Discipleship at Messiah

Power was coming from him and healing them all. –Luke 6:19

The cartoon:

          A preacher standing before his congregation. In his mind, he pictures himself a general standing before an army shouting to them, “Charge!”
          Before him is the congregation. In their minds is the image of them as a soldier lying wounded on the battle field, yelling, “Medic!”

          We all know that Jesus is the Savior but sometimes forget He is also called “the great physician.” It is important to note that the line between “healing” and salvation (usually thought of as having to do with sins and heaven) is not all that distinct. In fact the same word (or words) are used for both. Its basic meaning is well-being and wholeness. We are continually reminded of the close relationship between body and spirit.
          There are certainly excesses and extremes of so-called “faith healers”, for example. And we are rightfully concerned about that.  One Christian with MS relates some examples that illustrate some confused thinking:

– “You must really like to be sick; you bring so much of it on yourself.”
– “The reason I have perfect health is that I think right; nobody gets sick unless he thinks wrong.”
– “Have you heard about the woman whose MS was cured by Shaklee products?” (A Shaklee dealer)
– “Dear, if your faith is sincere, tell everyone right now that God has healed you completely.”

          Nevertheless, as Bishop Mack Stokes reminds us, physical and emotional healing were not incidental to Jesus’ ministry. In fact Jesus clearly did not differentiate between spiritual/emotional and physical illness. This is seen in incidents like the cripple to whom Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven take up your bed and walk.”
          Like sin, disease was an enemy. As we have been talking about for the two previous posts people came to hear Jesus and be healed. He sent his disciples with instructions to preach and to heal. The missionary, E.S. Jones wrote, “Jesus….health” are synonymous. Charles Wesley, penned these words in a hymn: –“Jesus! The name….Tis life and health and peace.” Psalm 103—talks about the LORD who “forgives all my sins heals all my diseases.”
          Jesus is concerned with the whole person. As Stokes reminds us, healthy people was Jesus’ goal. It is no accident that the pastoral ministry of the church was often referred to as the “cure of souls.” To look to Jesus in faith brings salvation, healing.
          For some healing comes gradually through the processes of nature or medical science. There are those healed instantly and directly. But for others God gives grace to suffer redemptively (i.e. “power to make something out of it.- E.S. Jones) until the final healing which comes to us all in the resurrection. For those who trust Him, wholeness is plan. Praise God!

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on The Healing Touch of Jesus

Love your enemies -Luke 6:27

          People come to Jesus—in Luke’s words: “To hear him and to be healed”. To hear Jesus is to hear God’s word about our predicament, his love and promise of healing/salvation and to hear Biblically is to respond and to be healed.
          Jesus’ healing words today are from Luke 6:27&37. “BUT TO YOU WHO HEAR ME I SAY: “Love your enemies…forgive.”
          Who is your enemy? Do you love them?
          What is the worst thing anyone ever did to you? Have you forgiven them?
          We often refer to love as the distinguishing characteristic of the Christian character, but that is only half true. Jesus here says it is love of our enemies.
          It is no test of your godliness to love those who return your love, who treat you right, who are your supporters, etc. But your enemies—those who wrong me, hurt me, mistreat me, oppose my dearest causes, insult me, embarrass me, shame me, that’s different.
          Love you enemies is seen as an impossible dream by world. It’s even harder than you think. Most of us have trouble identifying people we would really call our enemies. However all of us have been hurt, wounded by someone and Jesus expands this to anyone who has sinned against us.
          THE FIRST STEP TO LOVING YOUR ENEMIES IS FORGIVING THEM.
          We all need to be forgiven but we are also sinned against and need to forgive. And we often cheapen forgiveness by confusing it with forgetting. We may forget what is trivial. Or it is possible to suppress what is too horrible to remember. On the other hand we can excuse the offense. That however is the opposite of forgiveness which refuses to excuse or smooth things over.
          The lack of forgiveness can be devastating to our health—spiritual, emotional and physical. The late David Seamands tells the story of a young college student that he had counseled:

