GO big: THINK big, Christ Church Sermon, April 27 2025

You're listening to a message from our

weekly worship at Christ Church in Bethl

Park, Pennsylvania. We're a United

Methodist congregation with the mission

of building inclusive community, sharing

Christ's transforming love. To learn

more about the church, including how you

can join us for worship online or in

person, visit

christummc.net. Thank you for listening.

Today's Today's scripture is Ephesians

Ephesians 3:20–21

3:20-21. Now to him who is able to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or

imagine, according to his power that is

at work within us. To him be glory in

the church and in Christ Jesus through

all the generations forever and ever.

Amen. Hear what the spirit is saying to

the church. Thanks be to God.

Good morning. Sorry, it came

unplugged. It's good to see all of you

in worship this morning. Good morning to

everybody worshiping with us online. You

know, as we continue in our sermon

series, go big. I want you to think

about something for a second. You ever

stood outside on a clear night, you

know, the three that we have a year in

Western Pennsylvania, and looked up into

the sky and see all of the stars from

side to side, right? Doesn't it make you

feel small when you see the vastness of

that sky? All the galaxies, all the

stars, all the planets. And did you ever

stop and think that the same God that

created all of that vastness is the same

God that is at work inside of our life?

That's an amazing thought when you think

about it. But you know what's even more

amazing? We are told that God is not

limited by the way we think, by what we

see, by what we imagine. God, it goes

way beyond all of that. In fact, we are

called to think big. God wants us to

think big. It's why we were created.

Unfortunately, instead of thinking big,

often times we we live like God is

limited. We face situations that may

seem impossible. And instead of

expecting something incredible to

happen, we kind of shrink back a little.

We pray small prayers. We make safe

plans. We don't think or dream big

because we're afraid to be disappointed.

Or worse yet, we we forget just how big

and how much God can actually do. So we

settle for just enough when God wants us

to have more than enough. Ephesians 3:20

Ephesians 3:20

says that God is able to do immeasurably

more than all we ask or imagine.

According to his power that is at work

within us. Now that is not just a nice

thought. That is a bold promise. It

means no matter how big we think, God's

plans are bigger. No matter how far we

think we can go, God can take us

farther. So today, we're going to

explore a little bit about what it takes

to expand our vision. To stop limiting

God, to stop looking for just small

things and expect and trust God for

great things. Because this isn't just

wishful thinking. It's about aligning

our hearts with the truth of who God is

and learning to believe that God really

can do more than we could ever think or

imagine in our lives, in our church, in

this world. God's plans are not limited

by our fears or by our past or even by

our present

circumstances. God's plans go beyond

whatever we could actually think of. Now

see, we often limit our expectations

based on what we think is possible.

Maybe we pray small prayers because we

don't want to be disappointed and we

don't want to ask for too much. Maybe we

don't step out in faith any more than

beyond what we think we can accomplish,

right? And is that really stepping out

in faith? You see, God calls us to trust

him even when we don't understand the

full picture. God's thoughts are higher

than our thoughts. How many of you have

heard of Abraham from the Old Testament?

Our friend, right, from the Old

Testament? Well, back in Genesis 12,

Abraham was a perfect example of

following God's bigger plan. God told

Abraham to leave his home and go to a

place that Abraham had never seen. Just

go. He didn't give him directions. He

didn't give him a timeline. He just had

a promise that God would make him into a

great nation and bless all the families

on earth through him. That's a pretty

big promise to think that all the

families on earth would be blessed

through you. Especially when you realize

the fact that at that moment in time,

Abraham had no kids, no land, and no

idea how any of this was even going to

happen. But he was going to do all of

these things. God's plan were way bigger

than Abraham could have imagined. And

today we see that promise has come true

through Abraham all the way up through

Jesus. Just like Abraham, we are called

to trust in God's greater vision for our

lives. Now, we might be in a season

where we don't even see the full

picture. We might feel stuck. We might

feel confused. We might even be

discouraged. But that doesn't mean that

God isn't working. God's plans might be

unfolding in ways that we are yet to

see. We might think our life is meant to

do something small and God might be

preparing us to do something beyond what

we could have ever even thought

possible. Joseph, another character in

the Old Testament, is another example of

this. Joseph was sold into slavery by

his brothers. By his brothers. Talk

about not liking your family, right?

Sold into slavery by his brothers. Then

he he gets moved up into the palace and

then he gets in trouble and he gets

thrown into prison. And at that point,

I'm sure he's saying to God, "What in

the world do you have me doing here? Why

would I want to follow you?" Fast

forward, Joseph gets put to the second

position of power in the whole nation

and saves thousands of people from a

famine, including his own

family. That's how God works. It what he

saw as a setback was actually a set up

for something bigger.

