Sunday, October 10, 1965

Topic: Twofold
1st What can the church do for a Christian?
2nd  What can a Christian do for the Church?

To start with I want everyone to be aware of the fact that this is a very inclusive and lengthy topic and requires much more time and talent than I have as I stand before you this morning.

I would like at the start also to establish the fact that what I have to say on the subject is my own personal view point.  If my point of view doesn't agree exactly with yours I hope you will not shut your mind's eye but rather will listen to what I say and take it home and chew on it, and then tell me what you think.  In this way you and I can both grow.  This is known as constructive communication.  Thomas Paine put this in a much simpler form.--He said, " If I do not believe as you believe, it proves that you do not believe as I believe, and that's all it proves."

Before we can take up the discussion of this twofold topic we need to establish by detention what we mean by the terms Christian-and-Church-- and I am going to include the term "born-again Christian".

A Christian is a person professing a belief in Jesus as the Christ, or a person having the qualities demonstrated and taught by Jesus Christ.

The Church is the fellowship of Christians.  In the New Testament the word for Church is "ecclesia".  The basic meaning of this word is a meeting or gathering of people.  Ecclesia may be viewed from the standpoint of God's action towards and upon men.  The ecclesia or Church then can be understood as the people who have been called out, chosen, gathered, justified, glorified, or sanctified by God.  God calls men; they in response call upon God.  Those who thus constitute the ecclesia, or Church.

Born-again Christian--many of today's Christians avoid the use of this term--it embarrasses them.  In the early or first Church the followers of Christ where simply know as Christians.  The term was tacked on to all those that lived according to Christ's teachings.  Today as I stated before this is not the meaning of the word Christian, so there is a need to distinguish between Christian and born-again Christian in my opinion.  Today a true Christian-- a born-again Christian-- is one who has accepted Christ and his way for his life and is honestly trying to live according to Christ's teachings.  Let me hasten to add he is not a perfect man or woman.

Now that we have set the ground rules for this talk let us consider, "What the Church can do for Christian".

It can provide opportunities for learning.  In the Church school, in the prayer meeting groups, in the MYF meetings, and in special study groups.  These times of study are very important for all Christians because they provide the opportunities for growth toward Christian perfection.

The Church can provide the fellowship that is necessary for all Christians.--If we are going to be good Christians we should look for our fellowship among other good Christians.  If all of your fellowship is in and of the world you will fall short of being part of the ecclesia.  It is as simple as this---good begets good---and evil begets evil.

The Church provides the Christian with many high moments in his life---such as baptism, confirmation, membership and opportunities to serve.  It provides the renewing of the mind, heart and spirit in the service of communion.  It starts two people off on the road to a life -time companionship in the marriage ceremony.  It provides solace and comfort when we suffer the loss of loved ones.

The business of the Church is to provide a starting place for all people and to help them to grow in the knowledge and stature of Jesus Christ to the end that they will love the Lord their God with all their hearts, and with all their soul, and with all their mind, and their neighbor as their self.

Secondly--"What can a Christian do for the Church?"

Let's look on the negative side first.  A nominal Christian can be a bad influence to other people around him. He can be a negative witness by poor attendance, by worldly living, and by association with bad companions.  You have all heard the people speak of this type of Christian witnesses too--you've heard this argument--"why do I want to join that Church on the corner of Melville and St. Clair--look at all the hypocrites that go there.  But friends I would rather see these so called hypocrites in the Church exposed to the love of God and the fellowship of the ecclesia than standing outside the fellowship making excuses for their moral attitude toward the call of God.

On the positive side the born-again Christian can serve the Church in many ways.--He can be the leader of a Sunday School class, he can work with Youth groups.  He can serve the Church by offering his service to the commission on Membership and Evangelism by offering to call in the homes of the membership and in the community.  He can give of his time and talent by serving on the boards and committees when called on by the nominating committee.  He can support the Church through the work of the Women's Society, the Guild and the Men's Club.  By giving of his time and talent to the local Church the Christian is able to advance the cause of Jesus Christ through out the world through missions and evangelism.

Let me close with a thought from Bishop Gerald Kennedy's book titled "I Believe".  He says--I believe in the Church.  I believe that every man who knows he ought to do something about making the world a better place should be in the Church.  I believe the Church can add my own feeble efforts to the efforts of others and make them count for something.  He continues with this little antidote--Someone asked a deaf and dumb man, "Why do you come to Church each Sunday when you cannot hear the Service?"

