Virtue #1: Flourishing Churches Believe in Miracles and Act Accordingly – Exodus 14:21-31, Acts 2:42-43

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Lectionary Readings for Jan. 09, 2021         Epiphany/Baptism of The Lord, Year C
Isaiah 43:1-7   v1 See, you have nothing to fear. I, who made you, will take you back. I have chosen you, named you as My own.
Psalm 29        v11 We ask You, Eternal One, to give strength to Your people; Eternal One, bless them with the gift of peace.
Acts 8:14-17   v17 When Peter and John laid hands on the people, the Holy Spirit did indeed come upon them all.
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22   v22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

But this week we’ll be looking at Exodus 14:21-31 and Acts 2:41-43 as we begin an eight-week series looking at the virtues of flourishing churches.

Weekly Meditative Exercise

Christianity includes a long and rich tradition of embracing meditative practices as a way of keeping us connected with God, ourselves, and each other. I encourage you to spend some time each week (ideally 10-30 minutes) trying each weekly exercise. You will naturally find some more appealing and effective than others. You’ll like some but not others, and after 6-12 months you’ll better understand what’s available and what helps you.

This week’s exercise focuses on Baptism

  • Desire: to more fully experience the Kingdom of God 

  • Definition: an outward expression of an inward commitment to a personal relationship with God

  • Scripture: “The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you.” (Luke 3:22)

Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of our commitment to our faith as we understand it in the Methodist tradition. Everyone who has been baptized is invited to repeat these words.

Baptismal Covenant IV, UMH 52
We give thanks for all that God has already given us.
As members of the body of Christ and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church,
we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Every church’s success hinges on our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. This week, let’s meditate on how we can reengage with our faith through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.

Peace through Leadership Quotes

“I used to believe that people are only born once, but now I feel I have been reborn, like I was given a new life. I see myself as a child, full of energy and hope.”  ~ Bahman Ghobadi, Iranian Diplomat

“The Gospel offers forgiveness for the past, new life for the present, and hope for the future.”  ~  John Sentamu, Ugandan Bishop

We are baptized into a new life of receiving and sharing peace now and in the future. How have each of us been reborn into new freedoms and opportunities to love God, love ourselves, and love others?

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

We’re kicking of this year with an eight-part sermon series is based on the book Eight Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches by Matt Miofsky and Jason Byassee. https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Virtues-Rapidly-Growing-Churches/dp/1501852736/ I encourage you to read a copy of this short but content-rich book since I’m hitting highlights today.

Instead of “rapidly growing,” I prefer the word flourish which is a verb used “to describe a person, animal, or other living organism [think: the Body of Christ] that grows or develops in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment” (Oxford). I think it’s fair to say that we see signs of flourishing in our church right now.

Virtues are not formulas; they are positive attitudes that are part of our culture. During the next eight weeks, we should all invite God to give us a broader and deeper understanding of these virtues – far beyond whatever a definition or case study might offer. How might God want us, our church, and our community to experience each of these virtues?

As we explore these virtues through conversation and experimentation, I expect God will work through our efforts to lead us to try new things – individually and as a community. And, since some of these virtues will be less familiar than others, I anticipate we will not experience 100% clarity in what we discuss nor 100% success in what we attempt. AND I expect that we will learn through our experiences, make adjustments, and try again - repeatedly. These are my expectations.

Why is all of this critical for us? Because every person and organization has core virtues, whether they realize it or not. What are the core virtues of our town, our nation? We must consciously and constantly nurture the virtues we want to be part of our church’s culture. 

Furthermore, “Healthy things grow [but] not all growth is healthy” (Eight Virtues, Kindle 149, 176). We must pay attention to how and where we are growing (and thus going) to ensure we are growing in desirable, God-led ways that help us love God, love ourselves, and love others.

Virtue # 1 is a belief in miracles. Flourishing churches believe that God has worked in the life of their church in miraculous ways, they celebrate how God is currently working in miraculous ways, and they act in a way that expects God will continue blessing and guiding them in ways they cannot anticipate or explain.

The Abrahamic faith traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) all embrace miraculous stories as a vital way of understanding God’s loving activity in their lives and history. We pass this virtue along to our children and grandchildren when we tell them the classic stories of creation, Noah and the ark, the plagues in Egypt, Daniel in the lions’ den, Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ many miracles, Jesus’ resurrection, Pentecost, and so many more.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we hear two stories of miracles that have shaped our faith in God.

 

Read Exodus 14:21-31 and Acts 2:41-43.

