Luke 17:11-19

Matthew 23:34-40

Luke 17:11-19

“An Attitude Of Gratitude”

Part 4 of Hopewell Stewardship Series 2008

November 23, 2008

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

We began our Stewardship emphasis for this year 4 weeks ago as we looked at what it truly means to live as Christians – and what the most important things are for us to remember as we strive to live our lives in God’s ways.

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

4 weeks ago I talked a little about “final exams” and the Ordination Exams every Seminary graduate has to take before being ordained – and how they were filled with questions to which we prayed that we had answers.

I also talked about how Rick Warren — in his book The Purpose Driven Life — writes that God has a Final Exam for us. He writes that — when our life is over — God is going to have 2 questions for us:

1. How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

2. What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions.

If you answer them in the way God wants you to answer them, He has a place in heaven prepared for you.

If not, your place will not be in heaven.

Maybe it would be wise to look at how to answer these questions in the way that will please God. As we move through November, we are going to look at the fact that God has questions for us – and whether or not we have answers.

4 weeks ago we looked at the primary passage that we’ll be looking at for the next few weeks — Matthew 22:34-40 – and saw that responding to Jesus by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind – and loving others as ourselves – are the 2 primary ways we can respond to God’s questions of how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us.

3 weeks ago we looked further at exactly what it means to love God and love others as we looked at Matthew 23:1-12 – and discovered that we not only have to talk about loving God and serving others – we have to do it. We can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Christians – we can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Church members – but we have to be Christians – we have to Church members – that show God and the Christian life to others I what we say and in what we do.

2 weeks ago we continued as we looked at Matthew 25:1-13 – and saw that it means using the gifts God has given us wisely. You see — when it comes to living the Christian life and using the gifts God has given us – we have to wise guys – and wise gals.

Last week we continued by looking at Matthew 25:14-30 – and saw that God does not want us to waste our talents.

Today we are going to look at Luke 17:11-19 – and see that we need to have an attitude of gratitude – and be thankful for all God has given us.

Listen to God’s word as we look again at Matthew 22:34-40 – then look at Luke 17:11-19.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions that God may ask us when we get to heaven.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

God does not want us to have to say:

“Lord – I know you gave me so much – and I know that you blessed me in so many ways – but it was hard for me to remember what I had to be thankful for as I lived my life every day.

Things happened, Lord.

Sometimes there were bad things going on in my life and I found it hard to focus on the good.

And then – at other times things were going reall well – but I didn’t think about how the good things were really from you – and I didn’t stop and thank you for them.

You understand – don’t you – Lord?”

No – that is not the response God wants to hear from us when He asks us how we responded to Christ and what we did with what He gave us.

And – yes – God would understand that response – but what God would understand is not what we might want Him to understand.

What He would probably understand is that we were not thankful for what He gave us.

What we would understand is that we did not an attitude of gratitude.

When it comes to responding to Christ, and using what God has given us – we need to look at all that God has given us – and have an attitude of gratitude.

We need an attitude of gratitude.

We need an attitude of gratitude.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind

Love your neighbor

Love God

Love others

Love Jesus

Love others

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

If you can say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and mind”

You are able to give a response that is in line with what God wills for you to answer.

Having a personal relationship with Christ is the first step towards living the life God would have us live. That’s why – every day – you need to ask yourself:

“How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?”

“How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?”

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I used what You gave me for Your glory – and to do Your work and will in the Church and the community”

You are able to answer God’s questions in the way God intendeds.

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I used what You gave me wisely –

I used Your gifts to me to make a difference in the world and the community for Your glory – I used what You gave me to do Your work in the community and the Church – I used what You gave me wisely to make a difference for You in the Church and the community.”

You are able to answer God ‘s questions in the way God intends.

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I knew You gave me many talents and many abilities. I used them for Your glory and to do Your work in the community and the Church. I did not waste my talents and abilities – but used them for Your glory”.

You are able to answer God ‘s questions in the way God intends.

If you can say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – was aware of all you gifts to me – and thankfully used them for Your word and will in the world.”

You are able to answer God ‘s questions in the way God intends.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to have an attitude of gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude.

I read about a man who was talking to his teenage son after the two ot them had ridden a commuter train outside of New York City. It seems they were surrounded by middle-aged men who were worn out. Their clothes were wrinkled, their shirts were heavy with perspiration as they hunched over in their seats and clutched their copies of The Wall Street Journal.

After they got off the train, the son said: “Dad, they all seemed depressed.”

Have you ever noticed how few people appear — from the looks of their faces and from their body language — to be really happy? As you observe people from your automobile, or see them walking in the grocery store or the shopping malls, you see face after face looking tired, worn out, bored, or just drained of any emotion. You can go for hours without encountering a single truly happy person.

Life gets more serious as we get older; we know that. But one gets the impression that even kids are not as carefree as they were in the past. It’s a fact that team spirit and school enthusiasm have significantly weakened at the secondary level all over our country. High school students are a lot more serious than they once were. When you notice young people not having as much fun as they’re really entitled to have, you realize this is a symptom of a serious problem.

There are a myriad of reasons. Young people are from hurting and broken homes. The economy is not as promising as it once was; kids face doubt about the future. They face pressure to do well academically to get into a good school—a cheap school but a good school. They’re studying harder. They face scary problems in schools; violence is commonplace. There’s a lot of pressure to have sex—but don’t get pregnant! There’s confusion about sexual identity, and the rules change rapidly. Many young people don’t have a compassionate, wise person to help them sort these things out. No wonder it’s not as much fun to be a kid nowadays.