Even today, we can see how God's plans

unfold in well-known and everyday

people. For example, anybody here of Tim

Tibo? Y'all have heard Timbo. You know,

his goal, his dream in his life was to

be an NFL quarterback and he made it to

the NFL. Now, his career didn't go as he

expected except in that playoff game

against the Steelers.

But following his career in the NFL, God

has used Tibo and his platform to help

children with disabilities and to share

the gospel around the world. God has

used him far more now than he did in

what he thought was his dream and his

goal. But you see, God's using us isn't

just for famous people like Tibo. It's

for everyday people. Think about our

Christ Kids program. We have an

unbelievable Christ Kids program. And in

the midst of a pandemic, we took a step

of faith to expand the kids area beyond

what we had with kids in that moment in

time. And you might have thought we had

lost our mind to do a capital campaign

in the midst of a pandemic. I mean,

believe me, lots of people mentioned to

me that we had lost our mind.

But now looking at it now, that space

that we did those all those years ago is

bursting at the seams with kids. We have

more opportunities for people to

volunteer and serve in Christ's kids

than we've ever had before. And we're

reaching families that we would have

never reached had we not taken that

step. When we took that step, even I

didn't think it was going to be what it

ended up being. God is taking it to

places that we never thought possible.

You see, these aren't just stories.

They're reminders that God is always

working. Even in the everyday, God is

bigger than what we could think. And it

isn't always flashy. It isn't always

loud. It isn't even always powerful.

Oftent times, it's just in what we are

doing in the moment, in the middle of

the ordinary. So, we need to not settle

for small thinking. We need to not box

God in. We need to let our prayers grow

bigger. Let our vision stretch wider and

trust that God is going to do something

behind the scenes that we might not even

be aware of. You know, one of the

greatest struggles we face as believers

is our tendency to think too small. You

know, we often um limit our faith. We

limit our faith to what we can

understand or to what we can control

instead of trusting in what God can do

in and through us. We use our own logic.

We use our own past experiences. God

never called us to live a life that

makes sense in human

terms. That's just how it is. God calls

us to live by faith, not by sight. So,

we need to expect more from our faith.

Expanding our faith means thinking and

believing bigger beyond what feels safe

and comfortable. It means trusting that

God can do more than what seems

reasonable or even likely. So, we got to

stop settling for average and begin to

expect miraculous things because we

serve a miraculous God. Now, I get it. A

lot of us sometimes are stuck in this

this time in our life where we're just

trying to survive.

But but faith allows us

to turn that over to God and realize

that God can take us from survival to

thriving. I mean, I read a story

recently about a man who had battled

addiction for almost his whole life. But

there was one person that kept praying

for that man no matter what, even when

everyone else had turned their back on

him. Now that man has been five years

clean. He mentors people that are coming

out of addiction and he even started a

support group in his church. You see,

that's what happens when someone takes

the time to not put limits on God and

who God can redeem. Even in our

churches, God's inviting us to expand

our faith. You might remember back in

the pandemic, we had to go to all online

worship. We could not worship in the

building. We just weren't doing it. We

had already had an online presence. I

will tell you it was very minimal and we

live streamed the services. So we really

tried to ramp that up and we started to

work hard and tried to do an online pro

program and what we were doing not

having any idea what would come from it.

Well, what came from it was several

things. Number one, the United Methodist

Church worldwide actually grabbed our

Palm Sunday service and streamed it all

around the world. It went to over

150,000 people. Our Palm Sunday service

here in Little Christ Church in Bethl

Park went all over the world. We never

saw that happening. We were just trying

to be faithful in the moment. And in the

midst of a pandemic, our church actually

grew. Our church actually grew. We were

actually able to do a capital campaign

because we had lost our minds in the

midst of a pandemic because you can't

outgive God even when times get hard.

You've heard me talk, if you've been

here for a little while, you've heard me

talk about Memorial School in Bethl

Park. Bethl Park is closing all their

elementary schools and building an

elementary center. And it's exciting

that they're doing this for the

community. What that means is there's

five elementary schools that are no

longer going to be used. So I reached

out to the group that was overseeing

what those schools were going to do and

I said, "What do you think you about

giving one of those schools to Christ

Church?" Big ask. They said yes. They

said yes. That's right. right now. Get

this. That was a year ago. And I

thought, okay, that sounds good, but

let's go through and see what we got to

do. We are going to be able to create a

social services hub, provide adult

daycare, kid daycare, food and security

support, mental health support, and

health care support all in one place for

the community of Bethl Park and

surrounding areas. It's amazing.

Not only that, all the leaders that are

involved with this, all the people in

Bethl that are involved with us, all the

people that I've met with think it's a

great idea, agree with it, and are

asking what they can do to help. We're

in the we're in the beginning of

starting our own 501c3, you know, to

protect the church and to do what needs

to be done. If any of you live in Bethl

Park, you know it's hard to get anything

done in Bethl

Park. Everybody's on board. Only God

could do something like that. So, I

wonder what else might God have in store

for us here at Christ

Church. It's amazing when you stop and

think about it. Ephesians 3:20 tells us

Ephesians 3:20

God can do immeasurably more than all we

ask or imagine according to his power

that is at work within us. That is not

just a nice verse to quote. It is a

truth to live by. When we think big, we

are not relying on ourselves. We're

trusting that the same power that raised

Jesus from the dead is alive and working

inside of us. So, what would it look

like for us to expand our faith right

now? Maybe it's believing that your

depression won't have the final say in

your life. Maybe it's praying for

opportunities to serve in new and

creative ways. Maybe it's starting a

business or a ministry that scares the

life out of you but just won't leave

your heart. Maybe it's asking God for

the best ways that you can give of your

time and your talent and your financial

resources. Maybe it's trusting that a

child of yours that has walked away from

God will eventually come back to God.

You see, faith that expands is is faith

that expects more because it knows who

God is. So, we need to stop putting

limits on a limitless God. We need to

think big. We need to pray big. We need

to believe big because God is more than

able to do all of it. You see, and

thinking big isn't just about personal

dreams and goals. It's about shared

dreams as part of the body of Christ.

God didn't design the church as a place

where people just come and sit. God

created us to be a powerful community

that moves together with a shared

purpose. So, we need to dream together.

We need to serve together. We need to

believe together. We need to do open the

door and allow God to do something far

greater than any single one of us could

do on our

own. And one of the ways we are called

to think big as a church is looking

beyond the walls of this building. We're

called to imagine what our community

would look like if every home, every

street, every heart was touched by the

love of Christ. Think about what that

would look like. We're called to believe

that God will use our church not just on

Saturday and Sunday morning for for

worship services, but to make a real and

lasting impact in people's lives every

single day. Amen. I mean, that's what

we're about. You you think about the

early church in the book of Acts, they

had a shared vision. Their vision was

that Jesus was the hope of the world and

they should tell everybody that Jesus

was the hope of the world. So even

though they were small, God used them in

a big way. Thousands came to know Jesus.

Cities were changed. The gospel began to

spread to all ends of the earth. That

same power is available to all of us

today as we live into our mission of

building inclusive community, sharing

Christ transforming love. The question

is, do we believe that God can do

through us what God did through the

early

church? Imagine if we truly embraced

what it meant to think big. What if we

prayed not just for the needs inside our

own church, but also for the needs of

our schools, the needs of our

neighborhoods, the needs for our nation?

What if we started thinking creatively?

How to serve, how to give, how to reach

more people with the good news of

Christ? You see, collective vision is

powerful. When one person thinks big,

it's a spark. When a church thinks big,

it's a fire. And that fire can bring

light and warmth to places that are full

of darkness. That's what needs to

happen. We need to believe that our

church is not here just to exist. We're

actually here to help transform the

community. Again, God can do

immeasurably more than all we ask or

imagine. It's not just given to us as a

promise as individuals. It's given to us

as a promise as a church. That means all

of us right here, right

now. Because together for the glory of

God, we can make a difference in this

world. Do you ever stop and think that

our current vision might not even come

close to what God wants us to do? Our

current vision might not even come

close. We got to ask ourselves, we've

been thinking too small. For those of

you that know me, you're thinking, "Holy

cow, what does that mean?" Right? But

God can do things that we can't even

imagine. We settle for less way too

much. Why? Because we're scared. We're

scared of failing. We're scared of being

disappointed. We're scared that we won't

have the funds to make it happen. We're

scared of stepping out of our comfort

zone. Other times we don't really

believe that God can do something big

through us. But the truth is that is

what God does. God wants to expand our

vision. God wants us to live with

purpose. God wants us to impact others

and bring glory to him. That is what is

most important. So how can we think

bigger? Well, number one, we need to

pray every one of us and ask God to

expand our vision. Start by praying.

Say, God, show me what you see, not what

I see. Show me what you see. Help me to

dream bigger. We want more of your will.

And we want to be able to believe in

what you can do. So, it's great to start

small and pray prayers for a better day

or a little bit of peace here or there.

Those are all great and we should do

those things. But we shouldn't stop

there. We should say, "God, help me.

