Unbinding chURch · hear some words about God’s love? Someone like the Ethiopian eunuch. He is an African man with an important job that came at a high price. Most likely, he had

Unbinding

Martha grace Reese

yourchURch

Steps & Sermons

Sermons by dawn darwin Weaks

Pastor’s GuideReal Life Evangelism Series

Unbinding Your Church

Sermons for the E-vent@Your Church

By Rev. Dawn Darwin Weaks

Formatted for preaching

These sermons are licensed for use, in whole or in part, by purchasers of Unbinding Your Church

(See Licensure Agreement on next page.)

Title/Week Page

Introductory Sermon: “The Baptism Barrier” 4 Week 1: “The Paul Problem” 11 Week 2: “The Prayer Plunge” 18 Week 3: “The Converted Community” 26 Week 4: “Catalytic Conversations” 33 Week 5: “Healing Hospitality” 39 Week 6: “Faith Focus” 45

NOTE: Sermons work best when they FOLLOW the groups' study of each chapter. Pastors - be anchormen & women, don't try to lead the congregation into this material.

Licensing Agreement

The Unbinding the Gospel Series WILL change the way you think and practice evangelism IF you follow the guidelines, steps, and timetable contained in the books. We strongly recommend that you purchase a copy of Unbinding Your Church for:

• each pastor in your congregation • the E-vent Coordinator • the Prayer Team Coordinator • your Small Groups Coordinator

Each of these key participants must have all the tools contained in these books to plan and organize a smooth and effective all-church study.

Purchasers of Unbinding Your Church are licensed to make as many

copies as they need of the introduction and specific chapters of this book for all team members, small group leaders, office staff and musicians for one E-vent in your specific congregation – see chart on p. 41). Copying the book in its entirety is a violation of this agreement.

As a purchaser of this book, you are licensed to download one free

copy of seven complete sample sermons and a full set of organizational forms from www.GraceNet.info. You may use the sermons for your E-vent in any way you wish, including preaching them verbatim. We have made these materials available online so that we could format them in a larger size, add color-coding and keep the price of the book low and accessible to everyone! Your password to access these downloads is printed on page 82.

Introductory Sermon: “The Baptism Barrier”

Acts 8:26-37

Have you ever thought of yourself as an evangelist? You know, an

evangelist. Someone like this deacon named Philip in today's Scripture

reading. Someone who shares the gospel with people who don’t know

about Jesus. Have you thought of yourself as someone who tells others

about Jesus?

I'm betting that shockwaves just went through your body. Very few of

us warm to the word evangelism. It seems to either make us feel guilty

because we're not doing it, or turn us off because there's no way we would

ever want to do it. A very large study has just been done on evangelism in

churches like ours. The conclusive finding was that the vast majority of

people would rather go get a root canal than talk about, much less DO,

evangelism. For the last forty years, most churches have been in decline.

It seems we’ve developed a life-threatening aversion to evangelism! Right

now, at this very minute, you may want to put your fingers in your ears and

sing “la, la, la.” Anything to drown out the “E” word!

Why do so many of us have such a visceral reaction to evangelism?

There are all kinds of reasons why not much evangelism is happening in

most congregations. I'll give you some of my own reasons. I don't want to

be anything close to the stereotype that comes to my mind when I think of

an "evangelist."

I don't want to have fake eyelashes or big hair

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 4 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Introductory Sermon – “The Baptism Barrier” Page 1 of 7

or bilk people out of their money.

Nor do I want to offend people by pressuring them with rhetoric

about where they'll spend eternity.

Besides that, I wonder sometimes what business I have telling people

what they ought to be doing or believing. I have enough trouble in my own

life doing and believing what I should.

I'd rather just do the best I can,

being the best Christian I can be,

and hope that is a good enough witness to others.

After all, St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times.

Use words if necessary.” I do fine talking faith language with you here at

church. But when I’m with people who aren’t churchgoers, words fail. I

flounder. I hope words aren’t necessary.

But what happens when we meet someone who obviously needs to

hear some words about God’s love? Someone like the Ethiopian eunuch.

He is an African man with an important job that came at a high price. Most

likely, he had been castrated at some point in his life so that he could serve

the queen of Ethiopia. That why he's called a "eunuch." He was unable to

be married or have children. Religious law kept him from participating in

worship services. Yet, somehow, he had heard of God and wanted to know

more about God. What do you do when you don't think of yourself as an

evangelist but you come across someone like this man?

Someone who bears deep wounds inflicted by the world . . .

Someone who is not welcomed by traditional religion . . .


Someone who looks successful but feels empty . . .

Someone who is searching for God,

searching for something besides what he has . . .

Someone who needs to hear about God’s love.

Someone like Rick. Rick was a successful businessman. He came

to one of our sister churches in the “Bible belt” of this country. He came

because he saw an ad they had placed on TV. The minister of the church

had been opposed to putting ads for a church on television. "Only

fundamentalist mega-churches do that," he'd said. "It costs too much

anyway. We should be using that money for caring for the poor. Besides,"

he'd said, "What kind of people pick their church from ads on television?"

But the church did it anyway. They got dozens of visitors who had

never before been to any church in their lives. One of them was Rick. Rick

brought his 8-year-old son, Andy, to church one Sunday. The children's

Sunday school happened to be studying Esther that day, and Andy was

part of the class. Monday morning the minister got a call from Rick. "My

son is so excited about this story he heard at church," he said. "He said the

story is from the 'book of Esther.' Can you tell me where I can get a copy of

that book? I want to read it to him at home. Can I buy it at Barnes and

Noble or somewhere?'" Rick, a college graduate and successful

businessman, had never owned a Bible. He had no idea that Esther is a

book in the Bible.

Does it shock you that you can grow up in this country and not know

that Esther is a book in the Bible? This is increasingly true. In 1910 only


3% of Americans were growing up with no faith training, but in the 1980s

14.5% were growing up with no faith training. And the number of people

coming to adulthood in the U.S. with no faith training at all continues to

increase. In our own community, in this very zip code where our church is

located, the latest demographic study shows that ________ of our

neighbors have no religious identity. They are not Muslim, Jewish,

Buddhist, or Christian. They are not connected religiously at all.

[You may be able to get this information from www.link2lead, from your

judicatory office, or from a census available through your City Hall or

Chamber of Commerce.]

"What is to prevent me from being baptized?" the Ethiopian man

asked. That’s a good question. For people like Rick, the obstacle to being

baptized, to becoming a Christian, is simply that no one has ever told them

about God. Let me say that again. No one has ever told them about God.

Friends, I wonder if we are preventing people from hearing about God. Are

we keeping people from hearing about God’s love? Are we constructing

barriers between the gospel and the people who desperately need to hear it?

Is our fear of being like a stereotype a barrier?

Is our lack of confidence in ourselves a barrier?

Is our desire to give people their "space"

about religion a barrier?

Could it be that for many people like Rick, we are actually preventing

them from knowing more about God? Are we keeping people from

becoming followers of Jesus Christ?

You know how tight lids on water bottles can be sometimes? These


http://www.link2lead/

grip things help so much. [Hold one up] Can you imagine sitting there

with one of these in your hand, keeping it to yourself, while someone, even

someone you don't know, struggles to get to that water? Of course not!

You would gladly share what you had to make things better for someone

else. You wouldn't just keep it to yourself if someone needed it! But this is

exactly what the church does when we do not share the gospel with those

in need. We sit with the keys to the waters of baptism in our hands.

