[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 3C: “God So Loved the World”

[joeparrish]

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 04/05/2019  8:25 pm  (GMT-04:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 3C: “God So Loved the World” 

Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “God So Loved the World” and is based on the gospel (John 21: 1-14).  Here it is:   

 

Do you remember the story of
the kindergarten teacher who asked her students, “What is the shape of the
earth?”  One little girl raises her
hand.  “Yes, Sally, what is the shape of
the earth?”   Says the child, “According
to my daddy, it's terrible, because he cusses every time he watches the news on
TV.”  Jesus would agree.  John 3: 16-17 reminds us- “God loved the
people of this world so much that he gave his only Son ….God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn its people, but to save them.”  The thought for the week also fits in to this
idea- “How will you spend eternity -- Smoking or Nonsmoking?” (Anonymous)  This morning I’d like us to focus on
evangelism- bringing other people to Jesus through his church, because we’re
not just thinking of how we ourselves will spend eternity- heaven or hell; but
how our friends and loved ones will spend eternity and what kind of life they
will have right now.  Jesus said, “I am
the way, the truth, and the life…Without me, no one can go to the Father” (John
14:6), and we have to take him seriously. 
Two of our Bible lessons give us insights into what Jesus expects of us
when he tells us to “Go to the people of all nations and make them my
disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
and teach them to do everything I have told you” (Matthew 28: 19-20).  We just heard “why.”  Our gospel lesson tells us “who” and our
lesson from Acts about the conversion of St.
  Paul tell us “how.”

 

We’ll start with the Gospel
and “who.”  Does anyone know that old children’s song- “I
Will Make You Fishers of Men” (or People if we’re trying to be nonsexist)?  Those fish Jesus helped the disciples catch
represented people- all kinds of people. 
How do I know that?  Because in
Jesus’ day, people thought there were 153 different kinds of fish in the world,
so the 153 fish represented all the different kinds of people that existed on
this planet.  In other words, here was
one more instance of Jesus trying to impress on his disciples (and us) that
when he said “Go to the people of all nations,” he meant EVERYBODY.  So when you start thinking about whom you can
invite to church, don’t worry about race or age or money or health or schooling
or past mistakes or anything.  If they’re
breathing and human- they qualify!  Try
to get them to church to be saved and discipled.

 

The Bible lesson from the
book of Acts tells us “how.”  Ananias had one of the most dangerous jobs
possible at that time- going to the house of a known terrorist so he could cure
him of his blindness.  Paul had been
going from town to town torturing and killing Christians, yet Ananias trusted
God enough to obey him.  What can we
learn from Ananias?  Some kinds of
evangelism are one-time efforts that take a lot out of you- like a sprint in
track.  Paul, on the other hand, shows us
the other “how”- the evangelism effort that is like a marathon.  You stay at it and at it and at it.  You find different ways over the years of
inviting someone to church, and one day- it works.

 

Last, let’s look at the focus God expects us to use for His Kingdom work.  I’d like to close with a story you heard a
while ago (April, 2016 to be exact), so if you remember it- you’ve got a good
memory.   A ten-year-old boy was failing
math. His parents tried everything from tutors to hypnosis, but to no avail.
Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enroll their son
in a private Roman Catholic school. After the first day, the boy's parents were
surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, focused and very
determined expression on his face, and went right past them straight to his
room, where he quietly closed the door. For nearly two hours he toiled away in
his room - with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He
emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight
back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until
bedtime. This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first
quarter report card. The boy walked in with his report card -- unopened -- laid
it on the dinner table and went straight to his room. Cautiously, his mother
opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright red "A" under the
subject of MATH. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room,
thrilled at his remarkable progress. "Was it the nuns that did it?” the
father asked. The boy only shook his head and said, "No." "Was
it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?" "No." "The
textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?" "Nope," said the son.
"On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they
nailed to the 'plus sign,' I just knew they meant business!"  (jokeswarehouse.com)

 

My friends- God meant business when he sent
his Son; and Jesus meant business when he said to go to the people of all
nations and make them his disciples.  May
God bless us as we take him and his expectations seriously.

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.





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