God's Call - week 2 - Vocation Sunday

Sermon notes from sermon Preached at Sunday AM and St. Peter's Church Sunday 15th September 2019 - On the theme of Vocations  - Text Jonah 

Below are videos used 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen 

Today, the parishes of The Church of Ireland are being asked to consider vocations to the ordained ministry - Asking people to consider are they being called to serve God in this particular way - This is not to glorify this one particular way of life - but to present it as an option that some might consider serving God in this way. It’s also an opportunity to get an insight into a way of life which is sometimes misunderstood or even shrouded in mystery. 

I realise that this is not a topic many here are considering but my hope this morning is that we all might learn something of the processes of church  life and also to encourage what God might be doing in the lives of those around us. 

The passage I’ve chosen to speak on today is one which might seem strange - we’re neither living in old testament times, nor is there much risk that those who run from a call from God might get eaten by a big fish! 

What I do want to say today is that: 

God still Calls today - he may be calling people here! Or those known to us 

That call might be scary when we first receive it but it when we do recieve it somehow by the power of the spirit is effective - when we keep close to him 

I also want to keep this in perspective: God's call is to all people - not just ordination! 

The call to a relationship with him (Primary Call) 

His call for those in relationship with him to share his love with other 

Then there is the vocational call - a call to live our lives in response to what we hear from him - that maybe as a shop worker, a teacher, a IT worker, doctor, carer .... or whatever you find yourself doing. Living out faith where you are. 

Today is more a bit of personal testimony than an exposition of the scriptures 

It is fascinating to me that the story of Jonah ends with Jonah wishing he had never come at all

In a commissioning service for one of the mission teams I went out on as a teenager - Bishop Harold Miller spoke about Jonah and he said it can be summarised in 3 points 

I won’t Go 

I will Go 

I wish I hadn’t come at all

For me, my calling to this place - a calling to ordained ministry is one in which I received happily as a teenager, I thought what the heck had I signed up for as a twenty-something yr old and have days where I think - Really God? What is this about - I’m not worthy nor equipped for this - and then time after time he says actually you are - and this is why! - my strength is made perfect in his weakness.

I mention this because my call was fostered by Godly people - speaking into my life - have you considered the Church? - you should consider it!

It also was reinforced by understanding my own gifts and passions 

It was tempered by feelings of I can’t, I really can’t - how would I …?

And then a running away from things during my uni years - maybe I was meant to work in computers and websites - or maybe it was secondary teaching I was meant to do 

With a wee bit of anger thrown in - If you wanted me to do this then why was such and such happening! - . Looking back through those years I can see how they shaped me - how the twists and turns of church processes shaped my life - angered me a bit but also clarified my calling! 

When I look back on my own few years in ministry The call to this way of life is not easy - nor is it overly difficult - when compared to others

Its really hard to describe: 

• Yes its leaving home, its being in and living in community, its sharing the Gospel, its a privilege. I find it very difficult to explain what my role entails 
• It’s up front (something that sometimes is difficult for someone who would rather be sitting down the back). 
• It’s time consuming - we don’t work 9-5,  usually we get a day off a week, we don’t know what the next phone call will bring 
• We’re dealing with all sorts of practicalities, trying to be quiet and contemplative, whilst also trying to reach out and be evangelistic whilst also maintaining our identity 
• In one day We could be drinking tea and coffee in a nursing home, doing a school assembly, attending a diocesan meeting, updating websites and then going to a Bible study and preparing a sermon for Sunday. 

But above all ministry is a privilege - we get to see people as they really are - we get invited into the most intimate of situations - the moments where the closest of people are at their most raw as well as the most public of events. But our presence is always the same - to Bring God’s love, his support and his peace. 

If God is calling you to ordination, if you feel even the slightest of nudges in that direction - set out to discern if its for you - if it is then explore that to the full. It is a long road but certainly an exciting one 

If it’s not - that’s great - there are many many other ways to serve God. 

I’m going to leave it there for now - simply to say - if anyone wants to begin to chat about these issues, to chat to someone about call, to question me even further about things - do get in touch! 

God's Call - It's Your call - Week 1 -

Below is the first in a series of sermons this month looking at God's Call - as part of It's Your call - This sermon was preached in Blarney Church on Sunday 9th September at 11am Holy Communion Service. 

Reading Judges 6:11-18

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always be acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen 

I wonder what comes to your mind when you hear the word - Call - in relation to God? 

Is it something like - ordination, Lay reader or some other post in the church? 

We have somehow clericalised and mystified what should be something that needs to be talked about more openly than it is, we as a church need to be much more open about what God might be saying to people. 

This month the Church of Ireland has launched a new website and resources talking more openly about Call - under the theme of - its your call on the website these words are written …

Vocation isn’t just about being ordained – ordination is not for everyone.Indeed, many of the Church’s ministers are not ordained. 

Youth and children’s ministers, evangelists, readers and many chaplains are generally not ordained, and are collectively known as lay ministers who serve alongside the ordained. 

While the Church is keen to foster vocations to the ordained ministry, there are many ways in which to serve the Church. 

If you are wondering what God wants you to do with your life and are keen to explore further the various stages in discerning your call, you will find it helpful to speak with your Rector or local Diocesan Director of Ordinands. They can encourage you, as you prayerfully discern what area of ministry God is calling you to.

What area of ministry might God be calling you into?

Whoever you are, whatever life stage you are at … there are things for you to do.  He has plans for each one of us … beyond what we think or imagine. 

