Bullseye: Proverbs That Hit the Target: The Way, 8/16/15

Sermon 8-16-15  Proverbs 29:18-23  vision

¹⁸ Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

¹⁹ A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.

²⁰ Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

²¹ He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.  ²² An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.  ²³ A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

What is the vision of WCC

Why is this discussion important?  With no vision, people perish.  They die on the vine.

If the trumpet would not give a clear call, what would the army know what to do

if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 1 cor 14:8

Bill Hybels – vision leaks

Our mission statement is connecting people to jesus Christ

Have them say it with you.

Everyone should know it or learn it

I love it because it does two things………

 Points to jesus

Word connecting is intentionally vague.  It recognizes that people come to Christ in various ways

Consequently, we are going to be a diverse church.   Lots of different kinds of people.

Republicans, democrats …………. Etc

This is what th e kingdom looks like.

Three kinds of churches

Cruise ships, battle ships and aircraft carriers

The life saving station

On a rocky seacoast , where shipwrecks were frequent there was once a ramshackle little life-saving station. It was no more than a hut and there was only one boat, but the few people who manned the station were a devoted lot who kept constant watch over the sea and, with little regard for themselves and their safety, went fearlessly out in a storm if they had any evidence that there had been a shipwreck somewhere. Many lives were thus saved and the station became famous.

As the fame of the station grew, so did the desire of people in the neighbourhood to become associated with its excellent work. They generously offered of their time and money so new members were enrolled, new boats bought and new crews trained. The hut too was replaced by a comfortable building which could adequately handle the reeds of those who had been saved from the sea and, of course, since shipwrecks do not occur every day, it became a popular gathering place-a sort of local club.

As time passed the members became so engaged in socializing that they had little interest in life-saving, though they duly sported the life-saving motto on the badges they wore. As a matter of fact, when some people were actually rescued from the sea, it was always such a nuisance because they were dirty and sick and soiled the carpeting and the furniture.

Soon the social activities of the club became so numerous and the life-saving activities so few that there was a showdown at a club meeting with some members insisting that they return to their original purpose and activity. A vote was taken and these troublemakers, who proved to be a small minority, were invited to leave the club and start another.

Which is precisely what they did-a little further down the coast, with such selflessness and daring that, after a while, their heroism made them famous. Whereupon their membership was enlarged, their hut was reconstructed.. and their idealism - smothered. If you happen to visit that area today you will find a number of exclusive clubs dotting the shoreline,. Each one of them is justifiably proud of its origin and its tradition. Shipwrecks still occur in those parts, but nobody seems to care much

http://www.jdgreear.com/my_weblog/2015/07/the-church-isnt-a-cruise-ship-its-an-aircraft-carrier.html

we must constantly fight the temptation to make it about me – cruis e ship.

We must never beat people up – battle ship

We must actively work to remain outward focused……… aircraft carrier

From the book – the barefoot church primer       Pg 154

Paradigm shift

Old way                                                                                                         healthy way

Pastors serve the congregation                                                                 pastors equip the congregation to serve

                               

People learn about Jesus                                                                             people learn to live on mission for Jesus

Pastors providing services, programs and events                              pastors exposing need and people engaging the need

Pastors trying to motivate people to grow spiritually                       people taking initiative for their own personal growth

Our values

Joy authenticity and excellence.

Joy = kindness.  Positive.  Constructive.  Playing well with others

Even in times of stress and change……..

Authenticity = be who you are.

No pretending.  What was jesus like?

Honest.

You are expected to think.  No easy answers.

A faith that is not satisfied with going thru the motions……… ask the hard questions……….. real change

Excellence……. It’s the most difficult

Excellence does not mean perfection but………..

Constantly working on how to make things better.

That is painful.

Because we must address difficulty

If you don’t, trouble is on the horizon

You lose good people

Conversely, great people want to be a part of something that is exceptional

And so we spend a good deal of time

Applying our resources to whatever is the challenge of the moment.

Rick warren on vision………..

