Sermon John 15:1-8 Engage, Engaging Your Story

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon John 15:1-8 Engage, Engaging Your Story[1]

June 21, 2015

            This morning we will continue with our study of evangelism.  We heard last week that the world around us, here in North America and Europe is changing.  No longer is the church in a privileged position.  No longer is it possible to bring people to Christ simply with a building and a sign. No longer can we just pass out tracts on the boardwalk, or fliers in front of a supermarket and expect our church to grow.        

             The reason for this is that we have moved into a post Christian, Postmodern world.  People no longer trust institutions.  People no longer accept authority and truth claims.  People no longer trust the church thinking that we try to coerce people into believing what we believe and obeying our ethical code. And so the old ways of bringing people to faith no longer work and we must change.

            The way we will change is by having Christians share their stories of faith.  This is easy.  We all love to talk about ourselves.  We do this all the time.  What we now must do is talk about what God has done in our lives.  I know this is a little more difficult.  But there are ways of doing this that aren't so bad.  And we will be looking at one way that worked for me.  We will get to this, but first let's pray.

            May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

            Shortly before his death on a cross Jesus gathered his disciples together and told them that he would be leaving them.  As you might expect they were very concerned about what was happening to Jesus and what would happen to themselves.  So Jesus assured them that he would send his Holy Spirit to guide them and strengthen them and comfort them once he was gone.   Then Jesus made a surprising claim.  He said that even though he would leave in some sense he would remain in them and they in him.  This would be accomplished through his love and through his word.  Let's listen to what Jesus said.

John 15:1-8  1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

            5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

            Jesus has told us that the church is like a vine.  Each one of us is a branch on that fine and our role is to produce fruit.  The fruit Jesus is talking about consists of people we bring to faith in Jesus Christ.  God, the gardener, will prune back any branches that are not producing fruit.  Therefore if we want to continue to be part of the vine we must produce the fruit of new disciples of Jesus Christ.  We do this by bringing people to Jesus by telling them the stories of how we have experienced God's love through our relationship with Jesus.

            Before you can share your story about your relationship with Jesus you must have a story to share.  Sadly many people in church do not have a story to share because they don't have a relationship with Jesus.  And without a relationship with Jesus there is no story to tell.  Many people come to church to see their friends, or listen to music, or find helpful advise in the preaching.  There is nothing wrong with any of this, but coming to church should be much much more.  We should come to church to form a close relationship with Jesus Christ.

            When you come to church you are coming not to a concert or a social club.  Rather you are coming to be in the presence of God.  That is what worship is all about.  Normally this would be a very frightening thing.  But with Jesus here and our forgiveness guaranteed our fear goes away and our praises take center stage.  Jesus wants us to come into his presence every Sunday morning.  But this is just the start.  He has told us that we are to remain in him throughout the week.  How should we do this?  Let me tell you my story.

            About 20 years ago my church in Washington DC published a prayer book for the congregation to use.  This book had scripture, prayers, all the Psalms, and a list of daily Bible readings called the Daily Lectionary. I was curious about this lectionary so I looked into it and found that Christians all over the world were using it.  Millions of people were reading the same Bible passages every day.  So I decided to read them each day too.  I had a small desk in my bedroom.  On that desk I put the Prayer Book and my Bible.  Every morning I would read the selection from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Gospel.  Then I would say a prayer and go to work.

            As I followed this daily practice, my life completely changed.  I hadn't been in a Sunday School class since I was a kid.  Suddenly I was there every Sunday morning.  I never went back to church during the week.  Suddenly I was at church every Wednesday night for Bible study.  I became a leader in the singles groups, and was trained as a Bible teacher.  Eventually I went to seminary and became a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  All of this happened because I developed a relationship with Jesus by reading and meditating on scripture every day.

            Grace and I have our own practice of daily prayer and meditation on scripture.  We come into this sanctuary every day, Monday-Friday to read scripture.  We read responsively two chapters of the New Testament and three chapters of the Old Testament every morning.  Then we pray for the church.

            This is my story which I just shared with you of how I developed a relationship with Jesus Christ through daily devotions.  This gave me a story to share with others.  Now you need a story you can share with others. So you need a habit of daily devotions.  Let me give you a simple way to do this.  Please open your bulletins and turn to the side with the picture of the church.  In the bottom left corner you will see the Daily Lectionary.  This is the daily list of Bible verses you can read each day to remain in Christ throughout the week.  These are the same readings which were so influential in my life.  I urge you to read them every day.  I know that some of you do read these because I have been getting some questions about the daily readings.

