Sermon: the Faithful Calling
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
July 8, 2007
Luke 10:1-11; 16-20; Galatians 6:1-16
The Faithful Calling
Someone has said “the church is being the church when it is sent.”
We are a sent people. The Great commission of Jesus before he was ascended into heaven was to send his church to places near and far, So that all people will know that the reign of God is among us.
The ELCA has identified ourselves as a sent people.
I am going to give you an assignment. Take a moment and discuss with a person near to you what exactly the “E” in ELCA stands for; and once you have the “E” figured out talk about what you believe the word means.
The “E” stands for ….Evangelical. Evangelical is about sharing the good news of God through Christ. It is a way to say that we are sent.
Often when we think about being sent we think about the example set for us by Paul and the missionaries throughout the history of the church who were sent into places around the world to share the gospel.
Tomorrow I will leave to be on a pilgrimage to Turkey with a study group. The places we plan to visit will be the historic places where Paul, of the New Testament, was sent as a missionary, to build up the church. One of the places we plan to visit is Galatia. One of our NT readings this morning is from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. Paul was sent by God and the church to these communities, to share the good news of God through Christ.
This week I was talking with a woman about our study in Turkey and she told me that a number of years ago she had planned to go to Turkey. At that time she was a student at Rice University. A group of the students wanted to go to Turkey to study abroad and while they were there to share the gospel.
She and her friends wanted to be evangelists. They knew they would be doing that with some risks, because it was not legal for people to come into Turkey and evangelize for the gospel. They would have to do it, in a sense, underground.
Her plan was to stay there for 2 years, but she wasn’t able to follow through on her plans because she was distracted by another love, and she was married instead. Now she has three teenage sons; and they go on short mission trips. This year they will go to Mexico and help to build a home. And here is what she said that I found as quite interesting. She said: “I believe that by sending my children it will be a life changing experience for them.”
She believed that if her sons are sent to live among and serve people out of Christian love, she believes that such an experience for her sons will make a difference in how they live their life. I think she is right about that. These experiences will have a tremendous impact on them.
People will often say that when they have helped someone else they got more out of it then they gave. That has been my experience many times and you likely have had that experience as well. When you have helped someone else you had the feeling that you got more out of it then the other person.
I would like for you to take a few moments, once again, to think about a time when you did some thing for someone else and after that experience you walked away thinking that you received more than you gave. And then, again, I want you to share that experience with a person next to you.
Maybe it was that you gave an afternoon to a family member who was lonely. And by doing so you learned more about them but even more so you learned about your family and why you are the way you are.Maybe you helped a neighbor move in; or you volunteered when people were needed to care for the Hurricane Katrina survivors.
There are many experiences in life when we are called upon to step into and share in the life of another person; and the connection seems to have a greater impact on us. In fact, it seems almost spiritual. It is likely that is exactly what it was. It was spiritual. When we put this in the perspective of being sent, we might even say we have been sent by God to that person or that place or to that opportunity.
All of this sheds a different light on the harvest about which Jesus speaks and what we ask the Lord of the Harvest to do.
Let’s go back to the story of sending the 72. These 72 who were sent returned from their assignments with lots of stories about people who were healed, people who discovered a connection with God, about how destructive behavior was changed. These 70 people were filled with Joy about what happened for other people.
Notice, however, the response of Jesus. Jesus wants them to get something else from it.
Jesus says: Let’s not only turn our attention to the people you encountered, let’s take a look at what you learned about yourself. “Don’t rejoice just because you have seen God at work THROUGH you—Rejoice because of the work of God that has taken place in you.”
I think that Jesus sent them— to show them something about themselves. Jesus sent them so that they could see what has taken place in them. Jesus sent them so that they could identify something within themselves. You see, if they had only learned from Jesus and watched Jesus, they would not be able to see what has taken place in them. By sending them out, to do something. They could see what had happened in them. They were not only to know the Gospel, but also to have the experience of applying it to life. These are life-changing experiences.
Paul reinforces this in his letter to the Galatians. He says – what counts is whether we really have changed into new and different people. What counts is what is taking place in you. The best way to see that is to do something.
An important part of our worship time is that when it is time to conclude our worship… we are sent with a blessing and then a dismissal. These or similar words are said: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace…. Go now in peace and serve the Lord.
And to that we say: Amen. Thanks be to God.
We leave as persons who are sent. We are scattered into the community and places beyond. I believe that it is helpful for us to remind ourselves that we, every day, are part of a mission. You might want to ask yourself throughout the week: What has God sent me here to do?
It is a simple question that puts our relationship with God at the center of the moment. What has God sent me here to do?
What have I learned abut God – that I can apply to my life at this time?From those experiences: May God give you the joy of seeing the work of God through you. And may God use those experiences to also show you something about yourself. And that is: There is something new and different about you. Amen
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
July 8, 2007
Luke 10:1-11; 16-20; Galatians 6:1-16
The Faithful Calling
Someone has said “the church is being the church when it is sent.”
We are a sent people. The Great commission of Jesus before he was ascended into heaven was to send his church to places near and far, So that all people will know that the reign of God is among us.
