Keep Spreading God's Hope
Farewell from UC Montbello • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsFinal Sermon as Pastor of the United Church of Montbello
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May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
THOUGH HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED FOR THE IMPRESSIONIST MASTERPIECES HIS PAINTING BRUSH PUT
TO OILS AND FOR THE SEVERE DEPRESSION AND POVERTY THAT LED TO THE TAKING OF HIS OWN LIFE.....SOME
MAY FORGET THE GREAT ARTIST VINCENT VAN GOGH ALSO SPENT TIME AS A PROTESTANT MISSIONARY SEEKING
TO SPREAD THE LOVE OF GOD WE KNOW, THE PEACE OF CHRIST THAT SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING AND THE
ENCOURAGEMENT THAT COMES WHEN SOMEONE DESIRES TO LEAVE A PLACE THEY CALLED HOME TO JOURNEY
WITH PEOPLE THEY MAY HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE, PEOPLE WHOSE LOVE THEY WILL COME TO DEPEND ON AND
HOPE FOR, TO NURTURE AND TO TRY TO HELP DEEPEN......
IT WAS THIS SAME VINCENT VAN GOGH WHO ONCE FAMOUSLY SAID:
GREAT THINGS ARE NOT DONE BY IMPULSE, BUT BY A SERIES OF SMALL THINGS BROUGHT TOGETHER.
ONE MONTH AGO, BELOVEDS, I STOOD BEFORE YOU TO PREACH PART 1 OF THIS FAREWELL 2-PART SERIES....I
PREACHED ON THE THEME, “GOOD EQUIPMENT” BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT TOGETHER, ALL TOGETHER, GOD HAS
GIFTED THIS CONGREGATION WITH GOOD EQUIPMENT, TO DO GOOD WORK, TO DREAM GREAT DREAMS, TO
ACHIEVE OUTSTANDING THINGS......WE TURNED TO ANOTHER OF PAUL’S BEAUTIFUL PRAYERS OF BENEDICTION IN
1 THESSALONIANS 5:23
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I TOLD YOU THEN AND WANT TO RE-EMPHASIZE IT THIS MORNING:
IT IS THIS BOND OF PEACE THAT I HOPE TO LEAVE WITH YOU…THAT I PRAY WILL ABIDE WITH YOU AND YOURS
THROUGH THIS TIME OF TRANSITION AND ON INTO ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIVES.....
The writer of Hebrews used a Greek word for “peace,” with its Hebrew roots of shalom to refer
to every benefit that our Lord can give: physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally — everything!
MY HOPE BELOVEDS, IS THAT GOD WILL BLESS YOU WITH EVERYTHING OUR GOOD LORD CAN GIVE YOU,
PHYSICALLY, SPIRITUALLY, MENTALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY.....
WE CAN’T GET TO THAT PEACE, TO THAT SHALOM, WITHOUT HOPE....AMEN?
EASTON’S BIBLE DICTIONARY TEACHES:
“Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity (1 Pet. 3:15; Heb. 10:23). In it the whole glory of the Christian vocation is centred
HOPE, ONE WRITER WROTE, IS GRIEF’S BEST MUSIC........
HOPE, ANOTHER WRITER WROTE, IS THE FEELING THAT YOU WILL SUCCEED TOMORROW IN WHAT YOU FAILED AT
TODAY.......
AND WHO CAN FORGET THAT FAMOUS LATIN PROVERB THAT SAYS: “WHILE THERE IS LIFE THERE IS HOPE......”
MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS, THE HYMN WRITER WROTE, THAN JESUS’ BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, I
DARE NOT TRUST THIS EARTHLY FRAME BUT WHOLLY LEAN ON JESUS’ NAME ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND,
ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND, ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND........
NO ONE STOP HOPE
NO ONE STOP HOPE
BUT THERE ARE BELIEVERS TODAY, BELOVEDS, WHO BELIEVE THAT SOMEHOW IF THEY CAN FIND ONE PLACE, ONE
STOP, ONE LOCALE WHERE THEIR HOPE IS RENEWED ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS GO THERE......SOME FOLKS HOPE
ON SPORTS TEAMS....I’M ONE OF THEM, HOW ABOUT YOU? THAT HOPE WORKS UNTIL THE TEAM DECIDES TO
REBUILD, OR TO TRADE OUR FAVORITE PLAYER, OR TO STOP SPENDING ON BUILDING A GREAT QUALITY TEAM, OR
A DEVASTATING INJURY TO A PLAYER........OTHER FOLKS FIND HOPE IN FINDING A RESTAURANT OR FAVORITE
PLACE TO EAT AND FOR AWHILE IT’S GREAT ORDERING THE SAME DISH EVERY TIME YOU GO IN AND THAT HOPE
WORKS UNTIL THE GREAT CHEF WHO RUNS THE KITCHEN MOVES ON TO ANOTHER RESTAURANT, OR ANOTHER
CITY OR TOWN.......
STILL OTHERS FIND HOPE IN A GROUP OF FRIENDS THEY GATHER WITH REGULARLY.....AND THAT CAN BE GREAT
FOR AWHILE UNTIL DRAMA ENTERS THE PICTURE......AMEN…CONSIDER ALL THE HOUSEWIVES SHOWS ON TV…
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES....ARE THEY FRIENDS? THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY, OF BEVERLY HILLS, OF
POTOMAC.....ARE THEY FRIENDS, BELOVEDS, THE WOMEN ON MARRIED TO MEDICINE......THE MEN AND OR WOMEN
WHO APPEARED ON THE SHOW, SURVIVOR....ALL THOSE YEARS ON TV.......DRAMA, WHEN DRAMA ENTERS IN, IT
SEEMS HOPE CAN BE CRUSHED RATHER THAN KEPT.....AMEN?
