During this sermon series, I have an image in mind of the Apostle Paul not being able to sleep at night. He’s not able to sleep because he always seems to want to say at least one more prayer for each of the churches under his care.
This is not unlike the nursing home resident who has pictures of her family members all over her wall and on top of her dresser to help her remember to pray for them by name throughout the day. I sometimes wonder just how many prayers each of them receive on any given day.
During this sermon series, we are looking at four different New Testament letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to various churches to let them know that he has been thinking of them and praying for them as they continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Praying and offering encouragement to someone is a beautiful gift that God has given us so that we can be a blessing to others. And the Apostle Paul excelled in using this gift.
Encouragement and prayer can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
Theodor was an artist of sorts. He drew cartoons for a living but he wasn't getting anywhere. So, he decided to try his hand at writing and illustrating children's books. After twenty-seven rejections of his book entitled, "A Story No One Can Beat," he was ready to give up. On his way home to burn his manuscript, Theodor ran into an old schoolmate who had just been hired as a children's book editor at Vanguard Press. He suggested that Theodor change his title. The name of his book was, "To think it Began on Mulberry Street." Fortunately it finally made it to press.
Thus began the career of the best-selling children's author of all time, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1984, he was also awarded eight honorary degrees.
When Dr. Seuss died at the age of 87, his books had sold more than 200 million copies. What made the difference was a kind suggestion and some much needed encouragement from an old friend.
I had a friend who used to put brief encouraging notes in places where he knew that I would find them. And they always seemed to appear just when I really needed that extra reminder that someone was praying for me.
This morning, we turn our attention to Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. In the opening chapter of his letter, Paul writes, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.”
What a wonderful thing to be known for - a faith that is having an impact throughout the world. And this is what Paul is saying about the Christians in Rome. He is encouraging them by reminding them of the many ways they are extending their faith.
Many of us know about the Westboro Baptist Church located in the state of Kansas. They were in the Columbus news this past week. Westboro Baptist church is known for protesting at the funerals of military and governmental leaders across the country. They believe that these deaths are a judgment from God because of our country’s openness to homosexuality.
The messages on their protest signs are extremely rude and hurtful and they do all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. On their website a few months ago, I read where they have led 44,961 pickets in 816 cities.
A friend of mine and I were talking about this church after one of their protests and she pointed out something very interesting to me. She said, “Isn’t it something that this is just a little church of 50 or 60 members and just look at how well known they are throughout the country.”
And then she said, “Even though their message is one of hatred, think about the sacrifice those church members are willing to make to travel all across the country; the cost of the plane tickets, the meals, the cost of lodging, and all of the planning in preparation for these protests.”
My friend was making a good point that if this one little church can become that well known for the wrong reasons, just think what a difference a church can make in our world for all of the right reasons!
I think of Westboro Baptist Church and their 60 or so members and all of the harm that this one little church has caused others. And then I think of the church in Rome which was probably about the same size church when Paul was writing his letter to them.
In Paul’s day, Rome would have been a city of around a million people and imagine a church of no more than a hundred people meeting in peoples’ homes located in the poorer areas of the city. And yet, because of their tremendous commitment and deep faith, Paul reminds them of that their influence has been extended throughout all the world.
I think that this is a good illustration of how much influence the church can have. Jesus talked about having the faith the size of a mustard seed which is the smallest of all the seeds. When Jesus began his ministry, he only started with twelve disciples. And yet, look at how that small ministry in Palestine made it all of the way to Rome in just a short amount of time. And from Rome, that small church was having a huge impact on the world around them.
A banker was talking to a business acquaintance who had a heart for her community but expressed frustration that it feels like there are just too many non-profit choices from which to choose. She explained her frustration to her friend, “Do I really need to write all of these checks each year to all of these places?”
The banker who happened to be United Methodist said to her, “Well, that’s why I like giving to the church I attend, because I know that my money will be used to help people in a number of different ways, everything from helping homeless and food ministries to supporting colleges and hospitals to helping our own youth group go on a mission trip.”
As I think about that conversation, I remember reading how our denomination has missionaries serving throughout the world in 125 countries. And the list goes on and on with how our faith is known throughout the world in a variety of ways.
Whenever we read about a natural disaster like a flood or an earthquake, it’s incredible to remember how our own United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is more times than not, already present providing our support and assistance in the name of Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful thing when the church is known throughout the world for the right reasons.
