When George/Nancy and I were in the Holy Land we observed first hand Bedouin tribes. Our guide said life in the tribes was pretty much the same as it had been for centuries. The role of the women was to do all the everyday work in the family and camp, while the men sat around the camp ready to fight and defend the camp in case of attack from another tribe. So what do you do as you sit around all day waiting to be attacked? You tell stories. It has been an extremely important practice in keeping their history and their heritage alive. Stories tell us where we have come from, and how we came to be who we are. To forget our stories is to forget all that has molded and shaped us personally and what shaped the culture we live in. Understanding this, maybe we can understand the directive in the Psalm about making sure the children, the next generation are told their historical stories.

Read Psalm 78:1-7

We, personally, understand this challenge of telling the mighty deeds and acts of God to each generation. If the Bible had not preserved these stories of the faith, there is a chance we would not have had access to them, and we would not be here today celebrating the good news of God’s love for each generation of the children of God.

Stories are also important, because we think in stories and images. It is why Jesus spent so much time teaching in story and parable. Stories are more readily remembered, while they also take us deeper into ourselves. They touch us not only intellectually, but also touch us emotionally.

The next two scriptures give us the very same message about our faith in Christ and living in the kingdom of God being a precious and wonderful gift. One does it in story or parable and the other as a creed. Listen to both and see which one is easier to remember and maybe even identify with.

Read Matthew 13:44 and Philippians 3:7-8

The word of God for the people of God.

Someone made the observation that the church is always just one generation away from dying. I believe it is the bottom-line understanding of what the Psalmist is trying to convey to his listeners.  It is why I love Walter Breuggeman’s statement that “God trusts us with our moment in history, or in God’s story.” It is up to us, as the church, to make sure the story of God’s love and compassion continues, is passed on to the next generation. Our own Book of Discipline states, “It is up to the church to convince people of the good news or leave them unconvinced.” It is why we are focusing on the topic of being evangelists, being God’s messengers of good news to the world. We are the ones called to tell the story.

One of our goals for the coming year is to continue to provide and expand biblical based worships, studies and programs that share this good news with others. The Bible is, in part, where we find a collection of stories and tenets about God’s presence, activity and goals for us as the children of God. The Bible is the witness to God’s presence in our lives. Yet, we recognize that planning and scheduling the programs to tell the story is only the beginning of the process. Then the discussion will drift to how do we let people know about the studies? How do we get people to come? It is our second goal. To do a better job of telling people who we are and what we are doing. How can people come and hear the story if they do not know it is even being told. And we begin talking about how we best advertise who we are and what we are doing.

Church consultants tell us that even in the midst of this information age where we have access to every conceivable way of reaching people in almost any part of the world almost instantaneously, the statistic for why people come to church for the first time has not changed. 80% of all first time worshippers come because someone invited them. In one way it sounds so easy. Ask someone to join you in worship, or at a study or a church program. Studies and programs, particularly music programs are a little less intimidating to both those inviting and those being invited.  We know it is hard, for someone has suggested that a United Methodist invites someone to church about once every 35 years. I have no idea how true that stat is, but it is one that has floated around. And yet, 90% of all people who are not affiliated with a church say that they would come if someone invited them.

One of the many inserts in your bulletin is about inviting a F.R.A.N. Obviously a play on words with friend. F.R.A.N. is an acronym for friends, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors. Take time to think about the special people in your life. Do you know an unchurched person in each of the categories? Maybe in just one or two of the categories. Write down their names and then pray for them daily. Ask God to open a door to you that may provide a space to invite them to worship or a church function like Wednesday Evening Program. This week’s is about China and the trip that your colleagues in Christ took in July.  It may be a bit anxiety provoking, but what a gift you become if you help someone find a spiritual home where they can journey with other pilgrims in the faith who seek to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ. It is why today is such a special time, knowing we have had people commit to walking with us, and entrusting to us their spiritual journey. Allowing us that opportunity to honor God’s trust of us in our moment as the church commissioned to bringing good news.

But there are those who truly want to be able to do more. I believe I speak for all the pastors and many church leaders when I say that we have people come to us and ask, “How can I share my faith with others? My walk with Christ has meant so much to me, how can I help others know what God can do in their lives?” And by asking they have also answered their own question. By sharing your story and letting people know what God has done for you. This is why I said earlier that the Bible is a part of telling God’s story of love in the world. Our faith tells us that we have a living Lord, and that God’s Spirit is present with us still leading, guiding and loving us. So the story is still being told and lived. My favorite definition for preaching is, “allowing people to overhear your prayers.” Isn’t that a great way of understanding someone sharing their faith. It is, in my opinion, a wonderful definition for being evangelistic. You are allowing people to overhear your prayers, some of your most personal, but also most meaningful experiences in your life.

Have you ever stopped and thought about how important your story, your witness of God’s presence and activity in your life is to another person? It is why the Psalmist asks us to share our story with others. It is how the story of God’s presence continues to impact life generation after generation. It is how the church continues and has meaning from generation to generation.

The very first words in the book, Storytelling: Imagination and Faith, by William Bausch tells us the significance of our stories. “Once upon a time is no time and every time. It is the standard phrase that introduces us to other worlds and to our own world, that connects humanity to a common story and storyteller. That is why storytelling and story listening are so congenial, for, in one way or another, we are hearing about ourselves.” The Bible stories may appear in a different time and culture, but we see the human wrestlings of life within them. Wrestling with the meanings of life and wrestling with relationships. They are our stories. It is the same as you share your own stories. When you share some of your deepest concerns, some of your most profound hopes and dreams and how God has been present in them, you are reflecting similar hopes, dreams and concerns of others. Psychologist Carl Rogers said it this way. “That which is most general is that which is most personal.” In other words, if you have felt it, or thought it or experienced it, so has 90% of everyone else you know.

My favorite expression of this is by poet Addrienne Rich, as she shares why God asks us to be compassionate with each other. Why God asks us to enter into each other’s lives in intimate and personal ways. “Lucky are those who know they are more alike than different.” It is so easy to feel alone and consequently isolated when you wonder if someone will understand. Take the risk, share your story, let people overhear your prayers, for you may be touching their souls, and opening the door to God’s loving presence in their lives. Your stories are the key to bringing God’s good news to the world.

It is what the second part of the insert is all about. The questions on the insert are designed to help you write your story. To write your prayer, all in hopes that it makes it easier to share. Our lives are the witness to God’s presence and activity in the world. Our stories tell about God’s love and compassion in the world. Our stories tell others of the truth of God’s good news in our midst. Your story is the good news in our midst. Telling your story allows you to be the messenger of good news to all who hear it. Your story is God’s story in this moment and place.

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on August 20, 2006.