First Lutheran Church
Ministry Fair Sermon + June 11, 2023
“All Are Welcome” ELW #641 (Verses 1-3)
Let us build a house where love can dwell, And all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell, How hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,Rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak,And words are strong and true,
Where all God's children dare to seek, To dream God's reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness, And as symbol of God's grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:All are welcome...
Let us build a house where love is found, In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground,Where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us:All are welcome...
Sermon “Let Us Build A House”
Pastor Greg Ronning
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
From the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And then, in the fullness of time, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” O the places God has chosen to dwell! God, in Christ Jesus, born to Mary and Joseph, who named him, Emmanuel – which means “God with us.”
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
St. Paul writes in the second chapter of Philippians, “Let the same mind be in you that wasin Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be grasped,but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,assuming human likeness.And being found in appearance as a human,he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death -even death on a cross.” God not only dwells among us in Jesus, with us in our everyday life, but God also dwells with us in our most profound human experience, - in our struggle with suffering and death. God dwells with us on the cross, God dwells with us completely.
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
And God dwells on the other side of the cross, - in life resurrected. The Risen Christ invites us - to see and to believe. And then we are told to wait upon the promise of the Holy Spirit. And on that day, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit descends, as God continues to dwell with us in a new way. The Spirit descends upon each of us, the Spirit awakens life within each of us; and the Spirit re-members each of us into the church,- the Body of Christ. God’s presence continues to dwell among us, in us, with us, around us, and through us.
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
Today we celebrate the house built by the Holy Spirit, and in particular the house built by the Holy Spirit here in this place. We celebrate this physical building, those who went before us and built it here on the corner of Lemon and Wilshire. We give thanks for those who kept it up and running. We give thanks for the memories this place holds and the new memories that are being created.
But more importantly we celebrate that it has been a place where “all are welcome.” A place where those who need food are fed, where those who are marginalized are included, a place where the hospitality of Jesus is both proclaimed and practiced.We give thanks for a foundation built on grace and forgiveness, a foundation that gives birth to dreams and visions of hope and peace.
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
And we give thanks for our calling to continue to “build” this house. To continue to care for this place, both physically and spiritually. To be stewards looking to the future, creating the time and the space, where the love of God in Jesus - will always be revealed.
Today we gather for a “Ministry Fair.” A time for our leaders to report to you the work we are doing. A time to point out our successes, and a time to list the challenges this House of Faith faces. And we have both!
It will also be a time of listening to the Spirit. As you listen this morning to our leaders, also be listening for the voice of the Spirit that dwells inside of you.
How can you get more involved in the building of this house?
Where do your gifts and talents – match our needs?
What ideas do you have for “new additions” to our space, new ideas for ministry?
We gather this morning not just as random people, but as the gifted and talented people of the Holy Spirit. Called together for a particular reason, - to repair and to maintain, to tidy-up and to clean, to build and rebuild “this house,” -a place where all are welcome in the love of God through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
O Lord I love the house in which you dwell,The place where your glory abides,
So lovely, gracious, and true,To you, I lift up my eyes.
Amen.
“All Are Welcome” ELW #641 (Verses 4-5)
Let us build a house where hands will reach, Beyond the wood and stone
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach,And live the Word they've known.
Here the outcast and the stranger, Bear the image of God's face;
Let us bring an end to fear and danger:All are welcome...
Let us build a house where all are named,Their songs and visions heard
And loved and treasured, taught and claimed, As words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,Prayers of faith and songs of grace,
Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:All are welcome...