Sermon for July 11th (A Vision of Emmanuel)

When I was a boy, my cousin Trent and I couldn’t get along. As young children, he was a jerk and I was a baby and that created a lot of tension whenever we got together. But as we started getting older, we finally found something we both enjoyed: soccer. One summer, my cousin Trenton and I stayed with my grandparents in Schleshwig, Iowa for several days. We were both just learning to play soccer. I had a book entitled: The Ultimate Soccer Book. It was a big, thick book and it had everything in it: World Cup rules, history of the game, penalties, how to correctly kick the ball off your feet, your head, your chest . . . this was indeed the ULTIMATE soccer book. I read through it and studied it so that I could be a great soccer player.

Trent on the other hand, being the little imp that he was, didn’t seem to care one lick about HOW to play soccer at all! He would just go out in the back yard and kick the ball around. He worked on dribbling the ball (he probably didn’t even KNOW that that was what it was called) and he’d try to kick it as hard as he could. And he’d run back and forth in the yard as I was reading about how to play. Everyone was waiting for the epic match.

Finally, I finished the book. The day had come. I went down, put on my shin guards, put on my special soccer shorts, opened the screen door and approached him, “Alright Trent. Wanna play?” And then I proceeded to get my cleats handed to me again and again by my little cousin. I tried out all kinds of cool techniques and chided him for not really knowing anything about the game, but he kept running past me and shooting the ball really hard into the goal. I had spent a week learning all there was to know about soccer, but he had just gone out and done it . . . and you know what? He was always better than me at that silly game.

Since I’ve come here, I’ve been waiting for inspiration about where God might be leading our community of faith here at Emmanuel. I’ve wanted to be a good leader for all of you, but I also want to be sure that I’m being a good follower of God as well. I don’t want to focus on my dreams and ideas if they are not what God wants. When people would ask me about the church’s direction or needing a vision for the future I would think to myself, “Well, yeah, that’s true. But I can’t be SURE just yet that I should say anything. I don’t KNOW for certain. I don’t have all the information just yet. I haven’t read the ULTIMATE future of Emmanuel church book . . . yet!” So I didn’t say anything. But the vision was there. I just had to go out and start kicking it around a bit.

The Holy Spirit has finally inspired me to step out in faith and share with you a vision of what the ministries here at Emmanuel might become. It’s a vision for ministry that I am passionate about because I know that God is passionate about it. When I was called here to Emmanuel, I imagined what this place could become and I’d like to share that vision with you this morning.

In the book of Thessalonians, Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, BUT test everything, hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.” Therefore, let God guide your listening and ask yourself a few questions. Is this vision biblical? Does it inspire you? Can you imagine it? I have committed this vision to God. If it’s not in his plans, I believe that it will become obvious! But if this vision takes hold of your heart and imagination as it has of mine, God will take care of any obstacles according to His will and in His time.

Finally, I know that we are not a lot of things. We are NOT Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines. We are not Willow Creek or Saddleback or the Crystal Cathedral. Those are indeed larger churches and we are smaller. I don’t envision a day where we have 1000 people at worship on a Sunday. . . we are going to look different than other churches do. This vision is not for them, it is for us, here. But we don’t need thousands of people to attend here each week in order to impact thousands of people each week! Let me paint a picture for you of what we might become. I see a day when Emmanuel is a place where we are coming in to be sent out!

Coming in to be inspired and reconnected with God’s Word and God’s people. I see a day when all members are expected to be involved in a small group, whether it’s a bible study, prayer group or service group—to be supported and grow in their walk with Christ at every stage of life. All visitors would be connected to a group from day one to build relationships and discover how God is active in their lives.

Why would you come in to this place? I see a day when you would come in to find your identity as a child of God. Not just on Sundays but every day. Any day of the week, you could come in to learn God’s laws and hear your forgiveness. The worship service would be the opening event for a week of spiritual growth where you were challenged and supported by other Christians. Jesus is the gate—not a wall to keep people out, but a gate that they might walk through. The doors to this church would not be the “gate” to this community—JESUS is the gate. We would come in to get the tools to be sent out.