Meanwhile, neighbors around us are desperately thirsty to know that God

loves them through Jesus Christ. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Maybe that is easier said than done. It certainly seems that Philip

had it easier than we do. After all, the Spirit of God seemingly transported

him to the Ethiopian man's side and compelled him to share the gospel! It

seems like all Philip did was show up and God did the rest. If we were to

be evangelists, do you think it would it be like that for us? How could we

partner with God? How could we be authentic to who we are, not trying to

be some stereotype or push something over on someone? How would the

Spirit work with us? Where would the Spirit of God send us?

Who would be on our pathway?

Friends, I invite you to come on a spiritual adventure with me. What

would it look like for us to be evangelists? This is what we'll be exploring

together as a church for 6 weeks, starting _____________. [Give

specifics of your E-vent here] You are invited to pray, to study, to

question, and to think about how God might be sending us out to share the

gospel of Jesus Christ. As a church, we will be reading the short book,

Unbinding Your Heart. It came out of the study I mentioned earlier. Today


in your bulletin there are sign-up sheets for the small groups that are

forming now. We will use these groups for prayer and discussion. You will

be spiritually encouraged and intellectually stimulated in these groups. You

can even participate in an online group! Together, we will be inviting God

to show us what it would look like for us to become evangelists. What

would it be like for us to share God’s love in our own unique way?

A family told me about one of the most memorable Christmases they

ever had. It was the last Christmas they spent at their grandparents' house.

The grandfather had Parkinson's disease. Soon, they would move to an

assisted living center. It had been their family's tradition to gather around

the Christmas tree and listen to the granddad read the Christmas story from

Luke. This year, when Granddad tried to read, he could barely move his

Parkinson’s-locked jaws. He just couldn’t manage to speak the words

aloud. The family sat there and watched him struggle. No one seemed to

know what to do. Should they say something? Would it hurt his pride if

someone helped him?

No one did anything for what seemed to be a very long time. But

Emily, the 6-year-old granddaughter, had just learned to read. She knew

exactly what to do. She quietly tiptoed over to his chair and plopped herself

beside him. Then, taking his finger into her hand, she helped him point to

each word, saying them out loud with him as they read along together:

“Unto you

is born this day

a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.”


"Do you know what you're reading?" Philip asked the Ethiopian

eunuch. The man nearly begged, "How can I unless someone guides me?"

So Phillip went

and sat beside him.

Who will God lead you to sit beside?


Sermon #1 “The Paul Problem”

Acts 9:1-19

I have always been jealous of people who have a dramatic

conversion story. Some people, like the apostle Paul, have a clear "before

and after" testimony of how Jesus Christ has made a difference in their

lives. The apostle Paul, known as Saul in this story, did not start out as a

fan of Jesus. He thought Jesus and his followers were heretics that needed

to be run out of town. But after Jesus appeared to Paul, everything

changed. When Ananias put his hands on Paul’s eyes, a whole new world

opened for Paul. Suddenly,

Paul saw grace.

He saw freedom.

He saw forgiveness.

He saw a whole world of people who needed the gospel.

Paul’s new faith in Christ sent his life in a brand new direction.

Instead of being an enemy of Jesus, he was an envoy for Jesus. He told

crowds of people about the gospel. He wrote most of our New Testament.

He was a new man. Paul knew what a difference it made in his life to be a

Christian.

It's not necessarily so clear to most of us who grew up in church.

Asking us what difference being a Christian makes in our lives is like asking

us what it means to us to be able to eat three meals a day. Christian faith

is that natural to us. Trying to talk about it is difficult because there's not a

definitive before and after. It's been with us all our lives. Most of us can't

remember the first time we knew God loved us. We can't recall the first

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 11 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 1 – “The Paul Problem” Page 1 of 7

time we heard about Jesus. We've always known about baby Jesus in the

manger. The smell of Easter lilies isn't just a beautiful smell in the florist

shop. It's the holy smell of Easter morning, our hands tucked into our Dad's

hands, grinning up at Mom in her beautiful new dress. It’s hard to articulate

what we've always been, what we've always known.

Those of us who have grown up in church may feel somewhat inferior

to people like Paul who have a dramatic testimony to tell. It makes sense

that we rarely share what our faith means to us. We don't know what we

would say! We have the “Paul Problem.”

We think that we have to have a story like Paul’s to have a “real”

testimony. We think to be able to tell someone about our faith, we need a

riveting “I was lost, but now I’m found” kind of tale to tell. Since we don’t

have a powerful before and after story, we think we don’t have a faith story

at all!

So we clam up about our faith.

We don’t say anything.

Even pastors have a hard time with this. In Unbinding your Heart,

Martha Grace Reese writes about a group of pastors she took on a retreat.

She asked these pastors what difference being a Christian made to them.

She says it was extremely, painfully quiet for a l-o-n-g time. Just silence for

a very l-o-n-g time. Finally, one pastor said, hesitantly,

"Because it makes me a better person ???" -

Surely there’s more we can say than that! But putting words to our

faith is hard for many of us. Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 12 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 1 – “The Paul Problem” Page 2 of 7

Would you use your imagination with me? Imagine that you do not go

to church on Sundays. Ever. Imagine that you do not know any hymns or

Christian songs.

Imagine that you do not know any Scripture.

You don’t know even the simplest Bible stories.

Imagine that you are not sure if God hears you when you pray,

or what words you should use to pray.

Imagine that you don’t know whom to call to pray for you.

Imagine that you don't know how God feels towards you.

What if you didn’t have a church family?

What if you didn’t even know that God exists?

Imagine.

Now I ask you, What does being a Christian mean to you?

(Name of “Show and Tell”) agreed to tell you his/her answer to that

question. [Do “Show and Tell” here.]

Once we get clear about what being a Christian means to us, it's

more natural to share our faith with others. We can tell our friends who

don’t go to church about our faith because we know what it means to us.

Think of our motivation for sharing our faith like filling up a pitcher. [Get

out a bowl or pitcher of water, an empty pitcher, and a water cup.]

Many Christians are highly motivated to share their faith because they

believe you must be a Christian to go to heaven. But surely this isn’t the

only motivation for sharing our faith! Going to heaven is a big motivation for

being a Christian, but it does not have to be our only one. As one new Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 13 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 1 – “The Paul Problem” Page 3 of 7

Christian said, "Okay, my soul is saved for when I die, but what do I do

about my life now?"

You’ve just heard some pretty powerful motivations to share your faith

from our interview. And maybe you’re aware of some of your own

motivations. Motivations like, "I have comfort from my church." [Fill up

pitcher a little.] "I feel a purpose in my life.” [Fill it up a little more.]

"I get direction from the Bible." [Fill up more.] "I don't ever feel alone."

[Fill up a little more.] "I have hope that everything will turn out alright one

day." [Fill up again.] “I am a part of God’s work in the world.” [Fill up to

the top.] All of these fill us up so that we are overflowing. We are

motivated to share with others because we know what a difference Jesus

Christ makes in our own lives, right here and right now!

There are a whole lot of people living in various kinds of hell right

here on earth. People like Saul, who had just lost his eyesight. He had

been sitting in total darkness for three days. He is so distraught he can't

eat or drink. He's probably wondering if God was about to zap him for

rejecting Jesus and his followers. Meanwhile, Jesus is working on a guy

named Ananias. Ananias was a reluctant evangelist if there ever was one.

