MYMPUMC Sermons

"Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms his child." Listen for more!

Yesterday, we talked about the problem of suffering. We covered the text of Job - you probably know the text. "In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil..."

Job had everything. He had kids. He had wealth. He had his homestead. He was living on top of the world and praised God for everything. He gave all glory to God.

In our story here, Satan confronts God and says to God, you know Job wouldn't be so cool with you if the rug was jerked out from under him. God thought differently.

God says to Satan, fine. Go ahead and touch everything he has, but don't touch him. So we know how that goes. Job loses everything. He loses everything from his family to his wealth to his health. He ends up scraping the sores on his body with potsherds - that is broken pieces of pottery. In my mind, these shards of pottery are part of Job's broken home. Job is using the rubble of his life to ease the itching of the sores on his body. Job has lost everything.

Lots of us come to church for lots of reasons. I'll just say it. Suffering really stinks. There is sickness, death, grief, loss, etc. And sometimes, when this stuff inevitably becomes part of our lives, we are drawn to go to church. We say to ourselves, you know, if I show up to church, and pray and have all these people pray for me, maybe God will change God's mind. I have shown up and done my part, now God owes me. God needs to show up and do God's part.

Then we have those on the other side of the spectrum, where they are cynical. When it comes to suffering, they say one of two things. Either 1.) God cannot control the situation, or, 2.) God does not care or does not exist.

When we come to church out of a sense that God owes us something, or that God does not exist/doesn't have power/does not care, etc, we are trying to maintain our control over the situation.

I'll say it again. Suffering really stinks. And, I'm not negating you come to church. However, if we come to church and seek God only during the bad times, we are not loving God; rather, we are just seeking God for what God can do for us. Suffering can kind of be like a mirror. It can tell us who we really are. When we are suffering, it can reveal to us what is inside because it is in these moments that we are most unlikely to be able to put up a facade.

There is a movie from Dreamworks called Rise of the Guardians. It's an epic tale of the dream-team of Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman. They are the guardians of the children of the world. When trouble arises, a new guardian is to be appointed - Jack Frost. However, this new guardian is reluctant to join because he is not like the rest of them. He's a carefree kind of guy. But then a problem arises that gets his attention - Pitch Black (the boogey man) has stolen the memories that could unlock events from Jack's past to help him remember who he was. They go on an epic adventure to fight Pitch Black and save the world from Pitch Black. At one point, however, Jack is with the guardians and North (Santa) is pressing him to see what is at his center. The center of the other guardians is hope, wonder, memories, and dreams. This is what motivates each of the guardians to what they do in their own specific roles.

At that point, Jack doesn't know what his center is, but he finds out by the end of the movie. As Christians, what should our center be? What is our core? Hopefully, it is faith, and a true love for God. I hope you take the opportunity this week to think about what is at your center. What is your core? What is your center? Is it faith? Is it true love for God?

What do you want to be when you grow up? We ask that question to kids all the time. When we ask it, we usually mean, what career do you want to have when you grow up? At this point, anyone close to retirement age or already there may be checking out. DON'T DO THAT! Because, we're really asking you the same question. What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do in the time you're given? How do you want to spend your time?

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We ask you these questions because you're not done yet. Your life is not over. Just because you're retired does not mean you have checked out of life.

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What are you pursuing? What is that thing that God has placed on your heart? What is that passion? Sometimes that passion has faded away. And then we fade away too.

We become average. We as the church are not called to be average. The Greek word for church is ecclesia and it comes from the phrase, "to be called out of." We're called out of this world that is superficial that is dominated by power. We're called to live by different values--that is above average and uncommon. The challenge is whether we're committed to live that lifestyle. We're so part of the story of the world that sometimes it is difficult to do otherwise.

We want to invite you to be part of a bigger story--a world that lives by different values so that we can all say we know what we want to be when we grow up--I know who I want to emulate.