He wrote out this reply:  "I come each week to let people know which side I am on."

Finally Bishop Kennedy says---I want to be on the side of the Church, I need the comfort and inspiration of the Christian fellowship, and that fellowship deserves the best I can give it.  Just as it is impossible to be an American without America, I believe it is impossible to be a Christian without the Church.

Nottingham Methodist Church
Nottingham Village, Cleveland, Ohio
10/10/1965

Giving to God

Hymn no 31 "when Morning Gilds the sky"

Call to Worship:  Dearly beloved, we are come together in the presence of almighty God, and of the whole company of heaven, to make humble confession of our sin unto him; to set forth his most worthy praise; to hear his most holy Word; to declare faith in him, to ask, for ourselves and all men, those things which are necessary for the body and the soul; to offer unto him the service of our lives; and to receive his blessing.

Wherefore; let us rejoice and offer unto god our praises.

Scripture text: Luke 12:16-34
Hymn of preparation No.255 Take My Life and Let it Be
Hymn of dedication No. 226 O Jesus I have Promised

Giving to God

There are three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and thanksgiving.  Grudge giving says, "I hate to," duty giving says, "I ought to," thanksgiving says, "I want to."  The first comes from constraint, the second from a sense of obligation, the third from a full heart.  Nothing much is conveyed in grudge giving since "The gift without the giver is bare."  Something more happens in duty giving but there is no song in it.  Thanksgiving is an open gate into the love of God.

I would like to talk to you this morning about our attitudes concerning giving to God.

Giving involves many areas and facets of our lives.  We will limit ourselves this morning to three areas-- what we give, how we give, and why we give.

We give because of the abundant blessing that is promised us in Malachi chapter 3 verse 10, where we find God speaking through the Prophet and saying bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, and prove me herewith, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing.  Yes, God says try me.

I have had many people question me about the tithe and I think that too much emphasis has been placed on the amount a person should give.  Let's quickly look at some scriptural rules for giving.

We give according to income.  Deuteronomy 16 verse 17 says, every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the lord thy God which he hath given thee.

We are to give without display or show for Jesus said "When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth."

Give Freely---In Luke---Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and shaken together, for with the same measure as you give it will be measured to you again."

Paul in speaking to the church at Corinth about giving said that they should set aside an amount on the first day of the week as God has prospered them, so there would be no gatherings when he came.--- Paul was saying be orderly about your giving--set it aside regularly, freely, cheerfully as God has prospered you.  Paul's words still apply---Give freely-- this is the hard part for most of us, Yes, we give, but we like to channel and direct or giving.  Some of us say I want my money to go toward paying the pastor's salary, others say I don't believe in Missions so I want all my giving to go to general church expenses, I don't approve of building fund so don't put any money there.  Can you see how this attitude multiplied over and over again in the church hampers the work of Jesus Christ in the world?

We have many examples in the bible of Munificent giving, the greatest of these is the story of the widow's mite.

Jesus sat watching the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in great sums of money, but the widow cast in all that she had even her living.--  This scripture has always given me trouble, it seems to say that the widow will receive a greater reward because she gave all she had.  This is not in focus with the picture we have of Jesus, the one who loved all men, looking at the widow's act of giving as better than say the free, willing, loving gift of a rich man.  Many times where great people are involved their friends when talking and writing about them tend to make them do and say things that are not in character with their nature, and I think the writer here in Mark had a slight tendency to do just that.

But this story also indicates to us what we are to do more than give out of our abundance.-  Too many people today give out of what is left over, we, many of us, fall into the same sin that the early Hebrews did in their sacrificial giving to the temple, they gave sick, blind, lame beasts to the temple for sacrifice, instead of the new born, unblemished animal that was required.  Malachi the prophet of God said of this---it would be better to shut the great gates of the temple and extinguish the fires on the alter than to allow this shameful practice to continue.

Of course we don't sacrifice at the alter today.  But we do give the lame, the sick, the blind beasts.---We serve at Church if we have any time left over, we give from the end of our income instead of setting aside at the beginning regularly, we visit the sick if we have time, we would go on listing the ways that we give the "sick, the lame, and blind beasts", because we are turned in on ourselves and just plain don't have time for the things of God.

