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“WITH GRATITUDE FOR OUR FAITH & CHURCH” (11/7/10)

SCRIPTURES: Hebrews 10:19-25 & Luke 6:20-31
KEY CONCEPTS: As followers of Jesus the Christ, we are called to be grateful not only for
our faith, but also for the faith communities that encourage us to live into the fullness of God.
OPENING ILLUSTRATION – GRATITUDE:
I love Thanksgiving! It’s one of the holidays that most easily lends itself to the spiritual
teachings of gratitude & appreciation to God for all that God blesses us with on a daily basis.
One of my seminary professors, Dr. T.W. Hunt, once asked our class what might happen if
one day, God only gave us what we’d thanked God for the night before. Thank God, the
Divine One we serve is not petty! AND yet, it was a good question for seminarians to wrestle
with & consider.
Dr. Hunt went on to explain that when a person is filled with gratitude—to God & to others—
that person is less likely to take God or people for granted. Gratitude reminds us all that we
need others to make our way in this world. By being grateful, we can more humbly accept
assistance & love from God & from others. Dr. Hunt went on to say that he often sensed that
the people in the United States were guilty of the “attitude of ingratitude” which is often
reflected in our country’s rugged individualism and the “me, me, me attitudes” that is often
glorified in our daily news cycle.
As followers of Christ, we are called to be different & live differently in the world. Both of our
readings today - one from the Gospel of Luke (6: 21-31) & one from the book of Hebrews (10:
19-25) - offer spiritual exhortations & insights on how we are “to be in the world” & how we
are to relate to both God & humanity. Join me as we look at today’s readings.
WILL YOU PRAY WITH ME? PRAYER:
WORSHIP THEME – “EXPRESSING OUR GRATITUDE”:
This morning, we begin our month long worship theme of “expressing our gratitude” by
focusing on a foundational reality for many of us here this morning: our personal faith in
Jesus Christ & our collective relationship to our neighbor through our faith community.
OUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH CHRIST & OTHER PEOPLE:
In the lectionary reading from Luke, chapter 6, today’s reading focuses on a section of Jesus’
“Sermon on the Plain” (which is comparable to Matthew’s longer “Sermon on the Mount”,
chapters 5-7).
Jesus’ teachings (Luke 6: 20-23) noted in several beatitudes – blessings – focused on
economic & social conditions, rather than merely on a person’s spiritual state. By interacting
with these verses as economic & social realities, 21st century followers of Christ must grapple
with how to practically “live out their love of neighbor”.
Conversely, Jesus’ antithesis verses (24-26) offer those of us who live in the United States
pause since most, if not all of us, are blessed beyond measure when compared to the rest of
the world’s population. According to Jesus’ teachings, the earthly gains we achieve will be
reversed in God’s divinely created future.
Followers of Christ are mandated by Jesus the Christ to:
• Love our enemies – Jesus demands love & forbids retaliation.
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• Do good to those that hate us
• Bless those who curse us – And this isn’t like that Southern “bless your heart” when
you really mean the opposite of blessing someone! 
• Pray for those who abuse us – How hard is it to pray for the bullies who mistreat our
GLBTQ youth (& even our straight youth) & drive some youth to attempt suicide!?
• Turn the other cheek – The inner strength that enables us to turn the other cheek
both figurative & literally is something that only a spiritual relationship can manifest.
• Give your coat, your shirt & goods, without expectation of a pay back or maybe
even a thank you – This mandate keeps us, I believe, from becoming too attached to
“stuff” & keeps our focus on the value of people as more important than “our stuff”
• The Golden Rule – Treat others how you want to be treated.
GENERAL APPLICATION & ILLUSTRATION: (Online reading)
How much better would our world be if everyone just applied “The Golden Rule” in dealing
with themselves & others? Did you know that every major world religion has a version of
“The Golden Rule”? Isn’t that amazing & it would seem that makes it a rather important
spiritual principle, don’t you think?
A few years ago (in 2008), I represented the MCC Global Justice Team in Atlanta, GA by
attending an “anti-torture seminar” that discussed the “Christian response” to torture of
people held at Guantanamo Bay. One of the military speakers said that every United States
military person had a field manual that stated one way to determine if an action was torturous
