to serve. And what is impressive is that year after year the students serve together.

There are very few things that can bond a group of people as when they are serving together. Think about the projects you have worked on together with other people. Together you planned, worked, laughed, and struggled through decisions. Together you had a great sense of accomplishment when it was over… you were bonding together in a way that just doesn’t happen unless you are part of an experience like that..serving together.

Today, as we take a closer look at serving, with the interest of the value of serving together. At the Community Hour I am talking about/talked about serving together as TEAM work. In these few moments I want to talk about the right attitude and motivation for serving together.
Jesus gives the example we are to follow when it comes to serving. That example was on the night Jesus was arrested. On that night when he and his followers were together sharing a meal, Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around himself, took a basin of water and he began to wash the feet of his followers. Jesus says he wants to leave for us an example for the character of our serving.

I want to first take a look at three things that Jesus did not do and from which we must guard ourselves; and then three things he did do when he modeled for us how we are to serve.

The first thing Jesus did not do and from which we need to guard ourselves is to substitute money for time. It just would not have been the same if Jesus paid someone else to do the foot washing; and neither is it the same when we make up our time with money.

Time is our most valuable resource. Because time is at such a premium we might think that we don’t have the time to get involved so we will give some money rather than serving together. The money is greatly needed and appreciated; but it is not the same as taking the time and getting personally involved. Because we are called to serve and it is core to the character of the Christian life, we must also give the time to serve.

The second thing Jesus did not do and from which we need to guard ourselves is to institutionalize serving and believe that serving is a project that comes around from time to time or in a certain season of the year.

We will often refer to a way of serving as a “service project”. That is not how we are to understand our way of serving, however. We may have a project that we are organizing people to get involved in, but serving is not a project. Serving is a way of life. We build projects. We complete projects. Serving is not something we build nor something we complete. It is how we view life. Jesus makes it clear that he wants us to do feet as a way of life.

The third thing Jesus did not do and from which we need to guard ourselves and that is serving by doing it ourselves. Jesus was quite capable of doing his ministry on his own; but he chose to include and empower others. He gave examples and then he told them to do likewise. When he washed the feet of his disciples, although he was the only one with the towel and basin of water, he was demonstrating to them that, as his church, they would do likewise. They would be united in serving together doing feet together.

Many times it is convenient to just “do it ourselves”. It is easier to fit it into our schedule. Getting in touch with people and trying to figure out schedules is a hassle. Rather than trying to work out all the logistics we just do it ourselves. The Bible speaks of the faith community in the likeness of a body. We are to function together whether it is easy for us or not. When we serve by ourselves we deny others the opportunity to serve in a way God has gifted them to serve.
So, it might be convenient for us to do it ourselves but when we take that path we are getting in the way of God’s purposes.

These things Jesus did not do. In your opportunities to serve together with others guard yourself from these, as well. Jesus does give an example of what we should do when we serve. Let’s take a look at them.

The first is that together we serve with humility. Humility is not to think less of ourselves nor to elevate others as better than ourselves. Humility in our serving is to serve regardless of the task. Jesus, who is the leader, took the place of a person who was considered to be the least in their society. He took the place of a slave, showing his followers that when it comes to serving, do whatever needs to get done, even if we are assigned to the humblest task.
So, that is what he did. He washed the feet of his followers. He served and gave us an example to show that when we serve it is done with an attitude of humility.

Secondly, serving is intended to bond people together. When people serve together there is a bond that happens between them. When Peter didn’t want Jesus to take the role of a servant with him, Jesus said to Peter that it was necessary because the bond that would happen would happen in no other way.

Thirdly, when we serve there is no distinction whom we serve. Jesus washed the feet of all of them, including Judas, whom Jesus already knew was no friend. We are not to make a distinction whom we serve. The Bible teaches that we are not to judge one another but to leave that to God. We are to pay attention to the life that is forming in us and the character that is being expressed. Our way of life is to serve, to be available to all, to make no distinction.

Serving together we can encourage one another and help one another grow to have the heart of a servant. I want to close by saying something about this Sunday that we call All Saints’ Sunday. We as the church set this day aside not so much as to mourn the dead but as to celebrate their life.

God has been at work in the lives of these people of faith. They serve as examples to encourage us as we continue in the life that God has laid out before the followers of Christ. So, as you remember these folks, recall their acts of serving that were done with humility; working together with others in their serving; and those times when they made no distinction between people but they were willingly to serve all. For their faithful example we are deeply grateful.

Remember the student s at Middlebury College? They are not only learning one of the traditions of their college they are learning one of the best lessons about life: Serving Together.
Where ever they go in life the experience of “picking up Butch” will always go with them as a lesson about serving. You and I also get to serve… together. We have learned that from the best teacher of them all, teaching us that serving is a way of life for those who follow him; and serving together is his intention so that the world will know that we are his disciples. Amen

Helping one another to grow, Sermon October 28

October 28, 2007
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
John 4:1-15; Genesis 50:15-21; Philippians 4:8-9
How we help each other grow

This morning we continue our study of community, what we want to talk about is: How do people grow? Let’s begin by taking a look at things that grow.

All kinds of things have potential for growth. Bank accounts grow. Plants grow. Populations grow. Businesses grow. When we talk about that kind of growth we are saying that we start at a particular point of something and it increases in size. That is one kind of growth.

There is a sense also that growth is progressive. We have heard the phrase, “the room grew silent.” Meaning there is a gradual, progressive movement from one state to another. In this case, growing from noise to silence.

We also talk about people growing in certain ways. Gerhard Frost published a book of poems for educators and parents that he called “Bless My Growing”. Through his poems he talks about the teaching moments; the “aha” moments; the encounters with people when he is very much aware that his life is different because of those experiences. As he remembers these encounters he claims that he grew from them and he asks God to bless his growing. He asked God to be with him in his growing.

The Bible speaks of growing in wisdom, growing into the full stature of Christ. As a child, Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem with his family. Luke concludes telling this story with the observation: “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.”

How do people grow? Can it be seen? What happens to a person when a person grows? Are there changes in the way they look? What happens if a person stops growing? There is a big point of discussion these days that we are growing too big. But that growth is out and around. A majority of us are overweight. That growth is a result of what we are putting in our mouth.

What we are talking about today when we talk about people growing, however, is about growing in character, personality, and perspective. It is about what we put into our minds, our hearts, our spirit, and our ears. It is about growing in intangible ways, but which have tangible results.

Sometimes this growth we speak about is flattering or life giving. We will say: She has really grown into a beautiful woman. He has grown to be quite mature. They have grown to accept reality. From this experience she has grown to be more loving or more patient. The opposite is also true when the growth we speak about is not so flattering and not at all life-giving. We will say a person has grown bitter; grown hard; grown distant.

One church leader said that he has seen some other people in church leadership that, as they grew older, there was a tendency for them to grow cynical. Because of what he saw happening to other people he made a decision about his own growth and aging. He said that as he grows older he wants to grow sweeter and kinder and more loving. He believed that if this is the kind of person he wants to grow to be, he would have to be intentional about the care he gave to his mind, heart, and spirit now.

In this line of growth, we also talk about people growing in our faith.

Growing in faith was core to the issues Martin Luther faced. He was trying to grow in his faith and he kept hitting against a wall until he discovered the soil and feed for growing in his faith. That soil and feed is the unconditional love of God through Jesus Christ. When Martin Luther came to trust that, he grew. As a result of that growth everything about life took on new meaning and curiosity.

While caring for his own growth in faith, Luther saw that the church had been stunted in its growth. The church had grown in lots of ways. It had grown in power. The church had grown in wealth and influence. The church buildings had grown, even St. Peter’s at the Vatican was under construction to grow in size to be the largest church in the world. But Luther found that faith in God was stunted, lacking growth, and lacking life. The Reformation began as a movement to form the church so that it would be a community where people grow.

Jesus models for us that the church is at its best when it is a community where people help one another grow in their faith. One such time is when Jesus met a woman at a well. It becomes apparent that she had stopped growing in life-giving ways. Because of the circumstances in her life she grew in all the wrong ways: she had grown cynical about life and she had grown distant from people. And she had grown to be frozen in her faith.

Jesus kept at it with her to see if something might begin to grow. He didn’t pluck her out as though she was a weed. He challenged her, taught her, and encouraged her. He told her the truth. He loved her and he demonstrated to her the love of God. As a result of that nurturing something happened to that woman that day. Like a plant that had not been watered for a long time... that is now drenched… she began to show signs of life and evidence of growth. Jesus comments to his disciples that there is a harvest here that is ripe. With just a little care, Jesus demonstrates that people need help to see that there is fruit that can come from their life when they feel valued and affirmed.

