RAISING THE BAR OF EXCELLENCE
Colosians 3:17
INTRODUCTION:
ILL> This summer our son Alan was in the play ¡°Big River¡± which was performed at the Bucyrus Little Theater. Ken Barnett from MG High School was the director.
Not long before the first performance they had a dress rehearsal. Mr. Barnett said, ¡°That was good enough for a high school play, but it¡¯s not good enough for here.¡±
Striving for excellence.
We are in the middle of a sermon series that I¡¯ve called ¡°Raising the Bar.¡± We have talked so far about raising the bar of truth, worship, and leadership. Today I want to talk about raising the bar of excellence
I was always told ¡°If something is worth doing, then it¡¯s worth doing right!¡± I heard a poem several years ago that gives that same sentiment:
Good, better best,
Never let it rest,
Until your good is better
And your better, best.
In the OT, Jewish worshipers were required to sacrifice a lamb or an ox. Now, this couldn¡¯t be just any old animal. You couldn¡¯t take the one that was sickly, weak, or deformed and offer it to Christ. No, when God talks about sacrifice it always refers to giving up something that is of value¨Cif it doesn¡¯t cost anything, then it¡¯s not a sacrifice. So, the animal had to be one that was perfect¨Cwithout spot or blemish. God also required them to give the firstfruits of their crops¨Cthe best portion¨Cback to Him. Now, in the NT there are no such written requirements, but since Jesus Christ gave all for us, doesn¡¯t He deserve our best in return?
When we give our best, we honor Christ. Notice, that I didn¡¯t say....when we give our best to the church¨Cwhen we give our best to the Lord. When we give our best in every aspect of our lives, then we honor Christ.
READ: Colossians 3:15-24
I> IN THE HOME (18-21)
This is similar to what Paul says in Ephesians 5
ILL> Rules from the Male point of view. Notice that they are all numbered 1 because it doesn¡¯t matter.
1. We don’t remember dates. Mark birthdays and anniversaries on the
calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions, and neither do we.
1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to
discuss such topics as navel lint, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.
1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, expect an answer you don’t want to hear.
Ephes. 5:21-25 says, ¡°Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. [22] Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. [24] Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. [25] Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her¡±
ILL> Being unfaithful in a marriage takes a great deal of time and effort. I am convinced that if a person would spend just one quarter of that time and spend it working on their relationship with their spouse, that they would have one of the greatest marriages going.
ILL> Children are natural mimics--they act like their parents in spite of every attempt to teach them good manners.
ILL> Marriage is like farming, you have to start all over again every morning.
Do¡¯s for couples
1. Date your wife - spend time together
It¡¯s easy to allow your schedules to take you in opposites directions¨Cdo things together
¡ñ Go watch your children or grandchildren in sports
¡ñ Go out to eat
¡ñ Take in a movie
2. Watch your finances¨Cthis is the #1 problem in marriages today
3. Keep the past in the past
4. Encourage one another
II> IN THE WORKPLACE (22)
What kind of worker are you? Do you work just as hard when the boss is not around as you do when the boss is looking over your shoulder?
ILL> It¡¯s not secret that in many businesses that have those who work hard, and then there are those who work hard at not working.
Did you ever stop to think that the kind of worker you are has a reflection on Christ and His Church? Remember¨Cif you¡¯re sloughing off at work, it gives people a bad impression about what a Christian is. Look at VS 23.
III> IN THE CHURCH (15-17)
ILL> Bob Russell, When God Builds a Church
I¡¯ve visited a lot of churches in America. The experience for a first-time visitor in many of those churches goes something like this: You drive into the parking lot of the church at 10:40 Sunday morning. You assume you¡¯re five minutes early because the sign says the service begins at 10:45. You¡¯ll soon discover that the sign still needs to be changed to show the new minister¡¯s name and that it definitely doesn¡¯t reflect the proper starting time of the service.
The grass was cut yesterday¨Cgood thing, because it was badly needed. You can tell because nobody raked, and the lawn looks more like a hayfield.