Having said all of this I want us to look at the passage for this morning - and look at one specific call - the call of Gideon - a man who is scared, questioning and realistic about his weaknesses 

Let’s take these in turn 

Scared - This guy is threshing wheat in a wine press - That fact might be overlooked - I certainly didn’t see too much wrong with it when I first read it but when we dig a bit deeper into the culture and practices of ancient Israel 

Normally, a person would thresh wheat on a wooden threshing floor, using a threshing sledge pulled by oxen. The floor would be in an exposed place, usually the top of the hill, so that the winds would carry away the lighter chaff and leave only the heavier grain. Only the very poor would have so little grain that they would beat it with a stick, and even they wouldn’t do it in a winepress, which was usually sheltered. But these weren’t’ normal times. Gideon was acting as he was, cautiously beating out a few sheaves of wheat in a sheltered winepress under a tree, because he was desperately afraid that the Midianites would confiscate his meager supply. (Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, 96) 

He’s in fear of his enemy - fear is an emotion which makes us look inward and causes us to loose confidence and depend on ourselves alone. 

What’s interesting in this passage is that - his visitor - his heavenly visitor says to him “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

He’s not a mighty warrior at this point - he’s a scared guy looking out for his own needs. 

Questioning - Gideon then questions this visitor - 

if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

What Gideon is saying is something which we might say from time to time - We’re abandoned, where is the Lord?, all of these crazy things have happened to us - how can the Lord be with us - is he taking a holiday - Lots and lots of questions.  Yes things need to change - we can’t go on the way we are going - all I can see is destruction, all I can see is desolation - where is God?, the enemy is having a field day with all of this stuff. 

But rather than being absent … actually he is there with his people and is raising up leaders - yes the leader might need to change, yes the people are struggling with the situation they see in front of them - maybe even the leader is quaking in his or her boots but they need to recognise that God is open for a dialogue - are we prepared to dialogue with Him? 

Gideon is scared, he’s questioning and he’s realistic about his weaknesses … or his perception of his weaknesses - yes it may be excuses but it also might be that he needs these things addressed - they are real impediments to him moving forward, to understanding his own identity and the way he views himself and the way others view him. 

These things are really important to Gideon in the wine press - look at what he says … how can I go … my clan is the weakest, and I am the least in my family. 

The Lord promises him I am with you … I’ll sort it out 

Each of Gideon’s issues are addressed 

His fear is met with a fresh call  - mighty warrior 

His questioning is met with an opportunity to change the question - no answers rather a mission - and a further question - Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?

His realism is met with fresh perspective and a promise 

None of us are going to have the same call as Gideon, actually none of us are going to have the same call as each other - we’re unique each and every one of us is unique

But I suspect we all have some level of fear 

We live in an anxious world - we do have fear about things - the future, the present, the past, our health, our family circumstances, our finances … whatever it may be - we’re not threshing in a winepress but we may be keeping our heads down in fear of something - I wonder what that is for you?  What would make you have courage beyond the limit of what you can see at the moment. 

Child of God, Preacher, Woman of God, Man of God, Daughter / Son of the King of Kings, 

Yes there is something in these things - You are more than you think you are. Your identity is more than is on your Public Service Card, driving licence or bank account.

Then there are the questions - those questions we all have - those questions about how God is at work, how he is working those plans out when seemingly they don’t make sense to us as we live through them. Perhaps we might discover some of the answers to them as we live out our call - that’s what we find out - actually the way God works is in partnership with humanity - with individuals who are prepared to place themselves in his hands - Gideon is raised up and we see how he actually fulfilled his calling as a mighty warrior. 

How do you get beyond the questions? - am I not sending you? - listen to the Lord’s question again - am I not sending you? - yes things are tough, yes things are scary - but might not you be the one the Lord is sending to get the work done? 

Whatever age we are, whatever is on our hearts … might not the Lord be sending you right to where we are going 

His realism - he is weak, his people are weak, but he can be used - if God is with him 

How amazing is that - and how amazing are we - you and I we need to begin to think actually God, the God of the universe is with us - we can dream big dreams of how he can use us - he can use every single one of us right here 

Look again at what Gideon is saying - he is using the excuses we all use from time to time - I’m not a leader, I couldn’t be - I’m only a local, I’m only a farmer, my family are not anything

Whilst preparing this sermon I was reminded of something I went to as a teenager - an event where I first received God’s call to ordination - It was a reminder that God has called me into his church - it wasn’t dramatic, but it was definite - I wonder what he could be calling you to do. 

Whatever life stage you are at - there’s more to be done! His perception of himself - was one thing - his reality was something completely different 

If you are fearful today - Know God’s peace as the baseline of your relationship 

If you are Questioning stuff - that’s OK you are in good company but don’t let your questions stop you - he might just ask some questions of his own! 

Don’t let your perception of yourself stop you from hearing the what God thinks of you and what he has in store for you. 

Love Languages

Over the course of the past couple of months I've had various conversations with people in the parish and in other places about relationships - marriage, their kids, their parents and so on and as a result I have been mentioning to them a book which I do recommend for anyone

A couple of years back I did a session on the 5 Love languages for teenagers but they are not just for teenagers ... they are for everyone.

Take a look at the quiz below ... in each of the sections - which do you prefer

Tot up which of the sections have the most ticks ...

Mostly A's - Words of affirmation, B's= Quality Time, C's= Gifts, D's= Works of service, E=Physical touch

This is how you receive love. and maybe how you give it. 

However not everyone is like you! ... and maybe your kid, parent, significant other doesn't speak or appreciate what you are trying to say to them. 

Imagine going to outer Mongolia and speaking english - you might not be understood, despite you best intentions - and thinking that you are speaking plainly. 

Maybe you might need to speak the others language! 

That's what Gary Chapman is getting at in his book - the 5 Love languages. It's been very helpful to many people ... Check out the videos below!