"Grow in Discipleship Together"

      They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

      Friends in Christ, this morning's sermon is born of deep struggle. I have written and rewritten it more times that I would like to admit.

      I have sorely struggled with the message God may have for us this morning from the book of Acts. I am of two minds. Look at the church Luke was describing! It was all hands on deck, full tilt life-in-community! It was amazing and life changing. It was without a single doubt, God-inspired. Just look at what he says! What Luke says is so incredible that I have several reactions:

     (1) He is totally exaggerating
     (2) Luke has forgotten what it was REALLY like
     (3) He was dealing with a very small group of disciples, like maybe 12.

      I am of two minds this morning because when I hear Luke's description of this early church, I cannot help but compare us to them. I cannot help but wonder. To what extent does Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church look like, sound like, feel like, and taste like this amazing snapshot of Christ-followers? To what extent do we evidence devotion, awe, sharing, praising God, and increase of numbers?

      Over the next few weeks we will all reflect on our commitments to God. We are asked to make sacrifices of time and money. We are asked to set our priorities. We ask ourselves: "Just how much of God's time do I dare keep to myself? Just how much of God's money do I dare keep for myself?" These are crucial questions, and they are not easy to answer. Why are they so crucial? Because how we answer them will either draw us into deeper discipleship, or will draw us further into ourselves. Because when we make greater commitments to share our time, talent, and treasure, we are saying "yes" to God and "no" to the world. Because when we give extravagantly, we open ourselves to God's extravagant joy.

      Now the obvious thing to do entering into the stewardship season is to pat ourselves on the back. To cheer about all the signs and wonders being done by the good disciples of Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church. And there are plenty of signs and wonders to cheer about.

      This would be the obvious thing to do, by far the easiest thing to do, but I am afraid it is not the most faithful thing to do, because it is not the whole story of our life together. The word of God has its way of challenging us. It is always a good Word, but it is often not an easy Word.

      Some of you may remember that shortly after I arrived here in December of 2007 I became aware of our precarious financial situation and I addressed this from the pulpit. Many of you remember this, I know, because from time to time you mention it to me. What you may not recall is the scriptural context for that message. It was this: there is a division among us as members of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:10: I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no more divisions among you. . .”

      We have come a long way in our life together since that time. We are not yet up to the biblical example of selling all our possessions and sharing them, but we have made big strides.

      Luke tells us what a church looks like when people are growing in the love of the Lord. When believers are growing in discipleship, when believers are getting close to God, certain things happen. We can tell they are growing together in the love of the Lord because of what they DO. Luke says several things in this passage, but I want to highlight three.

      First of all, growing disciples learn, gather together, worship together and pray. When believers grow in discipleship, more people study the Bible, worship attendance grows, and people pray together. And not only this, people are DEVOTED to these things. They love doing them, because they receive strength and joy! When was the last time you felt JOY in your time with other believers?

      Some of you may not know I have a passion for Bible study. Because of all of the other duties which occupy me as your pastor, I have not shared this passion as consistently as I would like. Each time I do, though, I am energized and amazed at the joy which comes from spending time with others in God's Word. There is an intimacy born of shared thinking, reading, and prayer. There is the experience of drawing closer to God and to each other. This last time I taught, one of our group decided she wanted to lead a Bible study herself. She has gone on to lead a group here and to minister to another group of elderly folks in Lake Highlands. This kind of growth brings me great joy and motivates me to do more!

      The second thing Luke tells us is when people grow in discipleship, they are amazed at all the wonderful things that are going on in the community of faith. Luke uses the word "awe." When was the last time you were filled with awe at something that was happening here?

      During the leadership time vision planning over the summer, one of the things Ginger Williams asked me to do was to come up with a list of all the programs and ministries of LHPC. I spent some time on this, not only thinking of the things I knew about, but asking others as well. Even the pastor does not realize every single act of ministry going on! This list consists of nearly fifty different ministries, groups, or activities! This is awesome. This is incredible! This should awe you, and also inspire you to participate.

      The third thing Luke mentions about a church which is growing in God is that everyone is generous. Everyone. Luke uses the word "all" intentionally. Luke doesn't say "some." Luke doesn't say "50%". Luke doesn't say "only the people with comfortable incomes." Luke says all. Everyone gives, everyone shares, people even sell their property and possessions so that needs can be met. And so everyone, and all needs, are taken care of by the community. When was the last time you considered that everything you have, everything you own, every dollar you have made, is something God gave to you to share? When was the last time you turned over God's gifts so that someone else might benefit?

      There are many behind-the-scenes moments of generosity in this congregation. There are individuals and families who give above and beyond, far beyond their tithe, to share what God has entrusted them with so that others might live fairly and decently. You should know this, even though I am not at liberty to "shout it from the rooftops". Just recently over $3000 was given for some urgent pastoral care needs. The needs were identified, and the money appeared. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of a group of disciples who step forward and give sacrificially when needs are great.

      I long for everyone at LHPC to experience the joy of growing in discipleship and love of the Lord. I am convinced that the best way we can do this is to do the things Luke says the people did in the early church. Worship, pray, study, celebrate, appreciate, and give generously.

      Yes, we are living in far different times. Yes, there are a million things competing for our time and our energy and our money. Yes, we may sometimes be tired of "the work in progress" that is the church. Yes. And yet.

      I hope you are convinced that Luke was not exaggerating, and that his memory wasn't faulty. I hope by now you realize that he probably wasn't talking about just twelve disciples, but many more. I hope you can see this, if for no other reason, because you can see that it still happens here.

      I long for each and every one of you to be heart and soul of this community, this life together in God. I long for each and every one of you to find a spot where your participation opens your eyes to the signs and wonders God has in store for you. I long for each and every one of you to understand that what we are about is participating in the ongoing life of the living God. There is nothing more important. Nothing more thrilling, nothing more lasting.

      If you are just on the periphery, what is going on with you? What keeps you from taking that step from passive spectator to active member of the body? What holds you back from growing closer to God through your service and your gifts? And if you are one of the blessedly faithful people who continue to work hard at your service and ministry, I challenge you as well. I challenge you not to do more, but to communicate your joy and your commitment to others who are less involved. I challenge you to talk openly with another member about why you tithe, why you serve on the Session, why you head up a ministry team, why you deliver Meals on Wheels. I challenge you to bring someone on board. Nurture them, mentor them, help them discover what deepening discipleship brings: a sense of peace and fulfillment, a sense of purpose and care, a sense that what we are doing is the most important thing we could possibly be doing. There is nothing more thrilling, nothing more lasting. Nothing.