“Remember”Thanksgiving ’07 Oakbrook Church 11.25.07 morgan young
Lot’s of people have a favorite Bible verse or “life verse”... but I have a favorite Bible word: “remember.” It’s used 250 times from Genesis to Revelation.
The reason it’s my favorite word is because I tend to have a forgetful nature. Leading the great staff and volunteers that put these services together it’s fairly common that someone will come up to me in the Village and say,
“Hey what was that song that Joel did last week?”
I look at them with this blank stare—shake my head really slowly---like they just asked me
how to calculate the amount of thrust the Space Shuttle generates at lift off.
I live so much of my life focusing on RIGHT NOW and TOMORROW that I literally have to stop and think about what happened just a week ago.
There is something about our pace of life—that forces you and I to live with a “right now” and “tomorrow” state of mind.
If you and I ran around with thought balloons coming out of our heads (thank God we don’t)—a common phrase would be:
“OK—I’ve gotta get this done right now because tomorrow…
…because in a hour…”
So many of us live with a PDA or some kind of calendar—even school kids now grow up w/a planner—so our life is all about what’s going on in today’s box and getting ready for tomorrow’s box.
And here’s the poignancy of that reality:
If I’m living too much in the RIGHT NOW & TOMORROW----if you would pop into my office on the spur of the moment and ask,
“Hey Morgan—real quick—tell me three great things that have happened for you in the past year?”
“Hey Morgan---real quick---can you remember the 2 or 3 ways God has blessed you this past year?”
I’m concerned about how quickly I could answer that question. How quickly could you answer it? (pause)
But when I open up some of the oldest books in the Bible-- I find this highly ironic theme: that I am not the only one with a forgetful nature. And focusing on RIGHT NOW & TOMORROW apparently isn’t some NEW thing happening to post-modern people.
In the oldest books of the Bible people are told repeatedly to “remember” the great things God has done.They’re told to stop focusing on RIGHT NOW & TOMORROW and to reflect on yesterday.
(Just a FEW “remembers” from Gen to Job)
Remember the day you stood before the Lord at Mount Sinai… (DT 4:10)
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt…(Dt 5:15)
Remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh… (Dt 7:18)
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way… (Dt 8:2)
Remember what the Lord your God did… (Dt 24:9)
Remember the days of old… (Dt 32:7)
Remember the wonders He has done… (1Ch 16:12)
Remember the Lord, who is great… (Ne 4:14)
Remember to magnify His work… (Job 36:24)
Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart…
I am God and there is no other;
(Remember this) I am God, and there is none like me… (Is 46;8-9)
God is constantly telling us to stop and remember the great things He has done-- because He knows we are quick to forget. And because life is about God’s renown---God’s fame—what God’s doing.
Most of the snippets of verses I just read were written to the people God led out of Egypt through Moses:
People who’d seen God release them from slavery.
People who’d seen the sea part and walked across on dry land.
People who’d followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
If people who hadseen those miraculous things were prone to letting those images slip away to the back of their mind—how much more proneare we to be forgetful about how God has shown up in the more subtle shades of our lives?(pause)
I love the word “remember” because I have to STOP what I’m doing to be abledo it.
To “remember” is to STOP—catch a breath---disengage from the pressures of the Tyranny of the Urgent to look back----to take inventory---to take stock—to find God’s finger prints---to rememberwhere we used to be----and to see where God has brought us.
(tell story of putting picture tutorials on my website)
Main point:
I enjoy seeing things go from scrap wood to a potting cart flower cart slide
I enjoy remembering the process--- how useless scrap wood was formed intosomething kind of neat and useful.
When I remember back through the photos I see the process of creation.
The truth is—when you and I stop—and look back on our liveslooking to see how God has shown up—we are forced to see a bigger picture.
And that bigger picture includes snapshots of how God has taken our “scrap wood” livesand how He is working in us and around us---forming us into something that looks different than it used to be…something useful in the Kingdom of God---something that reflects its Creator.
Around the dinner table last week I asked my family what they remembered about the past year that was important to them. (Listen to what comes to your mind?...)
Slate: father & son campout, me helping him with baseball
Meg: BigStuf (Christ, worship), baptized, having wiser friends
Sandra:Better job listening to God, the family (5-6 nights a week sits around the table w/her favorite people), watching Slater’s bb games.
Me: baptizing Meg (Meg), helping coach Slate’s BB, marriage stronger every year, writing (msgs, book)
(take 60 seconds—what would your family be thankful for this past year?—thank God for it.)
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As a church God has moved in big ways—and right now—together as a church family need to remember that:
1. God brought Sam, Sarah and Nicholas Burke to our team (FAM PIC). God orchestrated a way for a gifted guy from CA who loves teenagers, and who already lived in and likes Kokomo---to be an integral and huge player in our body.
2. A Sun night in April Hunter Smith & national worship leader Charlie Hall were both here.
3. MS PICAt our Christmas services last year 2,480 people creatively heard that Jesus is so much more than a baby in a nativity scene.
4. And we need to remember that financially God has been very good to us:
(behind all these dollars are PEOPLE—hearts that God has prompted…)
** Yet again we’ve had enough money to meet our budget thanks to faithful tithers and givers.
(THANK YOU!)
And we’ve had God-sized generous gifts:
A gift of $250,000
A loan forgiven of $673,000 (+ $30,000 in interest.)
But the biggest thing God has done this past year is to draw people to Himself. Just a couple months ago we watched from the bank as 29 people walked out into Emerald Lake to say that God had forgiven their sins and they’re trying the best they can to follow Him.
(****BAPTISM VIDEO****)
(cross slide)
I think the only response to what we’ve just seen is to focus on what happened on the cross----Christ allowing Himself to be crucifiedon the cross is what made a new life possible for all those who were baptized---for those who accepted Christ last week--- for everyone…
And this is perhaps the most important thing God tells us to “remember.” God created communion when Jesus broke bread, shared the cup and said these words:
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me…This cup is the new covenant between God and His people---an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”
1 Corinthians 11:24,25
Communion is drinking something red in color and eating bread as a way for us toremember--tonever forget what Christ did----It is God’s creative way for us to symbolically reenact what happened to Jesus on the cross.
Communion is focusing our minds on the reality that Jesusphysically---gave all---offered his body and blood to pay for our sin.
If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ (whether this is your church or not), we invite you to the communion table.
And just a quick disclaimer before we pass the bread and the cup:
If you’re here today and you’re not in a relationship with Christ—we’re glad you’re here and glad you can observe this part of the service.
But we ask that you simply take a pass on the bread and the cup. Because in 1 Corinthians it tells us God designed communion as a response for Christ followers. (pass elements)
If you need to just pass it by & not take it---please know there are lots of people here who aren’t in a relationship with Christ yet---because Oakbrook is a place for everyone. But God made communion for those in relationship with Him.
For those new to communion (last week maybe) this is a time to draw close to God by focusing on what Jesus went through for you…it’s not about how spiritually mature you are—it’s not about us—it’s about Jesus—focusing on Him.
It can be a time of confession…
It can be a time to recommit...
It’s a time to remember Christ on the cross…
***HOLD THE CUP & BREAD---we’ll take together***
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