Hi everyone,
Don't faint, but it is me, your friendly neighborhood pastor and blogger, signing on for a new entry in 2009. A special greeting for "Grandma Sandy" who may be the only one to actually log on to see this. I know that I have said it before, but I am going to try to post more regularly this year.
I am thinking of a short series of sermons in January and February on characteristics of the early Church. What I want to do with this take material from Acts that describes that earliest manifestation of the Church and then follow those characteristics through the history of the church to the present day.
For instance, on January 11 we will be ordaining and installing leaders, Elders and Deacons, during worship. The text for consideration that day for the sermon will be from Acts 6 recounting when Deacons were first chosen in the early Church. This method for choosing leaders in Acts is basically what we try to use today in the Presbyterian Church. They look for and choose people of stature and holiness who will be able to serve well as leaders. However, it is not the only way of chosing leaders that is exhibited in Acts. In chapter 9 we have the dramatic moment when God chose the Apostle Paul to be a leader in the Church. Wow. God sometimes chooses leaders without consulting us. As we follow this thread of leadership down through the history of the church we discover that there have been many ways leaders have been chosen. Sometimes the King or Queen chose them. Sometimes the leadership that God chose was invisible to the world until much later.
I hope this is an interesting set of sermons. I hope I can pull it off. Ideas that I have for the list of characteristics to develop are: Attention to the Apostle's teaching; Community and hospitality; Openness to new groups of people, namely Gentiles; Culture clash, how the Church has been different/separate from the world; How the Church has been Persecuted; How the Church has grown (or not).
Enough for now. See you Sunday?
Blessings,
Sandy
This is a work in progress. I would love your ideas.
About Me
- Dodger Fan
- I am pastor of Lemoore Presbyterian Church. I have been a pastor for 33 years, 14 of which have been joyfully served in Lemoore. My wife, Jeanne, and I have two adult children, Joel and Sarah. We have pretty much lost count of how many cats we feed each day. Together we love movies and theatre and music and tomatoes. I play guitar, read, and play golf. For three months a year I coach the Lemoore High Girls Golf Team. Yippee!
1 comment:
Of course you can "pull it off"! Who do you think gave you the inspiration to preach about the early church. It will be interesting to see the parallels in our own church, and to encourage us to have more similarities.
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