Sermon for May 22nd (To be Sent Out)

“And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” What would that mean if you heard it. Could you believe it? That all peoples—all peoples—would be blessed through you. You! How could that happen? Through you of all people. Well, to find that out, you need to know first how it happened once to a man named Abraham.

“The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Can you imagine God saying that to you? How do you think most people would respond, No thanks! NO thanks God! I have a home already, here. I WANT to live here. Just 299 more mortgage payments and this place is mine . . . ALL mine! No seriously, I can’t even leave for the weekend without my husband practically killing our children through neglect. And HE wouldn’t want to go even if I did. And where exactly would you take us? I mean, if you are going to fly us to Hawaii for a couple of weeks we might be able to work things out, but I’m not going to Kentucky. Nu-uh. Not down to hickville! I don’t have a gun and I’ve got all my teeth, I can’t move to Kentucky.” What would your excuse be? And what would the effect be? What about all those peoples on earth? God called Abram to leave his country in order to be a blessing to people he had never met. If he hadn’t of left, would you be here today? If God calls you and I and if we don’t go, what does that mean for the world?

(Trader video)

Let’s be honest: If God is calling us, we are going to have to trade something. That’s the definition of sacrifice and, as Christians, we are called to sacrifice. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “If you want to be my followers, deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow me.” ? That’s not what his disciples were planning on. That wasn’t the future that they had in mind. They were being asked to trade in their lives, their future, their goals and their security for something else. In Philippians we read, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” Jesus traded divine immortality for a human life of suffering, crucifixion and death. And when Jesus died on the cross, God the Father traded his wrath for forgiveness and unconditional love. What would you trade for a life of eternity with Jesus? What would you trade to give that hope of eternity to someone else?

I see a day when our community at Emmanuel is full of traders as that video put it. People who are trading in what this world sees as important for part of the vision of what God sees as important. People who are focused on “Coming in to be sent out”. Last week, I talked with you about what coming in means. It means that we aren’t just stepping into a church, we are stepping into a new kind of culture—where we expect to be confronted and inspired by God’s Word, where we care about each other in a radical new way and where we look forward to being empowered to go back out and serve our families, our communities and the entire world. But these three points are only the building blocks for our true purpose. We don’t just “come in”. We come in to be sent out. That’s what today is about.

The moment we walk into this place, we need to know—we need to know and not be confused about this important fact: this church is not our final destination. Our goal is NOT to build a bigger and better church organization here in Fontanelle. You might question me on that statement, but I hope that you’ll keep listening and catch a glimpse of what I’m talking about. When we walk into this room, we are standing in a type of Grand Central Station where God daily calls us to get on board and follow him somewhere for someone. That’s because as much as he loves you, he also loves the world and is calling on you to tell them, to show them, to experience God’s power with them, “How are they to hear, without a preacher?” Well, the answer to that rhetorical question is: they won’t hear without a preacher. They won’t be fed without a meal. They won’t believe in Jesus if they’ve never met him. You were blessed by God to be a blessing for others. We are called in to be sent out. But we always make excuses.

(Expert Video)

How many excuses do we make about not using the gifts God has given us saying, “I don’t know what to say.” Or “I’m not an expert.” Yeah, you’re not an expert. That’s why God is calling you. Saint paul says in 2nd Corinthians, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that his all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Do you understand what that verse is saying? If you were an expert, it wouldn’t work as well! God wants to use you the way you are.

In a book printed in 1987 entitled The Inviting Church, they studied new visitors to churches and why they came. Here are the results: 2% came due to advertising. 6% because of pastoral invitation. 6% because of some type of evangelistic campaign. And 86% came because a friend or relative invited them. Wow! Do you know what that means!? It means that you are the best evangelists this church has, not me, because—and get this—because you are NOT experts! How’s THAT for shaking up our way of thinking. So then, what’s my job? When it comes to evangelism, I am called to empower you to do what God is calling you to do—not to make you experts, but to teach you the basics, give you the freedom to make mistakes and motivate you to go out and do it, to try it and to trust in God every step of the way.

You have been called into this church to be sent out. We are made Christians so that we can make Christians. Some of you might talk someone into it, but most of you will LOVE someone into it. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: The fruit of an apple tree is not an apple—the fruit of an apple tree is another apple tree. The fruit of a Christian is another Christian. The fruit of a church is another church. Grandparents, you understand this. What is more fulfilling? Being a parent or watching your child become a parent? That’s when you know whether you’ve done a good job or not. You’ll only find so much meaning by coming and listening and singing each week at church. But your life will be changed when you realize that you’ve been listening and singing this whole time for the sake of making a difference in someone else’s life.

What will that look like? Well,sharing your faith doesn’t simply mean telling others about Jesus like he was some answer on an catechism exam. I believe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah and became the atoning sacrifice so that I might be justified by faith alone. Trasnlation please? Think about it. That’s what gets people so freaked out. People don’t want to hear what you think you know about God. I think God is real because the Bible says so. Or my mommy told me to believe it. Most people around here know all about the Bible, but they don’t care! They want to hear about how you know God is real. Why do you have faith? What have you experienced in your life that makes him believable for you? And then invite them to come to the place where they can experience the power of the Holy Spirit as well. Through the songs, through a healing service, through the sermon, through community, through a bible study, through a service project. Let’s look at one more video:

Video (The church and the racetrack)

Emmanuel can be a life-changing community if we just catch this: God didn’t bless you with the gift of salvation so that you could sit at church and feel better about yourselves. God’s heart yearns to save the lost and, if you believe in Jesus Christ already, you are no longer the lost! Instead, God wants to give you a new heart and a new spirit—a heart like His own. So that you will yearn to love and save the lost just like him! In Fontanelle? Yes. In Greenfield, Bridgewater, Maseena? Yeah. In Japan? Yeah. In Texas? Yeah. And to all the ends of the earth.


I believe that we, as Emmanuel Lutheran Church, have been called here for a purpose. I believe that you are all here today for a reason. You were called in here to be sent out. If you feel that this vision is not just mine, but God’s vision for this church, then I’m excited to start seeing what God does with this community. I know that a vision statement or a couple of sermons won’t really make the difference, but if you see this vision with your own eyes and feel it with your own heart, then we’ll start seeing it happen. You’ll start thinking differently, acting differently, giving differently—living out your faith with passion! I pray that through today’s service, God blesses you with the knowledge of God’s forgiveness, with inspiration and with healing. But, just like Abram, He blesses you so that you might become a blessing to others. You have been called here to be sent out. So get ready. When he calls, what will your answer be?