The Task of God’s Gift of Love

(Excerpts of Rev. Brad DeFord’s sermon on 2/14/10)

  “At the present we have more questions than answers; we are aware of more uncertainties than certainties.  It is both good and necessary to remind ourselves that our courage to be church does not come from our own making or because of our own merits.  Rather, our courage to be church is itself a spiritual gift of God to us….

…So the “spirit of power” God gives us is meant to encourage and empower us to face this time in our life together as church by being bold!  We are not to be cowed by what we do not know, nor are we to be overwhelmed by what we face, nor are we to be discouraged because there are no easy fixes for our situation.  Instead we are to rely upon the “spirit of power” God gives us, so that we do not become victims of our helplessness and fear, but rather encouragers of each other.

 …I don’t know of another of God’s Gifts that is as misunderstood within the church as this “spirit of love.”  Most of the time we take that to mean that we are to “get along” with each other, which ends up meaning that the spirit of love we want to receive is one that makes us comfortable with being together in this place.

…So along those lines, I have to ask us: Are we the kind of church to which people would send their children for safety’s sake in times of trouble?  Could we so Love that the mothers in Torrance say, “Kids, if there’s a problem, go to that little church on the corner of Ocean and 230th Street—you’ll be safe there.”  You see, for me, if we were to have that sort of reputation, we really would be accepting the task that comes along with the God’s gift of the spirit of love….

…Now, finally, there is a third part to this gift of the spirit God does give us: power, and love—and self-discipline…  This third part of God’s spiritual gift might be the most challenging of all to accept.  I say this because accepting the gift of the spirit of self-discipline means that each of us takes on more responsibility for our own spiritual growth

...This is the perfect time for us to “rekindle” the Gift of God that is already within us.  This is the perfect time for us to accept the spiritual gifts of power, and love, and self-discipline—that God has already given us!  This is the perfect time for us to accept those gifts by also accepting the tasks that come with them.

            Let us serve God in empowered and empowering ways! 

            Let us serve God by growing in love! 

            Let us serve God by practicing the self-discipline of our own spiritual growth, so that together, we grow our church from the inside out.

In all of these ways and more, may we “guard the good treasure entrusted to [us], with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”  (v.14)”  Amen.