            Now, look right above the Daily Lectionary.  There you will see the prayer concerns of the church.  Grace and I pray for the people on this list every day.  You should do the same.  Right after you read the daily scripture verses, pray for the church and for your friends and family.  By reading God's word and praying for the church every day you remain in Christ throughout the week.  And you will develop your story of your relationship with Jesus Christ which you can share with those who have yet to meet him.

            Please turn over your bulletin and I will show you some other things you can do in your daily devotions.  On the left panel you will see a prayer of confession.  Use this prayer to confess your guilt for anything you may have done and are sorry for.  Say this prayer each day as a reminder of the forgiveness your are offered in Jesus Christ.  In the middle panel you will see a prayer of illumination.  Say this prayer if you have trouble understanding the daily Bible readings.  With this prayer you will ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you are reading.  And on the right panel you will see the Lord's prayer.  This is the prayer Jesus gave us for daily use. 

            Here is one way to do this each day:  confess your sin, pray for illumination, read the Daily Lectionary in your Bibles, pray for the church and others, and conclude with the Lord's prayer.  Do this every day, and you will find yourself coming closer to God, and forming a relationship with his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

            So you have heard my story and the way I came closer to Jesus.  You are welcome to try my way.  There are other ways of doing this too.  What is crucial is that you pray and meditate on scripture every day as a way of developing a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Once you have developed this relationship then you will be equipped with a story that you can share with others.

            According to Jesus, if we abide in him through daily prayer and meditation on his word we will grow as his disciples.   As we grow in discipleship, we experience God's love for us.  As we share God's love and God's word with others by what we say and what we do, we become evangelists.  Sharing our story of God's love for us is our mission as church.  It is the fruit of our discipleship.  And it glorifies God.

            Jesus' disciples heard what he had to say at dinner.  Then they experienced his death and lost all hope.  But Jesus kept his promise.  Through the Holy Spirit, scripture and prayer, Jesus continues to be with us and through him we experience God's great love for us.  This is good news.   Do you know anyone who needs to hear some good news today?  Is there anyone who could benefit from knowing God loves them?  Is there anyone who could experience positive transformation by experiencing Christ through daily meditation on scripture and daily prayer?  If so I urge you to glorify God by sharing this good news with people who need to hear it.

            Today during our fellowship time at 11 we will once again gather in small groups.  In these groups I would like for you to share your thoughts and concerns about having a deeper relationship with God.  Is it easy or hard to believe that God really loves you and wants to be in a relationship with you?  Talk about ways you have experienced God's love in your lives, and how God's love has changed you.  And consider how people you know in the community could benefit from knowing that they too are loved by God.

            Let's pray.  Father in heaven we thank you for nourishing us as a branch on Jesus, the vine.  Help us to develop a closer relationship with Jesus through daily spiritual practices.  Help us to produce fruit by sharing your love and our story with others.  This we pray in your son's name.  Amen.

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[1]    http://www.pcusa.org/resource/engage/

Sermon Acts 17:16-34 Engage, The New Normal

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Acts 17:16-34 Engage, The New Normal[1]

June 14, 2015

            Today we begin our look at evangelism.  As we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ we find that the Holy Spirit plants in our hearts a gift and a desire to share our faith with others.  This results in other people coming to faith, and Kingdom of God grows.  The church is the bearer of good news.  It gathers people for worship and then sends them into the world to work arm and arm with God.  We follow God into areas of great need.  And we return to worship proclaiming that our mighty God meets the deepest needs of people.  This is called evangelism.  We will get to this, but first let's pray.

            May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

            I am a child of the 1950s and 60s.  I remember church back then.  We lived in the new suburbs around Washington DC and attend a new church.  The original building, built in the 1950's was already too small by 1961.  We didn't have enough classroom space for all of us kids.  The fellowship hall was too small for our monthly pot luck dinners.  The sanctuary was too small and the adults complained about sitting on metal foldup chairs.  Over 600 people were attending each week.  So the church embarked on a building campaign, funds were raised for a new sanctuary.