People want to grow in their faith in God; but they need help. Jesus built a relationship with her. He affirmed her and he challenged her. Look at the results. She tells her neighbors about her relationship with God… She tells them about the faith that is growing in her. She talks about how she has grown; and… they see it! Imagine what might happen to the people in your life if you were committed to say and do things that have a positive influence for their growth? Here is what Jesus teaches us who are his followers: we need one another to grow.

If other people need you to help them grow, what do you need in order to be a growth agent?

Paul teaches that we can’t give what we don’t have. He points out what needs to be in our own hearts, minds, and spirits in order for us to be growth agents.

He says:
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right.
Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

When such things get into us, they become growth agents through us. We can only give what we have. If we are growing in what is true, honorable, and right; it only stands to reason that we will also have them to give away for others.

If we are not growing; we are dying. We need one another to help us grow and live. May God bless the growing that happens in us and through us. Amen.

Reaching Out Together, Sermon

Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
October 14, 2007
40 Days of Community, Reaching out Together
Isaiah 58:6-9; Colossians 4:2-6; Luke 5:27-32

Saturday, a week ago, a group of people from the church went to our Lutheran Camp, Lutherhill, near LaGrange. A part of the day was planned for the group to use the low ropes course. One of the challenges in this course is to move people from one platform to another. There were three platforms and two boards, neither of which was long enough to reach across from one platform to another. The key to being successful with this was that we had to work on this together.

During these 40 Days of Community we are talking about doing life together. Today we take a look at reaching out together. We often think about outreach as a challenge; often as a difficult challenge or a challenge we do on our own. What if we changed the way we thought about reaching out; and we understand it as a challenge that we can accomplish together? Just as we did on the low ropes course platforms, getting one another from one place to another… reaching out is not something we need to do alone. We can take the challenge… together.

Before we go any further, let’s clarify something that might seem to be stating the obvious. What are we talking about when we talk about reaching out? Reaching out is a New Testament notion. It is the brain child of Jesus, himself. Reaching out is about a relationship with God. It is not about getting someone to come to our church. It is not about building up church institutions that lead to building up assets. It is not about growing programs.

Reaching out is about a relationship with God. God desires a relationship with everyone. According to Jesus, reaching out is letting someone else know what you know about this relationship with God. Jesus believed that it would be heard as good news; and having heard it, people would arrange their life around this relationship. This relationship God desires with every person, God also wants it to be the desire of our hearts. God wants it to be the passion of every Christ follower to believe that every person’s life would be better lived if lived in a relationship with God.

An example of that is the story about a man named Matthew. Matthew was quite successful; and to have him tell it, his life was going well, even without God. He had a better than average income, a home, and friends. Matthew’s relationship with God had been marginal, at best. Matthew wasn’t even sure about God. Religious people had not helped him to come any closer to God. Religious people acted as thought they believed that Matthew was lost and they should not have anything to do with him. When there was contact, their standard operating procedure was to shame him or to shun him.

Matthew worked as a tax-collector. One day Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. Unlike other religious people Jesus had a curiosity about Matthew. Neither shaming nor shunning Matthew, Jesus takes a chance and says: “Why don’t you come with me for a while. Let’s learn together what it means to have a relationship with God.” This invitation from Jesus came at the right time for Matthew who seems to be ready to make some changes in his life. Matthew left what he was doing and he went with Jesus.

This is the same Matthew who is credited with writing the first of the New Testament gospels. By what he chose to write, we learn a lot about his faith. Among the things Matthew passed on to us, is that he told the story of the time when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment. Jesus said: The Greatest Commandment is: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matt. 22:34-40)

What might that story have meant for Matthew who, at one time, had many things of greater value than his relationship with God? What might this teaching of Jesus meant for Matthew, who left everything behind in order to pursue a life in which he would love God with all his heart, soul, and mind?

And it was also, and only, Matthew who wrote about The Great Commission, when Jesus said: “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 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20a) What might have that meant for Matthew who, at one time served another Lord?

We owe Matthew a deep sense of gratitude for what he left for us to read about faith in God. Matthew, not only wrote about these things, but he took this to heart from the very beginning of his faith journey. Soon after he is invited by Jesus to learn about a relationship with God along with him, Matthew had an office party at his home, inviting his friends; among them are other tax collections. Here reaching out was a challenge done together.

