Pastor Dan Eddy
Acts 20:17-37
Passing On
involves….
4-25-10
I.
Introduction…Meeting to pass on
I would like to
invite the children to come forward for the Children’s Lesson. I have something
I want you to do.
When you come church,
who are some of the first people you usually see? Hint: You see them throughout
the service, especially during the offering and Communion. They usually have
bulletins or an offering plate in their hands. What are those people called? (Wait for response) Ushers…yeah great.
Ushers are very
important on Sunday morning. Their job is to take things they receive and pass them
on to you. Please say these words: “pass
on.” What are they passing on? (Wait
for response)
They pass on bulletins to you, so you and
your parents know what’s going on during the worship service. They pass on the offering plates, so people
can put their money in to help support the church here. They pass on directions telling people when
it’s their turn to come to the altar for Communion.
When you see an
usher I want you to think of Jesus. He passed
on from heaven to earth, became human so He could pass on God’s love and God’s Word. Jesus passed on God’s forgiveness to you and me, and He passed on the gift of heaven when died
on the cross and arose to life on that first Easter Sunday. That was passed on
to you at your baptism.
And like the
ushers, Jesus wants you to pass on to
others what He gives you.
Jesus is kind to
us, so we pass on His kindness to
others and don’t kick or punch or hit others…or call them bad names. That’s stuff we don’t pass on. We don’t pass
on sin.
We pass on what we learn in church and
Sunday School to others, so we invite them here on Sunday morning.
God gives us all
the things we have in life, so that means we pass on our thanks to people when they do something nice for us,
like give us a birthday gifts or give us a hug.
To help you
remember to pass on God’s love to others…I am going to ask you to pretend that
you are an usher for a moment, and pass on these pieces of papers to everyone
sitting in the pews. It’s the sermon
outline about passing on Jesus’ love to others.
Can you help me
pass this on? Great and I’m going to ask the ushers and others to help. Thank
you. After you pass them out you may go back to your seats and listen with your
parents.
Have you ever
received a really good email from someone and you couldn’t wait to pass it on to everyone on your address
list?
I know I get lots
of email from friends like you and friends and family members all over the
country. Some of the emails I end up
saving in a special file and have used a number of them as illustrations for
devotions, Bible studies and sermons. The
things we value the most we pass onto others.
We love to pass
on good news…birth announcements, answered prayers, helpful hints on caring for
the house. Carla O’Leary was telling us at the last clean up day to keep your
drier sheets. They clean screens better and faster than soap and water.
Passing on good
news with good actions is an important function of life, especially the life of
the Church today as pass on the Gospel to others…the Good News of Jesus and
what He has done for all people.
Our Scripture
readings for this morning illustrate there’s a chain to passing on. In our
Gospel reading, Jesus said He passes onto us what He received from His Father.
In our First
Reading from Acts 20, Paul gathered the elders, who were not a board of laity
but a group of pastors.
Paul was passing
onto these overseers, these spiritual shepherds, what Christ had passed onto
him through the Holy Spirit. The pastors were to take Paul’s teachings and continue
passing them on to their congregations, so they, in turn, could pass it onto
their unbelieving friends and family.
Paul had started
many of these congregations as house churches in
All this passing
on is done so the church can grow, so more people can receive forgiveness of
sins, and more lives receive the inheritance of heaven.
Passing on is delivering
God’s Word to others by speaking and acting. It includes three components.
Please pull out a
pen or pencil and fill in the blanks as we go along.
II.
Sacrifice…making sure the message is
passed on.
(Hold up outline) First passing on God’s Word involves sacrifice. Making sure the message is
the passed on no matter what. Sacrifice involves risk. (Repeat)
For example, when
Paul arrived in this area there were no Christian churches. Paul preached in
the Synagogues but was rejected by many. In verse 19 (NIV) Paul described this
sacrifice as being “severely tested”
as unbelieving Jews plotted against him. That did not deter him.
But
despite that, Christ did many miraculous things through Paul. Acts 19:12 (NIV) states, “…even
handkerchiefs and aprons that he touched were taken to the sick.” The
power of Jesus’ name was soon quickly realized by even evil spirits that came
out of people.
Christ’s name was held in such high regard
that even sorcerers gave up their craft, burned their valuable scrolls publicly
as believers opening confessed their sins. People abandoned worshipping idols so
much that it cut into the local economy of the idol craftsmen. That caused a
riot in
After hearing that, we may be a tempted
not to bother taking the risk of passing on God’s Word. Who needs publicity
like that?
But with risk comes success. If Paul
didn’t sacrifice then he would have been hiding Christ’s light under a bushel.
The Church at
Paul was sacrificing himself for their
own benefit as he received threats to his life. Despite that, he didn’t abandon
them. His sacrifice exhibited a humbled yet bold faith.
The
things we value the most we pass on to others.
Paul was reflecting outwardly Christ
living in him inwardly. He was reflecting Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross where our Lord took a huge risk to
love all of us…knowing not all would want His love. Jesus risked His life to
death. Because of His victory over the
grave, Christ is the Shepherd protecting those who hear His voice within the
sheep pen of His Church.