[she] shared at great length all the hurts she had received from one of her parents. She truly had a lot to resent and she used her capacity to the full. After considerable prayer along these lines, she suddenly jumped from her chair and cried out loudly, “But I can’t give up my hate, I can’t give it up. It’s all I’ve got! And though we talked and prayed for a long time, she did not give it up. After she graduated from college, I lost her in the passing parade of students. About fifteen years later, I was preaching in a distant city. A lady came up after the service, told me who she was, and asked if I remembered the time we prayed together about her hate. I assured her I had never forgotten her and had often wondered what happened to her. She replied with great sadness, “I want to tell you, you were right. After two divorces and a nervous breakdown, I’m beginning to realize I should have given up my hate.” Seamands HEALING OF MEMORIES, p.158-159)

Contrast this with the following story:

It was midnight January 11, 1989 in Sperry Iowa, when Scott Sullivan broke into a farm supply store. A reserve deputy gave chase when he came out. As they rounded a curve on Highway 99, Scott saw a sheriff’s car blocking the road. Scott hit the brakes but found they were gone in his VW Rabbit, so he decided to gun it. But he didn’t see Deputy Sheriff Bill Kreamalmyer standing next to the car. “Scott’s Rabbit slammed Bill into and over the squad car. ‘The only thing I remember,’ Scott confides, ‘is an officer with a gun trying to dive out of the way. I felt the thud, and to my shame, I didn’t stop, I kept going.’”
          Eventually Scott was apprehended—Bill remarkably was not killed, though he spent 4 months in a hospital. He visited Scott gave him a NT and witnessed to him.
          Years later, at a regular service for prisoners, Scott told his story—the car chase, the forgiveness, the new faith in Christ. Then he called Dept. Sheriff Bill Kreamalmyer to join him. “A stunned, wide-eyed audience of inmates listened as Bill—a cop who forgave the offender who ran him down—told them the Gospel message.” (“Caught in the Light” printed in JUBILEE, newsletter of PF, 2/92)

Forgiveness does not come easily or quickly.  C.S. Lewis had a teacher when he was a boy who is described as a monster. He hated that teacher all his life—But a few months before his death he wrote this letter to a friend:

The Kilns
6 July 63

Dear Mary
          …Do you know, only a few weeks ago I realized suddenly that I at last HAD forgiven the cruel schoolmaster who so darkened my childhood. I’d been trying to do it for years;…And (like learning to swim or to ride a bicycle) the moment it does happen it seems so easy and you wonder why on earth you didn’t do years ago. (LETTERS TO AN AMERICAN LADY, 117)

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.…The grace to do it is from God. The decision to do it is your own.”   -Lewis Smedes, “Forgiveness, The Power To Change The Past,” Christianity Today 1/7/83, pp. 22&25

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on Love Your Enemies…Forgive

Luke 6:17  He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

Do you remember the incident in the movies “Field of Dreams” when Kevin Costner has his “dream” about building a baseball field on his Iowa farm? While wondering if it is the thing to do, he hears a voice which says, “If you build it they will come.”

I could not help but think of that assurance as I read those words in Luke which says throngs of people came to Jesus “to hear Him and to be healed”. And I heard an affirmation “they will still come to hear Him and to be healed.”

My brothers and sisters that is the simple description of the essence of the Christian experience: TO HEAR HIM AND BE HEALED. And every time we forget that, we get into all kinds of trouble, we lose our focus, we lose our power, and we lose our heart.

In the middle of our structuring and organizing and calling people to ministry, in the midst of our telling people how they are to live, there is God’s reminder—people come to Jesus to hear Him and be healed.

Do you realize how important that is? John calls Jesus God’s word to us—to hear Him is to hear what God says. We are warned in the Bible about the disastrous day or time when there will be a drought of hearing God’s Word. It is the worst calamity that can befall a people.

On the other hand to hear Jesus is to be healed (cured, saved). The healing is in the hearing!  We hear through the Scriptures, the Bible.

It is no accident that we are called people of the word—read it, study it, share it.

How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord
is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.
Fear not I am with thee, I will still be thy guide.
I’ll strength thee and help and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my mighty omnipotent hand.

