Sermon #15 @ St. Paris UMC (10.04.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Acts 2:41-47

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness, Part 3 – Intentional Faith Development”

Date: Oct. 4, 2009 (World Communion Sunday)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:41-47&version=NIV


For those of you who missed Bible Study last week, you can get extra-credit by paying close attention to this message. :-)
As it happens, we studied the 2nd chapter of Acts at our new Bible Study Tuesday night. Perhaps as no other segment of the Bible, Acts 2 demonstrates what the Church of Jesus Christ is all about.
This chapter records with electrifying clarity how this miracle called the Church – the Body of Christ on this earth – came to be formed. It happened on a Jewish feast day in old Jerusalem, when the city was packed with religious pilgrims from every corner of the world.
When the day of Pentecost came, those who believed in the resurrection of Christ were all together in one place. All told, they numbered about 120 – not that many more than we have gathered here today. It was then that the miracle happened.
Just as the prophet Joel had foretold, and just as the Lord Jesus had promised, the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out from Heaven in dramatic fashion. The transforming power of God filled those who believed in Christ, and bubbled over to touch the lives of others.
Less than two months earlier, Simon Peter had grossly failed the Master by three times denying that he even knew Jesus. Sick with guilt and shame, Peter then joined the other disciples in hiding – fearful for their lives because of their association with Jesus.
But now, filled with a holy boldness made possible by the Spirit of Christ bursting alive within the believers, Peter courageously proclaimed the Truth of God’s saving grace in the streets of the holy city – surrounded by a throng of eyewitnesses. It was the first Christian sermon, and it hit the mark. “Those who accepted his message were baptized,” and the fledgling Church added about 3,000 people in a single day.
Acts 2 is an ideal chapter to focus on as we continue our series on “Cultivating Fruitfulness,” because it’s all there – Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. We see:
* People of all nations and races being added to and included in the faith community.
* People receiving the Good News and being saved.
* People being cared for as they had need.
* People demonstrating wonders and signs of God’s Kingdom power.
There they are in glad and passionate worship that praises and magnifies God’s presence, and in devotion to the teaching of the apostles, as they fellowship and pray together – growing as believers -- drawing strength from one another, and from the Lord.
Isn’t it amazing what God can do when His people come together as one in the Spirit?
Some people think they can practice the Christian faith without being part of a community of believers – but they’re just fooling themselves. As John Wesley put it, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”
Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles and the earliest disciples of Jesus bore much fruit for the Kingdom of God. As members of the very same Church – the Body of Christ on this earth – we, too, are called to bear fruit, and plenty of it.
If you’ve been keeping up with your daily devotions in the “Cultivating Fruitfulness” books, you know we’re concentrating on “Intentional Faith Development” in today’s worship.
Of all these five practices of fruit-bearing congregations, this is the one with the clunkiest name. Intentional Faith Development – what the heck is that? Well, what does the book say?
The author, Bishop Robert Schnase, defines Intentional Faith Development as being “all the ministries that help us grow in faith outside of weekly worship: Bible studies, Sunday School, small groups, and retreats where we learn in the community of other Christians. By these practices we mature in faith; we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God.”
Schnase add that Intentional “refers to deliberate effort, purposeful action, and high priority. Growing in grace does not come without purposeful commitment to learning the faith and cultivating our love for God.”
You know some people think all they need to do is believe in Jesus, maybe join a church, and then they can kick back and relax. Friends, it doesn‘t work that way.
Being saved is just the beginning of the journey. It’s not about getting our ticket punched for heaven. It’s about living for Jesus Christ here on earth, and knowing that come eternity, He’ll hold us in the everlasting arms of grace.
Following Jesus Christ isn’t the golden path to an easy life. He never said it would be. But it is the path that brings abundant life here on this earth – life filled with meaning and purpose. And it is the path that ultimately leads us home to our King.
There are many opportunities for Intentional Faith Development here at our church, or related to our church. We have Sunday School classes for all ages, and a regular Bible Study, too. There’s Vacation Bible School, and the School of Christian Mission. There’s the Friendship Class, and the great ministry of United Methodist Women, not to mention our various choirs, and the potential for youth activities.
Each of these groups, in some way, contribute to and strengthen our life as disciples – helping us to grow in grace.
But there’s always room for improvement, always new ideas and possibilities to explore, with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
For example, I am thinking about offering a Confirmation Class next year for some of our older children, to help them prepare for a deeper level of commitment to Christ.
Now I’m tempted to run through a bunch of other suggestions off the top of my head. But you know what? I’d rather see what the Holy Spirit brews in your hearts and minds over the coming weeks and months. I bet some of you will have ideas for wonderful new ministries that could be led by anyone here with God’s help, and with the backing of this congregation.
You know prayer can be a really dangerous thing, especially if we pray for knowledge of God’s will, and the power to carry it out. In the same vein, Bible Study can really mess with your life. Because when we learn together in small groups, it helps us explore possibilities that God may have for us that we never would have considered on our own.
Intentional Faith Development isn’t for the faint of heart – but then if we’re serious about it, neither is being a Christian. Like Simon Peter, we may find that being a disciple will lead us into places and situations where we might not normally go. And that’s a good thing. Remember, Jesus doesn’t call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful.
Rev. Allen Bevere, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Ohio, told an interesting story about Intentional Faith Development in one of his recent sermons. He writes:
“Many years ago in a previous church I served, I had a parishioner who, though very faithful in his weekly worship attendance, never attended Sunday School or one of the several weekly evening studies being offered. Over time I managed to strong-arm him (in a pastorally loving way, of course!) into taking DISCIPLE Bible Study. He came the first night reluctantly, saying boldly to all the other participants that he was far too busy to do all the reading required, and that he received all the Bible he needed in the sermons each week.
Rev. Bevere continues:
“I asked him in front of the group if he would agree to attend the study for a month, do all the assigned reading during that time, and complete the lesson each week. In other words, if he promised to be intentional in giving his best to the group and to the experience, I promised him that I would not protest if he wanted to quit after a month.
“After four weeks of DISCIPLE he not only chose to continue for the entire 34 weeks, but he also readily signed up the following autumn for DISCIPLE II and then, the year after, for DISCIPLE III; and he eventually moved forward in his faith development to . . . (be a leader for) future DISCIPLE groups.
Bevere concludes:
“Intentional Faith Development had opened up the world of discipleship in a way this man had never experienced before. He went from being content in his faith to being hungry for God. He truly exhibited what the psalmist said so many centuries ago: ‘As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.’ ” (Ps. 42:1) (1)
What about you? Are you hungry for God? Do you have all the faith you need? Or is the Holy Spirit stirring within you a desire for more faith? Stirring a desire to experience more of who God is?
Rev. Gary Bullock of Florida notes that if worship lights our fire, “being in a small group with others keeps the fire burning and makes it stronger.” (2) That is what Intentional Faith Development is all about.

Would you like to go a deeper level in your walk with Jesus Christ? Or perhaps, if you’re new to the church, offer your life to Him for the first time, putting it all in His hands?
It can begin right here, right now – this morning – as we come to His table, share in this holy meal, and make a commitment to be a disciple of Jesus.
That same Holy Spirit that gave birth to the Church all those years ago is here with us. With great power – wonder-working power – the Spirit stands ready to give us new life.
Thanks be to God!

-------------------------

1. Allen R. Bevere, Five Practices Leader Manual, p. 117, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
2. Gary D. Bullock, Five Practices Leader Manual, p. 120, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.