Sermon #1 @ St. Paris UMC

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: John 3:14-17

Title: “God’s Love (The Heart of the Gospel)”

Date: June 28, 2009 (4th Sunday after Pentecost)


Internet Link for primary scripture texts used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:14-17&version=31


First of all, thank you!
Thank you for the many expressions of welcoming us in Christian love this past week. Janet and I have deeply appreciated all the meals (and many desserts!), the gift basket, the beautiful altar flowers, and above all the caring support you’ve shown us.
There’s no doubt about it, moving is tough – especially when you’ve been in the same home for quite a while, as we had been. They say that which does not kill us makes us stronger. After the last few weeks, I think I do feel just a bit stronger – by the grace of God.

For all of us, this truly is a day of new beginnings.
It is a day of new beginnings for me and my wife, Janet. We have been looking forward to this hour with excitement since learning of my appointment to St. Paris on Feb. 28 – exactly four months ago.
It also is a day of new beginnings for Pastor Doug and Julie Upton, whom you’ve been blessed to know these past seven years. For the Uptons, this is the start of a whole new way of life in “retirement,” as they care for their loved ones in Indiana.
Doug and Julie have been wonderful to us as we have prepared for this transition. I know we all will continue to hold them in our thoughts and prayers and wish them the very best.
Then, too, it is a day of new beginnings for this congregation. As I have written in my first article for the church newsletter, I trust God has a plan for all of us, and I know Christ is already here -- waiting to guide us into the future.
We have been praying for you. From a distance, we identified with and ached for all of you and for the St. Paris community, as you suffered the tragic loss of those four children in that terrible fire in March.
Last month we felt the shock and concern along with you as two people were killed when a Graham Local Schools bus and a van collided on Route 36 near Zimmerman Road.
We also read with admiration how the people of St. Paris came together to help not only the families of the fire victims, but also the family of a young boy injured in an accident with a horse. Learning about the special dinner and basket auction held at the elementary school to assist these families, Janet and I both were left thinking: “This is the kind of community we want to be part of.”
Indeed, that strong sense of community is one of the reasons I am excited to now be living here, and serving as your pastor.
I know you have been praying for me and my family, too, and I thank you for that. I believe deeply in the power of prayer, and I hope you will continue to pray for me every day as we work side by side in the vineyard. We are so glad to be here!
And friends, what an exciting time it is to be a follower of Jesus!
Of course, I suppose that’s always been true – since the Lord first walked the dusty roads of ancient Israel.
But let’s consider where we are now, some 2,000 years later:
* Our nation’s economy crashed into a brick wall last year, and we are still feeling the aftershocks through layoffs and unemployment, lost retirement funds, an epidemic of foreclosures, and uncertainty a bout the future.
* Beyond our borders, the world is roiling with violence and fear. We know the threat of terrorism is a constant, both in the USA and in other lands. The world trembles as nuclear weapons are developed in places where evil and hatred seem to have the upper hand.
* On the personal level, the siren song of sin still calls out to all of uas, and remains as lethal for us as the forbidden fruit was for our first parents in the Garden of Eden. And no one is immune from the danger.
For example, I was saddened to learn recently that two associate pastors at one of our denomination’s largest and most vibrant churches had been suspended because of an inappropriate relationship with each other – both pastors having spouses. Again we are reminded, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
No one is immune.
Meanwhile, technology makes our global community a little smaller every day, from the Internet to 24/7 TV news, , and from ‘texting’ to ‘tweeting’ on Twitter. Many of these tools can be a blessing. However, they also can quickly become a curse if they draw our time and attention away from putting the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first in our lives.
The bottom line is this. More than ever, people need the Lord, and the life that He – and He alone – can bring us.
I’ve heard it said the Chinese word for “crisis” also means “opportunity. As we have no shortage of crises in the world around us, we also have increased opportunities to share the gospel.
Has there ever been a time when the world – when people everywhere – have more desperately needed the Truth of the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ?
And the very heart of that gospel is God’s amazing, unconditional love for you, for me, for people of every race and nation, and indeed for the whole created world.
That’s why I chose John 3:16 as part of the lesson for my first Sunday here. For the message of this text – perhaps the best-known of all Bible verses – is at the very core of our relationship with God.
God’s love for all of us – even with all our occasional weakness, foolishness and shortcomings – is the beating heart of the gospel.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The Bible is the story of God’s love for humanity – all of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New . . . As someone once said, “for reasons that are impossible to explain, we human beings are incredibly precious to God.”
The gospel is a simple message for complicated people. I like the way the Apostle Paul sums it up in his 1st letter to the Corinthian Church, where he writes:
“Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you . . . that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day … and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (from 1 Cor. 15, NRSV)
As he went about spreading the gospel to the Gentiles on his travels, Paul had many opportunities to tell his own story of how he came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior one day on the road to Damascus. In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to sharing with you about my own experience with Jesus Christ, and how the Lord has touched me – a sinner saved by grace. I also am eager to hear your own stories about how it all became real for you – this amazing love, this saving grace, which we know through Jesus.
I mentioned that one of the reasons I am excited to be here is the strong sense of community that you have in St. Paris, and throughout the Graham Local School District.
A second thing that has really a struck a chord with me is this congregation’s mission statement, which I gather was adopted not that long ago – “Sharing the Love of Jesus Christ in the Community.”
Because the fact of the matter is, this gift of God’s love is too wonderful to keep to ourselves. In fact, if we have truly been touched by God’s grace, we’re going to be overflowing with a desire to pass the love of God on to others. And like the song says:

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.
That’s how it is with God’s Love,
Once you’ve experienced it;
you spread His love to everyone;
you want to pass it on.”

Loving others, caring for others, showing mercy and forgiveness as it has been given to us – these are among the ways we demonstrate the gospel to the weary and hurting world all around us. I know you are already doing this in a number of ways, from the community food pantry to the mission efforts of the UMW, and from Operation Christmas Child to your strong support for the Relay for Life, to name a few.
I can’t wait to see how and where we can “be” the church next, as together we grow and work to make this mission statement an ongoing reality. Well, I suppose I could go on and on – but hey, we’ve got time. You don’t need the full load on my first Sunday!
So in closing, let me just say that while the world is changing – faster every day it seems – the message of the gospel does not change.
Jesus Christ is the same – yesterday, today and forever.
In a world of shifting sand, He is the solid rock upon which we can build lives of meaning, purpose and joy.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And when we give our lives to following Him, we will never be sorry.
I am so thankful to be with you, as we make our way down the road with the Master.
Thanks be to God. Amen.