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on “Hear Him And Be Healed”

The people were waiting expectantly. Luke 3:15

I read about a man who left a relative $1 million. In return, the relative thoroughly cursed the man. The reason—the man was Andrew Carnegie and he left $365 million to public charities. A problem of expectations—he expected more.
          One day a father told his son, “don’t swim in that canal.”
          “O.K. Dad” That evening he came home caring a wet bathing suit.
          “Where have you been?” demanded the father.
          “Swimming in the canal,” answered the boy.
          “Didn’t I tell you not to swim there?” asked the father.
          “Yes, sir.”
          “Why did you?”
          “Well, Dad,” he explained, “I had my bathing suit with me and I
          couldn’t resist the temptation.”
          “Why did you take your bathing suit with you?” he asked.
          “So I’d be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted.”

So, our expectations affect our satisfaction with life and with people and how we act. Therefore it should not surprise us that expectations play a large role in our lives—spiritually.

Notice the first words of our text, “As the people were in expectation.”

It is no accident that promises play such a large role in God’s dealings with people and his plan. Every major event in the history of God’s redemptive action is preceded by a promise. People were told over and over to expect certain actions on God’s part—at times against overwhelming odds.
          God is THE God of Promise,
          His People, THE people of Expectancy

The expectation often had bearing on the event. Expectation has a close relationship to desire and is an element of faith. How much do we want God? What do we expect from him are important factors in our spiritual health.

Even a John The Baptist could not bring spiritual renewal without the people’s response. Someone has said, “The greatest preaching cannot prevail unless the minds and hearts of people reach out with welcome toward whatever it brings of truth.”

It is of course true that what happened was different from the details of what was expected—God’s surprises—but it was believing God would, as we say, “do God’s thing.”

As we have already seen, there are good and bad expectations–we might say holy and unholy ones. The unholy ones, when frustrated, can cause bitterness, disappointment, frustration, and anger. Or they can lead to sin.  Worry is a form of unholy expectation. It was Robert Frost who said, “The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.”

The holy ones, the real GREAT EXPECTATIONS, can make a profound difference in our lives. Three of them are:

EXPECT TO BE RID OF YOUR SINS. John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) heard a voice: “Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or wilt thou have thy sins and go to hell?” What is of God will be cleansed, what is not will be destroyed.

EXPECT TO GROW. It was Spurgeon who said, “We are not born giants.” Faith begins as a grain of mustard seed, a spark. We are on a long road. There is no sudden success. We experience temporary defeats, partial victories. But expect Christ to take you to another stage in your faith.

EXPECT TO SEE GOD WORK. We can know renewal and ultimately victory. So worship God with heart and mind, and spirit. Tell Him you love Him, praise His glory, His goodness. Keep on singing, praying, listening, believing, expecting.

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on Great Expectations

Read Luke 24:1-12
6 He is not here; he has risen! …8 Then they remembered his words.

Have you ever driven up a winding mountain road, reached the top and looked back down at the road you have traveled? What an awesome experience. It looks nothing at all like it did as you climbed and twisted up the mountain. It is a different perspective. You can see relationships, connections, perhaps reasons why the road turned here or there, followed the route it did.

The resurrection of Jesus, in retrospect ,makes everything look different.  From this side of the resurrection nothing looks the same. Every problem, every struggle, every sin, every pain, every sorrow, in fact all of life, when looked at from the perspective of Easter, takes on a different cast. The late Dorothy Sayers put it this way:

Those who saw the risen Christ remained persuaded that life was worth living and death a triviality–an attitude curiously unlike that of the modern defeatist, who is firmly persuaded that life is a disaster and death (rather inconsistently) a major catastrophe….Perhaps the drama is played out now, and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and entertaining to consider that at least once in the world’s history those words might have been spoken with complete conviction, and that was upon the eve of the Resurrection.1

Phillip Yancey says there are two ways to look at human history—evil as normative, even Easter is contradiction. “If I take Easter as the starting point, the one incontrovertible fact about how God treats those whom he loves, then human history becomes the contradiction and Easter a preview of ultimate reality.” 

Somewhere I came across this by Joseph Baley:

“A Psalm for Easter”

Let’s celebrate Easter with the rite of Laughter.
          Christ died and rose and lives.
Laugh like a woman who holds her first baby.
          Our enemy death will soon be destroyed.
Laugh like a man who finds he doesn’t have cancer.
          Or he does but now there’s a cure.
          Christ opened wide the door of heaven.
Laugh like children at Disneyland’s gates.
          This world is owned by God and He’ll return to rule.
Laugh like a man who walks away uninjured from a wreck in which his
           car was totaled.
Laugh as if all the people in the whole world were invited to a picnic.
          And then invite them.

