Sermons

FILTER BY:

← back to list

    Oct 16, 2016

    What if we make people's lives better?

    Passage: Matthew 25:35-40

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: What If?

    Category: Stewardship

    In Matthew 25, verses 35-40, Jesus calls his followers to reach out and make people’s lives better. Hungry? Thirsty? Lonely? Imprisoned? In need? When you take care of others, Jesus says, you are caring for me. What if RUMC makes people’s lives better? Each week during our stewardship campaign, we will be examining the “what ifs” of our stewardship: what if we can’t or won’t or don’t and what if we can live out our call from God?

    In the last 3 weeks, I have been blessed to meet 2 new Episcopal priests. One is the new rector at All Saints on Chatsworth Avenue, and the other is working with a friend of mine in Lutherville. Both of them asked about our congregation. Both of them lit up when I told them the RUMC is a church that truly reaches out in mission – and in a number of ways.

    I try my best not to puff out my chest when I talk about this, but the truth is, I’m very proud of you and be blessed to serve a church where mission is front and center. Have you ever actually looked at the list of missions on our website or in the Welcome Booklet? Even my home church which was very mission-minded didn’t have a Gold Star UMW unit! (If you’re wondering what that is, find a UMW officer and ask what that means.)

    Just in case you weren’t here last week, I need to say that this is not a missions message. It’s a stewardship message. It says a lot about this congregation to be able to focus on missions in relation to stewardship and to be able to say that you are and have been committed for many years to a culture of mission.

    There are lots of ways that we live out Jesus’ call in Matthew 25. My hope is that this call is and will be lived out personally in daily interactions with others by every person who is part of this congregation. If we don’t live it out, our personal discipleship is shallow and stale.

    As a body – as a congregation – we also live this call through our mission programs. It is through programs that we pool our resources with the goal of reaching a larger group of people. Those programs are largely made possible through our tithes and offerings and the human resources of RUMC disciples working side by side.

    One of the programs that has developed in the last 4 or 5 years is a partnership with 2 of the elementary schools in Reisterstown. Liz Livermore then told us about that ministry. Here are the basics of what she shared:

    • We are in partnership with Cedarmere and Glyndon Elementary Schools, both of which have a high number of children on the Free and Reduced Meals program, the measure used to determine the level of need represented by the student body. When a school reaches a particular level of need, they qualify to receive federal funding to meet a number of needs in the schools. While Cedarmere has had a fairly high number of children in this category for a long time, Glyndon ES has seen a steep increase in their percentage over the last five to seven years. However, as their percentage has increased, so has the requirement to receive federal funding and they are still not quite at the 60% necessary to receive funding.
    • To help the schools narrow the funding gap and provide programs to address several of the needs specific to children living in poverty, RUMC has been providing funding for 2 specific programs in these 2 schools:
      • We provide a small supply of underwear and sweat pants for children who have a problem of some kind during the day and need a change of clothing.
      • The second program, Positive Behavior Incentive System, is a behavior modification program. Teachers look for good behavior and reward it by giving the children “tickets” that they can redeem in the school store’s special prize closet. Things like little toys, nutrition bars, and juice are available for the children to “buy” with their tickets. The teachers report that the children are learning positive social interactions by participating in this program.

    • Liz called the guidance counselors at each school (Liz works directly with them) to ask them what would happen if we were no longer able to fund this ministry, and each of them gasped and then were silent. They each told Liz that this ministry is invaluable to the tone and progress of the school and the individual children and they could not imagine what would happen if we had to withdraw our funding.

    As we mentioned last week, there has been a lot of change in our community in the last 15 years. If you have ever driven by Covenant of Grace Presbyterian Church on Wednesday evenings around 7 pm, you have noticed a packed parking lot – and it’s not for Bible study. Hundreds of adults gather to learn and practice English as a new language.

    Some of the teachers in our congregation see every day the effects of having parents who cannot speak or read English. What if we are called to as seemingly simple a task as helping children with their homework?

    Watch the video shared in worship here.

    The scripture passage that we read this morning is the culmination of the chapter. There are 3 parables in this chapter, and the first story is the parable of the five wise and five foolish bridesmaids. The foolish maids squander the precious oil and are not ready when the bride approaches. They wind up missing the wedding.

    The second story is the one where a master gives 3 of his servants some of his money, with the instruction to take care of it. Two of the servants step out on faith and industriously get to work, using the money to maximize the work of the master and give him a return on his investment. The 3rd servant, out of fear, digs a hole and buries the money. He, too, squandered what the master entrusted to him. He didn’t receive a lot – but the little he had could have done some good.

    Our reading is the 3rd story. A piece of bread. A cup of water. A shirt. A bowl of chicken soup. A warm welcome. Taking care of Jesus’ children is a direct act of love for Jesus himself. It’s a pretty simple story. Notice that the gifts aren’t huge. But the results are epic.

    Remember our congregational mission statement? Growing together in Christ through Worship, Fellowship, Witness and Service. Growing – together. Our mission is directly connected to the message in Matthew 25: faith … discipleship are about growing, not holding back.

    Our intentional, faithful tithes and offerings – growing even little by little – make a huge impact on answering God’s call!