He had every right to be. Saul was the last person he would have ever tried

to tell about Jesus. Saul had been a part of the killing of the first Christian

martyr. Christians were running scared because "Saul was breathing

threats against them." Saul was an unlikely candidate for evangelism.

So were the prostitutes that loitered on the corner of First Church in

Florida. Most people in the congregation were upper-middle class,

African-Americans who had been in church all their lives. They were not


happy that the neighborhood was changing. They were really not happy

about the prostitution that was creeping into their parking lot. They

grumbled over the cigarette butts by the sanctuary steps. They worried

about the "bad P.R." the church was getting.

It never would have occurred to anyone that the women hanging out

on the corners were candidates for evangelism. Candidates for jail, yes,

but not candidates for evangelism! Not in their beloved church!

But one day, a faithful church member, a retired school teacher, left

choir practice on a Wednesday. She saw one of the prostitutes, leaning

against a lamppost. Singing. Right by the member’s parked Camry. She

felt pushed by the Spirit she couldn’t find other words for it to go talk

to this woman in the pink leather hot pants.

“Hi. My name is Mary. I was just singing with my choir in there. You

have a beautiful voice.”

“Yeah, I love singin’,” the young woman mumbled. “I’m Sheena.”

“Sheena, you ought to be singing for the Lord you want to come to

sing with me in my choir?” That sweet church member almost fainted as

she heard the words come out of her mouth! But Sheena finally said yes.

She showed up on the corner the next Wednesday before choir practice.

Mary took her in. Sheena did have a beautiful voice.

With the encouragement of the church,

with tutoring from Mary, her dear new, retired school teacher friend,

Sheena got her GED.

She went to college!

She finished medical school.


Now, that former prostitute runs a medical clinic. Out of her church.

What motivated Mary to talk to Sheena? What possessed her to go

into that prostitute's personal hell and walk her out? Maybe it was what

motivated Ananias to go talk to Saul. We don’t know anything about

Ananias’ conversion story. Maybe he led a pretty ordinary existence up to

this point. Maybe, like us, he didn’t have a dramatic story to tell about his

faith. At least, not until now! The Lord Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision

and tells him to go visit Saul. This is a powerful moment of truth for

Ananias. Will he go talk to Paul? Why would he? Look at the ninth chapter

of Acts, the 15th verse.

Why does Ananias go talk to Paul about Jesus? First, Jesus told him

to go. Obedience to Christ is a major motivation. Yet, I hate to admit it, I

sometimes need more than that. Just because I know I should do

something doesn’t mean I will. Look at the 15th verse again. Jesus gives

Ananias another motivation. Something besides “because I said so.”

Jesus says, "Saul is an instrument I have chosen." Jesus had plans for

Saul. Jesus needed Saul for the ministry of God. And Jesus needed

Ananias to reach Saul.

Ananias gets to be a part of what God is doing in the world. He is a

key player in God’s plan to get the gospel out.

He gets to be the domino that tips another person into God’s love.

He gets to be the hands of God that heal someone’s pain.

He gets to be the light that shines on Saul’s dim path.

He gets to do something for God that only he can do.

He gets to be a part of God’s redemption of the world.


Now, that’s some motivation!

Not guilt . . .

Not, “because I should” . . .

Not, “because it makes me a better person ???” Not some begrudging obedience . . .

Just a sheer, passionate desire to be a part of what God wants to do

in the world. Ananias had the opportunity to make a difference in the world

by going where God sent him. Verse 17 tells us, "So Ananias went."

The Paul Problem has an Ananias Answer. No extraordinary story

needed. All you need is an ordinary willingness to see what God can do

through you.


Sermon #2

“The Prayer Plunge” Luke 5:1-10

The Spirit of God is moving in our church. A lot of you have told me

stories of the Spirit working as you talk about what’s happening with your

small groups, your prayer exercises, and reading the book Unbinding Your

Heart. If you're a guest today, you have come into a church that is on an

exciting adventure with God. We just started the E-vent! We're spending 6

weeks together inviting God to change us in any way that God wants to.

Do you want to join us? Anyone—we invite you to join a small group.

You can still sign up by filling out the form in your bulletin and putting it in

the offering plate. And hop into the on-line discussions, too!

In the last two weeks we've acknowledged that mainline Christians

are rapidly declining in number and influence in our country. We've

admitted our own reluctance to bring new people into Christian faith. We've

explored why it makes a difference in our lives that we are Christians. We

considered what our motivations might be for sharing the Christian faith

with people who don't have a faith.

This week, we're going to look at what makes faith sharing effective.

Ready?

We church people work hard. We’re masters at hard work! We do

CROP walks and Habitat projects. If you’ve been around churches for a

while, you’d never be surprised to hear a story of a small church putting on

a garage sale that raises four or five thousand dollars for missions. We

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 18 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 2 – “The Prayer Plunge” Page 1 of 8

publicize the sale, we clear out our closets, haul them over to church, sort

them, label them, display them, etc., etc., etc.

Then we drag ourselves home, exhausted! And again the next day.

And the next day! We know church people. We know we’re determined,

committed, hard workers for the Lord. Churches sure aren’t shrinking

because we’re lazy!

Not that you'd know it from many pastors' sermons! I’m cringing here,

as I think about all the times I’ve preached at you about commitment,

about rising to the challenge,

about trying harder for Jesus.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry because many of you are already hiking and climbing

as hard and fast as you can. And I’ve just helped load up your backpack of

guilt with a few more stones! And you keep toiling up that hill, carrying

even more weight! I will try not to do it again!

I wonder if that heavy, guilty, backpack feel is what Simon Peter and

the other disciples felt when Jesus gave one of my work-harder-work-

harder!! sermons. Jesus said, "Put out into the deep water and let out your

nets (again!)" And Simon groaned, "We’ve already been fishing. We didn’t

catch anything! But if you say so . . ." So they pulled up the anchor and

headed back out to the deep water, this time with Jesus as a fishing partner.

Into the deep waters . . . into the deep waters with Jesus. That’s

scary if we don’t know how. A friend of mine said that learning to scuba

dive was one of the scariest things she’d ever done. You have to jump off

the boat and into really deep water. She said it was terrifying. Every Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 19 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 2 – “The Prayer Plunge” Page 2 of 8

muscle tensed, her jaw clenched and she is sure that she burned up a

candy bar’s worth of calories every time she tried it! You waste a lot of

energy as you learn. And then the switch flipped! She discovered — All you

have to do is relax, breathe, and trust the water to buoy you up! All the

frantic kicking and thrashing around, all the trying so hard, all the

conscientious striving doesn’t get us as far as relaxing. As trusting.

Trusting the water to hold you up is a little like learning to fish with

Jesus. We are working hard at doing a lot of good things.

But are we doing the God-things?

Are we experiencing the peace and trust God intends for us,

or are we just tensing up and kicking too hard?

How’s our fishing going so far?

Jesus wants these men to join him in his work for God. He’ll soon

invite them to become “fishers of people.” But before he signs them up for

employment with God, it seems that he wants to be sure they “get”

something. He wants them to know that if they’re going to be effective in

this new work, they will have to follow his guidance. They will have to have

him along. When St. Luke wrote this story down, it was for a church that

was working very hard to pass the gospel on to the next generation.

