I believe that God gives us our local church as a gift – to strengthen us and to support us in our Christian lives. And with the influence of the world all around us and the weakness of our flesh – I also believe that it is difficult, if not impossible, to be a healthy, growing Christian without being a part.
But your local church, Cedar Street, also needs you so that we can be strong and effective as a Christian community. And so I want us to look today at some things you can do, or can continue to do, to support our congregation.
Now I was sick all week. So I will share what I have and then ask for your input at the end.
1. Come regularly
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
When we meet together we are able to make each other stronger. We grow in our faith together by stirring each other up and encouraging one other, as the Scripture says. When we don’t, these things don’t happen to the same degree.
So you need to take this into consideration for the sake of your own Christian growth. But also for the sake of the effectiveness of our congregation. When you aren’t here, you aren’t able to encourage and stir others up. The congregation isn’t all that it can be. Sharing fellowship is a powerful thing. We draw strength from each other. And this requires coming.
So we need to consider how we prioritize our weekends. Is church the first thing we cut, when it’s been a long week or if we have plans for the weekend??
2. Invite others to come
In Luke 14 Jesus tells a parable about how a man invited many to come to his feast. But most, those whose lives were busy and going well, didn’t want to come.
And so the man told his servants, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” (Luke 14:21). But there was still room, so he said, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23).
The man, who represents God, wants his house to be full. He sent out three different invitations.
- And just as in the parable, God wants people to be a part of what he is doing in the kingdom of God and with his people, the church.
- And just as in the parable, we, his servants, are to invite people to come, so that his house can be full.
And this is the primary way that we will grow and reach out, as we have seen before. It happens when you invite others to be a part.
3. Pray for our congregation
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul talks about “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . ..”
And in the same way, we need to pray for each other and for our leaders and the vision of our congregation. We need to pray for our ministries and for renewal.
Don’t assume or take for granted that someone else is praying. You know, the pastor is paid to do this. No! You pray also. It’s about all of us imploring God for him to do a great thing in this place for his name’s sake.
Can we really expect to grow in our faithfulness and effectiveness without this? I don’t know about you, but I want God to do something special here, that goes beyond the weekly routine; that makes the kingdom of God a reality in our midst in a new and powerful way.
4. Give of your finances
If someone were to ask me, “How much should I give?” I would tell them that I don’t think there’s a set amount for giving in the New Testament. The tithe of 10 percent is a good place to start with a goal of being even more radically generous. (Most people end with the tithe, but it’s better seen as a place to start). As our faith grows and we see that God does indeed keep his promises to us to take care of our needs when we give, then we can step out and give more.
Scripturally, we are to give to those who minister the word to us.
Paul says, “the laborer deserves to be paid” – 1 Timothy 5:18; Matthew 10:10.
This is applied to pastors and missionaries.
And we are to give to help the poor among us.
Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy” – Luke 12:33.
When you have more than you need (that is, shelter, food and clothing) give to those who have needs. First give to the needs in our congregation and fellow Christians. Then also give beyond this to any who lack.
And practically speaking, whatever else we commit to, like a building, electricity and water – we need to give to cover these expenses as well.
5. Use your gifts to minister
1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Each of us have a gift from God. Find out what God has blessed you with in terms of spiritual gifts and also natural abilities. And use these to strengthen our body and to minister to people’s needs.
And, given the experience I have as a pastor I would say also – do this in a way that builds up the body, working with the leaders and others. Not in a way that focuses on yourself or brings division to the congregation. And also, listen to counsel when it comes to discerning what your true gifts are. Sometimes we need input to know what our gifts are and what they are not. Someone might think they are musically gifted, but in fact are not. And they need to be told this in a kind way. And someone might have a gift of encouragement, but isn’t aware of it or doesn’t have enough self-confidence to use it. And so we need to give them a boost to step out.
The bigger point is that each of us need to move from being one who is primarily ministered to, to being one who ministers to others. This is what growing and maturity is all about. It’s time to grow up! You can’t be spoon fed your whole Christian life. Move from being just a receiver to being a giver.
6. Help out wherever needed
I looked for a text for this and came up with
Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might . . ..”
There are lots of things “to do” that could use your focus and might in a congregation. And much of it doesn’t require a special gift, or special training, or a special calling. Some things just need to be done, like keeping up the grounds, fixing things and cleaning up.
Or to go in a different direction, you say your gift isn’t evangelism, but you can come Christmas caroling or help hand out invitations for church events. You feel your gift isn’t being up in front of people, but you can teach a children’s Sunday School class.
All of us need to work, in whatever way we can, for our community to be vibrant and healthy.
7. Work through relationship difficulties
Personality conflicts, disagreements, misunderstandings – these are normal in any human relations. And we also often fail one another.
- Being Christians doesn’t mean these things will never happen.
- What makes us Christian is that we care enough to work through things in a loving way.
In Mark 9:50 Jesus said, “Be at peace with one another.”
He knew we would need to work at this. And he doesn’t mean fake peace – where you just pretend things are OK and sweep things under the rug. He means working through things so there is reconciliation.
For instance in Matthew 18:15 Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.”
He is saying, don’t pretend, but deal with things. We need to work things out in love, because without healthy relationships with each other we become weak and easily divided.
We don’t all need to be “best friends,” but we need to get along with each other so we can do the work of the kingdom together.
8. Have the same attitude as Jesus
Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
He goes on to say that we are to have the same attitude as Jesus, who became our servant and sacrificed for us. Even though he was the Lord of all things, he humbled himself to serve us.
So it’s not about me – or you, so that we might ask:
- Why am I not being recognized for all I do??
- Why doesn’t the church do things the way I want them done?? You know, the right way.
- Why aren’t my needs being met??
- Why aren’t people giving me enough attention??
We have to set aside our self-centeredness and care about others. We need to ask, “How can I help?” or “How can I give to someone’s needs?” It’s not about getting what I want. It’s about what I can give to others. As Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life . . ..” In the same way, we need to lay down our lives for each other.
William Higgins
Christian teaching 