We spend a lot of time as church talking about ways that we can better serve others in Jesus’ name. We feed the hungry through our food pantry, visit the sick and suffering and listen to neighbors and friends in need in the community around us. We’re always on the look out for new ways we can generously respond to the bad news in people’s lives with the limitless good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. Church, we like to say, is not about us, it’s about Jesus. Good works, we like to say, are not for us, but for the sake of our neighbor. St. Paul’s is community that values self denial so that we can hear and respond in love and compassion to our hurting neighbors, so we can love all people following the example of Jesus.

Yet within this community — called and sent as living witness in our neighborhood to the reign of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus — God has gifted people for ministries for your benefit, so you can grow to maturity in your faith. In these ministries, we experience God’s grace that revives, reconnects and reconciles us in ways that strengthen us for our own daily ministries in the world.

St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-13, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

Think of a football team. There are a variety of position players needed by each team to play, compete and win a game. You, the people of St. Paul’s, are like the players on the team. Each of you has gifts, talents and abilities that God directs and uses for the sake of God’s mission to draw people closer to God through Jesus Christ. For this team to play at its best, it takes practice, coaching, trainers and even some medical staff to fix up the wounded and injured. While the goal of the team is to get out there and use their God-given talents to accomplish the team’s mission. It takes practice, experience and the guidance and help of an experienced and dedicated support staff to get the team playing at its best. 

The church may exist for the benefit of others, but in order for us to be of any use to the world around us, God has given us “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” That ministry is for your benefit, so that together we might all grow “to maturity.”

So, how can you use your church — this St. Paul’s congregation — for your benefit and for your spiritual growth and faith development in Jesus Christ? There are many different ways to make use of these gifts with which God has so graciously and a wonderfully blessed us, but I think they all have to do with forming connections to the various people that make up St. Paul’s. The Christian faith is primarily and fundamentally a relationship, a relationship with Christ, with God’s people and with the people in the world. Since God has given us to each other in Christ, the first way to make use of your church is to make connections to the people at your church. Here are three ways to make connections.

1. Worship weekly: We live and are sustained by the grace of God. When we worship around the Word and Sacraments, the means through which we receive God’s grace, God shows up, creates and sustains faith, and gives us a sense of our part in God’s mission in the world. In addition, our weekly worship — either on Saturday or Sunday — is our primary gathering time as a community. We announce community news. We share mission opportunities. We share the peace of Christ, participate in Christ’s body and blood together, welcome new members, baptize new believers and challenge each other to live in love.
2. Join a study group or attend and event: From time-to-time, especially in the seasons of Advent and Lent, we gather in small groups to study and discuss God’s Word, issues and topics of interest and for fellowship. In these groups, we may learn some new information, but the main goal of small group meetings is to form relationships with other disciples for the sake of encouragement and support. 
3. Get to know your pastor (that’s me): As an image, a pastor is a shepherd of a flock. While the shepherd is concerned with the flock as a whole, the pastor also commits a good deal of time and energy to the personal well being of the individual members of the congregation. Together, we can explore your talents, gifts and strengths. We can work through some issues of faith and life, including all those questions you might be afraid to ask. I can hear your confession and announce God’s forgiveness to you personally and directly, and we can challenge each other in our lives of prayer, worship, study and generosity.

If this looks like your life, then I will bet that you can witness to how God has sustained and supported your life of faith. If this doesn’t look like your practice now, there’s always time to change, to reconnect and to restart your relationship with Jesus Christ. As long as there’s a church, there will be a place and people ready to welcome you, serve you and encourage you to be reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. When we experience the joy of God’s grace together, it will be easy to invite others into the joy we share because Jesus loves us and gives himself for us. It’s all for you. Talk to you soon.

Peace,
Pastor Jim