Very little of Saddleback’s ministry was preplanned. I didn’t have any long-range strategy before I started the church. I simply knew God had called me to plant a new church built on the five New Testament purposes, and I had a bag of ideas I wanted to try out. Each innovation we’ve developed was just a response to the circumstances in which we found ourselves. I didn’t plan them in advance. Most people think of “vision” as the ability to see the future. But in today’s rapidly changing world, vision is also the ability to accurately assess current changes and take advantage of them. Vision is being alert to opportunities.

We have tried to stay focused

We have tried to remove barriers to growth

We have tried to apply our abilities, gifts and resources to the needs at hand

And so the game of vision is hard to paint into a picture of a 3 year 5 year, 7 year plan

Results of all of this……….

I have painfully enjoyed the chaos that takes place in a church when people hear Gods call and act to live it out in their lives…….

The pain of change…….i hear about it

I know it………..

But we have a choice, either fight to keep it the same, and die, or allow the spirit to lead us.

Lead us out of Egypt, into the wilderness

Out of our comfort zone, to a land that he will show to us.

David hyatt and the church near st Louis that wanted to win young people

The results of all of this is A church that has grown……

outside of our comfort

welcoming many more over the years – on a mission for god

A church that deploys people in mission

Close………

I invite you to understand what we are trying to do

I invite you to join me in a fight against what comes naturally to us, which is to make it bout our comfort..

I invite you to join me in connecting people to jesus Christ

In fulfilling our potential to do that in every way that we can.

Without a vision the people perish, but when we let go of our preference and follow the holy spriti, god can do great things.

Connecting People to Jesus Christ, Isaiah 6:1-8, 9/29/2013

 Sermon Series:  Connecting People to Jesus Christ mnb

Today’s Message:  Sending

Scripture:  Isaiah 6:1-8 NIV

Closing the series-

Invite nurture send

Today we find Isaiah- he’s dropped off his kid at soccer practice.  He has run some errands for his wife. 

He is back at practice sitting in his car and he has this vision.

I say this because we think people that hear gods call are special.  They are not.  They are just like you and just like me.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  ⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah is

Going about his business and he gets a gift……….to see God

His sins are forgiven

It changes him

He wants to help

Do you know that your sins are forgiven?  How does that make you feel?

Man when I think about that, I want to hug you.  I want to hug everybody.

God is still forgiving sins

God is still revealing himself

Still asking the question, who will go in my name?

Last week we talked about sit soak, sour

The problem in the church – It’s not that we do not love God, we’ve created a God that is largely about our comfort.

We want to sit in church and pray that god solves our problems

Personally, I have gone thru quite a metamorphosis in regards to missions.  When I wss a kid

·        San jose rescue mission                                            [PICTURE]

·        2 canned food drives

But the rest of my life, our lives, and this is key

Were left for us to direct as we saw fit

We had done our bit for god and now we can just do whatever we want

But we have been learning- we have been changing

That true spirituality turns us toward s god and each other

story -I’m out there – God                                                     [PICTURE]

we are invited to join in God’s mission

The story of the good Samaritan-

If jesus told it to us, the people passing by would be a Methodist preacher

The second might be the Methodist lay leader.

The religious forget the needy.  Does that bother you?

The kingdom is brought to the table by someone outside of our faith family.

Does that bother you?

They must have been in a hurry to get to the temple to pray

Easy for us to fall for a life of comfort, and shy away from God’s call. 

Good Samaritan – what must I do to eternal life – the answer is a way of life

Parable of talents – about how we live and choose to use God’s resources

Zacchaeus – salvation because he’s changing the way he’s going to live

Story of the rich young ruler –

          Believes all the right stuff

          Give your stuff away

Matthew 25 – the sheep & the goats – it’s a story about how we live – I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink

Not I was hungry and you preached to me, but I was hungry and I fed you

When you do it to the least of these, you did it unto me

Mission is not just something that the missions department does.  It is something that all Christians do. 

Spiritually developed people are those who have set aside comfort and personal preference for the sake of your mission.