The robbers in Christ's parable jumped on the man who was passing by and tore off his clothes and mugged him and left him half dead by the side of the road.  After awhile a couple of other men came by who were not half dead but only half alive, because when they looked at the man lying in the ditch, what they saw, this priest and this Levite, was just a man lying in a ditch.  Half dead

They saw the man, but they also saw the road, and in their mind's eye they saw whatever goal they were traveling that road to reach.  They recognized two needs, the need of the wounded man for help and their own need to get where they were going.  These men were not especially bad or heartless men, they were just men turned in on their own business and need.  This is the sad state of many churchmen today.  Christians who give to God if it is convenient --- If they have time.

But I see the question in your eyes, you say OK-- what is the proper tithe, where does the blessing come in, how do we experience this blessing.  The tithe is the regular amount that is given no strings attached to the work of the Church.--The tithe includes service as well as money, each of us has talent in an area that can be used in the work of the kingdom.  This monetary amount and the hours we give will increase as we experience the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  This working of the Holy Spirit begins with our smallest beginning, and grows---this is the blessing, not riches or fame, or success in business, no these things although we can achieve them are not blessings.  The real blessing is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  When we experience this the tithe is right and proper. (L tourmeau)

First Timothy 6:7 gives us marching orders.  Paul says---We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.  But they that will be rich fall into a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and predition.  For love of money is the root of all evil.  Which while some coveted after, they have erred from faith, an pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

An Paul continues, I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, the Lord says, "try me".  "Bring ye all the tithe into storehouse and prove me herewith, and see if I will not open the window of heaven and pour you out a blessing."

Prayer of Confession:
Our heavenly Father, who by thy love hast made us, and through thy love hast kept us, and in thy love wouldst make us perfect: we humbly confess that we have not loved thee with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and we have not loved one another as Christ hath loved us.  Thy life is within our souls, but our selfishness hath hindered thee.  We have not lived by faith.  We have resisted thy Spirit.  We have neglected thine inspirations.

Forgive what we have been; help us to amend what we are; and in thy Spirit direct what shall be; that thou mayest come into the full glory of thy creation, in us and in all men; through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen

Nottingham Zion 196?

Cages

Most of us attend church to receive grace, to pray for what we need.  We come to with the idea of getting to know Christ better as a person - To enter more fully into His plans, not as servants but as friends.  We come in order to put on Christ as our mantle and go into His waiting wonderful world and plain love, honor and respect every one of his creatures we meet in the market place, on the expressway, or down at the laundry-mat.

I ask everyone here: What kind of a fellowship would we experience at the laundry-mat. a Super-market, and expressway if we carried this spirit with us.

It would be terrible - why - people would look at people instead of ignoring them.We'll watch our safety rules on the road more closely, we'd watch our tongues, our tempers and dispositions at the water-coolers and in the kitchen.  Oh, it'd be ghastly!  No - - I'm afraid this tired ol' world might shake and die from fright if we'd "put on Christ and let our hearts and souls out of their tiny confining cages of conformity, complacency, and mistrust.

Granny's Salmon Patties

1 T. Flour
1 T. butter
1/2 c. milk
small onion, grated
1 can Red Salmon
10-12 eggs

Make white sauce of flour, butter, and milk.  Add onion to cook a little at the end.

Clean all the black and bones from salmon - break in small pieces.  Add white sauce with onion.

Add eggs at least 10 and when you fry a sample, if it is too thick, add other two eggs.  You may add salt and pepper to taste.

The pan will need to have shortening added as you fry.  They should look like small pancakes.

How to Believe, Ralph W Sockman, page - 204:
God does not gather up the dust of decayed corpse and restore it to its earthly form.  Paul declares that the body will be changed.  "It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body." (I Cor 15:44)

History and God - Notes

How to Believe
Ralph W Sockman (Pg 62)

"When the late Charles A Beard came to the close of his brilliant career at Columbia, He was asked what lessons he had learned from his life-long study and teaching of history.  He struck of these points.  1. The mills of the gods grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine.  2. Those whom the gods are about to destroy, they first make mad.  3. When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars.  4. The bee fertilizes the flower that it robs.

Here are at least four evidences of a sovereign purpose and justice at the heart of the universe."

to love, forgive, accept, and give - and thus become the person God intended us to be.