OUR ANNUAL SPIRITUAL

“Our Annual Spiritual”

ANNUAL MEETING SUNDAY

January 29, 2012

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10

1The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2“Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

10When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Mark 1: 14-20

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

I.  Jonah and the Whale

These past few weeks at least two large families of killer whales have migrated into the waters of southern California.  Reportedly, the cooler waters of la Nina as well as hearty sources of food have brought these rare whales close to the shores—absolutely beautiful pictures have been posted on the internet.  While I would love to see first hand these whales, I sure wouldn’t want to get too close!    

One of the greatest stories found in all of Hebrew scripture is the encounter of Jonah and the giant killer Whale.  Let me refresh your memory with this story—and we learn quickly that the story isn’t really about a whale…..  

God calls Jonah, as a prophet, to preach in a place called Nineveh—a large city in Northeast Palestine—the capital of Assyria.  Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh.  It’s an enemy city of Israel.  So Jonah decides to defy God and go in the opposite direction to a place called Tarshish—known to us now as Spain.  Does Jonah really think he can get away from God by going in the opposite direction where God wants him to go?    

As Jonah heads toward Tarshish he enters into a great storm. 

Images come to mind of the popular film 2000 film staring George Clooney, “The Perfect Storm”. 

Scripture says “The Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came up upon the sea that Jonah’s ship threatened to break up.” (Ch. 1, 4-5)   Fearing the disobedience of God in Jonah’s decision to turn away from Nineveh, the crew of the ship in this treacherous storm throws Jonah overboard. 

The ancient story tells us that Jonah, swallowed by this whale of a storm, lived in its belly three days and three nights – weathering and eventually surviving this “Perfect Storm”. 

By now you can tell this story of a great killer whale is really about the storms we weather in our lives!  Sometimes horrible things happen to us.  Sometimes we turn from God or God’s will for us and find ourselves in the midst of life’s storms!

We hear Jonah speak:  “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and the Lord answered me;   out of the belly (of the storm) I cried, and you heard my voice......as my life was ebbing away,  ...the Lord delivered me, and spewed me, Jonah, out upon the dry land.”

As this story goes on, God calls Jonah, after his rescue from the storm, to go to Nineveh a second time.  This time Jonah obeys.   God saves Jonah!  

Like Jonah, there are times when we shout out to the Lord in distress.  We find ourselves in the midst of horrific storms.  There are personal storms.  There are stresses we experience with family and in our community.  There are times we turn from God only to find God calling us back.  Like Jonah, God wants to rescue us from the storms we experience in life.

So two things I would like to address this morning: 

First, how are we doing in handling the storms we encounter in our personal lives?  How are we doing, personally, in our relationship with God? 

Second, how are we doing as a church as a place where people go in times of distress? How are we doing as Christ’s church?    

II.                 Our Annual Spiritual – Personally

To use the image that parallels our going to the doctor for an annual physical, how are you doing spiritually?   In your relationship with God?

We want to be healthy!  Body and mind and soul, we want nothing more than to FEEL GOOD physically, mentally and spiritually.  How are you doing?

On the physical level a doctor might ask:  Are you feeling okay?  Are you eating a proper diet?  Are you taking care of yourself?  As we all grow and mature, we begin to face more and more health challenges.  Our annual physical helps us stay on track in being as healthy as we can possibly be.  What are some of the health challenges you face? 

On a spiritual level, some of the same questions can be asked.  How are you doing spiritually and in your relationship with God?  Are you using the spiritual resources God has put at your disposal?  Worship and prayer?  A sincere attempt to nurture a closer relationship with your Lord?  What about those times when you encounter storms and stresses in your life?  Are you calling upon God for help?        

The truth is a reality for most of us:  From time to time we experience various types of health challenges -- physically and spiritually.  There are times we feel like God has abandoned us….when in truth we are the ones, like Jonah, have failed to follow God.  Sometimes we’re just not as close to God as we would like to be. 

There are times in life when the storms come upon us.  Are we spiritually ready for these storms?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get swallowed by a whale!  I want to be prepared!

A friend of mine from Seminary, Shannon Webster, posted a picture this past week.  He is standing in front of a Hurricane Warning Sign.  The sign said:  Hurricane Evacuation Plan:  Grab a Beer!  Run like hell!

Do we grab the beer?  Run like hell?  Hide from the realities of the storms we encounter?  Do we sometimes follow the voice of people who sometimes offer horrible advice?  Running from problems or avoiding the storms in life doesn’t get us too far.  We usually end up feeling like we’ve been swallowed by a whale. 

