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I’d like for everyone to open up the Bibles in front of you to the book of 1st Corinthians, chapter 1… Think of Corinth like an ancient Las Vegas. What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth. Sin, debauchery, drunkenness, carousing, sports gambling, temples dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love – served by as many as a thousand prostitutes at a time. Corinth was a port city, so it was well visited by sailors and sea merchants – a place for them to gather, tell stories, get drunk and worship at those temples to Aphrodite. If Athens was the intellectual center of ancient Greece, then Corinth, a mere 40 miles away, was the pleasure center of Greece. And if you go to modern day Las Vegas you’ll find people from all walks of life – rich and poor, sophisticated and simple, young & foolish old & foolish, Americans and foreigners alike – all looking for a good time. Corinth was the same kind of place – a crossroads of the ancient world famous for their alcohol and their Aphrodite. What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth. It was to this sin-filled city that Paul was sent and decided to plant a church. He arrived there with much fear and trembling, but soon became acquainted with some fellow Christians – Aquila and Priscilla – and with them, worked as a tentmaker for a year and a half, preaching in the synagogues on the weekends. He soon upset enough Jews and synagogue leaders that he was driven out of the synagogues, so he turned his attention to those crazy heathen Greeks. And it was those same crazy heathen Greeks that soon became the Corinthian church. You can imagine that a church like this, made up of these kinds of people, and in a place like this would certainly have its problems. Yet, look how Paul begins his letter to them in chapter 1, verses 4-9. READ THIS ALOUD & MAKE COMMENTS St. Charles may be a long way from Las Vegas and ancient Corinth, but the Corinthian church sure sounds a lot like Hope Lutheran Church. We are a grace-filled church, enriched in every way, not lacking in any spiritual gift and we are all called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. And I give thanks for each of you. But you know, maybe we’re not as far from Corinth as we’d like to think. The biggest, tallest building in the entire county is now a casino. Our city council has tried to institute laws forbidding cursing and dancing on tables in the bars because that has gotten so out of hand. Believe it or not, but a large majority of our county doesn’t even go to church and, while they may not be drunken prostitutes, they could be considered god-less. Our culture is not as Christian as we’d like to think. And so our mission is much like that first Corinthian church – we are to be a light to the gentiles, a blessing to our city, a place of refuge and sanctuary for those who have been beaten up and abused by the godless world. This was the mission of the Corinthian church to Corinth and that is Hope Lutheran’s mission to St. Charles. So Paul addresses the Corinthian church like this, beginning in verse 10, “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” Paul goes on to describe their main problem – that there were major divisions among them. In other words, they were such a young church, that they were immature in their faith and they needed to grow up, mature, and learn to get along with each other. Now, I wouldn’t necessary say that there are major divisions among us. There are some divisions and disagreements to be sure, but for the most part, we all get along. But we are similar to the Corinthian church in that we are in the process of growing up, maturing in our faith and in our life together, and we are going through a period of change. We’ve been basically the same size for about 20 years, we’ve gained a lot of members, but we’ve also lost a lot of members. We’ve done some really good ministry, yet we’ve reached a point where God is calling up to do more, he’s calling us to grow up and in order to do that, we’ve got to do some things differently. Ready or not, Hope Lutheran Church is being called to mature in our life together and move on to the next phase in our life. And as with any life-transition, this means that we have to begin taking on more responsibility. Pastor John & I have prayed about it and discussed it, and as leaders in the congregation, we see the most opportunity for growth in the area of hospitality. With the size of our new narthex, with the addition of a new worship service, and someday with a new parking lot, we have a great opportunity to become better at welcoming visitors. We’ve been averaging about 3 new families visiting our worship service every single week. Many of the people that have shown interest in our new member class are not life-long Lutherans or even Christians. They’re people who have either never attended church or have been away for a long time and feel called to return. For whatever reason, God is bringing our congregation a lot of new people right now, and we have to be ready to receive them and make them feel comfortable. And as our physical space will now be an asset rather than a liability, an even greater