For us today, there’s
no such thing as comfortable Christianity. But with Christ as the Shepherd in
our hearts we take risks for people we love as we pass on to them the Gospel.
We risk people getting angry when we invite our under-churched or un-churched family
and friends here. We sacrifice our time to listen to their needs and offer them
help. We don’t abandon them. We act knowing not all will accept. But we do it
to care for others as Christ has cared for us. And just like with Paul…God promises
His Word goes out and never comes back empty.
Jesus is here (point to the heart) to help you and me
make the sacrifices and take the risks.
Think about the
greatest strides you’ve made in your life. They often came when you’ve taken
the greatest risks in the home, at school, at work, in starting life-long
friendships. Great things are accomplished when the greatest of risks are taken
in the church and in our congregation.
III.
Being equipped to equip others
(Hold up outline) Second, passing on God’s Word to others
involves being equipped to equip others.
(Repeat)
In verses 20 and 21(NIV) Paul
said: “You
know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you
but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both
Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our
Lord Jesus.”
Paul equipped the
pastors. The pastors equipped their congregations through worship and studying
God’s Word. That equipped the parishioners to pass it on to others.
(Hold up outline) Equipping involves knowing God’s Word well enough so
that it can be expressed well in word and deed. You see it isn’t just a matter
of teaching people to act kindly to others or to help them in their time of
needs. We equip so when the message is passed on, people will understand where
it originated.
Think of it this
way: Imagine if someone passed on a great idea you had and didn’t attribute the
idea to you. How would that make you feel? What would you call that
person? A plagiarist. When we don’t attribute our good works to
Jesus, we give glory to ourselves. But when we are properly equipped, in faith,
we naturally give credit and glory to God. Our witness for Christ is that
simple.
Additionally, proper
equipping involves noticing the warning signs of sin, including that there may
be some in the church who want to, knowingly or unknowingly, stir up trouble by
drawing us away from the truth of God’s Word. In verses 28-31, Paul was emphatic
in this warning to the Ephesian pastors.
For us as a
congregation we may be tempted to deviate from God’s Word when society says one
thing is okay but the Word of God clearly tells us another, whether about it’s how
who God is, what Christ Jesus has done for us, or how we should live our lives.
One of the
greatest sins of omission is failing to warn others of the words and actions
that could draw them away from the faith. When we don’t warn we risk some,
knowingly or unknowingly, leaving Christ’s sheep pen, no longer trusting Him by
listening to His voice. When that happens they are in real danger of spiritual
destruction.
What’s comforting
to know is that our faith is always protected from everlasting harm when we,
Christ’s sheep, stay in the arms of our Shepherd. In other words, stay in constant
connection to His church. Then we are
protected by our baptism, and are assured of that protection as we continue to
receive His Word in worship and Bible study, and feed on it with His real body
and true blood.
The better equipped we are, the better we pass God’s love on others.
IV.
Always serving with a commitment to care.
(Hold up outline) Finally, passing on God’s Word to others
involves always serving with a
commitment to care, even if your calling changes. (Repeat)
Now Paul had a
good thing going in
In Jerusalem Paul
would face the enemies of Christ. He knew he would be going through hardships,
enduring trials, maybe death. However, there’s a sharp contrast between the expected
hardships of verse 23 and the joys of passing on Christ’s love in verse 24,
described as an athlete finishing the race to please Team Christ. There would be blood, sweat and tears but the
prize of winning more for Jesus would be well worth it.
In verse 35, Paul’s
overall faith attitude of serving was governed by one Christ-centered principle.
Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give
than to receive.” The sense of the text is that giving and receiving are
on-going acts. We continue to receive in joy from our Lord so there’s a greater
joy to give. We never stop caring. We never give up our commitment to Christ
and His creation.
The things we value the most we pass onto
others.
Let me give you
an example. Two weeks ago, Todd O’Leary stopped into my office after worship to
tell me that he felt he and his family were being called by God to help start a
Lutheran congregation in
Mike McWilliams
our new Vision Coordinator said it best “If
there was ever a family talented and equipped to help start a new congregation
it would be the O’Leary’s.” I second the motion as good example of one way
to pass on God’s Word.
No doubt we will
miss the O’Leary like the Ephesians pastors missed Paul. Except we expect to
see the O’Leary’s again. They know they are always welcomed here.
Next Sunday in
worship, we are going to give the O’Leary family a special sending prayer and
blessing as they leave to pass on Jesus’ love from their new congregation. It
will probably be similar to the ending of Paul’s meeting with the Ephesian
pastors. In verse 36, they prayed together, shed tears, and celebrated with
joy, knowing the great power God gives us to pass on His Good News to others.
Please join us. But
in the meantime, pray for them and answer the following question: “How is the Lord calling me to pass on His
love here from this congregation?” For some He may be calling you to
increased involvement. For others, it may be to serve in a different
capacity. The O’Leary’s passing on from
here to another congregation opens up greater opportunities for many more of
you to serve in new and different ways.
V.
Conclusion
The things we value the most we pass onto
others. There is not a
caring word or action Jesus did while He walked the earth that He is not moving
us in our hearts to do today.
The Lord bless
you as we work here to enthusiastically and joyfully pass on His love to
others. Amen.