Luke 1: 26-38

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
 ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."
³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! I am so happy to see you! What faithful people you are! It is marvelous of you to have braved the winter storm to come to the Lord’s service this morning. I salute you. I know God is honoring you for it.

You are here, amid the winter’s snow, because there’s a tug on your heart. There’s something drawing you to God, and that is the Holy Spirit of God Himself. I want to conclude this series about following stars, because you are here and you are here to follow the Lord.

 The Bible has such wonderful stories of people who felt the tug of God and wanted to follow. They wanted to rise up and follow. You remember Moses, tending his sheep, going to work, doing the everyday things. And in the midst of the everyday things, there was something wonderful: a bright light in a burning bush that was not consumed. Moses was fascinated, and he said, “I’m going to take a closer look.” And as he got closer, he heard a voice saying, “Moses, Moses, take off your shoes, for the ground upon which you stand is holy ground.” And Moses communed with God.

In the Gospel this morning, Mary, a young woman, is most likely at prayer, and in the midst of her meditation she feels the tug of God. The angel says to her, “Mary, God has a remarkable task for you. You are going to be the mother of the Son of the Most High, should you say yes.” And Mary said – I love the Latin phrase – “Ecce ancilla Domini.  Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word.” And the angel honored her and left her. She followed.

Wise men followed a star. They moved up from where they were in their lives and they followed the star to Bethlehem , all because they felt the tug of God on their hearts. And I am urging each of us to feel the tug of God on our heart, and to follow Him.

To that end, we’ve been talking about five stars that form the shape of the cross. The star at the top of the cross is the star of worship. It’s the star wherein we contemplate our connectedness to God. My prayer for you this Sunday is that something would inspire you to feel connected to the Lord, that you would come away from this place saying, “God and I have touched hands, and I feel better. I feel uplifted. I feel healed. I feel inspired.” That’s the first star to follow. Coming to worship changes the way you feel.

The second star, at the bottom of the cross, is the star of growth. Have you known mature Christians in your lives, people who were just remarkable saints of God? That’s because they grew all their lives; they didn’t stop. They kept reading and studying and praying. That’s what makes us deep and rich people. That’s what makes us holy. That’s what makes us wholly different from the rest of the world, because we felt the tug of God on our lives, and we’ve grown. And instead of being part of a world of hopelessness and materialism and short-sightedness and depression, we’ve grown. We’ve listened to the Word, and we’re stronger for it.

The third star is the star of caring. The official word is service. Caring is just part of the Christian personality. I think one of the reasons that America is one of the greatest nations in the world today is because it is fundamentally Christian at heart, no matter what people call themselves. It is Christian at heart if it’s loving at heart. It didn’t get this way by accident. It’s doing something right. Caring is at the heart of being a Christian.

The fourth star is the star of sharing. Our stewardship for our church, this property, our mission for other people, our willingness to help by dedicating gifts to God, makes us stronger people. It makes us more faith-filled people.

And finally, the fifth star calls us to welcome and invite. It’s what Jesus calls us all to do. Jesus calls us to invite others to this wholly different way of life, so that they may be fulfilled and the love of Christ may touch them. How else will it happen if we don’t do it? That’s why that fifth star is at the center of the cross. Jesus calls us to be inviters and welcomers for His sake.

Everything we do as a church has to do with one of these five stars. What I’d like to do this morning is have you take a look at all those groups and committees of the church. And I invite you choose one or two that you particularly resonate to for whatever reason, then choose one particular star that goes along with it. Now, I know that there are certain groups and individuals on the list that will call for more than one star. But for now, let’s choose one. I know that there are strong stars and co-stars for each category. So, consider this list of church activities along with our five stars for faithful Christians, and talk with each other about where your particular interest fits in. [Note: this list may differ from the one presented in church, but is essentially the same in spirit. Please forgive any omissions on this version; no slight is intended – lls]

 Star 1: Worship  ~  Star 2: Growth  ~  Star 3: Caring  ~  Star 4: Sharing  ~  Star 5: Invitation

 Church Activity

Worship Team

            Usher

            Greeter

            Lay scripture reader

            Lay speaker

            Sound engineer

Music Team

            Chancel choir

            Handbell choir

            Folk choir

            Instrumental

            Children’s choir

            New organ task force

Youth Education Team

            Sunday school faculty

            Christmas pageant

            Spring pageant

            Youth group

            Vacation Bible school

Missions and Outreach Team

            Food bank

            Crop Walk

            Outreach to those without a church

Hospitality Team

            Sunday morning refreshments

            Special events

            Baking

Building, Grounds, and Gardens Team

            Gardening and landscaping

            General maintenance

Adult Education and Fellowship Team

            Bible study

            United Methodist Women

            United Methodist Men

            Fellowship events and outings

            Family life fellowship events

            Holiday Bazaar

            Midweek crafts group

Finance Team

            Consecration Sunday

            General stewardship activities

Offering Counters

Church office help

Trustees

Staff-Parish Relations Team

Administrative Council

 Star 1: Worship  ~  Star 2: Growth  ~  Star 3: Caring  ~  Star 4: Sharing  ~  Star 5: Invitation

 I just talked to a man who loves to help people. What star is that? The star of Christian service. I spoke with a crafter who loves to do things by hand. We have a crafters group here in the church. They make ornaments for the Christmas bazaar. Now the crafters and the bazaar do several things; they fall under star number 4. They share with the church. Thank goodness for the bazaar! They help with the durable needs of the church. And also star number 5 – they welcome and invite. The bazaar is a wonderful way to welcome and invite people to come through the doors of the church.

Let me ask you for a few more examples from the list.

Stewardship and finance? Obviously, star 4. They enable our church to share.

Trustees? I think that Trustees, Administrative Council, and the Staff-Parish Relations committee are ones that look at all the stars. But uppermost for the trustees is star 3, caring, and also star 5, welcoming and inviting. You work so hard to make this a welcoming place, a safe, dry, hospitable place. It’s part of outreach.

Sunday School and education in general? Star 3 – caring, and star 2 – growing, and stars 4 and 5.

[From the congregation] “Pastor would be all of the stars.” Thank you for understanding! Please pray for me, because my work falls under all of them. If I had to choose a primary category, it would be star 1, worship. Back to our football team analogy from last week, I hope I’m not a one-man football team. Hopefully, though, I am sort of the coach of the team.

Choir? star 1, worship. You lead us. You sing the song that the congregation wants to sing in their hearts. You sing on their behalf. You are the representative singers who donate your time, your talent, your energy, to sing the Lord’s praise. And star 5.

The worship team is star 5 as well. Yes, it’s worship, but it’s also welcoming and inviting.

Bible Study? Star 2. It’s about Christian growth. And we all have a wonderful time, too. I know I do. It’s about growing in Christ.

Well, you get the idea. I invite you to consider the various aspects of church life and to think about the part that you do in the church, and about how all this works together. Think about how we balance all five stars to fulfill one purpose. And that one purpose is the invitation of Jesus Christ who says, “Follow me.” If we ask “Lord, how shall we follow you?” we will get the answer – five stars, guiding us toward fulfillment in our faith.

Here’s a closing thought: this Christmastime, I’m going to invite you to follow star 5 especially. Star 5 – welcome and invite. See if there is someone in your world, in your circle, who needs an invitation to church. Ask them; invite them. Bring them and sit with them. Let them know they’re welcome and invited. You never know who the Lord wants brought to Him through you.

God bless every one of you. God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen