Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is different. God has given Pastor Steve a new assignment. We have said our farewells, we have shed our tears. Today we came to worship knowing that it won’t be the same. Yet we came because we love the Lord, because we are part of our Grace family, because we believe that God has a new future for us.
Today we still feel a sense of loss. There is certain void within us. We may even experience thoughts of anxiety about what our church will be like from now on.
I am reminded of the time when our church on the Island of Kauai went down in the Hurricane Iwa back in 1982. We held the next worship service in the fellowship hall, which thank God remained unscathed. It was, however, a somber gathering of people grieving over the structure that stood there over 100 years.
Our pastor, Eddie Spirer, came to the improvised pulpit, looked at our sad eyes and said, “We have not lost a church, only a building.” And from that point on, feelings of hope and optimism started replacing the sadness and despair. The congregation of Lihue Lutheran Church went forward in the new phase of its mission.
Today, we are entering a new phase of our mission at Grace Lutheran Church, knowing that God has a plan for us. To borrow from football terminology, we have not lost our franchise, it’s just that our quarterback got traded. The team is still here and you are a great team, a team ready to take the ball and run with it to the end zone.
The game is not over, folks! We are barely into the third quarter, and we are winning! Let there be no doubt about this – we are way ahead! So why should we be afraid of new beginnings?
Today is Reformation Sunday when we remember the faith and courage of one man who was not afraid of a new beginning. When Martin Luther gained a clear understanding of the Gospel and God’s mission for him, he placed his trust and confidence in God’s almighty power and went forward in spite of opposition, threats, even danger to his own life.
Today we sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” the powerful hymn of the Reformation. Do you know where the words came from? It was Psalm 46 that inspired Martin Luther to write this hymn: God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountain fall into the sea, though its waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging. The Lord Almighty is with us. God is our Fortress.
Today we begin a new chapter in the mission of Grace Lutheran Church – perhaps with sadness, yet with faith. The Lord Almighty is with us and we are going forward, and in His strength we will score one victory after another. Jesus is the Lord of this church and it is His game plan that we follow.
So, where do we go from here? The first thing to remember is that the game plan is still the same: Preach the Gospel to every creature. Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in then name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. This is my body given for you; this is the blood of the New Covenant shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Do this in remembrance of me. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Love one another as I have loved you. Set your minds on things that are above. Bear each other’s burdens and in this way fulfill the law of Christ. Forgive each other as God in Christ forgave you. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Draw closer to God and He will draw closer to you. I am the Resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, though they were dead, yet shall they live. And lo, I am with you always, until the end of times.
The game plan is still the same, and is this a great plan or what? We know what the objective is: reach people with the love of Christ, and let the power of the Gospel transform our lives as we walk closer to Him. It is a great game plan, so let’s put it into action. A football player may see a great plan on paper but what good is it if he doesn’t know what those little arrows mean?
In order to put a game plan into action, we need to get into a huddle and figure out who does what. Let’s take a lesson from football. When you see those guys in a huddle, they are not telling each other jokes. Contrary to the TV commercial, they are not even telling each other they saved a bunch of money on car insurance. No, they are saying: you go to the right, you go around, you block this one you block that one and you run as fast as you can because the ball is coming your way. They need to learn how to work as a team. What good is a great running back if no one is blocking for him? What good is the fastest wide receiver if the quarterback doesn’t have a chance to throw the ball to him? Individual effort is great but it takes the whole team to successfully complete a play. The same thing happens in the church.
The Apostle Paul wrote in the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. My dear brothers and sister, we are not here by accident. God brought us here together at Grace Lutheran Church to form the Body of Christ. And God has given to each of us special gifts and abilities to be useful to the whole body, that is, to serve Him.
Two years ago there was so much excitement generated through the 40 Days of Purpose campaign. We learned from Pastor Rick Warren that we were created for God’s pleasure and that God has a purpose for our lives. Five purposes to be exact: Worship (meaning close relationship with Him), Fellowship (close personal relationship with each other), Discipleship (learning to become more like Jesus), Ministry (using our gifts and talents serving God), and Evangelism (sharing the Good News with others).
Let’s see a show of hands – how many of you participated in the 40 days program? And how many of you have grown in your faith through the program?
You see, Christian faith was never meant to be a spectator sport! God does not intend for us to be mere spectators. We are active participants in this game. We are in this together. We are the Body of Christ and each and every one of us has a part in it. Every one of us is a part of the team.
So, join us in the huddle! We have a great church council, great staff, great leaders. Preschool, Sunday School, youth group, Bible Study groups, Prayer Chain, prayer circles, Men’s up, Women’s group, youth and adult choirs, support groups, and many more lay ministry groups and opportunities for service.
After my surgery in February, when Pastor Steve was alone to perform all the duties, there were wonderful people who stepped forward and offered to help with visitation, assisting with worship, greeting, ushering, administration, and other things. Your help was very much needed back them and very much appreciated.
I am so glad that some of you already offered your help now. We do need your help. Contacting and following up on first time visitors. Visiting home-bound members and those in a nursing home. Updating and maintaining our church website. We need more people to help as greeters and ushers, especially with Thanksgiving Service coming up, and then Advent mid-week services, and Christmas Eve services. The Altar Guild will need extra help around the Holidays. On Saturday, November 26th we will be decorating our Sanctuary again. We can use more Powerpoint and sound board volunteers. Couple of weeks ago we heard a request that our Sunday School needs more help. There are also marvelous CCN satellite seminars offered at least twice a month. We need someone to check the schedule, select programs, contact groups for whom the program is suited, handle the publicity and be there to turn it on. I think we have just created a new volunteer position – A Satellite Seminar Coordinator. I am sure there are other opportunities to serve. So, if you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart, join us in the huddle. And let us work together as a great team and you will see how God will continue to bless us.
And as I am asking you for help, let us not fail to ask our heavenly Father for His help. Let us abound in prayer! Pray for us, pray for our congregation, pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, pray that the Lord will provide for us a new shepherd who will be the instrument of God’s many blessing in years to come. I invite you to come together here next Sunday, November 6th at 5 PM for an hour and a half long prayer vigil and present our petitions to our gracious and powerful God.
And as a great team, knowing the game plan in our hearts, and having learned to stick together and work together, let us go forward with optimism! Just like Pastor Steve said last Sunday, “Jesus has not left the building.” He is here with us and He has great new blessings in store for Grace Lutheran Church of Kingman, Arizona. This is an exciting time in the life of our congregation. You know how our community is growing and you know about the plans to build tens of thousands of new housing units. In 15 years Mohave County is expected to have more that half a million residents. Such explosive growth may be scary to some, but what a marvelous opportunity for the mission of our congregation!
The Lord is doing something significant here and we are part of His team. So, who is afraid of new beginnings? I am not and I hope you are not either. We are the people of faith. We are on a winning team.
Let us read together the passage from Psalm 33: The Lord is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we put our trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, as we put our hope in you. And let all God’s people say, Amen!