One of the most important things any church can do for young people is help them laugh. I love being a part of our Youth Group activities where our young people gather and we laugh – talk – and share God’s love with each other. I hope y’all realize what a great group of youth we have here at Hopewell – and what great leaders we have.

Churches and Christian homes can – and should — be places of joy. One of the secrets of a joyful spirit is coming to understand the graciousness of God.

Our mighty, holy, awesome God is at heart a gracious, generous, giving, compassionate, merciful God who cares about you – and blesses you.

When you look at all God has blessed you with, you can be thankful – and have an attitude of gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

If we can come to appreciate and understand this, and let it work its way through our lives—our thoughts, our emotions, our relationships—we can be transformed by the grace of God. We will become more thankful people, and thankful people are joyful people. With Thanksgiving Day this week — it’s an appropriate time to reflect on this.

An attitude of gratitude.

Luke has given us a story from the life of Jesus that helps us reflect on the importance of being thankful for God’s goodness to us – the importance of this attitude of gratitude. Luke’s story can help us to grow in our own understanding of this important issue. With the story of the ten lepers, Luke emphasizes the rarity of a thankful spirit – the rarity of this attitude of gratitude.

Jesus healed 10 lepers of the hideous disease – and only one returns to thank Him. Notice Jesus’ final words:

And Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give God praise?’”

Ten had been healed of a disease that made them outcasts to society and that made them disfigured people – but only took the time to thank the person who had made his recovery possible.

Only one had an attitude of gratitude.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

Gratitude is rarely expressed.

A clergyman included this item in his annual parochial report: “Nine persons lost at sea.” When the congregation read it, they expressed shock and amazement. He said, “Well, eleven people came to me and requested prayers for e voyages they were taking this year. . But only two asked me to give thanks for a safe return. So I assumed the other nine were lost at sea.”

A man writing at the post office desk was approached by an older fellow who had a post card in his hand. The old man said, “Sir, could you please address this post card for me?” The man gladly did so, and he agreed to write a short message on the post card, and he even signed it for the man, too. Finally the man doing the writing said to the older man, “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?” The old fellow thought about it for a minute, and he said, “Yes, at the end could you just put, ‘P.S. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting.’”

How often do you hear people express sincere gratitude? Try an experiment. Keep track of the number of complaints you hear each day, and compare that with the number of times you hear people express sincere words of gratitude. The complaints will probably outnumber the expressions of gratitude.

Are we really grateful?

Do we really have attitudes of gratitude?
Or — are we more apt to complain than to give God thanks?

A person who has begun to accept how gracious God is to them becomes a grateful person. The have an attitude of gratitude – and are thankful people.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

I want to offer you three reasons to be thankful

First, be thankful for all the resources God has given you: creative minds, the ability to choose and act decisively, limitless knowledge to be discovered, the ability to grow and expand your horizons in art, music, literature, humor, and beauty—not to mention God Himself, who cares and hears and has given us His Word to show us how to live.

Perhaps some of you here today hace many problems in your lives. I would think that, whatever troubles you might be experiencing, you could sit down and without any trouble make a list of at least fifty concrete things for which to give God thanks. And that’s probably the best therapy for a troubled spirit.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

A second reason to be thankful is the providence of God. Over and beyond all things that happen, God is at work—guiding, directing, and bringing about his purposes.

In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells about an incident that taught her the principle of giving thanks in all things. It was during World War II. Corrie and her sister, Betsy, had been harboring Jewish people in their home, so they were arrested and imprisoned at Ravensbruck Camp. The barracks was extremely crowded and infested with fleas. One morning they read, in their tattered Bible, from 1 Thessalonians the reminder to rejoice in all things. Betsy said, “Corrie, we’ve got to give thanks for this barracks and even for these fleas.” Corrie replied, “No way am I going to thank God for fleas.” But Betsy was persuasive, and they did thank God even for the fleas. During the months that followed, they found that their barracks was left relatively unsupervised, and they could do Bible study, talk openly, and even pray in the barracks. It was their only place of refuge. Several months later they learned that the reason the guards never entered their barracks was because of those blasted fleas.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

The third reason for giving God thanks is that we’re commanded to be thankful. For our welfare, we’re told over and over to give thanks. Paul says we’re to be joyful and pray continually. We are to give thanks in all circumstances—”For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Isn’t that why so much of our worship is devoted to giving thanks?

I read of a minister who was meeting with a group of men in his church. One of them commented that he had been learning the lesson of giving God thanks in difficult times. He talked with some pain about serious job problems over the last seven or eight years and how his wife had been recently diagnosed with cancer. He said that he had been learning to give God thanks in the midst of these difficulties.

Choosing, as an act of the will, to thank God in whatever circumstances shows spiritual maturity. It not only pleases God, it puts our problems in proper perspective.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

See what God has given you – be thankful for it – and use it for God’s glory.

Have:

An attitude of gratitude.

John Henry Jowett, a British preacher of an earlier generation, said this about gratitude: “Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” What did he mean? He meant that gratitude, like a vaccine, can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled, discouraged spirit. Like an antitoxin, gratitude can prevent the effects of the poisons of cynicism, criticalness, and grumbling. Like an antiseptic, a spirit of gratitude can soothe and heal the most troubled spirit.

