Bear Witness

We sing this children's song (really a song to adults in the congregation) called "We Bear Witness."  The line goes, "Pass the promise to our sons and daughters, God most high, God our Father, we bear witness."  The last part of our mission statement is just that ... We make disciples of Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.

On a day when we mourn more people killed while they were in a place of worship (there seems to be an evil and insidious pattern here), and we remember children and adults shot through church windows, it seems foolhardy to speak about boldness.  Shouldn't we turn inward, protect "our own," and focus on keeping "what we have?"  Where do we go for guidance?  We always go to Jesus who is "our light and our salvation."  What does He say, after a season of violence, persecution, and evil?

In Acts 1, Jesus is talking with the disciples.  It is Jesus' last "post-resurrection" appearance, and He does not disappoint them with just fading away into heaven.  Jesus continues to teach, lead, and give them a command.  "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)."  Most of you profess to believe Scripture, and would be offended if that belief was challenged.  So ... as I break this down, let the question, "Do I really believe that?" float around in your head.  Because these are not just commands ... the words here are statements of fact that Jesus is telling us WILL happen.

1. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" - This is a statement of certainty ... not a hope or a possibility.  The power was/is there.  Read Acts and you will find the story of how that power manifested in the early Church (Scripture).  Read the history of God's Church in the world, and you will find times when God's power manifested itself in the world (Tradition).  Reflect on your life and think about those times when the distance between heaven and earth was close enough to touch (Experience).  Do what the old song says and "ponder anew, what the Almighty can do" (Reason).  The power is available.

2. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" -  This is another statement of certainty.  Jesus, here, is very specific in His statement.  In Jerusalem, the place that is headquarters to this Church springing out of the Jewish faith ... a Church that was called "People of The Way."  In Judea and Samaria, both the comfortable people (Judea) you claim, and (Samaria) the uncomfortable people (still your 'kin') that you don't claim. And, to the ends of the earth (everywhere people live, because the "earth is the Lord's and all therein."  We are NOT given the option to exclude anyone ... God's command, not mine!

This begs 2 questions.  Where is the power?  What is the witness?

Here's my theory.  Remember where the power comes from?  The Holy Spirit.  I have people ask all the time about the power of the Church, and if, in fact, the Church is operating our of the power of God.  I imagine much of the Church living in a big house with dark hallways and people wandering around in the dark, bumping into each other.  They are all either complaining or decrying the lack of light.  "How can we survive and exist wandering around in the dark?," the people ask.  They call on the owner of the house and whine and complain.  The owner replies, "You might want to try turning on the light switch!"

What is the light switch?  Maybe, following the owner's instructions (Matthew 28, "everything I commanded them").  Maybe, realizing God is sending us out to all these places to be His witnesses ... not witnesses for our petty causes.  Maybe, buying into Jesus' statement, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it (Matthew 16:25)." Maybe getting out of our nationalistic views, and realizing we are called/commanded to go to places and people we might consider inferior. God's instructions ... God's message (the Gospel ... not our schemes) ... other-focus (not self).  "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine (Isaiah 9:2)."  The light is Jesus!

Love is Hard!

We have been journeying through a sermon series about our Mission at Abbeville Methodist.  As a Global Methodist congregation, we are about making disciples of Jesus that worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.  Last Sunday we talked about how God has created us to worship him (we are the people created by God that we might praise Him to the nations ... Isaiah 43:21).  This week we are reminded of something harder ... to love extravagantly.

1 Corinthians 13 is Paul's expression of love.  And Paul does not pull punches here.  So I am going to ask us all to take off our political hats, and put on our "Jesus-following" hats.  Because I think following Paul's call in 1 Corinthians 13 will not allow us to stand in politics (especially in the current political atmosphere), and also stand in God's word.  There are all sorts of convoluted political agendas and schemes, and there is God's word ... and God's word 'trumps' them all (pardon the pun).

I have been watching the political pendulum swing back and forth for a fair number of years.  It reminds me of an old song ... "worry is a rocking chair, it goes back and forth and it goes nowhere."  Each party and perspective has its moment in the sun, and there is a feeding frenzy of executive orders, new laws, and policies.  The factions taste blood in the water, and then, next time, they find their own blood in the water.  It rocks back and forth, and it goes nowhere.  Popeye and Bluto pull on Olive Oil's skinny arms, hoping to possess her, and poor Olive Oil just gets her arms out of joint.  Metaphorically, she is us!  Paul's solution? Love!

