How do you make ripples with no splash? //My mother did it. She resisted attention. She loved being at home more than anything else. She did not want to be noticed. She never considered herself to be gifted at anything. No splash, but lots of ripples. 100’s of tributes ~ testimonies of lives impacted by her love, generosity, caring. My mother was a true servant, but always felt she received far more than she gave. She valued people over things. She loved stories of people. She was a model of faithful living, loving the Lord and loving others. No splash, but lots of ripples.
Welcome & Prayer
How do you make ripples with no splash? //My mother did it. She resisted attention. She loved being at home more than anything else. She did not want to be noticed. She never considered herself to be gifted at anything. No splash, but lots of ripples. 100’s of tributes ~ testimonies of lives impacted by her love, generosity, caring. My mother was a true servant, but always felt she received far more than she gave. She valued people over things. She loved stories of people. She was a model of faithful living, loving the Lord and loving others. No splash, but lots of ripples.
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The craziest story I’ve heard about falling asleep in church was told to me when I was in S.F.: a former pastor, who was growing old, was preaching away when suddenly he paused, and slowly his head went down and came to rest on the pulpit. The people looked at each other and one of them discovered the problem: the preacher had fallen asleep. The stories of the Bible are often told without commentary, leaving it up to us, the readers, to figure out the lessons. The story of Eutychus falling asleep has a wide range of suggested lessons. One of the most common is that it’s not good to fall asleep during the sermon or bad things might happen, or related lessons on being serious about things of the spirit. IMHO, that’s a wise lesson, but I think there are better lessons from this story….
What is the purpose of the church? As we reorganize our community of faith, it is an important question. We want to be a church going forward, expecting God to lead us, to be open to new people joining us, new leaders. To know our purpose helps us go forward because it gives direction.
I think of 4 purposes of the church: Fellowship. Worship. Discipleship. The 4th purpose is the one I want to speak on today: evangelism, could be called many names (I tried to think of a fourth “ship”). I talked to my mother earlier this week…she wanted to know todays’ scripture, so I told her how I was going to emphasize importance of evangelism. That got her to telling a story of when my mother and father arrived in Sumas in early 1950’s. The pastor of the Bellingham church became close friends: Joe Tom and Velma Tate. She told me about a sermon Joe Tom used to preach: Gossiping the Gospel. That’s what I’ll title the sermon I said. And my mother smiled.
Encouragement is the grease of faith that gets the wheels moving. When difficulties come, encouragement is not far away. God will encourage the discouraged, the brokenhearted, the confused, the searching, the disappointed. I know a hundred people who seem to live by the motto, “good things don’t happen to people like me.” That is not God’s way! God brings comfort to the hurting, rest to the weary, sight to the blind.
What does your life communicate to the world about your faith? We all communicate something. let your faith shine. Let your words point to Jesus Christ. As the saying goes, “Your life is the only Bible some people will read. You may be the only Jesus some people see…”
Today I spotlight an important way in how to share the message of salvation. I call it the “Fill in the Blank” style of evangelism. With all of the unhappiness in today’s world, clearly something is missing. There is a blank. In today’s world I hear a lot of doubt, confusion, discontentment. We have an opportunity to fill in the blank with Jesus Christ as the way forward.
Many questions remain as our world/community of faith waits for a change regarding our slowdown as a society/community because of corona virus. We don’t know when restrictions will be eased /attitudes change. But this I know: God is a great God, his love and protection, his purposes will not be stopped. In the Thursday bible study we’re continuing in Isaiah. The end of Is. 49:6 summarizes the Lord’s purpose: “that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” The message of salvation is unchanging. As we walk through Acts, the heartbeat that keeps followers of Jesus moving forward, is to bring the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Months ago when we began this wonderful book highlighting the birth of the church and the mission of expanding the gospel of Christ, I nicknamed the series, “The AXE of the Holy Spirit,” the H.S. takes an axe to how to purposefully soldier forward, leading people to go to places they’ve never gone before in ways they’ve never done before. Sounds perfect for our church, as we actively engage more with our community. Acts 16:16-40 part 2 ~ Some dark but necessary topics (including suicide) ~ Pastor Chad Hammond3/23/2021 |
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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June 2021
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