Home  Sermons April 11, 2010
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April 11, 2010 FILL IN THE BLANKS
What are you doing here this morning? I mean, why did you come to church? Each one of us is here because God brought someone or something into our lives to introduce us to faith in Christ and encourage us to be part of the church or come to worship.
Trace it back. How did you come to be here this morning? Some of you were born into a church-going or Christian family. You were aware of God from a very early age and have been coming to church ever since. Some of us drifted away or even rejected “church” in our teens and twenties. But then the Lord brought others or other things into our lives that brought us to our own personal faith or renewed our interest in belonging to a church family.
Some of us had a negative church experience or some other religious upbringing or none at all. Yet we came to a point in life recognizing our need for God, for spirituality, for meaning in life that only God can provide. Some of you may be here for the first time just beginning to search out what God has for your life or what it means to be a Christian.
Every person has a story – unique, special, amazing, heart felt. And the best thing that you or I can do with our story is to tell it, share it, invite others in on it. This morning in our Bible readings we find the faith stories of Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, and Paul, who came to faith in Jesus after the life, death and resurrection of our Lord.
I. The Thomas of Doubt and Belief (John 20)
No one is born a “Christian.” In other words, God has no grandchildren! Every person of faith in the Bible had to come to his or her own trust in God. Each disciple of Jesus had to decide to trust in Jesus and follow him or not. As you read the Gospels, several times it says, “Many put their faith in him” (John 8:30) and “Many were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him” (John 12:11). But others said to Jesus, “How dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out (John 9:34). And, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
On that first Easter evening, “Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But Thomas said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe…’
German writer and poet Wolfgang von Goethe (Goethe’s “Faust” became a major inspiration in music, poetry and philosophy), wrote this: “The deepest, the only theme of human history, compared to which all others are of subordinate importance, is the conflict of skepticism and faith.” When doubt goes bad, many turn away. As Ernest Hemingway said, “Life is just a dirty trick from nothingness to nothingness.” Many can’t help but turn to faith. Most everybody hopes. As C.S. Lewis said, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists.” Thomas doubted – Doubting Thomas forever known.
But a week later, Jesus came and stood among them. He said to Thomas, “Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
Abercrombie and Fitch has an old but striking story about the risks of unbelief. Back in 1938 a Long Island, New York man ordered an extremely sensitive barometer from their ad in the New Yorker magazine. When it arrived, he was disappointed that the indicator needle was stuck, pointing to the sector marked “Hurricane.” After shaking the barometer vigorously several times (not a good idea for a sensitive mechanism), he wrote a scathing letter to the store and mailed it on his way to work the next morning. That night when he returned to his Long Island home, not only was the barometer missing but his house as well. The infamous September 1938 hurricane all but leveled Long Island.
Now there’s a difference between doubt and unbelief. For those who ignore or reject Jesus Christ throughout this entire life, the risk is even greater and the disaster more devastating. But for those who struggle with faith and doubt, ask God for help, and honestly seek Christ, the Lord understands. God provides every person the opportunities to come to faith in the Risen Lord. Thomas came to believe and gave the rest of his life spreading the gospel. Tradition has it that he traveled east as far as present-day India with the message of Christ. Perhaps he should be known as “Believing Thomas.”
II. Paul Communicates the Essentials of Faith (Romans)
So it was with Paul as well. “Saul” was a Jewish rabbi quite upset with this new sect of followers of Jesus. In the book of Acts we read how “Saul approved of the killing of Stephen… and was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 8:1; 9:1). But the Risen Lord Jesus spoke to him, sent him to a man named Ananias. “Paul” (his new name) came to trust in Christ and was baptized. After several years of study and learning from the disciples, Paul then was commissioned by the Lord as an apostle, evangelist, missionary.
His letters to the various churches he established or planted formed a significant part of the New Testament, regarded by the early church as not only Paul’s writing to them but also as God’s word to them.
In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul outlined the essentials of faith in Christ. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… for (quoting from the prophet Joel 2:32), ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call… how can they believe… how can they hear without someone telling them?” Good question!
This is where the FILL IN THE BLANKS survey comes in. How can we as a church be missional, focused on the community out there, in the neighborhoods where we live, in the places we work or go to school? So, let’s fill it out, hand it in, and let Pastor James and I, our elders and staff design, share and carry out ways we can have a more intentional witness for Christ here in Salt Lake City.
FILL IN THE BLANKS “I Came to Faith in Christ…”
1. I first became aware of God when I was…
_____ a child; _____ in my teens; _____ an adult.
2. The person(s) who introduced me to faith in Jesus was…
_____ parent; _____ grandparent; _____ friend;
_____ pastor; _____ teacher; _____ neighbor;
_____ other ( ______________ ).
3. I consciously accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior…
_____ as a child (age___ ); as a teen (age ___ );
_____ as an adult ( age ___ );
_____ I can’t identify such a time but I am a believer;
_____ I don’t know what you’re talking about.
4. What role or how much influence was “the church” in the
development of your faith in Christ?
_____ much; _____ some; _____ not at all.
5. I tell my faith story with other people (share, witness)…
_____ regularly; _____ rarely; _____ never.
6. Would you like the opportunity to tell your faith story here at
1st Presbyterian Church?
_____ in a worship service; _____ in a small group;
_____ for people in the community;
_____ yes, but I’d need some help putting it together;
_____ no – I don’t think I could; _____ no way.
7. If you have yet to accept (receive, trust, place your faith)
in Christ, would you like to or learn how?
_____ yes; _____ no; _____ not yet (I’m thinking about it)
Name (optional) ______________________________
Phone or Email if you’d like a pastor’s input, conversation,
prayer, understanding, help, etc.
____________
Conclusion
Like it or not, you and I are witnesses for Jesus Christ and his saving message. Your faith story is one that God wills to use to touch the lives of others. What God is doing in and through First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2010 is worth sharing with people. Are we perfect? No. Do we have the common mixture of faith and doubt as we go through life? Yes. Are we willing to ask the difficult questions? Yes. Do we have all the answers? No. Are we saints or sinners? Actually, both!
You and I were made for a mission. Redeemed by Christ, we are called to introduce people to God. This church exists to help people love God, love neighbor and make disciples. What a privilege it is to know and share Jesus Christ. As Paul quotes Isaiah (52:7), “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
So, what are you doing here this morning? I mean, why did you come to church?
Let us pray together. |
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