Experiencing God and Serving God Rev. Ron Campbell July 4, 2004 Text: Deuteronomy 26:16-19 This morning as we commission our McCurdy Mission Team, I wish to bring you into the spiritual influence of our mission. Each mission trip we focus upon a spiritual theme. This year's theme is: “Experiencing God and Serving God.” The scripture I've chosen for the week that carries this theme is from Deuteronomy, chapter 26: “The LORD has declared this day that you are his people…and that you are to keep all his commands.” This scripture carries the two sides of our mission focus: On the one side the real presence of God in our lives, and on the other God's command to love and serve. We're going to Espanola , New Mexico , to experience God and to serve God. We expect to encounter God's mysterious, holy presence and to follow his commandment to serve him. We go with your blessings, your prayers, and sustained by your willingness to financially support our mission objectives. We've provided you with an insert in your bulletin which you may want to have before you now. I encourage you to take this devotional outline home with you to use in your prayers while we're at McCurdy. Each day we lift up devotions on particular aspects of our over-all theme. Let me tag them quickly. On Day 1 we focus on Experiencing God and Serving God as we enjoy and care for God's spectacular creation. In 1997, on a trip to Israel with a group from another church, we were ascending Mt. Carmel , the site of Ezekiel's battle with the Prophets of Baal. We were in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. Our tour guide was getting the bus turned around to leave when the rain suddenly stopped. We went up the stairs to a platform like a helicopter pad on top of the mountain overlooking the whole world, it seemed! We went up the stairs to a platform like a helicopter pad on top of the mountain overlooking the whole world, it seemed! In the center of the platform there was a circular dial like a compass with many arrows pointed in various directions, identifying key biblical spots and the number of miles to those places. Suddenly the sun broke through a small hole in the dark clouds. A bright beam of light shot down and highlighted a village 12 miles away. The arrow on the dial said Nazareth !” We spontaneously formed a dance line and began singing, “Our God is an Awesome God!” Now this was a most dramatic and memorable experience! But who hasn't sensed God's presence at some time, probably many times, in their lives through his spectacular creation? On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at McCurdy we break from work at lunch and journey to beautiful places nearby like Bandolier National Park , Ghost Ranch, Taos , and Santa Fe . On these trips to Espanola we invariably sense God's holy presence and we're sensitized to God's wish that we care for his creation. On Day 2 we focus on Experiencing God and Serving God as we take time for meditation and prayer. Let me tell you about Chimayo. Chimayo is a little place eight miles up the High Road to Taos from the McCurdy School . There's an artist rendition of this chapel on your insert. On our second trip to McCurdy in 2001 we discovered the Chimayo Chapel, a little rustic Catholic chapel, tucked in the foothills as you start the climb up to Taos on the High-Road. This chapel immediately became the central focus of our devotional life together, and is so each time we go. More people come here on holy pilgrimage than any other site in North America , 350,000 a year. The legend is that a farmer in the mid-1800's saw a light coming out of the ground and dug to find a six foot cross. Three times he carried the cross eight miles to the Catholic Church nearby and three times the cross reappeared back at the village of Chimayo . That cross wanted a church built for it! During the building of the chapel legends developed from stories people told of the dirt there that brought healing. We go there now and pray and meditate and go into a small room where we put some of this dirt into plastic bags to bring home. Now I don't know how many miracles have actually happened there, but I do believe that when 350,000 people a year bring their prayers for themselves, others, and for God's healing touch to one spot, that spot becomes holy ground! I must admit this is what I look forward to the most on these mission trips to Espanola: going to the Chimayo Chapel and leading small groups there during the week on holy pilgrimage. In these mini-pilgrimages and in personal meditation and prayer we're ushered into an awareness of God which impels us outward to love and serve him more. On Day 2 we focus on experiencing God and Serving God as we take time for meditation and prayer. On Day 3 we focus on Experiencing God and Serving God as we form relationships in Christian community. Several years ago, in another Methodist Church , we conducted an exercise with the leadership team, asking them to close their eyes and think of memories from church which were most meaningful to them. Everyone's memories had to do with relationships with other people and with God. On every mission trip one of the benefits that we invariably experience is the development of deep relationships with others that share our values, life orientation, faith, and our common need for relationships. And it's in forming deep relationships with others that we not only meet our own needs, but we come also to know and experience the presence and love of God in our Christian community. Here's a story from McCurdy that illustrates this: on our trip two years ago, our music leaders, Karen Hooper, Bonnie Bishop, and Kim Jones went around the campus singing to the various work teams. Matt Schirmer and Bill Wardle were in the McCracken Gym working on installing the curtains and lights for a performance stage. Standing in the middle of that gym floor, looking up at Matt and Bill, they sang like angels. Some of the songs they sang were: “Here I Lord,” “Spirit of the Living God,” “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God ,” and “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” I treasure the memory of that moment. We all had holy tears of joy and thanksgiving in our eyes as we experienced God's presence and love in that place and moment. On Day 3 we focus on experiencing God in our relationships with others in Christian community. And when we experience God in the midst of the body of Christ, we can't help but want to love and serve him more and more. On Day 4 we focus on Experiencing God and Serving God as we work together to help improve the facilities and grounds of the school, and support the school with our time, skills, and resources. Recently the Aldersgate Sunday School class organized a Benefit Basketball Tournament in memory of Matt Schirmer. For you who may not know Matt was one of our most devoted McCurdy missioners. He died a year ago February in a tragic car accident. Matt, his wife Kim, and his son Stephen were pioneers in getting the McCurdy mission started and devoted to keeping it going. The back cover of our Mission Devotional contains a picture of Matt standing in a cherry picker ladder in the old McCracken Gym. Matt spent a lot of time in that gym; painting, replacing windows, and installing curtains and lights to make a stage for kids who didn't have the physical facilities to maximize their talents. Here's a quote from our church newsletter announcing the basketball tournament raising money for scholarships for the children and youth in Espanola in Matt's memory: “Matt's humble service to people in need was a result of the grace that came to him through study and involvement. He studied and worshiped and then took the church to the world. That is the way he loved God and his neighbor.” We have a memorial plaque that we'll place in the McCracken Gym in Matt's honor. It reads: “Dedicated to Matt Schirmer for his love of God and his service to God for the children of McCurdy School .” On the 4 th day we focus on experiencing God and Serving God as we work together to help improve the facilities and grounds of the school, and support the school with our time, skills, and resources. Let us pray: “God we go to Espanola , New Mexico , to the McCurdy School , expecting to encounter your mysterious, holy presence; and we desire to follow your commandment to love you and to serve you. Amen.”
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