Sermons Preached In Moody Texas

Moody First United Methodist Church

Moody-Leon United Methodist Church

John 17:20-24 (NIV)

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

As many of you know, Patrick and I attended the Congress on Evangelism in Nashville a couple of weeks ago. A couple of the reasons I wanted to attend this event were Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas and Dr. Adam Hamilton. They had prominent roles in this year’s event.

Dr. Kalas has written many books. Some of the better known books are Parables from the Backside and Ten Commandments from the Backside. He has written a bible study called The Grand Sweep of the Bible. Dr. Kalas was 11 years old when he first read the entire Holy Bible. As he was preparing to lead us in Bible study during the Congress, Dr. Kalas offered a quote I would like to share with you. I do not know the source of the quote, but it goes like this, “You can write the laws of the land, just let me write the songs.”

Songs stir us deeply. They touch our emotions. They evoke a response from us and shape us. The songs of the land can have far more influence than the laws of the land.

This week at the clergy day apart at Glen Lake camp we listened and watched as Tracy Radosevic demonstrated the power of effective storytelling. She used her voice and her body to convey several Bible stories in powerful ways. We have seen at Kids’ Club the power of the Bible’s stories. The children are captivated by these old, yet life giving stories.

The Church has songs the world needs to hear. The church has stories that can transform. In today’s Bible passage, Jesus is speaking about these stories and songs which we are called to share.

Jesus says, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” v. 20-21

This passage we hear today is a part of an intercessory prayer that Jesus offers on behalf of his disciples just before he is to be arrested and crucified. Jesus says, “I ask not only on behalf of these…” He is praying to God saying I am not asking what I ask just for these eleven disciples (By now Judas is gone). Jesus is also praying for all who will come to believe in him because of the messages given by the disciples.

Jesus expected the disciples to share with other the stories about Jesus and his ministry. He expected the disciples to share the good news of salvation that is to all the people. Not only did Jesus expect them to share, Jesus knew that there would be those who came to believe because of their words.

We have a song to sing. We have a story to tell. We have a word to speak. Jesus expects you and me to sing the songs, tell the stories, and share the word. Jesus commanded us to do these things. According to Matthew’s gospel Jesus has told us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NRSV) As a matter of fact those were the last words in Matthew’s gospel.

We are told to make disciples. Well disciples are those who believe Jesus is who he claimed to be, and who are willing to follow him and his teachings. We are called to sing the songs, tell the stories, and share the word. Why? So that they will believe. So that people can hear and in hearing come to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the one who died for them, the Savior of those who believe.

Who are these people who need to hear this word? To answer that let me share a story told by Adam Hamilton at the Congress on Evangelism.

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection where Adam serves as Senior Pastor is experiencing a severe shortage of parking. One Sunday morning a member of that congregation approached Adam, and she was fuming mad. She proceeded to tell her story. It seems she parked in one of the few available spaces just moments earlier. As she got out of her car, the man in a nearby car gave her an obscene gesture. (He must have been planning on taking that parking spot. He gave her an obscene gesture right in the church parking lot!

Well, Dr. Hamilton paused for a moment and then said, “Isn’t that great!” Well of course the woman was taken aback. “Isn’t that great!” What was so great about it? It was great because the Church of the Resurrection has stated as their purpose is “to build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.” The guy in the parking lot certainly sounds like the kind of guy for whom they are looking. At that moment he was not a “deeply committed Christian.” The purpose of that church is to help him become a deeply committed Christian.

Who are those who need to hear the word? Those who don’t believe. Why do they need to hear the word and believe?

The answer is there in the text we read. With all the extra words thrown in it is hard to see. There are many words to describe for whom Jesus is praying– the disciples and those who will believe. They get in the way of the request. Jesus is asking “that they may be one.” Jesus is praying for unity for those who believe. Jesus great desire is for unity.

Some years ago Richard Farnsworth starred in a movie called “The Straight Story.” It was based on a true story about Alvin Straight. It seems that Alvin learned of the stroke that his brother Lyle had experienced. Alvin who was 73 with bad eye sight and bad hips, decided he needed to go see his brother who was 300 miles away. Because he no longer had a driver’s license, Alvin built a trailer, connected it to his 30 year old John Deere riding lawn mower, and headed for Zion, WS. Along the way he met a pregnant teenager who had run away from home rather than tell her boyfriend or parents about the baby. This old geezer riding a lawn mower shared with the girl a weenie on a stick and some sage advice.

He told her how when his children were little he would give each of them a small stick. He told them to break the stick, and of course they could. He then took the sticks and wrapped them into a bundle and pointed out that now they could not break the sticks. He then said to his children, “That bundle of sticks is like family.”

Why does Jesus want us to become one? According to John’s gospel, Jesus put it this way “so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them.” Jesus believed that for the world to know who he was and to know that they are loved by the Creator of the Universe it will be essential for the Christian family to be one with Christ and one with each other so that they might be one with the world.

Ask someone who was present in worship about the Billy Graham story?

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