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “Pray like it depends on God; work like it depends on you.” I don’t recommend taking that too literally because 1) it’s not a Bible verse and 2) it can lead to you working so hard you burn out and/or fall apart. But I have noticed that miracles often happen when God is able to work with us, rather than in place of us.

One story of God performing a miracle through someone’s action has been handed down with the legend of Moses parting the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds). An ancient and widely accepted Jewish exposition on the famous Exodus story goes like this.  

The Israelite nation was stuck; they faced a rocky cliff on one side, a murky-stormy-scary body of water on another, and the entire Egyptian army was charging at full speed, moments away from obliterating them. The Israelites cried out for help; Moses prayed; God said “Hold out your staff and tell everyone to start walking.” But the Israelites were paralyzed with fear; nobody moved. Expect for one man, Nahshon (or Nachshon).

Empowered by his faith, Nahshon stepped into the water believing God would deliver them. As he walked, the water became deeper and deeper, yet he continued walking, praying, and believing. As the people watched, the waters rose up to his nose, and then... then God split the Sea and made their path of salvation clear. “Following Nahshon’s lead, the Israelites entered the sea and were saved” (Jewish Midrash).

Nahshon believed in a God of miracles and acted with faith and anticipation. Without any guarantees and risking his own comfort and credibility, he led while wet and in doing so, boldly inspired a nation out of fear and into action.

Jump forward about 1,500 years and we have Jesus’ miraculous virgin birth, His numerous miracles, Jesus’ resurrection, and then Pentecost with its “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:1-4) just before today’s short verse telling us “the apostles were doing many signs and wonders,” what we might call miracles.

Someone in our Bible Study asked, “What’s the difference between signs and wonders?” Great question. Signs point to something – namely point our attention to God’s activity in our lives so we have a better understanding of God’s nature. (The author of the Gospel of John referred to all of Jesus’ miraculous acts as “signs” for this very reason.) Wonders capture our attention and often transform our hearts or sparks our imagination. Signs appeal to our heads; wonders tug at our hearts.

I must pause here to confess that, as someone who has loved modern Western science since I was a kid, I have always been skeptical of miracles. But I can’t ignore what I’ve personally experienced and witnessed. God has brought people, resources, and opportunities into my life that I never expected or earned. AND God has closed doors that I’ve tried my hardest to keep open – all of those closing doors were blessings in hindsight.

While I have not personally seen the lame walk (assuming you exclude the “modern miracles” of advanced biotechnology), I have seen hearts transformed. And I have heard... I have listened to “regular” people tell me story after story of how God has worked in their lives in ways they can’t begin to explain. These are modern day miracles, and I believe they are happening all around us. AND we must 1) pause long enough to notice them, 2) thank God for them as they happen, and 3) tell each other about them so that we all become aware of how God is moving and celebrate that together.

The book’s authors, both of whom are Methodist pastors, commented: “Acting as if we believe that the Holy Spirit is up to something in our midst is the single greatest game-changing decision a church leadership team [or a Christian] can make. ... churches that believe in the miraculous movement of the Holy Spirit pray [passionately], specifically, and [confidently]. [This] focuses our vision [and] helps us be on the lookout for where God might be working” (Eight Virtues, Kindle 214). “When we believe that God is up to something even in our context, we pray differently, we see differently, and most importantly we begin to act differently” (Eight Virtues, Kindle 246).

They went on to say that flourishing churches “are willing to try things that most churches are unwilling to try in order to get results that most churches don’t. ... This willingness extends to all areas of ministry, often with [positive] financial implications” (Eight Virtues, Kindle 266).

Several people have told me that our church’s survival has been a miracle. Considering all the literal and figurative fires our church has experienced in the past 145 or so years, I completely agree. We are a living miracle. We need to remember and celebrate that.

And think about our HOPE Food Pantry. In less than two years, we’ve gone from absolutely nothing to being one of Susanville’s major food resources. We have over 40 volunteers from throughout the community helping us – and others asking, “How can I help?” Thanks to our partnership with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, we have given away over 20,000 diapers! That’s a $5,000 miracle in my book!

Wherever opportunities arise, failure is always an option. Remember, we only fail when we do not try and when we do not learn. And yes, we carry the scars and the wisdom from past learning experiences. We’re winning when we’re trying new ideas and learning along the way; doing so gives God space to lead us, to teach us, and to work miracles among us.

So what do we want – personally and as a church community? Let’s name our wants, our concerns, our joys and burdens. Let’s discuss these. Let’s pray about these so that God can lead us and give us wisdom that may cause us to adjust our wants and our prayers. And when God answers our prayers, let us act in faith, receive the miraculous blessings God sends us, and celebrate God moving among and through us.

Amen? Amen!