When I asked those in our Sunday School Class on Sunday why they believed in the resurrection, the nearly unanimous answer was, “because of what Jesus has done in my life.” My question then is, do we live in a way that gives credibility to Easter to those who know us?”

1 Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Greatest Drama Ever Staged,” Good News, Nov/Dec ’02, 17.

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on In Retrospect, It’s Different

They crucified Him– John 19:18

I expect it would be difficult if not impossible to find a person in this town who could not tell you that the Christian symbol is a Cross.  Like many things familiar to us, we sometimes find it difficult to appreciate.

Do you realize how incredible that is? It is like having an electric chair, or a hangman’s noose because it represents the means by which a criminal was executed.

But the reason it is the symbol must not be lost on us.  It is the heart of the gospel.  One third of the 4 gospels describe Jesus’ last week and 1/2 of John is concerned with his last 24 hours.  Someone has said that the gospels are passion narratives with introductions and conclusions.  It is even reflected in our language by words like “crucial” and “crux”.  Charles Spurgeon summed up his theology–“He died for me.”

Despite that, my impression is that many Christians will not even hear the crucifixion story read this week. (today Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday few Good Friday).  I am afraid many are like the one who wrote this letter to Oswald Hoffman:

“I don’t see how you can say that it is important
for me to believe in the death of Christ. I did
not ask Him to die. I did not exist when He was
here. How could He have died for my sins?”

That question gets to the heart of the Cross.   Even many who accept Jesus’ death as having meaning for us often see it as only as displaying the courage of a martyr or a great lesson of love, the tragic death of a good man.

What is the Cross?
It is the world’s verdict on goodness. We are shown a basic antagonism to good which can lead to persecution. The Sermon on the Mt. assumes persecution for right. There are numerous Biblical references which indicate it:

“I have not come to bring peace but a sword.”
“all..will hate you because of me.”

It is also a way of life.

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,” (Galatians. 2:20)
“He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live for themselves,
but unto him.” (II Cor. 5:15)
And Jesus says, those who loose life will find it.

But most of all, the cross is the means of our salvation.  These are just a few of the Bible texts which proclaim it:

“He laid down his life for us.”(I Jn. 3:16)
“Christ died for our sins.” (I Cor. 15:3)
“The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.” (I Jn. 1:17)
And finally, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (I Pet. 3:18)

It is in fact the cross which joins us to Jesus.

All those get Biblical ideas (as mysterious as they are) finally come down to this.   The Cross is how we can be saved—escape the power of sin in our lives, and anticipate eternal life.

Let us never forget. He was crucified and it was for us, you and for me.  Have you surrendered your life to him?

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on He Was Crucified

Jesus stopped –Mark 10:49a

Read Mark 10:46-52.  Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and, unknown to those who followed Him, where Jesus was to die.  The main road to Jerusalem was through Jericho (15 miles).
            By the road, a blind begger, named Bartimaeus heard the commotion.  On inquiry he found that Jesus was passing.  He began to shout, “Son David, have mercy on me.”  Now understand—the crowds which followed Jesus and those who lined the street included priests and Levites.  So there were bitter enemies of Jesus as well as His followers.  The man got no sympathy from any of them.  In no uncertain terms he was told, “shut up.”
            But this man was desperate and persistent and “he shouted all the more.”  There are many obstacles, roadblocks to Jesus.  Often they are made in the name of order, peace, kindness or some such “positive” good (the priest and Levite in the story of the good Samaritan). But this man, didn’t let anything stand in the way.
            And there are these unforgettable words—“Jesus stopped.”  What a great text?  How can we not be impressed that Jesus turns his attention from the many to the one (an insignificant beggar could easily be lost in a crowd).
            It had little or nothing to do in the scheme of things with Jesus’ great objective 15 miles ahead—“a drop in bucket” someone has said.  But “the cry of need stopped…[Jesus].  It stops all heaven.”¹
            And then Jesus asks the defining question.  “What do you want?”  Folks when our need is desperate it requires as little as telling Jesus what we want.  And Jesus announces the outcome—‘”Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”’ (v 52)
            Yes there are roadblocks, obstacles—maybe a dull ritual, a dreary day, a stumbling sermon.  But here’s your chance!
            Jesus is here!
            He will stop at your cry for help!
            What do you want?