            Those were the days of the 1950s and 60s when this church experienced the same thing.  You bought land at the edge of town and erected this building to serve your growing congregation. 

            From the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment in the 17^th century through the mid 20^th century the church had a privileged position in the culture of Western Europe and North America.    We had the answers for life's most pressing questions.  We had the solution for life's most pressing problems.  Government closed businesses so everyone could come to church on Sunday.  And most people got up on Sundays mornings and made their way to church.

            In this environment all we had to do was put up a nice building with a sign out front and people knew who we were and came Sunday morning knowing what to expect.   Evangelism consisted of educating children in the faith so that they would be good church members when they grew up.  But all of this has changed.

            Today, the church I grew up in, the one with over 600 members now has about 100 in worship.  And many of these are older.  They have combined their youth group with a Korean church that rents space in the building.  Like all churches they have seen their youth grow up and leave.  And they wonder where the people will come from who will run the church's programs when they are no longer able.  What happened?

            In the last 50 years our culture has changed.  We have entered a time we call Postmodern.  People our now skeptical about any claim of truth.   When the church says that we have the answers for our most pressing questions, the response we get is that you may have your answers, but we have ours.  When the church says that we have the solutions to our most pressing problems, the response we get is it that you may have your solution, but we have ours.  People see the church as coercive.  We are accused of trying to make people believe what we believe.  People see us as intolerant.  We are accused of demanding that people follow our ethical laws.   Today, our culture values all beliefs and all behaviors and distrust any institution that wants to force specific beliefs and behaviors on people.

            And so we live in a world today that distrusts the church.  People wake up on Sunday mornings and read the newspaper, or go to work, or sit on the beach, or play volleyball, anything but come to church.  The church is no longer privileged.  Our old ways of evangelism no longer work.    Something must change or we die.  Of course, God will not die.  And God will not let the church die.  But things must change.   And whenever the church must reform our starting point is always scripture.  And so we turn to the 17^th chapter of the Book of Acts.

           

            Acts 17  16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

            Paul arrived in Athens sometime in the middle of the first century.  And what he saw there broke his heart.  He knew that people were longing for authentic spirituality.  Their spirit longed for their creator.  But as he walked around the city his heart broke because this deep spiritual need was going unfilled.  People were trying everything they could think of.  If their traditional “god” didn't work they would try one from one of the provinces.  But nothing seemed to work and their deep spiritual needs went unmet.

            So too today.  People in our community have a deep hunger for true spirituality.  To satisfy this hunger they mix a cocktail of spiritual practices and beliefs.  They might combine a little Buddhism, add some Force from Star Wars,  throw in the nice part of Jesus, and finish it off with ideas from the latest vampire movie.  They mix all this together to form their own personal god.  But then they find that this god has no satisfying answers to there deepest questions, and no satisfying solutions to their deepest problems.  And so they keep searching and adjusting the recipe for their unsatisfying spiritual soup.

            So if our situation is the same as what Paul found in Athens what should we do?  Well, what Paul did is he talked about his faith, and what Jesus did for him.  Let's listen to what he had to say.

            Acts 17  22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

                24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]

                29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

                32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

            So what are we to do?  In the situation we find ourselves today we cannot just sit here in church hoping that more people will join us.  We can't start a new program or call a new pastor and expect everything will return to the way it was.  What God wants us to do is get out of the church and talk with others about our faith.  If we really believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and eternal life, then we will have a strong desire to share this good news with others.  We can't compel anyone to accept our belief.  But if we have developed a level of trust with someone else then we will be able to share our story of what Jesus has done in our lives.  This is God's mission in world.  When we talk about our faith with others, we are loving God and loving our neighbors. 

            You may be thinking that this is too hard.  It's just too difficult to talk about faith with others.  And you are right.  It scares me to death.  But if we are going to do what God wants us to do we have to start somewhere.  Don't we?

            That is why we have created a safe place when you can begin to talk about faith.  Right after church in our Fellowship Hall during lunch I would like for you to talk about the changes you have seen in our culture and how this affects the church.  Talk about what church was like 30, 50 even 70 years ago.  And talk about what has changed in the community and in the church.    The people you will be talking with are your friends right here.  And these are conversations you already have all the time.  I hear them every week.  So I hope you will enjoy this opportunity to get together over lunch for a conversation about church.  I am certainly looking forward to it.  Let's pray.

