Stepping Up

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, June 21, 2009. The text for this week's passage is 1 Samuel 17:32-40, 48-50.

Last week we looked at the story of the anointing of David. What I hope you walked out of here with last week is knowing that what society thinks about bigger being better doesn't apply to what God is doing in our community and all around the world. We don't have to be a huge church to obey the will of God and make a huge difference in our community. We need to be exactly who we are, and we need to make the decision that the message with which we have been entrusted is important enough to share with those around us. Ultimately, that is a decision that each one of us has to make in our own hearts, and it's a decision that will affect our future as a congregation. And that brings us to today's passage.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but familiar passages can present a problem for us. To be fair, it's not the passages themselves, but what happens when we come across them. We have a tendency to put our brains on autopilot when it comes to a passage that we've heard time and time again. We've heard them so often that we think we've heard everything there is about them. The problem with familiarity is that it breeds apathy. I don't think it's intentional, but we tend to just shut off when it comes to something that we've heard time and time again. All that to say that the story of David and Goliath is one of the more familiar passages in all of Scripture. Even those who don't profess to be Christians and have never stepped foot in a church have heard something being called a "David and Goliath story" and they have a vague idea of what that means.

We come to the story right in the middle of the action. The Israelite army is on the western end of their territory in the hill country. The Vally of Elah, as this place was called, was an important point of entry into Judah. Whoever controlled this valley controlled the hill country. The Philistine army was camped on one side of the valley, while the Israelites were camped on the other. Every day a Philistine warrior by the name of Goliath would come out and taunt the Israelite army. It wasn't uncommon for some battles in this time to be settled between one person from each side. The problem is that all of the Israelites were afraid.

We are told that Goliath's height was "six cubits and a span," which is roughly 9 feet, 9 inches. Do you remember when Moses originally sent the spies to the Promised Land and they came back petrified because the people that were already there were huge? Joshua and Caleb were the only two that said they could take the land, and the rest were all so scared that they disobeyed God and ended up wandering in the desert for another 40 years. The Israelite army apparently forgot that story, because they were scared by the size of Goliath. The point in that story is that the people needed to trust in God to lead them, and they didn't. Yet, here we are again, a few centuries later, facing similar circumstances. Now, it was actually Saul's responsibility, as king of Israel, to answer the challenge of Goliath, but he was also very scared. So, everyday, Goliath would come down from the Philistine lines and taunt the Israelites, but they were all too scared to do anything about it. But then comes David.

David actually wasn't a part of the army. David is on the scene because he is delivering food to his brothers, and he is supposed to bring back some indication that his brothers are still doing well. While he's there, Goliath comes down for his daily taunt. David can't believe what he is hearing when Goliath taunts the Israelite army. For David, Goliath isn't just taunting the Israelites, but God as well. David can't believe that nobody has done anything about it. And he steps up and says, "I'll take care of him." And the first reaction that he gets is, "You've got to be kidding me." Word gets back to Saul, and Saul asks that David come before him. And David stands his ground. He tells Saul that he'll take care of Goliath.

And what is the first thing that Saul says? "You are not able to go against this Philistine because you are too young." Isn't that always the first comment made by the critics? "You can't do that because" fill in the blank. There will always be critics, people who look for all the reasons why we can't do something. The world doesn't need more critics, it needs more people that will look for solutions to the problems, and not reasons why the problem can't be solved. Once we get a feel for what God is wanting to do in our midst, we should be looking for ways to accomplish our task, not excuses as to why it should be somebody else's problem.

Think about this for a minute - is your first reaction to a problem looking for reasons why somebody else should take care of it, or is it to look for solutions? When somebody comes up with an idea for ministry in the community around us, are you more likely to join in and look for ways to make it happen, or are you more likely to sit on the sidelines and talk about why we can't do it? That's an important decision that has to be made. Are you going to be an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to ministry opportunities? And don't tell me that you're a realist, because, realistically, that means you're a pessimist in denial. Now, does this mean that we should do every single thing that comes up? No. It doesn't. We have to be discerning about what we do. Some things may ultimately get turned down, but not until there has been a good deal of prayer and discussion on where it fits with who we are as a congregation.

David was not dissuaded by the reasons Saul gave him. He had his eyes fixed squarely on what was important. And what was important was the fact that God would be the one who did the fighting. God had been preparing him for this moment. He wasn't scared of Goliath because he spent his youth fighting and killing lions and bears. Yeah, Goliath was an awfully big obstacle, but he wasn't worse than anything that David had seen before. And David was still there, which tells me that he had a pretty good track record in those other battles.

God prepares those He sends. God has been preparing you for something. And because God is the one that has been doing the work in you, I'd say that you are in pretty good shape. It is important for us to keep our eyes fixed on what is truly important, and to rely on the preparation that God has put us through. Most importantly, we have to remember that God is working through us. We can accomplish any task that God has set before us because He is the one who has prepared us and is working through us. David wasn’t prepared to fight Goliath because he thought he could beat the giant. He was prepared to fight Goliath because he knew that God would do the fighting through him.

When Saul finally gives in and lets David fight Goliath, he does something that many of us often do. He tried to make David fight Goliath in the way that he is familiar with fighting. Saul puts his armor on David, and gives David his sword. Now, remember last week when I mentioned that Saul was a head taller than all of the rest of the Israelites? Something tells me that Saul didn't get any shorter. Can you imagine David wearing Saul's armor, when Saul was so much taller than David in the first place? David was used to fighting in whatever he was wearing, not in a heavy suit of armor. David was also used to fighting with his sling and bare hands, not with a sword. He told Saul that he couldn't go into battle with this equipment because he had never used it before. Given time and training, David would eventually fight with a sword and armor, but in this moment, he couldn't. He had to fight in a way with which he was familiar. He had to be true to who he was.

You can probably see where I'm going with this one. When it comes to doing ministry in our context, we have to be true to who we are. We can't make ourselves be something that we are not. We have to approach ministry using the gifts and graces that God has given us. We can't put on the armor and carry the sword that other churches are using because we aren't familiar with them. What works in one context may not work in another. Once we start trying to be somebody else, we will find ourselves with a severe identity crisis on our hands, or, worse yet, we will fall flat on our faces. And nothing can lead to inactivity faster than failure.

Now, the flip side to all of this is that we can, and must, learn new and adapt our current ministry approaches. I had the honor of being a teaching assistant for a United Methodist polity class while I was in seminary that was co-taught by the seminary president and the president of the United Methodist Judicial Council. One of the things that President Greenway said in that class that really stuck with me is, "The church that got us to where we are is not the church that will take us where we need to go." He was talking about the United Methodist Church as a denomination, but I think it is very true for all churches.

The things that we did fifteen years ago will not help us reach out to our community today. The world is changing. We have to be able to adapt in order to minister to a changing world. I say this full well knowing that some people see "change" as a curse word. I'm not saying that we change things for the sake of making a change, but we do it to reach out to a broken world and bring glory to God. I want to ease your heart palpatations right now by saying that this is not an indication that we are suddenly going to switch our style of worship. I'm young, not stupid. Having said that, though, we may do some different things during worship from time to time. David didn't always go into battle with a sling and some stones. He learned, he adapted and he was victorious as long as he listened to God.

We all know the rest of the story. David confronts Goliath, and kills him. The Philistines scatter and David's fame spreads all over the land. David's story is written. It is well-known. Our story, not so much. We have before us a blank sheet of paper. We are a modern-day David, sitting at an important crossroad. The question is - will we continue to move forward, towards what God has set before us, or will we sit back and let life happen? I have to tell you, I'm not willing to just sit back. I like to sit back and relax on my own time, but when it comes to what God is doing, I'm not willing to miss out.

I came across a quote this week that I want to leave you with. "When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near." What are your dreams? Where has God been speaking to your heart? What is it that God has been preparing you for? Where has God been leading you? Do the dreams that you have for this congregation exceed your memories?

Gym Class Syndrome

The following was preached at Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, June 14, 2009. The text for this week's message is 1 Samuel 16:1-7, 10-13.

As a way to jump into today's passage, I want to get in the Way-Back Machine and look at a time in my life that I promised myself never to discuss again - middle school. Perhaps some of y'all here this morning can connect with me on this one. One of my fondest memories of middle school was gym class. I had a slight social handicap when I was in middle school - I wore glasses. And because I wore glasses, I was automatically incapable of playing sports, at least that was the perception amongst some of my middle school peers. I remember when we were getting ready for the unit on baseball, and we went through the always dreaded gym class ritual of picking teams. I seem to remember, as I was among the last of the players picked, someone making a comment that at least my team would have a cheerleader. Let's pause the story there, and look at the background for today's passage.

