Lewis Memorial UMC

Sunday Sermons

One of the best feelings in this world is knowing that you are involved in a group where you are loved and appreciated. No matter what kind of group it is there is a great sense of being connected with others who have similar thoughts and agree on some basic, fundamental ideologies. That may be the case for you at work or in social events or in organizations that you are a member of. That most certainly should be the case here at your church! Now that does not mean that everyone always agrees with each other and we will not always see eye to eye, but the major, core values should be the same. For us as Christians that foundation is Jesus Christ!

Here at Lewis Memorial we are part of the Augusta District of the North Georgia Conference and this week several of us will be representing Lewis Memorial at our annual conference in Athens. Overall there are almost 1000 churches in our Conference and next week pastors and laity alike will be coming together to conduct business together, to worship together, and to celebrate our overall togetherness. There will be debates and discussions over what people think is best for the United Methodist Church as an organization. There are usually around 1500 people there and I certainly will not know all of them, not even a 4th of them, but we will be connected because of our promises we made when we joined the Methodist Church. But mostly we are connected because of Jesus! I hope you will keep us in your prayers next week as we meet together.

Just as one of the best feelings is being united and connected to a positive, loving group - the opposite is also true. There are few things worse than division within a group or organization of any kind. The Apostle Paul heard about some quarrels and division in the church in Corinth and so he wrote to them to encourage them and remind them that they were connected because of Jesus.

Unfortunately Paul could probably write a very similar letter to churches still today. Some churches seem to have forgotten to turn their eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face. They seem to have forgotten to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Some churches have fallen away from sound, Biblical teachings and started depending more on finances then on the Father! To be a loving, connected, Jesus led church means we need to be united in heart, mind, and spirit. Paul wrote that to the Corinthians somewhere around the year 54 and yet it seems he has written that for all of us today.

Look back with me at 1Corinthians 1:10. Paul wrote just before this in verse 9 that the folks in that church, as followers of Christ, were called by God into the fellowship of His Son, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. He reminds them of that very important fact and then tells them in verse 10, "Now I appeal to you brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose."

As United Methodist we have the same purpose - to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world! The part that is hard is being of the same mind! God has given each of us a mind of our own and we are capable of our own thinking. Otherwise we would just be like robots! We can think for ourselves, but in the church we are to do so for the good of God's church and His ministries here.

Look with me at Philippians 2: 3-4. For there to be no divisions among us, as Paul wrote, then we must be of the same heart and same mind when it comes to what is best for the church. That is not always easy, but when we put our own interests second and pray for God's guidance in everything we do then this can be done. Paul wrote in Philippians 2: 3-4, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others."

Paul had a lot to say to the early churches about being united and agreeing with each other in the ways of the Lord. I am grateful to be a part of a church that is united in Christ. Lewis Memorial is that kind of church! We may not all agree on everything, but we do agree that Jesus has to be the center of all that we do and we do agree that we need to seek and follow God's will for us. We have 3 uniquely different worship services here and I believe with my whole heart that they all please God. Physically, at 11am most every Sunday, we are divided. But spiritually we are united because of Jesus Christ! All 3 services hear the same scripture reading and basically hear the same sermon each Sunday. You all hear the same announcements and are encouraged to support the same ministries and in all 3 services you are given the opportunity to worship Jesus Christ as you wish! Right now there 100 folks or so worshipping God in the sanctuary and even though we are not sitting with them we are united and we are together what makes up this body of Christ!) It takes the whole body acting, working, serving, and praising together that keeps us connected.) Their service is different in style, in music, and in attire then this one, but the hearts, minds, and souls are the same as ours in here because it is Jesus whom we are worshipping! I am so glad that God is much bigger then just the one service that you mostly attend and I praise God for the diversity offered here at Lewis!

One more thing about being connected in the United Methodist Church - our apportionments! Every church in United Methodism is called upon to give financially to several different ministries worldwide. It's vital that each church does all that it can to give their share as this money helps all of us make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world! As a church we have not paid our apportionments for the past couple of years and we need to do so. We are on pace to pay half of the total this year after paying just 35% last year. It's part of the connection and part of who we are as United Methodist.

When Jesus gave us the Great Commission He told us to go into all of the world and make disciples, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. All of the world includes Ecuador, Africa, Peru, Augusta, Martinez, Appling, and Grovetown! We need to realize that every where we are and every where we go we are representing Christ. We are not to think of ourselves as any higher or better than anyone else. We are not to judge others, but accept them as God's children. We can do all of this because of Jesus and because of Jesus we are connected!

Pray for the people of this world! Pray for the United Methodist Church world wide. Pray for Lewis Memorial and as Paul said I hope that you will pray that we all stay united in the same mind and the same purpose.