The Heart of the Community

I still believe that the sanctuary is the heart of the community…That sanctuary may look different these days....it is here in this place but during this pandemic it is also living rooms, kitchen’s outdoor spaces or any place we can get a signal.

No it’s not what we would have imagined even a year ago but God is able to turn any place where he and two or three others are gathered into a sanctuary. So thank you for being in the sanctuary with me this morning.

As we are going to begin a new series called conflicted. The video we watched was both cute and infuriating as we see that Linda was just not listening…however neither was the little boy…We are going to spend the next few weeks talking about how we navigate life when it seems like no one wants to listen or agree.

I was going to start off by talking about Matthew 18 and conflict resolution…but just yesterday as a matter of fact I was overcome by what I believe was the voice of the Holy Spirit saying simply...all things are possible.

All things are possible? But God have you seen Facebook feeds lately? People that have known each other for decades are cutting ties over differences of opinions….Yet I heard the words all things are possible.

I said Lord we have people that are not listening to each other and only interested in being heard…how can we move on unless we take a Matthew 18 approach to conflict resolution? I heard the words again

All things are possible…then I heard the words come from my mouth…Lord I know all things are possible BUT…I have already put a lot of work into a sermon…I really need to remind people how we as Christians need to respond during times of turmoil and strife….Then I heard the words again:

All things are possible…Then it hit me…What is needed right now is not a sermon on how to argue…or even how do deal with others…what is needed right now is to be reminded that Through the power of the Holy Spirit All things are possible.

More specific God seemed to be telling me that I needed this sermon. I needed to believe that all things are possible so that I can truly lead BA Naz to believe all things are in fact possible.

Before we can even begin to bring peace or calm in this current era we must believe what Paul said in Philippians when he said all things are possible through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4: 4-13 NLT

Philippians 4:4–13 NLT

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. 10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

As I read this passage of scripture I am reminded that the book of Philippians was not written to solve a problem that church was having…there was not infighting there was nothing that Paul was trying to correct…

It was written to both encourage and strengthen the church for the days of persecution they were experiencing from the rest of the world. Paul was reminding the Philippians that no matter what they were facing God is still God and His power is still enough.

Even though the Philippians were still doing everything right they were still in danger of being depressed and run down by everything that is going on in their world.

Does this sound familiar? I think that today I want to remind us remain focused on the Heart of Jesus...So we can continue to be the heart of our community. As we gather online or in person to worship today I want you to be reminded that no matter how tough life gets no matter how many people outside the church don’t believe, no matter how venomous the attacks we witness.... the Church of Jesus Christ is still the Heart of our community…

More specific I believe that the sanctuary on line, or in person is still provides the life blood we need to navigate this life not only to just survive but to confidently provide hope to those closest to us and those that watch us from a far.

I want to give three reasons this is true.

When we meet together in worship our ability to truly believe is augmented

What we really believe will determine what we really do.

Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4–7 NLT

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Geroge Dantzig famous mathmatician

An event in Dantzig's life became the origin of a famous story in 1939, while he was a graduate student at UC Berkeley. Near the beginning of a class for which Dantzig was late, professor Jerzy Neyman wrote two examples of famously unsolved statistics problems on the blackboard. When Dantzig arrived, he assumed that the two problems were a homework assignment and wrote them down. According to Dantzig, the problems "seemed to be a little harder than usual", but a few days later he handed in completed solutions for the two problems, still believing that they were an assignment that was overdue.

Six weeks later, Dantzig received a visit from an excited professor Neyman, who was eager to tell him that the homework problems he had solved were two of the most famous unsolved problems in statistics.

When asked if he knew these were unsolvable before he did it he said if he had known before hand they were not solvable he probably would not have even tried.

I think that many times we look at the things God is telling us and because we feel so not up to the task we justify not even engaging out of fear of failure.

When we believe that all things are possible with God’s strength our need to be right is replaced with the assurance of God’s peace.

That peace is what protects our hearts from both our own bad decisions but mostly the darts we may receive from the world.

God enhances our capacity to think optimistically

Philippians 4: 8-9

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

When we practice looking at God’s goodness in the sanctuary we are able to see in more clearly in everyday life.

I Learned early on that in order for me to have any chance of a positive out come I needed to approach any and all activity with the idea that I was going to be successful.

The sanctuary is a place we focus on Gods goodness together and allow Him to help us to meditate and discover ways to practice what he has placed in our hearts.

As we focus on all of the good things we will be able to weather any storm with optimism for the future.

We learn our God is the God of the impossible

Philippians 4: 12-13

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

When we see all that God has already done it inspires us to believe that God will continue to move.

The sanctuary may have changed a little bit but the result are the same. The sanctuary is still the heart of our community.

Practice…Make the sanctuary a place where we are reminded that All Things are possible.

Sanctuary not just a priority but essential to your life will bring an optimism and direction you never thought possible.

Communion.