I believe that last year’s faith and work initiative was incredibly successful. I have heard positive feedback from the leadership boards at both churches and have received encouraging remarks from many parishioners and community members at-large. I hope that we have all gained a new perspective on our own work, increased our appreciation for other jobs, and have received insight into how we can connect our Sunday worship to our Monday work, regardless of vocation. I hope that we will all continue to implement the principles we have learned and be inspired by the testimonies we have heard from each other. We will continually pray for the legislators, farmers, educators, fire/rescue personnel that we have commissioned, and we will remember to pray for people who represent other types of work in our church and community. But it is now a new year and it is time to focus on other important issues!

As we implemented last year’s vision, very quietly and under the radar, I had been seeking the Lord for a new vision for this year. And as it turned out, my trip to China in August had a more profound effect on my life than I could have imagined. It has caused me to think about the church and the world in fresh ways. Likewise, my ongoing participation in the Ockenga Fellows Program has stirred my mind and enflamed my heart. Through both of these endeavors, the Lord answered my prayer about this year’s initiative for our church community. Back in November, he crystalized some thoughts in my mind and enflamed some passions in my soul, and led me to the vision of culture, community, and civility. I have vetted this tripartite vision with our church leaders an am excited to unpack it with you today.

Therefore, this morning’s sermon will actually comprise three mini-sermons where I will establish the biblical precedent for each of these focal points and paint a picture of how our church family will engage them throughout the year.

 

Reflecting Kingdom Culture

Our first goal for 2016 is to reflect kingdom culture. By this, I mean that we will highlight the incredible diversity within the body of Christ. The kingdom of God is comprised of people from different genders, races, ethnicities, languages, cultures, and theological and socio-economic backgrounds. Here are a couple of biblical passages that emphasize this:

Galatians 3:26-29– You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Matthew 28:19-20– Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

 

The Galatians passage speaks to the fact that, as Christians, our common faith in Jesus Christ breaks down the walls that have been erected by the sinful postures of racism, sexism, and prejudice. Likewise, the Great Commission passage in Matthew 28 reminds us that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for people of all nations, not just people who look and talk like us. The Greek word translated here as “nations” is (ethne) which literally means ethnicities. The mission of the Christian church is to share the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to people of all ethnicities.

Unfortunately, the Christian church has struggled with reflecting kingdom culture. Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour of the week in America. Attitudes of cultural arrogance continue to persist in the minds and hearts of Jesus’ followers, which means that we still have a lot of work to do.

We would all do well to remember the chorus from the children’s song:

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white, they’re all precious in his sight.

Jesus love the little children of the world.

So, how can our church reflect kingdom culture? Well, it is really difficult to build a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual church in an area that is 97% white Caucasian American English speakers. This will not be our goal. Rather, we will host a series of guest speakers that represent the diversity in the kingdom of God. Throughout this year I am excited to introduce you all to my good friends:

• Jonatan Toledo, who is from the Dominican Republic and is the children’s pastor at Lion of Judah, a largely Hispanic Baptist church in Boston
• Ken Lui, a Taiwanese-American Presbyterian pastor from Brookline, MA
• Xi Yi Yao, a Chinese Missiologist at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (one of my guides for my trip to China)
• David and Feruza Krason, missionaries to the middle eastern country of Uzbekistan (Feruza is a native Uzbek and has been translating the Bible into her native language)
• Gabriel and Rebecca Boucher, from YWAM in Dunham, Quebec (Gabriel is from Quebec and Rebecca grew up in Marseille, France)

 

I trust that these friends will expand our vision of the many cultures in the kingdom of God!

 

Engage Kingdom Community

Our second goal for 2016 is to engage kingdom community. By this, I mean that we will seek to gain a better understanding and engage the human needs represented right here in our local communities. Here are a couple of Bible verses that speak to this initiative:

Proverbs 11:10– When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices.

Matthew 5:15-16– Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

The Proverbs passage highlights that fact that when God’s people engage the community, everyone is blessed. The whole village, town, or city ought to benefit from the prosperity of the righteous. On the contrary, when the wicked prosper, they keep all of the benefits to themselves, and the whole community suffers.

In the Matthew passage, Jesus reminds us that it is our Christian duty to shine our light into the world. We do not keep our good deeds for ourselves, but we share them with the community at-large so that everyone may give praise to God in heaven.

Along with our series of guest speakers from different cultures, we will also host a series of guest speakers to help us better understand the needs in our communities and how we can engage in ministry to meet them. I am thrilled to announce that we will hear from:

• Bonnie Gatchell from Route 1 Ministries in Boston, a ministry that deals with human trafficking and women who are exploited in the sex industry.
• Bob Begley from Martha’s Kitchen in St. Albans. Bob will speak to us about the issues of hunger and homelessness in our area.
• Pastors Pete and Jo Fiske from the Church at Prison, who will help us understand the needs of the incarcerated and those transitioning from prison to the community.
• DCF/NFI- They will share with us about the incredible need for foster care in our county.
• Beth Crane from Watershed Mentoring, who will present opportunities for mentoring youth
• Sheriff Bob Norris, who will help us understand issues of crime and substance abuse in our area.

I am confident that each one of these speakers will help us to be more aware and sensitive to the needs of our communities and to engage them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Practicing Kingdom Civility

And finally, our third goal for 2016 is to practice kingdom civility. The term civility means formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech. Unfortunately, civility is not very common in our society today. We seem to be living in an era where people either err on the side of oversensitive political correctness where language becomes so ambiguous it actually becomes unintelligible or an arrogant bombastic attitude that says “my freedom of speech gives me the right to say whatever I want to whomever I want whenever I want…if you don’t like it, too bad for you!”

Likewise, we are living in a time where the “us against them” mentality is pervasive in almost every discussion, whether it is religion, politics, social issues, or sports. It is fashionable to denigrate and even demonize everyone with who we disagree. We see this type of rhetoric on news shows, newspaper headlines, and even Facebook posts every day, but instead, God wants us to practice kingdom civility. Look at these two New Testament passages:

Hebrews 12:14-15– Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Romans 12:10-21– Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Allow me to conclude with a wonderful quote about civility from St. Therese of Lisieux. In her little book The Story of the Soul, she says:

Dear Lord, there is this other nun who really irritates me by whatever she says or does and I know that the devil is very much mixed up in it because “it was certainly him who made me see so many disagreeable traits in her and I didn’t want to give way to my natural dislike of her so I told myself that charity should not only be a matter of feeling but should show itself in deeds; so I set myself to do for this sister what I should do for someone that I love most dearly, so every time I met her I prayed for her and offered God all of her virtues and her merits and I’m sure that this would greatly delight you Jesus, for every artist likes to have his works praised and the divine artist is pleased when we do not halt the exterior of the sanctuary where he has chosen to dwell, but that we go inside and admire its beauty.

 

            It is my goal and hope that we will all praise the divine artist by growing in our practice of civility in 2016! I will preach a number of sermons on this important topic and I hope to have Dr. Douglas Birdsall, founder of The Civilitas Group come and speak to us about being civil in an uncivil age!

 

Conclusion

            Culture, community, and civility! I think that 2016 is going to be a good year!