Maybe, in just a few decades after Jesus’ physical presence, the church

had started getting tired with all the work they were doing. Maybe their

efforts weren’t producing like they once did. St. Luke gives them, and us,

this story to remind us. Hard work alone doesn’t cut it. Only going to the


deep waters with Jesus will be effective. Only trusting Christ’s guidance

will produce real results for the church.

Prayer is one way to go into the deep waters with Jesus. Prayer is

the most effective way I know to hear and heed Christ’s guidance. Now, it’s

not that we don’t pray as a church. But I suspect we work a lot more than

we pray. We pray before our church meetings. But how many times do we

meet to pray? How many times has the church council spent all of its

meeting time praying? The elders? The deacons? What could God do

through us if we spent half of our meeting times in prayer? I’m starting to

get nervous just standing up here saying those words. I can feel myself

tensing up. I’m going to start kicking too hard and hyperventilating into the

mouthpiece that connects me to my air tank!

What wouldn’t get done if we prayed more?

What could God get done through us if we prayed more?

In the book we're reading together, Martha Grace Reese tells about a

church that tried prayer as the meetings rather than just before meetings.

Three high-energy, go-getter women were the new evangelism committee

for Benton Street Church. They were fired up to do great things for God

that year. They brought in Reese as a consultant to get some direction

about what they could do first. A calling campaign? A bring-a-friend

Sunday? Maybe direct mail marketing? No, the consultant said. Not that.

Not yet. She told them to pray for three months before they did a thing!!!

The evangelism committee at Benton Street was looking for activity,

for hard work, for something to do! But instead, Reese told them to stand


still and pray. Stand still for three months!!! Prayer is a different kind of

hard work, of course. Most of us don't know how to do it, at least not for

very- long. But this evangelism committee learned. They prayed together

for one hour every week. At board meeting, when it was their turn to report,

they would say, "We're still praying. She’s making us do it. We’re just

praying." People giggled. Then board members started giving them prayer

requests. After three months of "doing nothing but praying," interest in

evangelism had skyrocketed. By the end of the year, 65 people were helping

with evangelism. New visitors came in droves. Twice as many people were

baptized as the year before, twice as many babies were dedicated.

Sounds like what our Scripture text says. Look at the fifth chapter of

Luke, verse 6: "When they had done what Jesus commanded, they caught

so many fish that their nets were beginning to break!" Apparently, going

back into the deep waters with Jesus makes a difference. Prayer

expresses our willingness to do what Jesus wants us to do. Prayer

prepares us to be effective in whatever work we do for Jesus. Prayer helps

make room for the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Spirit, instead of our

flustered kicking, provides the power!

So let's try it. Some of you already have prayer as a part of your daily

life. Many of us do not. But we can all grow in prayer. And so can our

church.

For the next month, let's pray as a church

like we’ve never prayed before.

Will you pray with us for this next month? You are already using the

"40 Days of Prayer" guide if you are in one of our small groups. If not, join

one! You can get your copy of Unbinding Your Heart, which includes the


prayer journal, right outside the sanctuary. See the E-vent Small Group

Schedule and Sign-up Sheet in ________

[specifics of how to join a group here]

We're also going to pray right now, as a congregation. Yes, right here

in the middle of a sermon. Let’s put our money where our mouths are.

Let’s pray, not just talk about thinking about maybe drifting towards

praying . . . sometime pretty soon.

Since you've been praying with Unbinding your Heart for a couple of

weeks, this will be easy! First, fish the Post-ItTM note out of your bulletin.

Got it? I want you to hold it while you pray. I’m going to explain this first,

then we’ll all pray together. Okay? Hold your Post-ItTM note. First we’ll sit

quietly and breathe slowly. First, ask God whom to pray for. This is

important because many of us have our own agendas when we pray. This

time, ask God for whom to pray. As soon as God gives you a person or a

situation, imagine them shrunk down so they’ll fit into your hands, right in

the middle of your Post-ItTM note. Hold whomever God puts into your

hands and pray for them. I’ll say Amen at the end. All right? Any questions?

Everyone got it?

Okay, gently breathe and let's start. [Pause for two minutes.] Amen.

How was that? Thank you for your willingness. What an amazing

church to try something out of the ordinary like that! Now write the initials of

the person you were led to pray for on this Post-it stone. Right outside the

sanctuary is a prayer wall. Our youth made it! The kids will be there after

worship to help you put your post-it up on the wall. Maybe you’ll want to


add some other notes, or update this one, next week, and the week after.

What’s most important is that you keep praying for whomever, or whatever,

God has asked you to pray.

You know, a lot of us know we should be praying more but we don't.

We think we don't have the time. We think there are other important things

that must be done. We want to be responsible and get the "to do " list

done before we take the luxury of prayer. Today, I'm giving you permission.

Let’s be less responsible to the world and more responsive to God. I

don't mind if all the Stuff doesn’t get done during this month. Things can

slide a little as long as you're spending time praying instead. You heard

me. The church's grass may not get mowed. As long as you're praying

instead, for one month, that is okay by me! Let’s agree among ourselves.

We are going to make prayer our priority for four more weeks. Then we’ll

see what God has done with us

. . . and through us.

I believe God will start doing some amazing things with us during this time.

I don't know what it will be . . .

Maybe new visitors . . .

maybe a new unity . . .

maybe old wounds healed.

Most likely it will be something we never imagined. I believe making room

for prayer always brings new blessing.

But here’s the catch: If we're anything like those totally human

disciples of the New Testament, we may not be ready for big blessings! Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 24 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 2 – “The Prayer Plunge” Page 7 of 8

Like them, our response to whatever great thing God does will be, "We're

not worthy!" After Simon sees what success Jesus has given him, he falls

to his knees. He says to Jesus, "Go away, Lord! I don't deserve this!" If

we go deep with Jesus, we might find ourselves in deep water! We may

have the same reaction. We might feel ourselves resisting the blessings

God wants to bring us. We might want to bury our heads and ask God to

go away.

Maybe we're not sure God should do something in our lives. We

don't feel worthy for God to use us.

Maybe we’re afraid of the change in our lives if God did do something

in us. How’s your future mapped out?

Peter went from fisherman to traveling preacher.

Maybe some of us don’t really believe God can do anything new.

Let’s face it. Staying on the familiar treadmill is a lot less scary than going

deep with Jesus.

But Jesus says to Simon, "Fear not. From now on, we'll be catching

people for God." Then these hard working fishermen

parked their boats

and their fish

and their nets right there on the shore.

They left their work and followed him.

In this next month, let’s leave our work and pray like we’ve never

prayed before. Let’s go back into the deep waters with Jesus.


Sermon #3 “The Converted Community”

Acts 2:14, 32-39

I am so proud of the way our church is living out our commitment to

God through this E-vent. Wow! If you're a guest today, you have come to a

church that is on an incredible journey with God. We're asking how God

wants to transform us spiritually to be a growing community of faith. Today,

we're exploring together the three relationships that must be healthy for our

church to be all God wants us to be.

The story of Pentecost boggles our minds to this day. As the Bible

tells the story in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes and touches all of the

disciples. They suddenly are able to speak in different languages. Many

people, 3000 the text says, get baptized and start following Jesus that day.

The miraculous stuff of this story steals the show. It's usually what

we focus on when we think of this story. But there's something more

ordinary going on that we need to see. In the midst of all the hubbub, in

the middle of the bold signs of God's presence, something is quietly

happening that is essential to the story. Look closely.

The wind, the flames, the speaking in tongues bewilder the crowds

gathered. Wouldn't you be? This stuff might scare us more than thrill us.

