Psalm 115:1 * Unity/Dedication Sunday *
In the Old Testament
we learn that in the 6th Century before Christ and after 70 years of
captivity in the
Other scholars believe
this Psalm was in use long before that, perhaps used especially at Passover
time as God’s Old Testament people reflected upon all the great things the Lord
had done for them past and present.
Either way, the first
verse of Psalm 115 is most appropriate for us to consider and remember today…
Psalm 115:1 – “Not to
us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and
faithfulness.”
Dear Members of
So, what do you think? What are your thoughts and feelings? Can you describe what went through you the first time you walked into this building, or after you heard the choir today, or just looked around and saw a new gymnasium full of people?
I shall not try to enumerate the range of emotions or plumb the depths of gratitude that accompany where we are and what we are doing today, because I would fail. Likewise, it has become a cliché to say of certain big events in our lives either individually or corporately that words cannot adequately describe how we feel. Today this is not a cliché, it is a truth; and we shall not attempt to press words beyond their intended meaning…
What I would ask on this Unity and Dedication Sunday is that we reflect upon this single question: What has brought us to this day?
What is it that has brought us to this day – this grand and glorious day – this historic day – this day, the likes of which we are observing this morning for only the third time in the over 120 year history of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church?
What has brought us to this day?
Are we here this morning because of the courage and vision
of our spiritual forefathers – those who in 1882 put such a premium on
Christian education that the very first order of business after establishing
Are we here this morning because of the will of the members of this congregation in the 1950’s – many of whom are still with us – those who recognized that the original wooden school building built in 1888 was well past its prime and must be replaced? Those who listened to all the reasoned arguments and waded through all the fears about how Christian education is too expensive and how the congregation could not afford to get involved in a major building project, but then made the decision to boldly go forward and build a new school under the theme: “This is the will of God”? Without that decision we would not be observing this occasion. Yes, we stand on their shoulders today. But, no, they are not the ones who have brought us to this day.
Are we here this morning because of the hundreds of members
of
Are we here this morning because those same members of St. John’s have given willingly and sacrificially of their time, talents and treasures so that in record time and seamless fashion this whole project which we prayerfully embarked upon two Unity Sundays ago, broke ground for last Unity Sunday, we are now able to dedicate today, on this Unity Sunday?
Are we here this morning because of the talent of the architect or the expertise of the construction company or the combined skills of all the craftsmen who took this project from a hole in the ground to the marvelous and striking structure that it is?
Everybody just mentioned had a hand in our new educational facility; but no, they are not the ones who have brought us to this day.
God has brought us to this day. Not our labors or wisdom or ingenuity or
dedication; His love and faithfulness has made this happen. And so we join with the Psalmist: “Not
to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love
and faithfulness.”
Just how greatly has God showered us with His love and faithfulness today? Let us consider just a few examples…
By allowing us to erect and dedicate this facility God has
given us the honor of honoring Him in a special way. And honoring God is the only thing we as
Christians want to do. The reason we
want to honor God is because His love and faithfulness to us extends far beyond
a brick and mortar building in
Why was He there? We know. He was there for us. He was there to take our place. In His Word God tells us, His creatures, that when it comes to keeping His commands He expects perfection. But we are far from perfect. We are sinners. As Paul tells us in the Book of Romans, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So God came up with a plan far more marvelous than the one that produced this building. In His love He sent His Son, Jesus, to take on our flesh and blood and do in our place what we couldn’t do – live perfectly. And then, because His perfect justice required it, He punished Jesus in our place. “The wages of sin is death,” the Bible tells us. So Jesus went to the cross. And there He died. As our substitute.
But that’s not the end of the story. As a testimony to the fact that He was who He said He was – the Son of God – and that He had successfully done what He came to do – save us from our sins – He rose again. He lives. “And because I live,” says Jesus, “all who look to me as their Savior from sin also will live.” He’s talking about heaven. He’s talking about eternal life. Not only that, He’s talking about fulfilled life where He lives to help us and protect us and strengthen us each and every day.
That’s what we have as His disciples. And that is why we want to honor Him. And that is why today is such a special day, because He has allowed us to honor Him by presenting this building to Him as a testimony of our love.
But He has honored us in another way. Besides being an internal testimony, this building also provides us with an external proclamation. Let me illustrate what I mean...
Yesterday was our open house. We had lots of visitors from both our congregation and the community. The comments we received were more than favorable; they were glowing. You have a beautiful building, they said. You did it right, they said.
And in all humility, we agree with them. This is a beautiful building. Under God’s grace and guidance, we did do it
right. In fact, making this building
beautiful and doing it right was very important to us, because with this
building the members of
And God has allowed us the honor of honoring Him by proclaiming these truths through the building He has given us today.
There is one more thing that God’s love and faithfulness has done for us this day. He has given each of us the privilege of seeing just how much God can do through His people when they seek His guidance and prayerfully put their minds to achieving a worthy goal. In our first reading this morning we heard how God can do immeasurably more than we ever ask or imagine. Is not today a fulfillment of that promise? And God has allowed us to be a part of it. Let me expand on this…
We held our first Unity Sunday four years ago. The text for the sermon that day was from that section in First Corinthians where the Apostle Paul talks about how the body is made up of many different parts and that every single one is important in relation to the others. The point he is making is that when it comes to a body of believers, there are no little people. Everyone has a role. Some may be more prominent or more noticeable than others, but everyone is important. And when everyone is contributing, the body is healthy and able to go forward.
One of the great blessings of this day is that everyone contributed to make it happen. From prayer support to financial support to physical support to emotional support, I think it is safe to say that just about everybody was involved. We did this not as a committee or a task force, but as a congregation. And God has now given us the privilege of seeing the fruits of our labor.
Which means He has also given us the honor of rising to the
task and graciously used us for the continuing history of
Think of it. Used by
God for His purposes. On this side of
heaven, it doesn’t really get any better than that…
Today is a great day, a glorious day, a historic day. Let’s close by again pondering the question
with which we began. What has brought us
to this day? God has brought us to this
day… God, who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine… God who
demonstrated His love for us in Jesus Christ and given us the honor of honoring
Him with this building… God, who through this building has provided us with an
instrument through which we may stay “rooted and growing in Christ and in our
community.”
God has brought us to this day. And so with grateful and joyful hearts we
join the Psalmist, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of
your love and faithfulness.” Amen.
Whether spoken or unspoken, written or unwritten, these are the guiding principles that have brought us to this point in our congregational life. I believe they will provide us with continued guidance as we now go about our planning…