Youth Sunday

Let's pray, Lord, you never fail.

Full stop. There's nothing else to say.

You don't fail. Even when our hearts are

failing, even when our minds are failing, even when our bodies

are failing, You do not fail. You are our firm foundation.

There is no other foundation by which that we can stand.

And Lord, this morning, as we talk about what it means to be

the body, there's all kinds of ways we get it wrong, and at the

same time, there's all kinds of ways that you can help us make

it right. So we asked for that wisdom this

morning and the courage and the opportunity to do so.

It's your name we pray. Amen.

Every time I walk through IKEA, I think to myself, no one on

earth has rooms set up like this.

And Pittsburgh is one of the few places in these great United

States where an IKEA resides, which I find rather hysterical

because we are also one of the traditionally large, heavy, too

big for your house furniture kind of places.

And IKEA is anything but. And it's also equally hysterical

to me because in that kind of a place, we also have people who

live on hillsides and have many steps from the driveway to their

house. So carrying any furniture is a

burden. But in terms of the store

itself, I've only ever been to one other IKEA, which was about

40 minutes away from me when I lived in Wisconsin.

And it was here that I learned that I was not meant to put

furniture together for a living. Have you ever put together a DAG

store or reconsider your life choices as you throw away a wad

of paper which might be the directions into the strap pads I

have? Let's say it was pretty

humbling. I also think they do it on

purpose. They make the directions look so

easy and then they give you 1 tool and 1400 pieces.

And have you ever seen the directions on how to assemble a

JATA bow? There's no way that this was

ever meant to be done by one human being, yet there's only a

picture of 1 human being in those directions.

And no matter what that little drawing says, I have learned

that if there's anything that is coming from IKEA, I will not

under any circumstances go it alone, even if it's just moral

support. And this morning we are going to

look at a passage that might be a little familiar.

I think at some level we all know that we are Better

Together. At some level we are Better

Together. And we know that you shouldn't

do things alone, yet for some reason or another we end up on

lonely islands all the same, with nothing but a small Allen

wrench staring down the 1300 piece of Test Test of patience,

the Stork Linta. Now those are all actual IKEA

furniture names. Look them up, you will see what

I've dealt with. But my hope for us this morning

is that we take a nice hard look at what it means to be the body

of Christ as described in our text this morning.

And it's not just some nods or some platitudes, but it's a

reality. And it's a reality that we need

to embrace and we need to then exercise our God-given gifts

because the world needs them. Because whether you are a lone

wolf and you like to do things that way, or you are somebody

who's more the merrier, the reality is we have been given

each other. We are tied to one another in a

bond that we did not create and that we cannot take apart.

And as I'm sure you already know, that that's not easy

because the body is messy, because people are messy.

But God has put it in place for us, and we are to do the best we

can to live into it. So let's pray, Lord, this

morning as we reflect upon Your Word and we think about our

place in the body, might you stir within us something fresh

and new. And it's your name we pray,

Amen. So here's the easy part.

There's an identity statement given in verse 12 that ties

together a lot of the conversation that was happening

in verses one through 11, right before it.

So there in one through 11, there's this discussion about

all these different gifts that are in the body, right?

Teaching, preaching, speaking in all kinds of different tongues

and all that kind of stuff. And as you can imagine, some

people felt certain gifts were cooler than others, right?

And what what is happening then is in verse 12 and onward, we

are getting essentially, hey, there's all kinds of different

things that make the body of Christ unique and special, But

there's this idea that it's all going somewhere, that it's all

tied together. And that is this imagery of a

body. Verse 12.

For just as the body is 1 and has many members and all the

members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with

Christ. For in one spirit we were all

baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, we are

all made to drink of 1 spirit. So this idea of a body, a

picture of a body and its members is where we're going to

be spending a lot of time today. And before we go any further, we

need to understand one crucial thing that that that this idea

that we are a body is not meant to be a goal that is achieved.

It is not some standard that we need to live up to, but in a

very real, tangible way. It is a fact that we need to

face a reality. We are a body already.

Christ instituted it, assembled it already.

Not something that needs to be assembled, but something that is

already done. The question is, how do we

actually live out the identity that we've already been given?

And I think that it's important for us to see this from multiple

perspectives. What does it mean to live into

something that is inside you already?

So I'm going to invite Tim to come back up here and share a

little bit about his interaction with that question of what to

do. How does it mean to live it out

with something that's in you already?

Thank you Dan, if you see a soft glow coming from the podium onto

my face, I am. I promise you I'm not scrolling

TikTok. I do have my notes on my phone.

I am 25. That is how I work.

I know it's a little different, I'm sorry.

But many of you know me maybe as Rob and Amy's kid.

And if you've been here a long enough time, maybe you know me

as Ruby's kid or grandkid. But if you are involved, or

maybe if you are, if you're a middle schooler schooler, you

might know me as Timmy, who is super awesome at Surf City.

At least I hope you think that. Maybe you think I'm super lame.

I don't know. But if you were involved in

youth ministry here when I was in high school, you probably

knew me as one of the quietest kids and youth group.

I was a kid in small group, and the some of the high schoolers

are getting mad at this. I was the kid who didn't want to

ever answer any questions, didn't really have anything to

say. And they're looking at me now,

like, yeah. And you make me answer stuff.

And I'm like, well, you know, sorry.

Yeah. I was a nervous kid.

And if you had told me not that long ago that I would get up and

talk in front of everybody in the middle of a sermon, I

wouldn't have laughed at you. I would have rolled my eyes

because that's the most ridiculous thing.

I could not do that. I'm not built for that.

So I was a nervous kid. I was like that type of kid who

you can't, I couldn't go up to the cashier and ask for

something or like I get nervous ordering at a restaurant and I

absolutely would not send back food if I if they gave me the

wrong thing. If it was raw, I'm eating it

anyway. But then I got a job in high

school working at Home Depot. And this Home Depot job, I was

the cashier and suddenly there was no time to be nervous about

talking to people. There's a line of people and

they're not going to wait for me to get over it.

And so that job taught me how to get more comfortable talking to

people. And so then I went off to

college and I started out in college, Grove City, studying

music education. And I think by, like, Week 6, I

was like, oh, Nope, teachers have to stand in front of a

classroom of people and talk. I can't do that.

What was I thinking? I'm not built for this, let

alone the nerves that went along with, you know, different

musical performances and whatnot.

I'm not for that. So I switch majors, I switched

to computer science and I thought sitting in a room,

lights out, staring at a computer screen all day, yes,

that I can do that. And so I, I did that and I got

through it and I finished and I got a job and I started working

and I came back and I started volunteering at youth group.

I wasn't the leader. I didn't need to be the silly

guy up front being crazy or whatever.

I sat in the back. I got to know the kids, but I

wasn't teaching. I wasn't upfront.

I'm not built for that. And then as I'm doing that, I'm

getting more involved, and I become the intern here.

And a little while ago, Henry asks me, Tim, could you say a

few words to open up one of the congregational meetings?

And in my head, I heard that. And I'm like, no, but I'm the

intern. And I didn't want to say no.

So instead I said, sure, I can do that.

And in the moment I was like hands shaky, nervous.

Like I don't know why I was so nervous.

I grew up at this church, but I was super nervous.

But I went up and I did it and it was OK.

And even more recent example, just last night at like 7:30, as

I'm kind of finished going through making sure everything's

all set up for today, I'm looking at the bulletin and I'm

like, OK, I got to call Dan because I got to make sure that

I didn't screw something up. And so at 7:30, I'm calling Dan

and I'm like, Dan, I got to go through every single detail with

you right now. And he's like, OK, Tim, I do

this every week. It's going to be OK.

And so he sat, sat on the phone and entertained me as I went

through step by through step what we needed to do tomorrow.

But I am still a nervous person and so often in my life I found

myself wanting to look at Henry or look at whoever and say no, I

want to I I find myself saying to myself I can't do that.

I can't do XYZ thing. I'm not built for that.