Peter overhears some of the crowd talking. He realizes that they don't

understand what is happening.

So he stood up to explain. That is no longer remarkable to those of

us who have grown up in the church because we have read this text so Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 26 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 3 – “The Converted Community” Page 1 of 7

many times. But there is something extraordinary happening here. Have

you ever wondered: how could Peter stand there and preach like that after

what he had done? What nerve! What gall!

How could he stand? Just before Jesus was killed, Peter promised to

stick with Jesus through thick and thin. But as soon as Jesus was arrested,

he told people he didn’t even know Jesus! Then Peter totally abandoned

Jesus at the cross. In the back of our minds, you and I might have the story

at the end of John's gospel where Jesus restores Peter by telling him to

feed his sheep. But that is not the way Luke tells the story. Remember, the

author Luke wrote both the gospel and the book of Acts. Luke ends his

gospel with no reinstatement of Peter. There is no specific moment of

forgiveness between him & Jesus. So in the gospel of Luke the question

hangs in the air: how will Peter respond to Christ's death and resurrection?

What will Peter do now that the crucifixion is over and Christ has been

raised?

In Unbinding Your Heart, Martha Grace Reese introduces us to the

"Trinity of Relationships." After studying 150 mainline churches that are

really alive and growing, she discovered something. All of these vibrant

churches had a set of three relationships that were very real and healthy:

(1) relationships with God (2) relationships with people outside the church,

and (3) relationships with each other.

When Peter stands up to explain things to the crowd, something

remarkable is happening in the Trinity of Relationships in his life. We'll

briefly talk about the first two relationships. Then I want to focus on the

third.

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 27 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 3 – “The Converted Community” Page 2 of 7

First, something remarkable happened in Peter’s relationship with

God. Imagine being Peter, knowing how miserably you had failed Jesus.

When Pentecost Day dawns, and the Holy Spirit comes upon all of the

believers, Peter is included. He receives the power of the Spirit of the

Risen Christ. Imagine his relief! Imagine his joy at the new start he

receives from God!

The denial . . .

The abandonment . . .

The broken promises . . .

they are all water under the bridge in Peter’s relationship with God. They

are washed away, removed as far as the East from the West. Peter

accepts the clean slate God gives him. How can Peter stand? He is living

out his forgiveness. He is bearing the fruit of a spiritual reality. This is what

a person freed by God’s love looks like:

Standing boldly,

Proclaiming freely,

Sharing generously

The love of God.

Peter is experiencing a whole new, fresh start given to him by God.

He is living out a moment of forgiveness. Literally, the last words that the

author Luke has Peter say in Luke 23 are, "I do not know who Jesus is."

But the words Peter say now are: "Let me tell you who Jesus is!" Peter's

relationship with God has been renewed. He is living in bold joy due to the

forgiveness he's received. Only if our relationship with God is renewed like

this everyday will we be able to stand up and speak up when we hear

confusion in someone's life.


At Pentecost, something remarkable happened in Peter’s relationship

with God.

Second, something remarkable happened in Peter's relationship with

people outside the circle of believers. Peter is moved to his core by these

people who don't know that God has sent Jesus for them. Verse 40 says

Peter "pleaded with them." When you've received forgiveness like Peter,

when you've gotten that kind of relief, you want to share it. This won't be

the last time Peter is compelled to share the gospel. In a couple of

chapters, he gets in real trouble by taking the news of Jesus to a non-Jew!

This Pentecost day catapults Peter into no-holds-barred compassion for

people who don't know Christ.

Third, something remarkable is happening to Peter's relationships

with his fellow disciples. This is where I want to focus with you. When

Peter does stand, notice Peter does not stand alone. The second chapter

of Acts, the fourteenth verse says: "Then Peter stood up with the eleven

and addressed the crowd." When he rises to speak the other disciples get

up to stand with him. They stand together. Yes, the other disciples know

that Peter has a big mouth that gets him into trouble. They know that Peter

promised Jesus more than he could deliver. They know that Peter bragged

about how faithful he would be and then failed. But they also know their

own sins against Jesus. They could have just pointed the finger at Peter.

They could have said, "Here he goes again, talking the big talk." But they

didn't. In humility, they got up to support him by standing alongside him.

They are a vibrant picture of forgiven people forgiving each other.

They are tangible evidence of the reality of the mercy of God.


They are the most believable witness to the grace of Jesus Christ.

Together, they are a community of the redeemed.

All of the aspects of the Trinity of Relationships are essential for us to

grow us a church. We need real and vibrant relationships with God, with

people outside the church, and with each other. But right now I want to ask

you about our relationships with each other.

Are we real with each other?

Are we forgiving each other?

Are we standing with each other,

as Peter and the disciples stood together?

I wonder what the community sees when they look at this community

of believers, when they look at our church? Do they see a community of

redemption, a place where people are genuinely merciful to and supportive

of one another?

In your bulletin is a drawing of the "Trinity of Relationships." [You

can copy this out of the book.] Please consider prayerfully which of these

three essential relationships needs your attention this week. Let’s take a

moment right now. This is just between you and God. Let me strongly

encourage you to especially consider the relationships you have with other

church members. Is there is something that is not right in your relationship

with someone here? Be real with God and with yourself about the need for

reconciliation. Take a deep, gentle breath. Exhale slowly. Close your

eyes. Simply ask God, “Where do you want to work in my relationships?”

Just listen for a moment. Ask God for help to make things right again.

[Pause for one minute]


Has God put someone on your heart in our church? By our prayer

wall, there is a place set up for you to wash the hands or feet of someone

you want to serve. Jesus gave us this act of kindness at the Last Supper

when he washed the disciples’ feet. Maybe you could invite someone over

to that area today. I’ll be inviting someone myself. This is one way we

could begin anew in a relationship that needs a fresh start.

One of my colleagues pastors a church that has been growing a lot.

They had been adding several members a month but that suddenly

stopped. Visitors came but they wouldn't join. The pastor finally asked a

visitor to tell him what was keeping them from becoming a part of the

church. They confessed, "We like the church, but . . . it's cold!" And they

were right. The church members talked about being a friendly church, but

the crossed arms said otherwise. Visitors didn't have to know all the

details. They could sense people were tense. They could tell members

were angry with each other. They could feel that forgiveness was being

withheld. Members' energy was not going to new people because

members were wrapped up in the conflict of the church. The pastor

realized his own lack of forgiveness was contributing to the big chill. He

and another leader in the church had a conflict that was causing ill feelings.

It was one of those heads-butting, arms-crossed tensions. The pastor

mustered his courage, prayed, and called on the man he was at odds with.

The pastor did his part in resolving the issue. In the following weeks, 2

people joined the church, and 4 more the next week. The visitors who had

complained about the coldness of the church were two of the new

members. When the pastor asked why they joined, they said, "It felt right

all of a sudden."


When we stand in God's love, when we stand together, and when we

stand for people who need to know Jesus Christ, it's Pentecost all over

again. It IS right all of a sudden. It is all that is required, and everything

that is needed, for the Spirit to work through us.


Sermon #4 “Catalytic Conversations”

John 4:7-10, 16-29

“Jesus transforms us so that we can help change the world!” This is

how the vision statement begins at a church that is growing and baptizing

increasing numbers of adults into Christian faith. Their pastor asks for only

one report at every meeting. He asks one question at staff meeting, board

meeting, and any other kind of meeting. The question is: tell me one life

that has been changed this week because of our ministry. Remember how

you and I have given each other permission to put prayer above other

priorities during this series? At that particular church, their priority is

transformed lives. They believe the main message of the gospel is that

Jesus Christ changes lives. It's what they are all about.