¹George Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, 499)

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on The Appeal Which Won’t Be Denied

the LORD sustains me.  -Psalm 3:5

            Sometimes our problems mount up to the point that we feel like we’ve “had all we can take.”  Have you ever felt that way?
            The Old Testament king, David, reached that point.  He was one of the greatest and most powerful men who ever lived.  But he had problems that would make a soap opera sound tame.
            How he handled those problems is modeled in Psalm 3.  It was apparently written during one of the most trying times of his life.
            He had one of his sons to rape his half sister, that son then was murdered by his brother and that brother, Absalom, became so angry and so hated his father that he sought to undermine his position as king, gathered a force which ultimately led to open rebellion and forced David and his family to flee for their lives from the capital city of Jerusalem.  (II Sam. 15)
            He is trudging up the Mt. of Olives outside Jerusalem with no idea what is ahead.  His life has literally fallen apart—his family has turned against him and his most trusted counselors and leaders have betrayed him.  It seems that all important to him is now gone.  He’s going up the Mountain. barefoot, with his head covered, so that no one will recognize him.  The others with him are weeping and, in these circumstances, he writes this Psalm.
            When everything seems to go wrong, the great temptation is to believe that God has deserted us.  I know that to be true.  In one way or another, people tell me that all the time.  Often it is in the form of a question, “Why has God allowed this to happen to me?”  But back of that question is a much deeper feeling that because all of these things have gone wrong, God must have deserted me.
            I don’t know what has you down, what your particular problems are, who the enemies are which have you by the neck, draining your enthusiasm and joy from life.  I don’t know what it is that you’re struggling with:

• physical illness
• economic distress, you don’t see how you can make ends meet.
• alcoholism
• some particular moral failure or weakness, temptation
• a young person trying to live a life clean, pure, when you find few friends or little support—you feel all alone.
• a job that you wonder if you can go for another day.
• distress in your family
• or a thousand and one other possibilities.

David lays out his list in this Psalm.  Like him, my enemies, my friends and circumstance may suggest that God has deserted me.
            Then comes that amazing word—“but” (v.3).  He follows with the reasons which sustain him.  He expresses his confidence in God; confesses his faith if you will:

• You are my shield, protector.  The blows come, the problems are not all wiped away.  But you shield me.
• You are my glory—God says you are important.
• You are the lifter up of my head—what a great image.  Our head hanging down, chin dragging the ground—restorer of hope, expectation, and courage.
• You are answerer of my prayer—He heard me.  And that untranslated Hebrew word “SELAH”(think of that)

            It may be true that we are guilty of sin, that we have brought some of these problems on our self.  To some extent that our world is falling apart but if we trust him, cry to him he hears us.
            David then says the goes to sleep (peace and sense of security).  What a great gift—to be able to sleep, no fear, anxiety.  And he awakes the next day with new courage and hope.

From the LORD comes deliverance. (v.8)

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on When You’ve Had All You Can Take

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. -II Timothy 4:7

In 1973, while a graduate student at the University of Iowa, I was appointed to serve three small United Methodist Churches in Iowa—Silver Creek, Spring Grove and Troy Mills.  There I met a young farmer and his wife.  Leo and Sheri Anderson quickly won our hearts and blessed us with their no nonsense faith.  They were gifted musicians and they and their family have touched many with their music over the years.  Today, we have a powerful example of that legacy in a CD featuring their daughter, Joyce.

Those were great years for those of us walking together as we tried to follow the Lord.  One the most powerful images I have carried with me over more than 35 years of ministry involves Leo.  The Troy Mills church was struggling for survival but the Andersons with others seeking to be faithful to God decided to seek renewal through the path of a Lay Witness Mission.

What a great experience for all us as we saw God move in a powerful way in our lives.  Leo was a big and powerful man (making about 2 of me) and God had gotten a hold of him in a new way.  As I walked into church, the second night of those services, Leo met me at the door, excited about Jesus.  He grabbed me in a bear hug, lifted me off my feet and shook me like a rag doll in an expression of pure joy.