The book of 1 Samuel basically records Israel's first steps into monarchy, their new political system in which a king ruled the nation. Until the birth of the monarchy, Israel was ruled by what the Old Testament calls "judges." No, these were not guys with white wigs and black robes sitting behind a bench. The judges of ancient Israel were rulers who were raised up by God from time to time. They would lead Israel through a particular crisis and for a limited period of time. After a while though, the Israelites grew tired of having judges from time to time and wanted something more permanent. They clamoured for a king. In 1 Samuel 8, we are told that the elders of Israel go to Samuel and express their displeasure over the rule of his sons (who really were poor leaders, more concerned with personal gain than justice). And they tell Samuel that they wanted to have a king - just like all the other nations.

In spite of Samuel's warning of what would happen if Israel did have a king, the people still insisted on having one. Finally, Samuel prays to the Lord and He says, "Okay, let's give them what they want." Have you ever heard the saying, "Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it." Israel hadn't. They got what they asked for, and it would lead them down a long and winding road. At the end of this road was something that they never would have expected, but they should have - Samuel warned them.

The first king ended up being a very handsome, wealthy man, who stood taller than all the rest of the Israelites. Saul actually started out as a pretty good king. He led Israel into battle and nearly every time came back victorious. He listened to the advice of Samuel and obeyed the Lord. However, Saul started doing things his own way instead of waiting on the Lord. One lesson we learn time and time again in the Old Testament is that when leaders stop following after the Lord, things go wrong real quick. And this was no different. Saul started going his own way, and, consequently, was rejected by the Lord as leader of the nation. And that brings us to today's passage - the anointing of David.

I get the feeling that Samuel really liked Saul to begin with. He seemed like a good enough leader. He was able to bring all the tribes together and unite them for a common purpose, but Saul eventually bought in to his own press. This certainly grieved Samuel. But as we often find out, God has already been at work setting His plans into motion, even when we don't know about it. He tells Samuel to get up and head to Bethlehem to anoint His new king. Now, Samuel is a little worried about doing it, but sometimes, when it comes to fulfilling God's plans, we have to be willing to do something that may seem to be a little scary, and a little out of our comfort zone. God equips those he sends, and he had prepared Samuel for this next step.

Samuel goes to the town of Bethlehem to find Jesse, the man whose son is going to be the next king of Israel. He goes to perform a sacrifice to the Lord, and once Jesse and his sons are consecrated, the ceremony begins. But right away, it appears that something different is going on here. Jesse's eldest son, Eliab, is the first to go before Samuel, and Samuel thinks, "Ah, this is the guy." But God says, "Nope. Don't look at what you see. I see something different than what you see. I'm looking for someone whose heart is in the right place." Samuel is faithful to what God says and looks to the next in line. One by one, seven of Jesse's sons pass before Samuel, but none of them fit the description that the Lord gives Samuel. None of them are to be the next king of Israel.

After they all pass before Samuel, he asks Jesse if there's another son that isn't present. And Jesse says, "Yeah, there's the youngest, but he's out taking care of the sheep right now." In other words, the family nerd is out with the herd. As the youngest son, David would have been at the bottom of the pecking order. Notice that even though Samuel has Jesse bring all his sons to the sacrifice, David is still left in the fields with the sheep. He is not important enough to be at this event. He wasn't picked last - he just wasn't picked at all. But when David comes before Samuel, the Lord says, "This is the guy. This is the one that I've chosen." His own family didn't think enough of David to include him in the ceremony to begin with, but he is the one that was chosen by the Lord to lead Israel. I know what you're thinking at this point, "Great story, but what does this have to do with us?"

I think this is a story about hope. It's the classic underdog story that we all want to see take place. It's the unexpected gold medal for the 1980 U.S. hockey team. It's George Mason from the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tourney, the 11 seed that made the Final Four. It's a certain 83-win team winning the World Series that same year. It's a story that resonates with each one of us on some level. Who doesn't root for the underdog? That's what David is here. He's the runt of the litter. He's the youngest of eight. He has no business being anointed the leader of a nation. But he's the one that God has chosen.

