Sunday was a pretty amazing service, with confirmation, communion, a fellowship meal, games and a display of two historical quilts: one from 1913 and one from 1980. It is amazing when you think about the history of a congregation, and even more amazing, when you think of the long history of the Christian Church. With that in mind, I was trying in this sermon to talk about mission in relationship to The Gospel of Matthew 10:40-42:
‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
The situation of Mission has totally changed from a dominant Christian culture to a minority one. A study a book by Tom Clegg and Warren Bird called Lost in America states that the un-Churched population of the US is so great that if it were a country it would be the fifth largest country in the world. While that may sound terrible and is troubling for church leaders, I have tried to make the argument here that we are in a similar situation to Biblical times, with the faith being a minority culture. And that, of itself, should spur us to action and ultimately to hope. For the sermon, click here:
Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ 