Sermon 10-17-13 I was a stranger and you welcomed me Jn 1:43-51
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[k] the Son of Man.”
Today I am thankful for welcome SSSSSSSSS
In the Mt 25 passage Jesus says, I was hungry and you fed me
I was a stranger and you welcomed me
Jesus welcomed everyone
Today we find him call more disciples. He calls Phillip
Phillip invites Nathaniel
I used to have fun telling stories about trails of people…….geneologies of how people came to woods chapel. Bradd and Sharon Gartin invited Pam Dittmer. Pam Dittmer invited _____. So and so invited………and you could see the tree expanding out.
Too complicated, cant do it anymore.
Jesus welcomed everyone
A rich tax collector. A Samaritan woman. Fishermen. Children. Prostitutes. Sinners. An occasional Pharisee. More fishermen
Common or cool. Outcast or in.
Jesus welcomed everyone.
Recently there have been a couple of incidents at restaurants where Christian people accepted the waiter or waitress service from a person but then instead of leaving them a tip, commented on their lifestyle.
“Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to God. May God have mercy on you.”
There are several lessons to learn from this.
A Christian person gave the message to another human that they
· Were not welcome
· Did not belong
· Are really upsetting god
A Christian person did this.
Is this the message that Christians are supposed to send to other people in the world?
Now I don’t care if you agree with someone’s behavior or not.
You don’t have to agree with everyone or condone their behavior
But in gods house, in gods world everyone is welcome
If you know baseball, you know that the cubs and cardinals are long term rivals
If you are a cardinal fan, you need to welcome the cub fans to wcc
If you are a cub fan, you need to welcome the cardinal fans
Without commenting on the clothes they are wearing
Everyone is welcome in God’s house
I have a friend that talks about growing up in a church where their slogan was
First you catch them, then you clean them
Its not our job to clean people, they aren’t fish
We are not a judging community, we are a welcoming one
The next time you are at a restaurant
Love the server. Regardless of what ever it may be about them
Build a relationship with them
Let them become family
Someday when they need a church, they will call on you.
In fact, in general, see people as people not as
Tattooed or white or black or old or young or a KU or an MU fan.
Did you know that we have some denver bronco fans in our church?
See people as people
The morning rant is over
Welcome - I am thankful for the way you welcomed me
April 11, 1994
I came for an interview
Someone said, I had an in as the pastor………..not really………
Pastors aren’t always welcomed
You can be too old, too young
Not the right theological bent
Maybe someone just has a feeling about you
You made me feel welcome
If I wasn’t sure the first 9 months, when my mom got sick, it became crystal clear.
Part of welcoming people is accepting them as they are
Not necessarily agreeing with them but welcoming them non the less
Here, I can be myself. I don’t have to pretend
I don’t have it all together and that seems to be ok with most of you
Do you ever feel like you have to pretend?
Video of folks who are pretending VIDEO
No one has it all together
You are welcome just the way you are
We are accepted and loved.
Just the way we are
A church should be a microcosm of the kingdom
Imagine a day where no one wears shoes, only barefoot or sandals.
Hmmm. Just like jesus
We want you here
You fit
We all fit.
We don’t always get it right
One family moved here and tried our church for six months. They just could not get comfortable.
They went away. That’s what people do if we don’t help them feel welcome.
I know you feel funny about this
Wear your name tag.
Fortunately, that family tried us again a few years later and they have stuck.
But not everyone does. We don’t always get this right. We need to keep working on it.
Welcome is important because there are people that are seeking
I am happy you are going to speak on the power of "Welcome." That is my favorite subject . we were so warmly welcomed at WCC. We felt like sponges and just sat in the Pew and let everyone say nice words to us ….we knew God was in this place. It brought out the best in us! Thank you!!
My wife and I visited WCC with friends who are members last year. We were made to feel very welcome. Even though it was crowded several people went out of their way to welcome us. At the time we were looking for a church home and had visited 12+ different churches. Most of the churches were very welcoming. In a few of churches we were welcomed but it didn't feel sincere. Visitors can tell the difference. Yes, welcoming must be sincere, not forced or rehearsed. When visitors leave after the service they will long remember these feelings. WCC impressed us! Thanks.
I felt most welcomed by Greg & Cindy blessen, Glen & Lynetta Sellers and now so many others.
The first time I came to Woods Chapel was the Sunday after my husband and I split up. If asked, I would've said that I was there to hear my friend sing. I sat in one of the back rows of the sanctuary with a few empty seats on either side of me. I was hoping that no one noticed me. But at greeting time many people reached out their hands to me and told me they were glad I was here. It is hard to tell you how much that meant to me. I had never been to a religious service where people who didn't know each other actually touched. The end of the service, we saying grace alone and again I held hands with people I did not know. People squeezed my hand at the end of the song, like they really meant what they were saying.
It was a time that I was feeling very broken, and living alone there wasn't much touching my life. You and the congregation at Woods Chapel made me feel like I was in the right place, that you would accept me, that I could belong. To this day I remember how much that meant to me.
On our first Sunday at WC we were nervous about coming to a new church. We have laughed many times that we stuck out as new because I was wearing a skirt, and my husband had on a suit and tie! We very much enjoyed the service, and as we were walking out we heard someone call our names. When we turned around we saw the smiling faces of R.D. and Joann Kerley. They had been friends since our children were in grade school.
I love introducing folks to others from their neighborhood, their workplace or that share some common affinity.
feeling like you belong almost always requires that a person find a way to get connected.
Members can smile, shake hands, stop and talk. But belonging becomes real when we choose to commit to a mission or join a group.
We must create A culture of welcome
Where you are looking for folks you don’t know
Where you are engaged in others
We don’t always know who is a visitor ………….
Introduce yourself
Recently reading about missions statements
Ours is “connecting people to Jesus Christ”
The book asked why do you do this thing?
My first answer was – there is this eternity thing
Then I thought more about it…….
There is the life in Christ now. The life of love…….
That’s what we are inviting people into
Not just inviting them to church
We ultimately are inviting them to find the most satisfying, joyful kind of life.
There is always someone that is looking for a place
Being w jesus is just good
It does not end with us. Phillip invited Nathaniel
It wasn’t enough for him that he was in with jesus. He wanted his friend in too.
The holidays are a time when people are looking for a church home
Welcome everyone
Hand out the cards you got today
Be nice to servers and Denver bronco fans
I was a stranger and you welcomed me
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