Prayer takes us past our needs to the needs of others

True spirituality takes us to the heart of god where we learn to forget ourselves

 The kingdom is not about me getting a fair share of God.  Kingdom work is out there, it is investing in others. 

Peter Rollins quote – begin to think of it as believing in a way

 Living your faith out

The church should never be an end in and of itself, it is a launching pad

Every Christ follower is invited to follow Christ

Receiving new members…have you noticed that we are pretty clear about expectations?

Salvation is for me, but not just me

Love extends beyond our heart to our community and the world- god loved the world

John 3:16

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We are sent

Now entering the Mission field sign –                                      [PICTURE]

Mike Stachura – says

“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.”

–we are sent into the world, not just on international trips, but in our everyday life.

The Holy Spirit calls us to places we’ve never heard of.  The Holy Spirit lives beyond the edge of our comfort zone.

Isaiah’s sins were forgiven.  Do you know that your sins are forgiven?

Each of us need moments of conversion

First toward Christ, secondly toward the needy

Mine began in Russia in 2000

Meeting kids with one shirt.

Wanting to eat your food

Collecting sausage and bread for the kids on the ride home.

Pulled into my driveway and cried

Never looked at a plate of food the same.

This is where our members start to feel guilty

Not guilty, but responsible

Began to think of the faith less as something internal more as something external

True prayer turns us from our will to Gods.

I think Jesus said that in the garden…..

Not my will but thine be done

We sit around praying for direction, for purpose when Joplin is flattened. When the prisons are full; when children in our towns are hungry.

As if In the American version of Christianity; Jesus gets married, buys a house in the suburbs; has a family; serves as PTA president for a stint; has good health care; has a fat 401K; lives a long life and dies quietly in his sleep.

True Prayer gives us a heart of compassion for all people but especially for the broken and wounded on the side of the road.

We can no longer sit by, we can no longer pass by

All human hearts desire comfort.  Some human hearts desire greatness. Friends, these are a contradiction.

These are Two things that cannot abide together.

You wish to be brave? Courageous for God? Then you must enter the danger zone. 

We must be willing to cross the road and stoop down to reach for the broken.  We must be willing to get our clothes bloody and dirty for the cause of Christ.

At a time when the influence of the church is waning, at a time when the reputation of the church is tarnished, at a time when everyone out there is looking for hope, it is time for the church to rise, but the kingdom always rises one person at a time

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. 

there is a load to be carried and a destination to be reached. 

The open seas are sometimes rocky, but We are called to a purpose.

We Christ followers are to follow him, into the mission field to be his hands. 

Not my will but your will be done.

Isaiah knew he was forgiven. 

It meant so much to him that he wanted to go.

God is still asking.  Who will go in my name……….

As St. Teresa of Avila prayed 500 years ago- lets pray together.

Lord Christ, you have no body on earth but ours,

No hands but ours,

No feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which your compassion must look out on the world.  Ours are the feet by which you may still go about doing good. 

Ours are the hands with which you bless people now.  Bless our minds and bodies, that we may be a blessing to others.  Amen.

Jeff Brinkman

Pastor

Woods Chapel United Methodist Church

Web |Twitter |Facebook |Prayer

You can read Jeff's blog at www.canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com

Hole In Our Gospel Luke 4:14 - 21 09/26/10

Sermon hole in the gospel

Luke 4:14-21

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[e]
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Quo0tes from the book

Glen beck and liberation theology

Rob bell and restoration theology

It is a both and

Not just personal, also redemptive

Coming home from Russia
Seeing the people on the estrees in america
I don’t want anyone to feel bad. I don’t want to feel bad
But I do want us to feel responsible and work on making some better life choices

Let us consider, not just Christian values, but basic human values……is it right for us to ignore the life and death needs of so many while we spend more on a vacation then many of these folks will see in a lifetime?

Jesus ministry to the poor.

Someone asked me last year if i was saying that god only cares about the poor. Of course that is not true. But god has a heart for the poor and he wants us to have a heart for them too.

