A Grateful Fellowship

I think that's symbolism this morning of us being a grateful church congregation of a church family

of where we join our prayers together actually all linked in and so thinking about that in this

as we go through this series on gratitude the gratitude of being a great fellowship

I was grasped by this book it's called the boy the mole the fox and the horse

I don't know whether you've read it or maybe at Christmas you saw the animation version

now I think obviously it's written and drawn by Charlie McCaskey who is a Christian

because in the essence there is a biblical imperative in this story

how four different characters meet together and become one they become gathered

and they support and they encourage one another and then amongst the beautiful illustrations that's in here

there is a line that grabbed me and what grabbed me was when the mole who is played by Tom Hollander

yeah over voices that and he says to the boy what do you want to be when you grow up

and the boy says kind

here's a little clip to remind you

what do you want to be when you grow up

kind

hmm

I remember there was a word that we had here many years ago

it was when Donna was here

Donna had a word one morning as we were thinking about what does it mean to be church

and she had very strong sense of this word of just be kind

be kind

and throughout the reading Paul reminds this people of this earlier church

an early church that's finding its way in discipleship

finding its way of being followers of Jesus

of how to encourage themselves

so our scripture this morning is almost imperative

as therefore as God's chosen people

holy and dearly loved

there's an essential element in that I think in our discipleship

of being one of knowing that you are chosen

that you are holy

and that you are dearly loved by God

it's an essential element in our discipleship

to know that because we need to know that

because that is a part of us where we can receive

and be open and know that the Holy Spirit is moving in us and through it

it's an essential element of our theme today

of being grateful

how do we do that?

we clothe ourselves with compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness

and patience

you spot those characteristics don't you

in people

you know

if we were writing a post profile

as often we get in

for a job application

maybe you're writing that

or you're applying for a job application

you have the two things don't you

you know

what is essential

and what is desirable

I'm not going to answer that question for you this morning

I'm going to ask you

as you think of yourself

in your discipleship

as part of this fellowship

what of those elements for you

are essential

what do you think are desirable?

