Sleeping In On Sunday
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
-- Ephesians 6:10
Physical feats of strength impress us. We admire those who can bench press over 300 pounds or run a marathon in less than three hours. Mental prowess is also impressive. We respect the intellectual giants who discover new formulas. And, yes, we also venerate spiritual leaders like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi. Hopefully, this respect and veneration will lead us to take the next step, to be inspired to imitate them, following their example. We can begin our own training program to become physically fit. We may not bench press 300 pounds but we can perhaps afford to lose three or four pounds. We may not discover new chemical formulas, but we can try to learn a new language. We may not travel the world preaching, but we can become indispensable to a neighbor in need. We can develop a more spiritual life of prayer, worship, and meditation.
A while back, someone gave me the Non-runner's Handbook. Written with tongue in cheek, that author describes how he was a varsity non-runner all through high school and college. He writes that non-running is wonderfully accessible to anyone of any age or physical description. In a subtle way, it makes us laugh at our natural tendency to get fat and lazy.
Physical exercise isn't the only area of our lives in which there is a human proclivity to laziness. We can also become spiritually unfit and lazy. We can become flabby in our faith. We can become weak in our worship habits.
Sleeping in on Sunday is a habit that many fall into. You can always assuage your guilt by watching a television preacher. You can become like the one whom Solomon questioned: "How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest" (Proverbs 6:9).
Many people find that once they start sleeping in on Sunday, it's hard to stop. It's easy to become like the fellow who watched football games all day and fell asleep in his chair until Monday morning. His wife shook him and yelled, "Get up! It's twenty to seven!" And he said, "Whose favor?"
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. There are many diversions that distract us from the path of faith. We are tempted to follow pursuits that promise more pleasure, more power, and more money. We may, for a while, give our hearts to those things that do not satisfy our hearts. In order to follow the narrow path of faith, we may have to abandon old friendships for a while. In order to take a gamble on the gospel, we may have to take up a shield and extinguish the flames of old habits and disastrous behavior. We will have to fit our feet with readiness and become like Abraham, who went out, not knowing where he was going. We will have to take our stand against the devil's schemes and become like Moses, who led the Israelites to liberty instead of settling down in comfort in Egypt. We have to break away from the old and let the glory of the gospel grab us.
When temptations are asking you to look down, faith is asking you to look up, to give your devotion to something greater than yourself. The glory of Christ is that he put no ceiling over human life. He knew the potential greatness of the human soul.
Someone has said that life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved and pretty body. Rather, we should approach it sliding in broadside, thoroughly used up and worn out, exclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!"
We were not created to sleep our lives away, but to arrive face-to-face with God, trusting that with his touch upon us we will rise to the full stature of our potential when we make ourselves available to his gift.
We don't always know how he is using us. But when we present ourselves to his care and to his purpose and mission, we become instruments of his kingdom.
There is an interesting story about Thomas Edison. It is said that he had at the entrance to his home and on the fence surrounding it, a heavy, clumsy gate. One of his friends often wondered about that gate and why a man of his standing would put up with such an unattractive gate on his property. One day he ventured to ask about it and to suggest casually that Edison get something more modern, lightweight and easy to close or open. Mr. Edison looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Come," he said, "let me show you something." He showed him how the big gate was geared in with a pumping contraption. "You see, every man who comes to see me and opens or shuts the gate automatically pumps a gallon of water into a tank on my roof."
We may, at times, think God is using us poorly, or in a clumsy way which makes us unattractive to others. It is so fatally easy to limit God to the ways of which we are accustomed. We need to be reminded often of the broad sweep of his sovereignty, sovereignty so wide that one of the great souls of the past said, "He makes even the wrath of men to praise him."
Every day the most unlikely people pass through his gate and without intending it, often without knowing it, make a contribution to his purpose. You and I may not realize what life changing influence we are asserting when we show up at Sunday school, invite someone to church, offer to help clean the sanctuary, say a prayer for a friend, or start a Bible study in the home. "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17) and you may be in for the ride of your life.
