I owe thanks to Pastor wes Richard for the basic outline of this sermon. As well, Steven Covey, who was Wes’ inspiration, served as a starting point for me as well.
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Sermon for CATM January 9, 2005 - The Welcoming Church - Romans 15:1-7
A few days ago at the YSM House of Prayer, someone commented as we were discussing the devastating tsunami that has been so much on our hearts, that years ago, there was no such response to disasters far away.
When the famine and floods overwhelmed Bangladesh in the 70’s, the west sent some money, but, this person commented, we weren’t really touched deeply by the tragedy. Why is that? Why is the western response to this tragedy so big, when in the past worse events have been largely unfelt by us?
It’s not because we’ve evolved as a culture, although surely we have matured a bit over the years. It’s not because the media coverage is so much greater. There was a lot of media back in the seventies.
It’s because the people on the other side of the world are no longer strangers and aliens to us.
They are our friends. They are our neighbours. Quite simply, they are part of our daily lives as we are part of theirs.
And when they hurt, we hurt with them. Because they are us. And we are them. And that is why I love Toronto. All of humanity as God created us, male and female, Sri Lankan and Russian and English and French and East Indian and Bangladeshi and first nations and all the rest, are our neighbours. And friends. There is no more us and them. There is only us, and that ‘us’ includes all of humanity. This is, I believe, as God would have it.
And we are a church in the middle of a beautifully international community. And this is no accident. It’s not because some politicians relaxed our immigration laws. It’s because God has called Canada to be an international nation. And so we are.
The questions is, as a church in an international city in an international nation, how can we truly
embrace the new people around us? How can we open our arms and hearts to the new people from all over the world who are and will increasingly become our fellow worshippers? How can we improve the welcome that we give to guests who join us?
Or as our purpose statement, the one that is on the front page of our bulletin every week says, how can we share the fulness of God’s love by providing a welcoming and accepting environment in this church we call our own? These are very important questions, and I think a great way of answering them is to look at some habits...some good habits...seven habits...of a
welcoming church.
The first habit of a welcoming church is that of consideration for each other. Rom 15:2 Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.
God challenges each of us to turn our eyes outward. There is a time for reflection and meditation, yes. Definitely. But there is also a time to focus on building one another up.
And as we’re thinking about what it means to be a welcoming church, we need to be aware that when guests come into our service or come into the mission, especially for the first couple of times, they are really not familiar with anything - the people, the atmosphere, the way we worship. It is all unknown to them. Strange. Possibly or probably uncomfortable.
Those of us who have been here a few months or years or for many years can forget that others see things differently from the way we do. When you’re super comfortable with a place or a church, you don’t think much about how people look at you or how much you may be appreciated.
You take a lot for granted. Newer people, people perhaps fresh to us, have a different experience
coming here. They have different questions. They are wondering if the people here are nice. They are noticing how people interact and how much kindness is shown between people. If guests have children, they are wondering if this is a safe place for them, if the children will be accepted and well cared for and loved.
So God calls us to an awareness of others, to thinking less about how we’re doing and more about how others are doing. The scripture is pretty clear and uses pretty strong language: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”. Philipians 2:3-4
Instead of looking sideways at new people, instead of comparing ourselves to each other, we’re called to “consider others better than (ourselves)”. So come to church with the expectation to bless as well as be blessed.
You have more influence than you think on how another member or guest enjoys his time with us. The question is, “Are you developing the habit of living your life of faith with an eye to the well-being of others? Is your personal manner a welcoming one? Is our manner as a church a welcoming one?
The second habit we need to develop is the study of scripture Rom 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through
endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
I like the way that Eugene Peterson rephrases this verse for us: “God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next”
When we study God’s Word, we gain insight and receive hope. There are some Christians who almost never crack open a Bible, and I’ve got to tell you, I really have no idea how they live a fulfilling or victorious life.
The Bible shows us the mind and heart of God. The stories of the Bible are the stories of who God is and how he loves. There’s no better way to get to know what God cares about.
When we read the Bible - when we meditate on God’s Word, something profound happens that, by the work of the Holy Spirit, can truly transform us. When we are transformed, it is into the likeness of Jesus. When we’re like Jesus we’re very attractive to the people around us, because we’re unselfish, we’re caring, we’re concerned about others. We live our lives in such a way as to be a blessing to others. Funny thing is, when we do that we end up as very happy people.
That’s what the Bible means when it says that it is better to give than to receive. The study of God’s Word can show up in your attitude and on your face. And a joyful attitude and a happy face are very welcoming indeed to those around us!
So my question for you is, even as we begin a new year together, what will you do with the Word of God? How will you treat the Holy Scriptures? Will you crack open that Bible more often? Will you read and ask for revelation from God? Will you bring that new understanding with you to worship?
The third habit is that of endurance or steadfastness. Churches have personalities. Our
church, Church at the Mission, has a personality. It is all of us put together. Personality and haracter is shaped by repeated action. We do a certain thing again and again, we apply certain values in a consistent way, and that begins to characterize who we are.
Likewise with a church, as we meet from week to week and for those who choose to be part of each other’s lives throughout the week, we develop an identity together.
But this only works if we are committed to one another, if we are steadfast in our determination
to journey together. That’s why I talk a fair bit about the importance of our commitment to one
another.
A lot of Christians figure the life of faith is a solo walk. We try and we try to build faithfulness
and steadfastness into our lives, sometimes only to fail again and again. But our walk is intended to be more like a marathon.
