Luke 10:25-28

 ^{The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."}
 

Last week we heard from Francis Asbury. Reverend Simpson was here as Francis Asbury, and he put a challenge in front of us. He said, "What's important is to lay up treasures in heaven."

I got to thinking, "What does that mean?" We have all heard that phrase, all of our lives. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth; lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths do not corrupt nor do thieves break in and steal." But what does that mean? If one of your unchurched friends asked you what that meant, what would you say?

Well, I think I have a clue. And over the next four weeks, starting today, I would like to explore with you the four guiding lights of Christian life, so that you can have fulfillment in your faith. The four guiding stars of the Christian's life that tell us what we can do in response to God's magnificent love. We want to do something, don't we? We're action people. God loves us so much He sent Jesus to save us. He gave us this wonderful world. He gave us so many gifts. We want to do something, too.

A lawyer of the religious law came to Jesus and said, "Master, what must I do" -- notice the word "do" – "to inherit eternal life?"

And Jesus said, "What do you read in Scripture?"

And he said, "I read 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.'"

And Jesus said, "Do this, and you will live."

But I want to equip us with four goals for the active Christian. Let's study these together over the next four weeks, shall we? I was out in the parking lot a few nights ago, and there was a reminder in the sky of these four goals for us. I looked up into the night sky, and there was the constellation of a cross, with a star at the top, a star at the bottom, a star on one side, a star on the other. So let's consider these four guiding stars of the Christian life.

Let's start at the top, the crowning star. The one goal we all reach for as active Christians – what is this thing that all of us need to do if we want to be active Christians, to show and demonstrate our love for God? It's something the Bible tells us to do. It's something Jesus did, and it's something that enriches our lives. What's the top guiding star, without which we aren't a church?

May I suggest to you that the crowning, guiding star for the active Christian is worship? Worship. Coming to church on Sunday morning. If you've come to church on Sunday morning, you're following that guiding star. Aren't you glad you came today?

Christians are invited to come to church and worship every Sunday. Now, I've heard it said to me over the years, "Our Catholic brothers and sisters go to church because they have to. And Protestants go to church because they want to." I don't get it. Why do Catholics have to go to church? I think, because in the Bible, in the Ten Commandments, we're told to. One: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Have no strange gods before Him. Two: Do not defile the name of the Lord. Do not take the Lord's name in vain. Three: Remember the Lord's Day. Keep it holy. Third Commandment, Remember the Lord's Day. Keep it holy. What does 'holy' mean? It means 'different for the Lord's sake.'

One of the members of our church came up to me and said, "Pastor, I'd like to see a certain message on our sign outside."

I said, "What's that?"

She said, "I'd like the sign someday to read, 'What on earth are you doing for heaven's sake?'" I like that, don't you?

Why worship each Sunday? Because the Bible tells us to. Our Catholic brothers and sisters take that very seriously. And as far as I can read, we have the same commandments. We are invited by God to attend church. It's one of the Ten Commandments. They're not Ten Suggestions.

I saw a story that I hope with all my heart is not true. A minister encouraged people to come to church by running a manager's special. Can you imagine? There was a sign in front of the church that said, "This week only! Keep any eight of the Ten Commandments – your choice." What do you think? Should we do that? I don't think so.

God encourages us to worship every week. And there are two reasons. One, because the Bible tells us to.  In my heart, I believe that when you come to church, as you have this morning, it delights the very heart of God. In a wonderful musical called "God's Trombones", a marvelous black preacher is preaching. He says, "God created people. You know why He created people? Because He was lonely!" Can you imagine that because you come to worship, when you pray, that you delight the very heart of God? Why not! Those of you who have children, when your children come to visit or to say hello to you or put their arms around you and give you a hug, isn't that the most delightful thing? Those of you who have parents on this earth, when you visit them, isn't that beautiful? It's the same with God.

So we come to worship because God invites us to; the Bible tells us to. And the second reason is, I hope, that coming to church is a blessing. It's a blessing for you. I know that when I'm not preaching, I love to go to church. I go to church in the summer, and I come out feeling so much better than I did when I went in. It's my hope for you, from the bottom of my heart, that each and every one of you comes out of church on a Sunday morning feeling uplifted and better than you did when you came in. Come to receive a blessing, and come to be a blessing. God may be using you and calling you. Talk to somebody; bless somebody. Make Sunday morning a blessing for them. You never know who you're here to bless. You bless me. That's for sure, just seeing you. Come to fulfill the Bible, and come for a blessing. It's a wonderful thing.

What if you can't go to church? What if illness prevents you? Pray, my friend. Make the Lord's Day holy. Read from your Bible. Take some quiet time. Light a candle. And have a time to make the Lord's Day holy.

One of the ministries that we had in the church before was a telephone hook-up, where you could hear the service live over a conference line. It was a wonderful thing. But if you can't, if you're sick, take some time to consecrate the day to the Lord.

What if you're working? Somebody's gotta make the train run. Somebody's gotta care for the patients in the hospital. Somebody's gotta put food on the table. You've got to work. It's understandable. Do something to make the Lord's Day holy.

What if you're in sports? I wrestle with this, because it grieves my heart to think that a child, a family, has to make a choice between sports or dancing or music – well, maybe the music isn't so bad—no, I'm only kidding! – and church. It grieves my heart. You know, maybe we need to have a kind of town hall meeting and get everyone together and explore possibilities. Maybe we need to have a Saturday evening service. I don't know. I'm willing to give it a try. I can't do it alone. But I hate for people to have to make a decision between church and something else.

We need to reach out. I've tried to write to the heads of sports organizations. I've tried to get the clergy council to do it. And guess what? I don't even get a reply. So maybe we have to do something. We need a lot of help to make something like that happen, but maybe it's a possibility. We need to get the opportunity to worship to as many people as possible.

That's our first guiding star. Won't you think about it? Won't you go out into the night sky and look up, and see if you can find a cross constellation? Know that the top star, the guiding light, is the star of worship. What if you've fallen down? What if you've just sort of slept in? Who of us is without sin? God forgives us. He just doesn't want you to give up. He wants you to get up again and look at that star and say, "I'll try again."

May it be so for each of us. May it be so for you.

Now, the second guiding star…oh, look at the time! Let's talk about the second guiding star next week. Won't you come back, and we'll talk about it some more? God loves you. I do, too. Have a wonderful week. Amen.