May 6, 2012
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide
Worship Theme: Life in Christ
Acts 8: 26-40 NRSV Bible
1 John 4: 7-12 NRSV Bible
John 15: 1-8 Common English Bible
“Piety and Production?”
A reading from the Gospel of John . . . chapter 15 verses
1-8 from the Common English Bible… (Read scripture)
Let us pray…
Loving and gracious God, we thank you for your word that
is true and eternal. May the spirit that illuminated those who wrote down Your
words illuminate our minds so that we may understand and hear the word you have
for each of us today. May we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that is
open to you. Speak Lord…your sons and daughters are listening.
I don’t know about you
but it seems to me that the quality of stuff these days just isn’t like it used
to be. It seems to me that the more things that used to last for a long time
last only a short amount of time. For instance…let’s take cars. Cars years ago
would last way over 100,000 miles and keep going. Now it seems that they barely
last to that point before they start falling apart. Before there was a quality
to them, now it seems that now there is just a mass production and something
was lost. When the production and quality were together there was a good
product that lasted for a long time but now it seems that they have taken on a
“micro-wave effect.” Get it done quick so
that you don’t have to wait…doesn’t matter if they fall apart quick, we can
just buy another…
It also seems that in
the workforce production is more important than quality. If you can’t do the
output then you can be replaced. It doesn’t matter if it is not the quality
work that we used to do. Just need to “getter done”. What has happened to work
ethics and quality? They worked so well together but now there seems to be a
“parting of the ways.” It seems that society has stepped away from the pulse of
America…the ethics that founded this country…its life blood so to speak.
Quality and production really do work together…unfortunately we have kind of
stepped away from that piece of our heritage.
So…what does all of this
have to do with being a Christian you may ask…well, we as Christians have our
own “quality and production”…but we call it something different. We look at it
in more of a “piety and production” angle. Let me try to explain. Unless we as Christians get this right there
could be a problem of just piety or just production and that’s not what we are
called to do, not one or the other but unless we do both we are sunk…
In the Acts scripture
this morning, we heard about Philip. Now Philip was filled with the Spirit (The
Spirit abided in him…Christ’s Spirit)) and an angel of the Lord told him to go
to Gaza. After he went to Gaza, as he was told, the Spirit told Philip to go over to the chariot of this Ethiopian
Eunuch (He abided in the Spirit and did what the Spirit told him to do).
Because the two were one, abiding in each other, Philip was bold enough in his
witness of Christ to this person who was searching for answers. And what
happened because of it? The man believed and was baptized. As we abide in Christ and Christ with us we are emboldened to share ,
to witness to others therefore fulfilling the Great Commission to “go out and
make disciples.”…piety and production working hand in hand…
In the 1 John this
morning, we heard that God is love. If we love one another we are born of God
and know God. As we love one another God lives in us and we in Him. Without God
in us we cannot show God’s love to others. If there is no abiding in each other
then there is no witness of God’s love shown in and through us. Loving
and abiding in God produces loving others…piety and production at its best…
Now…the
Scripture from John 15 explains it all. You see, Christ is the true vine and we
can do nothing unless we abide in Him and He abides in us. There is no
production of the “fruits for the kingdom” without Him. What good are we to
Christ if we are not “in sync” with Him? If we want to live a life of piety loving God and Christ and production producing fruit for the kingdom…we need to have both in
our lives. The two are indispensible
to each other. Unless we live in Christ and Christ in us we are just words with
no actions or actions without words. We need both. Abiding in Christ produces good deeds…good works for God. Piety and
production joining forces together.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to get
this right. If we have piety alone we may just become ritualistic and
ceremonial in our witness and that is not what we are called to be. If we only
concentrate on production we only act the part without any meaning or real
motivations…we just go through the motions. We need to put them together…being
and doing…piety and production…prayer and work…worship and service. Like a hand
in a glove. Out there sharing our witness of the true vine that sustains and
gives life to all who believe. Let us be offshoots of our production
manager…our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen…
John 15:1-8 (Common
English Bible)
Acts 8:26-40 (NRSV)
1 John 4:7-12 (NRSV)
Worship Theme: “Life in
Christ”
Call to Worship
Unison Prayer
Prayer of Dedication (Acts
8:26-40)
and sermon, “Piety and
Production?”
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
May 6, 2012
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide
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