Jan 18, 2009 Come and see
I don’t normally start a sermon with the Book of Discipline
its usually not a big attention getter
the book of discipline is our book of church laws
it’s the constitution and by laws, I suppose, of our denomination
And every four years it can be changed or revised by General Conference
I want to tell you about a couple of changes that im truly excited about
and it has to do with our membership vows
you’ve already heard me talk about some of this
when we do the membership vows
for years
we have said its about our prayers
our presence
our gifts and our service

it makes a nice four point sermon
and whenever
we have a baptism
for example
we use those words and for confirmation and joining the congregation
prayers /presence/ gifts and service
Now we have added something else
We have added witness
prayers/ presence/ gifts /service and witness
if you’re a member your going to do that
it’s a promsie ...its a requirement //I suppose
But do .you witness?
I don’t think you can get grandfathered under the old version
the new vows apply to every member
Have you been a witness?
do you know how to witness
do we have a witness as a congregation?
what is the witness..what are we talking about ?

And im going to say more about that witnessing later on

but here’s the other change that I want to highlight.
. Open up your hymnal to page 38 for example
you see that first paragraph? in the black ink
this is for people coming into the United Methodist church
it says
as members of Chrsits universal church
will you be loyal to the United Methodist church and do all in your power
to strengthen its ministries
I understand what this was trying to say
to strength and commit your self to United Methodist ministries
This is an important ministry
as United Methodist we have a great Wesleyan tradition
I We want to change individual lives and we want to change the world
and we have mission work and ministries that go around the world
we are a huge church
we do big things That I want to support
but I used to catch myself
on this loyalty part..
(Im kind touchy about that world)
Will you be loyal to the united Methodist church
loyalty is a deep word for me.
Should I be asking you asking you to be loyal to the Untied Methodist church?
I think we have one loyalty
firs t and foremost
and its not to a denomination
or an institution
as good as it might be

Im thinking that my loyalty ..our loyalty is to God
it is to Jesus Christ..
And the new wording... Makes that more clear.
Now The membership wording is
will you be loyal to Christ
through the United Methodist church// and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries
What we are about here; is not just the united Methodist church
not just park U m Church
not just an institution
this is not "I pledge allegiant to this special church club "
with my membership
this is bigger and deeper .
its about faith and spirt.! And relationship to Jesus Christ/.
And you know what ?
you already had that figured out...
Im thinking
that you’re here this morning
because This is about Jesus Christ first
you are here to be a Christian
And if we didn’t
have a Untied Methodist church
you would proabbly be a Christian
in some other church
you would probably just be somewhere else..
Because its about Jesus for you
and if you are thinking
that this is
all about the United Methodist church
and your just here because you got your membership here
..and maybe you grew up here...
maybe you been a Methodist all your life
..and you got this great Methodist family tradition

well god love you.. That’s great..
Thank you
but ..thinking deeper.
.isnt there something else going on.
Isn t about Jesus Christ.
In some ways as Methodists
we are supposed to be like John the Baptist
we have had John the Baptist in a few of the Gospel lessons lately
People kept going to John the Baptist
h’s out there saying
repent
prepare the way of the lord
but he kept pointing them to Jesus
John came to give testimony..John was a witness
he kept saying
don’t settle for me
don’t stop here
Im just the helper.
look over there
look at Jesus..
He s the one
we United Methodists in that sense should be baptists.
Let me explain that
we should be baptists .... As in John the Baptist
Pointing to Jesus.....Seeing the main point
That was his witness..
Now
whats that got to do with the membership vows..

Remember we are witnesses
as member of park United Methodist church you are a witness
we tell about something else..
we verify the truth of something.. We point out something
How do you do that..?
What do think of when I say witnessing
what’s coming to mind for you
witnessing
well maybe you’ve got some bad experiences
with that people who come to "witness" to you
Katie Schneider Bryan
our district superintendent
wrote about this in the district newsletter
she talks about non aggressive evangelism
if you’re a typical United Methodist
The idea of evangelism or witnessing Can make you kinda nervous

and people have been abused in the name of evangelism
she talks about a peanuts cartoon
Lucy is talking to her brother Linus
Lucy says
I would have made a good evangelist. ...
do you know that kid who sits behind me at school
I convinced him that my religion
is better than his religion

Linus wants to know how she did that
and she says
I hit him with my lunch box

maybe you’ve been hit by a lunch box about faith by somebody
and you don’t like it one bit


But that lunch box evangelism
that kind of witness
simply is not Christian
Is is not witnessing to jeus Christ.
. Because Jesus Chrsit. Is about love ..The Bibel says God is love
and Paul says
in I Corthns 13 love is kind
love is not arrogant or rude