Leo, put his faith to work.  He was involved in ministry.  I remember him spending week-ends at the Iowa State Penitentiary sharing God’s love.  Later both he and Sheri became lay pastors where they together have been serving four churches.

This morning I got a call from Sheri.  On Tuesday night, Leo was attending a Bible study at the workplace of his son when he was taken ill.   He finished this earthly life yesterday morning.

Leo did not always have life easy and he was not perfect.  But I remember his grace and an unmistakable love for Jesus.  He is one of a long line of those who have shown us how “to keep the faith.”

Thank you Lord for the Leos in my life.

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on Keep the Faith

“Your faith in God has become know everywhere.” -I Thessalonians 1:8

In the world of advertising marketing, image is everything.  Businesses, organizations, especially politicians spend millions of dollars on advertising to “build their image”.
In recent years even the church has begun to realize how powerful a tool this can be.   We even hear talk about marketing   the church.  The trouble with this is that image can be just that, an image, and contain little substance.  It can be distorted deliberately or unintentionally.  Notice the advertising on TV especially and ask how much of it has to do with a certain image which has little or nothing to do with the quality of the product.  It is a picture of people having a good time.  It says wealthy, sexy, beautiful people use this product.

I read a story about a farmer who came into a restaurant one day and asked the owner if he could use a million frog legs.  The curious owner had been wanting more frog legs for his customers but wanted to know where the farmer could get that many.  The farmer said, “I have a pond at home that is overflowing with them.  Their croaking is driving me crazy!” After an agreement was made for several hundred frogs, the farmer returned to his farm.  A week later, the farmer came back to the restaurant caring two scrawny frogs.    With a foolish grin on his face, he said, “I never knew that two little frogs could sound like a million!”  That it seems to me is a good illustration of image minus content.
There is another concept closely related to idea of image, that has to do with what people think about you—reputation.  And though it is true that reputation can sometimes be wrong too, in the truest sense of the word reputation has to do with substance—the working out of a character.

Have you ever been introduced to someone and have that person say to you, “I’ve heard a lot about you”?  Being the pastor of a small town church, it is not too uncommon for me.  But when I hear that, I always wonder, “WHAT have you heard?”
Reputation is a fact of life, and it is so often true, “your reputation has preceded you.”  Therefore it should not surprise us that a long time before “marketing” was thought of as a church growth tool, Paul was writing about the impact of a church’s reputation on the spread of the gospel.

Let’s set the stage.  Paul was at a difficult stage in his ministry (every person in ministry has them).  Of the last four places he has gone, he has been run out of three, and had little success in the other.  One of the places from which he was forced to leave was Thessalonica.  Because of the success they were having there, they were accused of having “turned the world upside down.  A riot was started, and they were forced to leave.   In addition, a personal attack was made on Paul after he left, telling the new Christians there in the church that he really didn’t love them, he had deserted them, etc.
Then a remarkable thing begins to happen, Paul begins to run into people who have heard about the Christians in Thessalonica.  They talk about the dramatic changes in the lives of those converts, how they have turned to God and are serving him.  They tell of their faith, love, and their hope.  He says their reputation proclaims God’s word.  They are a model church for others.  The impact of that is felt everywhere.

What a wonderful story!  What a remarkable illustration of the impact which a church can have on a community.  And the impact is not through great evangelistic campaigns, or some slick programming, but because their faith has been heard about.

Now we may be tempted to say, yes, but _______.  No, their’s was not a hot house environment.  Paul recognizes the difficulty, the opposition, the hardship they have endured.  He says they have had much “affliction”.  This is the word used for pressing grapes until they burst.  They have overcome. The reason—you received the word of God, and it is at work in you.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the reputation of this church is being built day by day block by block.   It is being built in those homes where children come back and tell about the love they have found from those people at Messiah Church.  It is being built by you at your job, at school, in the neighborhood, on the street corner, the beauty shop, where ever those Methodists are.  It is being built by programs, actions that show we care or don’t care in the community.

What is our reputation?  Does  “The Lord’s message ring out?”

Filed under: The Journey | Comments Off on They’ve Heard About You.