While I am a bit biased as a pastor and preacher, I truly believe that “help is in our lord, who made heaven and heath, who gave us Jesus to walk with us through the storms in life.  I truly believe you can call upon your friends in the church in times of trouble.  As the psalmist says in this paraphrase (Ps 46):

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.  We should not fear when the mountains shake, the waters roar and foam, the earth trembles with its tumult…BE STILL and know the Lord of Hosts is with you.  The God of Jacob is your refuge.  God is with you.  God is with you.  God is with you!”  

Again, I am a tad-bit biased as a pastor:  I truly believe church is a good place to be when encountering various storms.   Church is a good place to be to place our struggles before God and those around us we can trust.

Next week I am going to continue on this theme in talking about “Wellspring of Prayer” that connects us with God in good times as well as challenging times in our lives.

III.  Annual Spiritual – The Church

To turn in another direction and these questions:

How are we doing as a church?

 Having weathered numerous storms through the years, how are we doing?  Facing storms with you in your lives, how are we doing as a church?  

The most obvious answer to these questions:  WE  ARE HERE!  The best report I can give you today:  THE WORLD OF STORMS AND WHALES ALL AROUND US HAVE NOT SWALLOWED US!  Further, I don’t see anyone in this church running away from church or Jesus or God!  We may have some battle scars from the 147 years of mission and ministry in this changing community, but we are okay.  We are as healthy as any church could be giving the challenges we must face as a church.

While storms of drugs and crime and blight have nearly destroyed the neighborhood around us, we are still here!  While the recession, more like a depression in this neighborhood, has impacted each and every one of us, we’re still afloat in doing Christ’s work.  We are blessed with the resources and resourcefulness to move forward in doing Christ’s work.  I can say with confidence, at least for now:  We re doing just fine!

Now this isn’t to say we don’t have our fair share of challenges.   Consider this short list – six challenges in all: 

First, it is challenging doing Christ’s work as a small membership church.  While we have a huge heart and seemingly tireless capacity for doing God’s work, there is only so much we can do with 96 members.  In reality, we are getting things done because about forty very active member are doing more than ever before to keep this church ‘out of the mouth of the whales’.  We are doing pretty well in setting priorities that focus clearly on doing those things that are truly important.  One of the reasons I believe we are healthy is because we don’t let ourselves get side-tracked in doing things we don’t truly value.  While we could always use more members, truth remains that we have a vital and active core of memberships who make this a vital and active and relevant church.

Second, in addition to being a small membership church we are a mature congregation.  Statistically the median age of Presbyterians nationally uis about 60.  I believe our number is closer to 70 in this church.  Our challenge is to find ways to use our collective experiences to plan for the future beyond where we are now.  The church means a lot to us now, but what about the future?

What about the future?  While it is hard to know what kind of church can be sustained in the future with a declining membership and a dwindling supply of resources, we still must keep our eyes focused on what we can become in serving our Lord.  For the sake of our children and grandchildren and the neighborhood around this church, we must find ways to continue building on the foundation established through our ancestors.  Perhaps the greatest gift we can give future generations is our persistence in NOT GIVING UP…BECAUSE IN TRUTH, GOD DOES NOT GIVE UP ON US!     

Third is the challenge related to the challenge of keeping our eyes focused on what we can become in the future is to continue searching for ways to do ministry outside traditional boundaries….like we have done in the past when the East Side Soup Kitchen was in our building;  with the youth programming we support in our building now.  We need to continue to envision and create new approaches to doing Christ’s work in collaborating with others.  We need to continue to explore finding people and groups and organizations who share our values to join with us in doing Christ’s work.  In short – we need new members.  And if we can’t grow our membership we need to find people and institutions willing to help us keep the ministries of this church moving forward….and in many ways we’ve already been doing this.

Fourth is the budget challenge.  The good news:  our budget is balanced.  The challenge:  There is very little wiggle room in this budget.  We have an endowment fund that continues to serve us well – nearly half of our annual budget comes from the endowment including monies from the principle.  It is true we could spend more of the endowments principle but we really can’t afford to do so without risking our ability to continue doing Christ’s work beyond at least another handful of years.  The challenge is in the question:  how can we grow our endowment fund?   Gifts from wills and estates?  Special gifts beyond what members and friends give to the church through tithes and offerings?  One thing you can know for sure:  We will continue to be diligent in managing our resources as stewards of all that God has entrusted our care.

Fifth, perhaps our greatest challenge:  THIS IS A WHALE OF A CHURCH BUILDING.  This is an expensive building to maintain.  At the same time this church building, next YOU OUR MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES, is our greatest asset.  Taking care of this building is not cheap!  A paramount challenge among all our challenges is finding ways to keep up with all the things that need to be done around this building—and a lot of what has to be done around this building costs lots of money.

