Rev. Rich Knight

I John 4:7-21

Sermon Series - “What the World Needs (and we’re called to offer!)”

1. Peace Makers - “Blessed are the Peacemakers - The Sons and Daughters of God”

It’s God’s peace we seek to share, peace that comes from being in a relationship with God through Christ, peace we seek to live in and embody, share and spread.

Prayer of St. Francis - Make me a channel of Thy Peace. Seek first to understand

There are so many dimensions to peace - Peace with God, peace with one another, peace in the world, peace with justice, ministries that promote Shalom - wholeness

2. Hebrew Mid-wives

The World needs people who will get involved with the critical issues of their day and do what is right. And with little or no fanfare at all the Hebrew mid-wives saved the Israelites. - Shiphrah & Puah

Imagine if a few of the Duke Lacrosse players had said - “You know this is wrong. This is wrong guys. We need to end this.”

Imagine if a guard in the Abu Nagrabe prison had done the same thing when the denigration of the prisoners began. Sometimes that’s all it takes - one or two people doing the right thing, to turn things around.

3. Last Sunday - The World needs God.

People need the Lord. People need faith and the church. And we’re called to invite them to come along. ‘Hey, Joe, I’d like to invite you to my church this Sunday.” We’re called to lead others to faith in Christ - humbly, exposing our faith not imposing it, invitationally.

4. “What the World needs now is Love, Sweet, Love”

Let's Read I John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

   
1. We start with one another.

We might be tempted to focus on those out there, those we’ll see tomorrow - instead of those we meet with today “Sisters and brothers, let us love one another.” Galatians 6 - “Let us do good for all people, especially those who are of the household of faith.” We tend to take for granted those closest to us.

A former professor of mine, Dr. Nelvin Vos wrote a book entitled Seven Days a Week, about applying our faith to all the areas of our lives. One day he was working hard on a chapter and his children really wanted to play with him. He was focused on how much he wanted to get written that day. They persisted. Finally he lost his cool and shouted, - “Not now boys!!” Dr. Vos then looked down and realized that the chapter he was writing was entitled, “Love within the family.”

Here are some other directives from scripture:

A. Hebrews 13 - “Encourage one another daily” Be an encourager!

Two meanings - Give praise and compliments. Build up someone's spirit. Mark Twain said “I can live for 2 weeks on a good compliment.”

Growing up a Friend of mine’s father was a little on the harsh side. When I would see him I noticed I would brace myself, tighten up my shoulders and muscles because I was about to be, jabbed, teased, put down. Don’t you want to be the kind of person that people enjoy see coming into the room? - not bracing themselves for an attack but rather expecting something positive

Philippians 4 - “Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, if there is any excellent, anything worthy of praise - think about these things.” Be a person of positive energy - an encourager - Catch people doing something right and tell them!

2. The second meaning of encouragement is to instill courage.

Our Custodian at Seminary gave me great courage when my Mother was dying. He used to say to me, “Rich, just remember something, I’m in your corner.” It doesn’t take a lot sometimes. Notes, cards, calls, visits - all mean the world to people.

B. Be a great listener!

James 1 - “Be slow to speak & quick to listen”

Quote - “A friend stopped by to see me in my distress. He shared words of wisdom with me and reminded me of the great truths of our faith, but I found his visit tiring and not what I needed. Another friend came and simply listened to me, saying almost nothing, and I hated to see him go.”

C. Be a Bridge Builder

We live in a fractured society

- Liberal Democrats and Right Wing Republicans?
- Conservatives and Liberals?
- Pro-Lifers and Pro-Choicers?
- For the war or Against it?

It is hard to even talk about these things sometimes. The world needs people who can talk about the issues in a civil way. Can we find common ground? Can we work together? Can we compromise? Can we bring people together and not tear them apart?

I Peter says, “You are a royal priesthood.”

Priest = a Bridge
- a bridge between God and humanity, but also
- a bridge between people

Fred Craddock’s Mother always took him to church. Their father stayed home. “The church doesn’t care about me. I know what they want - another name, another member, another pledge, another dollar.” The Pastor invited him when an Evangelist came to town - same reply - When his father was dying a strange thing happened. He had cancer, he weighed 73 pounds. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t eat. In his room there were plants, cut flowers, and a stack of cards 20 inches deep. Every card, plant, flower was from someone in the church He took a piece of paper and wrote a line from Shakespeare “In this harsh world, draw your breath in pain to tell my story?” “What’s your story, Daddy?” Fred Craddock said to his father. And his father wrote on a piece of paper - “I was wrong.”

Amen.