THE BEAUTY OF COMMUNITY: EXAMPLE

Sermon Notes, June 18, 2017

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

          

           Pastor Garry's second sermon in the series about the Church, based on Acts 2:42-47 which talks about the Early Church, was titled "The Beauty of Community: Example."   This Father's Day, he spoke about his own experience as a father.  They have a teenage son, but because they adopted, he has only been a dad for a few short years.  One of the greatest privileges of fatherhood is being able to pass down what you know to the next generation.  And if you're not a father, you can do this by being a mentor.

           Matthew 5:1-12 is the part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that we call The Beatitudes.  What we have here is a Dad, talking to His kids, telling us how to live our lives.  He tells us that when we are going through all these things, we are blessed.  Little boys want to be men, so they look to men to see how to be men.  God created men in the wild, so they're wild, wanting to fight, etc.  Pastor Garry's grandpa told him that the measure of a man is not how well he fights but how well he walks away from a fight; use your brain, think about it, calm down, save your energy for something worthwhile.  Turn your rage about whatever is happening in your life right now against things that really matter, like drug trafficking or human trafficking--turn your anger against evil.  There's a lot of truth in the Beatitudes that we need to teach to our children.  These are ways to be an example.

           The other scripture we read today is Ephesians 5:21-33, where Paul talks about how to love like Christ.  He starts with "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."  Many people miss the point of what Paul was saying, and use these verses for their own selfish purposes.  We teach our children how to show love when we teach them to do their very best, in doing chores at school, etc.  Arguments, misunderstandings, miscommunications happen.  But the Bible says not to go to sleep, not to let the sun set, until something has been resolved.  Fight fair; take care of it before the day's over.  The three things we should pass down to our children are the grounding foundation of the Beatitudes, how to live life for Christ, and how to love like Christ.

           Did you catch what Paul said in verse 32?  "This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about  Christ and the Church."  As a father, my job is to be the example of Kingdom living for my children.  The same rings true for the church.  As the church our job is to be the example of Kingdom living for our community.  The question is: Are we?   Are we, fathers, being the best representation of Christ that we can be to our children?  And are we allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to shape, guide and lead us into His likeness?  Are we, church, being the best representation of Christ that we can be?  And are we, church, allowing the Holy Spirit to shape, guide and lead us into the church that He has called us to be?