rethink – getting connected 1 Samuel 8:1-5 09/12/10

Sermon 9-12-2010 1 samuel 18:1-5 rethink – getting connected

1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully [a] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well

rethink series
rethink your involvement – getting connected

to what degree are you connected? Involved? Do you wander thru so that you can say this is your church, or are you significantly invested in the success of this place?

This is an impt topic because too many just come and sit. Too many come when it is convenient. Too many engage in God’s work as it suits them
We are missing something really important…….

connecting Sunday - connected
I want to be connected to good people
And I want to be doing things that are significant

Good People
David and jonathan- randomly find each other
Face life’s battles together

the king james says that their souls were knit together
meaningful relationship, doing things that matter

The importance of friendship
Joy, completion, we need each other
We ignore this to our peril

Dad- you have a bug about relationships
Yes Dad, people want to be connected……but it is difficult in this world

We have all of these ways to be connected, phone, fax, pager, computer, laptop,
Mac in 1992 held 256 ram I updated it to 512 cost 100$
Today this jump drive you can but at walmart hold 8x that and it costs 999

Yet we are more alone than ever

The pain of being alone
Summer of 1978- summer school at evangel

Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to well wouldn’t do The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down Reality came around
And without so much, as a mere touch Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt Talk about God and His mercy
Or if He really does exist Why did He desert me in my hour of need
I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that there are more hearts
broken in the world that cant be mended - Left unattended
What do we do? What do we do?

The psalmist writes - Psalm 102
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. 3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. 4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. 5 Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. 6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.

In the past families grew up together and rarely moved away. Children lived in homes with parents and grandparents. The family business was handed down from generation to generation. My grandma had a front porch which was a very important place of communication.

Half of my neighbors, I don’t know their names. A few I wouldn’t recognize if they walked right up and said hello

How can we cultivate friendships
Cant just sit and wait - You cant just sit in the pew
Applying ones self to friendship

If a man would have friends, he must show himself to be friendly.
Prov 18:24

Is this a friendly church?
Someone visited here 2 months ago
My visit to st peter umc several years ago

Look around. Who do you want for a friend? Reach out to them. If they cant make it work, pick someone else.

From I want to be connected to people
to Being involved in significant things

There are only so many institutions in this life that you can get involved in
You will have to choose which ones they are
Some want to lean away while we are in a building campaign
Would you rather attend a church that was not trying to make room for others

At church I learned that God loved me-nothing else out there will teach you that
At church I learned about forgiveness-nothing else out there will teach you that
At church I learned that it was about more than me. I was invited to join others in an effort that taught me to give myself away- nothing else will teach you these things

Conclusion-
Children and youth
Providing the foundation for tomorrows decisions
Disciple
Providing the foundation to carry you thru life trials
Fpu
Teaching biblical financial practices
It has saved many a marriage
Missions
Giving you an opportunity to live beyond yourself


stop by and find a place to make friends and get connected. Take the steps to connections for life.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is Listening 4-20-97

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is Listening 1 Samuel 1,2,3:1-10

When Alli was born.............
Hanna wanted a baby ... the desire to have a child ... cuts a bargain ... if you give me a son, I will give him to serve you.

Then she is gifted, the child is born, given the name Samuel. Then she does the strangest thing...she does it!...she gives the child to God. When things are turned over to the Lord, they reach their full potential. I wonder if she ever went by to peek in the window. I wonder if she ever wanted him back. It is very hard to give yourself to the Lord; we want to resume control.

The boy Samuel..."Eli, you called"..."No, I did not" We adults don't always get it. The adult finally gets it...God is leading. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Oh to know that you have heard His voice
Oh to know that He wants you.
Oh to know the joy of falling on your face in submission to Him.
Oh the completeness
On the fullness.

Hanna was blessed, Hanna was gifted, and she turned the blessing over to the Lord and Samuel became all that God intended. We as a church have been blessed. We have been gifted, as individuals and as a church. We must be willing to turn ourselves over completely.

David Flude is a minister in the United Methodist Church. He has worked for years in missions in South Africa. He has been given 0-4 months to live. He is leaving in the coming week to return to South Africa to do missions. Adam asked him why. "I want to be spent for the mission of Jesus Christ" he said. "When I die, I want nothing to be left that I can do for Him."