Jesus ministry. I have come so that western Christians's can enjoy their stained glass windows. I have come so that they will enjoy the comforts of their pews. I have come to give them an entertaining preacher

Or I have come to release the captives, give sight to the blind…….

This is the acceptable day of the lord
And the people in his town wanted to throw him off the cliff

- -
-
- In Europe churches are closing by the 100’s but Missional Communities are growing like wild fire. A Missional communities is one which a group of people who have a common interest get together and work toward helping a group of people in need. They all have a common vision and they work together toward their goal.

=-=-=-
Quotes from The hole in our gospel by Richard Stearns

Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God- Bob Pierce 9

Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, elegance or learning. – Frederick Faber 13

We have shrunk Jesus to the size where he can save our soul but now don’t believe that he can change the world -23

The true gospel is a call to self denial, not a call to self fulfillment. – john macarthur 25

The place that god calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger meet. – Frederick Buechner 36

When we say that we want to be his disciple, yet attach a list of conditions, Jesus refuses to accept our terms. His terms involve unconditional surrender. 38

What if there are children who will suffer somehow because I failed to obey God? What if my cowardice costs even one child somewhere in the world his or her life? 49

The first reformation was about creeds, this one’s going to be about our deeds. The first one divided the church, this time it will unify the church. Rick warren 51

If we truly love god, we will express it by loving our neighbors, and when we truly love our neighbors, it expresses our love for God. 66

Its not what you believe that counts, its what you believe enough to do. 87

15,000 Africans are dying each day of preventable diseases…..this would never be allowed to happen anywhere else……if we ever accept that their lives are as equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. Its an uncomfortable truth. Bono 104

Some scientists believe that one out of every two people who have ever lived have died of malaria. 143

He who is dying of hunger must be fed rather than taught. Thomas Aquinas 133

Don’t fail to do something just because you cant do everything. 152

We have drifted away from being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium. Paul Harvey 169

Baseball is like church, many attend, few understand. Leo Durocher 169

There are three principles of the American dream that differ from scripture
1. Its not our money, it all comes from God
2. We are not entitled to it but entrusted with it.
3. God expect us to use it in the interest of his kingdom.

Can you imagine the impact on our own culture if American christian's began using their riches as if they belonged to God? 208

If your family, household income is over 50,000 you are more wealthy than 99% of the worlds population. 215

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret mead 241

Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. Henry van dyke 257

=-=-=-
Book Report 2009

Title: The Hole in our Gospel

Author: Richard Sterns Publisher: Thomas Nelson Date: 2009


• He is president of world vision
• “Let the heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” – a prayer by Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision (Page 9)
• “Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence or learning.” – by Fredrick Faber (Page 13)
• “We have shrunk Jesus to the size where he can save our soul but now don’t believe He can change the world.” – Anonymous (Page 23)
• “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (Page 26)
• “When we say that we want to be His disciple, yet attach a list of conditions, Jesus refuses to accept our terms. His terms involve unconditional surrender.” (Page 38)
• “What is there are children who will suffer somehow because I failed to obey God? What is my cowardice costs even one child somewhere in the world his or her life?” (Page 49)


Comments:

When you become a Christian, you become part of a family. A body. Being a Christian is not a get out of jail free card that you put in your pocket.

“If we truly love God, we will express it by loving our neighbors, and when we truly love our neighbors, it expresses our love for God.” (Page 66)

“It’s not what you believe that counts; it’s what you believe enough to do.”
(Page 87)

Lighthouses blow not horns; they only shine.

Who is my neighbor?

Compassion fatigue

15,000 Africans die of preventable disease each day. Would this be allowed in America?

I will make nothing, I will have nothing, I will give everything.

“He who is dying of hunger must be fed rather than taught.” – Saint Thomas Aquinas (Page 132)

“Don’t’ fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.”

“Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” – Leo Durocher
(Page 169)

Terri – Find out how much this book costs

Two Churches

1. The church of God’s blessing
2. The church of the suffering servant

“The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes – a time for man and women to be heroic in their faith and in spiritual character and power. The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its message to low.” – Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines (Page 181)

The church’s interpretation of faith killed works.

“Can you imagine the impact on our own culture if American Christians began using their riches as if they belonged to God?” (Page 208)

We could take on 50% of CVV’s budget.
We could adopt every Hillcrest apartment.
We could begin to save the lives of hungry people around the world. If we save their lives we have a chance to save their souls.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead (Page 241)

“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.” – Abraham Lincoln (Page 243)

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if not birds sang there except those that sang best.” – Henry Van Dyke (Page 257)


Trailer at the end of the sermon

Mt 25 – lord lord

Mt 7 not everyone that says to me…….but those who do the will of my heavenly father.

Connected - 08-30-09 - 1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Connected - 08-30-09 - 1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Ultimately, what these people are talking about today, and what connecting Sunday is about, is not trying to get you connected to a program, or the church, or new friends.
Oh, all those things are great.
Programs help people, the church is awesome, and new friends are great.
But these are the beginning points for what connecting Sunday is really about.

But what we are trying to do at the church, and on connecting Sunday, is to help everyone learn to be connected to life in Jesus Christ.

I don't mean some guilt laden Jesus.
I don't mean some powerless little baby laying in a manger.
I mean the Jesus who forgives us and teaches us to live a life that matters

Facebook - do you have a facebook? Do you know what it is?
homepage - profile - about me....
I like power tools, gardening, music, here are 842 pictures of me

Jesus said, If you save your life, you lose it.
The monkey, the penny, the jar, his fist.
Most people are trying to save their life, doing the things that they want to do.
Hey, it is my life! But this is not the life we were designed for.

Jesus offers you a life that is about giving yourself away.
Not being a volunteer, not taking time to serve.
but coming to understand that we were meant to live outside of ourselves.
Odd as is sounds, that is where the joy is found.
Taking life to yourself? It won't make you happy.
Giving your life away? Exhilarating, Amazing

Is your life satisfying? Are you filled with joy?
Or are your life choices exhausting you and your children?

Each person out here in the connecting fair has been touched by the program that they are holding up to you.

Let's change our facebook profiles-
How about sharing the joy that I have found in caring about others.
How about pictures of us helping the least of these

Let go of the penny - pull your hand out of the jar-
withdraw from the rat race.
crazy as it sounds, we find joy when we are doing what we were created to do, and that means living a life that is giving ourselves away in the name of Jesus.

I asked you today to save your life by losing it. Get involved.
make new friends, live your life in balance,
as you are connected to God thru Jesus Christ.

Who Is Jesus - Jesus Washes Feet John13:1-17 09-21-08

Who Is Jesus - Jesus Washes Feet John13:1-17 09-21-08

Who is Jesus - one who washes feet - a servant leader

Jesus models for us the gift of humility

Jesus sets the example but it is a biblical there.

Micah:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

The scripture always lift up humility over pride

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins found in Proverb6Pride was the down fall of so many, Pharoah, Samson, Ahab

Humility is the mark of great leaders and successful Christians

Paul said

• I am the least of the apostles. 1Corinthians15:9


• I am the very least of all the saints. Ephesians3:8


• I am the foremost of simmers. 1Timohy1:15

What is humility?
Humility is not just gentleness or meekness.
It demands vulnerability, the willingness to be hurt.
It is readiness to go unnoticed, to be last, to receive the least.
don't let your left hand know what you right hand is doing
don't draw attention to yourself
It is central to the spiritual life
It is the was of Christ
For some of us the path to humility goes through humiliation -being brought low unable to function, striped of pretenses and defenses, feeling fraudulent, empty, useless -- that allows us to re-grow a life that is real

Humility not just as an aversion to pride, but humility is being teachable...open, willing to grow.

John12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Andrew Murray, dutch missionary to South Africa 1828-1017 Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have not trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expend nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble.

