5th Sunday of Easter 5-2-10 Text 1 Corinthians 3:7 Growing were we are planted.
Dedication of organ and Sanctuary
5th Sunday of Easter
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:7
Title: Growing Where We Are Planted.
Our congregation’s capital campaign committee has put together a wonderful campaign titled, “Grow Where We’re Planted.” As I looked at it I began to wonder about the meaning behind it. That is what I want to look at this morning. To some it means that we need to grow the size of our congregation, so that the debt load is spread across more people. The bigger the congregation the less each family has to give to pay off the debt. To others it was just that we need to grow our congregation.
I went to my favorite Bible concordance and looked up the words in that statement to see if there was anything that God said about growing where we’re planted. I found all types of references about being planted, particularly near streams of water, but there was one Bible quote that really caught my attention and I want to share it with you this morning. It was written by Saint Paul as he was led by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:7, “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
The part that caught my attention is “only God who gives the growth.” We know that but sometimes we believe it is our doing, especially since we are the one’s doing the work that it is actually God doing the work through us. Let me just give you a few examples.
It was God who caused the founding members of our congregation in 1946 to have the desire to worship God in the Lutheran tradition they knew and loved so well. That work of God caused Saint John Lutheran Congregation to be formed in Hattiesburg.
It was God who caused the people and pastors of this congregation ever since then to have a vision that they could make a difference in the community by building a church on this site, so that people could have a place to hear the word of God.
It was God who caused a group of people almost 7 years ago to have a vision that this congregation could best fulfill the mission that God has given it by staying in this present location. Moved by God they worked on a master plan which we see fulfilled today in our remodeled sanctuary, parking lot, and organ.
It was God who moved the heart of George Pfeuffer to leave in his will enough money for the house next door to be purchased when it came up for sale.
It was God who has brought us to where we are today and it will be God who leads us in doing what he has put this congregation here to do in the first place; make disciples who will continue the work of God long into the future.
This congregation is 64 years old. It, like all of us, is getting older. And like us, it is showing its age. But then God spoke through his Word and when he spoke things started happening. People’s lives were changed. Programs were started, not just to give people something to do, but to help them live their faith in a better way. More people started volunteering to help, and more people started to really love each other, not just in the good times, but the bad times too. You know, those times when someone has crossed you and you still love them anyway because you have been changed, truly changed, not by your own doing, but by the cross of Jesus.
I realize that some of you are skeptical and maybe just a little nervous about what I am saying. I know that, but when God speaks powerful things happen. You don’t think so, just look at what God did for Sarah and Abraham when he gave them a son in their old age. Sarah laughed and Abraham doubted, but that did not change God’s plan for that family. We might doubt God’s plan for this congregation. We might slow down God’s plan for this congregation. We might even laugh at God’s plan, but we cannot stop God’s plan, for when God speaks and his plan for this congregation is set in motion things happen. I don’t know if you have noticed, but God in his ultimate wisdom is rejuvenating this congregation that he planted so long ago. He is bringing in young families and children. This congregation is being grown, by God into a congregation that will better equipped to meet the spiritual and relational needs of the members and community for years to come.
I can say that, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, because Jesus’ cross has caused us to cross a boundary that is probably unlike any boundary that this congregation has ever crossed in the past. What is so exciting to me and I hope to you is that we have crossed it without making a conscious effort to cross it.
We have crossed it because we have been crossed by Jesus. And in being crossed by Jesus we have been united to him in his death and resurrection. Boundaries, for the most part that separated people in the past have fallen and will continue to fall in the future, as God continues to bless us, as he can only do, for we have been crossed.
Just like you, I have no exact idea of the plans God has laid out before us, as he leads us into the future. But I do know that wherever and whatever we do, it will be of the will of God, as long as we keep our focus on the cross of Jesus. I have no doubt that there will be some painful times ahead, as we leave the past, live in the present, and prepare for the future doing what a crossed congregation does best; show the love of God to those each of us come into contact with in our daily lives.
New people will join us and be part of our community bringing with them their past experiences and ideas, just as each one of us did when God planted each one of us in this congregation with our unique spiritual gifts and talents. Some things will change, but one thing will never change and that is this congregation’s commitment to God’s Word, the Lutheran confessions, and our mission statement which reads, “Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel, properly administer the Sacraments, and to reach outward into the community and world to help people know Jesus Christ as their Savior. “ That commitment my brothers and sisters in Christ has not changed and will not change, for to do so would be to deny Christ and his saving work.
When Penny and I first came here seven and one half years ago, as I talked to people in town I asked them if they knew about Saint John Lutheran Church. If they did I asked them what they knew about it. The answer I got was that it was that little German church who put on a great Oktoberfest and served beer.
I still hear that today, but there has been a shift in the community’s perception of Saint John Lutheran church. Now when I ask them they still tell me that we are the congregation that has a great Oktoberfest and sells beer, but I am hearing more and more that they believe that Saint John congregation cares about not just themselves, as so many small congregations do, but cares for others since the money from Oktoberfest is used to fund projects in the community and world.
We still have a ways to go, for it would be better, if we were known first for staying true to the Christian faith, living Christian lives, and then putting on a great Oktoberfest.
It will happen because we, the congregation of Saint John Lutheran Church have been crossed by the cross of Jesus and because we have been crossed we are no longer just talking the talk. We are walking the walk. And in walking the walk we are and will be making an eternal difference in people’s lives. For that is who we are; the people of Saint John Lutheran congregation growing in faith and doing good works where we are planted. All glory to God, the grower of all good things. Amen
5th Sunday of Easter
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:7
Title: Growing Where We Are Planted.
Our congregation’s capital campaign committee has put together a wonderful campaign titled, “Grow Where We’re Planted.” As I looked at it I began to wonder about the meaning behind it. That is what I want to look at this morning. To some it means that we need to grow the size of our congregation, so that the debt load is spread across more people. The bigger the congregation the less each family has to give to pay off the debt. To others it was just that we need to grow our congregation.
I went to my favorite Bible concordance and looked up the words in that statement to see if there was anything that God said about growing where we’re planted. I found all types of references about being planted, particularly near streams of water, but there was one Bible quote that really caught my attention and I want to share it with you this morning. It was written by Saint Paul as he was led by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:7, “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
The part that caught my attention is “only God who gives the growth.” We know that but sometimes we believe it is our doing, especially since we are the one’s doing the work that it is actually God doing the work through us. Let me just give you a few examples.
It was God who caused the founding members of our congregation in 1946 to have the desire to worship God in the Lutheran tradition they knew and loved so well. That work of God caused Saint John Lutheran Congregation to be formed in Hattiesburg.
It was God who caused the people and pastors of this congregation ever since then to have a vision that they could make a difference in the community by building a church on this site, so that people could have a place to hear the word of God.
It was God who caused a group of people almost 7 years ago to have a vision that this congregation could best fulfill the mission that God has given it by staying in this present location. Moved by God they worked on a master plan which we see fulfilled today in our remodeled sanctuary, parking lot, and organ.
It was God who moved the heart of George Pfeuffer to leave in his will enough money for the house next door to be purchased when it came up for sale.
It was God who has brought us to where we are today and it will be God who leads us in doing what he has put this congregation here to do in the first place; make disciples who will continue the work of God long into the future.
This congregation is 64 years old. It, like all of us, is getting older. And like us, it is showing its age. But then God spoke through his Word and when he spoke things started happening. People’s lives were changed. Programs were started, not just to give people something to do, but to help them live their faith in a better way. More people started volunteering to help, and more people started to really love each other, not just in the good times, but the bad times too. You know, those times when someone has crossed you and you still love them anyway because you have been changed, truly changed, not by your own doing, but by the cross of Jesus.
I realize that some of you are skeptical and maybe just a little nervous about what I am saying. I know that, but when God speaks powerful things happen. You don’t think so, just look at what God did for Sarah and Abraham when he gave them a son in their old age. Sarah laughed and Abraham doubted, but that did not change God’s plan for that family. We might doubt God’s plan for this congregation. We might slow down God’s plan for this congregation. We might even laugh at God’s plan, but we cannot stop God’s plan, for when God speaks and his plan for this congregation is set in motion things happen. I don’t know if you have noticed, but God in his ultimate wisdom is rejuvenating this congregation that he planted so long ago. He is bringing in young families and children. This congregation is being grown, by God into a congregation that will better equipped to meet the spiritual and relational needs of the members and community for years to come.
I can say that, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, because Jesus’ cross has caused us to cross a boundary that is probably unlike any boundary that this congregation has ever crossed in the past. What is so exciting to me and I hope to you is that we have crossed it without making a conscious effort to cross it.
We have crossed it because we have been crossed by Jesus. And in being crossed by Jesus we have been united to him in his death and resurrection. Boundaries, for the most part that separated people in the past have fallen and will continue to fall in the future, as God continues to bless us, as he can only do, for we have been crossed.
Just like you, I have no exact idea of the plans God has laid out before us, as he leads us into the future. But I do know that wherever and whatever we do, it will be of the will of God, as long as we keep our focus on the cross of Jesus. I have no doubt that there will be some painful times ahead, as we leave the past, live in the present, and prepare for the future doing what a crossed congregation does best; show the love of God to those each of us come into contact with in our daily lives.
New people will join us and be part of our community bringing with them their past experiences and ideas, just as each one of us did when God planted each one of us in this congregation with our unique spiritual gifts and talents. Some things will change, but one thing will never change and that is this congregation’s commitment to God’s Word, the Lutheran confessions, and our mission statement which reads, “Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel, properly administer the Sacraments, and to reach outward into the community and world to help people know Jesus Christ as their Savior. “ That commitment my brothers and sisters in Christ has not changed and will not change, for to do so would be to deny Christ and his saving work.
When Penny and I first came here seven and one half years ago, as I talked to people in town I asked them if they knew about Saint John Lutheran Church. If they did I asked them what they knew about it. The answer I got was that it was that little German church who put on a great Oktoberfest and served beer.
I still hear that today, but there has been a shift in the community’s perception of Saint John Lutheran church. Now when I ask them they still tell me that we are the congregation that has a great Oktoberfest and sells beer, but I am hearing more and more that they believe that Saint John congregation cares about not just themselves, as so many small congregations do, but cares for others since the money from Oktoberfest is used to fund projects in the community and world.
We still have a ways to go, for it would be better, if we were known first for staying true to the Christian faith, living Christian lives, and then putting on a great Oktoberfest.
It will happen because we, the congregation of Saint John Lutheran Church have been crossed by the cross of Jesus and because we have been crossed we are no longer just talking the talk. We are walking the walk. And in walking the walk we are and will be making an eternal difference in people’s lives. For that is who we are; the people of Saint John Lutheran congregation growing in faith and doing good works where we are planted. All glory to God, the grower of all good things. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 1:43 PM
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