asset for welcoming visitors will be all of you. So that is why John & I have decided to focus on hospitality during this Lenten season. Our Wednesday worship services will be a time for learning about and practicing hospitality as we dig deeply into First Corinthians and study that Corinthian church as they struggle to grow up also. We’re hoping that this hospitality emphasis will then carry over to our Sunday morning worship times and people who come here off of the streets will feel welcome and called into our fellowship of the gospel. Each week we will hear a story about holy hospitality from the scriptures. We will then look at a corresponding passage from 1st Corinthians and how that can help us in our hospitality. And finally, each Wednesday night, we will offer a suggestion for how to become more welcoming to others and how each of us can better learn holy hospitality. So, the first of these little hospitality insights can be found in the first chapter of 1st Corinthians, verse 18. Paul writes, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” After knowing a little bit about the city of Corinth, hopefully you can see what a powerful statement Paul is making. The folks of Corinth were living a carefree lifestyle, if it feels good do it, no consequences for wild living. It would seem foolish to them to trade that lifestyle for one that centers on the cross, on sacrificial living. It would seem foolish to them to give away money into an offering plate and not expect anything in return. It would seem foolish to them to forgo a night of partying in order to wake up early on a Sunday morning and go to church. It would seem foolish to them to allow God to be in control rather then themselves. It would seem foolish to them, and it still seems foolish to most of St. Charles. Yet, for us who are being saved, this is the power of God! Life really does revolve around Christ – not us. Life is about giving, not receiving. Life is about worshipping God, seeking his guidance, and admitting that he is the one in control – not us. We know the power of God and who it is that saves us – Jesus Christ. And this is foolishness to the rest of the world who is perishing. So our hospitality point this evening is fairly simple. A lot of what we do here at church and during worship won’t make sense to visitors, and so each of you who are sitting in the pews can help them understand it a little better whenever they seem lost or confused. I mean, look at what foolishness has gone on in our worship tonight. We put ashes on our forehead – other than being four years old, when else would you ever do that? We’ve admitted that we are wrong and fallen short and that we are the one to blame for our mistakes. Do that in your job and you’re likely to get fired on the spot. We’ve spent an evening at church, listening to a sermon when we could’ve been at the Blues game or at home watching American Idol or doing homework. What we do at church is foolishness to the world and any person who walks through those doors for the first time is going to be lost, confused, and completely unsure of themselves. When you sit down next to a visitor, say hi to them, ask them if they’ve ever been to a Lutheran church before, and if not, tell them you’ll help them get through the service, knowing when to stand, sit down, and how to take communion. Just knowing someone is there with them will make them feel much more comfortable and thus allow them to worship more freely. So, let’s try that real quick…inserting your own name, repeat after me, “Hi, my name is Chad.” Ready, 1,2,3… “Have you ever been to a Lutheran church before?” Ready, 1,2,3… Not too hard is it? The trick with this question is that you need to ask it before the service starts, not afterwards – because then they’re already lost. So next time you sit down and there’s a visitor in your pew or right behind you, introduce yourself, and ask them that question, “Have you ever been to a Lutheran Church before?” Before you know it, you’ll be having a great conversation, make a new friend, and that crazy heathen Greek person will feel welcome amidst all of us who are being saved. One final challenge for you as we learn about hospitality during this Lenten season. And I think this could do more to help us be hospitable than anything else we do at any of our Wednesday services. I challenge each of you to take one Sunday morning during Lent and go to a different church – but don’t pick another Lutheran church. We’re all mostly the same. Try out one that you drive by everyday to work or that looks interesting. Try to pick a Sunday when you’re not scheduled as an usher or anything, but sometime before Easter pick a Sunday with your family and try out another church and then let us know how it was, what it felt like. By doing this, you’ll begin to get a sense of what its like to come here for the first time. By doing this, I think each of our eyes will be opened to how intimidating it is to walk into a strange church for the first time, how strange some of our rituals really are, and how important hospitality really is. Our little congregation is growing up. Kinda fun and scary at the same time, isn’t it? Amen.
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