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.