To stop in the midst of a situation and simply breathe a three-word prayer, “Thank you, Lord,” can change everything. If you want to be a joyful person, you must develop an attitude of gratitude. A thankful spirit produces a joyful person. People who focus on their difficulties are difficult to be around. People who focus on their blessings are a blessing to be around. There’s no shame in weeping over our difficulties. Jesus weeps with us. But gratitude is the ground out of which a peaceful, thankful, trusting spirit can develop. Our tendency is to focus on our problems rather than on our blessings.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love God – love Jesus.

See what God has given you – and use it – wisely – for God’s glory.

See all that God has blessed you with – and have an attitude of gratitude.

What would it be like if we all were to devote ourselves to loving God and Jesus – asking ourselves each day: “How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?” – and if we all were to devote ourselves to giving thanks to God for all He has blessed us with – and devote ourselves to having an attitude of gratitude – an attitude of praising God for His gifts to us – and using them for His glory?

What would that look like?

What would the Church look like if we all committed ourselves to these things?

I dare say it would look – and even sound – different – as we all shared God’s love with each other and used what God has blessed us with for His work.

What would the community look like if we all were to devote ourselves to these things?

I dare say it would look – and even sound – different as we made a difference for God’s glory in this community.

What would the world look like if we all were to devote ourselves to these things?

I dare say it would look – and even sound – different as we made a difference for God’s glory in the world.

When God asks us:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to be able to say that we loved Jesus with all our heart – soul – and mind – that we continually asked ourselves:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

and do what we can to make our relationship with Christ vital and strong.

We also need to be able to say to God:

I realized your gifts to me – and with joy and gratitude used them to make a difference in the Church – the community – and the world.

We need to be able to say that we had:

An attitude of gratitude.

Amen.

Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 22:34-40

Matthew 25:14-30

“Don’t Waste Your Talent”

Part 4 of Stewardship Series 2008

November 16, 2008

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

We began our Stewardship emphasis for this year 3 weeks ago as we looked at what it truly means to live as Christians – and what the most important things are for us to remember as we strive to live our lives in God’s ways.

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

3 weeks ago I talked a little about “final exams” and the Ordination Exams every Seminary graduate has to take before being ordained – and how they were filled with questions to which we prayed that we had answers.

I also talked about how Rick Warren — in his book The Purpose Driven Life — writes that God has a Final Exam for us. He writes that — when our life is over — God is going to have 2 questions for us:

1. How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

2. What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions.

If you answer them in the way God wants you to answer them, He has a place in heaven prepared for you.

If not, your place will not be in heaven.

Maybe it would be wise to look at how to answer these questions in the way that will please God. As we move through November, we are going to look at the fact that God has questions for us – and whether or not we have answers.

3 weeks ago we looked at the primary passage that we’ll be looking at for the next few weeks — Matthew 22:34-40 – and saw that responding to Jesus by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind – and loving others as ourselves – are the 2 primary ways we can respond to God’s questions of how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us.

2 weeks ago we looked further at exactly what it means to love God and love others as we looked at Matthew 23:1-12 – and discovered that we not only have to talk about loving God and serving others – we have to do it. We can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Christians – we can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Church members – but we have to be Christians – we have to Church members – that show God and the Christian life to others I what we say and in what we do.

Last week we continued as we looked at Matthew 25:1-13 – and saw that it means using the gifts God has given us wisely. You see — when it comes to living the Christian life and using the gifts God has given us – we have to wise guys – and wise gals.

Today we continue looking at what it means to love God and love others – and looking at answers we might be able to give God when He asks us how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us – as we look at Matthew 25:14-30 – and see that God does not want us to waste our talents.

Listen to God’s word as we look again at Matthew 22:34-40 – then look at Matthew 25:14-30.

Read Scripture

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions that God may ask us when we get to heaven.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

God does not want us to have to say:

“Lord – I know You wanted me to love Jesus with all my heart – soul – and mind –

I know you wanted me to love others – and use what You gave me for Your glory and to do Your work in the Church – the community – and the world –

but I just never seemed to have time –

I seemed to always find other things to do than things that would show Your love to others –

I seemed to always sit back when things needed to be done in the Church – I knew someone else would do it.

I found it easier to not do things than be a part of the 20% who seemed to be dong 80% of the work.

You understand, don’t You Lord?”

God does not want that to be our response to his questions:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

You know – I’m sure God would understand if we had to make that response – but – the thing is – I believe that what He would understand is not what we would want Him to understand.

What He would understand from a response such as that is that we chose to waste our talent.

And He would understand that that is not what He gave us our talents for.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Jesus says:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind

Love your neighbor

Love God

Love others

Love Jesus

Love others

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

If you can say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and mind”

You are able to give a response that is in line with what God wills for you to answer.

Having a personal relationship with Christ is the first step towards living the life God would have us live. That’s why – every day – you need to ask yourself:

“How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?”

“How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?”

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I used what You gave me for Your glory – and to do Your work and will in the Church and the community”

You are able to answer God’s questions in the way God intendeds.

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I used what You gave me wisely –

I used Your gifts to me to make a difference in the world and the community for Your glory – I used what You gave me to do Your work in the community and the Church – I used what You gave me wisely to make a difference for You in the Church and the community.”

You are able to answer God ‘s questions in the way God intends.

If you can also say:

“Lord – I loved Jesus – and I knew You gave me many talents and many abilities. I used them for Your glory and to do Your work in the community and the Church. I did not waste my talents and abilities – but used them for Your glory”.

