Pastor Sheryl, Someone you should know!
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"Let your light so shine before people that they may see your good deeds,
and praise your Father in heaven."
Jesus--in Matthew 5:16
What people at St. Paul's most often say they want in a church is warm and inspiring worship, a clear understanding of the Bible, and to see ways that the Bible and genuine Christian faith apply to real life today. This is what we work for and we have a wonderfully fun time doing it!
The church has one full-time ordained clergyperson, the Rev. Sheryl Eash Campbell, often known as Pastor Sheryl. Our staff secretary is at the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 8am until noon. We have other excellent part time staff as well--a custodian, organist/choir director, and nursery staff. We have many volunteers, including a treasurer, more musicians, Sunday school teachers and helpers, committee chairpersons and members, excellent cooks, and various other organizers, planners, workers, and prayers.
The Trustees are in charge of building and property. Finance Committee oversees financial matters and helps with stewardship. The Nurture Committee is responsible for planning and administering the educational work of the church, and the loving care of our members. Other boards and committees include Outreach/Mission, Memorial, Altar, Music, United Methodist Women (and circles), United Methodist Men, and several adult classes and other groups. The Administrative Council meets monthly to coordinate the programs and correlate the activities of the entire church.
St. Paul's is in the Northeast District of the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church denomination of the Christian religion. The Rev. Julius Calvin Trimble is the Bishop of the Iowa Conference, and the Rev. Anne Lippincott is the Conference Minister of the Northeast District.
Although we have much in common with other United Methodist churches, we might not be just like another UMC church you may know. We invite you to get to know us, and let us get to know you, as we seek together to worship God and to preach, teach, live and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Sheryl Campbell
Psalm 25
1 To you, O Lord, I offer my prayer;
2 in you, my God, I trust.
Save me from the shame of defeat;
don't let my enemies gloat over me!
3 Defeat does not come to those who trust in you,
but to those who are quick to rebel against you.
4 Teach me your ways, O Lord;
make them known to me.
5 Teach me to live according to your truth,
for you are my God, who saves me.
I always trust in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your kindness and constant love
which you have shown from long ago.
7 Forgive the sins and errors of my youth.
In your constant love and goodness,
remember me, Lord!
8 Because the Lord is righteous and good,
he teaches sinners the path they should follow.
9 He leads the humble in the right way
and teaches them his will.
10 With faithfulness and love he leads
all who keep his covenant and obey his commands.
11 Keep your promise, Lord, and forgive my sins,
for they are many.
12 Those who have reverence for the Lord
will learn from him the path they should follow.
13 They will always be prosperous,
and their children will possess the land.
14 The Lord is the friend of those who obey him
and he affirms his covenant with them.
15 I look to the Lord for help at all times,
and he rescues me from danger.
16 Turn to me, Lord, and be merciful to me,
because I am lonely and weak.
17 Relieve me of my worries
and save me from all my troubles.
18 Consider my distress and suffering
and forgive all my sins.
19 See how many enemies I have;
see how much they hate me.
20 Protect me and save me;
keep me from defeat.
I come to you for safety.
21 May my goodness and honesty preserve me,
because I trust in you.
22 From all their troubles, O God,
save your people Israel!
So often we talk about the Symbols of Christmas...
We have seen several with the young people this morning—the angel, the star, the nativity altogether...
we have holly and wreaths and trees and presents; carols and other holiday songs, wonderful special meals and parties, many enjoy relatives getting together, and so much more.
Today I would like to take this week in the middle of Advent—the time of preparation for the coming of the Savior, to talk about four Symbols of Advent.
Quiet. Quiet, as opposed to noise. I'm all for the joyful noises of Christmas, and I help make plenty of them myself.... but I would propose as well, especially during Advent, for each person individually,—and yes, even each family together... to take fifteen minutes to stop talking, turn off the radio, stereo, Ipod and tv, and just bask in some quiet. Especially if you are not already used to doing so, it could be a good time to read from the Bible or a spiritual book. But just spending time in quiet, with the possibility of reflection - - and prayer - - would be very good. Especially if you have youth in the family, set a timer, even! But don't let them look at it and get distracted that way. Time spent in silence is different kind of time. Decide how long, and don't cheat yourself from it.
