Bible Text: Acts 2: 42-47, Psalm 23, John 10; 1-10 | Preacher: Rev. Monika Bereczki-Farkas Dream Big – May 7, 2017 New Testament Lesson: Acts 2:42-47; Responsive Reading: Psalm 23; New Testament Lesson: John 10:1-10 Dream big my friends. Dream big about our church’s future. My dream is like the situation described in the New Testament when the believers were together in joy and they broke the bread and helped each other. Friends, when I read this scripture I felt that I wanted to belong to this community. I need to find this community. Or maybe our question should be: how can our church become this kind of perfect fellowship? The answer is in the Bible, actually it is in our reading: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer. They devoted themselves…it means they decided in their hearts to follow the teachings of the apostles, they decided to belong to their community where they broke the bread and prayed together. And the emphasis is on how they devoted themselves, how they made the decision about Jesus Christ. This particular community was the first Christian community and we might think it was easy for them to be Christian, but this was not the case. It was just a fresh new start of Christianity. Those who believed in Jesus Christ wanted to come together and enjoy the fellowship. They met every day and Jesus Christ was the reason for this. I know there is a temptation today to provide the best programming and interesting worship styles to our people, but at that time those early Christians didn’t meet because of the interesting programs. Nobody wanted to sell the church, as we feel many times when we want to invite somebody, like we have to mention what we can offer. This Bible text can liberate us from the temptation to trust in our programs, in our church buildings, or the idea that if we provide the best entertainment more people will come. Because quantity is a big temptation today: we want more people, we want quantity but what about the quality of our faith? This Bible text reminds us that we should come together for the same reason as those early Christians came together: devoting ourselves to the Bible’s teachings and the fellowship, breaking the bread, praying and praising God. So how many of you want to find a different church community here in Kirkwall from now on? Who wants to belong to a community where everybody helps everybody, there is no hurt, only joy and awe, where every speech is about praising God? Friends, this is our church, maybe not today but Jesus Christ is working on us, lived and died for us. And the dream can come true, we can be the perfect community of God. Do you know what the last sentence in the text is: And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. I know a couple of months ago many of you thought that when you had a minister she could perform a miracle and get new people. But the truth is in the Bible: The Lord is the one who can give us new people, but only when we are ready for them. Just look at the church history. Although we read about the beautiful start of the early Christians later we know that there were misunderstandings and splits. Look at the church body today, there are uncountable denominations. Today when we have problems with each other, it is easier to leave the church than try to work on the solution. And it’s true not only for the church but for our families and relationships as well. It’s hard to work for a relationship when we feel that we are being mistreated or somebody is hurting us. Sometimes it’s easier to leave than to believe and love again. But Jesus Christ shows us a wonderful example, He never left us. He never chose the easier way; His way was straight to the cross. He is the Good Shepherd who gave his life for his sheep. He was not only the Good Shepherd for those early Christians, He is still the Good Shepherd who wants to save us and lead us. In John 10:1-10 we can read about Jesus as a Good Shepherd, how he cares about all those who belong to him and that those sheep follow him because they know Jesus’ voice. We can say many good things about this passage and also about Psalm 23, but today when we have the ordination of our new elders, you have to remember one thing, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. It means Jesus is our leader. Yes, we have minister and elders but the head of our church is Jesus Christ, He is our leader, he is our Shepherd. He is the one who called us to be in his flock, who gave his life for us He knows very well who belongs to Him. Minister, elders, members, non-members, all those who belong to his flock are sheep. Jesus is the One who can give more sheep to his flock, to his Kirkwall flock and also he is the One who can call his people for different kind of services. Eldership is a very important position but it’s not about power. Sometimes we think that elders are those who make decisions about our church issues, who form a secret society and deal with everything. But friends, most importantly elders are those who are serving in faith. Jesus Christ is the best example, he showed us the way of serving: -He called his disciples by name and he taught them -he visited them in their homes -he healed them -he showed them the way toward His father -He spoke with them about the real understanding of the Bible -He let a woman wash his feet and He washed his own disciples’ feet -he visited sinners and ate with them -he wanted to show an example to his disciples by giving his life for them and for us -He gave everything he had for us. And do you know why? Because He has a Father who loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son for us. Yes, because He loves us. Friends, let us follow him on the way to serve others through love. We are not perfect, nobody is perfect. We are all in need. Our lives are broken even though many times we want to look like we are strong, many times we are just hiding our brokenness. We need peace, joy and love.Where else can we find our joy than here in the church? Where brothers and sisters can get together and share the love of Jesus Christ? I didn’t want to give a special sermon to my elder friends, but I wanted you all to know how important it is to love each other, and to speak to each other with respect. We belong to the same flock, to the same Shepherd who is Jesus Christ. And yes, the elders have special roles, they are our examples of serving in faith and love. And yes, they are not perfect, but with help from God and the support of our congregation they can grow in love and faith. Pray for them and help them. And at the end my elder friends! Do your best to rise up to your Call. God is with you. Serve and love your people as Jesus the Good Shepherd shows you, and help Kirkwall to be a church like those of the early Christians who were together in awe and joy. Amen