“New Adventures”
Jeremiah 29:11-14a
A young preacher had just finished seminary and had taken his first appointment in the hills of Kentucky.
Wanting to be effective in his preaching ministry, he walked into the pulpit on his first Sunday and preached about—what he called--the evils of smoking.
When he finished, some of the church leaders met him at the door.
“We’re a little surprised that you would deal with the subject of smoking,” they said, “because nearly half of the state of Kentucky raises tobacco.
You might want to think twice about talking about smoking from this pulpit.”
The new preacher thanked them for enlightening him.
The next Sunday, with great fervor, he preached on the dangers of whiskey.
The same group was standing near the door when he finished.
They said, “We think we need to tell you that you ought to be careful about preaching against alcoholic beverages, especially since nearly a third of our county distills whiskey.”
“I didn’t know that,” the preacher replied.
“Thank you for helping me.”
He came back the next Sunday to preach a stirring sermon on gambling—in any shape or form—the lottery, racehorses, or any other.
The same group met him after the service.
“We think we need to tell you that over half our county raises thoroughbred race horses, so you want to be real careful about talking about gambling from this pulpit.”
Being a quick learner, the next Sunday, the young preacher preached against the evils of scuba diving in international waters!!!
You all are getting a new preacher this Sunday.
It’s a time of change, and change can sometimes be difficult.
Some of you may feel as if your church has been turned inside out and upside down.
Change is hard.
But life really is about what we make of it, is it not?
I think that is one of the things God is telling the people through Jeremiah this morning.
When the people of Israel were exiled into Babylon, everything they knew was turned inside out – their homes, their families, even their worship.
And so, Jeremiah came with a word of hope for a hopeless people.
He told them to build, plant and pray—even though they were in a strange land.
Even though they had been taken captive…
…even though…
Today, we might say something like, “When life hands you lemons make lemonade!”
He is encouraging them to bloom where they are planted.
To make the best of things.
To thrive, despite their present situation.
They were to do the best for the city they found themselves in, and most importantly they were to remember God.
“God has plans for you—good plans—great plans!!!
Trust in God.”
And because of this—they will always have hope.
Have you ever felt hopeless?
I have, many times, dealt with feelings of despair.
In this life we face all kinds of obstacles.
Difficulties come around that we would have thought unimaginable.
People we love pass away.
Divorce occurs.
Friends abandon us.
Situations change.
New preachers come into our midst.
But God is with us always and forever.
What did Jesus tell His disciples before He was arrested?
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
And in 1st John we are told that God is Love and that there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.
God is Perfect Love and God loves you and me Perfectly!!!
Do you believe this?
Do I believe it?
Jesus is stronger than our greatest fears.
Jesus is stronger than any and all barriers which get in our way.
Jesus is stronger than hell itself.
Jesus is stronger than death!!!
He has overcome them all.
And so, we can trust Him.
And so we can have hope in the midst of a suffering and dying world—in the midst of troubles and hard times.
Jesus said, “I will not leave you…I will never forsake you…”
Many people have said that “Life is what you make it.”
And in many ways this is true.
We are given the great privilege and responsibility to live-into living the kind of lives that Jesus has come to offer us.
I love how Paul puts it in Ephesians Chapter 2: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God created in advance for us to do.”
Doing God’s will for our lives is what brings us peace and happiness.
Doing God’s will for our lives is what brings us hope.
It’s what transforms us into creatures of love—for we learn how much we are loved by God.
Making the decision to live into God’s great plans is the key to life.
And what an adventure it is when we do!!!
I have only been hanging around this church for a couple weeks, here and there.
But in that short amount of time I have had the opportunity to meet several of you and hear YOUR stories.
Within these stories and conversations, YOU have expressed to me how important this church is to YOU—how much YOU love the people here—what a great church this is!!!
And I can tell it is.
Thank you for your kindness and hospitality.
I am excited to be here!!!
As you are aware, this church is right smack in the middle of one of the fastest growing and most desirable places for folks in the Chattanooga area to live.
This puts us in a unique and extremely exciting position!!!
I can’t wait to work and vision with you as we seek to be the place this community calls “home”--The Body of Christ, the hands and feet of Christ in this community.
The place where people see Jesus.
One of the exciting things is that YOU ALL are already putting your faith into action!!!
You have a great after-school program which has been transforming lives for some time, a preschool with a wonderful reputation, a talented staff, dedicated members and facilities which are second to none!!!
And the most important thing is that God loves you; God loves this city and Red Bank United Methodist Church is God’s chosen instrument in this particular place and time to transform the people around us.
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
When we sincerely seek to do God’s will—it is miraculous how things fall into place.
I’ve seen it happen time and time again.
You have a new pastor.
And I know change is difficult.
Is my personality the same as your last pastor?
Do we have the same gifts?
Surely not.
But I believe that God is willing and able to work through flawed human systems and human beings to place the people God wants at the right place and the right time.
When our district Superintendent—Randy Martin and I—began speaking about possible appointments for me I told him that I would like to be appointed to Red Bank United Methodist Church.
He recently told me that this is what he had in mind all along.
It’s really exciting to see just a little bit of how God works.
That’s how it is when we seek to live within the will of God.
It’s not always easy or comfortable—but it is more than worth it.
“Life is what you make it,” they say.
It’s all about attitude.
This is going to be good, I know it will be.
Because it is God’s will.
And so, will you live into it?
Will I?
This is a brand new adventure waiting to happen!!!
***Phil please put words on screen***
I want you to take a look at the screen and pray these statements.
Make them yours and I will make them mine.
Trust in God’s plans for you—to give you hope and a future:
• I choose to embrace this new chapter in the life of Red Bank United Methodist Church and be excited about the future.
• I choose to believe that this new chapter is God’s will and God’s will is good and is what is best for me and for this church
• I choose to be open in mind and spirit to what God has to offer and embrace it all as it comes.
• I choose to always look at the bright side of life.
.
• I choose to release all of my fears and doubts, knowing that they are all self-created, keeping me away from achieving great things.
• I choose to step into the unknown, knowing that in the unknown lies my freedom, my opportunity for growth.
• I choose to let go of the past, be confident about the future, and to always be present in the now.
• I choose to share my unique gifts and talents with the church and the world.
• I choose to be loving towards myself and the world around me.
• I choose to have faith, knowing that things will always work out for the best as long as I remain in Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen.