Another reality because we are now a small-membership church:  We can’t always keep asking the same people to do all the work.  We need to find creative ways to match our needs with resources knowing that our resources are limited. 

I guess I am saying this:  If anyone would like to help us by joining our facilities team…..any of our ministry teams…..let me know.

Sixth, and this is more an affirmation than a challenge!  We thoroughly enjoy being a Christ-Centered biblically oriented church.  We enjoying being the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church.  We enjoy worship.  We value our fellowship.  The things we do together is the glue that holds things together.  We don’t run away from God.   While the whales of financial challenges and small membership as an aging congregation may swallow us up, this just isn’t going to happen…at least not yet – not on my watch!  To put this another way, we’re not going to give up on god….because God never  gives up on us!

 

IV. CONCLUSIONS

To say this again, what satisfies me the most as pastor of this church, are the things we do together—the things we enjoy doing together—serving our Lord.   The work is hard.  The challenges are great.  The rewards we receive from God are greater than all of our efforts combined. 

We are a healthy.  We are a spiritually rich.  We’re enthusiastic about the things we are doing.  We look forward to worship and church dinners.  We enjoy sharing God’s love with others in this community.  We are having fun being Christ’s church.

But back to where I started:  How are you?  Where are you in your relationship with God?  It is our goal as a church to keep you spiritually healthy.  Our strengths and joy in serving God come from placing our lives in the hands of God….and when you are healthy the church is healthy.

So I close with some brief statements to contemplate in our personal lives as we contemplate our personal relationship with God….also contemplating our health as Christ’s church: 

From our Brief Statement of Faith:  “In life and death we belong to God!”  

From our Constitution, “We will do our work even at risk of losing our life.”

From the Westminster Catechism:  “Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy God forever!”

Finally, trusting in God alone , the author and giver of life, we have hope in the future.  The healthy things we do in our personal lives and as Christ’s church beyond ourselves is the foundation of this hope.

May God bless you and keep you….and surround us in this church in love and peace.

AMEN.   

VICTORY

VICTORY

January 29, 2012

© Thomas B. Cundiff

                                                                       

Micah 6: 6-8

What God Requires

6“With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

I Corinthians 15: 51-58

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,^* but we will all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
⁵⁵ ‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  58 Therefore, my beloved,^* be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

John 3:16

¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

I.  INTRODUCTION

For as long as I can remember I have promoted what is called the “Ecumenical Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.”   This year the ‘Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the World Council of Churches’ has come up with this theme:

“We will be Changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is a powerful statement.  In what ways does God change or transform us by the victory over the death of the physical body of our Lord Jesus Christ?   My goal this morning is to dig into this question that points directly to god’s promise of Eternal Life.[i]

II.   PAUL AND UNITY THROUGH CHRIST

I Corinthians is prolific when it comes to Paul’s teaching the ‘doctrine of the resurrection from physical death.”   If you find yourself wondering what happens after death, read the entire chapter 15 of  I Corinthians.  What’s important for us to understand is the fact this has always been a difficult concept to understand. 

A secondary theme is also developed as we read Paul’ letter to the Corinth community.

From the outset, Paul appeals to the Corinthians “that all of you be in agreement, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose”  (I:10)   Paul wants unity and peace in the ranks!   Paul writes help followers of Jesus Christ come to a unified understanding of Jesus’ resurrection.  The last thing Paul wanted was for people to be divided into factions. 

This sounds like some of what is happening in the modern church….progressives fighting with moderates who are disagreeing with conservatives.  Clearly one of Paul’s chief purposes in writing this letter is to call this community back to unity in face of their divisions.  This is why it is so important for Paul to place an emphasis in the imagery:  WE ARE THE ONE UNITED BODY OF CHRIST.     We have different gifts but it is the same spirit that unites us.  We have different perspectives on issues of the day, but it is the same spirit that brings us together as ONE.   Victory known through Jesus’ resurrection from death is the one common and transformative bond that unites us together and makes us ONE.

We are all one in Jesus Christ who lived

 and died and rose from death.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, victory over death is achieved!

III.  GOD’S TRANSFORMING POWER

It is clear for me in reading Paul’s letter that Jesus’ resurrection isn’t questioned or doubted.  The community that saw Jesus suffer and die and rise from death believe in his resurrection.  The real and more challenging question these people were asking is  whether they too will be raised.  This is perhaps our question as well!  Will we too be raised from death?  Jesus rose from death -- what about me?  How am I to believe the promise that God will give me eternal life?