Darkness. Darkness, as opposed to __________ (light). December is the darkest month of the year. It reminds us of the darkness and cold of the world-without-Jesus-Christ. That is why we love to turn off lights and light candles. The Advent Wreath is a special setting of candles. We can't make it dark here at 9 in the morning, but you can in your homes—at supper, or before bed. Try some time of Darkness as something to bring about Advent thoughts and reflections.
Fasting. As opposed to stuffing. I'm not advocating you swear off all treats for the holidays—in fact, I think most people should take time to enjoy them, Thankfully! But take some time as well for at least some version of Fasting. When we DON'T open that one box of candy—at least not now... or give up dessert, or even just seconds, we remind ourselves that we have those deeper, spiritual hungers that only the Lord Jesus can fill.
Waiting. As opposed to rushing around, and ESPECIALLY as opposed to impatient pushing, shoving, honking, or loud-snotty-voices-as-you-make-your-disgust-known in some situation where you had hoped to pop on through quickly. Some of the lines ARE longer during this time. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could redeem those moments? If we could start a cheerful conversation with the people in line, offer to help someone struggling with packages, or at least hold a door... even to consider each person you can see from your waiting spot and say a silent prayer—even for the people in the cars around us?
Quiet.
Darkness.
Fasting.
Waiting.
Four symbols of Advent. A huge reason for Jesus' coming is to make us more filled with the Peace of God, and to be more loving. Jesus even “commanded” his disciples to love one another. If these symbols can be part of the pondering in our hearts, I think we will enjoy the Symbols of Christmas even more.
Sermon-December 6, 2009
"Beginning, Completing, and Prayer"
Rev. Sheryl Campbell
Philippians 1:3-11 Good News
3 I thank my God for you every time I think of you;
4 and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy
5 because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now.
6 And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.
7 You are always in my heart! And so it is only right for me to feel as I do about you. For you have all shared with me in this privilege that God has given me, both now that I am in prison and also while I was free to defend the gospel and establish it firmly.
8 God is my witness that I tell the truth when I say that my deep feeling for you all comes from the heart of Christ Jesus himself.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment,
10 so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ.
11 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Beginning, Completing, and Prayer
The Apostle Paul, of Tarsus, founded the Christian Church in the city of Philippi in about the year 50, which would make that between 15 and 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here was Paul, whose life had been so dramatically changed from one who would persecute Christ followers, to one who would plant churches, and train and nurture Christians. Christian Ministry was not a career opportunity for Paul—it was a mission, a calling, an all-consuming life-requirement that he dedicate himself to the spreading of the Gospel Good News of Jesus, including the establishment and nurture of churches that would become not only gatherings for worship by like-minded people who knew that putting God first in life was their only hope—they were base camps for teaching people how to make their faith part of their regular life and to become increasingly mature in that faith—and whenever possible, for raising up those who would share the Christian faith with others—both in the course of their regular lives and work, and also to raise up those who would go out and make this evangelism their life-calling as well.
The church at Philippi was the first European church. I find some exciting dynamics between Paul and the people of this church. Philippian Christians appreciated Paul founding their church and being its pastor. But they also were part of what made it possible for Paul to go to others and to other places to spread the Christian faith—they were generous in sending Pauls support—financial support—and in praying for him, relying on the power of prayer as something very effective in getting the rest to happen. Paul was doing something they wanted to see done! And they wanted to be part of his doing!
Paul responded with gratitude—he was thankful for what the people of Philippi were giving and investing in hims so that he could accomplish so much.... and Paul responded with affection—he truly loved these people. He loved them with the love of the Lord—and it shows. He prays for them regularly, as a matter of course in his regular life. And his love for those people would increase every time he did so.
I have a book called “Bible Basics: Mastering the Content of the Bible,” that takes less than 100 pages to give a quick “Who-What-Where-When-and-Why” of each of the books of the Bible, prefaced by introductions to approaches to studying the Bible, with tests, maps, and more at the end. I looked up Philippians in it, and get a nice intro, a basic outline, but also a comment that is probably worth the price of the book all by itself...
In the category of “What?” it says,
The letter addresses practical concerns, but as usual with Paul, he used those concerns to expand on his understanding of the Gospel.
“As Usual With Paul,” whatever was going on in the life of the people, and in the life of the church was an opportunity to retell the important parts of the story of Jesus—who he was, why he came, what he did, and what was and is to be the effect of all of that—personally for individuals he knew, but also for all of the churches he knew, and indeed, for all the world that these churches and the more-to-come would touch.
