Scripture Reading:
I Peter 3:15 (The Message, a contemporary language paraphrase)
“…Always be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.”
Acts 1:8 (NRSVUE)
8 …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Message: “Empowered to Bless”
Last year, this congregation—you—articulated a Vision Statement based on your hopes and dreams for the future. The Statement included this wording:
“We will be both inward and outward focused--taking care of the needs of people who are already part of the congregation in order to equip ourselves to reach out and connect with new people and partner with others to meet the needs of the wider community.” [REPEAT, as it’s a lot to take in—and it helps to hear it twice]
Later, when reflecting on this statement, a few members of church council noted that being outward focused is harder than it may seem, and they thought that the church may need some help or training to learn how to do that.
One such training is coming up on Sunday, August 21st-when a church consultant, Rev. Paul Nickerson, is preaching and giving a short seminar after church on the topic of Reaching New People. Another bit of training has taken place over the last several weeks through this sermon series on th3 book entitled, “B.L.E.S.S.: 5 Everyday Ways To Love Your Neighbor and Change the World.”
The book outlines 5 ways to do be outward focused and share the Love of God with our neighbors, each way corresponding to a letter in the acronym, BLESS:
· Begin with Prayer
· Listen
· Eat
· Serve
· Story
Depending on our personality and experience, some of the ways we talked about will feel easy—and some more challenging.
The last way— sharing our stories--that was our topic last week-- may be the most challenging. And, as with many challenging things, if you’re like me, you might prefer to just skip it.
But I encourage you NOT to. The reason I encourage you not to skip it is that when we respectfully share stories of how God’s love makes a difference in our lives—when we share with people who have expressed an interest, not with strangers on the street—the whole experience can deepen our connections with each other and God beyond anything we may have ever experienced before. And isn’t that kind of deep connection what we are all striving for?!
But to experience a deep connection with God and each other requires some thought and planning— to quote the Boy Scout motto, we need to “be prepared.” In fact, that’s the advice of our first Scripture reading. I Peter 3:15: “…Always be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.“
Which brings us to the little homework assignment I handed out last week, and I asked the greeter/usher to hand it out again this week. I invited you—in one or 2 sentences—to answer this question: “How has God’s love made a difference in your life?” “how has God’s love made a difference in your life?”
In the discussion group after last week’s worship, people began to answer that question, and I asked if anyone present would be willing to share their one or two sentence answer. 5 people said they were willing, and a few asked if they could elaborate briefly, and I said yes.
So I invite the following people to share their 2 sentences, and possibly a little more:
Jane
Bob
Lyn
Jean
Sue
Inspired by your fellow church members, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses, may we each take time today—if we haven’t already done so-- to answer the question, “How has God’s Love made a difference in your life?” And let us be prepared for the Amazing Blessing opportunities that God is preparing even now to bring our way…