Journey to Promise: Getting Organized (Exodus 18:5-23)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC...

[Title Slide] Journey to Promise: Getting Organized

(Exodus 18:5-23)

 

A new CEO takes his seat at the helm of a large corporation. [Slide] He finds three envelopes on his desk, numbered 1 to 3, with a note.

 

"Dear successor, these envelopes will help you in times of a crisis. Open them only in the order they are numbered. Good luck!”

 

He stores them in a safe and gets to work. The economy is sluggish. The corporation isn't doing well, and the board wants an explanation. He decides it's time for the first envelope. He rips it open and reads:

 

"Blame your predecessor"

 

At the press conference, he blames everything on the shortcomings and nearsightedness of his predecessor. Everyone is pleased and he remains CEO.

 

But after a while, the displeasure isn't waning Another press conference is held and he rips open the next envelope.

 

"Call for reorganization"

 

So he presents a reorganization plan that will improve productivity and move the corporation into the future. Everyone's so busy reorganizing that nobody can even notices how bad things are until there's no way to cover it up anymore. He reaches for the last envelope, rips it open and reads "Prepare 3 envelopes for your successor."

 

[Slide] Moses followed his father in-law’s advice and organized Israel in groups of 1000s, 100s, 50s and 10s. He appointed leaders to handle most of Israel’s issues. When overwhelmed, they got Moses involved. Seems like a reasonable plan.

 

The leaders that Moses chose fit the following criteria:

 

[Slide] They were capable, respected men, influential in their tribes. These men had a good reputation among their clans and exhibited effective leadership.

 

They were God-fearing. The Proverbs say, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10) To fear God is to hold a healthy reverence for God. It is to acknowledge oneself as a creature of God, and dependent upon God. All too often humans behave as if they are gods unto themselves, denying that they are accountable to a higher authority. These men honored God, seeking to please God by keeping the law.

 

These appointed leaders were men of truth, meaning they were honest and reliable. You could count on them to speak truthfully and behave according to God’s right ways.

 

And they were honest. They are not going to pervert justice by taking a bribe or show favoritism. They were incorruptible men of high morals.

 

[Slide] Jethro told Moses that his job was to represent the people to God and to teach them how to walk and work.

 

Moses met with God face to face. He understood God’s will in every situation. His understanding of God’s ways is written down in what Jews call Torah, the instruction. Torah is the first five books of our Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. God’s laws and statutes are recorded there.

 

In Torah, there are moral laws that we still honor today. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie. Be faithful to your spouse in all things. Such moral laws dictate our walk, how we are to behave.

 

 

Other laws in Torah cover property rights, instructions about religious festivals, and priestly duties. These laws dictate their work; the deeds God commands the Jews to perform.

 

We do not belong to the covenant under Moses. We belong to the new covenant in Jesus Christ. [Slide] Our law is love. Love does no harm but seeks to do good. Love builds others up. Love pleases God.

 

As Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) And His commandment is to love. Love God with your whole self. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love your enemies. Love one another.

 

Love is how we walk. Love empowers how we behave. Love should guide our leadership decisions in the church, too. When issues arise, we ought to ask ourselves: “If God’s love were in charge, how would this situation change? How are we equipped to make those loving changes?”

 

Church leadership must discover how our neighbors need love. God calls us to meet some of those needs and help our community to become a place where God’s love reigns.

 

[Slide] Recently the Milledgeville and Centenary congregations raised around $3000 for the Coldest Night of the Year walk. Love INC reported that they raised a total of $11,900. I am proud of you! We raised 25% of the total funds raised to help our neighbors in need. May God bless you! I want to thank Jane Hammock & Melinda Zore for their leadership. Jane volunteers with Love INC and served during registration. Melinda coordinated CUMC’s team and gathered funds. Everyone who walked showed their support for our neighbors who suffer food insecurity. May God bless all those who gave to this cause.