When we look around our community, do we feel like the runt of the litter? We are a fairly small church, but does that mean we can't make a difference? Simply because there are a small number of people in this congregation, it doesn't mean that the Spirit can't work in a powerful way. When you look around this congregation, do you see a congregation that has done all it can, and is just ready to sit back and let life happen? Or do you see a congregation that is excited about what God can do? I see so many people who can make a difference, but it doesn't matter what I see. How do you see yourselves?

We live in a world that thinks bigger is better, but is it really? Sure, we don't have as many people here as Sterling or Hillsboro Nazarene or insert name of another big church here. We can't do the things that they can do right now, but we don't have to. God has a purpose for us as a congregation, but until we really believe that by God's grace and through the Holy Spirit that we can make a difference, we aren't going to go anywhere. But the good news that we see in today's Scripture is that size, position and birth order don't matter. In fact, did you know that 60% of the churches in America meet every week with less than 100 people? 60% of the churches in America are just like us - small congregations that meet faithfully every week. Here's another fun fact for you this morning - only 6.5% of churches in America have attendance each week of more than 500. Do you see where I am going with this?

God has always moved in big ways through the most unexpected means. He picked one guy, Abraham, to make the nation that would bring about salvation for the entire world. He picked a guy with a speech impediment to go before the Pharoah and set free the Israelites from 400 years of slavery. He picked the runt of Jesse's litter to become the king of Israel and establish the Israelite kingdom. He picked a ragtag group of twelve disciples to learn from Jesus and spread the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.

Even though we are a small congregation, we can make a major difference because it is not us, but God working through us, and with God all things are possible. But that's the key - with God. We cannot do this on our own. We cannot do this through the latest and greatest ministry techniques. We cannot do this by copying what the church down the road is doing. We can only do this by listening for God and following the lead that He has given us. David, by all the standards set by the society around him, was nothing. But in reality, in God’s reality, he was exactly what was needed in order for God's will to be done.

God tells Samuel that He looks at the heart. He doesn’t see the things that everyone else sees. God sees some amazing things in each one of us. God doesn’t look at us and see a small congregation; God sees a congregation that can make a huge difference in this community. We don’t often see what God is doing behind the scenes, but that doesn’t mean God hasn’t been working.

God has been working here. I’ve heard from some of you the difference that spending 15 minutes a day reading Scripture has made in your life. God has been challenging us each and every week to take the next step in our faith. I know that there are some people here that have listened for ways that they can help those around them, and have taken advantage of the opportunities that are available. We have so many things that we can do to share the gospel. It doesn’t have to be a big, organized event. Sometimes, it’s just a simple as sitting down and talking with somebody for a little while.

How has God been preparing you? How has God been working in your life? What’s going on right now that you never would have anticipated five years ago? If you take the time to allow God to form you, He will. If you take the time to listen to what God would have you do to reach out to those around you, you’ll start to see ways of doing ministry that maybe nobody has thought of before. What are your hopes and dreams for us as a congregation? We can do amazing things if we only rely on God. Don’t let anybody ever tell you that we are too small to do anything. Don’t ever think that we are too small to do anything. In a world where bigger is better, God still works through those who are faithful and whose hearts are in the right place, regardless of size. God is preparing us for something big, but we have to make the decision to be excited about what God is going to do, and we have to listen for what our role in it is going to be.

When I got picked in that softball game, everyone else saw a smart kid with glasses. What they didn’t know is that I had been playing baseball for six years. A double, triple and three RBI’s later, people realized that there was more to me than what they saw. I could play ball. In fact, I could play a lot better than most of the rest of them. I think we will find out something similar about ourselves as a congregation. We aren’t too small. We aren’t too old. We aren’t too busy. We have no excuses because God is the one that will be working through us. We have to decide to be a part of what God is doing, and that decision, whatever we decide, will lead us into the future. Six months, a year, three years from now – what are people going to be saying about us? Take a look into your heart this week, and you’ll find the answer.

Isaiah's Vision, Our Challenge

The following was preached at Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, June 7, 2009. The text for this week's message is Isaiah 6:1-8.

Today is the first of three weeks in which we are going to spend a little bit of time in the Old Testament. We are going to look at Isaiah's vision in the Temple, the anointing of David by Samuel and the well-known story of David and Goliath over the next few weeks and explore some of the topics that will help us see how God has moved in the past and maybe even get an idea of how He might be moving even today. The key, as always, will be whether or not we are ready to listen to the Word and apply it in our lives. Will we be able to wave our hands and say, "Here I am! Send me."?