It is by hanging together that we find the strength to do what God calls us to do. So the question is, are you developing the habit of endurance or steadfastness in your faith, in your family
commitments?
If your answer is no, will you commit to greater involvement in the church. Will you see your life as the Bible encourages us to see it - deeply and meaningfully connected tot eh body of Christ which is the church?
The fourth habit is hope (v.4). A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned.
The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!
Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. We need to cultivate hope. God is...faithful to reach into our darkest situation and lift us.
The director of a medical clinic told of a terminally ill young man who came in for his usual treatment. A new doctor who was on duty said to him casually and cruelly, “You know, don’t you, that you won’t live out the year?”
As the young man left, he stopped by the director’s desk and wept. “That man took away my hope,” he blurted out. “I guess he did,” replied the director. “Maybe it’’s time to find a new one.”
Commenting on this incident, the writer Lewis Smedes wrote, ““Is there a hope when hope is taken away? Is there hope when the situation is hopeless? That question leads us to Christian hope, for in the Bible, hope is no longer a passion for the possible. It becomes a passion for the promise.” The promises of God of the foundation of our hope.
Are you cultivating hope? Do we as a church encourage one another to hope. Do you stop and spend time with the person who you’ve noticed is sad? That person needs hope. The hope that God truly loves them and is working in their lives for their good.
Do you see people in tough situations, in needy situations? You can be a hope-giver. As a church,I pray that we will be a hope-giving body of believers.
The fifth habit is harmony (v.5). There’s a story of a church that had to make the difficult decision about cutting down a big shade tree in the parking lot. One older man argued long that they preserve that tree, but the decision went the other way. On the day they cut it down he was the first one to show up. Someone said, “I thought you didn’t want that tree cut down. He said, “I don’t, but WE decided to cut it down, so I’m here to help.” That is working in harmony.
Paul prayed that the Roman church would have “a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow
Christ Jesus”. Harmony and unity are to ways of expressing the same idea. This is unison [walk over and play a familiar melody in octaves]. The melody is played in octaves - but the same notes are hit. [Play same melody in harmony] Here the melody, the first sound you heard, is supported and made more beautiful by another note that is moving in basically the same
direction.
Unity is not conformity. The way we often think of unity is really quite dull. One of the reasons that Kerry and Jan and I have been together as a pastoral team for nine years now is that we’re not the same. We have very different views and very different ways of doing things. If we were identical we would cancel each other.
Barb and I usually joke at election time that we cancel each other’s votes out, because we usually
vote for different parties. I say, “Vive la difference!”. There’s a beauty in democracy that is there because we can think and vote our conscience.
One of the scarey things about a dictatorship is
that most people have to shut up and tow the line or get into serious trouble. There is something stagnating in conformity. There is something liberating, something that touches the divine, in
harmony. And there’s power when we work together.
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”.
“Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?” Unity. Harmony. It’s what Jesus prayed for. It’s something the earliest church was known for. Read Acts chapter 2 and 4 if you want to learn more about that.
The sixth habit is praise (v.6). Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.
So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be by simply trying for closer fellowship.
The Bible says that we were created for God’s pleasure. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of our lives. Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act
of worship.
And Paul’s prayer is that these habits of faithfulness will lead us to praise and glorify God with one voice. Some people come to worship services so full of joy and thanksgiving they can’t wait to let it out. Others may come dragging empty buckets, ready to be filled.
But whether we regard ourselves as strong or weak in faith, together we praise God, with one voice, as Paul says. Let’s remember that worship is not for our benefit, but for God’s benefit. We don’t come to get something out of it, though that may happen. We come to give ourselves and our praise, to God.
If we want to bring praise to God, the passage today says, we need to accept one another. We are called to bring praise to God by our embrace of one another. Are you having trouble entering into worship? Are you struggling with being able to truly praise God.
Then I would suggest you take a hard look at your relationships. To be a welcoming church means to be a church that is full of praise and adoration for God and to [Rom 15:7] "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God”.
The last habit Paul lists is also in verse 7, that of following the example of Jesus. (v7). Welcome each other as Christ welcomed you. How did Christ welcome you? What did he give up for you? He gave up his life.
The entire earthly life of Jesus Christ, from the moment of conception until His ascension to the
Father exhibits the truth of this statement--"He did not please Himself." First, He sought the good of others rather than His own good in the incarnation. Phil. 2 is a passage very much parallel to Romans 15.
Phil. 2:5-7: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ‘‘Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
This entire chapter is really about the imitation of Christ. Reflecting Christ’s love and goodness and kindness. Isn’t that the best and simplest way to be truly a welcoming church? Do you want to experience the fullness of God’s love? Do you want to explore the depths of His goodness and mercy and beauty and faithfulness?
Someone has said that believers are like grains of wheat being ground together to make bread. Each ingredient contributes something to the final loaf. In fact, the final product looks and tastes nothing like the separate ingredients. Maybe we can think of these seven habits as a 7-grain bread like we sometimes buy.
In the church, members show consideration for each other. We study the scriptures together. We endure to the end with the hope that God inspires. We live in harmony as we praise our God. And as we follow Jesus, we become kneaded into this fellowship of faith. If we develop these 7 habits, we will become the church God wants us to be.
A welcoming church. An international church. A church where every tribe and nation can be accepted, so that we might all worship God together.
Let’s pray. Thank you God for your mercy to us. Thank you for the wonderful welcome we have received into Your kingdom through the blood of Christ that was shed for us.
Teach us to be a people who make a habit of embracing others, who lovingly extend the invitation you’ve given us to others, that we might be the kind of church you call us to be. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
