POP!
Today’s service was fun. After a neat prelude by Katie on the flute, I introduced the day by talking about how popcorn works- what makes the kernel pop. The answer is simple. heat and water- heat applied to the kernel which causes the water inside the kernel to turn to steam and expand. The pressure on the shell becomes too great and pop!
After some good congregational singing, the choir (thanks, Joan) blessed us with a sweet song of assurance.
More special music came from Cindy as she directed her piece to the graduates who were with us. It was a great song for all of us, but especially for our folks who are in the process of graduating and getting on with the next phase of life.
We took a few minutes to honor our graduates as RuthAnn shared bios and I passed out gifts to each one. Thanks Kelsey for putting everything together and thank you Mike for the monogramed pens- they are cool!
RuthAnn’s message to the kids was stellar as usual. I wish she had left a few peanut butter cups up front but maybe next time.
The message this morning focused on the kingdom of heaven/God. It is a concept with which I have been reaquainted as I have been looking again at the gospels. Jesus talks alot about the Kingdom. It is exciting stuff. The kingdom is the Good News personified. People, Jesus first and then His followers, who give their lives to a way of living that focuses on grace, love, forgiveness and service. In the sermon, I tried to focus on Jesus’ words so most of the message was simply restating what He said in the gospels. I would encourage you to do a personal study of the kingdom- just go to a concordance or biblegateway.com and do a word search for kingdom in the gospels. Read each passage in context and prepare to be surprised at what Jesus teaches you. A great book on the Kingdom is “The Secret Message of Jesus” by Brian McLaren. I would recommend it highly.
I closed the message with a parable that I thought fit in well with the kingdom stories Jesus told. Using a demonstration, I talked about popcorn being popped in a popper with no lid. As the popcorn kernels heat up, the pop takes place and the resulting pieces of popcorn come flying out of the popper. When we are heated up by God’s grace, love and mercy, we are moved out of the pew and into the community to become agents of his kingdom.
I had an application page on the back of the seromn outline. In the midst of the service I forgot to direct the congregation’s attention to it (what’s up with me?), but I hope most folks will take some time to think about how they can “pop” for Jeus in the coming weeks.
I am looking forward to some online discussion, so feel free to make a comment.
Steve
I LOVE POPCORN! This was the perfect sermon for me! I want nothing more than to be popping for Jesus. Sometimes I look at others instead of HIM! I think once I take my focus off HIM and put it on humans, I begin that downward spiral. I let the things people say and do be my focus. Every night when I eat my big bowl of popcorn, I will remember His words through you! Thanks…and happy popping!!