Sermon - 2020-01-26
Once again, we hear a gospel lesson that contains John the Baptist. One of the reasons that we talk about John the Baptist so much within this season to help us bear witness to the way God was preparing the people and the world for the arrival of His Son. Yes, there was a star in the sky, the heavenly hosts, and the angels who told individuals and small groups but John the Baptist was the first human person who prepared the way for Jesus to truly make an impact in this world. Not only that but Jesus himself seemed to take the message that John was sharing and used it to help people know and understand that they were sent from God.
This really got me thinking about the people who have influenced and impacted my own life, my own spiritual journey. The people who allowed me to hear the message of God, offer me space to learn and grow and then truly realize how God was calling me today. As I look back on my own life, I realized that it was not just one person. I had my parents, my grandmother, I had my parent’s friends, I had my own friends, I had people from other denominations and people of other faiths.
I want you all to take a moment and think of the people that have shaped your life and faith. (a moment of silence)
As each and everyone of you who are here today, you have been on this journey of life and faith. There are times that you had someone who was supporting you, helping you grow, and you may have even realized that God had sent them in your life for this time. Others of you are in a season of your life in which you feel like your well has run dry. You do not feel that you have someone to share your journey of faith with. You are struggling to know where God is at within your life. This is where the struggles and burdens of this world are real
It is here when the well runs dry, that we are called to be the church. To help those who are struggling and share what it is we can to support one another. Sometimes this is physical needs like clothing, food, and water. Sometimes we help with mental needs of building one another up, offering someone a listening ear, a caring heart and a place to know that they are welcome. However, at the heart of our ministry as a church and the motivation of why we are doing this, is to share with people the love of God’s Own Son. To have a space for all people to learn and grow in understanding but also in relationship with God. That you as a Disciple of Jesus Christ may reach out to those who are in need and share God’s Love with all whom you encounter and prepare the way for Christ to be recognized in their life.
This means that sometimes, we ourselves need to come to the water of Christ to be filled up ourselves. To have someone care for us, that we put in the world of growing closer to God to help others. Over and over again, our motivation is not for our own sake and salvation. We do all of this for the sake of those who are not here yet. That we need to reach out to a person where they are, if they are at the beginning of their journey, if they are at the end of their journey, or if they are somewhere in between.
So we hear the words of Jesus, “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” Not as a worry, but as a call to action and promise being fulfilled that we are able to be apart of it. So go, find the ways you are able to serve, find the people that are in need, and let’s us gather at table of God now and forever to be in the Kingdom of God. Amen.
This really got me thinking about the people who have influenced and impacted my own life, my own spiritual journey. The people who allowed me to hear the message of God, offer me space to learn and grow and then truly realize how God was calling me today. As I look back on my own life, I realized that it was not just one person. I had my parents, my grandmother, I had my parent’s friends, I had my own friends, I had people from other denominations and people of other faiths.
I want you all to take a moment and think of the people that have shaped your life and faith. (a moment of silence)
As each and everyone of you who are here today, you have been on this journey of life and faith. There are times that you had someone who was supporting you, helping you grow, and you may have even realized that God had sent them in your life for this time. Others of you are in a season of your life in which you feel like your well has run dry. You do not feel that you have someone to share your journey of faith with. You are struggling to know where God is at within your life. This is where the struggles and burdens of this world are real
It is here when the well runs dry, that we are called to be the church. To help those who are struggling and share what it is we can to support one another. Sometimes this is physical needs like clothing, food, and water. Sometimes we help with mental needs of building one another up, offering someone a listening ear, a caring heart and a place to know that they are welcome. However, at the heart of our ministry as a church and the motivation of why we are doing this, is to share with people the love of God’s Own Son. To have a space for all people to learn and grow in understanding but also in relationship with God. That you as a Disciple of Jesus Christ may reach out to those who are in need and share God’s Love with all whom you encounter and prepare the way for Christ to be recognized in their life.
This means that sometimes, we ourselves need to come to the water of Christ to be filled up ourselves. To have someone care for us, that we put in the world of growing closer to God to help others. Over and over again, our motivation is not for our own sake and salvation. We do all of this for the sake of those who are not here yet. That we need to reach out to a person where they are, if they are at the beginning of their journey, if they are at the end of their journey, or if they are somewhere in between.
So we hear the words of Jesus, “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” Not as a worry, but as a call to action and promise being fulfilled that we are able to be apart of it. So go, find the ways you are able to serve, find the people that are in need, and let’s us gather at table of God now and forever to be in the Kingdom of God. Amen.
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