A Celebration of Seniors

A Celebration of Seniors

Rev. Larry Fry

College Avenue UMC

October 20, 2013

Based on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

For any new generation to have the Christian faith, there has to be another generation or two or three to help them discover and then make that faith their own.  It has been said that any church is only one generation from extinction.  One of the most amazing things about this church is that we have multiple generations worshipping, learning, giving, and serving together.  What an incredible blessing that is for us!  Do I have an Amen?

Psalm 78 is one of my favorites:

            We will tell to the coming generation

            The glorious things deeds of the Lord, and his might,

            And the wonders he has done…..

            To teach to their children;

            That the next generation might know them,

            The children yet unborn,

            And rise up and tell them to their children

            So that they should set their hope in God,

            And not forget the works of God.

When Sarah Biles suggested this as a special Sunday we ran with it.  We want today to honor the older generation in our church, to love seniors, of which I count myself a member.   Claribel Cornford, at 104, gave Sarah a favorite phases:  “We all travel the same road; some hit more bumps that others.”   Some of the phrases like “Do unto others…” does come from the Bible.  Others do not.  But, will use them during the sermon.

Last Sunday may be labeled for all time as pumpkin day.   I wish we had a photo of George Milliken’s smiling face surrounded with a swarm of smiling faces as he gave away his giant pumpkins.  George had a masterful year with pumpkins.  Some of the vines got to be more than 20 ft. long.   He has saved the seeds and maybe next year will be a good year as well.  It is one example of how one generation inspires the next.  All week I received stories of what happened to the pumpkins.

On Tuesday it was pumpkin day as our Early Learning Center went out to a pumpkin patch and they all came back with smiling faces, pumpkins, and shoes with inch of mud on the  soles.  It is great to get out in the out-of-doors and enjoy God creations.   

To grow a great pumpkin, it helps if you have to great soil.   To grow a Christian, it also helps if you have great spiritual base.  God can grow faith in anyone and at anytime, but it helps to have a rich soil of a faith heritage and a loving community of faith.  If you are going to bloom where you are planted, it is great to have parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, Sunday School teachers, family friends, or others church members.  Parents have great influence over their children.  It has been said, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”  Attitudes, faith, and actions of a son or daughter can be a lot like their mother or father.

And if you visit the community gardens or some local gardens, you might see a fence around the garden to keep deer or other critters away.   Fences offer protection for  sprouting plants.  Children also need to be protected and today there are lots of possible dangers.  The internet poses risks, as children can access just about anything and they need protective guards and lots of conversation with parents.  As we all grow in faith we need protective guides to keep out crazy ideas and dangerous theologies.  The old phrase, “A rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.”   The means that the negative influence of one person can grow and affect others.  We also know that this kind of thinking has led some churches to trying to get rid of some people, instead of surrounding all with the loving care that Jesus demonstrated and wants us to demonstrate. 

SOUND TEACHING

The best protection of all is sound teaching.  That is great soil in which we all grow.  We are blessed in this church with great teachers who spend time preparing and leading and help us grow. 

Guidance may come from family members. 

            My uncle always said, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.”

                        One translation of that is one way does not work, try another.

                        Some family member told you “Stand up straight.”  They

                        may have said: “The measure of a person is a firm handshake.”

            When you did not make the time, your grandma may have said,

                        “Every dog has its day.”  That is you will have your chance some

                        Some day when you shine and make it all happen.

            “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”          

            Some family member may have told you to clean your plate because

                        there are starving children in China.  I would ask mom to name one.

Parents and teachers taught us: “Waste not, want not” and “A penny saved is a Penny earned.”  Parents remind you that the “Early bird gets the worm.”  If you don’t get up early and work hard you “won’t amount to a hill of beans.”

BIBLE

At this church we take the Bible very seriously.  Yet the culture does not.  There is a cartoon in the New Yorker magazine which shows a man going up to a bookstore information desk.  He has to spell it out.  “Yes, that is “B-I-B-L-E.”  The woman, looking at the computer screen says, “Yes, we still have one of those….it’s in the self-help section. 

A grandfather told recently told me about his granddaughter who is part of our church family.  He said that this was the year of her first smart phone.  Of course she has apps on her phone and one of the first apps she put on was a Bible.  And that person is Isabella Williams….way to go, Izzy. 

            I believe that as the Bible was formed, God was at work through the Holy Spirit.

            I believe that the Bible contains the Word of God. 

            I believe that the Bible offers one of the clearest pictures into the heart of God. 

            Scripture is inspired by God; scripture stimulates creativity and life.  Yes, it contains history and letters and poetry and you can see how ideas developed over the centuries.  But it is also the Word of God for the people of God to help them discover the glory of God. 

Children can get from Seniors the message that “God made us.  God loves us.  Sin distorts us.  God forgives us.  Jesus saves us.  And heaven awaits us.”

Paul is older and he wants younger to follow in this ministry.   He wants the work of Christ to continue.  So Paul calls on Timothy to take the challenge of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to world, near and far.   Any church is one generation from extinction, unless the younger generation catch the vision and guiding values.

ITCHING TO HEAR

Paul is warning Timothy that when he preaches, don’t preach just what people want to hear, to make them happy.  He told Timothy the people were “chompin at the bit,” wanting to hear words that make them happy.   The Word of God offers something much better than happiness….a God-given joy that accompanies risk-taking adventures.  And Brad and Susie Shaw and Mark Fowler are just back from helping build a church in Panama.  This week Courtney Fowler joined Bishop Jones at a leadership conference for the Great Plains Conference meeting at the new conference Lay Leader.  And she tells me she will present a workshop at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa in February.

Mark Twain once said, “I am not worried about the parts of the Bible I don’t understand.   I am very concerned about the parts I do.”  Scripture holds up a mirror so we may see ourselves reflected and to know we are not always ready to hear the challenges; we would rather hear the comfort. 

So many time when we read the Bible, we are wanting to make it into what we believe, what we agree with, what is easy.   If we avoid the temptation to hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest, the Bible suddenly changes everything.  Instead of us examining the Bible…the Bible examines us.

           

When this happens we are “chompin’ at the bit to run this race of faith, wanting to hear, strained forward to listen….

What are you itching to hear:

            Congress has made a deal to keep the government funded…thank God.

            The scores for the baseball games – Detroit or Boston.

            New stories about our grandson or even better videos and photos.

                        What is he doing?  I itch for those every day.

Seniors, help us itch for the stories of what God has done.  Then we will have itching ears for what God is doing now and we will be more ready to join God in what lies ahead.

           

Paul was saying to Timothy: don’t race after every new fad.    “All that glitters is not gold.”  Just because something is new it may or may not be what God wants. 

Thank God, for seniors can help remind us what is most important to God and not just what seems cool at the moment.

Children can see in Seniors the message that “God made us.  God loves us.  Sin distorts us.  God forgives us.  Jesus saves us.  And heaven awaits us.”