1. Without love, our plans, our leaders, and our schemes are noise ... here today, and gone tomorrow.  Paul says it is a "clanging cymbal."  Even boisterous preaching is useless without love.

2. Without love, our "good" actions gain nothing (read verse 3 ... it is there).

3. With love, there is patience, kindness, humility.

4. With love, there is no vengeance (which, by the way, is God's territory, not ours).

5. With love, truth happens, and it becomes a way of life (be willing to seek the whole truth, not just the truth your Facebook or TikTok feed sends you).

6. Love endures through all things ... even our messups.

7. Love, not your ideological addiction, is the greatest of eternal things.

If you notice, I did use the word ... addiction.  I run across people every day that are so addicted to their social media feed (which, by the way, is specifically targeted to lead YOU where YOU want to go [not in the direction of truth]) they are willing to lose friends, family, and those who love them, just to win an argument or promote their cause.  Wake up people!  Breaking these addictions, and becoming human beings is hard.  But, at the end of that rainbow, we find perfect love that drives out real (and imagined) fear.  And, at the end of that journey, we find a father, running down the road to greet us with a faithful love that says, "Welcome home my child ... bring out the robe and the fatted calf, because it is time to rejoice, for my son who was lost has been found."

Love is hard.  God is good at it.  We need help.  Jesus and God's word are our guides.  If we call oursleves Christians, we are called to love like Jesus ... extravagantly.  It is one of the only things we can carry into eternity.  What say you?

Did You Know?

Today, we continue our journey through the mission of our church (Make disciples of Jesus that worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly) as we think about passionate worship.  There is one verse that comes to mind today as I think about worship.  In the context of Isaiah's (43:19-21) praise, he says ... "I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they might proclaim my praise."  Did you know those last few words ...  "the people I formed for myself, that they might proclaim my praise."  You and I were made to worship God ... and we were made FOR God.  What does this mean?

As a pastor, I hear people say things like, "I worship best when it is quiet and peaceful."  Others say, "I worship best when we are singing a peppy song with a good beat."  I have heard many of these statements over the years.  Do you see a pattern here with these two statements?  They both begin with the word "I."  They both reflect feelings about the setting or the context.  And while setting and context do make a difference, I wonder if we are all focused on our preferences, and we forget that Isaiah said ... worship should flow from our very being, our very soul, because it is totally about what God is doing (and what God has done).  So ... here is my question for today.  Do you consume worship, or does worship consume you?

C. S. Lewis, in the book Screwtape Letters, speaks about how demons distract, divert, and destroy.  In a nutshell, he says that the demon's goal is to get those in church to focus on flaws.  The shoes or dress of the person next to me.  The little noises that might distract me.  The things I imagine about the pastor, worship leaders, musicians, and other worshippers.  These things take us away from the point ... God's presence in His Spirit and the truth of His word.

We will sing a song in the 1st service this week.  It is an old Matthew Ward song.  The words go like this ... "My God is faithful, my God is truthful, my God is boundless, in all He is.  My God is wisdom, my God is righteous, my God is vision, for all who seek.  So I will worship You, in the beauty of holiness, and I will worship You, for the things You've done in me, and when my life's complete, I'll place my crown at Your feet, and I will worship You on bended knee."  That last line is truly Biblical, because most of the Revelation (that last Bible book we confuse and obfuscate) happens in the context of a worship service, all focused on the Lamb that was slain ... who He is, what He is doing, and how He will bring all things round right.

On Sunday, come to service allowing God to set your attitude, lead you to a greater altitude, and teach you the new things of Isaiah 43 (helping your aptitude).  Come to a holy God ... the one who made you, and the one who created you for worship.  For, as is also stated in the Revelation, He is worthy!  AMEN

Of Jesus

Last week we talked about disciples and our call to make disciples.  But there is one little phrase in the Abbeville Methodist mission statement that bears highlighting.  It is 2 little words ... "of Jesus."