The passage begins with something that is rather unusual for any of the prophets - an approximate date. He tells us that his vision occurred in the year that King Uzziah died. And what that does, more than anything else, is give us some kind of idea as to what was going on in the world around the time that Isaiah was doing his ministry. Around the time that King Uzziah died, the Assyrians were beginning to become the regional power.

The death of King Uzziah marked the end of an era. While Uzziah was king, Israel experienced a bit of a rebirth. He became king at the age of 16 and reigned for 52 years. We can read in 2 Chronicles a little more about Uzziah and what he did. But the summary is that he built up Israel and made it into a prosperous nation once again. However, Uzziah's pride got the best of him, and it cost him. He ended up with leprosy and spent the last several years as king with someone else actually in charge. The point here is that Isaiah's ministry happened in a very difficult time. Yet, it is in this incredibly difficult time that Isaiah has this vision and eagerly answers the call of the Lord.

Isaiah's vision begins with seeing the Lord sitting on the throne. It's a spectacular vision. The glory of the Lord fills the place. His robe fills the Temple. The seraphim, angels whose names come from the Hebrew word for "flames", are all about - six winged creatures, who cover even themselves in the presence of the Lord. If the angels cover themselves in the presence of God, how should we feel? Can you imagine what Isaiah was seeing here?

He was probably just sitting around, maybe he was praying, maybe he was reading Scripture. The text doesn't actually say what he was doing, and I have a feeling that is because, in that moment when the vision came to him, whatever it was that he was doing didn't matter anymore. That is what it is like when we enter into the presence of the Lord. I'm not suggesting that a vision like Isaiah's is common to the Christian experience, but there certainly are times in our lives when we know that God is present, and we know that we are in the presence of the Lord. And when we are in the presence of God, nothing else matters.

We all have worries and concerns in life. Things are difficult all around. There are people worried about whether or not they'll be able to pay their bills or buy groceries at the end of the week. There are people that have been desperately looking for a job for months, only to fall short time and time again. There are people who have concerns much larger than that. But when we are in the presence of God, none of that matters. I'm not saying that suddenly our concerns go away, but when we know who is in charge and begin to place all of our trust in Him, then the peace of God, which Paul tells us passes all understanding, that peace helps us get through the difficult times. Here's the thing, you don't have to be sitting in the church building for this to happen. Isaiah was probably in the Temple at the time, but where he was is less important than what he was doing. He was putting himself in a position to be in the presence of God. When we do that, we are more likely to encounter God in a profound, life-changing sort of way.

In this vision, the seraphim are singing a hymn. They are singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory!" The holiness of God is so incredible that the angels mention it three times at the beginning of their song. The holiness of God is what separates the Creator from the creation. All of creation has been tainted by sin because of the Fall, which we read about in Genesis 3. Because of this sin, we cannot enter into the presence of God. Did you notice Isaiah's reaction? "Woe is me! I am lost!" Isaiah knew that God's holiness was far beyond any good that he could have had on his own. Isaiah knew that he could not stand in the presence of God. Isaiah was probably a pretty good guy, but in the presence of God, he immediately recognized his sin.

That's another thing that being in the presence of God does for us - it helps us realize the true standard of holiness. I heard a story once about two guys having a conversation. They were talking about the nature of God and the importance of relying on Jesus for salvation. The first guy said that he figured he probably led a good enough life to get into heaven. As he said this, they came upon a pillar outside of a building. The second guy said, "Oh yeah, how would you rank yourself in human history? Let's say the bottom of the pillar is reserved for the really bad criminals in this life, and somewhere around the top are some of the really good people - you know, like Mother Teresa and other people who have given their whole life to doing good things." The first guy looked at the pillar and said, "Well, I don't want to be too prideful, so I'd say I'm somewhere about three-quarters of the way up or so. I've lived a pretty good life." The second guy looked at him and said, "That's not bad, but the standard is the sky."

If we spend too much time comparing ourselves to those around us, we lose sight of what the standard really is. It's not about being better than "those" people. It's about living up to the standard that has been set by God. When we are in the presence of God, we realize that we have severely overestimated our own goodness. We might be the biggest ant in the hill, but we're still ants. If we fail to realize that simple fact, then we are in for a big surprise when we do finally stand before the Lord.

