Chapel Hill United
Sunday Sermon
Discernment for Decisions
Acts 10:34-43 Rev. Galen E. Russell III
Matthew 3:13-17 January 13, 2008
“But
Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now; for it is proper for us in this way
to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
Prayer: Please
open our hearts and our minds to your wisdom and will, O God. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Hold on to your hats!
I predict that the next 11 months, we are going to be bombarded with the
most political ads and news of political scandals and crises and political
rhetoric and political mud-slinging than ever before in our modern day
history. We are going to see more
political billboards and signs endorsing candidates along the highways than
ever before. I’m tired of it all
already. Last year was like the
pre-season of the political season. The
Iowa Caucus and the
I’ve said many times in our Mid-Week STAR Bible study
class and in other settings that when it comes to making a choice for a
candidate, the process is simple: vote for the person whose ideas most closely
aligns with your ideas on the issues facing our country. Don’t base your selection on the candidate’s
sex, or the person’s race, or their age, or their religion, or how much money
one has or how much one has spent.
Likewise, don’t base it on whether or not the person might make
history. Or, whether or not the person
is electable in your opinion. You like
what the candidate advocates, then make your selection. I’ve expressed that sentiment several times.
One thing I’ve forgotten, and I’m actually embarrassed
to admit that I forgot it. I have not
said this until now, and it needs to be said, perhaps again and again: go to
God in prayer about which candidate to pick.
Go to God in prayer about your decision.
Seek God’s wisdom and will about who God desires to be the next
President of the
As Christians, I think we are to include God on all
our decisions, not just who to vote for.
This is called practicing discernment.
It means coming to God in prayer as part of the process we go through
when we have a decision to make. It
means seeking to know God’s will in the matter, being able to perceive and
distinguish between one choice over another or over several choices.
Of course, it’s terribly important to include God in
the big, lifetime choices, right?
Include God in your decision on whether or not to get married to this
person, or to continue with a relationship with this person, or not. Include God in your marriages and
relationships that you are in now, how
you are choosing to relate to one another, trying to decide where you go from
here.
Include God in your decision whether or not to keep
the job you are in, or to seek the promotion, or to start a home business on
top of your regular job. Include God
when you are trying to decide if you want to make the major purchase of a new
car, or a new home, a remodeling job, or whether you want to return to college for
some continuing education. These are
some lifetime decisions.
But, it’s equally important to include God in your
regular day to day decisions, too, even the ones on how to serve God. Ask God for God’s wisdom and will on what you
can do for the ministry of Jesus Christ here at Chapel Hill UCC. Discern God’s guidance about making
contributions to Our Church’s Wider Mission, or keeping up with your pledges
and commitments throughout the year.
Discern God’s guidance about coming to church, singing in the choir,
serving on a committee, etc.
Come to God in prayer for all our decisions that we
make, juggling God, family, church, friends, job, etc. Decisions on how you
prioritize your life. Decisions about inviting an ostracized member of the
family to join in your activities.
The trouble is, all too often we do not do this, do
we? All too often we leave God out as we
listen to everyone else, sometimes getting nowhere, or going way off the track. I was amused by the old fable about an
elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was
leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool
for not riding, so to please them, he climbed up on the animal’s back. When they came to the next town, the people
said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the
ride. So, to please them, he got off and
set the boy on the animal’s back and continued on. At the third village, people accused the
child of being lazy for making the old man walk and the suggestion was made
that they both ride. So the man climbed
on, and they set off again. In the
fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey
because he was being made to carry two people.
The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down road (Sermon
Resources for January 13th, from www.Illustrations@Clergy.net, retrieved
January 11, 2008). Do you suppose that
story’s almost like a political allegory?
I don’t know.
The point is, we can and do listen to other people
when it comes to making our decisions, but I encourage us to take time to
discern God’s wisdom and will in the process of making the decision. Pray for discernment in your decisions.
Peter had to discern what was God’s will when he was
faced with the possibility that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not just for the
Jewish people. What led up to Peter’s
speech was that Cornelius, an Italian centurion, a non-Jew, had a vision of an
angel who told him to contact Peter. So,
Cornelius sends two of his servants to find Peter. When they come close to Joppa, the town where
Peter was staying, God gave Peter a vision as well. This vision showed a huge sheet coming down
with a whole bunch of unclean animals in it.
The voice told Peter to kill and eat.
Peter refused saying that he has never broken Jewish food laws. Three times this happened, and the sheet was
taken back to heaven. Right then,
Cornelius’ servants show up and invite Peter to come visit Cornelius. The next day, Peter takes along a few
friends, and they go to Cornelius which gives Peter the opportunity to preach
Jesus as the Christ.
Because of all this, Peter discerned that God shows no
partiality between Jew and Gentile. Once
he discerns this, Peter decided to launch into the speech of today’s
reading. While Peter is speaking, the
Holy Spirit comes fully upon the Gentiles.
It was the second Pentecost experience!
John the Baptist had to discern what was God’s will
when he wanted to be baptized by Jesus.
John discerned that Jesus was some one special. “You should be baptizing me,” said John. But, Jesus wouldn’t have any parts of it.
Jesus had to discern what was God’s will when faced
with the temptation to be revered by John.
John recognized the greatness of Jesus, but Jesus would not usurp John’s
role. When Jesus was baptized by John,
heaven opened up, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus, and the voice said,
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well-pleased.” And, Jesus’ ministry was born.
You see, Peter had to practice discernment for his
decision, and the gospel to the Gentiles was born. John the Baptist had to practice discernment
in the decision to baptize Jesus, and Jesus had to practice discernment in his
decision not to baptize John. And, as a
result Jesus’ ministry was born.
In our church, the most common form of baptism is
infant baptism, but sometimes, we share in the baptisms of children and
adults. But, regardless of how baptism
is practiced, or when it occurred, it always signifies a new beginning of life
in Christ. It always represents the
birth point of our journeys as people who are perpetually known, named,
claimed, and loved by God. As such, our
baptisms are the beginning of our ministry as Christ’s servants, the birth
point as people whom God uses to extend Christ’s ministry.
Most of us, if not all of us, are baptized. Today, I invite us to re-affirm our
baptisms. You can come unto God if you
wish, and renew and re-affirm your faith in God. You are invited to come forward to the
Baptismal font and re-affirm your baptism with a little sprinkling of water and
prayer. Such an act of faith in our
worship of God represents a renewal of the moment you were baptized.
This ceremony is similar to a married couple who want
to renew their vows; they do so with the understanding that they are
re-affirming their love for each other and the moment they were married years
before. But, they can feel the fresh
vigor of the Spirit now in their love for each other as the renewal of vows
takes place. Likewise, we can feel the
freshness of the Spirit now as we renew our baptisms and experience a fresh
start in discerning God’s wisdom and will in the decisions we make as ministers
of the gospel.
So, friends, I invite you to come for renewal and
re-affirmation of your baptisms, not because you must, but because you
may. We will sing the hymns listed as
those who wish to re-affirm their baptisms and faith share in the ceremony. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Re-affirmation of Baptism