You are able to answer God ‘s questions in the way God intends.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love Jesus

Use what God has given you to do His will in the Church, the community, and the world.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Jesus’ parable in our lesson for today forces us to question if we are using the gifts God has given to us – or wasting our talents.

The master in the story gives the servants huge sums of money.

A talent was 15 years worth of pay for a laborer. A total of 8 talents are given here — so that makes for 120 years of pay for a laborer. Quite a hefty sum indeed! And it is obvious the master wants a return on his investment. He is a rich man — but he is looking to get richer.

He gives the 8 talents to 3 of his servants.

The first servant — let’s call him Zechariah — is given 5 talents.

This is what he would normally make in 75 years of labor.

Quite a hefty sum of money.

What does Zechariah do with the money?

He invests it.

We don’t know how — just that he invests it. He uses what his master has given to him — he risks it — and makes a 100% profit to give the master upon his return. When the master returns, Zechariah is rewarded.

The second servant — let’s call him Zedikiah — is given 2 talents.

Not as much as Zechariah — but about what he would make in 30 years — so still a hefty sum.

What does Zedikiah do with the money given to him?

Well, like Zechariah, he invests it. Like Zechariah, he uses what his master has given him — he risks it — and makes a 100% profit doing so. When the master returns, Zedikiah is rewarded for his investment — just as Zechariah was.

So far so good.

But then we have the third servant.

Let’s call him Jehu.

Jehu is given 1 talent — not as much as Zechariah or Zedekiah — but still what he would make in 15 years labor. Still a hefty sum.

But Jehu is different than Zedikiah and Zechariah.

He is different in that he is scared.

He is scared to risk — to invest what his master has entrusted him with.

The master returns, and after rewarding Zechariah and Zedikiah for their profitable risk-taking, he pointedly reprimands Jehu for what he did.

Jehu did nothing — and instead of being rewarded for at least not losing what his master has given him, he is is reprimanded and punished because he did nothing with it.

Zechariah — Zedikiah — Jehu.

Three servants given three different amounts of money.

They use it in 3 different ways.

And who is the master pleased with?

The two who risked what had been given — not the one who is careful.

The ones who used what the master gave them.

Not the one who carefully protected – but in the process wasted – what the master gave him.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Jesus is telling a story here of economics – but — there is more than simple economics going on here.

There is a spiritual side to the story also — and that’s where the real point to the story is made. There is a side to this story that questions our relationship with God — and how we use the gifts God has given us.

What did you do with what I gave you?

God blesses each of us with so much. He gives so much to each of us. Maybe not monetarily — like the master in the parable — although money is indeed a blessing from God for many of us —

but God has also blessed us each with abilities.

These abilities may vary — but they are all gifts and abilities given to us by God — and to be used by us for God’s glory and the benefit of others.

When God asks us:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to be able to say that we loved Jesus with all our heart – soul – and mind – that we continually asked ourselves:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

and do what we can to make our relationship with Christ vital and strong.

We also need to be able to say to God:

I did not waste the talents you gave me – but used them for Your glory and to do Your work in the community and the Church.”

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

God will ask us:

What did you do with what I gave you?

How do we use what I gave you?

This is an important question.

The answer is important also.

Are you like Zechariah or Zedekiah — using what God has given you – thankful for what we have been blessed with — and using your abilities for God’s glory and the benefit of others?

Or — are you more like Jehu – wasting what God has blessed you with?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Too many times we don’t use what God has blessed us with for God’s glory or anyone else’s benefit. Like Jehu, we bury what we have been given.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Maybe you bury your abilities — your talents — under feelings of little self- worth or little importance – saying things like:

“I’m not that important.

What I have to offer won’t make a difference.”

That’s just an excuse, friends – and is not what God wants to hear when He asks us what we’ve done with what He gave us.

Here’s the ting – we don’t know how much of a difference we can make until we try.

We don’t know what we can do with what God has given to us until we try.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Maybe you bury our abilities — your talents — under laziness — saying things like:

“That’s too hard.

I don’t want to get that involved.”

Or whatever other excuse we may want to give.

That’s certainly not the response God wants to hear when He asks us what we have done with what He gave us.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Maybe you bury your abilities and gifts — your talents — under an attitude of just not caring about the fact that you can make a difference if you use what God has given us for God’s glory and the benefit of others.

Again – not the answer God wants to hear when He asks us what we have done with what He gave us.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Maybe you bury your talent under an attitude of:

“Nobody asked me to do anything”

Again – not the answer God wants to hear when He asks us what we have done with what He gave us.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Friends – if you have a gift – if you have a talent – you need to use it – step up and do things that need to be done. You might need to coordinate what you do with others – but believe me – the help will be most appreciated – and you will be using what God has given you to do His work and will in the Church and the community.

What it boils down to many times is fear – being afraid to risk — afraid to take a chance with the gifts and abilities God has blessed us with – and laziness – being too lazy to use what God has given us to do His work and will in the Church and the community.

What it boils down to is wasting the talent that God has given you to use For His glory in the world.

When God asks us:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to be able to say that we loved Jesus with all our heart – soul – and mind – that we continually asked ourselves:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

and do what we can to make our relationship with Christ vital and strong.

We also need to be able to say to God:

I did not waste the talents you gave me – but used them for Your glory and to do Your work in the community and the Church.”

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Think about you use what God has blessed you with.

Are you committed to seeing how you can use what God has given you?