I wrote out the words of these verses, indenting in various places, keeping subjects and predicates separate (I think that’s what I did anyway!), and decided to select out some verses in different categories to help us hear the highlights of just this one section of Chapter 1, verses 3-11.
He is telling the people that he knows that something happened in them when they first directed their hearts and their lives to the new birth of knowing Christ Jesus—a spiritual birth. God is at work IN them—affecting them day by day—and he is praying in love for their love:
6 I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment,
10 so that you will be able to choose what is best.
11 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.
Jesus was the power to fill lives and hearts,
To bring glory and praise to God when others would see what a difference
Jesus at work IN a person would make!
Then of course we see that dynamic love of Jesus at work in the heart of Paul, too!
3 I thank my God for you every time I think of you;
4 and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy
5 because of the way in which you have helped me
7 You are always in my heart! And so it is only right for me to feel as I do about you. For you have all shared with me in this privilege that God has given me, both now that I am in prison and also while I was free to defend the gospel and establish it firmly.
8 God is my witness that I tell the truth when I say that my deep feeling for you all comes from the heart of Christ Jesus himself.
This doesn’t sound like the words of someone who once approved the killing of people with half as much faith and spiritual direction! I think Paul was someone who teared (tear-sounds-like-“ear”) up when he started to think of and to talk about people he loved so much—people who would give of their means so that he could do what he was doing—people who worked to continue the care-and-feeding of their church at home so that it would continue on—for the purpose of helping those with faith in Jesus to grow spiritually—and the purpose of inviting others to welcome that faith into their hearts for the first time.
Now you might ask why out of all the scriptures available I would preach on Philippians today, when it might be quite appropriate to talk about how John the Baptist encouraged people to prepare for the coming of Jesus, and how now in this time of Advent we can also prepare our hearts—and asking God to help us to lower the mountains and fill in the valleys—to straighten out anything that would cause a detour of our hearts and minds from making a clear path for the living God in our homes, work, and hearts overall once again this Holiday Season.
Well, one, I figured we got the gist, with much of the rest of the worship that included those passages...
Two, we certainly ARE “doing Christmas” around here, with the preparations the kids are making for sharing the birth of Jesus Scriptures, the choir and the cantata, the Advent candles, the Christmas carols and hymns, the Nativity scenes, the decorating, and all the rest...
And three, along with Paul, I’m all for the practical concerns of the church—Mike and I live and breathe them every day, and so do many of you. But I like to use “what is going on in the church”—EEEEVVENNNN Christmas Itself and All The Trimmings, to expand on communicating the Gospel—that Jesus came so that we might be awakened spiritually, connected to the Love of God (which amazingly can be easy to miss when our focus gets off instead onto so many griefs, disruptions and distractions in the world), and He came so that we might be filled with the Power of Jesus Himself to accomplish on earth those things that will lead people to a Kingdom of Heaven mindset and heartset—for life now and forever.
As we come to Holy Communion today, feel the love Jesus has for the people of the Church that bears His name. You may want even to take some extra time today, at the altar, to ponder these things... to consider how you will use the wondrous and varied opportunities of the Holiday Season—special events, meals, presents, family, travel, worship services and more—“as was usual with Paul, to use them in such a way as to expand on your understanding of the Gospel—of God’s intention for you in this life—of how that will be lived out in your own heart and actions—then also, how you might be part of bringing this good news of the living God who loves and interacts with His people to others who need to know it! I appreciate how some of you make sure that your grandchildren hear and experience what they might not be hearing otherwise—and those of you who urge a friend or an acquaintance to check out the House Of God for a meal, a worship gathering, a party, a concert, or a special program—maybe it will be a beginning for some of a spiritual growth that would not otherwise have happened. Maybe it will help you grow from Baby Christian to Maturing in Christ...
6 I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment,
10 so that you will be able to choose what is best.
11 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.
Before the Benediction:
3 I thank my God for you every time I think of you;
4 and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy
5 because of the way in which you have helped me
For you have all shared with me in this privilege that God has given me,
indeed TO make this what I do “for a living,” as it were...
to [proclaim and to] defend the gospel
and to establish it firmly...
Let us help one another make it the calling of our lives and the life of this church, to use whatever goes on here as an opportunity for ourselves and others--knowing and connecting to God more completely, being born, and then growing, and continuing to grow, in Him. Amen.