What I find perhaps most interesting in this passage, though, is what happens next. Isaiah recognizes his sinful state. He realizes that his life has been lived in sin and has been surrounded by those in sin. He knows that being in the presence of the Almighty God just might be his undoing, but God doesn't leave him there. God comes to Isaiah right where he is, but doesn't leave him in his sin. No, one of the seraphim comes to Isaiah and touches his lips with a burning coal from the altar.

Now, first of all, I imagine that hurt. Think about this for a minute. Seraphim comes from the Hebrew word for fire. I can't say with a high degree of certainty, but perhaps that is because the seraphim appear as a type of fiery figure. And this particular one had to grab the coal with tongs. Can you imagine how hot this coal must have been?

I've never kissed a burning hot coal, but I can't imagine that it would feel good. And perhaps that is pointing to the fact that getting rid of the sin in our lives isn't easy. In fact, getting rid of the sin in our lives ended up costing Jesus his life. One thing that we see consistently throughout the Old Testament Law is that sin is costly. The temporary sacrifices of the Temple were sacrifices that cost the life of an innocent animal. I don't think the sacrificial system was put in place as a form of animal cruelty, but as a way to show us the serious nature of sin. Getting rid of sin is painful and costly. We are fortunate enough to live in a time in which grace and mercy have come through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, we should never forget about the high cost of sin.

After touching Isaiah's lips with the burning coal, the angel says, "Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Isaiah's sin was atoned for, not by anything that he did, but by what was done for him, another important lesson that we need to remember here. Our sin has been atoned for through the costly life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not something that we did, but something that was done for us. Our task is to be like Isaiah - recognize our position before the Lord and then accept the atonement that has been provided for us. And notice that it's not just the sin, but the guilt as well. I've said before and I'll probably say again, we carry around our guilt when there is no need to do so. We have been forgiven. Embrace the new life that you've been given and stop carrying around the guilt that weighs you down. When you give control of your life to Jesus, your sin has been atoned for.

It's at this point in the vision that Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord for the first time. He has been forgiven. The guilt and sin in his life have been removed, and he hears the voice of the Lord. The question is, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And here's a shocker for you - that's the same question that God is asking us today. In the midst of this crazy world, God is still asking the same question - whom shall I send?

I was talking with some friends who were visiting a couple weeks ago, and one of them said that she had been reading a book, which is now on my ever expanding reading list, and the author said that sometimes he wants to ask God why there is so much bad stuff going on in the world. But he's afraid to ask that question because what if God turns it back around on him? The point is not that we can single-handedly take care of all the bad things going on in the world, but we can do something in our little corner of the world. We can be like Isaiah - confessing our sin before the the Lord, being cleansed by the Lord and then throwing up our hands, shouting “Here I am! Send me!”

What are the things going on right now in your corner of the world that could be better if we only lived out our faith and shared it with those around us? What are the things that we can do as the representatives of Christ in our community to really be the representatives of Christ? Let me make something very clear, we are not saved by what we do. We are saved by the grace and love of Jesus Christ. But we show our faith by how we live. That's a scary thought, isn't it? But God is asking, "Whom shall I send?" Who is willing to recognize their place before the Lord? We are sinful people and we live among sinful people, but God hasn’t left us there. Like Isaiah, God has provided us with cleansing. The question now is - who is willing to step out of their comfort zone and take part in what God is doing around here? Who is willing to not just go to church, but to be the church?

That’s the challenge that we really have to face this week. Has church become too comfortable? Has it become part of your weekly routine, or is it something more important than that? Is your life different because you come here, or is coming here just a part of your life? I have to tell you, if you don’t walk out of here every once in a while a little troubled by the message, then I’ve messed up somewhere along the way. There are some weeks that I walk in here troubled by the message because God is constantly challenging me through the Word, and if I haven’t passed that discomfort on to you, then I apologize.

What is it that’s holding you back? When God asks, "Whom shall I send?" will we simply look around and wait for everyone else to raise their hands, or will we follow the example of Isaiah? Will we eagerly raise our hands and say, "Here I am! Send me!" Or will we fall back into the comfortable patterns that we've established? Are we going to be willing to step out and do what it is that God would have us do, or are we going to miss out on some opportunities because we would rather stay in our comfort zone? It's a decision that each one of us has to make, and ultimately, it is a decision that will affect not only your future, but the future of this congregation in terms of what God has in store for us.