Creative Communication

Let us pray, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart. Be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. So today we are talking about the power of communication. This purse packs Sunday. So God throughout the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation has one story and I call that the big God story, right? It's odd story and how our story interact with each other? So, at some point, I have to acknowledge the work of Jesus and our lives. That's what these children are beginning to do this First. Holy Communion, they are beginning to say for themselves. I own my faith in Jesus. Now, we learn that through the table. That we actually receive the Forgiveness of sins because we are acknowledging. The need for Jesus. We are acknowledging the sin of our own life. Now the problem is and this is completely off script here. The problem here is is the world doesn't recognize what scent is. So if I were to ask every person in this room Define for me, what is sin? Each of us may have a different answer. Some of us may come close to what each other says butt here today, we recognize that sin is something that separates us from God and our relationship with him. That's what he recognized us to Emma Center, and I need Jesus. And I don't know about you all, but when you remember your first sin, you've ever committed, All of us as children at some point. Give me to send, maybe it's line, maybe it's, you know, telling a fib. I don't want to talk about my sunset in the back cuz he's in the room this morning, but he's five by Rickie Lee, he's five and we all send so, That's right, that's us to play Minecraft. All right. So in the scriptures this morning, we seen numerous times where our God meets the people where they are and what I mean by that story, and John for that talks about the woman at the well, right. And she's found in adultery and Jesus meets her there and forgives her and he tells her one simple thing go and sin. No more. No, it's not that she could be sent us. That wouldn't happen but she can certainly try. She could be repentant when we repent from our sins. So when we said and we were parents, we try to have a changed life. Now, let's go back to the whole big God story. So, here we are at Pentecost. Where all of God's people are able to communicate back to Genesis, to a story called the Tower of Babel, maybe at the last thing. You remember from Sunday school, where are the people of God? Tried to build a tower to reach God to be like God and what did God do? You separated them? He made them go to different lands and speak different languages. But in this story that's in and one and sense is Forgiven and they're reunited and able to communicate with each other for the first time in a long time. See, the story is fantastic. It's stunning, it spectacular. See a rush of violent, wind tongue was like fire landing on each person and again you can go back in your head. Your bulletin this morning. It's that acts chapter Sioux Passage. Allowed town of mini Galleria voices. Speaking many languages. So who has been to a place where you have heard many languages spoken? Now, for some of y'all the first time you met me, I am not from Maryland, everyone. That goes to church. Here knows I'm not from Marilyn's, right? I am from Louisiana and then we moved to Florida. So, when I think of my experience, I think of going to Disney and when I would go to Disney World, oftentimes I would hear many languages, and I didn't recognize most of them and then I would fly out of the airport in Miami International Airport and every language you could think of was being spoken. And I would think how wonderful would it be? If I could hear the conversations and I'll maybe that's eavesdropping but I would like to be able to understand all these languages being spoken. I'm quite jealous of those people that can speak 345 language is even Sue. I can just speak Spanish, I'll be happy. But Jesus, God in this story gave them that ability to communicate across cultures across people groups. And my first call to ordained Ministry which I was ordained five years ago yesterday. It's a Pentecost Sunday is such a special Sunday, it's great. It's it's the time I do confirmations and first, communions and of course ordinations because it's the gift of the Holy Spirit coming upon us as the people of God. Is he in this first call? Within my church. I had many people from Finland. The Finish. Do we have any friends here? This morning, know we had one in the last service we had Germans South Africans, Sweden's and many other countries and there was one church that was maybe I don't know 25 minutes from us and every time a person from a different country was the come to church, they would have a flag in their Fellowship Hall. Representing those countries and had over 200 flags and that one congregation say it's a true Melting Pot. But again, I don't, I can't speak the language, I don't understand them. In fact, back in the scripture, they thought it was so crazy that these people that the Holy Spirit was gifting were actually drunk it. Just unbelievable that they could speak any languages. But God was traded in the way. He invited a diverse, people group into a relationship with him. And when God speaks clearly and understandably to us and makes us easy to trust God for what he does. And Peter explains the prophecy is being fulfilled. Bird. God Spirits has been poured down on the people of God. This Spirit also provoked sauce to dream, God's dream about visioning for our future. What does that mean to vision for our future for a long time? We had a board out here that asked, what is God's vision for our future here at First Lutheran Church? Now, some of you guys, I don't know if you come, where you go to church or what not, but I hope that each of you are in communities that has a vision for Jesus, because that's all I care about. I care about reaching the loss for Jesus, right? It's not about stealing sheets from other congregations, it's about finding the sheep and this community who don't have a relationship with God and helping them find it. And I told these kids, this as well, at their first communion, we can learn all the religious lingo, and not have a relationship with Jesus. So, that's what I care about the spirit that we speak about leaves salvation to humanity. To the writing of wrongdoing and the reconciliation among the people of God, because even us Christians fight with each other. Did you guys know that? 500 denominations, at least because people can't get along with each other and then the churches don't get along and they split, right? This happens. But in fact what the holy spirit is telling us is that we can indeed be reconciled to one another that we can get along that we can each other despite our differences.

The Pentecost moments was truly a multi Boca one. The god, beams, that all of God's people that got people will hear the good news of Jesus stand. A creative way to speak to diverse people groups at the same time. Communicating, the gospel creatively. The church is called to tell of God and credible, Mercy in a multi vocal way, so that all people can hear and be safe there. Scripture that talk about how can people know the gospel if they never hear it. So, again, it's our job to tell people about Jesus and his saving work because I didn't ever hear the gospel and you're the only Christian, they may know. What do you expect? Yeah, the Holy Spirit does the hard work but God has gifted you relationships with people that don't know him. Yes, it means for us translating the gospel in two different languages in the Spanish and Mandarin and music and prayers, and liturgy that reaches across generations and cultures. It means understanding my generation. I'm a millennial if you didn't know we get a bad rep, right? All over the place, and means understanding the Baby Boomers. It means understanding the silent generation and every generation in between and we're not all that different. That was one gift. I had going to Florida and being in Ministry. There is some of your best friends are the age of your parents. So I got to know people in a way that I would have never got to know them. Tia means important cultural idioms that God's word is playing and accessible the teenagers and children. And I can tell you I thank my wife for doing this to me because every time she's like you're going over their head again because we have to be able to communicate clearly to every generation translate the gospel ended. So what sound bites because they want to know, so what you believe in God? What what does it matter? Will you be able to see tweets and texts are who got Twitter? Anybody I have one but I don't really use it or the last president use Twitter a lot. So we can certainly learn how to use Twitter and sweet and post on Facebook and share videos on Tik Tok when we need to the spread the gospel and I'm still working on the last one, even though I'm young Create a new community communication. But the creative work of the spirit is as old as time. From the moment, God spoke the world into being God has been working on creative ways to speak to humanity. so, Let's apply this for us this morning. How is God calling first Evangelical? Lutheran Church of gray, Manor.

To do just that this how is he calling us? That he multivocal in our approach to sharing the gospel know, somebody told me in between services that it's not that hard to learn Spanish. Do we have any multi, bilingual people in this room this morning? Nobody know, a little bit little bit. Think we need that. We need to be able to communicate to our neighbors Saginaw script here. One, Christmas Eve, we decided to go Christmas caroling in this mostly Trailer Park Community right by the church. Nothing wrong with that. But they were different from the average person in my congregation, so we decided we're going to go sing Christmas carols. And it was 99 probably probably ninety-nine percent Spanish, but we song and we praise God. And we taught one of our young staff members, why it was important to go do this. And I remember the people not being able to understand us but they knew we were praying for them. And that's all that mattered. We are praying for him even though we couldn't understand their name, we didn't know their situations. Now there's this thing on your phone. Google translate you can speak fluently with each other but not really then. But we were praying for them so even though there's a language barrier it doesn't stop you from being human. I mean a faithful Christian.

And I believe for us. Oftentimes it means losing our labels in order to be multivocal in order to be able to prevent the gospel message to other people. Now, as my congregation knows here. I didn't grow up Lutheran, I just happen to be a Lutheran Pastor. Now I grew up Methodist and Presbyterian and have to run all kind of different places and it was part of my life. The sun in my life was that I was trying to spread the Theology of my church more than I was trying to spread Jesus, so I repented of my send and now again for five years I've been a Lutheran pastor It's important but it's not the label that defines us. Right? What matters. The most my wife's rectum me for years. What's what matters most? Is that we love Jesus that other people know that we have a relationship with Christ. So when is Palm, and now, I'm preaching to the choir when visitors come to our church has, what is some of the first things I notice? Well, I was told within 10 minutes. I've been seter will make a judgment about your congregation that they will ever come back again. 10 minutes. All right. What are the things they look for? Is, do we have opportunities to disciple children and do we do it? Well, right, not that, we just offered a care or Child Care during service. But is it a good child care right here about our Ministries to those kids and Youth They care. What are bathrooms. Look like, right? They care about all these little things and the world is starting to develop. Now again I'm not from here so my cultural understanding may be a little different. I'm still learning. I've been here about eight months now. But the point here is before anyone comes and visits your church. Now they look you up on Facebook, they Google your website and they see any Yelp reviews, you may have. So I think it keeps us accountable and makes the church move forward and Thrive. And this is every Church in America. So, we have to, and some ways lose our identity to Jesus. Our identity is in Christ, in Christ alone and him crucified

And this morning, we will do some of this. We will announce The Gather in our worship service, the Apostles Creed. That's all of us may have grown up with that. Some of us may I'm not I consider myself to be a CREDO Christian and so what that means is we share in common no matter what kind of church you grew up in those things of the Apostles Creed I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he he was crucified under Pontius Pilate all facts of the faith. Because Christ is our identity crisis who were trying to communicate too, and that's how we become multifocal to engage our community and such a time. As this about spreading the gospel message and our church was already doing this through our financial support of various Ministries. And before covid, I understand we were Hands-On Ministries in the community more. So than now assume we have multiple families that are wanting to help with food insecurity in this community. So if you are a visitor this morning and you want to help with food insecurity because our people and Dundalk and gray Manor, and I'm sure in the surrounding areas that don't know where their next meal is going to come from. And I know I'm hitting this like 10 times right now, but it is so important. So we have a house here next door, that is known as the storage house, and it's mostly then a storage house, but we're going to start using it for Ministry, Jen's our new property chair, Nothing she did is we got to work group together and I think it was like three or four Saturdays ago and we cleared that front room out and we're going to put some shelving and whatnot in there and we're going to start a Ministry and what my hope is that is found in Christ. The only desire is to feed the children of God in this community and it doesn't matter what church you belong to see if you want to be a part of that. Send me an email, my emails in the Bolton and I love to connect with you. But we have a three-fold vision, I've kind of started here and it is Faith, Family and Future. Faith is that we care about our relationship with Jesus family is that we want to acquit, parents, grandparents, and uncles cousins, whatever to build up. These young people in Christ and also to build up baby Christians, because you can be 99 years old and be a baby Christian, right? You just now understood what Jesus says for your own life. We want to be able to share with our faith and our local church in this community to create disciples. So let's think about it and we are a Lutheran Church 1534 Martin Luther translate the Bible into German. So for the first time in the history of the church the common person that's all of us. Me to could understand the word of God and their own language 1534. K 1500 years or more people didn't understand. They had to go to the pastor or the priest to understand the word. Now, we have an app on our phone and every single person can access the word of God for themself. If you don't have a smartphone, you don't have a Bible. This morning, I will find you a Bible and give it to you. There's got to be one around here somewhere.

That is what we have to do. We have to translate the word of God for future generations to understand. Did the word of God becomes more than a history book, but a living breathing book, The transpires, All Space, all time, because God is the find in the word. That we can live out the Great Commission, the fine for us here and Acts including all languages and all other aspects. I believe that sometimes churches lose their focus, they lose their focus and we care about, I don't know numbers of people in the pews things like this. but what I care about, Is getting back to the primary focus here. To communicate the word of God with people. So regardless, if you come to our church and you speak German, Greek Hebrew, whatever, somehow we will give you the word of God for your life. so here in closing this morning, we're going to ponder this together. We Are The Church of called primarily to build disciples and meet people where they are. We are called as the people of God to be multivocal using multiple platforms to get our message across right now, we're doing that two ways. We're here on Sunday mornings and we try our best to put it online, and we need to find even more ways to reach people for Jesus. We are called to reach people of all ages races, and nationalities exedra. And we are called to love all of God's creation to love him and trust him no matter what. Do we have some translating to do? The people of God so that all will know God's love for them and that we as the church can bear witness to the one truth. And that is that Jesus Christ loves you and dies died for you. Let us pray. Oh, mighty God, we thank you for your holy word. God your word throughout the Book of Acts this morning. God that you were creative and communicating with us. The truth found in your word. So got all of God's people. Better in the sanctuary this morning. God, regardless of who they are, or where they go to church, God that you use them for your word, for your Truth, For Your Love, to be shared throughout the world. We love you and praise you Christ name, amen.