Humility is knowing that I am nothing with out God, but in him, and only in him, i am all that I need to be

Why is this important? - we don't get it

did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it?

Sportscaster and former baseball great Ralph Kiner tells the following story: After the 1952 season in which I hit 37 home runs, I asked Pittsburgh Pirate general manager Branch Rickey for a raise. he refused. "I led the league in homers," I reminded him. "Where did we finish?" Rickey asked me. "Last," I replied. "Well," Rickey said, "We can finish last without you." The next year Ralph Kiner was playing for the cubs.

Disciplies request for greatness
Luke22 - has this taking place on the same night....
24Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, "The kings of th Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exersize authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26ut you are not to be liked that. Istead, the greatest amoung yu should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is itnot the one who is at the table? But am among you as one who serves.

It doesn't come naturally to us, but it is the way of life. God's way. Without it, we are in our flesh

15Jesus said, I have set you an example that you should so as I have done for you.I

What are examples of humility-

Bookers T. Washington, the remowned black educator, was an outstanding example of humility. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy while women. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had not pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. when he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized ham and later revealed his identity to the lady.

The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely, "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. No long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

Sen. John Stennis had been shot...arriving home after a long day at the senate. Two people came out came out of the darkness, robbed him, and shot him twice. News of the shooting shocked Washington and the nation. For nearly seven hours, Senator Stennis was on the operating table at Walter Reed Hospital. another politician was driving home when he heard about the shooting. He turned his car around and drove directly to the hospital.

In the hospital, he noticed that the staff was swamped and could not keep up with the incoming calls about the Senator's condition. He spotted an unattended switchboard, sat down, and voluntarily went to work. He continued taking calls until daylight. Sometime during the next day, he stood up, stretched, put on his overcoat, and just befor leaving he introduced himself quietly to the other operator, "I'm Mark Hatfield, happy to help out." Then Senator Mark Hatfield unobtrusively walked out. The press could hardly handle that story. There seemed to be no way for a Republican to give a Democrat a tip of the hat, let alone spend hours doing a menial task and be "happy to help out."
I hope that you are being nice during election season.

You are washing feet every time you
Making sack lunches for the poor
Making room ffor others in worship
Parking father away so that new folks can park close
Anonymous person and the fellowship hall

We are blessed is we act in this way - a humble heart is its own reward
Unless I wash you, you have no part of me
Your life can't be about Christ if your life is about you
We hare humility because we have a need to prove we are great.
We have a need to tell others that we are great
We cannot trust Jesus if we are still trusting ourselves

Jesus invited us into a life filled with meaning, by asking us to give up on your own way and bow the knee to him. Who are you trusting today? Whoses feet will you wash?

Today is the connecting fair in the gym...I invite you to drop by and visit with an open heart and find a place to serve

The Mission of the Church 2-27-00

Sermon 2-27-00 The mission of the church Delivering the Goods

Broken toe
Dennys restaurant Chris Sweatnam
Poor food, poor service
You expect things to work, to perform
Favorite radio station, need to hear your kind of music
Bob Dylan…new song

The Church must perform its mission
The church must care about its mission

What is our mission?
Umc mission “make disciples of Jesus Christ
Woods Chapel missions statement “connecting…”

How do we execute our mission?
List good things
List bad things

Anyone can run programs
We are different, we must offer christ
If we don’t, we are no different from any social club

Tues mens group
Grace vs ungrace
Offering grace is the only thing we have that makes us different
Wed Bible Study….a new commandment, by this shall all men know

Not everyone here is like you
Different kinds of folks Different interests, different groups
You may not like everyone here
But everyone here is worthy of the effort
People are not problems, people are treasures

God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son
Paul said, I have become all things to all men

Somehow, we must look past our differences and reach out
Find a way to deliver the goods

The peace and grace of Jesus Christ be with you all


New film “wonder boys”
Stars Michael Douglas
Things have changed
Minor key
“People are crazy and times are strange
I used to care, but things have changed”





Call Rachel Allen
Tom Goddards wife