Paul refers to the faith of those Roman Christians. By faith, he is referring to their belief that God has sent us a Savior, Jesus Christ who lived, and died, and rose again and invites us through the Holy Spirit to bring transformation and hope to our world.
This past January, I was interviewed on a local radio station and the person who interviewed me went on and on about all of the good things our church does in the community. He gave several examples, many of them recent examples of how we are serving Christ in a lot of different ways.
And then he said, “Well, you are the city on the hill, right? Just like Jesus said. Your church is a light to the world.”
On one hand, he was referring to our location at the top of the hill on the corner of Wheeling and High Streets. Even more importantly, he was making a theological statement that our church is shining the light of Jesus throughout our community.
Like Paul in his letter to the Christians in Rome, I want to say to the Christians who gather on High and Wheeling Streets every Sunday morning, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.”
First United Methodist Church, you are a city on a hill! You are the light of the world! You are a church that is involved in over one hundred ministries that help us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
You are a church that serves meals to the hungry and delivers fruit and cookies to people in our community just to brighten their day.
You offer God’s love through creative ministries such as clowning, magic, and puppets.
You call on people at the hospital and offer a scripture and prayer.
You provide gently used children’s coats, and Christmas gifts for families in need. You serve meals at Foundation Dinners and help at the Shelter. You work at Habitat for Humanity. And you deliver supplies to our partner elementary school.
You sing in the choir and greet people at the door. You work in the nursery and at the book table. You design worship banners and serve as fellowship hosts between services. You travel to other states and to other countries to serve on mission teams. You lead small groups, bible studies, and Sunday School classes. You serve as confirmation mentors. You volunteer to serve as a receptionist during the week.
“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.”
You are a city on a hill. You are a light to the world.
For the past six years, your faith has been proclaimed throughout our community thanks to the ministries and events held at our Crossroads facility on West Fair Avenue. I want to take a moment to share one of those remarkable stories of faith with you.
Many of you will remember that it was about this same time last year when we had informed the congregation about a significant financial shortfall in our church’s operating budget. That shortfall meant that we needed to reduce several of our staff positions. One of the staff positions that got eliminated was our full time Associate Pastor position.
Since Crossroads is a state of the art multi-purpose building and is located in another part of town, we felt that God was calling us to begin a new worship service there on Sunday mornings. We were planning on having the person in the Associate Pastor position to become the point person for this new worship service. But because of our need to reduce staff, we had to put that vision of a new worship service on hold.
Not too long after we made the decision to reduce our staff, our Bishop called me on the phone just to touch base. And I remember telling him that I was disappointed that we weren’t going to be able to get that new worship service going because of our staff reductions.
And I’ll never forget what he said to me over the phone. He said, “Well, don’t give up, because there just might be someone in your congregation who could begin a new worship service at some point. You never know how God might be at work.”
That was in late May when the Bishop called me to offer those words of hope and encouragement. Six months after that phone call, a new church here in Lancaster that was only a few weeks old contacts us to see about renting our Crossroads facility to hold worship services.
There was a little part of me that wondered, “Is this how God might be answering this prayer. It’s not how I had envisioned it, but who knows.” So in the middle of December, our church entered into a temporary usage agreement with Grace Church to use Crossroads on Sunday mornings for worship. But that’s not the end of the story.
After only about a week or two of this arrangement, I’m walking through the church parlor and I see Jeff Graf who attends our church. He has his bible open and he’s making notes. So I ask him what he’s working on. And this is a moment I will never ever forget. He said, “Robert, God works in mysterious ways. I’m now the preacher for the new church that’s been meeting out at Crossroads.”
I can’t even begin to tell you what I felt in that moment! God was answering our prayers.
Since that conversation with Jeff, our church has decided to enter into a more long-term relationship with Grace Church and we have started to partner together in some of our ministries.
We don’t know where this partnership might lead, but it’s truly an answer to prayer to know that Crossroads is a place that is reaching people for Jesus Christ.
Larry Rogers has been serving as the contact person for Grace Community and we have a video of Larry thanking our church for our new partnership with them.
(Video)
God certainly does work in mysterious ways!
And to First United Methodist Church, thank you for all of your prayers and financial gifts that make ministries like this possible through our Crossroads ministry.
“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.”
The guy at the radio station was right. You are a city on a hill and a light to the world.
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