I served a church back "in the day" that wanted new members.  It was their focus to grow the church.  So I spent considerable time and effort to bring in community members living near the church.  The community had a diverse population (I know 'diverse' is a bad word these days, but bear with me), so at one of my events, people came who didn't meet the criteria that the church leadership was seeking.  It seems that the church wanted people like them.  They weren't comfortable with the poor, the people of color, or the people who came in bringing their needs.  While I could be critical of them using many statements of Jesus, today I remember Jesus speaking with the Pharisees in Matthew 23.  Here's what He said ... "What sorrow awaits you, you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees!  Hypocrites!  For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are (Matthew 23:15)!"  There is no doubt Jesus is passionate about this issue.  And we should be too!

Let's break this down.  First, Jesus directs His ire at the church of His time ... the Jews (specifically their leadership).  There is no doubt that these leaders have forgotten a very important issue.  The law, the church, the gathering of people, the fellowship, the worship, and the liturgy should be ... 

1. About God - Focused on God, founded by God, ordained by God.

2. For the good of the people - The church is about leading us into practices (internal and external) that are beneficial to us and to the people we encounter.  Remember the Great Calling from last week ... "be a blessing (Genesis 12)."

Jesus looks out at His Church and says, "it is good" much like God did as He created the heavens and the earth.

Second, Jesus correctly calls the Pharisees "Hypocrites."  The Greek term means "wearers of masks."  The leaders of the church are not what or who they seem.  And their motives are counter to God's intended purpose.  Jesus, the Son of the Living God, stands before them, and they view Him as a threat, even when they see irrefutable evidence of His anointing.  

Third, Jesus sees the activity of the leaders as "self-serving."  They point to themselves, the law, the structures, and the institution of the church.  They are not bringing people to the one who "gives them rest, for His burden is easy, and His yoke is light (Matthew 11:28-30)."  They are purveyors of emptiness ... not abundance.

Finally, the path they offer brings people closer to hell, not heaven.  Like my little church I served long ago, their desire was to replicate more of themselves ... not "disciples OF JESUS."

As we focus on the mission of the Church, let's remember several important things.  If we are disciples of Jesus, we are those who lead others to Christ ... not to us.  C. S. Lewis speaks of discipleship in a beautiful way.  His vision of being a disciple of Jesus is to become our new, uniquely gifted, worshipful, loving, and bold follower of Christ.  He says, Satan wants cattle he can herd into the gates of hell.  Jesus wants followers who know and learn love by choosing Jesus, worshiping Jesus, loving like Jesus, and witnessing about Jesus through changed lives.

Remember OUR mission.  We "make disciples of Jesus who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.  Remember those 2 words ... "Of Jesus."

On A Mission From God

In the classic movie The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood proudly declared that they were “on a mission from God.” It’s a funny line, but it also sparks a serious question: how do we really know when we are on a mission from God?

Here are a few guiding truths:

1. God’s Mission Statements Are Found in Scripture

The Great Commission – “Go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all I have commanded” (Matthew 28:19–20).

The Great Commandment – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind … and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

The Great Requirement – “The Lord has told you what is good … do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

The Great Calling – “You and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth” (Genesis 22:18).

That’s a lot! But together, they define who we are and what we are called to do.

2. We Apply These Statements Personally and Together

It’s not just about believing them—it’s about living them. Each of us can apply these truths in our daily lives, and together as the Church we can embody them in the world.

3. Our Global Methodist Expression

For us as Global Methodists, this means embracing our mission: to make disciples of Jesus who Worship Passionately, Love Extravagantly, and Witness Boldly.

This Sunday, we’ll begin exploring this “mission from God” by focusing on making and being disciples.

A disciple is more than a student—they are a follower, devoted to their master. In Hebrew lore, disciples walked so closely behind their teacher they could taste the dust from their master’s sandals. That closeness requires not only devotion, but also discipline. Hebrews 12 reminds us: “God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).

Think of someone in your own life—maybe a pastor, a coach, or a parent—who shaped you through teaching, example, discipline, and relationship. That’s discipleship. And when we follow Jesus, we are both disciples (followers) and disciple-makers (witnesses).

We are, in every sense of the word, on a mission from God.

Let’s make it happen!