              Father in Heaven, we thank you for this day when we can come into your presence and worship you.  Help us to see the spiritual needs in the community around us.  Help us to talk about you with people we meet.  This we pray in your son glorious name.  Amen.

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[1]    http://www.pcusa.org/resource/engage/

Sermon 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Interim Update

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Interim Update

June 7, 2015

            This morning we will take some time to pause and consider where we are and where we are going as a church.   We are experiencing growth and change as we pass through a time of pastoral transition.  At the end of last year you said goodbye to Alex who had served you for 14 years.  For thirty years you have had stable pastoral leadership under Revs. Fisher and Ayers.  But both of these pastors have now retired and it is time for the church to focus on the future.  We will get to this but first let's pray.

            May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

            The Apostle Paul had a long and sometimes stormy relationship with the church at Corinth.  He started the church by preaching in the synagogue until they threw him out.  Paul was sued and during the court hearing a riot broke out.  But God urged Paul to stay and establish the church, which he did. 

            Later, when Paul was in Ephesus, he heard about some problems back in Corinth.  He wrote a letter, 1 Corinthians, to address some of these problems and sent Timothy with the letter to talk with the church.  Timothy mission failed and he returned to Ephesus.  So Paul went to Corinth to confront the problems head on.  He found a church deeply divided with  strong personalities that opposed his preaching.  Paul eventually left Corinth and there was at least one deeply emotional letter sent.

            But finally the problems in Corinth began to subside.  The person causing most of the trouble left.  And Paul sent a more conciliatory letter hoping to help the church move forward.  Let's hear from part of that letter.

            2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1  13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

            16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

            5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

            I came to First Presbyterian Church four months ago as your interim pastor.  My role is to serve and any pastor would by preaching, teaching, and visiting.  I also have the additional role of leading the church through a transitional period as you discern where God is leading you.  God will reveal to you who your next pastor will be in short order and you have to be ready. 

            The first thing we had to do in this transitional period was to get the manse and pastor's office in good order.  The manse had to be cleaned and painted.  Structural repairs led to the installation of a new bathroom.  And beautiful hardwood floors were discovered under the carpeting.  The renovation took two months to complete.  And thanks to the Trustees and the volunteer work of the men of the church all the work was kept within budget.  And thanks to the women of the church it has a new kitchen..

            We also had to get the Pastor's office in order.  We had to get rid of some old books, paint the walls and purchase carpet and furniture.  We now have a beautiful office and meeting room.

            While we were working on the house and office I realized that the church needed policies for building use.  Specifically we needed written policies for when groups outside of the church want to use our property.  And we needed a written policy for weddings.  You session worked diligently on all this.

            I also saw that the church needed a new photo directory.  So I brought in Jim Ritch of Disciplepix to take your photos and put the directory together.  I hope you are enjoying the process this weekend.

            When I arrived I found that First Presbyterian Church was a very active church.  You have breakfasts and rummage sales.  You have a strong Christian education program and excellent music.  But I saw that the church was focused primarily inward.  You were concerned about the church, what it does and how it looks.  You focused on budgets and repairs and personnel.  There is nothing wrong with this, but what you lacked was an outer focus.  You needed to pay attending to the changes in the community and what this means for the church.  You need to become a missional church.

            First Presbyterian Church is located in a community of about 7000 people who live here year round.  Most of these people are retired, and new retirees are moving to the area all the time.  This is a community the church knows well, but we need to do a better job of engaging new retirees as they move in to Ocean City, Bishopville and Ocean Pines.

            There is another year round community here in Ocean City.  These are immigrants who work in agriculture, construction and hospitality.  Many have lived here for years and their children have attended our schools.  The county offers English as a Second Language classes in our building for them in winter.  This summer we are trying something new.  We are inviting people to our church on Wednesday mornings for a simple English Bible study and conversation with Americans, us.  That way we could begin to attract some immigrants into our church.

            In addition to the retirees and immigrants coming to our community to live we also have some temporary visitors, a lot of visitors.  350,000 folks descend on us every summer to enjoy our beaches, boardwalk, stores, hotels and restaurants.  We have been setting up a table on the boardwalk where we can talk with these folks.  And we have two services every Sunday where they can join us in worship.  Obviously whenever to talk with a visitor invite them to come here Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10.