If God has given you some musical talent – are you committed to using it for God’s glory?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to listen to the needs of others – are you committed to be a “listening ear” for those in need — and respond with the love of God?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to help those in need — are you committed to doing so — in the love and strength of God?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to work with children or young people — showing them the love of God in real and vital ways – are you committed to working with them in the strength and love of God?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to work with adults — or Senior Citizens – are you committed to using your ability for God’s glory and the benefit of others?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to teach – are you committed to using your ability to tell others about God?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to do things with your hands — building or fixing things — are you committed to using that ability to serve God and others — whether it be by doing odd jobs around the church — or by fixing up houses of those not able to do work like that any more — or by volunteering for things like Habitat for Humanity?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability to cook — or to serve others — are you committed to using your gift for God’s glory and the benefit of others through specific things like our new Casseroles Of Caring program – or just cooking something for someone who is homebound – or our Wednesday night suppers – or other ways?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you the ability talk to others about God’s love in an exciting way – are you committed to spreading the Good News of God’s love?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

If God has given you money to be used to help support the work of others – to help us as a Church to reach others with the love of God — are committed to using your financial blessing for God’s glory and the benefit of others?

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Are committed to using whatever gift God has given you for God’s glory and the benefit of others?

Are you?

If so — use them. There is much to be done. Each person — each talent — each ability — is needed.

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Use your gifts — your abilities God has blessed you with.

Let God show you what your gifts and abilities are — think about those gifts and abilities you have left buried for years — dig them up — and use them. You’ll be surprised what you will discover when you start looking for new ways to serve God. Dig up you talents and abilities from whatever you have hid them under — and use them.

If you are not sure what your talents or abilities are – or how you can use them for God’s glory and the benefit of others — pray about it — or talk to me about it. I’ll be happy to help you discover what you gifts and abilities are — and how to dig them up and use them.

Have you ever considered what we all could get done if we all used the gifts and abilities God has blessed us with?

I think we would be surprised.

When God asks us:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to be able to say that we loved Jesus with all our heart – soul – and mind – that we continually asked ourselves:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

and do what we can to make our relationship with Christ vital and strong.

We also need to be able to say to God:

I did not waste the talents you gave me – but used them for Your glory and to do Your work in the community and the Church.”

Don’t waste your talent.

Don’t waste your talent.

Amen.

Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 22:34-40

Matthew 25:1-13

“Let’s Be Wise Guys And Gals!”

Sermon 11/9/08

Part 3 of Stewardship series 2008

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

We began our Stewardship emphasis for this year 2 weeks ago — looking at what it truly means to live as Christians – and what the most important things are for us to remember as we strive to live our lives in God’s ways.

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

I talked a little about “final exams” and the Ordination Exams every Seminary graduate has to take before being ordained when we began this series 2 weeks ago — and how they were filled with questions to which we prayed that we had answers.

I also talked about how Rick Warren — in his book The Purpose Driven Life — writes that God has a Final Exam for us. He writes that — when our life is over — God is going to have 2 questions for us:

1. How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

2. What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions.

If you answer them in the way God wants you to answer them, He has a place in heaven prepared for you.

If not, your place will not be in heaven.

Maybe it would be wise to look at how to answer these questions in the way that will please God. As we move through November, we are going to look at the fact that God has questions for us – and whether or not we have answers.

2 weeks ago we looked at the primary passage that we’ll be looking at for the next few weeks — Matthew 22:34-40 – and saw that responding to Jesus by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind – and loving others as ourselves – are the 2 primary ways we can respond to God’s questions of how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us.

Last week we looked further at exactly what it means to love God and love others as we looked at Matthew 23:1-12 – and discovered that we not only have to talk about loving God and serving others – we have to do it. We can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Christians – we can’t be “Do as I say – not as I do” Church members – but we have to be Christians – we have to Church members – that show God and the Christian life to others I what we say and in what we do.

Today we continue our look at what it means to love God with all our heart – soul – and mind – and to live our neighbors as ourselves – as we look at Matthew 25:1-13 – and see that it means using the gifts God has given us wisely. When it comes to living the Christian life and using the gifts God has given us, we have to wise guys – and wide gals.

Listen to God’s word as we look again at Matthew 22:34-40 – and at Matthew 25:1-13:

Read Scripture

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions that God may aks us when we get to heaven.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

God does not want us to have to say:

“Lord – I was not ready to answer these questions!

Give me more time to prepare – give me more time to get ready –

Give me more time – I’ll do better – I promise!”

God wants us to be able to say:

“Lord — I am ready – I was waiting – I was living my life in way You wanted me to.

I was not living foolishly – I was living wisely”.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

We need to be able to say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and mind.

E very day I looked at how Jesus and I were getting along – right then and there.

I loved others and used what You gave me to share Your love with others.

I lived in such a way that others could see you in what I said and in what I did.”

We also need to be able to say:

“I lived wisely – and used what You gave me wisely.”

God has given you gifts to be used for His glory – gifts to be used to show Him to others – gifts to be used to do His work in the Church and the world.

Do you use them wisely?

Do you use them for His glory?

Do you use them to show Him to others?

Do you use them to do His work in the Church and the world?

Do you use what God has given you wisely?

Are you a wise guy?

Are you a wise gal?

Maybe “wise guys” and “wise gals” are not what you want to be.

Maybe you think of The 3 Stooges when you hear the term “wise guy” – and think of smart alecks and people who are always playing pranks. “Wise guy” has become somewhat synonymous with “jerk” – and no one wants to be a “jerk”. But – we have to become wise when it comes to how we use the gifts God has given us.

