3-25-06 Sermon by Pastor Barbara Currie
WHEN WAS IT THAT WE SAW YOU THIRSTY?
Sermon for OGHS Sunday, March 26, 2006
Isaiah 35:1-7, John 3:16 and Matt. 25:37
One Great Hour of Sharing! The quotes and scripture you have already heard really have preached the sermon. I will briefly add a few thoughts and connect all that has been said to that great verse in John 3:16 that tells us how much we are loved by God, the creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Today’s offering is not just something that churches in our denomination do; there are nine churches that participate in giving to this offering including the Am. Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Disciples of Christ, the Methodists, the AME Zion and the Church of the Brethren. This special offering was started in 1949 so that’s 57 years it’s been going on.
Our theme this year is Water. We who have such easy access to water may find it hard to imagine what it would be like to live where water is not easily available if at all. The flip side of such scarcity is the tremendous floods that devastated so many communities in this past year. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of our citizens became personally aware of the water problem and how much damage it can produce. Neither of these situations are at all funny, so I wondered whether or not it was appropriate to share some water humor with you. Please be assured that I’m not making light of these very serious situations. But can you imagine what might happen to baptisms if we had a huge drought? The Baptists would change to sprinkling instead of immersion; the Methodists and United Church of Christ would have to use damp cloths or wet ones, and the Presbyterians might be forced to give out rain checks.
While we are talking about baptisms, let me share one more thought. Do you know that some churches meet in drive-ins? That might be okay; however, I wonder if baptisms would then take place in car washes? That might be going too far!
Do you know that one out of every six people in the world is without safe drinking water? Over two million people, mostly children, die each year of water borne diseases. These are people that God loves. These are the people that God is talking about when God says that he loves the world soooo much that he gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus says that when we are feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty we are doing it to him. Any of us who are parents certainly know how much it hurts when our children are suffering and how pleased we are when someone cares for them, helps them, loves them. God sent us Jesus to show us the way, to save us.
As much as I love the Matthew 25 scripture, I do have a hard time in accepting the verses that say Jesus is going to divide us into two groups like the sheep and the goats, one group to inherit the kingdom (Mt. 25:33-34) and the other group to be thrown into eternal fire prepared for them by the devil (Mt. 25:41). I believe that everyone that has ever been born is on the list that Jesus Christ has come to save. Every one that God created is on that list to be saved: the rich and the poor, the American and the Palestinian, the gay and the straight, the black and the white, the Anglo and the Hispanic, the beautiful and the ugly, the disabled and the healthy, the Muslim and the Christian. I could go on and on. God gave us Jesus so that he could find us and show us the way. I do believe that those who sin do suffer pain and that at some point they have to repent, turn back to God. I’m not sure when or how that will happen, maybe after death. I believe it’s never too late to turn your life back to the One who loves us so much.
Some of these people I’m talking about are scared to be found; they may be hiding. They certainly wouldn’t want to turn up in church. As one of my resources said, “Some have the idea that Christ has come saying, “I’ve got a message from my Father; boy, is He ever mad at you!”[1] For these folks, it feels safer hiding in the dark instead of coming out into the light. It’s just too hard to imagine that God loves them. It’s not until you know that God is seeking you in love, not in condemnation, that the gospel becomes Good News for you.
My sisters and brothers, I can imagine that these people who have been harmed by water: too little, too much, not safe, and so on are wondering if God is punishing them or if there is such a thing as God. We have that opportunity to share the Good News by giving our money and our hands on help to those that are suffering. I wish that everyone here today would have the opportunity to actually go to give assistance to those who are in such need. One’s own experience, as Peter Cram reported and as I have found, is something that you will never forget, an experience that undoubtedly does as much, if not more, for you as it does for those you go to assist. There are many opportunities for you to go and serve. If you don’t have the time or money to go far away, our Conference office is arranging teams to assist the folks in Alstedt, NH, whose homes were damaged by the rains. See the notice in today’s bulletin. If it’s not the time or if you physically are unable to do the hands-on help, there are two other important things that you can do: donate your money generously and pray vigorously. God gave us Jesus and now that Jesus is no longer here on earth, who else but us, his followers, are left to do the work of going and making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching, loving and caring, doing and being. Sometimes there seems to be so much to do that we could get discouraged; however, our faith is a faith of hope and we have been promised that God is with us always to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). On top of this we have resources like One Great Hour of Sharing and Church World Service where we put our resources together with other Christians to help in so many ways. I pray that all of us will be blessed by having the opportunity to share what God has given us. Amen
[1] Jim Fitzgerald, Preacher’s Magazine Lent/Easter 2006.
