Why It Will Be Worth It All
Sermon Series on Teamwork 5 of 5
August 22, 2004
Philippians 3:8
12th Sunday after Pentecost
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
back to our church home page
I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:8
I’ve been preaching on the subject of teamwork.
Teamwork doesn’t just happen spontaneously.
It takes effort and determination.
The word teamwork
describes how we do ministry in this church.
We are in this together.
We are a powerful force
and we serve the Lord Jesus Christ as a team.
I’m not saying teamwork is easy.
If fact, the opposite is true.
It is difficult for us to learn new patterns.
There are a lot of things
that I’d rather do on my own,
because
“if you want something done right” ....
“Do it yourself.”
Dear ones,
hear the word of the Lord.
Jesus Christ wants us to work together.
He designed us to be effective and successful
ONLY WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER.
Here is the main point of my sermon:
It is worth it.
When we pay the price,
love each other,
think like a team,
cherish our vision,
work on our goals,
sacrifice together for Jesus,
give up our positions of authority
give up what makes us comfortable
give up our concept of what a church is
and embrace what God says the church is
THEN we will see miracles,
grace,
& new life.
And IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL.
In Matthew 13:44 Jesus said
“The kingdom of heaven
is like treasure hidden in a field.
When a man found it, he hid it again,
and then in his joy went and sold all he had
and bought that field.”
We found the treasure.
It is men and women, boys and girls,
who don’t know Jesus.
We are surrounded by those people.
They are in Warwick.
They are in Galena.
They are in Gregg Neck and Cecilton
Ginns Corner, and Sassafras,
Gentle Winds and Shorewood Estates,
Old Telegraph Road and Bradford Johnson Road.
Dear ones,
when we let the Holy Spirit fill this church,
sinners give us joy,
because we know they are in for a treat.
Because sinners are so precious to God,
we have the honor and the privilege
of selling everything we have
in order to reach them.
What do we need to sell?
We need to have a yard-sale
and get rid of a few things.
Here is a box.
Let’s put some old things we don’t need
in this box for the yard-sale.
1) Item # ONE a pillow
This pillow represents the idea
that this church
is here to make us comfortable.
The truth is,
the church is here
to challenge and equip us for service.
On June 7, 2004
the Administrative Board of Olivet Church
voted to approve our mission statement.
Here it is.
The mission of Olivet United Methodist Church is
to empower Christians to be
disciples of Jesus Christ.
We will accomplish this through prayer,
and by sharing the love and Word of God,
so that people will develop
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
and have eternal life.
Now did you hear anything in that mission statement
about pillows or comfort?
It didn’t mention luxury, relaxation, or convenience.
It talked about making disciples for Jesus Christ.
2) Item # TWO a model of a small church
Here is another item for the yardsale:
This decorative item represents the idea
that Mt Olivet / Olivet
is a small church.
Our church isn’t small.
We are part of the Body of Christ.
We are connected, gifted, united,
empowered, armored, and commissioned.
In Matthew 16:18
Jesus said that the gates of hell
cannot withstand the church.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4
the Bible says
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,
they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive
every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
It’s not easy to give up
our ideas or viewpoints.
But we have a treasure to buy
and we aren’t worried about
selling our old stuff
because what we are about to receive
is worth the price.
3) Item # THREE Lone Ranger doll & horse
Here is another idea that
needs to go in the yardsale:
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger says “I can do this by myself”.
On Monday, August 16, I went to the post office
and while I was there
Steve Schaech walked up and said
that he was ready to help us
pull up the bushes around the Sunday School.
I said “Let’s do it!”
He brought his tractor over
and we started to work.
The roots from those plants
were tough.
Several times the tractor was up on two wheels.
We had to dig, and chop, around the bushes.
Finally, the old plants came out,
and there was suddenly
a lot more room for children to run and play.
But the job wasn’t over yet.
I called Walter and Myrtle Cahall
and asked them to bring
their farm truck
so we could haul the bushes to the dump.
Then we went over to see
Gene Turner
and he brought a big Massey Ferguson tractor
with forks
and picked up the plants
and filled up the farm truck.
Looking back on that experience
I realize
I probably couldn’t have done that alone.
I probably would have hurt my back.
It took four families
two tractors and a farm truck
to accomplish the project,
and it still isn’t done.
We need someone to buy grass seed
and spread it around.
The Lone Ranger thing doesn’t work here.
This is a place where
intentional teamwork
brings people together.
Dear ones,
I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father, we believe in your goodness.
We believe that all of our problems, sorrows, and failures
will be explained to us one day. We don’t understand them now,
and we certainly don’t like them. But we believe that you have already set aside
a day in our future when our discomforts will make sense.
We will see Jesus, and it will be worth it all.
In the mean time, Lord, keep us safe. Don’t let trouble or hardship
steal our joy. Make us into a people who are empowered by gratitude and
determination. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.