Monday, November 03, 2014

sermon, "Piety and Production?", by Pastor Ruth Foss, May 6, 2012

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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