Ephesians 1: 3-14
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God never changes, and his plan for this world never changes. The same thing he wanted for the Israelites in the Old Testament is the same thing he wanted from the first Christians and it is the same thing he wants from us today. He wants to be in relationship with us. Plain and simple. He loves us so much that even when we stray he is taking every opportunity possible to offer us the chance to come back to him. God is wooing us! God uses every opportunity to remind us that he is there- we just have to recognize and acknowledge his presence and gifts.
I grew up in the church. One not much bigger than this actually. I was in church every chance I had- and only missed when I was sick. Even then I watched preaching on TV. I didn’t want to miss anything-my week just wasn’t right without God.
When I hit my teenage years I quickly began to lose interest in the church and God. My plan for my life didn’t include God. Like most teenagers I was invincible and in control of my life. I didn’t need this church stuff where people said one thing and did another. Talked a good game about loving other’s as God loved us then said ugly things about people when we weren’t in church-camouflaging it with a good southern “bless their heart” I didn’t understand.
I thought Christians were supposed to act like Christ. So I left the church. I thought I could do it on my own- have the “American dream” I was going to College, Get a good job, meet a man, get married, have the house and the white picket fence with my 2.2 children (not exactly sure how you have 2/10 of a child) but that was my dream.
Sure, I went to church when I was obligated to do so and I still believed God existed but I didn’t have a relationship with Him. It all seemed to be going as I had planned. That is until the last part of my plan when terribly wrong. After trying for over a year to get pregnant I realized it wasn’t going to happen. That is also when my marriage began to fall apart. As it turns out I wasn’t really in control as much as I thought I was and God’s plan for my life was not the same as my naive image of my dream.
I think of myself as an optimistic realist but all those Disney Fairytales I loved didn’t prepare me for the not so happy ending. About the time my ex-husband and I started having problems my sister-in-law who was having struggles of her own and I decided to start looking for a church. At this point I still wasn’t buying the whole God thing but honestly my “savior” complex went into over drive and I thought well if the church can save her, I would be there with her and take all the credit.
Well, it didn’t, not then anyway. But it did save me. I had no idea I even needed saving. God used my narcissism and do-gooder pride and used it to woo me back to him. He used my failures and short comings to point out just how much I needed Him. Although I had walked away from God- He had never walked away from me. I just hadn’t been paying attention to all the ways he had blessed me and all the gifts and people he was using to try and get my attention. Once I started attending Trinity UMC in New Bern, I realized I was not in control of my life and more importantly I realized God was and that it was not my plan that mattered. I needed to submit myself and allow God back into my life. And so began my journey to be here with you today.
I don’t know what you think brought you here today. Maybe you think it is to check out the new preacher, maybe it is because this is where you are every Sunday morning, or maybe you are here for the good lunch.
Whatever the reason you think you are here today- know that God is who brought you here. God is calling you, begging you to come home to Him, to be in a deeper, more faithful relationship with him. To fall in love with God over and over again. Even if you are here every Sunday in person- that doesn’t mean you are totally hear- We can always improve on our relationship with God.
Mary John Dye the DS of the old Statesville district says this- every person who steps into a church is there for a reason. God has led them there for a reason and it is up to us to make them feel welcomed, loved, and cared for and invite them into a relationship with God and the congregation.
This scripture talks about Predestination and it is a weighty topic that some people find pretty controversial. Some people believe that predestination means that only a select few are set apart for salvation and eternal life with Christ. As I read this scripture I see it in a different way. The last part of this lesson states that having believed, you are marked. To me this means that all people who have heard and believe are destined to be children of God. All people. Praise God that is all we have to do!
There is not a test, or a list of qualifications, or a good dead requirement to receive the love and grace of God. God’s love extends to all people- especially those who make mistakes. God’s love is for us! You and me, the Imperfect, blemished, self- centered, proud, gossipers, addicts, cheats- whatever word describes our fault of choice. That is really why we are here right?
