Broadway Christian Church ·Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship ·September 4, 2005

Prayer of the Day

Lord Jesus, you have come to us speaking your word of truth.  In worship, we hear your gracious word.  Enable us, we pray, to speak and to be your word, for the world in which we live.  Amen.

Scripture
Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” asked Jesus.  “Who do you say I am?”

Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  You are a happy man, for this has not been revealed to you by any other human being, but by my Father who is in heaven.  So I tell you.  You are now Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.  And the gates of hell, the gates of the underworld, the powers of death, shall not overcome, never hold out against, shall not destroy, shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind, forbid, prohibit on earth, will be bound, forbidden, and prohibited in heaven.  And whatever you loose, permit, and whatever doors you open on earth will be loosed, permitted, allowed, and opened in heaven.”  Then Jesus gave them strict orders, charged them, and warned them not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Message
Speak Up
Rick Frost

The other day I saw a list of phobias.  These are things people are afraid of.  And sure enough, there at the top of the list was the phobia that the vast majority of people in this culture fear the most.  Do you know what it is?  It is public speaking.  That’s exactly right.  Now, as for me, I’m afraid of copperheads, politicians, and fundamentalist extremists.  I don’t know what to call those phobias.  But I do, however, find it interesting that the majority of people in this population fear that which some of us do on a rather regular basis.

There are people who would just rather jump out of an airplane with our without a parachute than stand up in front of a group of people and give a speech.  Just the thought of it causes them to have nightmares.  They tremble all over, and it makes their knees shake.  Their clothes become soaked with perspiration.  They just can’t do it.

Then I’ve also observed that there are people who really don’t have any fear of public speaking.  It’s not a problem for them.  They stand up easily in front of a class, or a club they belong to, or they call the DJ on talk radio.  Even people who majored in speech and drama in college for whom speaking in public is not a problem whatsoever, for some reason have a problem in church.

I remember a very successful attorney in our first church.  He was a wonderful supporter of the church, which I suppose is why they made him chairman of the stewardship committee.  When it came around to the time of the year for the Every Member Commitment Campaign, he would have to stand up in front of the whole congregation and tell the people what we Christians believe about money, the management of, the stewardship of the resources of all we’ve been given.  It was not supposed to be a long speech.  It was only supposed to be a couple of minutes.  Now, what I want to remind you is this was a man who made a living, a very good living, by standing in front of judges and juries and arguing cases, some of which had millions of dollars riding on the verdict.  Yet, he found it excruciatingly painful to stand up in front of his church and give a two-minute speech.  His knees shook.  His hands would tremble.  His voice would crack. Why is that?

One of the things I love about our worship at 9:30, which doesn’t happen in the other services, is that every Sunday morning one of our people gets up and gives the offertory statement.  Sometimes they are prepared, and sometimes they’re not.  But you know what?  They do a grand job.  Yes!  They do a grand job!  Goodness gracious, John Cassels stood up today and did it.  I think they enjoy it.  But if I were to ask you today how many of you next Sunday would be willing to go out to Lenoir or to the youth meeting and give a five-minute talk at the worship service on a biblical topic of your choice, spoken from the heart, how many would be willing?  Why not?

When Jesus took his disciples out to Caesarea Philippi, he asked them for a report.  You remember.  Jesus said, “You all were out there.  You rubbed elbows with other people.  What are you picking up?  Who do all the people out there say I am?”

Immediately they reported in.  They said, “Some of them say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, and some say you are one of the prophets.”

Just like the students in the classroom.  “When did Columbus discover America?”  The hands fly up from those little fifth graders.  They know. 

“Who was the second mayor of Chicago?”  “Oh, call on me.  Call on me.”

“Explain the second law of thermodynamics and why it is under increasing scrutiny today.”  Oh!  The hands fly up at college.

And then the questions get a little tougher.  Up close and personal.  “OK.  Enough of reports,” says Jesus.  “I’m not looking for information here.  Who do you say that I am?  I don’t care what nine out of ten Americans think or believe.  Gallup will give me that information.  I can get that elsewhere.  What I want to know is what do you think about me?”

You see… that’s the thing about church.  We don’t get together just to report.  We don’t get together just to give each other information.  In church, we have to say something, and we have to say it ourselves.  I know it’s not easy for some.  I know it’s hard for some.  But you know what?  It’s important.  I don’t think you know really what you believe until you hear yourself say it.  Did you know that? 

I don’t think you really know what you think about prayer until you have been faced with a situation that you cannot control.  I don’t think you really know what you believe about the promise and hope of resurrection until you’ve been required to bury someone you love.  You see… that’s the thing about church.  It’s not just reporting in.  It’s not just sharing information. 

A teenager who goes through a rough time writes these words:

“Sometimes the stuff I’m working on is overwhelming.  It’s really hard. But amazingly, I have really begun to find myself spiritually.  I’ve never felt this way before, but I am finding there is a Spirit.  There is a trust inside of me.  It’s really there.  It’s for real, and it’s growing.  My faith is actually getting stronger.  Please continue to pray for me.”

Remember; this is a teenager speaking.

“Who do you say that I am?”