When it comes to what God has given us – we need t use them wisely – we need to use them for His glory – we need to use them to show Him to others – we have to use them to do His work and will in the world.

When it comes to how we use what God has given us, we need to be wise guys – and wise gals.

Our passages for today give us 2 answers to the questions God will ask:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

If you can say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and strength”

You are able to give a response that is in line what God will for you to answer.

Having a personal relationship with Christ is the first step towards living the life God would have us live. That’s why – every day – you need to ask yourself:

“How are Jesus and I getting along –n right now?”

“How are Jesus and I getting along –n right now?”

If you can also say:

“I used what Youn gave me for Your glory – and to do Your work and will in the Church and the community”

You are another step closer to being able to answer God’s questions in the way God intended.

If you can also say:

“I used what You gave me wisely –

I used Your gifts to me to make a difference in the world and the community for Your glory – I used what You gave me to do Your work in the community and the Church – I used what You gave me wisely ro make a difference for You in the Church and the community.”

Then you are well on your way living as God would have You live.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Can you say you were a wise guy –

Can you see you were a wise gal?

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart – soul – mind – and strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

In our passage for today, Jesus tells about a wedding feast – and 10 bridesmaids.

Of the ten young women, five were wise. They prepared for the coming of the bridegroom so they would be ready when he arrived. They made sure that they had oil for their lamps, and they trimmed the wicks so that their lamps would burn properly.

But five of the young women were foolish, and they made no preparation. They didn’t have oil for their lamps, and they hadn’t trimmed their wicks. They weren’t ready.

When the bridegroom arrived, the young women were asleep –– all of them –– wise and foolish alike –– all were asleep. But they heard people shouting, “Look! Here is the bridegroom!” –– so they woke up and started out the door to join the parade.

But then it occurred to the five foolish women that they weren’t ready.

They didn’t have enough oil for their lamps.

They would be really embarrassed if they started to participate only to have their lamps run out of oil — So they asked the five wise women to give them some oil –– but the wise women replied, “No! There will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”

So the foolish women went to buy oil. But when they returned, the wedding banquet was in progress and the door was locked. They cried out, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But the bridegroom replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.”

Jesus concluded this story with a piece of advice:

“Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In other words, be prepared.

In other words, live wisely.

In other words –

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

OK – so we need to live wisely.

So we need to be wise guys.

So we need to be wise gals.

What does that mean?

What does it mean to live wisely?

What does it mean to be a wise guy – or a wise gal?

It means knowing how to answer God’s questions:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

It means that when God asks you:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

You will be able to say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and strength”

“I had a personal relationship with Christ – and Christ changed my life”.

“I asked myself on a regular basis:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

And I made adjustments in my prayer life – my worship life – and my life of service to God and others when I needed to.”

You will also be able to say:

“I loved others.

I used what God gave me for His glory and to do His will in the world.

I looked for ways to reach out to others with the love of God.

I looked for ways to use what God gave me in the community and the Church.

I met needs in the community and the Church by doing my part and using the gifts God gave me for His glory and to do His will.”

I was wise.

I responded to Jesus wisely.

I used what God gave me wisely.

I was a wise guy.

I was a wise gal.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Part of what it means to be a wise guy – or a wise gal – it to let God change your life – to let Jesus change your life. Part of what it means is to let Jesus control – and manage – your life.

I read recently about a man was converted to Christ through the work of the Salvation Army. He and his wife were so uneducated that neither could read or write.

He started worshiping regularly at the Salvation Army services — but one day he came home looking glum. When his wife asked what was wrong, he said, “All the people in the Salvation Army wear red sweaters, and I don’t have a red sweater.”

His wife said, “I’ll knit one!” –– and she proceeded to do that. So the next Sunday, the man went to the worship service dressed in his red sweater. But he came hone looking glum once again. His wife asked what was wrong, and he said, “I just noticed that all their red sweaters have yellow writing.”

Keep in mind that neither the man nor his wife could read or write, so they had no idea what the yellow writing on the Salvation Army red sweaters meant.

The Salvation Army symbol is a yellow eight-pointed star with the words “Blood & Fire” written in red letters.

But this man wasn’t sophisticated enough to understand that. He just knew that there was a yellow symbol on the Salvation Army sweaters, and he wanted one on his sweater — so his wife agreed to embroider some yellow writing on his sweater.

But she was illiterate too, so she had no idea what the letters should say or how she should say it. So she walked downtown and looked in some of the store windows. She found some writing in one of the windows that didn’t have too many letters –– she thought that she could copy those letters onto her husband’s sweater. So she wrote down the letters exactly as she found them in that store window and went home to embroider those letters onto her husband’s sweater.

The next Sunday, the man went to church again. When he came home, his wife asked if the people liked his sweater. He told her that they loved his sweater. In fact, some of them said that they liked his sweater better than their own.

So what was it that the wife had copied from the store window sign?

What was it that she embroidered onto her husband’s sweater?

It was this:

“Under New Management!”

That’s what the sign in the window said, and that’s what the wife had embroidered onto her husband’s sweater –– “Under New Management!”

Isn’t that what it means to be a Christian?

That’s what it takes to get ready to answer the questions God might put ton us.

That’s what it means to live wisely.

That’s what it means to be a wise guy.

That’s what it means to be a wise gal.

You need to put your life under Christ’s management.

You need to him your Lord.

