2 Thessalonians 2: 13-17 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
November 6, 2016
Stewardship Sunday
But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. - 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-17
The afternoon bell has rung early to dismiss the classes for the big pep rally. Of course you remember the feeling of absolute joy to leave class early! Everyone has gathered into the gymnasium and we are filling the seats of the bleachers on both sides. The cheerleaders are facing each side of the bleachers and they are cheering the best cheers of the season.
These young adults are building the excitement of the student body for the BIG GAME! Not only are we lifting our voices but we are also clapping our hands and stomping our feet. As we get louder and louder the cheerleaders throw more and more candy and streamers our way into the stands. Just imagine 20 teenagers tossing out candy like Jay Jones hands out here every Sunday!
That kind of excitement is just contagious. All of this momentum is causing us to focus on what matters. It’s not just focusing on the big game, although a win would be awesome –especially if it were as big of a win as the Cubs winning the World Series!
The focus is to believe in something bigger than ourselves! We are not just groups of students, adults, clubs, or sports teams. When we are all united as one then we feel the strength of community. And that energized strength we feel together in that pep rally transfers out into the hallways, the classrooms, the football field, out into the streets, and even in the way we see ourselves.
Paul’s second letter to Thessalonica was to rally the community of faith. Paul celebrated the good work of the body for the congregation was steadfast in its faith during hard times. Paul wanted to motivate and rally the community to keep the main thing the main thing. And that was to build up the kingdom of God.
God has called each and every one of us for a purpose. That purpose is bigger than ourselves. Paul says God has chosen us for the purpose of being changed by God’s amazing grace. The ways in which the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the guidance of Holy Spirit are at work in our lives is not for our sakes alone.
You and I are not the sole benefactors of faith. We are to let God take our moments and our days and let them flow as ceaseless praise. We are invited to let God take our hands and let them move at the impulse of God’s love. As God works through our lives the gift of faith moves among us to rally, encourage, and motivate others. And these moments of grace are something to behold because they invite us to experience the strength of being in community with God and one another.
Grace changes us as we are touched by God’s hospitality to know we belong to God. Grace claims us.
Grace draws us closer to the cross as we sing it, confess it, pray it, and proclaim it. We even touch grace with tangible expressions like boxes filled with hearts, water in the font, and the feast at God’s Table made with homemade bread and juice.
Grace nurtures our families, children, and youth to love Jesus authentically in the ordinary spaces of life. Even our youngest disciples like Vivie Lee and Logan spot God at work among us.
Grace moves us to dig deeper into God’s Word to equip our faith and shape our interactions at home, in the workplace, and out in the world. Grace moves us into a new way of being.
Grace opens our hands and our hearts. It gives us courage to take God’s Word seriously to love our neighbors as ourselves by serving them with compassion in times of need.
Grace tethers our relationships with God and one another with genuine concern as we are strengthened in times of intergenerational play, fellowship, and care.
Grace empowers the spiritual leaders among us to discern and encourage our commitment to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. As we experience the grace of Christ why would we want to follow anyone or anything else?
We have all experienced these moments of grace this past year at Van Wyck Presbyterian through our various teams of ministry. As our teams unite within these key moments of grace we feel the strength of something very special among us.
God is indeed doing something special here. God invites you and me to be a part of building up the kingdom. Not only does God want us to have a special connection with these moments of grace. God also wants us to connect to the vision of the kingdom. God’s kingdom is a community of love.
The children helped us to see a glimpse of this vision earlier this morning. We all receive God’s gift of grace through many blessings. And God has called us to stretch out our arms and hands to share the energy and the gift of God’s grace with others. Just as it takes a number of hands to make a circle of hearts, it takes all of us to reach out and share our blessings to build a community of love.
The kingdom vision here at Van Wyck Presbyterian is to Grow in Christ in Spirit, Service and Number. My pastoral hope in this core vision is this:
(1) To grow in Spirit we grow as disciples. That means we follow Jesus’ trust in God’s Word, prayerful relationship, and abundant provision. I am so thankful for our children, youth, and adults who are growing in God’s Word as disciples here in Sunday School and small group Bible studies. May we continue to make and equip disciples this year!
(2) To grow in Service we put our faith in action. We continue to serve our neighbors here and beyond. I am so thankful for our ministry teams which are reaching out into the community in fellowship and mission. This is bringing excitement and it is contagious! May we continue to nurture servant leadership this year!
(3) To grow in Number we say “Come and See!” We continue to invite others to Come and See what God is doing here. I am thankful for the gifts of welcome and hospitality here among us. May we continue to share enthusiasm for all God is doing here so that others may find the MORE of what they are looking for in a deeper faith journey.
God has called each of us through our proclamation of the good news so that we may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Do you know what is the best part of receiving the gift of God’s grace? The best part is giving it away. God invites you and me to give away God’s abundant grace in order to make the vision of God’s Kingdom a reality.
Your pledge and mine is an authentic response to God’s call upon our lives. A pledge is to affirm that all we have is truly a gift from God. Just as God has promised to embrace us in steadfast love and faithfulness, our pledges are a promise to trust God is making us kingdom people. And kingdom people trust the power of God’s saving grace is working through us more than we can hope, ask, or imagine.
Doug and I pledge to this church because God has changed our lives and we want to be a part of God’s vision to change the lives of others. Years ago when we first decided to pledge at our home church it was a small commitment. However each year God has been faithful as we have grown in our trust of what God can do through our gifts as we increase them.
I am grateful for the growing faithfulness of this church as a handful of new pledges were made last year. And I trust that God will continue to be at work among us to increase our responses of trusting God this upcoming year. There is no pledge that is too small or too generous for God to use in building up the Kingdom.
This is an exciting time in the life of Van Wyck Presbyterian. We are celebrating the good ministries our teams are doing with God’s help. Our spiritual leaders and I hope you feel the energy of God cheering us on! God is at work to reveal the strength of community and I cannot wait to see what is up God’s sleeve in 2017.
Prayerfully consider the ways God is calling you to share your time, passions, and treasures to build up this community of love. Each of us wants to belong to a community marked with moments of grace that touch our lives. I promise you that God will be faithful as we grow in our trust of what God will do.
In the name of God our Provider, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment