Bless
B.E.L.L.S. • Sermon • Submitted
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Why is it that us as Christ followers make the life that Jesus called us to live for Him so difficult?
We are starting a brand new sermon series entitled B.E.L.L.S.
Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People, authored by Michael Frost
Missional Habits: Sometimes called missional rhythms or missional practices, missional habits are those habits we foster in our lives that in turn shape our missional outlook. By missional, I mean all that we do and say that alerts others to the reign of God.
The South African missiologist David Bosch wrote, “Mission is more and different from recruitment to our brand of religion; it is the alerting of people to the universal reign of God through Christ.” In other words, mission derives from the reign of God. In that respect, the ideas of mission and Kingdom are irrevocably linked. Mission is both the announcement and the demonstration of the reign of God through Christ.
Reign: hold royal office; rule as king or queen. "Queen Elizabeth reigns over the UK"
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.
(Pic of Riverside symbol) https://images.app.goo.gl/uEvWNPDuGVNhVNVg8
The unique Raincross symbol is derived from combining a replica of the mass bell used by Father Junipero Serra, missionary priest and founder of the California Missions, and the cross to which the Navajo and Central American Indians prayed for rain. Called the "Raincross" symbol, was originally designed for the Mission Inn and given to the city by Frank Miller and has been identified with Riverside since 1907.
When you see the “Raincross” around Riverside or a bell I want you to think about incorporating one or all of the “missional habits” we will cover over the next few weeks. In forming habits they call these triggers.
A trigger is defined as an event that kicks off the automatic urge to complete a habit. Triggers are the key to forming new habits and breaking old ones. Simply put, triggers make the habit action happen. A trigger can be anything in our environment which our brains associate with a habit.
The “Raincross will remind us of Gods reign.
The B in B.E.L.L.S is: Bless
Today, Christians use the word “bless” in a variety ways. In most respects, it means to confer prosperity or happiness upon another. Even blessing someone who has just sneezed is an expression of such goodwill and a desire for continued health.
Have you ever heard someone sneeze and you said out loud to them “God Bless You”? Have you ever had anyone say back to you “no thank you”? Who does not want to be blessed?
etymology • \eh-tuh-MAH-luh-jee\ • noun. 1 : the history of a word or phrase shown by tracing its development and relationships.
I’ve heard that part of etymology of the term Bless is “to add strength to another’s arm.” Therefore, to bless another is to build them up, to fill them with the encouragement for them to increase in strength and prosperity.
(Incidentally, I know Christians often talk about “blessing God” and since it’s impossible for us to add strength to God’s arm, it seems an odd use of the term. The reason for it, though, is that the Old English word bletsian was also chosen to translate the Hebrew word brk, which meant “to bend the knee, worship, praise, invoke blessings.” An entirely appropriate reference to our relationship to God.)
So, what does it mean to add strength to another’s arm?
Anything that relieves their burden in life. Anything that helps them breathe more easily. Anything that lifts their spirit or alleviates their distress. It can be a small thing or large.
Ill: Lifting a 50lb weight.
Blessing another generally takes three different forms.
1. Blessing others with words of affirmation
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
This is the simplest way to bless someone. Send them a note, write them an email, text them. Send them some words of affirmation and encouragement. Let them know you’ve noticed something worthwhile about them.
Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”
I’ve heard it said that a word of encouragement is like oxygen to the soul. Beautiful. A word of affirmation helps our souls to breathe more easily.
Dr. Gary Chapman included words of affirmation as one of his five love languages and he describes them as verbal support to communicate love. But he goes further. He identifies the importance of empathy in blessing others with words of affirmation: “Encouragement requires empathy and seeing the world from [another’s] perspective. We must first learn what is important to [the other]. Only then can we give encouragement.
With verbal encouragement, we are trying to communicate, ‘I know. I care. I am with you. How can I help?’ We are trying to show that we believe in them and in their abilities. We are giving credit and praise.”
2. Blessing others with acts of kindness
45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Verse 45: Give to anyone who had need. - Blessing
Verse 47: Enjoying the favor of all the ppl. Greek word (charis) good will,
Who doesn’t feel blessed when someone does them a favor or provides some kind of practical support? Cutting a house bound seniors lawn. Babysitting an exhausted couple’s kids. Helping a neighbor move. These acts of kindness literally add strength to their arm. They lighten the recipient’s load. Look for ways to perform an act of kindness in someone’s life.
Have you ever read the Alcoholics Anonymous “Just For Today” card which contains nine daily promises a recovering alcoholic is required to make as part of the program.
The fifth promise is, “I will do somebody a good turn and will not get found out. If anybody knows of it, it will not count.” That’s nice, isn’t it? I’m not suggesting you have to perform secret acts of kindness like the AA program, but it’s the same principle.
Exercise your soul and bless another person by doing them a good turn this week. It will not only bless your soul, but will also provide practical assistance to another and hopefully, over time, deepen your bonds with each other.
3. Blessing others with gifts
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Vs. 38: good measure, pressed down, shaken together. Ill: 31 flavors pint packed in.
The recipient of a gift thrives on the love, thoughtfulness and effort behind the gift. A gift can show the recipient that they are known, cared for and valued. And I’m not just talking about birthday or Christmas gifts. I mean totally random gift giving.
Almost everything ever written on the subject of love indicates that at the heart of love is the spirit of giving.
A gift is a symbol of that thought. Gifts come in all sizes, colors and shapes. Some are expensive, and others are free. Some gifts are given for obvious reasons. A struggling single mother would appreciate a food basket, or the victim of some misfortune would value being cheered up. But some gifts are nothing more than expression that the recipient has been thought of.
What would happen if you, me, us “blessed” at least one member of our church and one person who is not a Christ follower yet? Each week.
This means the blessing ricochets around our church, as members are affirming, gifting and performing acts of kindness for each other. It also means church members are propelled outwards to bless unbelievers in these ways.
Just watch how unleashing a culture of blessing—words of affirmation, acts of kindness, gift giving— binds people to each other.
It has the effect of strengthening the Christian community while launching its members more deeply into the lives of outsiders. And even more than that, the simple act of blessing can have huge evangelistic impact as well.
In his book, Discover Your Mission Now!, Dave Ferguson recounts reading a doctoral thesis entitled “Blessers versus Converters.”
The researcher had looked at two teams of short-term missionaries that visited Thailand with distinctly different missional strategies.
The team referred to as the “blessers” went with the intention of simply blessing people. They saw their mission as being to bless whoever came their way in whatever practical ways they could.
On the other hand, the “converters” went with the sole intention of converting people and evangelizing everyone they encountered.
Ferguson summarized the researcher’s findings:
“First of all, they discovered that that the ‘blessers’ had a greater social impact than the ‘converters.’ This proved that the ‘blessers’ intention of blessing the people and the community around them resulted in tremendous amounts of ‘social betterment and social good.’
Good Deeds = Good Will = Good News
Secondly, and here is what was so surprising, they discovered that the ‘blessers’ also had almost 50 times as many conversions than the ‘converters!’
The ‘blessers’ were 50 times more successful at helping people find their way back to God!”
Words of Affirmation + Acts of Kindness + Gifts = Bless
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
It is far more biblical to see action as a powerful expression of the person who makes that action. Indeed, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung once said, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
Who are 2 people will you bless this week in our church? - Name / What will you do?
Who is one person that does not follow Jesus yet that you could bless this week? - Name / What will you do?
How do we: #iloveriverside - Parks and Rec. opportunity
I will make a commitment to the Lord to “bless” 3 people each week over the next 5 weeks.
(Circle on) Yes or No?
3x5=15x50=750
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.