300 Illustrations for Preachers Looking for Hope in the Lottery
When times are tough, people begin to look anywhere for relief. Apparently, many Americans are looking toward state lotteries. “Twenty-five of 42 states with lotteries have experienced higher sales of scratch-off and daily lottery games since July 2008, according to Scientific Games.” We are gambling millions of dollars on the hope that we can hit the jackpot and end our financial concerns.
While we may grasp at many solutions for help in times of need, we should remember that our only real hope is in the Lord.
THE KEY IS SPREADING HOPE ALWAYS
THE KEY IS SPREADING HOPE ALWAYS
A KEY TO FINDING HOPE IS COMMITTING TO SPREADING HOPE......THIS MORNING, I’VE BROUGHT YOU A
REMINDER
FROM MY CHILDHOOD KITCHEN TABLE, A REMINDER ON THE KITCHEN TABLE OF ONE OF THE PRIMARY ACTORS IN
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME.....LAST MONTH, WHEN I BEGAN ON PART 1 OF THIS SERIES GOD GAVE
ME THE GIFT OF TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES DECIDING TO HONOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH A SHOWING OF
THAT CLASSIC MOVIE, SET IN MY HOMETOWN OF CHICAGO, THAT CLASSIC MOVIE THAT HELPED SHAPE A VIEW OF
HOW TO GRIEVE WHEN WE MOVE FROM ONE STAGE OF LIFE TO THE NEXT AND WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO
REMEMBER AND NOT FORGET.......THE GROUP OF AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUNG MEN WHO MADE UP THE TITLE
CHARACTERS HAD NAMES LIKE CO-CHEESE AND PREACH AND POOTER AND TYRONE AND DAMON…AND BEFORE
WE GET TO THE SCENE IN THE MOVIE, COOLEY HIGH, WHERE CO-CHEESE IS MERCILESSLY KILLED....AND THE
MOTOWN TRACK BEGINS TO PLAY THE SONG OF ALL SONGS, “IT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY”
PREACH SAT AT THE KITCHEN TABLE AND MADE HIS PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH.....AND THE JAR HE
HAD IS THE JAR I BROUGHT WITH ME TODAY, SMUCKERS....GRAPE JELLY.....THE BEST JELLY FLAVOR OF ALL TIME IF
YOU ASKED MY DAD, JAMES ELLIS FOUTHER, SR. .....THE BEST JELLY FLAVOR FOR MY CHILDHOOD PASTOR, REV DR
ARTHUR D. GRAY.....I BROUGHT MY GRAPE JELLY TODAY…WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR BELOVEDS....
I BROUGHT MY JAR OF GRAPE JELLY TO REMIND YOU HOPE IS BEST, WHEN YOU SPREAD IT....JUST LIKE JELLY
SO KEEP SPREADING GOD’S HOPE, BELOVEDS, WHENEVER YOU HEAR A POWERFUL PRAYER OF BENEDICTION LIKE
THE ONE HERE IN ROMANS 15:5-6
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
AND IN ROMANS 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
BELOVEDS, KNOW THAT GOD MEANS FOR YOU TO COME TO CHURCH TO RECEIVE AND REVIVE YOUR HOPES.....BUT
YOUR WORK IS NOT DONE UNLESS AND UNTIL YOU SEEK TO CONTINUE TO LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER,
BECAUSE THAT WHAT OUR CREATOR GOD MEANS FOR YOU.....
SO KNOW, BELOVEDS, THAT JUST LIKE PAUL PRAYED FOR HARMONY AND HOPE TO PREVAIL FOR THE ROMANS I
TOO, WILL BE PRAYING FOR THE SAME FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU......
I’LL BE PRAYING FOR YOU TO BE FILLED WITH JOY AND PEACE IN YOUR BELIEVING.....I’LL ALSO BE PRAYING THAT
FOR EVERYTHING GOD FILLS YOU WITH YOU’LL COMMIT YOURSELVES TO SPREADING THE SAME JOY AND PEACE TO
OTHERS WHO NEED IT, OTHERS WHO WILL COME TO SEE AND SERVE JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR......OTHERS
WHO’VE NEVER SEEN THE LOVE OF CHRIST SPREAD LIKE YOU SPREAD IT....OTHERS WHO COME TO APPRECIATE
THE WAY UNITED CHURCH OF MONTBELLO KEEPS SPREADING HOPE IN THE MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH, THE
PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS THAT CAUSE MORE HOPE TO BE MULTIPLIED IN YOUR MIDST.........HOPE IN
THE 5-LOAVES COMMUNITY GARDEN, HOPE IN THE CONSUMPTION LITERACY PROJECT AND THE MONTBELLO CFA
FARM....HOPE IN ESPERANZA AND AYUDA AND ASISTENCIA
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
KEEP SPREADING HOPE LIKE JELLY ON THOSE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES.....LIKE JELLY ON
TOAST
FROM EDGE TO EDGE AND CRUST TO CRUST.......
KEEP SPREADING HOPE BECAUSE THE GOD WE SERVE IS THE GOD OF HOPE
KEEP SPREADING HOPE BECAUSE HOLY HOPE IS BIGGER, BRIGHTER AND BETTER BECAUSE THE WORLD DIDN’T
GIVE IT AND THE WORLD CAN’T TAKE IT AWAY.....
THE GREAT DR MAYA ANGELOU GAVE US THIS CHALLENGE ON THE HOPE WE HOLD, INSPIRED BY THE LOVE WE
SHARE:
"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full
of hope.”
KEEP SPREADING HOPE, BELOVEDS, BECAUSE IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS WHERE HOPE IS GONE, DEFEAT
PREVAILS....
AND OUR GOD LOVES YOU TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO LIVE YOUR LIVES OUT IN DEFEAT........
LET US PRAY.........