In our world, we are surrounded by churches in decline. We see churches in decline. We see some churches that we can imagine that were once so beautiful. And there they are--shells of their former selves. These churches were once great, but now they're gone.

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If faith isn't constantly fed and nourished, it goes away. It is like flame. If it is not given oxygen, it will slowly go out.

The churches we're talking about just become average. Because of fear, they develop a siege mentality--a mentality of hunkering down and protecting ourselves from the ravages of the culture around us.

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the difference between a thriving church and a dying church is not a lack of money, but simply a lack of will--a desire to be different--to live differently and live above the line--to do more than what is anticipated. Sometimes we have to live beyond and help people believe that there really is a possibility of being an uncommon church.

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As a church, is it time for us to grow up? Do we need to be the church that we claim to be?

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We're inviting you to be part of the future of the church by making a commitment to the church.

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In the days of Paul, the church in Corinth stopped being the church. It needed deeper roots. The church forgot who it was. If you don't have great faith, you can't put it into action and if you don't put it into action, you can't have great faith. Paul was inviting the church in Corinth to go back to their roots. Read this scripture:

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"God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" -1 Cor 9:10-15

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If we are storing things up here and not for the Kingdom, have we forgotten our first love? How we love will always impact how we live. Do you know people who are very competitive? Whenever you hear people who are very competitive, it is often because they are trying to fill some void in their lives. What is lacking in your life that you are trying to fulfill?

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Have you had an experience with Christ? When you come to church and partake of Holy Communion, it is God saying I love you and let's begin again. Have you had that personal experience?

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Being around Jesus and being in His presence and understanding His life and how He showed grace to everyone inherently makes us better people. We need more Jesus.

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The second thing that Paul does is invite them into a bigger story. What you do has an impact on everyone else around you. How you share and how you speak has an impact upon others. There's more to life than where you are now. Most of us have settled for lesser gods--our bank accounts, careers, etc. We're part of some bigger story and recognize there's more and that God is using us at this place and in this time to use us for leadership in this community. You have a leadership role in this community to make a difference.

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That values of the world do not last and do not give a happy life. Our values are different. Our values are those of compasion and kindness and respect. But also courage to say no to some things and yes to others. It's about living an UnCommon life--the life of a disciple. When Jesus calls His disciples, He always says "Come and follow me." He never says to stay where you are. If we're going to go with Him, we have to go. It's time to stand up, take a stand, and say, "This is who I am." It's about moving from where you are into a bigger story.

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What Paul is saying is that it is proof of your faith that you are part of something bigger. Where we seem to be more at war with one another, there can be a place to say, "These are my brothers and sisters." We are called to a bigger life. If we want to go deeper, we have to bear fruit. Love begin when the needs of someone else become more important than our own.

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We start living in such a way that we find opportunities to serve and give ourselves to what God is doing. We can learn to be selfless. Are you learning to give away to gain what we never lose?

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Money is like manure--it never works until it's spread around and help young things grow. Through our gifts, other people will come to know who God is. Then those people pray that they are like you. Can you imagine someone praying to God that they could be like you?

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We celebrated Holy Communion yesterday. This is where God says to us, "This is my body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you." It is God inviting us into relationship with Himself.

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So the question here is do we want to be in relationship with God? Who do we want to be when we grow up? What do we want people to say about us when we have completed our journey and when we rest from our labors?

Charles Dickens wrote a Tale of Two Cities. It starts out this way: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…"

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We see a stark contrast between these two cities. The two cities that Dickens is talking about is Paris and London. While Paris is in a steep decline, London is living it up.

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We can also see this in our own lives and in our own church. What path do you see yourself on? What path are you on? Where are you in your life journey? This applies to us as a church as well. 

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What path do you see our church on? What path is the church really on? Where are we in our life journey? This story can really make us sit up and take notice. Who are we as a people? There is a saying--if you really want to find out what is important to someone, look at their calendar and their checkbook. Jesus tells us that where our heart is, there our treasure will be also.

