October 1999 Sermons
Dr. Henry E. Roberts

Keys for Living in the New Millennium -- Community
Keys for Living in the New Millennium -- Praise Filled Living
Keys for Living in the New Millennium -- Confidence

   We are in these months of the last quarter of the 20th Century, searching for keys to unlock the future secrets of life, which will open for us sources of health, abundance and meaning in the new millennium. I have voiced already the importance of the keys of compassion and generosity, and this morning the importance of community. God invites us to a life of community, not loneliness, togetherness, not isolation, unity not division.

   We are at our best when, amidst difficult times, we have community. There is a restlessness in our soul for a sense of belonging. You don't know Jessica but you have or will see her sometime in your life. She wanders around a lot. She was a product of a broken home. She hardly ever sits still. She's always going somewhere but she is not real sure where she is going. She can never quite figure out who she is or where she is anymore. Yes, she probably has a rapidly developing case of Alzheimer's, but she's been roaming around for years. She makes other people nervous because sometimes she is in the way. I see her kinfolk everywhere - on the street, in the church, at the store, on television, in Kosovo, in Rwanda, and in New York, she is everywhere - searching, moving, longing for a sense of belonging.

   Sometimes we are all like Jessica. We do not quite know who we are or where we are. We have our times of disorientation and dislocation. We long for roots, place, belonging. We long for family and friends. And I encourage you to follow these instincts and deepen your sense of roots. Advance your sense of place. Develop your sense of belonging. Build your network of family and friends.

   The problem is that we live in a culture that gives birth to many like Jessica. and promotes anything but unity. The loss of roots, place and belonging is bewildering and frightening. School and church shootings, which increase our stress and our sense of bewilderment, and thus increases the numbers of locks on our doors and security systems that protect us. The environment of our nation is producing an increase of isolation. Such a growing reality has to sadden the heart of God.

   One of the gifts I have enjoyed in my life, as have most of you, is the gift of stability and community. I grew up in a small town where everybody knew one another. I was carried to the church of my parents where I would worship until I was 18. There I was baptized early on and was told that I was a child of God, and children of God behaved in a certain way and believed certain things. When I was about six years old, we were sitting in Church one Sunday and there was this lady singing behind my brother and me. We got tickled - a fatal mistake in church for little boys. We looked back at the lady and she hit us over the head with a hymn book. It's a wonder I sing in church today. But it was part of the security system of a church that one adult would help discipline another's child. I lived in a family with my father and mother who would be lifelong mates, and in a small Methodist College married a person who would be my lifelong mate. A sense of community and family gives you stability, safety and security, identity, dimensions of life that we all need.

   But today we live in a time and place where everything is not secure and many millions around the world are rootless and bewildered. There is a frantic sense in our nation of searching for community which you see in the proliferation of groupings: quilting clubs, country clubs, garden clubs, fraternities and sororities, professional groups, civic clubs, Alcoholics Anonymous groups, new Internet friends you meet "online," MatchMakers International, etc. And maybe this morning some of you are feeling some of those same feelings. Where do I belong, who am I?

   If so, listen up: At the point of our greatest need, God always responds. To Abraham, he promised a land and a nation of descendants… To Moses and the Egyptian Slaves, he gave a promised land. Jesus said: "Come to me those of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And at the end of his life he said: "I go to prepare a place for you so that where I am, there you may be also."

• At the Point of Our Deepest Need, God Always Responds.

   Dr. Paul Tournier, in a book which has been a life defining work for me, reflects on his life as a young child when at the age of six his mother died and at eight his father died. The family had moved to a home, which in Geneva was built near Reformation Park a hundred years ago, and yet the home was called "Place Nuevo" translated: "The New Place". Named such because it was the Tournier family's new home. On the occasion when his father died, a trusted and very wise housekeeper walked him and his sister into the park, and the young boy now reflecting back on that sad day 60 years later, asked the housekeeper: "Will we never be able to go back to Place Nuevo?" To which she responded, "My dear child, the Lord has ahead of you many new places." And so He does for us all.

• Our lives are ever changing and the sense of community we once experienced in times past changes but God always provides for his own, in new ways.

    In Ephesians 2:17, trying to understand what God has accomplished in Jesus, Paul wrote: "He came to you and proclaimed peace to you. In him you are no longer aliens in a foreign land, but fellow citizens with God's People, members of God's household."

   Let me give these words of suggestions:

1. Claim your family and friends and share and care for one another for they are precious. In the days of confusion and loneliness, they will be the ones to stand by you. In the new millennium, no matter what it may bring, you will need them.

2. Make the church, your part of the church, the visible evidence of God's offer of community and belonging. Be aggressive to reach out to those around you and in the reflection of your love for those around you, you will become whole, healthy persons.

3. And thirdly, accept the offer of Jesus Christ to be in community and communion with God.

Keys for Living in the New Millennium — Praise Filled Living
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

   God's image is reflected in us by what we say and what we do. We are a walking billboard for the hope, which is within us. The apostle Paul understood this when the early church was growing in the Greek/Roman world in the First Century, just after the resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica saying: "We give thanks to God always for you. You have become imitators of us and of the Lord. And, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. And the word of the Lord has gone forth from you everywhere." 