Jesus certainly changed the life of the woman at the well. She came

to the well at the hottest time of day, when no one else would have been

there. Many have speculated about why she came at such a lonely time.

Maybe she had a bad reputation for being divorced 5 times. Maybe all of

those husbands had died. Maybe it was grief. Maybe it was shame. But

something kept her isolated that day. Who knows what? All we know for

sure is she was alone that day. She would not have expected to have

company at the well at that hour.

But Jesus was there when she got there. And he talked to her. Not

just a simple "hello" as he passed by. It was the longest of any of Jesus’

conversations recorded in the gospels. Jesus started out by making small

talk. He merely asked the woman for a drink of water. But that one request

broke down barriers that had existed for centuries. Just a few simple words

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 33 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 4 – “Catalytic Conversions” Page 1 of 6

between a Jewish man and a Samaritan woman violated social and

religious rules about interactions between men and women and ethnic

groups. Once the barriers were down, the floodwaters of conversation

flowed.

Jesus and the woman talked.

They talked about spiritual thirst.

They discussed her marriages.

They talked politics and religion.

By the time the conversation ended, Jesus told her he was the Messiah.

The woman was so moved by their conversation, she ran off. She

went to tell her whole village about Jesus. She even left her water jug! She

forgot her original purpose in coming to the well. She left with a new

purpose. Jesus changed her life. This woman once isolated herself from

others. Now she went searching for people. She wanted to tell the world

about what Jesus had done for her. What had Jesus done for her? In other

gospel stories, Jesus did some pretty amazing stuff for people.

He healed diseases.

He gave people sight.

He raised the dead.

All he did here was talk to a woman.

He reached out across cultural barriers to have a conversation. In

that conversation, both Jesus and the woman revealed something about

themselves to each other. In this, somehow, the woman was deeply

transformed. "He knows everything about me!" she exclaimed to her

neighbors.


A self-proclaimed liberal church held a class on World Religions.

Their goal was to study the major religions of the world and compare them

to Christianity. Someone in the class had a co-worker who was a Muslim

man. She asked if the class would like her co-worker to come when they

talked about Islam. Everyone enthusiastically agreed. They thought it

would be very helpful to have a firsthand expression of that faith. One class

member summed up the class' feelings by saying, "Please invite him. Tell

him we don't want to convert him, we want to learn from him."

Kamal, the Muslim man, did come to the class. He spoke for a while

about his faith. Then class members asked him questions. Soon, he was

asking class members questions about faith. They hadn't planned on that!

By the time class was over, they had discussed many things. They talked

about traditional Muslim dress. They talked about arranged marriages.

They talked about why Christians pray "in Jesus' name." They talked about

how Kamal felt when people treated him with suspicion. No one seemed to

want the time to end. Then a class member said, "Could we have a prayer

together?" They all agreed. The class circled, held hands, and prayed.

When the prayer was finished, Kamal had tears in his eyes. He told the

class:

"I have never felt God's love this strongly before. I cannot wait to tell my

friends about this. We didn't know there were Christians like you."

It was just conversation. But it changed his life. It changed the lives

of everyone in that classroom. Just conversation! God's power can make

genuine conversation into a life-changing experience.


In the book we're all reading together, Unbinding your Heart, the

author's research shows what brings people to church and what makes

them stay. What do you think brings people to church for the first time?

Great sermons, good ads, beautiful buildings? Nope. It's you. Almost 60%

of people who join a church came because someone invited them. 60

percent! People come to church because someone asks them to come.

And what makes them come back? What makes them want to come

again?

Surely it's the pastor's fabulous sermons or the music program or the updated children's wing.

No. It's you. The number one reason people say they return to a

church is because they received a warm welcome from the people there.

Those others things are important, but they are not the main thing. The

main thing is whether or not someone said hello to them, or remembered

their children’s names, or went out of their way to get them a bulletin. New

people can tell if the congregation actually cares about them.

Do you think this was the miraculous thing Jesus did for the woman at

the well? Just conversation? Just caring? Yes, God's power can make

genuine conversation into a life-changing experience.

Marta came to church because a couple she knew invited her. She

had been cleaning their house for about a year. One day, the couple struck

up a conversation with her. They asked her if she had any family in town.

She told them she had moved here to escape an abusive husband. She

was raising her two boys on her own. Her own parents had died years ago.


On impulse, the couple invited her to their church. At first, she demurred.

She said she didn't have the proper clothes. "Oh, come casual!" the couple

said, "We do! We’ll meet you at church about 10:30. Then we’ll take you

and your boys to lunch afterwards."

They looked for her the following Sunday. Sure enough, she slipped

in just after the service started. She had her boys in tow. They joined her

on the back row. The sermon that Sunday was on the woman at the well.

Marta sat at attention through the whole service. The couple that had

invited her kept her boys busy with crayons and bulletin airplanes. Marta

was entranced. When the sermon was over, she turned to the couple and

said, "That story was for me. That woman at the well is me! I have been so

alone!" As people greeted Marta warmly after the service, she beamed at

the attention. Afterward, she commented to the couple who had invited her,

"This is like a family!"

You know someone like Marta. You know people who need Jesus

and this church in their lives. You know someone who needs a changed

life. In your bulletin is an invitation to the all-church party we'll have in 2

weeks. [or whatever upcoming event would be a comfortable entrée for

guests] We could put it in the newspapers. But that wouldn't be nearly as

effective as giving it to you. All you need to do is pray over it and wait for

God to compel you to give it to someone. Just hand it to someone. Ask,

"Would you like to come to my church with me this Sunday? I’ll pick you up

and then we can go out for lunch together afterwards." It's really terrifying

for people who don't go to a church to go in those doors with all the weird,

holy people. They're scared to death. How would you feel walking into an


AA meeting? Ever done that? It's about the same degree of threat. Your

invitation to be with them makes it so much less scary. This invitation and a

little conversation is your ticket to changing someone's life.

After Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman, he preached to his

disciples. He said to them, "Look around you! People are so ready for the

gospel! All you have to do is bring them in." Look around you. Who are

you going to invite to church next Sunday? Will you go and pick them up?

Take them to lunch afterwards? Introduce them to a group of friends?

This week, talk to someone you’ve never talked to before. Or, talk to

someone you chat with all the time, but this time, talk about your faith. You

could start a conversation that will change someone’s life.


Sermon #5 "Healing Hospitality"

Mark 2:1-12

I don't think of Jesus as having a home, do you? I think of him as

wandering around with "nowhere to lay his head" as the eighth chapter of

Matthew puts it. But here, in Mark chapter 2, the story goes that Jesus

came home to Capernaum for a couple of days. It even makes it sound like

the house he's at might have been his house! Of course he had an abode

before he began his traveling ministry, so why not? Could be! The place

might've been a little dusty after all of that away time. But the word spreads

that Jesus is home. People start to gather outside his door. Pretty soon

there's a whole crowd.

In that crowd, there are four people. They have a friend who can't

walk. They want to get him to Jesus to see if Jesus can do anything for

him. But when they reach the house, it's too crowded to get in. So, they

have to find another way.