As you walk into the church, you¡¯re greeted with a melancholy ¡°Good morning¡± and handed a bulletin. The bulletin has a line through it because the copier hasn¡¯t been serviced in a while. You head toward the sanctuary and take a seat. You wait for twenty long minutes because the service doesn¡¯t actually begin till around eleven o¡¯clock.
At about 11:02 a piano player begins plunking out some chords on the piano....Someone shuffles to the platform and says, ¡°Please take your hymnals and turn to page 150. We¡¯ll sing all five stanzas of ¡°one Day.¡¯¡± The song leader has no musical talent, but he¡¯s the only one courageous enough to get in front of this crowd and try.
After struggling through a couple of hymns, the song leader says, ¡°Now we¡¯re going to have a speicla number by the girls¡¯ trio.¡± One girl gets up from the back row and heads to the front. In the silence, everyone turns and watches her walk forward. About the time she gets to the second row, a girl sitting in the first row stands up and heads to the piano. The girl from the back row says, ¡°Sheila is sick today, so there¡¯s only two of us. Bear with us because we haven¡¯t had much time to practice this.¡± They sing ¡°Give of Your Best to the Master.¡± At th end of the song, someone says, ¡°And all God¡¯s people said...¡± You feel like shouting, ¡°We can do better than that!¡± But the crowd mumbles ¡°Amen.¡±
...that kind of service, where people are giving less than their best, doesn¡¯t bring honor to Jesus Christ.
LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE
LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL
ILL> Things that we do in striving for excellence.
Cleaning ministry - more important than we might think. If there is paper laying around and the rest rooms are not clean, it sends a negative impression to visitors. Striving for excellence means that you¡¯re careful to be here when it is your turn. You don¡¯t just sluff it off thinking that someone else will get to it next week.
Teaching - means your ready for class. Striving for excellence means that you are here or you find someone to take your class. You don¡¯t just say, ¡°Well, someone will fill in if I don¡¯t show up.¡±
Stewardship - Striving for excellence means that you understand that giving is not just to keep the church bills paid, but an important part of your spiritual growth. ¡°When it comes to giving to the church, some people will stop at NOTHING!¡±
Contemporary Music - A good mix of songs. Striving for excellence means that we sing a variety of music and that the songs are picked out to go along with the overall theme of the day. It takes more time, but the message is important.
Video Projection System - It took a good chunk of money to buy the projector and computer to run the system. Singing is so much better when a congregation has it¡¯s head up instead of buried in a songbook. It takes times to put the slides together, but it¡¯s something that we feel is important as we strive for excellence.
Sound System - People say that I don¡¯t need a sound system¨CI think they are saying that I have a big mouth. As a church we are in the communication business. We need to be sure that we get the message out as clear as possible. So, we have put Doug Hutchinson in charge. Many times what is heard up front is different than what is heard in the sound room. So you will see Doug get up occasionally so corrections can be made. We are having a few problems that are probably going to require a good chunk of change to fix. However, we will get it taken care of because excellence demands it.
Greeting Ministry - People generally decide within the first 5 minutes if they will return to a church. If you are at the door, you can have a tremendous impact on those visiting. As we said a few weeks ago, all of you are part of the greeting ministry. It might be easier to stay in our comfort zone and not talk to people that visit, but excellence demands that we move beyond ourselves.
Serving - Instead of showing up right at 10:30 or being late, excellence demands that you arrive early so the service can start on time.
ILL> Some may be tempted to say,
Couldn¡¯t we get by without the keyboard and other instruments?
Couldn¡¯t we get by without the video projector
Couldn¡¯t we get by without a paved parking lot
Sure we could.
Couldn¡¯t you get by with just one TV set?
...without Cable TV, internet hookup, or even a computer?
...without a cell phone?
...with a older vehicle or a smaller or older house?
Well, we could, but we choose not too. Don¡¯t you think that God deserves our best much more than we deserve to pamper ourselves?
Let¡¯s ask an important question here. IS GOD WORTH IT?
CONCLUSION:
Romans 8:32 (NIV)
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32 (Msg)
If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
2 Cor. 13:11
Aim for perfection...be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
QUOTE> Someone said, ¡°Mediocrity is excellence in the mind of the mediocre.¡±