   God's image is seen through us and through the church. Although our church is not on TV, through your life and mine we are broadcasting every day what we believe as Christian disciples. We are telling folks of the hope within us. 

   Within the last few years, many churches around the country have leased their high steeples to cell phone companies. These high antennas are usually disguised, but the churches use their privileged high position as a communication center to rent their space to these mobile, cell phone companies. For example, the National Cathedral in Washington, receives from Motorola about $100,000.00 each year from their rent of high space. Estimates are that 300-500 steeples nationwide are already serving as "antenna sanctuaries". We might want to put the word out, "Church steeple for lease." 

   Theologically speaking, our church should be a link with God and a conduit between mortals. I do, however, sometimes wonder what kind of message we are broadcasting by the lives we are living, by the sights and sounds of our worship, but have no doubts, someone is reading our lives and making a judgment of our faith. What are we broadcasting from the steeple of our life? What are we broadcasting about how to survive with quality in the next 1,000 years? 

   Last Easter Sunday morning, we were celebrating our Easter faith on the lawn of the church, as we do each year in the annual "Son Rise Service." There appeared in the back of the massive crowd, a young couple who were just driving by on the way to the beach and heard our music and singing and decided to come and join in the festivities. They have since joined our church. They saw our lives and liked what they saw. 

   As we approach the threshhold of a new millennium, it is an appropriate question to ask ourselves, what do people see as they observe Methodist people like you and me? What kind of message are we broadcasting to those who just walk by our gathering? Do people where we work, know that we are members of a church? Do we exemplify the kind of behavior that reflects the image of our loving God? Are we a generous people? Are we a compassionate people?

   Are we broadcasting the message that faith in God can make a difference? Does our confidence in God show forth in how we deal with tragedy? Do we love and care for others in such a way that strangers are encouraged to be loving and caring? Are we filled with Praise or filled with Remorse? 

   Recently, I walked through the cafeteria of a local hospital and noticed a nurse sitting alone and reading her Bible over lunch. Has anybody ever caught you reading your Bible in a public place? 

   Out to eat recently, two businessmen received their food and quietly bowed their heads and offered a prayer before eating their lunch. What a powerful witness to God and to others is our prayer of thanksgiving offered in public places. Now, don't misunderstand. This is not for public display, it is a personal witness to God that is observed by others. 

   A teacher was informed that a student's parent had been involved in an accident and as she walked her student to her car to drive to the hospital, the teacher said: "May God be with you, you will be in my prayers." Have you violated the secular law of, "Do not mention God in public places?" I have, and I will, and I hope you will also. Has anyone caught you praying in public lately? 

   Oftentimes we have visitors come on a Sunday morning who are on vacation on our beaches. They will often comment by word or letter, "thank you for helping us in our Sunday worship experience." I am always encouraged by their presence as it is a great witness of their faith. When Sunday comes, even on vacation, do you find a place to worship? You will be really surprised by the power of such an experience in a strange place. You can learn new things and see how others worship and truly make a sacrificial offering of worship to God.

   Last Sunday we celebrated our commitment to "Peace With Justice" and heard James Laney, former President of Emory, Ambassador to South Korea, remind us that through servanthood we will find ultimate success and purpose in the new millennium. A joyful witness is also basic for us as we move ahead into the two thousand years.

   Many of you today are wearing "Red Ribbons" in support of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse community emphasis in hope of a drug free society. Methodist people believe in abstinence from alcohol as a moral witness. What witness do you make concerning this matter?

   Today we celebrate Choir Dedication Sunday, when we acknowledge the wonderful contributions of our choir and our music leadership in the church. We are so very blessed to have all of our musicians, and especially Rick and Heidi Branch. They are so easy and a delight to work with as worship leaders. Such a situation is not always the case.

   I have heard of a church where the pastor and the choir director just didn't get along very well. As time went by, the antagonism begin to spill over into the worship service.

   The first week the pastor preached on commitment and the music director led the song, "I shall not be moved."

   The second week the pastor preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the church. The director led the song, "Jesus paid it all."

   The third week the pastor preached on gossiping and how we should watch our tongues. The music director led the song, "I love to tell the Story."

   Finally the pastor became disgusted over the situation and told the congregation that he was considering resigning. The musician led the song: "O Why Not Tonight."

   As it came to pass, the pastor did indeed resign telling the congregation that it was Jesus who led him to them and it was Jesus who was taking him away. The music leader led the song: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

   Our children grow in faith as they see us sing the hymns of faith and bow in prayer, and place our offering envelopes in the offering plates. What are our children learning as they watch our behavior?

   The other morning while driving to Church, just as the Eastern Sun broke through the dawning sky over Escambia Bay, I slowed down to enjoy the magnificent scene of sunrise only to be surprised by this jogger on the edge of the cliff looking like an Indian brave doing a sun dance in the early dawn, with arms outstretched welcoming the coming of a new day. And then in the dawn light, my eyes focused and I saw that it was Bill Spain. Praising God for the morning.