            Finally our community is blessed with over 4000 students who come here every summer to work in our stores, hotels and restaurants.  Many of these come from other countries.  Beginning in July we will be offering these students a free breakfast every Wednesday.  This would be an ideal time to talk with about faith and introduce them to our church.

            With new people moving to our community, and all the visitors and students every summer this church should be thriving.   But for that to happen we must focus outward.  We must have conversations about faith with people outside of the church.  In order to change the focus of the church we have started the Engage program.  On Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings I have worked with small groups to develop discipleship and evangelism skills.  We have talked about what we need to do to engage people in our community in conversations about faith, and we have practiced doing those things.  Beginning next week I will bring Engage to you, the congregation.  I will begin a series of sermons on the topic of evangelism.  And you will have an opportunity to talk about these things during lunch.  This should be a very interesting and enjoyable time for all of you.

            So what is next in our transition?  Already a group is meeting on Wednesdays at 6pm to think about where the church has been and where it is going.  They are  putting together a Mission Study which puts all that we do and all we hope to do in a document.  And the Church Nomination Committee, who you elected last January, will soon be putting together a slate of candidates who they believe should serve on a Pastor Nominating Committee.  Once this work is complete, the Mission Study and the PNC will be submitted to you, the congregation for approval.  Then the new Pastor Nominating Committee will take the Mission Study and start looking for a new pastor for the church.

            Some of you have asked me if I am going to be that new pastor.  I have to tell them that right now I don't know.  We have to go through this process to discern who God is calling to this church.  And God often does some very surprising things.   We have to wait until God speaks through your prayers and prayers of the presbytery.  My guess is we have about a year to go until you have discerned who God is calling to pastor this church.

            As we go through this we must always remember that we believe in resurrection.  Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, so too will God raise this church up to new life.  But we just have to be willing to talk about our faith with others and help them to see the light of Jesus Christ.

            Today we will gather around the communion table.  As we commune together let this be a time when we see Jesus in our midst and receive the power of the Holy Spirit with the gift of evangelism.   When God with in us and with us nothing can stop us.  Let's pray.

            Father in heaven we pray for our church.  Help us to be the church you desire in Ocean City.  Help us to carry out your will in this town.  And bless us with the pastoral leadership we need.  This we pray in our savior's name.  Amen.

           

Sermon Romans 8:12-17 Spirit of Belonging

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Romans 8:12-17 Spirit of Belonging

May 31, 2015

Today is Trinity Sunday. It is the day each year when we remember that the one God we worship comes to us in three ways: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The trinity is important because it always reminds us that God exists in relationship. We know from 1 John that God is Love. And if God is Love, then God must be a relationship. And that relationship is the bond of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I know this is very difficult for us understand. The Apostle Paul knows that too. So he tells us that we should think of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a Holy Family. We will to this, but first let's pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

Romans 8:12-17 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

The words we use to describe God also describes a family. We have a Father and we have a Son. Now you may be asking where Mother is. If there is a Father and a Son shouldn't there be a Mother too? The Bible is clear that we should not think of God as exclusively masculine. Rather we should think of God as both a mother and a father. God gave birth to us in creation, and cares for us like a mother hen cares for her chicks. But God is also a father whom Jesus called Abba, daddy. And Jesus invited us to be part of this holy family when he taught us to pray, “Our Father”.

I remember growing up in my family. My mother taught me to pray at meals and before going to bed. My father drove me to Sunday school. And my parents, brother and sister where all with me in church. I loved going to church as a kid.

But when I went away to college all that changed. I joined a fraternity and began spending most Saturday nights drinking beer. There was no way I could wake up Sunday morning for church. I lived without church for ten years choosing to go only at Christmas and Easter for nostalgia's sake.

The creator God made all of us to be in the Holy Family. But I refused. I entered into a life of sin and turned my back on God. Consequently God put me out of the family. I ended up as an orphan.

For ten years I did not go to church, and then my mother died from an unexpected heart attack at age 58. I knew that I had to change. I had lost much of my earthly family. I needed to return to my Holy Family of God. So at age 27 I went back to church.

According to Paul there is a way to get back into the Holy Family. That is through a process of adoption. We must be adopted as children of God.