When we do that, you will be able to say to God:

“I took Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

I used what you gave me for Your glory used it to show You to others.

I looked for ways to get involved in the Church and the community – ways to do Your will with what You gave me.”

That’s what it means to live wisely.

That’s what it means to live wisely.

That’s what it means to be a wise guy.

That’s what it means to be a wise gal.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Take Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Let your life be under His management.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Use what God has given you for His glory,.

Use the gifts God has blessed you with to do His work and will in the Church and the community.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

There is much to be done for God’s glory in the Church and the community.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Look for ways to show God to others – and to do the work of God.

It takes wise guys and wise gals to do God’s work.

Guys and gals committed to letting to God change their lives.

Guys and gals committed to using what God has given them to do His work and will in the world.

Live wisely.

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

When God asks:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Be able to answer wisely.

Be able to say:

“I loved Jesus with all my heart – soul – and strength”

“I used what Youn gave me for Your glory – and to do Your work and will in the Church and the community”

“I used what You gave me wisely –

I used Your gifts to me to make a difference in the world and the community for Your glory – I used what You gave me to do Your work in the community and the Church – I used what You gave me wisely ro make a difference for You in the Church and the community.”

Be a wise guy.

Be a wise gal.

Amen

Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 22:34-40

Matthew 23: 1-12

“Can They Do As You Do?”

Part 2 of 2008 Stewardship series

November 2, 2008

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

Last week we began our Stewardship emphasis for this year — looking at what it truly means to live as Christians – and what the most important things are for us to remember as we strive to live our lives in God’s ways.

What are the most important things for us to be doing?

What are the most important things for us to remember?

I talked a little about “final exams” and the Ordination Exams every Seminary graduate has to take before being ordained – and how they were filled with questions to which we prayed that we had answers.

I also talked about how Rick Warren — in his book The Purpose Driven Life — writes that God has a Final Exam for us. He writes that — when our life is over — God is going to have 2 questions for us:

1. How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

2. What did you do with what I gave you?

2 questions.

If you answer them in the way God wants you to answer them, He has a place in heaven prepared for you.

If not, your place will not be in heaven.

Maybe it would be wise to look at how to answer these questions in the way that will please God. As we move through November, we are going to look at the fact that God has questions for us – and whether or not we have answers.

Last week we looked at the primary passage that we’ll be looking at for the next few weeks — Matthew 22:34-40 – and saw that responding to Jesus by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind – and loving others as ourselves – are the 2 primary ways we can respond to God’s questions of how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us. Today we are going to look further at exactly what it means to love God and love others as we look at Matthew 23:1-12 – and discover that we not only have to talk about loving God and serving others – we have to do it. People not only have to be able to hear us talk about God and do as we say – they need to see God in our lives – and do as we do.

Listen to God’s word as we again look at Matthew 22:34-40, then also look at Matthew 23:1- 12.

Read Scripture

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

God does not want us to have to say that we were

“Do as I say – not as I do” Christians.

“Do as I say – not as I do!”

That’s a motto for some parents as they try to raise their children by their words – but without worrying that their own actions don’t match what they are saying.

Not a god practice for parenting.

“Do as I say – not as I do!”

That’s also a motto for far too many Christians as they try to tell others about the Christian life and what God wills for them – but their actions at times don’t match their words.

Not a good practice or witness for Christians.

“Don’t look at what I do – listen to what I say!”

seems to be their attitude.

They talk about being a Christian – but they fail to live the Christian life.

One way to put it is that they can talk the talk – but they can’t walk the walk.

Rick Warren writes about the “final exam” God may give us that consists of 2 questions:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

What response do you think God wants to hear from us?

Do you think He wants us to say:

“O – well – God – please look at what I said – how I talked so well about you and prayed such pretty prayers – but please don’t look at what I did!”

While God will indeed forgive us for words and deeds we need forgiveness for, if we really want to live a life that is pleasing to God, we need to live lives that show God and His love to the world in what we say – and in what we do.

We can’t be Christians who say:

“Do as I say – not as I do” – but we need to be Christians who can say to others:

“Do as I say – and do as I do”.

Our words and our actions need to show God to others.

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

Our 2 passages for today give us some ways to answer these question.

I took Jesus as my Savior and loved Him with all my heart – soul – and mind

I loved others as myself

and

I tried to show God to others in all my words and all my actions.

We have to ask ourselves how we are getting along with Jesus every day – every day asking ourselves:

How are Jesus I getting along right now –

and we have to nurture our relationship with Jesus every day –

but we also have to ask ourselves – every day –

“Can people see Jesus as they look at how I am living my life?”

“Can they hear Jesus in what I say – and see Jesus in what I do?”

“Can they become better followers of Jesus by listening to what I say?”

“Can they become better followers of Jesus by doing as I do?”

Can others listen to what you say – and become more like Jesus?

Can others do as you do – and become more like Jesus?

God does not want to hear us answer His questions by saying:

“I talked a great talk about my love for God and Jesus – and how I would live a life that honored God and used my gifts for His glory.”

God wants to hear us answer His questions by saying:

“I shared my love for Jesus with others in what I said and in what I did.”

“People could learn more about Jesus by listening to what I said – and by watching what I did.”

The Christina life is not a matter of:

“Do as I say – not as I do” –

It’s a matter of:

“Do as I say – and do as I do!”

Our words and our actions need to give glory to God.

We need to express our love for God by what we say – and by what we do.

