Building for Christmas This sermon was delivered December 3, 1989, just 18 days after an F-4 tornado had struck the city of Huntsville, Alabama killing 22 people, destroying and damaging many homes, businesses, and churches, including Faith Presbyterian where Henry was pastor.
Matthew 7:24-27 24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Hebrews 11:1, 8-12 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
What are we going to get for Christmas? This is the crisis we face every year at this time, whether we are wondering and worrying over what we will get, or wondering and worrying over what to give. I wonder if it would help lessen the tension to remember that there are some things we cannot have at Christmas, no matter how much we might want to give them or receive them. My hope is that this facing up to our limitations will help us receive with a deeper sense of gratitude and a greater feeling of pleasure the things we can give and receive at Christmas.
I will start with the most obvious. One thing we cannot have this Christmas, as a church, is most of our church building facilities. When the first flush of gratitude over lives spared has faded and even our sorrow for life lost has diminished, we face the frustration of trying to celebrate this season without the buildings we once had. A church building helps us have well organized programs and an effective ministry. If the building did not help us, there would be no need to build them. Now we must do without. We must adjust to our new limitations. But, we still have Christian community. We have a community “whose architect and builder is God.” We are a community of the spirit where the life of God is known and shared. We are a community of the spirit, not a perfect community of the spirit, but certainly close enough to know that this community was built by God. Our having to do without buildings, our efforts at repair and rebuilding will once again put us to the test. Will we continue to be a community “whose architect and builder is God”, and you and I are His instruments?
The answer hinges on one word, faith. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that everything the saints of old accomplished, they did by their faith and because of their faith. This faith is not difficult to understand. In a word faith is an inner confidence in God. It is also the decisions we make and the actions we take in response to that confidence. That confidence may call us to pitch in or stand aside trusting decisions and actions of others. That confidence may cause us to speak or to be quiet, to stand up for God’s will or to give in. We can never be completely sure what this confidence in God will require of us. Perhaps that is why Hebrews gives so many different examples of faith. But we can be sure and must be sure that it is this confidence that is moving and motivating us as we seek to be a part of this community. The Master Builder can use all sorts of people, but He relies most heavily on those who are confident in Him and therefore most responsive to His leading and His plan.
Our confidence in God comes from Heaven in His Word. Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” This is a listening that goes on beneath the surface noise, confusion, and not knowing of our lives. And if anyone doubts that, talk to some couples who have discovered how much damage they have done to their relationship because they did not listen to one another. Our faith need not be perfect. When the aging Sarah was told she was going to have a baby she laughed in disbelief. She gave God a vote of no confidence in His promise. The good news is that there can be some slippage in our confidence, but God can use us still. So let us accept our limitations and let us give thanks for what we can have this Christmas season.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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