Called To Serve
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Called to Serve" by Keith Wagner
"Using Our Gifts" by Keith Wagner
* * * * * * *
Called to Serve
by Keith Wagner
Isaiah 49:1-7
Isaiah, servant of Yahweh, was really feeling his oats. "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing," he said. He had given all his energy to leading the nation of Israel but little had changed. As a result he was discouraged, filled with hopelessness and despair.
Isaiah admitted he was not up to the task. He confessed he needed help. I believe we all have moments when our tasks seem overwhelming. We wonder if what we do really makes a difference. We all dream of being Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, or Tom Cruise. They are the icons of our day who have risen to the occasion with their super-human talents. God however doesn't expect any of us to be superman. God only asks us to be ourselves and respond to the needs within our reach.
Just about everyone I know who is in ministry experiences times when their ministries are overwhelming. Today's society surrounds us with competing activities and organizations that demand time and energy away from the church. People seek alternatives that provide pleasure, relaxation, or activities that provide some other personal benefits.
One time while watching my grandson play baseball, I noticed there was a lack of coaching and just a handful of parents on the sideline. The players didn't seem to be enthused about the game. There seemed to be a lack of commitment and excitement. The parents that I observed spent most of the time talking on cell phones and the coaches seemed more interested in statistics than they did having a relationship with the young men on the team. I wondered to myself, "Why do families do this? If they are not committed, why do they bother?"
Watching my grandson's baseball game reminded me of the church. Key people are frequently somewhere else. Only a few seem enthusiastic about their faith. Getting folks to volunteer for special programs and events is extremely difficult. It's not that people don't want to help. They will, as long as there aren't other activities and interests taking priority.
We strive to be faithful, but like Isaiah we have moments where we feel hopeless. Isaiah was willing to say, "Here I am," but even he wasn't always successful. Let's be honest, the idea of being a servant is not very attractive.
Most everyone remembers Isaac Newton. He was famous for discovering gravity by encountering a falling apple. Newton also revolutionized astronomical studies. On the other hand, few people know Edmund Halley. He was the one who challenged Newton to think through his theories. He often corrected Newton's mathematical errors and prepared geometrical figures to support his theories. Halley convinced Newton to write his first book and he also was the one who edited it. Historians call Halley's relationship with Newton one of the most selfless examples in the world of science. Halley received little credit for his contributions. Ultimately however, he used Newton's principles to predict the orbit and the return of a comet that would later bear his name, Halley's Comet. Still, it did not matter to Halley whether he received the credit.
I believe servants are those who stay in the background. They are also willing to make a commitment, and their commitments remain genuine because of sacrifice and discipline.
Isaiah had been called to serve and so have we. God asks all of us to use our talents and resources and serve wherever and whenever we can. Sometimes the task seems beyond our reach. As Isaiah lamented over the challenge, God raised the ante. The Lord said, "It's too light a thing that you should be my servant... I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
In other words, the call to serve goes beyond what we perceive as our role. In fact we will influence people beyond our wildest imaginations.
A few years ago I was contacted by a missionary in Taiwan. He asked my permission to publish one of my Christmas Eve sermons in his monthly devotional. The devotional was printed in Chinese and circulated in China. I gave my permission and asked the missionary to send me a copy of the journal after it was published. To think that my Christmas Eve message was read by millions of people in Chinese really humbled me. Just as Isaiah's call went beyond the tribes of Jacob our ministry can reach cultures beyond our own.
Using Our Gifts
by Keith Wagner
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul is giving thanks to the saints at Corinth who had been faithful. He affirmed their spiritual gifts and praised them for their fervor in spreading the gospel.
The power of the Holy Spirit is the most mystifying, most misunderstood, and most abused phenomenon in the church. Here, in the letter to the church at Corinth, Paul was attempting to set the record straight. The church folks at Corinth believed that everyone should be like them. They had developed a "club" mentality that had certain requirements. If you didn't play by their rules, dress like them, act like them, or talk like them, you didn't belong. Paul was encouraging the church at Corinth to be more diverse. He argued that their strength would be in their diversity, embracing a multitude of talents.
What makes the church unique is that we are not all the same. Some of us are more driven than others. Some are just simply "laid back," taking life as it comes. What makes us interesting is the fact that we come from different backgrounds, different families, different communities, and each of us has individual talents that are unique. But in spite of all our differences we are still all part of the church and everyone has the Holy Spirit within them.