We need to tell others about our love for Jesus – and we need to show them our love for Jesus

Can others listen to what you say – and learn more about Jesus?

Can others listen to what you say – and learn how to live as a Chrsitian?

Can others see what you do – and learn more about Jesus?

Can others do what you do – and be living the Christian life?

Can they do as you say – and do as you do?

Yea – when God asks us how we responded to Jesus and what we did with what He gave us – He does not to hear us say:

“I talked a great talk about my love for God and Jesus – and how I would live a life that honored God and used my gifts for His glory.”

God wants to hear us say:

“I shared my love for Jesus with others in what I said and in what I did.”

“People could learn more about Jesus by listening to what I said – and by watching what I did.”

Can they do as you say – and as you do?

Part of what it means to be a Christian – to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind – and your neighbor as yourself – is to live a life that shows God to others through what you and do.

It’s not a matter of:

“Do as I say – not as I do”

But living in such a way that others can do as you say – and as you do.

Can they listen to what you say – and hear God’s words to them – and see what you do – and see what God would have them to be doing?

Can they do as you say – and as you do?

Can they see Jesus in what you say – and in what you do?

A young girl was visiting a church one Sunday and was impressed with the stained glass windows of the Saints that were along the walls of the church. The windows were particularly beautiful this day as the sun shone brightly through them — making their colors brilliant. She asked about who these people were in these beautiful windows — and was told these were some of the Saints of the church.

That morning in Sunday School she was asked if she knew what a Saint was. Thinking back on the bright, colorful windows that had impressed her so — and the fact that she was told these were of the Saints – she replied:

“ A Saint is someone who lets the light shine through.”

Maybe not a dictionary definition of a saint, but a good one none the less — someone who lets God’s light shine through them.

Do you do that?

Do you let the light of God shine through you?

Or — is it something else others see shining through when they look at you?

Can people look at what you do – and see Christ?

Can they do as you do – and be doing the things of Christ?

Can they do as you do?

Can they do as you do?

Does the light of God shine through you?

Can they do as you do?

Can they do as you do?

God asks you:

How are you responding to Jesus?

And

What are you doing with my gifts to you?

Unless you can say:

I love Jesus with all my heart – soul – and mind

and

I love others as myselrf – and use what God has given me to show Him to others

you are not giving the answer God wants to hear.

And – unless you can say:

I tried to live in a way that showed God to others

I tried to use what God gave me to show His love and will to others

you are not giving the answers God wants to hear.

God wants us to use what He has given us to show Him to others – and do His work in the world.

He wants us to talk about Him and talk about His love – but – more than that – He wants us to act in ways that show Him – show His love – and do His will in the world.

It’s not a matter of

“Do as I say – not as I do”…

but it’s a matter of

“Do as I say and as I do.”

Can they do as you do?

Do you use the gifts God has blessed you with to do His work and will in the world?

Do you look for ways that you can show God to others in the community – do God’s work in the community and the world – and be a living example of what it means to be a Christian?

God’s 2 questions to us are:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

If you can answer the first question by saying:

I took Jesus as my Lord and Savior —

can you answer the second question by saying:

I used what God gave me to do His work and will in the world – and show others what it means to be a Christian?

There is a lot to be doing in the community – in the world – and even here in the Church – for God’s glory.

There are a lot of ways to use the gifts God has given you for His glory.

There are a lot of ways that you can show others what it means to live the Christian life by what you do.

There are a lot of things you can do to show God to others.

There are a lot of things you can do to help others see God – and see how God wants us to live.

The question is:

Can they do as you do?

Can others see what you do – copy what you do – find ways to use their gifts and talents in the same way you are using yours – and become closer to being the people God wants them to be?

Can they do as you do – and come close to doing what God wants them to do?

Part of what it means to be a Christian – to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind – and your neighbor as yourself – is to live a life that shows God to others through what you and do.

It’s not a matter of:

“Do as I say – not as I do”

But it’s a matter of living in such a way that others can do as you say – and as you do.

Can they do as you do?

When there are things to be done in the community to show God’s love to others – can people look at you – and see what you do – and see how they can serve God also – or do they see that you step back and wait for someone else to do something – and think that’s what God wants them to do?

When there are things to be done in the Church – can people look at you – and see what you do – and see how they can serve God also – or do they see that you step back and wait for someone else to do something – and think that’s what God wants them to do?

Can they do as you do?

Can they do as you do?

Rick Warren writes that God will have 2 questions for us:

How did you respond to my Son Jesus Christ?

What did you do with what I gave you?

If you can answer the first question by saying:

I took Jesus as my Lord and Savior –

You also need to be able to answer the second by saying:

I used what God gave me to do His work and will in the world – and show others what it means to be a Christian.

Part of what being a Christian means is loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul – taking Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

One question to ask yourself each day it:

How are Jesus and I getting along – right now?

Another part of what it means to being a Christian is to use what God gives you to show Him and His will to the world – so another question to ask yourself each day is:

Can others look at how I am living – and see Jesus?

Look for ways to let others see God in what you say and do.

Don’t be a “do as I say – but not as I do” Christian.

Use your gifts – use what God gives you – to show God to others in what you say – and do.

Don’t be a “do as I say – but not as I do” Church member.

Use your gifts – use what God gives you – to help do God’s work in the Church – and show God to others in what you say and do.

Be a Christian – be a Church member – who lives a life that says to others:

Do what I do – and you’ll be doing what God wants you to do.

Can they do as you do?

Can they do as you do?

Amen.