Some years back, in rural Tennessee, an old man crippled with arthritis was very faithful in his attendance at church. Twice on Sunday and again during the week, a little girl watched from her window as the old man with his cane painfully made his way down to the little church on the corner.
One Sunday morning, following a snowstorm, the little girl ran to her window and looking out exclaimed, "Surely the old man will not go to church this morning!" But there he was, right on schedule, plodding very cautiously through the ice and snow. The little girl could not contain herself any longer. She just had to visit the little church to see what possibly could be there that would bring the old man out on such an inclement morning.
After that early exposure to church fellowship, she later became a devoted Christian. She married and gave birth to a son who became one of the nation's most outstanding preachers. The old man went to his reward never realizing just what an impact he had made on so many lives for the cause of Christ.
There can be no greater joy than to reach heaven and to hear someone say, "I'm here because you have shown me the way."
Parents, wouldn't it be wonderful to reach heaven and hear your children say, "Mom and Dad, we made it because of you!"
None of us really becomes committed to something unless it has personal benefits. We have to realize that our association with the church, our attendance at worship is vitally important to our own well-being. Being a faithful, worshiping Christian can lead to a happier, healthier life. With the gospel of peace comes a heart at peace.
While the Christian life is born of much deeper incentive than self-interest, evangelizing efforts should not ignore the benefits. Do you want to enjoy life more? Do you want a more soul-satisfying existence? Do you want to improve the quality of your life? Church fellowship will give you these!
Think about the huge redwood trees in California. They amaze us. They are the largest living things on earth, the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old.
You would think that trees so large must have a tremendous root system that reaches down hundreds of feet into the earth. But, not so! The redwoods have a very shallow root system. The redwood root system is intertwined. The stability of the trees is dependent on the forest. They are locked to each other. When the storms come and the winds blow and the lightning flashes, the redwoods still stand. They are locked to each other. They are not alone. All the trees support and protect each other. Each tree is important to all the other trees in the forest.
In the church, we have fellowship with one another and with Christ. Without Christ, the church is nothing. Without fellowship, the church is useless. By our compassion we show the world the difference that Jesus makes. Being rooted and grounded in love we are able to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
"With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18b). Amen.
-- Ephesians 6:10
Physical feats of strength impress us. We admire those who can bench press over 300 pounds or run a marathon in less than three hours. Mental prowess is also impressive. We respect the intellectual giants who discover new formulas. And, yes, we also venerate spiritual leaders like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi. Hopefully, this respect and veneration will lead us to take the next step, to be inspired to imitate them, following their example. We can begin our own training program to become physically fit. We may not bench press 300 pounds but we can perhaps afford to lose three or four pounds. We may not discover new chemical formulas, but we can try to learn a new language. We may not travel the world preaching, but we can become indispensable to a neighbor in need. We can develop a more spiritual life of prayer, worship, and meditation.
A while back, someone gave me the Non-runner's Handbook. Written with tongue in cheek, that author describes how he was a varsity non-runner all through high school and college. He writes that non-running is wonderfully accessible to anyone of any age or physical description. In a subtle way, it makes us laugh at our natural tendency to get fat and lazy.
Physical exercise isn't the only area of our lives in which there is a human proclivity to laziness. We can also become spiritually unfit and lazy. We can become flabby in our faith. We can become weak in our worship habits.
Sleeping in on Sunday is a habit that many fall into. You can always assuage your guilt by watching a television preacher. You can become like the one whom Solomon questioned: "How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest" (Proverbs 6:9).
Many people find that once they start sleeping in on Sunday, it's hard to stop. It's easy to become like the fellow who watched football games all day and fell asleep in his chair until Monday morning. His wife shook him and yelled, "Get up! It's twenty to seven!" And he said, "Whose favor?"
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. There are many diversions that distract us from the path of faith. We are tempted to follow pursuits that promise more pleasure, more power, and more money. We may, for a while, give our hearts to those things that do not satisfy our hearts. In order to follow the narrow path of faith, we may have to abandon old friendships for a while. In order to take a gamble on the gospel, we may have to take up a shield and extinguish the flames of old habits and disastrous behavior. We will have to fit our feet with readiness and become like Abraham, who went out, not knowing where he was going. We will have to take our stand against the devil's schemes and become like Moses, who led the Israelites to liberty instead of settling down in comfort in Egypt. We have to break away from the old and let the glory of the gospel grab us.
