Elements of a Living Faith: part 1

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-- September 7th, 2008

Pastor John Nelson


  • Psalms 119: 33-40 Teach us the ways, Change my heart
  • Ephesians 4: 11-16 Unity of the body of Christ
  • Matthew 21: 23-32 Parable of the two sons: which is doing the will of the father


"This is what it means to be the body of Christ"


I am really excited about this year. This is what I came to Gethsemane to be a part of; creative - active - imaginative - and Biblical ministry that is life giving. "Elements of a Living Faith" is just that. It is alive! So often you can walk into a church and tell if the place is alive or if it is dead. Do the people sing, do they welcome you, are they engaged in the worship of their God, are they active in their community, is their faith A-L-I-V-E?

This year we will be lifting up 7 Elements to a Living Faith. Take out the card you received with your bulletin and let's look at them together. The 7 elements are; Prayer, Worship, Studying Scripture, Doing Acts of Service and Justice, the Stewardship of our Life and Resources, and Building Spiritual Friendships. These are not things we have to do, they are things that as a child of God we can do and which will bring us new life that we otherwise would not know. They are life giving practices for living out our faith. How does that happen?

Kids look at those pictures on the walls... what do you see in those banners? Tell me.
Graphic Designer Julie Lindstrom: had a vision, Matt. 13:18, the parable of the Sower, God plants these seeds of faith in our lives and where we come into contact with that seed, like the second panel there, the seed comes to life. God expects us to be good stewards and tend to these seeds, nurture them, help them to grow so that we might have life, and live into our baptismal promises; to be God's, to know forgiveness, to have eternal life, and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. These panels are going to be a gift that keep reminding us, keep calling us to live out our faith.

Matt. 21 - All too often our response to these seeds of faith is like the parable of the two sons in our gospel lesson today from Matt. chapter 21. Here the father asks his sons to go into the vineyards and work. One says no, but ends up going after all. The other says yes, but never goes. Jesus asks; which one is doing the will of the father, and indirectly which one are you? It is easy to play lip service to the baptismal promises we make to come to God's house, to study scripture, and to grow in faith to the full measure of Christ like Paul talks about in our second lesson. But are we doing it? Sometimes and sometimes not. Perhaps you feel your faith life never really got started, or perhaps it grew but is now is not really producing any fruit. Sometimes we are engaged with our faith, but so often it is not constant. Faith takes work.

The thing to realize, like the Psalmist says, is that there is real life in following God's instructions. Ps. 119:37 "Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways." These elements are not things we have to do for God to be saved, but things that are meant to help our faith grow. They bring us life, and in turn help us to reflect Christ in the world. To grow up into Christ, to the maturity of faith is to grow period. I asked the Thursday Behold bible study classes, what a mature Christian looks like. We all know individuals that we would consider to be mature in their faith and they all said; "They are constantly growing. They never stopped. They are humble in knowing their own weakness and their need to keep working at their faith. They also act responsibly in using their gifts so they can encourage others in their faith. Their faith presents itself so that it comes through in everything they do. They are not perfect themselves, but their faith and trust are."

Prayer, Worship, Studying Scripture, Doing Acts of Service and Justice, the Stewardship of our Life and Resources, and Building Spiritual Friendships. If you feel these 7 Elements seem too daunting to do, how about you try living them out like some of our mature Christians around here. Like ...

  • Diane Laluzne & Carol Rodine and the prayer shawl ministry, Grow in your prayer life.
  • Sue Hedberg & Lisa Shelsted setting up communion every week. Grow in your worship life.
  • Art Adamson and Bob Larson and the Thursday morning guys, Scripture not just donuts. Grow in reading the bible.
  • Neil Enzenauer the guys building our new water fall, playing in a sand box. Grow in serving others.
  • Hospitality plus team, creating a welcome place for all people. Grow in standing up for justice.
  • Bev and Mike Patterson - Ambassador visitors, delivering bread to visitors. Grow in sharing God's story.
  • Generous givers of our challenge gift today. Grow in the stewardship of your life and resources.
  • Donna Anderson & Mary Ofstie gathering the book club, Grow in Building spiritual friendships.

There are great things happening at Gethsemane, but we all can use some growth in various areas. This year I invite you to join a group you have been wanting to. Grow a little deeper in one of these areas that you know have been a weakness for you. Get involved and get engaged, so that your faith may come alive in a new way this year. We promise to help you in each and every way possible. We have planned to roll out these themes through the whole year.

Year Long Roll Out

  • Fall; we will be focusing on "Studying Scripture". Bookmarks mailed out with helpful hints.
  • Oct-Nov; "The Stewardship of Our Life and Resources" - Living our faith through our Stewardship
  • Advent; "Worship" - start mid-week services, reclaiming advent.
  • January; New Year's resolutions - living out faith through "Acts of Service and Justice"
  • Lent; "Prayer"
  • Easter Season; "Sharing God's Story"
  • Summer; "Building Spiritual Friendships"

We will be surrounded by these elements and they will seep into everything we do. The banners will be up all year, bookmarks will change with the seasons and be mailed out to you, and we made magnet sets for families to fill in the "Elements" mural - piece by piece - as a way to teach these foundations of faith to your children. You will receive the first piece next week in Sunday school. For today, I invite you all to take this wallet card and keep it with you. Place it by your work place, on your fridge, or on your night stand so you can keep God's invitation before you, reminding you, calling you to live your life as a child of God and let your faith come alive again. Amen.