love does not insist on its own way
I think we could substitute the word witness
and then say that Christian witnessing
is kind
christian witnessing
is not boastful or arrogant or rude
it does not insist on its way.
......................................
There was speaker at the a clergy retreat this week
and he talked
about sitting next to somebody on a plane
and the person next to him found out that he was a pastor
and so they got to taking about church a
and the young woman said
Im spiritual but not religious
and then she went on to talk about how
she had basically given up on the church thing
because even though we talk about love all the time in the church
She did not experience love
She felt that the people in the church didnt really want to hear her opinions
or what she believed
it was like
she just wasn’t going them right answers
or she was somehow not up to some standards
she felt treated like she was second class
she felt inadequate
so she left it.
She said
I don’t experience God there
------------
That was a milder kind of lunch box evanglism..
It didn’t work
and Im sure that the church didn’t even know it was coming across like that
makes you think..
are we really witnessing to Jesus Christ
as a spirt of welcome
a spirit of community
a Holy spirit of grace
and forgiveness and dignity ..room for differences
....when Jesus ate with the tax collectors and sinners .
when he fellowshiped with the outcasts of his day
What a sense of dignity and respect
they were being given in his presence
.they were experiencing God..
As .genuine love and attention
I hope that’s what people feel and experience from us here
and from you personally
is that your witness..personally?
Im sure we fall short but ..
at least we have the desire
seems,to me
that when we truely get it right
on this open hearts /open minds //open doors
people are going to get a good witness for Jesus Christ.
I think the membership vows are calling us to be that kind of a witness

But now let me get to the gospel lesson
because ti too is about witnessing.

its there in the words "come and see" in John 2:46
Heres the setting ; Jesus sees Phillp
and says to him ....Follow Me
and then Phillip finds Nathaniel.... and he starts talking about Jesus, he says we found the one
and hes from Nazareth...
Nazareth?
can anything good come from there.. Is that possible/
And then PHILIP says
come and see..
Or See for yourself.
Is how Eugene Peterson put it.
But come and see

Now that’s a different kind of evangelism than Lucy and the lunch box.
Call it the Phillip style of Evangelism
it s invitational and welcoming .... come and see
come and see where Jesus is
come and see what Jesus does . see who he is with
Come and see
What Jesus is teaching and preaching
come and see what is happening
And you get the idea
that philip doesnt want to keep Jesus a secret.
. He want others to come and see..
But Use your own eyes..
do your own thinking.. Bring your own questions?
Don’t just take my word for it
He wants to share The life of Jesus Chrsit
and so do we!
We want to share the power of grace and forgiveness..in all its rich variety
we want to share
the vision of the world
as God meant it to be..
A world without poverty and violence
World of compassion..and community
And prayer
And we are called to be the witnesses
that say
come and see
see what we are seeing ...because of jeus
,,but also see it for yourself

On Wednesday at our church conference
I was inviting people to think about this verse
come and see
and I asked you to think about what excites you in park church
want do you want to point too
that has touched you
what do you want people to see.
.and
Mary talked about how she has felt a welcome here
when she did not have a church..
she has felt welcomed here
and I heard about the work of the mens group
and what they have built at star lake camp..
we heard about the United Methodist women
we heard about meaningful worship..
and youth group
and the fair both.. Or bible studies
we heard about trying to get involved with the coalition to end poverty in Crow wing county.
(So do you invite people into those things also )
but again
why does that happen ..wahts the motivation/.the inspiration
Because of Jesus Christ..
Because if we did not have some love to share
or some calling to pursue
if we did not want to say yes to the holy spirit in our life
we wouldn’t be doing this..
It points to the evidence of God at work

But I do think
that we can do to a better job of saying
that this is about Jesus Chrsit
this is about God
this is about the holy spirit.. Thi is our spiritual formation work
That is our motivation....we do this because it s how God works in us..
We do it ,,,because that how we see God around us
Because anything less than that... is not enough..

.we Unite Methodists
need to be more clear as witnesses
by being able to talk about and practice the life of prayer
that moves us.
Talk about the things that inspire you..
talk abotu the bible verses that guide you
..or point you to God.
.and what
we are passionate about..
and why
and how it is ..so essential to who we are,,because it’s a God thing

Gods spirit
Is Pulling us and calling us.
Maybe we need to tell our own stories
about forgiveness or belonging..or changing our lives
and how we have hope
sometimes we have hope
that is just there
or sometimes
we have a sense of peace that passes understanding
in our souls
just because we do ..in the life of faith...
.it’s the spirit in us
(Anybody give me an amen on that .give me a witness!)
And maybe the best thing we can say is
Come and see ..
come and see for yourself

its witnessing
its evangelism.
.its pointing beyond ourselves .
.pointing to Jesus
And then finally
I think that speaking and telling our story of Jesus
..is at the heart of being a witness
we have a story to tell
we have a story that give us life
we have a story in the life and death and in the teaching of Jesus
we have Gospel
and it has a power that Just comes alive in us..
I like the Story
Martin Buber tells about his grandfather who was paralyzed
one time the grandfather
was telling a story about his famous teacher
the bell shem Tov
and so the grandfather
started telling and describing how the bel shem tov
used to jump up and down and even dance around
when he was praying
but the paralyzed grandfather
got so wrapped up
and animated in telling the story
That he himself
actually stood up
and started to dance around
to show them
just how his teacher used to do it
and from that moment on
the grandfather was cured
I don’t know what to think of that story
except to say
that we too
have a story to tel;..about our Master. Jesus
and I believe

when we tell it
with passion and enthusiasm
when we get into it
when we believe
what we preach
when we follow Jesus
it changes us
when we try to actually show somebody else
want the gospel story is about
what Jesus taught
when we start acting it out for others.
we get so caught up in it..
..we get saved
we get healed
spiritual things happen in us
come and see
how the story of Jesus enlivens us
come and see
how the story of Gods love
gets us moving
come and see
how the story of abundant life
is happening
That’s the witness that we can make in Jesus Christ
come and see,
invite others to come and see.