Bodily Functions – my reflections on Sunday’s Sermon
It’s a good thing that Harry, our minister, has learned to trust in God and give Him the lead.
Today in church we had no electrical power. He knew ahead of time and had a generator working. But even with that the generator, power was lost twice,; once when we needed it for the words for singing; and another time in the middle of a talk by a member and a reading of the Scripture.
Harry kept cool through the whole service. Never once did we think that it bothered him. After the service, he said, “it was tough.” We didn’t notice as his sense of humour and relaxed attitude made a lovely service despite the difficulties.
Our sermon title this morning was “Bodily Functions”. Based on Romans 12:3-8 NIV.
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Starting with Paul’s humble admission that he can only speak because of God’s grace, Paul proceeds to tell us how we can be a viable part of the church body.
What did I learn this morning?
- Self-esteem, the buzz word of the 60s, has finally come crashing down with new research to tell us that it doesn’t do much to build a strong person. No higher grades, no better jobs or no better life – with a high self-esteem. What does seem to matter is self-control. Telling our kids how good they are all the time doesn’t help them [self-esteem building]. Praising kids when they do well and gently critiquing them when they do wrong helps build a good person [self-regulation]. Even Oprah Winfrey has reversed this point of view:
“But in recent years, researchers have found that self-esteem falls far short of its anticipated benefits. What’s more important is a sense of self-mastery—getting along in the world and knowing you can handle yourself in myriad situations.”
- He talked about faith and how we get there. We need to be REAL and honest: Admit we are in need and then grow in our faith as our eyes are opened to who we are. It is healthy to be truthful.
- We need to get a balance in our minds between Jesus’ teaching of humility and the world’s view of self. Paul also teaches us to use our gifts – that is self, right? So we need to balance the ability to do things well and still be humble about it.
- God’s Spirit flows through us giving us abilities to help His Church. We don’t want to turn off that flow. Once again balance the self and humility.We need each other as part of the church. We need those who prophesy, the encouragers, the servers, the teachers, the contributors, the leaders and those who show mercy.
- We need to find our part in the church – remember, the church is a people. We need to be willing to search out who we are and be willing to do our part to work for God’s Church. That might be stepping out in faith – being brave and pushing past the fears. But remember, too, not to get too much of self in the way so we can get along with others.
Great things to remember.
Thanks, Harry.
Here is the PODCAST. Part 1. Part 2.
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