About 3 years ago I was Choir Director at Providence Christian Church (Nicholasville, KY) and was asked by the Senior Pastor to fill-in one Sunday while he was out of town. I recently came across the words I spoke for the Sermon that day:
It has been 10 years since I was last asked to speak or should I say “preach” a message from the pulpit. In May of 1999, I was a senior in high school, and it was the annual Youth Sunday at CCC. I had waited years for my turn to speak from that pulpit to 400+ member congregation that I grew up in. I only recall a little bit of what I shared that day. At the time it felt sort-of like a “farewell” speech, and so I talked a lot about the past. Probably because, there I was, an 18 year old about to depart for college, 80 miles to the west. And other than the fact that I wanted to be a musician, I didn’t really know back then what my future was really going to hold.
I named a few people in the congregation who had a big impact on my life, and I shared a couple of meaningful stories from church camps and mission trips, and how they shaped me into the person I was. I think I could have easily preached that sermon once a year for the last 10 years. It would have been different every time. People moved in and out of my life, and I have encountered numerous worship & service experiences that shaped my faith.
So here I am today, after 10 wonderful months of serving as Choral Director and Jerry has handed me his “baton” and asked me to share some words with you. Don’t worry choir….next time I am away on a Sunday, I don’t plan on asking Jerry to direct you! We are facing a few challenges right now, but Providence...…as we are only 7 ½ years from the 200th Anniversary as a congregation, I have 2 more challenges for you today.
For just a couple of minutes I want to try something new & different. (Go figure! Right!?) My first challenge requires us to be a little interactive with each other. I need you to grab that strip of white paper, and a pen or pencil that I told you about at the beginning of worship. You are about to become involved in a spiritual exercise! Do you possess a spiritual gift that you can use, to serve as a part of the Body of Christ? The answer is Yes! Have you given thought to what the gift or gifts might be, and dedicated it to the Lord? If your answer is Yes. Than wonderful, let’s do it again! If you answered No, well today is your chance, because that’s exactly what we are going to do.
God has equipped every Christian with unique spiritual gifts, and when we discover what they are….. a powerful and fruitful new growth can take place in our lives. God has prepared you for this, since the day you were born. Be still now and listen to how God is calling you to serve for the better of the church. To strengthen the life of this congregation AND our denomination as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Now, I invite you to meditate on the words of our second New Testament scripture as we hear from Paul’s letter to the Romans 12:1-8.
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness."
I invite you to take a few moments and pray and discern about which spiritual gift will allow you to minister to the needs of the church. Or which gift will allow you to fulfill your personal needs as a follower of Christ? Write down one, or even more than one, of these gifts. We are called to responsibility through our faith, and we have now responded to the music which God plays in our lives. As we receive our offering later on this morning, I will invite you to place this strip of paper in the collection plate as an offering to God and a commitment to do serve by using the Spiritual Gifts he has blessed each of us with. If you have yet to write something down, that’s OK! Feel free to take this strip of paper home with you for the week, as you continue to discern God’s call for you.
As choral director I am constantly thinking about our worship services. I have to choose the hymns, and choir anthems or special music for each week. Every now and then I like to throw in something new and different just to see what the experience is like that week. Did you notice the word I used just then? I like to think of what we are doing right now as an experience. Not a performance or a lecture, but an experience. Take a look at this slide on the wall to my left.
How many of you would agree that this graphic portrays our weekly worship services?
“Many people regard going to church as they would attending a play on the stage. They think of themselves as spectators, with the preacher/worship leaders/musicians as the main performers, and if God is anywhere in the production, it's on the sidelines."
Here is your second challenge Providence…What would our Sunday worship service be like if our mindset was focused in a new direction such as this……
"God is the audience, the congregation is the actors, and the preacher/worship leaders/musicians should be only a prompter to help all to draw closer to God."
Take a moment and soak that in. What if each of us walked into this room on Sunday mornings prepared to experience this? Isn’t it refreshing? And exciting to think about?
How many of you attended the Maunday Thursday Service back in April? Folks let me tell you something, that service was THIS kind of experience. Go ahead and do it now. Mark your calendars for the evening of Thursday, April 1, 2010. Be in this room and I guarantee that you will feel closer to Jesus that you ever have in your life. Folks, I cried that night in this room. We closed with communion, and then dismissed in silence. For several minutes I sat on the front row. In fact, I was the last one left in the room, as I meditated on why we were there that night and what Jesus did those last days of his life for us. I wept in amazement and gratefulness and experienced the Holy Spirit in this room for the first time!
Have you felt overwhelmed by the Spirit in this room while worshipping here at Providence? Try this experience…. and see what happens. It’s possible. I am a witness. Let’s worship in way that we can be blessed by the Holy Spirit every single time we gather!! And when you do, come share your story with me and with each other. God is here, and God is watching.
At the beginning of this message, I spoke about how the last time I “preached” 10 years ago, I spoke mostly about the past, because I didn’t know what my future was going to hold. Well, did you notice in the last several minutes I haven’t spoken about the past? I have challenged you to think about your future. Our future as a congregation. And, as we move forward I hope you will join me on this journey. I know exactly where I am heading on this journey of life...exactly what eternal gift I am working towards.
Finally, on this important day in the life of our congregation here at Providence, I want to take this opportunity, because I do have the microphone….. to share with you one final thought, or I guess I should say pose a question, to which I feel is important to think about in a time like this. What is the purpose of a church? …….. As opinions are being formed, and decisions take place, I believe that it is important to discern this question: What is the purpose of the church??” Here are my 3 answers to this question. Take them for what they are:
Number 1- The church is where we worship as a community, and recommit our relationship with God. Through prayer, hearing of the Word, singing praises and celebrating the life, death, and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.
Second – The church is about doing the works of God, by taking the gifts that God has given us and applying them where he calls us to use them.
And third – The purpose of the church TODAY, should be focused on the precious gifts of life that God has given to this congregation for the present and the future. And some of their names are Ruthie, Erin, Dallas, Jesse, Abigail, Lorelei.
Will you join me in prayer……God of the faithful in every time,Today you have called us into your church to be one body in Christ Jesus.You have provided us with the gifts we need to do your service. Grant that we may willingly take our part; that we may support one another; And that we may seek the greatest gift, which is love. Knead us together into one loaf with all your people throughout the world, through your Spirit of unity. Amen.
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