or not was to apply the Golden Rule to the situation. As an example, if a soldier who was
interrogating a prisoner, wasn’t sure if the technique s/he was about to use was questionable,
the soldier was to ask him/herself, “Would I want this technique used by the enemy on me or
one of my fellow soldiers?” I came away from that conference amazed that this little known
fact regarding the application of a spiritual principle that’s found in every major world religion
would have minimized (if not eliminated) torturous techniques within the U.S. military.
TRANSITION:
Jesus’ call to his followers to grow up spiritually & relate to him in tangible ways based on
how they treat other people continues in our reading from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews,
chapter 10, offers exhortations & at least 3 duties (& privileges) of those who follow Christ.
1. We are called to approach God in faith & worship (v. 22, 25)
2. We are called to hold fast to our public confession of our hope (v. 23)
3. We are called to consider how we can help others in love (v. 24)
EPISTLE READING – HEBREWS 10: 19-25 – OUR FAITH & OUR FAITH COMMUNITY:
All 3 duties & privileges from this reading are important & worth deeper study. However, for
the purpose of our worship theme & for our remaining time, I would like to focus on our
gratitude “for our faith community” & more specifically the local church known as Our Hope
MCC. For this reason, I direct our thoughts to verses 24-25:
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love & good deeds, NOT neglecting
to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, & all the more
as you see the Day approaching.
Can you remember a time in your life when you couldn’t find a Christian church that would
accept you wholeheartedly because you were GLBTQ? Can you also remember the very
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first time you attended Our Hope MCC (or another MCC) that not only accepted you, but
wanted YOU to be a part of their fellowship? I will never forget my first time at an MCC
worship service. It was at Joy MCC, in Orlando, FL back in 1995! To be accepted completely
is a gift & there is still a need for MCC to exist because so many GLBTQ people (& youth)
feel alone, unloved & unwanted by their churches of origin & by the larger Christian
community! Athens, GA & the surrounding areas need this church – as a reminder that
“God’s love is indeed for everyone!”
And we need to be reminded that our faith is not for us alone! We are called to offer those
coming after us a safe place to be both Christian & GLBTQ. Each member & regular
attendee of Our Hope MCC is needed in order to create an even stronger place of worship &
safety for our future generations of GLBTQ & straight allied youth!
Our Christian faith (& duty) mandates that just because “we’ve gotten ours & feel loved &
accepted by God” – that we are still needed to “meet together” & encourage our young
people AND those who are just coming out & struggling with their sexuality & spirituality!
Every one of us is needed – by God & by this local congregation – to continue to positively
impact our community, our state & our nation!
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
As we close today, I invite you, to “actively express your gratitude” during the entire month
of November. And to commit to “gathering together for worship” – to encourage yourself (&
each other) during this month of Thanksgiving!
Also, during November, we’re going to offer you ways to “express your gratitude” with each of
the following worship foci:
• Nov. 7: Gratitude for our faith & church
• Nov. 14: Gratitude for those who love & support us
• Nov. 21: Gratitude for family, friends & loved ones
• Nov. 28: Gratitude for & hope in the Christ Child

Since gratitude is simple & free; anyone can be grateful…we only need to make up our minds
& set our attitudes toward gratitude. I hope you’ll join me in taking some time this coming
week to thank God (& other people) for your faith, as well as your church. And for Nov. 14 &
21, I hope you’ll bring those who love & support you – as well as your family, friends & loved
ones to church with you! November begins a special time of year here at Our Hope MCC –
as we actively & intentionally express our personal & collective gratitude to God & others.
And as your pastor, I thank you now for who you are in Christ & for the myriad of ways that
you positively impact not only this faith community, but also the university community, the city
of Athens & the larger national & global community! Thank you & may God continue to bless
us as we bless others.

General Resources:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 3rd edition,(NRSV). (Oxford University Press: Oxford,
2007). 107-108, 380. (New Testament).