In the very first church that I served there was an elderly woman named Alice. Alice was poor. She lived in the same house all her life. She never married. When I visited her for the first time I noticed that in her kitchen she still pumped water from a hand pump. I also learned from someone in the church that Alice did not have a bathroom in her house until the late 1970s. Alice didn't drive a car. But, Alice was in church every Sunday. She sat in the front row. She took notes of my sermons and then she sent church bulletins with notes in them to parishioners who were home bound. She also sent birthday cards and cards for special occasions. This was Alice's ministry. She didn't have a lot of resources but she gave what she had.
The Holy Spirit is not age specific. God's Spirit is in all of us. The problem is that fear, pride, or failure could be holding us back. Hank Aaron never led the major league of baseball in batting average or home runs in a single season. He was, however, one who struck out more than most other players. But Aaron was persistent and kept hitting. He broke Babe Ruth's home record of 713 and eventually hit 755.
A few paragraphs later in this chapter Paul told the Corinthians that to be people of faith is to be foolish. He says in this letter that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. God's weakness is stronger than human strength." In other words, we can't compare normal business practices to the way we build the faith. The church can only grow when we are willing to let our hair down and take some risks.
God's ways are simply not our ways. When God wanted the Israelites to escape the Egyptians he didn't build a ferry boat, he parted the Red Sea. When God wanted to communicate to the faith community, God didn't make announcements over the Emergency Broadcast System, God sent prophets who acted in some very bazaar ways to rally the troops. God used a fisherman as the leader of the church. And God had Jesus walk on the earth whose life was an endless series of absurd and extraordinary events.
When God calls us to be faithful it defies logic. Just as Paul was calling his people to the faith God calls each of us. Our participation in the faith may not make sense to the people around us. It may not even make sense to us.
When I was given my first assignment in ministry I served as pastor of three country churches. I moved into a parsonage that was in the middle of nowhere from the city of Columbus. I shall never forget the transition. On a Friday I was general manager of a medical supply company. Saturday was moving day. On Sunday I was a preaching to complete strangers, most all of whom were farmers. I had always lived in large metropolitan cities. The whole beginning seemed absurd.
What's even more absurd is that during the next two weeks I officiated at two funerals. My career up until then had been focused on marketing, inventory control, supply management, and accounting. Now all of the sudden I was the "parson."
All of us have been called. Your role may not be as a pastor but each of you is called to some form of ministry. Paul is saying that what we do as believers may seem foolish to others. It may seem illogical or perceived by our friends as a waste of time. Saints are those like Alice, who do what they can with the gifts they have been given.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 19, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Called to Serve" by Keith Wagner
"Using Our Gifts" by Keith Wagner
* * * * * * *
Called to Serve
by Keith Wagner
Isaiah 49:1-7
Isaiah, servant of Yahweh, was really feeling his oats. "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing," he said. He had given all his energy to leading the nation of Israel but little had changed. As a result he was discouraged, filled with hopelessness and despair.
Isaiah admitted he was not up to the task. He confessed he needed help. I believe we all have moments when our tasks seem overwhelming. We wonder if what we do really makes a difference. We all dream of being Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, or Tom Cruise. They are the icons of our day who have risen to the occasion with their super-human talents. God however doesn't expect any of us to be superman. God only asks us to be ourselves and respond to the needs within our reach.
Just about everyone I know who is in ministry experiences times when their ministries are overwhelming. Today's society surrounds us with competing activities and organizations that demand time and energy away from the church. People seek alternatives that provide pleasure, relaxation, or activities that provide some other personal benefits.
One time while watching my grandson play baseball, I noticed there was a lack of coaching and just a handful of parents on the sideline. The players didn't seem to be enthused about the game. There seemed to be a lack of commitment and excitement. The parents that I observed spent most of the time talking on cell phones and the coaches seemed more interested in statistics than they did having a relationship with the young men on the team. I wondered to myself, "Why do families do this? If they are not committed, why do they bother?"
Watching my grandson's baseball game reminded me of the church. Key people are frequently somewhere else. Only a few seem enthusiastic about their faith. Getting folks to volunteer for special programs and events is extremely difficult. It's not that people don't want to help. They will, as long as there aren't other activities and interests taking priority.
We strive to be faithful, but like Isaiah we have moments where we feel hopeless. Isaiah was willing to say, "Here I am," but even he wasn't always successful. Let's be honest, the idea of being a servant is not very attractive.
Most everyone remembers Isaac Newton. He was famous for discovering gravity by encountering a falling apple. Newton also revolutionized astronomical studies. On the other hand, few people know Edmund Halley. He was the one who challenged Newton to think through his theories. He often corrected Newton's mathematical errors and prepared geometrical figures to support his theories. Halley convinced Newton to write his first book and he also was the one who edited it. Historians call Halley's relationship with Newton one of the most selfless examples in the world of science. Halley received little credit for his contributions. Ultimately however, he used Newton's principles to predict the orbit and the return of a comet that would later bear his name, Halley's Comet. Still, it did not matter to Halley whether he received the credit.