I see a day when our community is:
Coming in to be empowered to serve. Everyone coming into this place would be encouraged to discover their individual spiritual gifts. It would be the job of every church leader, paid or volunteer, to help others discern their spiritual gifts, teach them how to use them, free them to use them and motivate them to use them. I see a day when our community, the body of Christ, worked like a team in mission for Christ to glorify his name and spread His message to the world. But just as we would have a purpose when coming in, we would expect to have a purpose when we were sent out.

I see a day when our community doesn’t just come in but is sent out:
Sent out to share the message of the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” I’m not just talking about being TOLD to go out and not doing it, but actually being trained to talk and expected to share the message of Jesus with others. I see people believing it was part of their identity to share this message, not to just hold onto it for themselves. Imagine if everyone who came into this place was taught to do the following four things: share the forgiveness of sins with someone, lead a person to believe in Jesus Christ, magnify the meaning of baptism with others and connect them with a church. I see a day when we care as much for the lost people of this world as God does.

I see a day when our community is::
Sent out to train, support and become leaders, pastors, and missionaries for the sake of God’s kingdom around the world. I see a day when everyone’s eyes are watchful for the gifts in those around them, so that they can encourage and support their children and their friends to become pastors or leaders of the church. I see a day when the dollars we place in the offering baskets come back to us in the face of missionaries that we have supported and the stories of people brought to Christ through our support. I see each person in this church leaving a lasting legacy for God’s kingdom with their time, money and talents.

I see a day when our community is:
Sent out for short-term and long-term missions both in America and foreign countries early and often. You’ve heard miss America contestants talk about their dreams of World Peace, fighting poverty and getting rid of homelessness. Imagine if the people here at Emmanuel were making that dream a reality with their own bare hands and sweat. Spreading the gospel of Jesus not just with words, but with actions on the behalf of others. They say that you can’t look at the world the same way after you’ve spent time in another country. I see a day when our minds and hearts are transformed by the very people we are seeking to serve.

I see a day when we see our church not as a destination, but like Grand Central Station for welcoming new Christians through the gate of Jesus, training them for the Christian life and sending them out again to share the Word with others. I see a day when we expect all the age groups in our church to be involved in this adventure, whether through writing letters to imprisoned missionaries, cleaning up after natural disasters, or taking mission trips.

I see a day when our community is:
Sent out to plant new mission start churches and to revitalize existing congregations. I see a day when we are planting a new faith community at least once every three years. What kind of impact might Emmanuel have on people in this state, on this country and in the kingdom of God if we could share the blessings we have here with people who can’t imagine finding joy at church, or can’t imagine finding a church in their area at all? Yes, OUR church is in a small town, but the world is big and growing. They say farmers feed the world—we are used to big challenges. What might we do when we use our gifts to plant the seeds of the gospel.

Finally, I see a day when our community is:
Sent out to bring God’s love and healing to thousands of people each year who are sick, disabled, scared and lost. I see a day when thousands of people in our communities, our nation and world—people who have never stepped foot inside a church building—will be blessed by one of our social ministries and know “God is with them” wherever they are and whoever they are. I see our name, Emmanuel, God with us, driving us in our mission to places we’d never step foot in before—to people we never cared about before. I see lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit? I see God using our hands and feet in service to others.

I see a day when Emmanuel is focused on changing hearts, changing lives and changing our world. We are called in to be sent out and give the message of the cross—the power of God for salvation. We are called in to be sent out and share the power of the Holy Spirit together with all people, so that the sick, the depressed and the apathetic may have life in Jesus Christ and have it abundantly! Finally, we are called in to be blessed and sent out to be a blessing—meeting peoples’ most basic needs. When a person’s belly is finally full of bread, perhaps their ears will be prepared to hear about the bread of life, their Savior, Jesus Christ.

I believe that God is calling us all to come to Him so that we can be sent out. Jesus is the gate. Do you see a day when this community of faith might look like this vision I see? If so, then according to God’s will and in God’s time it will happen. God will do it. I pray that you will join with me as I seek to follow God’s guidance in our lives together as your pastor, as your servant and as a fellow member of the body of Christ. Amen.