Now, this story doesn't tell how these people decided to carry this guy

to Jesus' house. It doesn't say if they felt awkward bringing him to Jesus. It

just says that they did. In Unbinding Your Heart, we've read together about

two kinds of barriers we might have to overcome to bring our friends to

Jesus. They are internal barriers and external barriers. First, internal, or

personal, barriers, are the barriers inside our heads. When we think about

talking to someone about our faith, we can get stuck before the words even

come out of our mouth. Usually it's because we don't want to lose a

friendship. We worry:

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 39 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 5 – “Healing Hospitality” Page 1 of 6

What happens if I invite my neighbor to church and then they say no?

What if I make my friend feel awkward?

What if someone thinks I’m pressuring them?

What if I come across as judgmental?

What if . . . ?

So most of the time, we don't talk to our unchurched friends about our

faith. Then maybe we feel a little guilty about not doing it. And guilt rarely

is helpful to keep us motivated. These inner barriers can keep us from ever

mentioning faith to our friends.

Jeff was going through a difficult time in his life. He had been laid off

from work just before his wife was diagnosed with cancer. The financial

and spiritual struggles were nearly debilitating. Fortunately, Jeff and his

wife had some dear friends. Two couples that they had known for some

time stuck by them. They came by to see them regularly and brought over

meals occasionally. When Jeff's wife died, they were there to comfort him.

These were good friends. After some time had passed, Jeff began to

consider returning to church. He hadn't gone to church anywhere since he

was a teenager. But there was something about church that sort of kept

bugging him. He decided to try the church in his neighborhood first. When

he walked into the sanctuary, there were his friends! Both couples had

been going to that church for years. They had also been friends with Jeff

for years. But they had never talked about their faith, even through his

ordeals. It just hadn't come up. They were flabbergasted, and very glad, to

see each other there.


The research behind the Unbinding your Heart study shows that

these internal barriers that keep us from talking about our faith never fully

go away. Even people who eventually get really good at evangelism still

have resistance to sharing their faith. Even pastors who head the most

statistically successful churches say they still worry about losing a

friendship or pressuring people. But they work around that barrier. They let

those fears make them sensitive to others, but not shut off from others.

One woman interviewed in the study said that a new definition of

evangelism had helped her. She thinks of evangelism as sharing

something she enjoys with someone she likes. For her, this takes away the

fear she has of being overbearing. Sharing something you enjoy with

someone you like. That can be evangelism. For the four in today's gospel

story, it was a matter of sharing something they thought might help with

someone in need. That can be evangelism too.

Sharing something you need with someone else who needs it . . .

Sharing something that makes you smile with someone

who could use a smile . . .

Sharing something that gives you peace with someone in chaos . . .

Sharing something you enjoy with someone you like -

That’s evangelism.

Somehow, the four friends in this story had the courage to bring this

man in need to Jesus. Somehow, they had overcome whatever internal

barriers there might have been in their heads. But then, they had to get him

to Jesus. And that was another barrier entirely. Remember, there are two

kinds of barriers that might keep us from bringing people to Jesus. Internal

barriers in our own minds might be overcome. But still, external barriers


must be dismantled. When the four people got there with the man on the

stretcher, the physical entrance was crowded. People were not letting them

by. I wonder how long they tried to push their way through before they

decided to try another way.

External barriers can be very daunting. Do you remember how

vulnerable you felt the first time you visited a church? Or maybe you recall

going to some other organization for the first time. A friend shared with me

about the first time he went to a neighborhood association meeting. He

didn't see anyone there he knew, so he just sat in the back during the

meeting. When it was over, he signed up on one of the volunteer lists they

had posted. He really wanted to help out with organizing a neighborhood

clean-up day. That's where he put his name and his phone number down.

But no one ever called him. It was not a major slight, of course. But

afterwards he wondered to me, "I sure hope people don't feel like this when

they come to my church."

"They could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowds," verse 4

says. We need to ask ourselves and the Holy Spirit this very searching

question: Are there any barriers that are keeping people from getting to

Jesus in our church?

Well, you may say, it's not the crowds! But no matter our numbers, a

church can feel crowded. Just because spaces are empty doesn't mean

they're open. In your mind's eye, join me in a virtual tour of our church.

First, our parking lot.

Where do guests park?

Do they know where to come in?


Do they have to "dig through the roof" so to speak, like the paralyzed man's

friends did?

When they get to the entrance and come inside, are they greeted

immediately?

Are there signs to show them where the restrooms are?

When a new parent comes with a baby, do they find a sparkling clean

nursery with two ready attendants?

When a guest comes into worship,

do they find ample room in the back pews?

We don’t know for sure whether or not this house described in Mark’s

gospel was Jesus' house. But where is Jesus’ house? Chapter three of

Ephesians says we are the very dwelling place of God, with Jesus Christ

himself as our cornerstone. This is Jesus' house. As we took our mental

tour through the church building, did you see any barriers to Jesus' house?

Anything that would keep people from coming in and finding him here?

Anything that says “Keep out!” instead of “Please, come in!”

In your bulletin there is a little cloth that looks like a mat. Please, take

a moment now to write down an area of our church that needs Jesus' touch.

Or an area that needs our touch! Where are we needing to be more ready

for guests? If you are new to our church, particularly if today is your first

time here, we especially invite you to do this! Your insight is the most

valuable we can receive. What has welcomed you? Or not welcomed

you? Please, help us do better. Where is there an external barrier to

Jesus’ house? Take a moment right now to write it down. [Have pianist

play "Bless this house, O Lord, we pray, make it safe by night and day . . ."

as people write.]


A church had a Vacation Bible School outdoors. They had a kind of

marketplace set up so that it felt like a New Testament street scene. Adult

volunteers in the church portrayed different characters from the Gospel.

They even had a Jesus. The kids loved it. Especially Elizabeth. After

VBS was over for the day, Elizabeth was at home when she somehow got a

scratch on her leg. She showed it to her mother, who gave the required

kiss. She even put on the boo-boo cream and the Dora the Explorer

bandaid. But that wasn't enough for the little girl. "I have to show it to

Jesus," she insisted. "He can make it better." The child's insistence grew.

The mom tried to explain that Jesus didn't really live at the church, that it

was a man in a costume, but this made it worse. "He does!" she cried. At a

loss, the mother loaded her kids in the car and headed for the church. Of

course she expected no one to be there at this evening hour. But as they

drove up, they saw some people milling about, taking down the outdoor

decorations. The man who had been portraying Jesus was there, sitting on

the church's front porch. He wasn't in costume, just in his usual clothes.

But the little girl didn't seem to notice. "There he is!” she shouted, and ran

to him. The man seemed surprised, but held out his hands to greet her.

The child told him all about her scratch. He listened. Together, the mother,

two children, and "Jesus" said a prayer. Then, like the man on the mat, the

family got up and went home.

Would you bring your mat from your bulletin forward? [During

communion, the invitation hymn, whatever is appropriate to your setting]

Imagine that you are bringing this area of our church forward for Jesus'

healing touch. Ask God to bless this house. Let's pray together that every

guest meets Jesus here, from the front porch on.


Sermon #6 “Faith Focus”

Matthew 14:22-33

Have you ever seen someone you know very well but not recognized

him? A couple told me about a surprise they had while traveling in Europe.