This past week, we were given information that tells us that most of our churches are in decline. We are down to around 1,000 churches in the state. As a denomination, we are on the decline. It does not have to be that way. Let me tell you some characteristics of a common church--a church in decline.

The common church is convenient, minimal, and sporadic. To quote 2 Corinthians 9:7, "You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives joyfully."

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1.) The common church has a scarcity mindset. This is a very insular church that has a siege mentality. This is the church that in order to deal with the pace of change, just hunkers down—it is a church against the world. Hunker down and receive God’s blessing and then avoid culture in which God calls us to live. This is the church that is protecting what used to be. We all know the type.

This is the church that wants to go back to the good old days. They want to go back to the days of "We filled up the pews... There were more than 100 people in the choir... etc.

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2.) The common church is guilt driven in giving. This is the church that gives out of a sense of guilt. This is the "I have to" feeling and usually comes in the form of response to pressure.

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3.) The common church does mindless giving. That is when you go to church and say, well, I'll just give whatever I have in my wallet. I don't know how much I have in there. I'm just putting something in the plate so that I won't be embarrassed when it comes around.

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The common denominator of the common church is attitude. It is an attitude that is not responsive to God's love, but rather fearful of God's wrath or fearful of what others will think.

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The UnCommon Church is different.

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1.) In The UnCommon Church, generosity overflows. The source of generosity is deep, personal Gratitude. The UnCommon Church gives out of a deep and loving relationship they have with God. This is the church that doesn't give out of a scarcity mindset (being afraid of not having enough). Rather, this is a church that gives out of being grateful for everything that God has done and looks forward to seeing what else God will do with the gifts that they give.

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2.) The UnCommon Church gives out of generosity that inspires. This is the church that gives and inspires others to do so as well. They do it of their own free will. Adlai Stevenson says, "I would rather light a candle, than curse the darkness." This is the church that lets their light shine in the world because light overcomes darkness. The more candles we have in the world, the brighter the world we have. This church gives to be a light in the darkness and inspires others to do the same.

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3.) The UnCommon Church knows that generosity is visionary. This is the church that knows that the giving that is done today is not just for today, but rather, is for the future as well. This is the church that knows that its actions are not just for the here and now but for the there and then. The decisions and choices you make in this life will determine where you go in the next life. Choices you make today will echo in eternity.

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So, on that note, I challenge you to be The UnCommon Church. Live life in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God, will come to know God because they know you.

Welcome to an Uncommon Community

This is not your average church. This is not what most people expect, and that's a good thing. We are cut from a different cloth, walk a different path and work for a different purpose. We enjoy exploring the sacred mysteries of life in the Scriptures, overcoming our personal and cultural handicaps, and challenging one another to never give up or give in. We love sharing our stories of pain and triumph, serving others, and becoming a fearless community, in such a fearful world.

It is not at all uncommon for people to spend their whole lives just waiting to live. Someday, I'll be able to this or that. Someday is always just outside of our reach. So often, we just look for someday to arrive. Today is the day! Listen for more!

As Christians, we have responsibilities. We have the responsibility of sharing Christ with others. In order for people to have a relationship with Christ, people need to know Christ. In order for people to know Christ, they have to be introduced.

We love God. God loves people. If we truly love God, we love people as well, and we love them enough to share Jesus with them.

Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, which to be strictly accurate, is not the smallest of seeds, but in the east, the mustard seed was proverbial for its smallness. For example, the Jews talked of a drop of blood as small as a mustard seed; or, if they were talking of some tiny breach of the ceremonial law, they would speak of a defilement as small as a mustard seed and Jesus himself used the phrase in this way when he spoke of faith as a grain of mustard seed. So it was an expression or a figure of speech.

Jesus uses this and the parable of leaven to make a few points. The first is that The Kingdom of God begins very small...

We often think that we have nothing to give to God because we are not famous or spectacular in any way that we can see. However, we have gifts that God has given us in order that we use them for God's glory and Kingdom.

This week, we continued on with our series in parables by covering the Parable of the Talents.

Here is a link to the Scripture:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A14-30&version=NIV

The question is will you be fearful and hide your talent in the ground, hoping to not be seen and slip under God's radar? Or, will you be fearless - taking risks in multiplying the gifts given to you for God's glory and the Kingdom of God?

We've been on a series of parables for the last couple of weeks. Most of us fall into the working class of people. In Jesus' day, it was no different. There was the aristocracy, and then there was the working class. Most of us reading this fall into that working class. The people in the days of Jesus gathered around to hear him speak. They were really asking the questions that we all secretly ask in our hearts: "Do I matter to God? Does God really care about us?" Life was hard. Life is hard today. If anything, with the advent of much new technology, it has gotten crazier. We become slaves to our busy lives, so much so, that we lose sight of God...

We all ask those questions as well. Do I matter to God? Does God really care about me? We might distract ourselves from the discomfort of not knowing the answer to that question by packing our schedules full of tasks so that we do not have to ponder the answer or ask those questions to God directly.

But two things we need to always remember are: that 1) God is always looking for us; God is always searching for us and waiting for us to return. 2) We are lost. We are not where we are supposed to be and life is about the journey to return home.

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Once we recognize that reality, we ask the question, "What should we do?"

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But the real questions is: Are we ready to return home? Are we ready to be found? Are we ready to make the necessary changes? Are we ready to receive God's plan? Are we ready to make that change?

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Today, we covered the Parable of the Sower. There are four types of soil that Jesus describes in that parable. 

The first type of soil is the path. This translates into Barrenness. The word that falls here falls on deaf ears - or - it goes in one ear and out the other. This is the heart that is not receptive to what God has to say. This is the heart that possibly says to its neighbor, "Boy, I know a guy who really needs to hear this..." This heart says that the message is for someone else. If this is you, maybe you need to ask yourself, "What is God saying to ME today?"

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The next type of soil is superficial. It is fleeting and fickle. The seed that falls on this soil springs up into a plant at first. But, when things get tough - when the rubber really hits the road in life and their faith is tested, the seed or the word that hits this heart withers and dies. If this describes the state of your heart today, ask yourself, "Where am I avoiding the cost of discipleship? Am I just in it for the good feelings? Do I just show up to church for the good music and the warm fuzzy feelings?"

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The next soil is okay, but it is surrounded by weeds and the plant life that springs up in this heart is soon choked out by other things in life. The worries in this life can overwhelm us. We can want to keep up with our neighbors. This is where are busy-ness comes in. This is where our schedules have us by the hearts. Do you hear God whispering to you, "You're doing a lot, but you've been serving other gods - you've been loving and depending upon your busy schedule instead of loving and depending upon me."

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Another thing that can also choke out faith is the deceitfulness of wealth. Wealth has a binding effect on us. It seems that the more we have, the more we want.

We have to be extra careful about this kind of soil. It runs rampant in our culture today. It is so easy for us to become distracted. Sometimes, we have to ask ourselves, "Where am I inconsistent?" The busiest time of the year for churches is around Christmas and Easter. The sanctuary (worship space) is decorated pretty and people like to come to church because it's the traditional thing to do around those times of year. The time when it is not busy? July through August are our slowest months. This is simply because church has become a side note instead of a priority. I'll go even as far to say that God has become a side note in our lives instead of a priority. I'll say it again - we have to be extremely careful with this one in our culture because it is so easy for us to become distracted away from God.

The final type of soil is the good soil - The Abundant soil. This is the heart where the word can grow and bloom. This soil - this heart - has the outward mindset. This heart asks the question, "Where am I giving to others? Do I have the fruits of the Spirit? Am I serving and sharing the joy that God has planted in my heart?"

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The big question for all of us is: Are we ready for what God is wanting to do? Are we ready to hear what God has to say to US? Are our hearts receptive? Do we have that good soil?

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Check your heart. Slow down a minute. Listen. What is God trying to tell you?