I don’t think you really know until you have to say it.  In church, you have to say something.  You have to say something yourself.  A great thing to check out in the Small Group brochure you have in your bulletin this morning is a class Kim Ryan will be leading.  It’s a class we’ve never had here before.  It’s called “Talking Faith – How to Put Beliefs into Words.”  All of us believe at some level.  It’s implied.  But how do we make it explicit?

Of course, this week, Hurricane Katrina has confronted us all with events that have shaken so many to their foundations.  Amid all the images and the verbiage that’s out there, you know, folks, we need to speak up.  We have something to say.  Do you know what it is?  I think we need to say, “You know what, folks?  Natural disasters happen.  They’ve happened before.  They are going to happen again.  It comes with the territory.”

I think we need to say that when we experience those kinds of powers, we are reminded of the incredible power of God’s creation.  There are powers in the universe that are beyond our imagining.  They are unpredictable.  They are uncontrollable.  They are unmanageable.  The Scripture says it, “The wind blows where it wills.”

I think we also need to say that the Creator of all that is does not send natural disasters to us, nor does the Creator keep them from occurring, nor does the Creator permit them in order to punish, or to educate, or to teach a lesson to somebody.  You and I know we are going to hear a lot of that in the days and weeks to come.  The doom-and-gloom mongers are out there.  Don’t be duped by them.  They are speaking.  What are we saying?

I think we also need to say we believe that God does create, and we believe that we are the created ones.  We live in that creation.  We live with that creation.  We live in spite of that creation.  We live because that’s the way it is.  And sometimes we are aware about how this creation works, and sometimes we are ignorant about how it works.  Sometimes we don’t even listen to what we know.  Indeed, sometimes we wittingly and unwittingly go about building homes, and businesses, and communities on seacoasts, and mountainsides, and beachfronts, and riverbanks, and in tornado alleys, and below sea level.  Those are decisions people make, folks, and God does not override those decisions.

So, where was God on Monday night for the folks in Alabama, in Louisiana, and Mississippi?  People are asking.  Do you have anything to say about that?  I think we need to speak up.  I believe God was in the voice that warned of danger.  I believe God was in the voice that called to evacuate.  I think God was right there with every single person in every moment of that horrific event, loving them, watching over them, caring for them, encouraging them – those who escaped and those who were saved.

I think we need to also say God was right there suffering with those who were suffering, weeping with those who were trapped and crying out, feeling the pain of those without food, or water, or power, and any place to go.  God suffers with those who suffer.  Our God does suffer, and he rejoices with those who rejoice.

We need to say God was right there keeping those who heroically stepped up, did what they could, where they were with what they had. 

I think finally we need to say that we believe that God is calling us right here this day, tomorrow, and in the weeks ahead to be God’s hands and feet, God’s heart and voice.  God wants us to do good works of compassion, as God seeks to comfort the afflicted, to wipe away the tears of those who are grieving, and offer new life, new beginnings to those who will receive them.  Can you say that?  Folks, we have something to say.  We have some work that needs to be done.  I don’t think you really know what you believe until you have to say it. 

Families are moving into this area.  New children are going to enter our schools on Tuesday morning.  Ways that we can effectively help those who need it the most are going to be made known to us.  We will do compassionate acts of service in the name of Jesus.  We are going to do that very simply because that’s what Christians do.  It’s in our spiritual DNA.  I’m confident the Spirit of the living God is going to work through many of you, and each of us is going to be given a task.

“Who do you say that I am?”

And one of them said, “You know… you are the Christ the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon.  You are a happy person.  It’s not been revealed to you by human beings, but by my Father who is in heaven.  And now, you are the rock and upon you I will build my church.  And the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it.”

Folks, I believe that, and I believe you believe that, too.  I think today, and I think tomorrow is a good day to be saying this.  I think we need to speak up.  I don’t think we really know what we believe until we have to say it. 

So… I’m going to ask you to stand and read with me together “A Disciples Affirmation.”  I invite you to take this little piece home with you.  Put it on your refrigerator.  Put it in a file, because it says a lot about what you and I actually believe – most of us Disciples.  Let’s read it together.

A Disciples Affirmation

As members of the Christian Church,

We confess that Jesus is the Christ,

            the Son of the living God.

            and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.

In Christ’s name and by his grace

            we accept our mission of witness

            and service to all people.

We rejoice in God,

            maker of heaven and earth,

            and in the covenant of love

            which binds us to God and one another.

Through baptism into Christ

            we enter into newness of life

            and are made one with the whole people of God.

In the communion of the Holy Spirit

            we are joined together in discipleship

            and in obedience to Christ.

At the table of the Lord

            we celebrate with thanksgiving

            the saving acts and presence of Christ.

Within the universal church,

            we receive the gift of ministry

            and the light of scripture.

In the bonds of Christian faith

            we yield ourselves to God

            that we may serve the One

            whose kingdom has no end.

Blessing, glory and honor

            be to God forever.

And we all say together… “Amen.”

Benediction

God of Wonder and Majesty, who do we say you are?  You are our God.  We are your people.  Let us say it; it is so.  Amen.