Consider the logic of this thesis described by Dr. Hooke from the Virginia Theological Seminary in writing for the Graymore Institute:

“If death is our final and most potent enemy, then nowhere is God’s power more fully manifest than in the raising of the dead-in the raising of Jesus Christ, as the first fruits of those who have died, and in the raising of all humankind as belonging to him.” [ii]  

I like this concept!  The purist of all gifts from God ‘s – God’s Grace – is found in death.  The resurrection from death to live eternally with God is the definitive, authoritative and unsurpassable promise that unites us together as Christians.

As we know all too well, death is not something we can control.  We never know when God is going to call us home.  At the same time the one thing we can know for sure, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, is the promise that we too will be raised from death to live eternally with God.

Paul says in 15:51: 

“Listen, I will tell you a mystery…we will all be changed.”

Paul is pointing toward the ultimate miracle that defines our existence beyond the grave.  God has the power to raise us and receive us to himself – eternally – well beyond anything we can anticipate or imagine.  Belief in eternal life is something we are called to accept through Jesus’ death and resurrection – through faith that God promises for each of us the same.  Death is swallowed up in Jesus’ factory over death.  

IV. ETERNAL LIFE IS GOD’S GIFT

Digging deeper into what Paul is saying to us (from Dr. Hooke) two important points for us to consider.

First point, eternal life is a gift – a gift from God. Not our efforts but through the grace of almighty God we receive the promise of eternal life.  For example, if sin divides us, then only God can conquer sin.  Only God, through Jesus Christ, can give us forgiveness.  Every week we affirm this principle in worship following our prayers of confession – from the Book of Common Worship:

1.    “May the God of mercy, who forgives you all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.”

2.    “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ came into the world to rescue sinners, he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin, and alive to all that is good.  I declare to you in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.”

3.    “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old life has gone;  a new life has begun.  Know that you are forgiven and be at peace.”

All of these declarations say simply, (1) In Christ;  (2) your sins are forgiven;  (3) God will keep us in eternal life.  Simply, the promise of God known to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection is a believable promise for each of us who place our lives – our souls – in the hands of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

V.  MICAH

The second point or principle found in our text is acting on our profession that victory is ours through Jesus Christ.  Eternal life is ours through our professing our faith in Jesus. 

This is where I find a good fit with our scripture from the prophet Micah.  There are things we need to act on to demonstrate our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.  It is one thing to say we profess to believe in Jesus Christ.  We must also act upon this profession.

From Micah 6:8 from the Old Testament says:

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Briefly, some illustrations on acting on our profession of faith in Jesus Christ:

To do justice. In a world and a nation where the gap is growing daily between the rich and the poor;  where war and rumors of a new conflict with Iran is on the horizon -- God expects us as faithful Christians to be doers of justice in prophetically calling for the things that make for justice and peace.  We are called to be proactive in making this a better world in which to live.  

To love kindness. We need to “talk the talk” in calling for a world of justice and peace,  We also need to “walk the walk” as we relate to one another with kindness and compassion.  When there are divisions or disagreements we are called to listen, compromise, and look for common ground in working for peace.  We are called to treat each other with respect and kindness, even when we disagree.  We are called to embrace all that it means to be kind.

The third principle expounded by the prophet Micah is to walk humbly with God.  We must recognize we are dependent on Christ who unites us together.  United in Christ we are given the strength to live out the God’s call for justice and compassion and peace.  We must humbly ask for what only Christ can give us through his death and resurrection – the promise of eternal life.

VI.  REVIEW

To review the points I have made this morning:

1.    Eternal life is a gift from God…..received through Jesus life and suffering and death and resurrection.  God forgives us.  God has mercy on us.  God unites us as ONE under this promise of eternal life.

2.    We are therefore called to profess faith in Jesus Christ acknowledging the promises of God are for each of us.  Victory is ours uniting us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

3.   We are called to act on what we profess to believe.  From Micah we are called to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God!

And finally, there is room for everyone in God’s plan for victory over death – and an eternal relationship with God.

Today, may God touch our hearts in knowing victory is ours….through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Eternal life is a free and gracious gift from God. 

John says so beautifully:  GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, JESUS THE LIVING CHRIST, THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM MAY NOT PERISH BUT MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

AMEN

                                                                                         

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[i]   Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute provides resources for worship and sermons.  Dr. Ruthanna B. Hooke from the Virginia Theological Seminary provides most of the Homiletic resources I am using in my message this morning.  Permission has been granted to use these resources.

[ii]   Ibid