(OT) Exodus 20:8-11
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…”
1) Video Clip: “Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…”
2) Checking the Box:
How many of you have NEVER seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? The plot is very simple… a boy doesn’t want to go to school… and decides to play hooky. The scene we just saw was the first class of the day taking attendance. Did you notice how thrilled all the students looked. Did you notice how clinical and cold the attendance was? Bueller… Bueller… Bueller… Does church ever feel like something out of this movie clip? A boring teacher up front… taking attendance… for a class you don’t want to be at.
Why not skip? Why does it matter? What is one more empty seat? I mean… even when you ARE there… you may not actually be “there.” You’re just punching your timecard… checking your box… collecting your “Jesus Chits” for the week. It doesn’t matter what you get out of it… it matters… that you were there! And if you miss once in a while… well that’s ok… were allowed a few excused absences.
3) Is it anything more?
It makes me ask a very basic question… is there anything more to worship than checking your box? Is it simply a requirement that we have to fulfill? “Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy…. (lick finger) CHECK.” Is there anything more? Let’s turn to today’s text to search
God’s wisdom on the subject.
4) Scripture: (Keep your books open today)
NIV Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Seems to me that within these verses is an answer to the “check your box” dilemma. According to Paul… what is one of the advantages of meeting together in worship? (Answers) Encouragement… spurring each other on. But it doesn’t stop there either… let’s look what Paul says on the subject in his letter to Ephesus:
Ephesians 4:15-16
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
What’s Paul’s point here? (Answers) Paul hits on some very important things here, not only do we encourage each other… but we support each other and build each other up… not only that… but together we build the church up. When we gather in worship together… we support each other and grow together. When we meet in classes together… we support each other and grow together. When we serve on committees together… we support each other and grow together. When we join in Christian fellowship like the potluck next week… we support each other and grow together. These bonds join and hold us together in Christ… so that we grow together, and build each other up. As we gather… we become the body of Christ… the more we gather… the stronger that body becomes.
So here is a very simple question… if you skip out on church… does the body become stronger or weaker? If you miss a committee meeting… does the body become stronger or weaker? If you decide you don’t need to attend Sunday School… does the body become stronger or weaker? If you decide not to help out with the ministry and mission of the church… does the body become stronger or weaker?
On the other hand, if you come to church and join the body in worship… does the body become stronger and weaker? If you decide to support a committee in its mission and ministry… does the body become stronger or weaker? If you decide to attend a Sunday School class and share your thoughts, questions, and wisdom… does the body become stronger or weaker? If you decide to lend a hand to a ministry or mission that you are passionate about… does the body become stronger or weaker?
I think it is easy enough to see that Paul is on to something here. The more you do as a member… the stronger we will be. The more we do together… the stronger we will be. Now that is not the end of the message. Perhaps you have been moved to find new ways to contribute… perhaps you feel dedicated to make a commitment of attendance… but here is where I’m going to push you even more. It’s more than just making a dedication for yourself. You have a responsibility to the body of Christ beyond just making sure you show up!
Lets take it back to Hebrews… hopefully you kept your bibles open. Lets go to 10:24:
5) Exegesis:
And let us consider how we may “spur” one another on toward love and good deeds.
paroxusmo,j, ou/, o` stirring up, encouraging Hb 10:24. Irritation, sharp disagreement Ac 15:39
MESSAGE Hebrews 10:24 Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on,
NRSV Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the “habit” of doing,…
Do you know someone who is in the “habit” of not going to church right now? Funny how that can happen. You decide to miss one Sunday… then you miss a month… soon a year has past… and you are to the point that maybe you would feel weird going back for fear of what some people might think… what some people might say? What can we do for our brother’s and sister’s in the habit of not coming?
… but let us “encourage” one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.
parakale,w—1. call to one’s side, summon, invite Lk 8:41; Ac 8:31; 9:38; 16:9, 15. Summon to one’s aid, call upon for help Mt 26:53; 2 Cor 12:8.—2. appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage Ac 14:22; 16:40; 20:1f; Ro 12:1, 8; 1 Cor 4:16; 2 Cor 10:1; 1 Th 5:11; Hb 3:13; 1 Pt 5:1.—3. request, implore, appeal to, entreat Mt 8:5; Mk 1:40; Lk 7:4; 8:31f; Ac 19:31; 2 Cor 12:18; Phlm 9.—4. comfort, encourage, cheer up Mt 5:4; Lk 16:25; 2 Cor 1:4; 7:6; Eph 6:22; 1 Th 3:2; 4:18; Tit 1:9.—5. in some passages p) may mean try to console or conciliate Ac 16:39; 1 Cor 4:13; 1 Th 2:12
Encouragement to the point of being annoying.
6) How can we encourage one another?
No excuses:
Now the good news is you don’t have to do it alone! No! The worship committee and I have decided to give you all a hand. We have provided this “No Excuses” box
For those of you who say Sunday is your only day to sleep in… we will provide pillows!
[pillow]
For those of you who stay up too late watching TV on Saturday night… we will provide Visine! [Visine]
For those of you who say the roof will cave in if you ever came to church… we will provide protective hats! [hat]
For those of you who don’t come because you say the church is too cold… we will provide blankets! [blanket]
For those of you who don’t come because you say the church is too hot… we will provide fans! [electric fan]
For those of you who say “The minister speaks too softly”… we will provide listening devices! [listening device]
For those of you who say “The preacher’s too loud”… we will provide cotton! [cotton]
For those of you who can’t come because you have to make lunch for your family… we will provide TV dinners! [TV dinner]
For those of you who like to skip church to play golf… we will provide little white balls to chase around! [throw golf ball down center aisle]
Finally, for those of you who only come on Easter or Christmas… we will provide Easter Lilies and Christmas Poinsettias. [picture of Lily and Poinsettia]
We hope this will encourage you to attend every Sunday, and leave you with no more excuses.
7) So What?
All joking aside… what difference does it make? When I first came here, the number one thing I heard was how you wanted this church to grow… especially when it came to the number of butts in the pews. Ultimately though… I think the thing we all want… is a strong body… a church that exemplifies a strong faith in Christ and a vital worship experience. We don’t want the church to be like a tree that grows really tall really fast… and can not support it’s growth and is toppled by the wind. I think you’d agree we want to be like the tree that grows deep and wide, and can grow tall because of its strong and steady base. How do we do that? How do we “grow” the body? We do it together… just as Paul said… by doing our part to be a part of body.
It’s part of what we are called to do in stewardship. Last week we talked about the first step in Stewardship… making a personal commitment to God… making your personal commitment to a relationship with God. This week, we begin to look more outward… as the scriptures guide us to make a commitment to the body of Christ… to make a commitment to being a part of the body. With you the body is stronger… without you… well… you already know the answer to that. Let’s all respond our stewardship drive this year, by making a commitment to the entire body… that together we can continue to grow stronger.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