And I, I'm reminded of the story my granddad tells about his call

into ministry. He was in college, he studied

like Spanish and history. And he, he always felt like he

had his calling in the ministry, but he was not interested in

that. He wanted to go do his own

thing. And he talks about running from

it, but he couldn't avoid the call.

And to think, running from God, that I I could run from where

God wants me to be, it's kind of silly.

No matter where I was, no matter what I was studying, God had

placed me there for a reason. Whether I knew it or not, I was

there because God wanted me to be there.

I had something in that space to offer, or maybe He had something

for me in that space to learn from.

I don't know where my race leads, but I trust that God has

marked it out. My job isn't to have all the

answers, but to show up even when I'm not comfortable, even

when I don't feel like it. Show up, be faithful, be

available, be teachable. And so in the next few verses,

Dan's going to look at the foot. And so the foot looks at the

hands and he sees the hands and thinks I can't do what they do.

I'm not built like that. But the foot is still part of

the body. And so as I I found myself

throughout my life thinking like the foot, even still I was I

belonged to the body. And so now last night, as we

were kind of getting things ready and I was talking things

over with Dan on our late name, phone calls and messages back

and forth, I was trying to think of a way to transition back into

Dan talking now. And I did not find a good way of

doing that. So now, in the most youth group

way possible, I'm going to throw it back to you, Dan, with more

news from verse 14. For the body does not consist of

1 member, but many. Verse 14.

Verse 15. If the foot should say, because

I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would make it,

that would not make it any less part of the body.

And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do

not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part

of the body. Do you see?

No matter what excuses you come up with, the reality remains

that you are indeed a foot or an eye.

And if the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of

hearing? And if the whole body were an

ear, where would be the sense of smell?

Verse 14 is the explicit statement that no man is an

island. You've heard it here.

There is a body. It is not just made of 1 member,

but of many. This is the reality.

It is impossible for this to be conceived any other way than a

mass of humanity smashed together.

At this point it might be tempting to find a way to

disqualify oneself. Notice in verse 15 the foot,

which is an integral piece of the body, has bad self esteem

with respect to how they see themselves over against the

hand. And I cannot tell you how many

times I have thought to myself, man, I'm not like that person.

I do not have the gifts or the connections or the ability to

move a room like they can. I might as well not even try.

Or I've worked with people who feel like feet in a hands world

where it is so difficult to conceive of another way to

realize that as a foot, what you bring to the table is as

important as what any other member might.

So I always try to think of something helpful in this

instance, right? Something to help land the idea.

And, and I've I've said this before, imagine walking

everywhere on your hands. While it can be done, it's not

what the hands were made for, and it's good to be a foot.

Feet are needed, even smelly ones, by the way.

And at the same time, I think we can get caught up from time to

time in another kind of trap that only the hands are worth

being. And if I can't be a hand and I'm

just going to sit this one out, everyone loves the hands.

Hands get all the benefits. They get all the attention and

all the praise. And if you find yourself in this

headspace, you need to hit the pause button.

Listen to what you are saying to yourself and ask God to renew

your mind. Because if God made you a foot,

then be the best foot. You can be walk in your purpose,

let the hands be the hands, because God has a reason for you

to be a hand or a foot. Verse 18 But as it is, God

arranged the members in the body, each one of them as He

chose. Full stop.

If all were a single member, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, yet one body that I cannot say.

To the hand I have no need of you, nor the head.

To the feet I have no need of you.

Have you ever felt like you are not needed somewhere?

Whether you were told to your face or it was the way you were

treated that made you feel like you were not wanted.

Unfortunately, this happens all the time.

Far too many come through the doors of a church only to walk

right out because there's no space for them.

There's no space for them to exercise their giftedness.

There's no room for feet. We only have hands around here,

so go find the hands church or feet church.

It also could be because a church that they walk into isn't

ready for them, that they don't have a simple system of helping

people find out what they are gifted for and then giving them

the reps repetitions, opportunities to be who they

were made to be. In some severe cases it could be

because there are some roadblocks.

One of the largest leadership issues people face today.

It's not new, but just like everything else, the kids have a

word for it and it's called gatekeeping.

Gatekeeping means this to control access to something like

a hobby, a community of people, a piece of information, by

deciding who is worthy or legitimate to participate.