Sermon for OGHS Sunday, March 26, 2006
Isaiah 35:1-7, John 3:16 and Matt. 25:37
One Great Hour of Sharing! The quotes and scripture you have already heard really have preached the sermon. I will briefly add a few thoughts and connect all that has been said to that great verse in John 3:16 that tells us how much we are loved by God, the creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Today’s offering is not just something that churches in our denomination do; there are nine churches that participate in giving to this offering including the Am. Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Disciples of Christ, the Methodists, the AME Zion and the Church of the Brethren. This special offering was started in 1949 so that’s 57 years it’s been going on.
Our theme this year is Water. We who have such easy access to water may find it hard to imagine what it would be like to live where water is not easily available if at all. The flip side of such scarcity is the tremendous floods that devastated so many communities in this past year. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of our citizens became personally aware of the water problem and how much damage it can produce. Neither of these situations are at all funny, so I wondered whether or not it was appropriate to share some water humor with you. Please be assured that I’m not making light of these very serious situations. But can you imagine what might happen to baptisms if we had a huge drought? The Baptists would change to sprinkling instead of immersion; the Methodists and United Church of Christ would have to use damp cloths or wet ones, and the Presbyterians might be forced to give out rain checks.
While we are talking about baptisms, let me share one more thought. Do you know that some churches meet in drive-ins? That might be okay; however, I wonder if baptisms would then take place in car washes? That might be going too far!
Do you know that one out of every six people in the world is without safe drinking water? Over two million people, mostly children, die each year of water borne diseases. These are people that God loves. These are the people that God is talking about when God says that he loves the world soooo much that he gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus says that when we are feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty we are doing it to him. Any of us who are parents certainly know how much it hurts when our children are suffering and how pleased we are when someone cares for them, helps them, loves them. God sent us Jesus to show us the way, to save us.
As much as I love the Matthew 25 scripture, I do have a hard time in accepting the verses that say Jesus is going to divide us into two groups like the sheep and the goats, one group to inherit the kingdom (Mt. 25:33-34) and the other group to be thrown into eternal fire prepared for them by the devil (Mt. 25:41). I believe that everyone that has ever been born is on the list that Jesus Christ has come to save. Every one that God created is on that list to be saved: the rich and the poor, the American and the Palestinian, the gay and the straight, the black and the white, the Anglo and the Hispanic, the beautiful and the ugly, the disabled and the healthy, the Muslim and the Christian. I could go on and on. God gave us Jesus so that he could find us and show us the way. I do believe that those who sin do suffer pain and that at some point they have to repent, turn back to God. I’m not sure when or how that will happen, maybe after death. I believe it’s never too late to turn your life back to the One who loves us so much.
Some of these people I’m talking about are scared to be found; they may be hiding. They certainly wouldn’t want to turn up in church. As one of my resources said, “Some have the idea that Christ has come saying, “I’ve got a message from my Father; boy, is He ever mad at you!”[1] For these folks, it feels safer hiding in the dark instead of coming out into the light. It’s just too hard to imagine that God loves them. It’s not until you know that God is seeking you in love, not in condemnation, that the gospel becomes Good News for you.
My sisters and brothers, I can imagine that these people who have been harmed by water: too little, too much, not safe, and so on are wondering if God is punishing them or if there is such a thing as God. We have that opportunity to share the Good News by giving our money and our hands on help to those that are suffering. I wish that everyone here today would have the opportunity to actually go to give assistance to those who are in such need. One’s own experience, as Peter Cram reported and as I have found, is something that you will never forget, an experience that undoubtedly does as much, if not more, for you as it does for those you go to assist. There are many opportunities for you to go and serve. If you don’t have the time or money to go far away, our Conference office is arranging teams to assist the folks in Alstedt, NH, whose homes were damaged by the rains. See the notice in today’s bulletin. If it’s not the time or if you physically are unable to do the hands-on help, there are two other important things that you can do: donate your money generously and pray vigorously. God gave us Jesus and now that Jesus is no longer here on earth, who else but us, his followers, are left to do the work of going and making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching, loving and caring, doing and being. Sometimes there seems to be so much to do that we could get discouraged; however, our faith is a faith of hope and we have been promised that God is with us always to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). On top of this we have resources like One Great Hour of Sharing and Church World Service where we put our resources together with other Christians to help in so many ways. I pray that all of us will be blessed by having the opportunity to share what God has given us. Amen
[1] Jim Fitzgerald, Preacher’s Magazine Lent/Easter 2006.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 2:10 PM
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