The ELCA has identified ourselves as a sent people.
I am going to give you an assignment. Take a moment and discuss with a person near to you what exactly the “E” in ELCA stands for; and once you have the “E” figured out talk about what you believe the word means.
The “E” stands for ….Evangelical. Evangelical is about sharing the good news of God through Christ. It is a way to say that we are sent.
Often when we think about being sent we think about the example set for us by Paul and the missionaries throughout the history of the church who were sent into places around the world to share the gospel.
Tomorrow I will leave to be on a pilgrimage to Turkey with a study group. The places we plan to visit will be the historic places where Paul, of the New Testament, was sent as a missionary, to build up the church. One of the places we plan to visit is Galatia. One of our NT readings this morning is from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. Paul was sent by God and the church to these communities, to share the good news of God through Christ.
This week I was talking with a woman about our study in Turkey and she told me that a number of years ago she had planned to go to Turkey. At that time she was a student at Rice University. A group of the students wanted to go to Turkey to study abroad and while they were there to share the gospel.
She and her friends wanted to be evangelists. They knew they would be doing that with some risks, because it was not legal for people to come into Turkey and evangelize for the gospel. They would have to do it, in a sense, underground.
Her plan was to stay there for 2 years, but she wasn’t able to follow through on her plans because she was distracted by another love, and she was married instead. Now she has three teenage sons; and they go on short mission trips. This year they will go to Mexico and help to build a home. And here is what she said that I found as quite interesting. She said: “I believe that by sending my children it will be a life changing experience for them.”
She believed that if her sons are sent to live among and serve people out of Christian love, she believes that such an experience for her sons will make a difference in how they live their life. I think she is right about that. These experiences will have a tremendous impact on them.
People will often say that when they have helped someone else they got more out of it then they gave. That has been my experience many times and you likely have had that experience as well. When you have helped someone else you had the feeling that you got more out of it then the other person.
I would like for you to take a few moments, once again, to think about a time when you did some thing for someone else and after that experience you walked away thinking that you received more than you gave. And then, again, I want you to share that experience with a person next to you.
Maybe it was that you gave an afternoon to a family member who was lonely. And by doing so you learned more about them but even more so you learned about your family and why you are the way you are.Maybe you helped a neighbor move in; or you volunteered when people were needed to care for the Hurricane Katrina survivors.
There are many experiences in life when we are called upon to step into and share in the life of another person; and the connection seems to have a greater impact on us. In fact, it seems almost spiritual. It is likely that is exactly what it was. It was spiritual. When we put this in the perspective of being sent, we might even say we have been sent by God to that person or that place or to that opportunity.
All of this sheds a different light on the harvest about which Jesus speaks and what we ask the Lord of the Harvest to do.
Let’s go back to the story of sending the 72. These 72 who were sent returned from their assignments with lots of stories about people who were healed, people who discovered a connection with God, about how destructive behavior was changed. These 70 people were filled with Joy about what happened for other people.
Notice, however, the response of Jesus. Jesus wants them to get something else from it.
Jesus says: Let’s not only turn our attention to the people you encountered, let’s take a look at what you learned about yourself. “Don’t rejoice just because you have seen God at work THROUGH you—Rejoice because of the work of God that has taken place in you.”
I think that Jesus sent them— to show them something about themselves. Jesus sent them so that they could see what has taken place in them. Jesus sent them so that they could identify something within themselves. You see, if they had only learned from Jesus and watched Jesus, they would not be able to see what has taken place in them. By sending them out, to do something. They could see what had happened in them. They were not only to know the Gospel, but also to have the experience of applying it to life. These are life-changing experiences.
Paul reinforces this in his letter to the Galatians. He says – what counts is whether we really have changed into new and different people. What counts is what is taking place in you. The best way to see that is to do something.
An important part of our worship time is that when it is time to conclude our worship… we are sent with a blessing and then a dismissal. These or similar words are said: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace…. Go now in peace and serve the Lord.
And to that we say: Amen. Thanks be to God.
We leave as persons who are sent. We are scattered into the community and places beyond. I believe that it is helpful for us to remind ourselves that we, every day, are part of a mission. You might want to ask yourself throughout the week: What has God sent me here to do?
It is a simple question that puts our relationship with God at the center of the moment. What has God sent me here to do?
What have I learned abut God – that I can apply to my life at this time?From those experiences: May God give you the joy of seeing the work of God through you. And may God use those experiences to also show you something about yourself. And that is: There is something new and different about you. Amen
posted by Faith Lutheran Church at
6:36 PM
1 Comments:
"a simple question that puts our relationship with God at the center of the moment. What has God sent me here to do?"
I think that this is how you have to look at all of life. What has God sent me here to do. More than just what we think of evangelism and helping people but rather every single aspect of life. Whether to marry or not, to have kids or not, how to act at work, how to deal with stress, expectations, and pressure. How to deal with the 'little things' in life that can be so very consuming.
We have a career that we received when we were baptized. Now it's just lining everything up to center around that goal. Very Rick Warren but thought provoking and amazingly enough calming.
=)
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~Becky~, at 11:37 AM
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