I’ve said it many times – “Though Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever – the church isn’t!” I read an article recently that mentioned how churches are declining in attendance – and though there are a number of reasons – the one that stood out to me was ‘relevancy’. Are worship services relevant to the people that attend? This brings up that great conundrum – do people come to worship for what they get out of it – or do they come so they can be invigorated to give out to others? The best answer to that question is probably ‘BOTH’! Sermons need to be relevant to our lives – but more important, living the Gospel needs to make our lives more like Jesus in our world. So – the question is the same as I mentioned in church on May 26th – WHY DO YOU COME TO CHURCH?
As we enter June – and recognize our graduates, our fathers (On Father’s Day) and our children (through our Vacation Bible School) – I wonder how we – THE CHURCH – are putting the Apostle Paul’s words above into action – and thereby becoming more RELEVANT? Right before the words from the passage I included – Paul talks about becoming like others – to the Jews, like a Jew; to those without the law, like one without the law; to the weak, weak – and so on. The purpose was the same though – THAT, THROUGH HIM, GOD MIGHT SAVE SOME PEOPLE! My question is how do we become like the Graduating Seniors that we can encourage them as the step out into college OR working 0R the military? How do we become like fathers that we can encourage them as single or divorced father OR dealing with troubled children OR dealing with their own trials and tribulations as parents? How do we become like VBS children that we can encourage them to hear and encounter Jesus’ love OR to realize that they are valuable and important OR that they can witness to God’s love to adults? How do we become ‘every sort of servant there is’ in our attempts to lead those we meet into a God-saved life (Salvation)?
Two secrets from these two verses! FIRST, don’t just talk about the Good News – BE IN ON IT! Make the Good News of the Gospel a part of who you are! In other words – LIVE IT! People are more likely to turn to Jesus – no matter their age – if they see how you live for Jesus. We aren’t perfect – and we will fail at times – but we do our best to shine out the Good News of Jesus in our lives – and mostly not with words!
SECOND is the word ‘SERVANT’ from our passage. The MESSAGE version is the only one (I think) that uses the word servant in its translation. Most read something like: “I have become all things to all people so that they might be saved”. But I like the idea of becoming a ‘servant’ to others. What better way to lead them to Jesus than by meeting their needs; showing them love; affirming them; helping them with their struggles; putting on their shoes as you try and understand where they are coming from and what is going on in their lives – right after you wash their feet! You could say, becoming ‘relevant’ to them! Isn’t that what Jesus did?
Let’s make Summit RELEVANT as we continue to seek ways to help others experience the Gospel. It doesn’t matter who it is – just try and put yourself in their shoes. I’m going to try and work on my relevancy as a person first – and as a minister (which by the way, ‘minster’ is best translated as ‘servant’ in the Greek!) How about you? See you in church!
In Jesus’ Love – Pastor Dan