When temptations are asking you to look down, faith is asking you to look up, to give your devotion to something greater than yourself. The glory of Christ is that he put no ceiling over human life. He knew the potential greatness of the human soul.
Someone has said that life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved and pretty body. Rather, we should approach it sliding in broadside, thoroughly used up and worn out, exclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!"
We were not created to sleep our lives away, but to arrive face-to-face with God, trusting that with his touch upon us we will rise to the full stature of our potential when we make ourselves available to his gift.
We don't always know how he is using us. But when we present ourselves to his care and to his purpose and mission, we become instruments of his kingdom.
There is an interesting story about Thomas Edison. It is said that he had at the entrance to his home and on the fence surrounding it, a heavy, clumsy gate. One of his friends often wondered about that gate and why a man of his standing would put up with such an unattractive gate on his property. One day he ventured to ask about it and to suggest casually that Edison get something more modern, lightweight and easy to close or open. Mr. Edison looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Come," he said, "let me show you something." He showed him how the big gate was geared in with a pumping contraption. "You see, every man who comes to see me and opens or shuts the gate automatically pumps a gallon of water into a tank on my roof."
We may, at times, think God is using us poorly, or in a clumsy way which makes us unattractive to others. It is so fatally easy to limit God to the ways of which we are accustomed. We need to be reminded often of the broad sweep of his sovereignty, sovereignty so wide that one of the great souls of the past said, "He makes even the wrath of men to praise him."
Every day the most unlikely people pass through his gate and without intending it, often without knowing it, make a contribution to his purpose. You and I may not realize what life changing influence we are asserting when we show up at Sunday school, invite someone to church, offer to help clean the sanctuary, say a prayer for a friend, or start a Bible study in the home. "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17) and you may be in for the ride of your life.
Some years back, in rural Tennessee, an old man crippled with arthritis was very faithful in his attendance at church. Twice on Sunday and again during the week, a little girl watched from her window as the old man with his cane painfully made his way down to the little church on the corner.
One Sunday morning, following a snowstorm, the little girl ran to her window and looking out exclaimed, "Surely the old man will not go to church this morning!" But there he was, right on schedule, plodding very cautiously through the ice and snow. The little girl could not contain herself any longer. She just had to visit the little church to see what possibly could be there that would bring the old man out on such an inclement morning.
After that early exposure to church fellowship, she later became a devoted Christian. She married and gave birth to a son who became one of the nation's most outstanding preachers. The old man went to his reward never realizing just what an impact he had made on so many lives for the cause of Christ.
There can be no greater joy than to reach heaven and to hear someone say, "I'm here because you have shown me the way."
Parents, wouldn't it be wonderful to reach heaven and hear your children say, "Mom and Dad, we made it because of you!"
None of us really becomes committed to something unless it has personal benefits. We have to realize that our association with the church, our attendance at worship is vitally important to our own well-being. Being a faithful, worshiping Christian can lead to a happier, healthier life. With the gospel of peace comes a heart at peace.
While the Christian life is born of much deeper incentive than self-interest, evangelizing efforts should not ignore the benefits. Do you want to enjoy life more? Do you want a more soul-satisfying existence? Do you want to improve the quality of your life? Church fellowship will give you these!
Think about the huge redwood trees in California. They amaze us. They are the largest living things on earth, the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old.
You would think that trees so large must have a tremendous root system that reaches down hundreds of feet into the earth. But, not so! The redwoods have a very shallow root system. The redwood root system is intertwined. The stability of the trees is dependent on the forest. They are locked to each other. When the storms come and the winds blow and the lightning flashes, the redwoods still stand. They are locked to each other. They are not alone. All the trees support and protect each other. Each tree is important to all the other trees in the forest.
In the church, we have fellowship with one another and with Christ. Without Christ, the church is nothing. Without fellowship, the church is useless. By our compassion we show the world the difference that Jesus makes. Being rooted and grounded in love we are able to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
"With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18b). Amen.
