In a certain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He decided to build a church for a legacy.
The completed plans for the church were kept secret. When the people gathered, they marveled at the church's beauty and completeness.
Following many comments of praise, as astute observer inquired "But where are the lamps? How will the church be lighted?"
Without answering the nobleman pointed to some brackets in the wall; he then gave to each family a lamp to be carried to the worship service and hung it on the wall. "Each time you are here, the area where you are seated will be lighted,"t he nobleman explained. "Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark.
There are a dozen people in a life boat and it begins to leak. There's no doubt about who's responsible to do something about that leak. The first person who discovers it usually does what is necessary.
But what if the person nearest says, "Well, I didn't make that hold, I'm not responsible."
If he knows there's a leak and then doesn't do something about it, he might as well have put it there, himself.
Sermon Builder
There is a story about some people sitting in a boat. One of them began to bore a hole beneath the section of the ship where he was sitting.
His friends asked,"What are you doing there?"
He said to them,"Of what concern is it to you? am I not boring a hole in my section of the ship?"
They replied, "But the water is coming in and sinking the ship under us!!!"
We have gotten so wrapped up in the "ME" generation in the "ME" lifestyle, that we forget our actions affect those around us.
Who's In Charge Here?
A colleague shared about a church he served in Tennessee where an eccentric and flamboyant elder impressed him with her intense commitment to the faith. She did not have a pietistic bone in her body, but her devotion was nonetheless clear and articulate. One evening at a dinner party in her home we were animatedly discussing some theological idea. In the midst of the give and take her teenage daughter, probably frustrated with all of the high-blown discussion of religion, asked, "Mother, you talk about religion all the time. Why are you so religious anyway?" This query brought a loud hush to the dining table.
Her mother paused dramatically, pushed her chair back from the table, stood and responded, "Every morning before you are awake, I rise and walk into the living room. I lift my arms and ask, `Who's in charge here?' The answer always comes back: `Not you!' That's why I am religious. Because I am not in charge!"
Religious life begins with the realization that we are not in charge, and from there we can proceed to align ourselves to the One who is in charge. Jesus is declaring to the disciples: Go into the world knowing who is in charge and what it will mean to act upon that knowledge!
Jesus is clear, however, that to act on that knowledge is not always easy.
Author Unknown
A friend of mine told me how he had begun the custom of entering the sanctuary for worship and spending a moment gazing at the cross. I like that. I've started it myself. It helps focus my mind and prepare my heart for worship. And another friend made me a small oak cross that sits on my desk. It's the first thing I see each morning when I enter the office and it does much the same thing for me as does the large one in our sanctuary.
Bass Mitchell
I found out about cross bearing from Frank Love (everyone calls him
"Brother Love"). He started a mission for the homeless and hungry in
East Orange, New Jersey. It has cost him a great deal of time, money,
and even some threats to his life. He's had numerous phone calls in
the middle of the night, going down to the jail to be with someone or
to get them out. He's sent countless letters to worrying parents,
letting them know their runaway were with him. No one forced this
cross onto his back. He just saw it there one day laying in his
community and picked it up.
I have a friend who works with AIDS patients. She's a retired nurse but has volunteered her time for this special ministry. It carries some risk for her. No one coerced her. No one laid a guilt trip on her. She just saw a cross one day, and took it up.
Bass Mitchell
Dear Lord,.....I so much want to serve you. I'm been on vacation and I'm more ready than I've ever been. What I need now is an assignment. That's what I want to discuss with you.
I've been offered program chairperson for the women of the church, but I'm hoping you'll agree with me that it's not quite right. They need a teacher badly in the Junior Department in the Sunday School, but I know too many of the children. Wild bunch if I ever saw one. (It's no wonder, though, considering the homes they come from.)
I would love to help out in the nursery, but that could mean missing the worship service occasionally, and I know You would not want me to do that. Besides, my children, are too old for the nursery.
The woman next door can't drive. She needs help with the groceries and she needs company, but she never lets go once she gets hold of you. How about something different??
No nursing homes, please, I can't stand some of what I see in those places.
I know you'll think of something.
I can hardly wait with all my love.
Ima Servant
God uses ordinary people to carry out his extraordinary plan.