It often involves withholding knowledge or limiting entry to a

group or activity based on arbitrary criteria, such as not

being a true fan or not knowing the certain unspoken rules.

You know this happens in baseball boosters, the quarrels

among preschool room mothers trying to get a promotion at

work, and churches are certainly not immune.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of being kept at

the gates? Have you ever been a gatekeeper?

While this is not a new issue, it is very much more on people's

radar these days as our culture becomes more and more hyper

individualistic and instances of tribalism are also at record

levels. And you might say, hey, it's

kind of always been like this. And I would say you're right.

But it seems to me that we feel it and see it more than ever,

which makes it feel that much more.

But gatekeeping is short sighted.

Here's why. On the contrary, verse 22.

The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we

bestow the greater honor, and our unpresented or unpresentable

parts are treated with greater modesty, which are more

presentable parts do not require.

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to

the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the

body, but that the members may have the same care for one

another. Do you see it all boils down to

not position, status or anything like that.

It boils down to taking care of one another.

One of the biggest ways I have seen this weaker versus stronger

versus whatever play out is that in the what are called

generation Wars, and these are being quietly raged on every

public forum. Every generation has issues with

the other generations that are either before them or after

them. And I bet you can name all kinds

of ways that maybe when you were younger or or whatever that you

felt gate kept by the generation before you, especially at car

key time. But it does not have to be this

way. Much like the hands and feet,

all of the generations that are currently walking the earth have

been placed here by God and have something to offer one another.

The bodies built that way because we need each other to

pull it off. And I've seen plenty of

instances where generations forget what generation they're a

part of and treat each other like peers, and amazing things

can happen. That's when hands and feet

become his hands and feet. Whether you're an 85 year old

foot or a 17 year old hand, you need each other.

And this is one of the reasons why I want to advocate for this

present generation of kids the way that I do.

Because someone who is experienced gatekeeping myself

and at some points probably gatekeeped on somebody, I know

that I alone cannot make a difference without everyone

else. So I do the best I can to help

the generations coming after me become the best that they can be

in the Lord and help those who come before me to understand the

ones who have come after them better.

It is why I will continually challenge you and myself to find

our fit and how we can invest in the next generation, the body of

Christ. This is not some ethereal goal

that we are to have. It is who Christ has set us up

to be. It is reality.

Now the challenge is how do we live into it?

And I think there are two ways that come from mutual

experience. They are things that no matter

where we are coming from, we can relate.

We all know what it is to suffer, and we all know what it

is to rejoice. Verse 26.

If one member suffers, all suffer together.

If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

This is where we connect. This is where hands and feet

come together. This is what crosses those lines

of demarcation, suffering and rejoicing.

They can hit you at any age. They can hit you in any socio

economic circumstance. They can hit you across any

demographic that you can create. It is an equalizer.

We experience suffering because of what sin has done to this

world. Yet though it be bleak, we can

also rejoice because of Christ. Jesus, who has defeated both sin

and death, has knit us together intentionally as a family of

faith, the church, the body, his hands, his feet.

And against such things, we can overcome just about anything

that comes our way, like locking the only set of car keys you

have in the car this morning and then having to take the other

car knowing that some hopefully a AAA person will show up when

you're not there. I did that.

But hear this. If you hear nothing else today,

hear this verse 27 now, not later, not before now.

You are the body of Christ. That is who you are.

And it just so happens that we are individually members of it.

Let's pray. Lord, I am thankful for all the

feet in this room and all the hands and all the eyes and all

the ears, shoulders, knees and toes.

The reality is, as you have knit us together, we are a body.

It's not something that we are trying to assemble.

It's something you've already done, and it's not something

that we can undo. So in all the ways that we need

to forgive one another, give us opportunities for

reconciliation. For all the ways that we have

judged one another, give us opportunities for

reconciliation. For all the ways that we have

may have gate kept another person, help us to find

reconciliation. And if we find ourselves in the

place where we feel gate kept, help us to forgive.

Because ultimately the reality is we are your hands and feet,

many members, one body. It's your name we pray.

Amen.