I believe servants are those who stay in the background. They are also willing to make a commitment, and their commitments remain genuine because of sacrifice and discipline.
Isaiah had been called to serve and so have we. God asks all of us to use our talents and resources and serve wherever and whenever we can. Sometimes the task seems beyond our reach. As Isaiah lamented over the challenge, God raised the ante. The Lord said, "It's too light a thing that you should be my servant... I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
In other words, the call to serve goes beyond what we perceive as our role. In fact we will influence people beyond our wildest imaginations.
A few years ago I was contacted by a missionary in Taiwan. He asked my permission to publish one of my Christmas Eve sermons in his monthly devotional. The devotional was printed in Chinese and circulated in China. I gave my permission and asked the missionary to send me a copy of the journal after it was published. To think that my Christmas Eve message was read by millions of people in Chinese really humbled me. Just as Isaiah's call went beyond the tribes of Jacob our ministry can reach cultures beyond our own.
Using Our Gifts
by Keith Wagner
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul is giving thanks to the saints at Corinth who had been faithful. He affirmed their spiritual gifts and praised them for their fervor in spreading the gospel.
The power of the Holy Spirit is the most mystifying, most misunderstood, and most abused phenomenon in the church. Here, in the letter to the church at Corinth, Paul was attempting to set the record straight. The church folks at Corinth believed that everyone should be like them. They had developed a "club" mentality that had certain requirements. If you didn't play by their rules, dress like them, act like them, or talk like them, you didn't belong. Paul was encouraging the church at Corinth to be more diverse. He argued that their strength would be in their diversity, embracing a multitude of talents.
What makes the church unique is that we are not all the same. Some of us are more driven than others. Some are just simply "laid back," taking life as it comes. What makes us interesting is the fact that we come from different backgrounds, different families, different communities, and each of us has individual talents that are unique. But in spite of all our differences we are still all part of the church and everyone has the Holy Spirit within them.
In the very first church that I served there was an elderly woman named Alice. Alice was poor. She lived in the same house all her life. She never married. When I visited her for the first time I noticed that in her kitchen she still pumped water from a hand pump. I also learned from someone in the church that Alice did not have a bathroom in her house until the late 1970s. Alice didn't drive a car. But, Alice was in church every Sunday. She sat in the front row. She took notes of my sermons and then she sent church bulletins with notes in them to parishioners who were home bound. She also sent birthday cards and cards for special occasions. This was Alice's ministry. She didn't have a lot of resources but she gave what she had.
The Holy Spirit is not age specific. God's Spirit is in all of us. The problem is that fear, pride, or failure could be holding us back. Hank Aaron never led the major league of baseball in batting average or home runs in a single season. He was, however, one who struck out more than most other players. But Aaron was persistent and kept hitting. He broke Babe Ruth's home record of 713 and eventually hit 755.
A few paragraphs later in this chapter Paul told the Corinthians that to be people of faith is to be foolish. He says in this letter that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. God's weakness is stronger than human strength." In other words, we can't compare normal business practices to the way we build the faith. The church can only grow when we are willing to let our hair down and take some risks.
God's ways are simply not our ways. When God wanted the Israelites to escape the Egyptians he didn't build a ferry boat, he parted the Red Sea. When God wanted to communicate to the faith community, God didn't make announcements over the Emergency Broadcast System, God sent prophets who acted in some very bazaar ways to rally the troops. God used a fisherman as the leader of the church. And God had Jesus walk on the earth whose life was an endless series of absurd and extraordinary events.
When God calls us to be faithful it defies logic. Just as Paul was calling his people to the faith God calls each of us. Our participation in the faith may not make sense to the people around us. It may not even make sense to us.
When I was given my first assignment in ministry I served as pastor of three country churches. I moved into a parsonage that was in the middle of nowhere from the city of Columbus. I shall never forget the transition. On a Friday I was general manager of a medical supply company. Saturday was moving day. On Sunday I was a preaching to complete strangers, most all of whom were farmers. I had always lived in large metropolitan cities. The whole beginning seemed absurd.
What's even more absurd is that during the next two weeks I officiated at two funerals. My career up until then had been focused on marketing, inventory control, supply management, and accounting. Now all of the sudden I was the "parson."
All of us have been called. Your role may not be as a pastor but each of you is called to some form of ministry. Paul is saying that what we do as believers may seem foolish to others. It may seem illogical or perceived by our friends as a waste of time. Saints are those like Alice, who do what they can with the gifts they have been given.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 19, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