maybe you need more of something

maybe I need more compassion

maybe I need a sense of being more kind

maybe I need humility

maybe I need to be a little more gentle

in the way I approach things

Paul lays it out here

as apprentices of Jesus

he is looking to a church

that wants to mature and grow

not just as individuals

although I think the word

that was given to us

this morning by Emily

was so true

I mean you know

that thing of

it's God in us

and through us

but that brings something important

to the community

for which we belong

because people look at the community

as well as us as individuals

you know

compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness and patience

following Jesus

and I hope

I don't want to break a myth here

but it's not a hobby

you know

if coming here is a hobby

maybe just rearrange

and think again

because in here

this is

it's not something like the golf club

the pub

the gym

Jesus says

come and follow me

come and follow me

and sometimes that means

as we know from the Bible

we know from our own lives

that means dropping something

leaving something behind

maybe old ways

old character traits

maybe ideas that we've had

from the past

that have got in the way

but this whole freedom

that we can leave something behind

drop it

and follow Jesus

as disciples

or apprentices

I like that idea

of apprentices

if you're an apprentice

an apprenticeship

doesn't end with a certificate

you keep on learning

for those of you

who are training apprentices

you will know

that it's an ongoing

daily thing

bear with each other

and forgive one another

if any of you

has a grievance

against someone

forgive as the Lord

forgave you

it's an important element

of who we are

as community

you know

what a beautiful picture

of God's

godly

Jesus

centred community

that we can do that

that we can come

that we can say

we're sorry

we can move on

I'm not having a good day

this wasn't my finest hour

I'm sorry

let's move on

get it

let's go

and over all these

virtues

put on love

which binds them

together

in perfect unity

the thing

you know

we sing that song

where I always think

it's a bit of

swing your pants job

isn't it

bind us together

Lord

bind us together

you know

but it's so true

why did they put it

to such a cheesy song

it was

but binding us together

that sense

that love

that pulls us

which is the

common denominator

by which people

engage with us

there is a church

that's kind

there is a group

of people

that are kind

there's a people

that love me

there's a people

where I can be myself

in this season

in the year

I get requests

for references

filling my inbox

I am so pleased

there are people

who want to serve

from this congregation

out on various camps

whether it's

out on

explorer camps

falcon camps

spree

wherever

it's a wonderful thing

because

in the question

you are asked to read

in that

role specification

I have to ask

myself

does the role

specification

that they're asking

for

match the person

that I know

you know

and I'm glad

I have to say

it's yes

it's yes

don't give up

serving and sharing

but I'm so pleased

when I do that

because you look

at that

and you think

that is the person

that I know

that is the person

who longs to serve

who goes out

and wants to serve others

many of you

may have applied

for the job

or have had to prepare

an advert

of job description

and these two things

essential

or desirable

essential

absolutely necessary

extremely important

and desirable

skills

experience

that an employer

would prefer

essential

criteria

is the qualifications

if I asked you

to write a job description

being a member

of this church

for yourself

what would you write

would it be

that I

just do

a job

I do this

I serve

as important

as it is

or actually

do I write that

because of my character

and everything

in this scripture

this morning

I'm not going to

ask you to do that

now

but you may want

to think about it

as you reread

this thing

what is it

that defines me

is it actually

what I do

or how I live

my life

as a disciple

that brings

a richness

to the fellowship

we can all

fill posts

and I'd love

you to fill

even more

but it is

about how

we come

in our character

and how we serve

this is what

he's saying

to an early church

that it's going

to evolve

and it's going

to grow

you know

we can all

do church

but I think

Paul goes

deeper

because what

does it mean

to be church

as a disciple

you know

I can do church

but what

does it mean

to be

because each

of us

are known

and loved

by God

and the richness

that each

of us bring

and what we

bring

is so essential

to the fellowship

that makes up

this wonderful

body

the richness

of knowing

we are God's

chosen people

and that's the

issue for many

people

they never grasp

that they are

known and loved

by God

and if that is us

this morning

if that is you

know that you are

known and loved

by God

it's a relational

thing

it's not just

on paper

and when we

gather to give

thanks to God

it's not only

in the completed

work of Jesus

on the cross

it is what is

the Holy Spirit

continuing to do

through us

because maybe

your prayer

the same as mine

each day

is Lord

stir up the

gifts in me

because you

haven't finished

working with me

there's still

things to do

there's still

lots that I

want to learn

and lots that

I can do

for you

the work

isn't finished

folks

therefore every

time we meet

together and

thank him as

we've done

this morning

for what he

has done

and continues

to do

in us

there's even

more

are we on

to slide

two

I think

we are

that's great

the thing

is bear

with one

another

I heard

somebody once

say to me

oh well

that's it

I've reached

this age

I can give

up now

I don't

remember doing

that

I don't

even remember

saying that

in the gospel

or saying that

anyway at all

in the richness

that each of us

have to bring

in each season

of our lives

is so important

through our

experience that we

bring to the body

so having these

qualities

compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness

and patience

which one of

these do you

think is an

essential

or a

desirable

or is it

both

Paul isn't

just writing

to an embryonic

gathering

you know

we are one

body

that's what it

says

we are

one body

I may offend

some people here

but being a

Christian isn't

the same as

being a

disciple

sorry if that

upsets you

I can tick

a box

on a form

to say

I am

a Christian

but it doesn't

mean to say

that I'm living

a discipled

life

the difference

is we are

long to live

a discipled

life

and being

discipleship

is when Jesus

calls

it's the

difference

because we

are intentional

about keeping

our focus

on Jesus

that's the

intentional

thing about

being a

disciple

you know

I recall

in my

curacy

how

how the

church

had placed

one of

its

priorities

on growing

children

and families

in a church

that hadn't

seen children

and families

for years

I remember

that on a

Wednesday

we grew