First of all, reaching out to his friends, Matthew doesn’t begin with a serious conversation about sin, death, heaven and hell. That may appeal to some people, I am not sure I know who they are; but for most people it will likely chase them off.

Neither does Matthew begin by inviting his friends to church. He invited them to his home. Matthew wasn’t thinking about what was easy for himself. He was thinking about what was comfortable for his friends. Reaching out is about connecting with other people, loving them for themselves, sharing life with them, praying for them, having a curiosity about them; and, then, waiting for God to give the opportunity for you to share something about your relationship with God.

Secondly, Matthew invites not only the people with whom he worked; he invited Jesus and others who had followed Jesus to also be his guests. Matthew’s new friends were at the same party with his long time friends.

Finally, Matthew would not have come to this point if something had not happened in his own heart. There was a conversion in the way Matthew understood life. At some point, Matthew came to terms with the fact that God needed to be number one in his life. He had learned that he is to love God with his all his heart, soul, mind and strength. But he had to also live it and to order his life around it.

When we start believing that God is number one, how we live and how we relate to other people will change, also. We will also think about planning our life to include other people with whom God is passionate about growing a deeper relationship.

Remember that low ropes challenge course? How Matthew reached out to his friends was very much like moving from one point to another; but he couldn’t do it alone. The low ropes course challenge course is a wonderful example of how to help others grow closer to God.

This is the challenge course where the stakes are high, however. Yet, imagine a world where we have helped one another to successfully reach that place in life to know our loving God as we know God through Jesus Christ. Working at this together it can happen. Will we take the challenge? Back at Lutherhill when everyone reached that final platform there was a lot of cheering; imagine how much more the cheering when what is reached is a relationship with God. Amen

Bridgebuilders

On Saturday, October 13, Bridgebuilder, Dr. Peter Steinke, will be with Faith Lutheran Church from 9 am to noon. Our congregation has been in a time of transition as we implement our Vision Plan to be responsive to the needs for spiritual growth and the needs of the larger community for their families to be responsive to God, as well. The changes in our congregation have been exciting. People's lives are changing, families are seeing the church in partnership with them, people are using their gifts to serve God, and new leadership has been emerging. All of this has not been without a cost, however. That is why we need Dr. Steinke to come and help the congregation to learn to function in healthier ways in the way we communicate with one another, honor decisions, and embrace our future. I know that it is a big sacrifice of your time to come on a Saturday morning but it really is that important. So important, that I would say that the future of the congregation is being addressed. I hope to see you.

Better Together, Sermon, Sept. 30, 2007

Better Together.07
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
September 30, 2007
40 Days of Community, Kick off
Exodus 18:13-27; Philippians 2:1-5; Luke 9:12-17

Today is our kick off for 40 Days of Community. Many people have been praying to prepare for today and the days ahead. Many people have been working many hours to prepare. Some people will host a group of people in their home; others will lead discussions. Many of you have already signed up to participate in a Faith Group during 40 Days of Community. And so here we are ready to begin.

If we are to find value in what lies ahead for us, we must have it clear in our hearts and minds that we need one another. We cannot make it on our own. We cannot be all that we can be without one another. We must come to the conviction in our hearts and in our minds that we need one another.

People who are joined together are community. God has created us to be with one another; and we, as the Body of Christ, are created to be the example and the witness of authentic community. The Bible is full of examples to tell us that we need one another and we need community. The Bible readings we have this morning are no exception. I want us to take a closer look at these readings and then a closer look at ourselves.

Moses was called and gifted by God to free and lead God’s people. One would think that in his position he spent his day in high level visionary planning and training the most gifted leaders. But that was not true. Moses is found spending most of his day settling arguments among people. Is this best way for him to be using his gifts? His father-in-law, Jethro, didn’t think so. He asked Moses: “Why are you trying to do all of this by yourself?”

Moses explains that the people need him; to which Jethro says: “This is not good. You cannot handle all this by yourself. Your job is to serve God’s people. Teach them. Show them how to live. Appoint others who are wise and discerning to settle these arguments so that you can tackle the more difficult things.”