Keys For Living in the New Millennium — Confidence
 Exodus 33:12-23

   In successive Sundays, I have voiced for us all that there are certain keys for living successfully as we launch into the 21st century. Our tradition illustrates these keys, some of which are compassion, generosity, and community. Today let us consider confidence.

   Confidence was one of the missing ingredients in the life of both Moses and the Israelites as they sought their freedom from Pharo and journeyed toward the promised land. They feared the lack of water in the desert, and God provided water. They feared the lack of food, and God provided food. They feared losing their way in the trackless lands, but God guided them every step of the way. They feared the people who occupied the Promised Land, but God gave them victory. It is easy for us to look back through the scriptures from a perspective of 3200 years and see clearly that God was with the Jews in the wilderness, preparing them for their move into the land flowing with Milk and Honey. But when you are in the middle of the wilderness, you are just not too sure. Most of us have been there and done that, and know the fears and uncertainties of the human journey. There are some who are present today who probably feel that you are in the wilderness right now, and your confidence is either nonexistent or at rock bottom.

   The dialogue between God and Moses, which provides the framework of our scriptures for this morning, illustrates this uncertainty...God said to Moses: "My presence will go with you and I will give you rest."

   Part of the reason for the long wilderness journey was that God was teaching the Israelites that he was trustworthy and that they could trust Him. Think back now, ten plagues had finally convinced the Pharo to release the slaves. The water of the Red Sea was parted and more than a million slaves walked across the Red Sea on dry land. And they found water to drink, and quail and bread to eat on a daily ration bases. And yet they worried about whether God was with them. And the masses had zero confidence in God. Many said: "Would that we were back in Egypt, at least there we would not starve." In this reading today: Moses asks, "Are you with me?" I can image God thinking: "These people, these stiff-necked, hardheads, they are driving me crazy." Give me somebody to work with."

   When the former slaves were at last ready to enter the Promised Land, Moses sent 12 spies into the land, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Ten of them came back with the report: "The people who live in the land are like giants and we are like grasshoppers in our eyes." A sorry state of affairs when the people of God see themselves as grasshoppers." "Give me somebody to work with," God must have screamed…

   I wonder who God talks with when he is frustrated? Time and time again, Moses asks for assurance--"What more can I do for you? "God must have wondered. The Israelites were much like we are in relationship to God in our attitude of, "What have you done for me today". So God gave the Israelites some time to thank about it, 40 years in the wilderness, as a matter of fact. Think about these past mercies, he seemed to be saying, and get a life. I believe that what he was doing in the long wilderness journey was growing their confidence.

1. Confidence grows as you remember the past.

2. Confidence will grow as you trust God.

3. Confidence will grow as you step out into the unknown.

   Israel would spend a lot of time remembering and celebrating their past in their worship feast days, which still come around every year:

• Passover - in early Spring, when the escape from slavery in Egypt and the birth of the nation is remembered.

• Pentecost - commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai.

• Rosh Hashanah - early October marking the coming of the Kingdom after the Exile in Babylon.

• Yom Kippur-day of Atonement - which is a day of penitence and the loading of the sins of the people onto the back of a goat, thus the name, scapegoat goat.

• Festival of Tabernacles -an eight-day celebration-when they would build temporary dwellings or booths to recall to consciousness their homeless days of wandering in the wilderness. In the wonderful musical Fiddler on the Roof, Topol, the father of the family is packing up again in rural Russia and he says to God: "I know we are doing this because we are your chosen people, but sometimes we wish you would chose someone else."

• Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah - this celebration marked the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem-the lighting of the menorah and thus called the festival of lights.

   And we as Christians remember the great events of our Salvation History through Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter, Pentecost or the coming of the Holy Spirit.

   We all need these annual collaborative events to remember what God has done for us. I need to remember that I can walk again, and that God has worked a miracle in my body. I remember every time I climb a set of stairs, or dance or run, that God works miracles.

1. Write in your Journal of God's blessings (if you don't have one, then get one). I don't like those dated Journals or daily dated dairies, for when you fail to write in it for a few days you feel guilty, and we need no help to increase our feelings of inadequacy or failure.

   There is a little book entitled Abundance Journal where you are encouraged to list every day the things God has done for you, and such a spiritual exercise does increase our awareness that God is with us and is bringing abundant blessings to us.

2. Practice confidence by tithing. Deut. 14:22 - set aside 10%. Lay out before God your dreams and believe that he will help you accomplish them. "Whatever you ask for in Prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." Believe and then work as though it all depends on you.

3. Stay open to where God is leading you. As we approach the beginning of the next thousand years, know that this is not the end of all ages, it is the end of an old age. But when we belong to Christ, the coming new millennium will be for us an unbelievable year of many new opportunities to grow in our faith and to accomplish many new things.

   Who knows but that this very moment can be for you the beginning of the new age. We live not in fear, but in confidence in God. In this new age we will finally get it together. Wars will cease and a loving society will be established. Regrets will cease and we will put on the shelf our silly resentments and we will at long last start living life to its fullest.

   Patrick Overton wrote: "When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take that step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly."