Sometimes gossip is good and that’s good news because we all love to gossip. Gossip is defined as, “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people.” The film “Finding Nemo” provides a perfect example of a good story we all want repeated. And you’re going to hear one in this sermon.

When people eat at your table in your kitchen, they have crossed the threshold of your door and entered into your home—your personal life.  We were not just made for community, but for intimacy. We were made to share communion with one another.

Three priests met to share life struggles. One shared his gambling addiction and the second about his battle with lust. After a pause, the third told the other two his issue was gossip and that he couldn’t wait to tell others! We have good reason to question the benefit of telling others our dark secrets. So why would we?

You were not just called to believe, but to belong. God doesn’t just pardon you, He places you into a faith family. You don’t want to miss the place to find your place. We were made for community.

Childhood behaviors are great predictors of adult actions. As William Wadsworth penned, “The child is father of the man.” And the girl, also, is mother of the woman she’ll become. How have you become more of YOU, as you live out how God designed you?

The biggest mistake you could ever make is being too afraid to make one. God’s love for us compels us to take bold steps.  We need not fear failure, because if God is for us, we cannot lose—though we may very well learn along the way.

“You  cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be everything God wants you to be”–Max Lucado. You are not a collision of particles, an evolution of molecules, or a simply speck of carbon in the universe. You are fearfully and wonderfully made … to make waves!

Did you know you have dual citizenship? Heaven is your home, but that doesn’t mean the world has lost its meaning.   In fact, our nationality as Christians calls us to social response-abilities. God has made us capable of changing the world as members of society.  This too is God at work in and through us.

What are you willing to die for? The soldier shows that a person’s work is much more than a job, but a holy calling.  God is at work through every role at every level of society--providing protection, sustenance, or even entertainment. Every occupation is best seen as a vocation: a calling.  You don’t have to be a priest to see your work as holy orders from God.

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”, or so the song says.  Your childhood didn’t end,  but it culminated in the person you became. Every goal achieved is not a terminus, but a stepping stone, especially in faith matters. What’s next for you? God has plans for you!