 

Jesus preached to His followers in The Sermon on the Mount,

 

[Slide] You are the light of the world… let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14, 16)

 

Jesus calls us to work with compassionate good deeds, so our neighbors experience God’s love and God is glorified.

 

[Slide] I want to show you an organizational chart for the church. At the center of this chart is Christ Jesus, our Lord. It is His life and ministry that gives us our vision and mission. Jesus’ vision was to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. His mission was about three things: teaching, healing and liberation. A mission statement is the church’s reason for existence. It is our work.

 

[Slide] The mission of the UMC is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. What are we to do? [Slide] We are to form disciples of Jesus who become world changers. Forming world changers seems like an appropriate church vision statement!

 

[Slide] For Centenary, we have a specific mission that we recite every Sunday. Our mission is our work, what we are to do.

 

We live by faith. Our behavior in the community, at work, and at home is the product of our loving relationship with God. Faith is not about believing the right things. It is about loving the right one.

 

We aspire to be known by love. One act of love is to care for one another. Many of our own members are homebound. What can we do to help them live healthy lives. The wellspring of health is God’s love. So let’s shower our people with love. Isn’t that a James Taylor song? Shower the People you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Jesus was all about healing. His church continues to be about healing lives.

 

We are a voice of hope. The Church is called to witness to the gospel, to share hope with our neighbors. Sharing hope is teaching faith in Christ. Sharing hope is encouragement with hopeful, God-breathed words. Our good deeds give others hope. Good deeds say to people God cares.

 

[Slide] The Church is called to Teach, Heal and Liberate. We teach hope in Christ, restore health through prayer and compassion, and liberate lives unto holiness! We share our faith by the good we do and the words we say. Trusting in God liberates life. We know that God is with us. Our neighbors need to know that too. Examples of how the Church liberates lives are ministries of compassion and justice. We offer divorce recovery, addiction recovery, men and women’s groups, student groups. We create safe spaces for dialogue and build community around mutual interests. Anybody want to start a euchre club? How about a movie ministry? Take your passion and turn it into ministry. Let’s build community and liberate our neighbors from isolation, loneliness, and fear.

 

Teach, Heal, and Liberate. These are the church’s action verbs, our work. We walk in love and we work toward building the kingdom of God with Hope, Health and Holiness, for when Jesus Christ has set you free, you are liberated to live in His love.

 

And that’s a vision of the church set by Jesus. Our mission is to work toward that vision to be an expression of God’s kingdom right here in Boone County. [Slide] You’ll notice concentric circles in this church organization chart. The first ring, beyond Christ’s vision and mission, are the key leaders of the church. These folks represent you. They guide the church in pursuit of Christ’s vision. They plan actions to work our mission to make the vision a reality.

 The next circle out are our ministry teams. Some lead mission work. Some lead small groups. Some focus on worship. As we grow there will be new ministries offered to the community. These new offerings will require leadership which embraces the vision and mission to make disciples of Jesus.

 The next circle is the members of the congregation who participate and serve in various ministries. Beyond the congregation are friends to the church. Want to know who our friends are? Look who is present on Christmas Eve and Easter and Scout Sunday. Friends may donate to church ministries when asked. Several friends donated money to support the Coldest Night of the Year. We need to keep our friends informed about what is happening at church. Give friends a chance to participate. They might enjoy the opportunity to serve others with you, or to join in some event that is fun or meaningful. We should shower our friends with love. When they need prayer, go and stand with them. Be the presence of Jesus in their lives.

 

Finally, there is community beyond our congregation. We have contacts in the community, people we work with, people with whom we serve or otherwise associate in community groups. We have contacts in clubs and groups to which we belong. We have online contacts through social networks. Do your neighbors know when there’s something good happening with your church? The fields are ripe for harvest! [Slide] Practice your FRAN Plan, list your Friends, Relatives, Associates and Neighbors. Pick five and pray for them daily. Ask God for an opportunity to share your faith with them and to invite them to worship.

 

[Slide] Let’s take a moment to recognize and pray for our church leaders.