(As preached at Palmyra UMC, November 8, 2009)
Hebrews 10:1-25
1 Corinthians 12:14-31
Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son.
"Wake up, son. It's time to go to church!"
"But why, Mum? I don't want to go."
"Give me two reasons why you don't want to go."
“Ok - I want to sleep in, and I’d rather watch tv.
"Oh, those are not good reasons not to go to church. Come on now and get ready."
"But everyone there hates me!"
“That is not true – now get up.”
"Give me two reasons why I should go to church."
"Well, for one, you're 33 years old. And for another, you're the Preacher!"
I think if we are honest most of us have had at least one Sunday when we’ve woken up and wondered if we absolutely had to go to church. We have a lot of excuses for thinking that way; everything from ‘I feel too miserable to want to be with other people,’ to ‘I’d rather go fishing.’
This morning we continue our series on the vows we take when we join the United Methodist church, and how taking those words seriously can help us to grow as Christians and as a community of believers. And, if I haven’t said this yet, membership with the United Methodist Church is not a scary thing. If you regularly attend here and are not yet a member I encourage you to talk to Mike or myself about joining with us in membership – it’s simply a matter of meeting with one of us and then participating in a short service as part of our morning meeting time. It’s less painful than the flu shot – plus as a member you are then able to vote on church issues.
To remind you of our sermon series topic - as part of the membership service we pledge to be loyal to Christ through the United Methodist Church, and to faithfully participate in its ministries by our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.”
We began last week by looking at our witness, and this week we will be looking at two areas – our presence and our service; and I think some of you may be surprised to find there is a connection between the two.
First of all, let’s begin by asking everyone who has skipped church in the last year to stand up and explain themselves. Don’t worry, I am only joking. I’m joking, though, to make a point. Church attendance, or to put it another way, ‘serving Christ with our presence’ is one of many areas of church life that has become riddled with guilt. And I think that is a real pity. When guilt is what drags us to church we are missing out on the point of church. Our presence here should not be a guilt thing. Our presence among this community of believers on Sunday morning is an opportunity!
In preparing this sermon this week I discovered that today is the International day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We do well to remember that around the world there are communities of believers who by attending church services risk their families, their freedom, and their lives. Yet despite this risk they continue to gather whenever and wherever they can. What is it about meeting together that is worth losing so much?
First of all, gathering together as a community of believers is a right response to the priesthood of Jesus. The passage from Hebrews that we heard from earlier reminds us that Jesus is our high priest who has made for us a greater sacrifice than all the previous priests combined. The passage goes on to say,
19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Coming to this building is by no means the only way to ‘draw near to God’. In fact, since God is constantly present with us we are near to Him wherever we are and whatever we happen to be doing. However, by coming to church we are making a statement with our actions that we desire to be in His presence. We are active participants in our relationship with God when we set aside the time to visit with Him in His House.
Secondly, we gather together to be encouraged and to encourage each other. Hebrews 10 verses 23 – 25 says,
23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
If there is one thing we can learn from the persecuted church it is the value of community. While it is true that we can worship God in a fishing boat, the problem with attempting to make the river our ‘church’ is not that we might miss out on meeting with God – it’s that we miss out on meeting with each other! Remember, church is not a building it is the group of believers who gather in one. We are created not just to be in relationship with God but also with each other.
A third reason our membership vows ask us to participate in the ministry of Christ’s church through our presence is that in doing so we have the opportunity to exercise another part of the membership vows – service. Aha, now we get to point of how these are connected. There are two ways our presence here on a Sunday equips us in our service for Christ.
Firstly, there are opportunities here on a Sunday morning to serve. Do you have a heart for children’s ministries? Ask someone how you can help teach kids church. Would you like to read the bible passages out on a Sunday morning? Come and see me after the service – I’m starting a list of scripture readers? Are you gifted with musical or dramatic skills? There is a place here for you to share those gifts. Do you enjoy cooking? Our fellowship time between Sunday School and morning service could benefit from your gift of hospitality. Can you read and operate a space bar? We can use your help running the power point display. If you don’t think your skills are important to this congregation consider the reading from 1 Corinthians.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
There is almost no limit to the ways you can serve Christ just by your presence here. Really your service is your decision to be active rather than passive in your presence here. As a pastor I love to see bodies in pews, but I’d rather see bodies in service.
Secondly, your presence on a Sunday morning equips you for your service throughout the rest of the week. The simple act of choosing to set aside an hour to consciously meet with God is a respite from the busy-ness of this modern world. On a practical level the encouragement we gain from meeting with other Christians and, I hope, the biblical instruction that is received here can be the boost we need to step out into the ministry that we all share – following Jesus’ commandment to go and make disciples of all nations.
So our presence and our service for Christ are about so much more than going to church to keep from feeling guilty. I don’t believe guilt and shame have any part in our lives as followers of Christ. Guilt and shame came into the world because of sin and death, and Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross. Our presence and service come from the knowledge that we have been made free in Christ – and we choose to be here, and to serve Him, out of joyful obedience.
Amen.