When I was six years old my parents decided to adopt a baby, my brother. They decided to keep me in the decision making process. I met with the social worker, and had the opportunity to tell my grandparents what we were about to do. We adopted my brother Keith and two years later my sister Jamie.

To adopt a child into a family you must have both a social worker and a lawyer. A social worker is needed to make sure that the family is a good and safe place for the child. A lawyer is needed to make sure that all the legal paperwork is done.

For us to enter the Holy Family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit we too must have a social worker and lawyer. The lawyer is Jesus, who through his death and resurrection accomplished all that was legally required for our adoption. He, in effect, prepared all the paperwork. The social worker is the Holy Spirit, who enters us to make sure that we have repented from a life of sin and truly desire entry into the Holy Family. And thus our adoption into the Holy Family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is complete for all believers.

As members of the Holy Family we receive benefits. We become children of God and share in the inheritance of the Son. So what do we inherit as children of God? According to Paul we inherit two things as children of God. The first is that we share in Christ's sufferings. Just as Christ grieved for the victims of injustice in this world, so too do we. We see hungry people and we want to feed them. We see people with shoddy clothing and we want to get them something to wear. We see people unemployed and we want to help them get a job. We see people learning English, and we want to be conversation partners. We see an international students and we want to help them find housing and meal. Whenever we see people with a need we want to satisfy it. We do this because we have been adopted into the Holy Family and now share Christ's compassion for others.

But that's not all. We inherit something else too. We share in Christ's glory. As members of the Holy Family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit we called to live, with the help of the Spirit, in obedience to God. We leave our lives of sin and begin following Jesus as Lord. As we do this we find ourselves glorified by God.

So far we have seen that we have been adopted into the Holy Family with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But if we are in a family shouldn't there be brothers and sisters as well. And there are. Our brothers and sisters of the Holy Family is the church. As with any brothers and sisters we will sometime fight with each other, but we always love one another.

So we are gathered today as a family. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are here with the church. We are the Holy Family. We share in Christ's compassion for those in need. And we are glorified by God as we live lives of obedience. And the Holy Spirit is looking for new people to adopt into this family. Let me tell you a story.

One day last week Grace and I went up to the boardwalk to share our faith. It was cold, windy and not many people were out. We decided to go back home for dinner. But first, we sat down on a bench next to a young man and we began a conversation. He told us his story. His family was from China. He had been studying in America. He had just graduated from High School in Iowa and was on a bus trip with the marching band he plays in. Their first stop was Ocean City.

We asked him if he went to church. He told us he had been in churches for musical concerts. He was a little familiar with the Christian faith because his father, in China, was a Christian and had given him a Bible. But his mother was Buddhist, and he was much more familiar with that faith. We talked a little about the Christian faith and tried to answer his questions. Then he asked why we believe in Christ.

We told him that we believe in God who created the world good. Everything was supposed to be good, but we messed it up through disobedience. God wants the world to be restored to what he created and is working with us to make it better. We think that belief in a God who created a good world and is seeking to restore it, is much better than believing in a god who made a evil world we must flea from into nothingness.

He agreed that this sounded like a good idea. So we suggested that he look around at churches. Many have good music programs he might like. And he should find one that has classes where he could learn more about the Bible. I gave him my card and wished him the best as he begins his studies at Iowa State University this fall.

This is what we call evangelism. Evangelism is sharing the good news of what Christ has done in our lives with others. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of evangelism to use us to adopt brothers and sisters into the Holy Family. Since April I have been working with leaders of the church to develop skills in evangelism. Two weeks from today I will be beginning a series of sermons on the topic of evangelism. And you will all have the opportunity to enhance your own skills though small groups after church. So beginning June 14 make plans to stay after church at 11am for small group discussion and evangelism workshop.

Today we have found that our God exists in relationship. Bound together by love God exists as a Holy Family, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have been adopted into this family, and have inherited Christ compassion for others and the glorification that comes with obedience. We in the church are adopted brothers and sisters. The Holy Spirit desires to adopt others into this Holy Family and has given us the gift of evangelism so that we may share our faith with others.

Let's pray. Father, Son and Spirit we thank you for adopting us into your family. We thank you for giving us compassion for those in need, and glorification for leading lives of obedience. We thank you for the brothers and sisters in the church around the world you have adopted into the family with us. Help us to share our faith with others so they may join us in the Holy Family. Amen.