This reading ends with this: Moses listened to the advice and followed it. This is a great lesson to learn about the value of community. Moses needed someone else to point that out to him. “What you are doing is not good”, Jethro pointed out to him. Moses was important to the community and the community needed him to use his gifts.

We are shown a remarkable trait of humility in Moses. Moses wasn’t filled with self-importance thinking that it was all up to him. Moses not only listened to the advice that Jethro gave him but he followed the advice. He did so because he trusted Jethro. That was a trust that had grown over the years.

It is in community, in relationships, where trust grows. Because Moses was open to listen, more people where involved in serving and more work was getting done. And it happened because the spotlight was on the value of community.

In the reading from Luke, the followers of Jesus came to Jesus with a request: before it gets too late dismiss the people. It is going to be chaos if they stay. “You feed them.” Jesus said.
“Impossible. We don’t have anything. And if we did… are you expecting us to spend our hard earned cash on them?” Rather than taking this conversation any further, Jesus shows them how to problem solve.

He instructs his followers to have the people sit down in small groups in an orderly fashion. And then Jesus took what they had (2 fish and 5 loaves of bread) and Jesus asked God to bless it. The food was then distributed and when dinner was over they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers; but more than that. They saw the power of God at work in community.

God expanded their understanding. God enlarged their perspective about life. Jesus led them to see that what they believe is impossible is not impossible for God. This community was learning about the value of worshiping together, serving together, growing together and reaching out together. They learned the value of community.

And to the letter to the Philippians, Paul is teaching the church in practical ways how to live the command of Christ. The command of Christ is that we love one another. Love is only active in relationship. Where there are relationships, there is community. Giving encourage-ment, living in fellowship, suffering with one another, loving one another, working together with one heart and purpose are practical ways to love one another.

These are lessons about community. There are some things we can do on our own, but there are many more things in life we will never be able to do with other people. From the beginning of Scripture when God says that is not good for us to be alone, to the very end in Revelation where there is a gathering together of all God’s people, and found all in between, the Bible is God’s great story about community.

Although God has created us to be together we don’t do community well. It doesn’t come easy to us. It is really something we must work at; and the truth is that we will work at what we think is important.

This past week I was at my doctor’s office for a routine check up with a stress test. The purpose of this test is to put stress on the heart to see how it is functioning under stress. There was a steady stream of people on that day coming in for the same reason. There were three rooms. In one we waited. In the second room was an imaging machine to scan the chest; and the third was a treadmill.

Only one technician was administering the test for all of us. She had someone in every room.
She got the patient in the imaging room and got that started. While that was going, she took someone to the treadmill; and then she injected a third person with radioactive isotopes. She was releasing a person and then going to the main waiting room for another person. She had a rhythm down, doing this all by herself.

It crossed my mind, what if she got distracted; what if she mixed up the charts; what if there was a crisis or two at one time? So, while she was hooking me up to all the wires while I was on the treadmill I thought I would investigate this. I said: “You are impressive. You have a lot going on at one time. You need an assistant in here.”

“I would rather work by myself,” she said. “When I was hired I asked if I could do this by myself. It takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. I am able to do more than the two men who worked together to do my job.”
All I could say was: “So, it is true. One woman is as good as two men.”

She expressed what a lot of people experience when she said it takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. It takes effort to work in authentic community. It doesn’t come easily for us. It may take a lot of effort, but it is worth the effort. And I believe that the effort is what God wants for us to make. We may become efficient in work by ourselves, but that is not a notable quality for life.

God promises that when we are in community that things happen that can only happen when we are together. The most important of those things is love.

Let’s assume that God is wrong about this and you don’t need to be with others; but others need you. What you have to offer others, no one else can do. You may be the Jethro for someone else, with the counsel that no one else can give.

40 Days of Community is intended to help us mature in our understanding of our need of community. In your Faith Group, you will find that when you allow other people into your life you will grow together; you will serve other people better… together. In community you will share love.

God is forming us for community so that God’s purposes are done. Moses learned that… and so did a few Christ - followers who were clueless about how to serve their world. And now today we are learning again that living the life God intends for us to live… is better together.

It is better together. In the weeks ahead you are going to learn that is true; and when all of us, together, are learning that …I believe that God will bless it and do things among us that we never imagined could happen. When you see what God will do in the weeks ahead, you will be overjoyed that you made the decision to be part of that. Amen.