To praise God for loving us anyway and trying to learn ways to do it better, different, learn from our mistakes- as we hear a lot in the Methodist Church- Moving on towards a perfection that we can only find in Christ and we only hope we can get closer to with each mistake we learn from. One of the things my Mom used to say when I was in my time of separation from the church was that church was AA for sinners. People who aren’t alcoholics don’t need to go to Alcoholic’s Anonymous and if the people in church weren’t sinners we wouldn’t need to be there either. This was her way of explaining to me that Christian’s aren’t perfect- just trying to do things right and often times we fail. I was ok with this once I realized what she meant and people who are outside the church who are non-religious or nominally religious as Adam Hamilton calls them are ok with that too. As long as we realize it and own up to it instead of being hypocrites about it. All too often we do just as I perceived my home church to be. We put on a facade of perfection to the outside world. Not realizing they are smart enough to see right through us.
The other good thing about predestination is that it means there is a plan. God tells us this throughout the Bible over and over again- that even when our world feels chaotic, he is in control. We may only see in part but He sees the big picture. God has a plan for you, me- he even has a plan for this church. God’s plan is not to double our membership or start a new project-although that may be a result of His plan. God’s plan is for each one of us to be head over heels in love with Him!
When you are in love with someone- everyone can tell it- you smile, you blush, you say all the right things about the other person- your giddy with excitement that they love you too! If we are truly in love with God- there is no way we can disguise it. God’s plan is that we take that love for him and share it. I don’t mean just inviting people to church- I mean sharing why you love God with others- helping them to see how they can recognize his love for them too. He wants us to help others see how God is working in their lives. Help them to see how God is wooing them. All he wants is a relationship with them too.
Think back to when you first started dating your spouse or significant other- How often did he or she do nice things for you- bring you flowers, cook a nice meal, or simply ask to spend quality time getting to know each other. We tell our friends about these things- We share those stories all the time. God does these things everyday not just on birthdays and anniversaries. He sends you flowers, music to serenade you, he provides us with joy and laughter, a shoulder to cry on, and food on the table. All this in an effort to spend quality time with us, show us his love and bring us into relationship with Him. Yes, we have the free will to accept or reject this invitation- just as you had the choice to accept your spouse’s invitation for that first date or the marriage proposal. But you are here today because at some point you said “yes” to God.
You have at least said yes to getting to know God better. Maybe you’re not in love with him yet, or maybe you have fallen out of love with God. The spark may be gone but you hear him calling for you to come back. Maybe God is using you to be a matchmaker for him.
In North Carolina 53% of people claim to attend church regularly- this may be a little over reporting since “regular” can be up for interpretation. I am guessing that some people consider regular to be Christmas and Easter. But what that tells us is that there are around 47% of the population that doesn’t have a relationship with Christ at all. What opportunities do we have to share God’s love with others? Again I don’t mean invite them to church- although that is one way to do it- more so invite them to know Christ and fall in love with him too. Who knows- maybe they knew him a long time ago but have forgotten how much he loves them. Maybe they have never known him at all. Help and encourage others and each other to see how God is trying to reach them and foster that relationship with them. This doesn’t have to be pushy or invasive but just living our love for God out loud may be all it takes to make someone ask- why are you so happy?
I was in love with God as a child but I chose to see the bad side of those who called him friend. It was more obvious to me than the good stuff. I fell out of love with God. I thought I could do it on my own but God was still wooing me.
My parents would point out all the good things about Christian friends but I thought that was the exception not the rule. I needed a more painful wake-up call so God put up a roadblock to my plan. God put my sister-in –law in my life to touch that deep part of my heart that wanted to help her. God put the people at trinity in my life to show me and remind me of the loving God I had forgotten. He was wooing me back into a relationship with him.
God brought me to that Methodist Church in New Bern, but it is the love of Christ in that congregation that made me stay. It was their love and hospitality that took me in, helped me through my divorce and helped me fall in love with God all over again. God is using you too. To be an instrument of his love and grace and to help those who have forgotten God or have never really known God to begin with. It’s not about a new program or gimmick to attract people to our church- it’s figuring out how to attract people to Christ- and that is a very personal thing. But that is all God has ever asked of us- to love him and to share that love with others. It’s both easy and hard at the same time. But how can we say no?
And as the sayings go- if you build it they will come- if you feed them they will come and if you love them they will come- it’s not about increasing the membership of the church, it’s about introducing people to a relationship with the lover of our soul, Jesus Christ. Just as in a relationship- your intrigued, you want to learn more about them, you want to spend time with them, spend time with others who know and love them too and gradually or sometimes suddenly you fall in love and you just can’t get enough. Then people will ask you too “Why are you so happy?”
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