Report Card

Be the Church 12

Aug 28, 2023

Intro

We have made it to the last of the ministry of the members. This final one is optional, since it is basically about reviewing your own membership. You could use the self-reflection report card, or use it to review the series for those who missed it, or just let it be comment, it is up to you dear preacher.

12- Reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one's membership, and considering ways in which one's participation in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful

Psalm 119:9-16

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Hebrew Scriptures, and is an acrostic (poem where sections, in this case 8 lines, start with a series of letters, in this case the full Hebrew alphabet). It extols the goodness of God and God’s Law.

This particular section (starting with the second letter, Bet) begins with the rhetorical question, “How can young people keep their way pure?” which I do not think is as ‘boomer’ as it sounds. Generally, it is asking the question, what is the source of our wisdom? It then talks about the writer’s interaction with the scriptures, treasuring these words in their heart, meditation on precepts, and put them into practice.

The image is one of a person who is steeped in scripture, who meditates and ‘mumbles’ over it throughout their lives, applying it to their way of being. This is not an instant, ‘eat this fruit and you will know everything,’ but a never ending process of discovery.

Romans 6:1-14

Again, we go back to the deep well of the letter to the Romans. Paul has already claimed the Justification that we have through Christ, and is now exploring the process of sanctification by which we are transformed into the image of God (an allusion used in Galatians, but seems to apply here too). He masked that claim that through baptism we have died to our old sinful nature (that was enslaved to sin), and have become a new creation along with Christ. He is ramping up to the long discourse about life in the Spirit as opposed to life lived according to the flesh, culminating in (what we call) Romans 8. Several theological definitions would be helpful here:

Justification: the ‘already’ part of our salvation. This is the view that God has of us in light of the righteousness of Jesus. We are free, we are forgiven, it is ‘just as if I hadn’t sinned’ (cute, huh?). This is the ‘yes’ of God for us, it is the freedom of the children of God in which we can claim boldly in the Assurance of Pardon, “we are forgiven.”

Sanctification: this is the ‘not yet’ side of salvation. This is our own time-bound view of ourselves. Paul can say all day long that we have died to sin and are a new creation, but living into the reality takes a little time. In Sanctification, we are becoming more ‘sanctified’ (holy, set-apart, saintly if you will). The cute version of this one is: ‘we are not sinless, but we sin less then we used to.’

Prayer of Confession: Our prayer of confession is weekly made in the interplay of these two sides of salvation. We are called to confession in the sure and certain hope of our justification. It is this, and this alone, that allows us to approach the throne of God with boldness, recognizing that we have already received a passing grade from God (and in God’s abundance, even an A+). In light of this justification, we are able to acknowledge our sin; our shortcomings; our brokenness; our foibles, flaws, and fuck-ups; both as individuals and as a community. We then receive the reminder of that grace again, and sing ‘Glory to God’.

Self Reflection Report Card

(I gave this to folks and asked them to consider how well and how not-so-well that they have done at the various ministry of the members)

This summer, we have looked at what it means to be a member of a church. There are some of these things that we do well individually or as a congregation, and there are other ones where we could improve.

Take some time to review and evaluate the integrity of your own membership, and consider ways in which your participation in the worship and service at this church may be increased and made more meaningful.

Such involvement includes:

proclaiming the good news in word and deed
taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation
lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support
studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life
supporting the ministry of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents
demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church
responding to God's activity in the world through service to others
living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational political, cultural, and social relationships of life
working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment
caring for God's creation
participating in the governing responsibilities of the church
Share Tales of Faith

Worship Resources

Call to Worship (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MESSAGE)

ONE: And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us!

MANY: And so we are transfigured much like Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Prayer of the Day

Living God, you call us as your church, as the body of Christ. Help us do better today than we did yesterday, and tomorrow do better still at reflecting your glory! Amen.