Help me start that ministry. God, use me

in my school. Use me at my job. Use me

in my community." Now, keep in mind when

you start praying that, it might

actually start happening. God, show me

where you want me to go, even if it

scares me. Because when we pray like

that, we invite God to stretch our

thinking. We become part of God's

vision. Number two, we got to embrace

the unknown. Anybody love not knowing

what's coming

next? No. Nobody. Right. Thinking big

always involves risk. There's going to

be steps that feel uncertain or

uncomfortable. It could be what it means

to start a new Bible study group or what

it means to go on a mission trip like

that group of people are going and

leaving this morning on that mission

trip. It could mean sharing your faith

with somebody who who you're not sure

you they'll take it. Well, it could mean

giving in ways you never thought

possible. Here's the thing. It's okay to

not have all the answers. Abraham didn't

know where he was going when God told

him to move. Peter didn't know he could

walk on water until he stepped out of

the boat. What matters is not having

everything figured out, but having faith

that God will guide us every step of the

way. You see, faith doesn't mean you see

the whole staircase. Faith just means

you have the willingness to take the

first step on the staircase. We also

have to believe in God's power to work

within us. And this is key. Again,

Ephesians 3:20, God's power at work

Ephesians 3:20

within us that makes all things

possible. You know what that means? That

means you don't have to be super

talented. You don't have to be super

spiritual. You don't have to be super

strong. You just have to be willing. God

has given you gifts and passions and

potential. Everyone here has those three

things. Maybe you don't see it yet.

Maybe others have made you feel like you

don't have that. But God says otherwise.

God specializes in ordinary people doing

extraordinary things. And it's for

everybody. Now, I want you to let this

truth sink in for a second. God wants to

work through you. Every one of you. It's

not just about pastors. It's not just

about paid staff. It's not just about

the people that already volunteer. It's

about all of the students and parents

and people who attend worship and

guests. Anybody can be used by God if

they're willing to say yes to him. And

then finally, we got to dream

collectively as a church. This isn't

just a personal challenge. It's a

challenge for all of us as a church.

What would God do through us if we stop

thinking small?

What if we ask questions like, "How can

we serve our city and community in a

bigger way?" "What kind of ministries

can we launch to reach more people?"

"How can we equip more people to serve?

How can we plant churches in places that

are in need of a church and hearing

God's word?" We need to not limit God by

our need to stay comfortable. We need to

come together and pray together and

dream together and believe together. You

see, one person with a vision can make

an impact. A church with a vision can

change a

community. We serve a God that is bigger

than our limitations. And here's the

thing, God isn't surprised by our

weaknesses, and God isn't discouraged by

our mistakes. In fact, God uses those to

show others how powerful God actually

is. God used Moses who couldn't even

speak. He had a stuttering problem to

lead the entire nation of Israel. Think

about the small boy that we've preached

on before with the five loaves of bread

and two fish. Not very much, right? Not

a lot there. Give it to Jesus. What

happens? We feed over 5,000 people. God

doesn't need something big or someone

big to do something big. God just needs

people who are willing to trust him. So

that's why today I want to challenge you

to think big. Don't settle for what

feels safe or easy. Don't li limit God

by asking for what you think is

possible. Instead, start expanding your

prayers. Start praying for God to

stretch your vision, your vision for

your family, your vision for yourself,

your vision for this church, your vision

for the future. Start praying that we

see things how God sees them, not how we

sees sees them. That's good English.

See, God can use ordinary

people. Maybe it means stepping out to

serve in a new ministry, even if you

feel unc qualified. Maybe it means

trusting in God to talk to someone who

you feel uncomfortable talking to. God

isn't asking us to figure everything

out. God is simply asking us to believe.

When we trust in God's power, we

position ourselves to actually see

miracles, to see breakthroughs, to see

blessings that go beyond anything we

could think. So, let's stop playing it

safe. Let's stop keeping our dreams too

small. And instead, let's believe that

the same God that created all those

stars that we see on that clear night in

the sky is the same God that is at work

in our lives every single day. So let's

think big. Let's believe big. And let's

trust that God can do immeasurably more

than anything we ask and seek. Let's

pray. Lord, we are so grateful that your

plans are not our plans. Your dreams are

not our dreams. And what you can do goes

beyond anything we could ever think up

on our own. Help us to connect to your

vision. Help us to connect to who you

are. Help us to not limit you or put you

in a box that makes us feel comfortable,

but help us to be willing to follow

wherever you want us to go. And may we

never lose sight of the fact that the

whole point is for

all things to point back to you. It's

not about any one person. It's about

what you can do when we all come

together and work together to make a

difference in this world. We ask all of

these things in your son's name. And

everyone said, "Amen." Amen.