a toddler

church

it far

outgrew

the size

of the

church

on the

morning

on a

Sunday

morning

you know

in bless him

my dear

old vicar

said

you know

his line

was

you can't

change

anything

because the

people

wouldn't

like it

I remember

that morning

when a

family came

had made

that transition

and made

that huge

step to

come to

a Sunday

morning

toddler by

definitions

do what

they say

they toddle

and they

toddle all

around the

place

to be part

of a

gracious and

loving church

means that we

welcome people

as they

come

to which

one lady

stood up

very loudly

and said

for God's

sake will

you shut

that child

up

it

happened

it

happened

the issue

I think we

have here

in amongst

all of

this

is

are we

a grateful

fellowship

fellowship

that we

welcome

everyone

as they

come

to stir

up the

gifts

to bring

something

as Paul

is talking

about here

a grateful

fellowship

what she

didn't

realise

is the

person

who

that

morning

hadn't

really

got the

plot

was

compassion

because

the mum

was a

single mum

with three

under fives

kindness

her husband

had just

walked out

and cleared

the bank

account

humility

she had

said to me

I'm not

sure I'm

even good

enough to

come to

church

gentleness

what she

was seeking

because she

was reeling

from the

result of

an abusive

partner

patience

isn't what

she received

on that

day

so often

people

we think

of church

fellowship

we should

be more

shaped like

Jesus

yes

slide

three

if we're

not there

already

that's

great

I'm

not giving

you my

view on

this

because

all of

us

search

our

hearts

and

lives

but

we

are

asked

to

bear

with

each

other

forgive

one

another

if

any

of

you

has

a

grievance

against

someone

forgive

as the

Lord

forgave

you

and I

think

that's

a great

starting

point

as

Paul

gives

this

and over

all

these

things

put on

love

put on

love

clothe

yourself

in it

cover

yourself

in it

again

and again

what does

love look

like

in the

face of

being a

disciple

the confidence

I find in

the scripture

is when

Jesus called

and invited

each of us

by name

the different

the radical

thing was

in this

reading

is if you

understand

what discipleship

actually means

is that

in the

culture

you had

to be

the best

of the best

of the best

to be

accepted

by the

rabbi

you spent

ages

going through

learning the

Torah

doing everything

you could

and then

if you

were good

enough

and you

had passed

the test

then you

became

a disciple

of your

rabbi

the radical

thing about

Jesus'

teaching

that everybody

got

was that

that wasn't

the case

that Jesus

chose people

who were

rough and

ready

who were

fishermen

who followed

him

dropped

everything

because they

saw something

in Jesus

and they

were accepted

and loved

and wanted

to be more

there's that

great rabbinic

thing

may you be

covered by

the dust

of your

rabbi

you want

to be so

close to

him that

you want

to learn

that is

discipleship

and that

what's

that's what

makes

and contributes

towards a

grateful

fellowship

because we

all know

that we're

walking so

close to

Jesus

in learning

and what

we're

doing

let the

peace of

Christ

rule in

your hearts

since as

members of

one body

you were

called to

peace

and be

thankful

are we

thankful this

morning for

our discipleship

you know

if you walk

into a

fellowship

or setting

and you

aren't at

one in

peace

then you

need to

know that

peace

maybe you're

sensing that

this morning

maybe with

what you've

come but

you sense

a peace

that you

can take

back out

into the

world to

share with

the people

that we're

going to

share this

week with

that's what

fellowship is

all about

and let the

message of

Christ dwell

among you

richly as

you teach

and admonish

one another

with all

wisdom through

psalms hymns

and songs from

the spirit

singing to

God with

gratitude in

your hearts

we are called

as Jesus

called as

disciples

and you know

I've heard the

line the same

as you have

you know I

can be a

Christian and

not go to

church

have you heard

that line

from people

you know

I actually

agree with

it yeah you

can be a

Christian

and not go

to church

I can't be a

disciple

though

because in a

disciple in a

gathering church

in a gathered

congregation

we need one

another

I need people

I need people

who can be

honest with me

who can hold

me to account

when I slip

I need people

that I can

say come on

that's a good

friend isn't it

someone who can

say to you

truly truly

truly come on

back is this a

good idea

wisdom that's

what brings a

community together

that we can

encourage and

enthuse and

excite and build

each other up

stir up the

gifts in the

power of the

Holy Spirit

you know I

don't get my

wisdom from the

news I don't

get my wisdom

from the

paper I

get my

wisdom from

scripture and

from being

part of a

gathered church

do we have a

thankful gratitude

for our

fellowship

so a lady

visited over

Christmas and

she said

you are so

blessed here

she said we

have no

musicians in

our church

we have

recorded tracks

that we sing

along to

every Sunday

she said you

are so blessed

with the music

that you have

to worship

with amen

amen

you know

and whatever

you do whether

in word or

deed do it in

the name of

the Lord Jesus

giving thanks to

God the Father

through him

whatever you

do

whatever you

do

give thanks

I don't

know about

you but

the highlights

of my

membership of

this church

as a fellow

member with

you here is

seeing people

come to

Christ

I love to

see people on

their discipleship

journey growing

deeper and

deeper in love

with Jesus on

the Alpha

course at the

moment I'm

just so excited

to see people

coming in

fellowship

the boy

the mole

the fox

and the horse

the fox

is right

out on the

edge

he's a

predator

he

his initial

thing is he

just wants to

get to the

mole

and the boy

presumably to

harm them

the fox

then gets

caught in

a snare

and the

mole

courageously

as the

fox says

to him

if I

wasn't in

this snare

I would

kill you

the mole

says to

the fox

if you

say in

that snare

you will

die

and

courageously

bites through

the cable

so that the

fox can be

free

the fox

realises

what it

means to

be part

of community

to be

loved

and to

be known

Father God

I pray

that you

would

draw us

more and

more

into

a

transformed

love

as a

fellowship

that those

that are

searching

that those

that will

discover

that those

that you

are drawing

to us

will know

that they

are loved

by you

and find

that love

for themselves

and that we

would grow

more and

more into

that shape

of a

discipled

fellowship

with compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness

patience

and love

Holy Spirit

would you

come

would you

come and

stir up the

gifts in us

we pray

and would

you draw

those to

us

Lord

who are

seeking

you

in a

discipled

walk

with you

in Jesus

name

Amen

Amen

Amen