I implore you, I ask you, I beg you, to hear His voice, to turn your life over completely to Jesus Christ, to offer yourselves completely to His service. In this life that is the only thing that matters.

• Here I am...speak, Lord, for this servant is listening. Amen

Who's Gonna Fight? 1 Samuel 17:42-47 10-20-1996

Tell the story of armies on oposing hills......no champion to fight the giant.
David shows up.....even the King mocks him

Challenge answered by David.
read verses 1 Samuel 17:42-47

Not by swords/shields, but by desire, and power of God, David prevailed

What are the guys thinking?

volunteer vs covenant community
Church may feel like a volunteer community sometimes
new brochure, new church

but it is not....and it operates at it's best when everyone remembers that
I have seen you rise to the challenge
work days
Kraatz lost job
Mike David in Houston
Pam Armstrongs needs
just last week.....{Harding funeral}

there will be more giants in the future....
the building program

If a real giant showed up....he would be mauled...maimed

In the giant sized challenges of life....who is gonna fight
do not sit back and wait for some champion to step up
Take a spiritual interest in the life and mission of your church
Our champion is already here....Jesus Christ
Let us rise up to the challenges of today....nd go forth in the name of the Lord

Communion Samuel 24:18-25 11-1-04

Sermon 11-1-04 2 samuel 24:18-25 communion

what is David doing
Counted the men=Plague arrived
offering to the Lord
it is late in his life
all experiences are in play
he is still a sinner
[holiness not based on our being good enough]
he again is a sinner, he is needy
goes to offer a sacrifice that means something

1. in the end, we will still be Gods

2. we are all needy…sinners
problems that exist when we do not understand our need for God

3. meaning comes as we live costly lives [quotes]

-Gen. Colin Powell, Teens who tutor elementary school kids, or spend a few hours a month at a hospice, or give up a Saturday to clean up an empty lot, get to know the satisfaction that comes from making a difference in someone else's life.
"Many parents, obsessed with their own fulfillment, have lost the values of sacrifice and commitment.

There is no success without sacrifice.

If I have given myself away in this life, what is left for you to take from me?
'He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.'"

4. human nature seeks fulfillment the easy way

What costs us nothing….

· A day when we do whatever we please
· Childrearing that is about what I want
· A minimal effort at work
· A whatever to your wife
· A check that we wont miss
· Coming to church when I feel like it

Poor woman told of the year of the cranberry scare
In tgiving basket her family received, besides the usual turkey and other items, 57 cans of cranberry sauce.

5. joy is only found when we live above human nature

status based on giving not consumingIn the tradition of the Pacific Northwest peoples (Chinook, ] there was the competition, not to see how many blankets and goodies one could accumulate, but how much one could give away. In many native economies, the highest status was not accorded to those who garnered the most kill and ate the most, but to those who brought back the greatest amount for others.

Gifts that matter
A roman coin on the mullinium…..A diamond on the mullinium
Forgiving someone who did you wrong
Paying someone fine
Creating a culture of giving…..Woods chapel grace squad

6. Jesus ….gave a costly gift…Jesus was a costly gift
there is a film called The Bridge. It narrates the life of a beautiful young couple who have a son. The boy is trying to grow up to be just like his father. "Then the film shows the father going off to his work. He is the switchman for a railroad line that carries people on holiday from one place to another. Part of the line lies over a river, where it must be kept back most of the time for the boats to pass. It is his job to wait until the last moment and then pull the switch that will swing the bridge into place before the thundering approach of the train. We, the viewers of the film, see what the father does not see - his little son has followed him down to the river and is coming across the bridge. As the train whistle blows to signal the approach of the speeding train, the father sees the boy. If he closes the track, the boy will die. We watch the agony on his face. He loves the boy better than anything in his life. But finally he pulls the lever and the bridge locks into place. We see the people on the train laughing and having a good time as the train races across the bridge. They do not know how narrowly they have averted disaster - or what it has cost the switchman."

Sacrifice is the sacrament of love. "

"All the kings in history ... sent their people out to die for them. Jesus was the only king who died for his people. "

Jesus did not give that which cost him nothing, he paid the ultimate price. He gave his entire life….The door to meaning and joy is open to those who dare follow him into sacrificial living.