Sunday, February 8, 2009
1st Corinthians 9:16-23
Senior Pastor
I received a letter recently from our missionary friend in Brazil, Gordon Greathouse. First Church has been financially supporting United Methodist missionaries in Brazil for years through the funds left in the Lemen Trust. Gordon has received this support for the last decade or more. He writes about the thirty years of effective missionary service that he has had in Brazil, along with his wife Teca.
He lists a number of accomplishments like coordinating Volunteers In Mission teams, similar to the one we sent a few years ago to give short-term support to the work the Methodists do there. He mentions how they founded Habitat for Humanity in Brazil and have now seen the completion of over 200 homes in their area and the expansion of Habitat to other states within Brazil. He mentions the 3000 school children they touch everyday with after-school programs and the hundreds of volunteers that make that possible through the Shade and Fresh Water project.
Gordon turned 60 years old this year, and it put him in a reflective mood. He shares the difference between the energy he has in his mind for ministry and the energy that his body actually supplies. You begin to sense the tension between his commitment to ministry and his family life as he discusses their three children. As a pastor I can sense the tension between his freedom in Christ and his commitment to serve Christ.
Over these last three weeks that has been a recurring theme in our scripture passages: we are free in Christ and yet we are called to commitment through Christ. One week Paul discussed that we are free to do things, but they may not all be beneficial. The next week we looked at a passage that discussed the Holy Spirit within us working but not just for our own sake but so that we might be a witness. That Sunday we heard the song Let It Rain praying to God to let his blessings rain down on us to empower us to be witnesses. Last week we explored the tension between being free to do what we want, yet Paul imploring the Corinthians to consider the larger Christian body, especially those that might be weaker in the faith.
Today Paul says, though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. (v. 19) It is a bit of a paradox that he uses free and slave in the same sentence. I am free and yet I have made myself a slave. In verse 19 he says so that I might win more of them, and then in verse 22 he says that he does all of what he does so that by all means he might save some. He is not saying that he will do just anything and everything to reach people, but that he lets their agenda or their needs set his course in terms of how he offers Christ to them.
I thought of our Stephen Ministers here at First Church. If you have been here much you have heard of Stephen Ministers. They are our persons out of the congregation that have gone through special training to provide support to anyone with needs in our congregation or those turning to our congregation for help. They are the ones who provide our prayer ministry after every worship service in the Wesley Chapel. So, you see Stephen Ministry functions much like Paul says he does in this passage – letting the ones with certain needs set the agenda for how the caring relationship proceeds.
I had asked Mary Miller, the director of our Care Ministry to be here along with some of the Stephen Ministers to share some examples of how this has happened in our own congregation. Mary’s mother is very ill in Iowa and had a setback this week, so Mary has driven to be with her this weekend. She is not here.
But there are a couple of the Stephen Ministers here that I want to come up and share with us their experience with this because it is such a fitting illustration of what Paul describes in this passage. (David invites selected Stephen Ministers to come forward.)
As I think you can hear in these stories they, like Paul,
make themselves available.
Paul says in vivid language, he makes himself a slave for others’ good. He concludes with I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. (v. 22) Our Stephen Ministers are available to meet one on one with any person that so desires someone to support them as they walk this Christian journey. If you have a need, tell Susan or me and we will work with Mary Miller to connect you with these folks who stand ready to serve you.
But there is one more thing that Paul notes in this passage that I want us to notice. Paul says, I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. (v.23) I think this is the most challenging portion of the text. It is good news in that we hear Paul’s witness to the fact that when we work for the sake of the gospel, we get to share in the blessings.
But the challenging part is to ask ourselves what do we do for the sake of the gospel? What do we do to share the gospel message with others? Too often we limit our Christian public life to coming on Sunday and the rest of the week there is no visible evidence that we are Christian. We are not really doing anything publicly because we have allowed our faith to go underground, to become strictly private during the week.
All of our lives don’t look the same. The ways we choose to witness will not all be the same. All of our lives don’t even have to look like Paul’s. But are you providing the unique witness that God has equipped you to make in your circumstances? Our theme this month is How Much Do You Care? Today specifically, the focus is how Paul extended his care to different groups. The challenge is to reflect on your own personal choices and decide if you need to make a more public witness – to wonder: How can I extend the care of the gospel? Paul says as you do, you will get to share in its blessings.
Amen and thanks be to God.
1st
Corinthians 9:16-23
…from our missionary friend in ____________,
Gordon Greathouse.
He mentions the _______ school children they touch
everyday
with after-school programs…
…we are free in Christ and yet we are called to
commitment
______________ Christ.
verse ____
…paradox that he uses ________ and slave in the same sentence.
…he lets their agenda or their needs set his course in
terms
of how he offers ____________ to them.
I thought of our ______________ Ministers here at First Church.
…letting the ones with certain needs set the agenda for
______
the caring relationship proceeds.
…they like Paul make themselves __________________ …
I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may
__________
in its blessings. (v.23)
Kid’s Question: What is the group called
that Reverend Wiggs
talked with today as examples of Christian care?