Walter and Jean settled in at their quaint table at a restaurant in Paris,

France. Suddenly, a man was waving frantically to them from across the

room. He got up and headed towards them. “Walter! Jean! Good to see

you!” Walter and Jean could’ve sworn they’d never seen this man before in

their lives! They looked at each other for help but neither one recognized

him. Then it occurred to them. He was Walter’s cousin! They saw him at

least twice a year. And here he was, traveling in Paris at the exact same

time they were, eating at the same place! They just weren’t expecting to

see him in Paris. So it took a while for their brains to register that it was

him! “Well, hello, cousin,” Walter said. “What are you doing in Paris?”

The disciples have that kind of experience with Jesus. Jesus sent

them off in a boat while he took some time to pray. He planned to meet

them on the other side of the lake. “Go on ahead,” he might’ve said. “I’ll

catch up with you later.” Everything seemed fine and dandy. But a windy

storm came up on the water. The disciples’ boat was taking some pretty

good hits from the waves. They were afraid. So Jesus walked out on the

water to reassure them. When the disciples saw Jesus coming, they

thought it was someone else. Maybe even a ghost! They didn’t recognize

him. No one expects to see their cousin from Peoria in Paris. They

weren’t expecting Jesus!

Unbinding Your Church, Sermons formatted for Preaching 45 2008, GraceNet, Inc., all rights reserved Sermon No. 6 – “Faith Focus” Page 1 of 6

St. Matthew included this story in his gospel because he knew there

would 3 times when the church felt like Jesus was far away. Probably his

little congregation already had struggled with tough waves and blustery

winds. Every congregation does. Growing pains, conflict, and just plain

distractions can batter this ship of ours. If we’re really on a journey with

Jesus, it’s going to be exciting, and a little bumpy from time to time. We

even can count on some moments of seasickness! Anything really good,

really worth doing, is hard occasionally. What St. Matthew wants us to

know, what Jesus wants us to know, is that we are never out on the high

seas alone.

Matthew really drives this point home. It’s his gospel that ends with

the Great Commission. The last verse he leaves us with is Jesus saying, “I

am with you always, to the very end.” We are completely assured of Jesus’

presence with us. Always. The question is not, “Is Jesus with us?” The

question is, “Are we expecting him?”

If you’ve heard this story before, you know that usually the point you

hear with the story is that Peter failed at walking on the water. We assume

that the moral of the story is “Have faith! Get out of the boat!” Something

like that. But I don’t think Jesus intended for Peter to walk on the water.

The whole thing was Peter’s idea, not Jesus’. Look at the thirty-first verse.

When Peter begins to falter, Jesus says, “You of little faith, why did you

doubt?” Jesus is not asking Peter why he doubted his own ability to walk

on water. Jesus is not saying, “Why didn’t you believe in yourself, that you

could do this?” Jesus is asking Peter, and all the disciples: Why did you

doubt it was me? Why didn’t you know I would be coming to rescue you on

the water? Weren’t you expecting me?


Friends, I need to ask you a crucial question. Are we expecting Jesus

to show up in this church? Do we believe he knows about us, cares about

us, and is here with us? Do we believe he can get this ship through any

storm that may come? If we are going to continue this journey in God’s

Spirit, we will have to find ways to keep expecting Jesus to show up.

Unbinding your Heart gives us the two things that must be in place if we are

to effectively share faith with others. One, our own spiritual lives must be

well-tended. We must be alert to God’s presence in our own lives every

day. Two, our eyes must be open and receptive to what God would have

us do next. As individuals and as a congregation, we must expect God to

use us in unexpected ways. If we want to do effective ministry, we have to

expect Jesus to show up.

Jesus has shown up all over the place in this 6-week E-vent journey.

Where have you seen him? Let’s hear about where some of you saw

Jesus. [Show and Tell here]

Jesus is with us always! The question is not, “Is Jesus with us?” The

question is, “Are we expecting him?” How can we keep our eyes open to

seeing Jesus? The tiniest change, consistently implemented over time, can

make a big difference in our ability to expect Jesus. If we can get in the

habit of looking for him, we will see him. One small change can refocus our

eyes to recognize Christ with us.

A small church declined nearly to the point of closing their doors.

They had been through several pastors in just a few years’ time. Finally a

layman in the congregation offered to preach for a while since they were


without a minister. He mostly just told stories from the Bible. One Sunday

he realized that they no longer had a time in the worship service where

people could join the church. They used to have a moment before

communion when people could come forward and make a commitment to

Christ. But over the years, as fewer and fewer people joined, that moment

had slipped away in the service. So, this lay preacher decided it should be

added back in. People thought it was really silly. “It’s just us!” they said.

“We’re not evangelicals! Do you want us to rededicate our lives each

Sunday?” But he just said, “You never know who God might bring.” One

Sunday, a young couple started visiting the small church. They came back

the next Sunday. And the next. And the fourth Sunday they came to

church, they came up to the altar at that invitation moment. They said they

had never been baptized and they would like to be. The congregation was

thrilled, but also horrified.

The baptistery area was being used for storage!

It hadn’t been cleaned out in years. But they didn’t want to put the

young couple off longer than necessary. So they scheduled the baptism for

the following Sunday. And they were busy little bees for the next few days,

moving boxes, cleaning, painting, and fixing it up. That baptistery was

visited by two new Christians come Sunday morning. And there was no

doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus was there too.

Seeing Jesus is not a casual happenstance. It’s a cultivated habit! A

little change, consistently implemented, can keep our eyes expecting

Jesus. A moment, in every worship service, to invite someone to join the

church.


Jesus is with us always!

A prayer, prayed before every meeting.


A candle lit to remind us of Jesus’ presence.


A time each day to wait silently for God’s direction.


A little change, consistently implemented, can keep our eyes and

hearts expecting Jesus. Seeing Jesus is not a happenstance. It’s a habit.

I have seen a painting depicting this story of Peter walking on the

water. You've probably seen it, too, or a similar one. It's a picture of Jesus,

standing firmly on the water, his face calm and serene. Meanwhile, Peter's

face is full of fear as he sinks below the waters, feeling the waves lapping

up against him. Jesus' hand is extended to Peter, and Peter is about to

take his hand. What a reassuring image! But there is so much more here.

Consider what happened after Jesus pulled Peter up from the water.

Can you see it in your mind’s eye? Peter's face is full of relief. Jesus is

smiling and has his hand in the middle of Peter's back. They're very close

to the boat. If you look closely, you can see that Jesus is pointing Peter

back to the boat. He and Peter are about to get in the boat together. All of

the disciples are gathered around. Thomas has his hand out to help Jesus

over the side. Some of the disciples are already kneeling in worship.

Others are shouting, “It is the Lord!”


Can you see the picture? Open your eyes, friends. And see Jesus

here. Jesus Christ is in this church boat with us. Jesus is with us always.

When Jesus rides with us, he takes us to places we’ve never been before.

He took the disciples to a new place for their ministry. In the boat together,

they were back off into the wild blue yonder. They were sailing free again,

to another place and more people who didn’t yet know God’s love. When

they arrived, people in need of Jesus' touch stood in line just to get near

him. Many were healed. And the disciples were along for the ride.

He’ll be taking us someplace new too. We’re sailing with him to new

places and new people who need him. Are you up for the ride? Let us trust

in him with all of our hearts, and not forget his teachings. Let’s ride the

waves with him at the helm of this ship. Let's see where he leads us next!


Documents

Unbinding chURch · hear some words about God’s love? Someone like the Ethiopian eunuch. He is an African man with an important job that came at a high price. Most likely, he had