Celebrating the freeing, supportive presence of God. So your experience of God may become your experience of life. It is wonderful what God can do!

Received on Faith

Acts 8: 25-39
July 17, 2005

Good Morning! What an amazing week this has been! No, I'm not talking about the record temperatures … but rather what appears to me to be the Spirit of God moving amongst our people … causing a groundswell of enthusiasm.
Doug was in the pastor's office this week as we were preparing for yesterday's Wolfanger-Klein wedding, and I was telling him about the things that were happening including the upcoming church conference, at which point his jaw literally dropped and his head went from side to side as he declared how amazed he was at the present working of God. I thanked him for having provided the foundation of faith upon which our people both within the church and the community have grown and developed in their faith.
This demonstrates once again to me that the church is so much more than an administrative society carrying out a series of administrative tasks. We are first and foremost a community of faith, a people of God, and as such, our lives and decisions are not only guided by the checkbook, but are also guided by the Word and power of God in our lives.
What is faith in the context of an almost illogical enthusiasm? Hebrews 11 gives us this famous two-part definition: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for(1), the conviction of things not seen(2).
In other words, if we could see something for ourselves, or be shown the evidence of the existence of something, there would in fact be no need of faith. Everything would be provable and demonstrate-able. We know this is not so.

By faith … Abraham packed up and moved to an unknown land.
By faith … Sarah was too old to bear a child, but did so anyway.
By faith … Noah built an ark in the middle of the desert.
By faith … Moses packed up and moved thousands out of bondage, and faithfully follow- ed his leading for 40 years.
By faith … Jesus prayed that the cup of suffering and death be removed if at all possible, but …
By faith … Jesus was obedient and went to the cross for you and me.
By faith … Peter and Paul preached Christ crucified and risen until they were crucified themselves.
By faith, the Ethiopian Unich trusted Philip to teach him the faith and then asked, "What should prevent me from being baptized?"

Today … by faith … we walk with God and trust that he is just as compassionate and wise when he answers prayers in ways that are opposite of our expectations or our desires.
Today … by faith … we walk with God and trust that in the midst of physical pain, there is a greater good, that if not in this life, then surely in the life to come.
Today … by faith … we walk with God and celebrate the lives of those who we say have died, trusting … by faith … that we are only temporarily separated from them and will one day be rejoined with them in a pain-and-sorrow-free spiritual life in the very presence of God himself.
Today … by faith … the Koziel family (Ed, Cathy, and Sean) seek the richer and abundant life that God alone supplies. Today … by faith … this fine family asks with those down through the ages, "What should prevent me from being baptized?" and "What should prevent me from becoming a vital part of the "Body of Christ" as St. Paul refers to the church.
Today … by faith … we also recognize the command of Jesus when he says, "Do not hinder the children from coming to me, for to such as these belongs the Kingdom of Heaven."
Today … by faith … this congregation honors the example and the words of its Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that all who seek the power of God in their lives should be eagerly offered the Sacraments and the vows of church membership.
Today … by faith … we ask of God, "Is it possible that along with being a House of Prayer and Worship in good repair, that you might also be asking us to upgrade our parking lot? Are you that concerned they we continue to be easily accessible and open and available to our neighbors, our friends, and our community? Will you be leading others who witness our diligence and our 'working by faith' to cross our threshold and seek this life of enthusiasm and friendship?" These are questions we ask of God … by faith.
You know, we actually live by faith more than we usually realize.
We have faith that when we leave our homes in the morning that we will be returning later free from injury, disaster, or death.
We have faith that we will have a home to which to return, barring fire, vandalism, or natural disaster.
We have faith that there will be enough money when the bills come due, or faith to make it through the difficult and pressing times.
Let us not throw caution to the wind. There is much wisdom in budgeting and planning. There is much wisdom in life insurance, disability and long-care insurance. There is much wisdom in having a plan for a rainy day or for retirement.
But there is also much wisdom in finally declaring, "God, I have done my best, I have considered the possibilities, I have imagined the good and the bad that could come from my decisions-now it time to turn it over to you. It is time to believe that your power, your guidance, and your strength will be present to support our efforts and to sustain us through the unexpected.
By faith … we are the Perry United Methodist Church. May others come to see our faith and works in the name of our beloved Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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