February 22, 2009
The morning began by a video being played with highlights from the weekend. Josh then thanked the people for putting the video together and mentioned that it would probably be on facebook in the near future. He thanked the campus ministers and staff for their hard work. He said that after the worship he wanted everyone to get together for a big group picture and make sure we clean the place before we left. Sam Houston had their worship band leading the worship. The leader of the band prayed for us. We then sang “Cannot Hide My Love” and “Beautiful”. Josh said that he would be speaking today about relationship within the church. He read from 1 Corinthians 4:1 and prayed.
Josh said that he had never really went “church shopping” until he went to seminary. He said that one church he visited while in seminary he could feel a lot of tension at. Another church he went to everyone was excited to see him and welcome him, but the worship service was (in Josh's words) awful. Josh then showed a picture on the overhead projector of a church that had a sign that said closed on Sundays. He said that sometimes the church you visit can seem that way. He showed a picture of a church with no visible way to get into the building. He said that churches can seem that way sometimes too where they are closed off to everyone. He asked “What do you look for in a church?”. Some of the different responses from the audience included a home away from home, the holy spirit, not trying to force their practices on you, and spiritual fed.
Josh said that church is not about us but about God. He said that in 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul uses a plural in writing “us”. He includes himself in their fellowship. Josh said that when you are a servant that everything is about the one you serve. He shows a picture of a servo-servant ( a robot that can do everything from cleaning the house to handling radio-active material). This is an ad from the 60's or 70's. He said that he doesn't think that is what service in the church is about being like servo-servant. He shows a picture of a signet ring. He said that a wax seal would be put on important documents and the ring imprint would be the representative that it was genuine. He talked about the particular picture he showed belong to the chief steward of Egypt. He said that there is a difference between being a servant and being a steward. A steward is not just about doing what he or she is told, but they take the initiative. Stewards are free people. Joseph has a steward to Pharaoh in the Bible. Stewards can often speak for their masters and have a personal investment in whatever they participate in.
Josh said that there is a difference then in being just a servant for God's mysteries. He said that we are not called to be stewards of money or even of doctrine but of God's mysteries. He asked how many people have played Othello. The motto of Othello is minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. Just because you know the rules doesn't mean you understand or know the game well. He said that he loves his favorite show because he wants to see how it ends. He loves the video games the most that challenge him. He said that Christianity doesn't seem that hard. You just have to repent and believe in Christ. It isn't that hard, until you try to live it out. Being a steward isn't that hard, until you try to do it. Being a steward to God is offering people hope when they are struggling or hurting. Sometime the church can seem like it is all about rules and not being good stewards.
Josh told the story of Geroni Lagui. This was a school teacher who went to theological school and went to England twice to study. He came back as a leader and was elected the bishop. He was then elected arch-bishop. He was in a country however with a ruthless dictator. The government threw a big party and the arch-bishop went so he can tell them what they are doing wrong and how they are oppressing the people. He started hearing threats from the government and is eventually sentenced and taken away to the wilderness never to be seen again. He dies in a car crash. As he looked on to his impending death, he told the people before he left to not be afraid and that he could see God's hand in this.
Josh admitted that he is not a great example of stewardship and said that we should look to people in the Bible and people in the church who are good stewards. He asked what it looks like to see stewardship in the church. Some of the answers given included more forgiveness, peace, reconciliation, putting others needs before own, and more God. Josh said that he wanted to offer a time for prayer and that God might be saying that he wants you to become a servant or he could be saying other things to us. The band came back up and softly played “I Feel Your Love O God”.
Josh then offered a time of communion and invited everyone to partake. The Great Thanksgiving was said in which the preacher says one thing and the congregation reply. It ended with the Lord's prayer and we take communion. “Let Your Glory Fall is played by the band while we take communion. Josh gave the closing prayer and we sang “He Loves Us” and “Psalm 126”. One woman said that they needed help cleaning the prayer room up and we are dismissed to take our picture and clean and go home.
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