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Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, May 01, 2005

5/01/05 Text: Acts 13:1-3 Title: Send

5/01/2005
Text: Acts 13:1-3
Title: Send
Let us pray: God of law and of love, dispenser of justice and of mercy, help us to hear your word this day, so that in your speaking and in our listening your will may be known so that we may faithfully follow you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen
For the last 5 weeks we have been focusing on the mission of the church. The reason we have been doing this, is as theologian Emil Brunner once wrote, “The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no church; and where there is neither church nor mission, there is no faith.”
Church and mission go together, just like fire and burning go together, they cannot be separated, so you could say that church and mission are one. It makes sense, for in fact, the cause, the breath, the very excitement of the church, the fire in the belly, is fed when as a body the church is in mission and it becomes known for mission together.
So that you might get a better understanding of what I mean, we need to go back to First Century Syria. For it is there that we find in Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman world, a congregation that knew its mission, it had character. It knows who it is, for character is who you are when no one else is looking. It is my prayer that by our studying the congregation in Antioch this morning, we will learn more about the character of our congregation.
We read about the congregation in Antioch in Acts 13, the first three verses. “In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
In verse one we see the first character trait of a mission congregation. They value learning. There are five names listed, and these five men are all teachers and prophets. To put it simply, they are the mouthpieces of God. They know the teachings of the Apostles, which are the teachings of Jesus. Teaching for them is a priority and reflects the importance of learning about God and his will.
The second character trait of the congregation at Antioch that we see is that they welcome diversity. I can say that because when you take a closer look at the names listed in the first verse you see amazing diversity.
First there is Barnabas. Barnabas was a Levite, part of the priestly clan from Cyprus. He was originally called Joseph. We can learn from that that he has a Jewish heritage, and by the way we have come to know that his name means son of encouragement.
Then, there is Simeon of Cyrene. He was called Niger, which reflects his North African roots and culture.
Next, there is Lucius of Cyrene. He has a Latin name which reflects the understanding and influence of the Roman culture.
The fourth man is Manaen. He was an aristocrat. He was raised with Herod the Tetrarch and would seem to be a childhood friend.
Last but not least, there was Saul, or as we know him, Paul. He was an ex-Pharisee, well educated, zealous for the faith of the Jews, familiar with Jewish custom and culture, yet born as a Roman citizen with a Roman name.
You see, the congregation in Antioch accepted diversity, in fact they thrived on it. There was diversity of gifts, abilities, talents, cultures, skin colors, and social status. Put simply, diversity was embraced and it probably reflected the general region around their congregation.
So far, just in the first verse of our reading we have learned two character traits of a congregation in mission. The first trait is that a congregation in mission is a teaching, thus a learning congregation. The second trait of a congregation in mission is that it welcomes diversity.
Now let’s take a look at verse two of God’ words to us. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’"
What we see in that verse is another trait of a church in mission. It is a worshiping church. If I were to ask you what it means to worship, I think most of you would answer that worshiping the Lord, is what we do on Sunday morning. I would say while that is true, worshiping the Lord is much more than that. Worshiping the Lord is also being in fellowship.
Not the kind of fellowship that we usually think of, as in getting together to visit or eating a pot-luck together, but fellowship as God defines it, the gathering together of people in a common Christian faith. Fellowship is worship for when we are gathered together worshiping our Lord we are building each other up. Did you notice how much more meaningful the Easter service was when we had 191 people all worshiping the Lord together. That is fellowship as God intended it.
But, we see the Christians in Antioch doing more than worship, we see them seeking the Spirit’s guidance. This was accomplished through prayer, the type of prayer that seeks God’s help, his guidance, not the type of prayer that we so often pray. You know, the prayer that seeks validation for what we have already decided, as we try to bend God to our will.
Seeking the Lord’s will through prayer was essential for the members of the congregation at Antioch, and it is essential for us too as we seek the will of God for our congregation.
In just that one verse we see that the congregation at Antioch knows its mission. It is a sending church. They are armed with a message. They must send it out, for they have to bring the wonderful message of Jesus Christ to the people they come into contact with.
Just like them, we too need to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the neighbor next door, the boy in Panama, Africa, or Russia, the woman dying of cancer, the coworker that has no clue about Jesus, the Muslim, the couple that wants to get married, those with addictions, those that need financial assistance, those who are homeless, and last but not least, you and me, who just need a simple reminder of who Jesus is, who need to know that we are forgiven in the face of our sinfulness, for you see, without that message there is no mission. The message is the mission.
For the sake of time we need to move on to verse three. “3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” We see in verse three that the church is Antioch does not just talk about doing mission, they walk the talk, for they are a sending church.
There is a common misunderstanding among Christians that the one sent has to be a member of the clergy, for after all they are the ones hired to preach the Gospel. Those that think that way have forgotten that the church is the priesthood of all believers. You cannot be a Christian and not be gifted with the message of Jesus Christ, it is just like fire and burning cannot be separated. The church’s members are to engage the world day in and day out. You might not be able to go to Kenya, Moldovia, or wherever missionaries are needed, but if you go to work or school, or have any contact at all with people, you are a missionary with the message of Jesus.
This morning we have seen that a congregation in mission is a congregation that values teaching, the teaching of God’s Word. It values prayer. It values giving, the giving of self, its time, talents, and money. It values listening to the Holy Spirit as it seeks guidance in how to fulfill its mission. It values sending, the sending of its members and others to tell the lost about Jesus Christ. That is a mission congregation.
We have spent some time this morning learning what the characteristics are of a mission congregation, but when all is said and done, all those characteristics can be wrapped up in just one little word. That word is love, for when you love you are no longer possessive of what you have. You give the best of whatever it is that you have for the sake of the mission.
That is what a mission congregation, a sending congregation is, for it shows its love for the lost, the love inspired by the Lord himself. The congregation at Antioch loved, really loved their Lord, and because of that almost 2000 years later they still stand as a model for others to learn from.
I wonder if congregations in the future will look back at us, the congregation of Saint John Lutheran Church in Hattiesburg Mississippi and see the proof of our love? Will they see that we set aside our differences, that we have truly forgiven each other, that we became united in the mission that our Lord has given us, at this time, at this place, the mission of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Will they see it?
I believe they will, for we are becoming a congregation in mission. I know they will, because I firmly believe that God has put us all together at this time, at this place, with all of our various religious backgrounds, all of our different life experiences, all of our social and economic diversity, our wonderful range of ages within our congregation, to do his mission, the mission of telling others the Good News of Jesus Christ, however he leads us to do it. My fellow missionaries, I mean that, for you are, let us follow Jesus. Amen