13 Homilies Your Community Needs to Hear - Part IV

In this four-part blog series, I am sharing 13 homilies or teachings people need to hear regularly for their personal spiritual health and growth as well as for the communal health of the parish.

So far we covered:

• One: God loves you.
• Two: Everyone you meet matters to God.
• Three: We need Christian community.
• Four: Preach on prayer basics.
• Five: Faith and finances are connected.
• Six: Give to your place of worship as an act of worship.
• Seven: We need Christian community
• Eight: Forgiveness is the real “F” word
• Nine: You were made to serve.

Here are the last four.

Ten: Inspire people to have bold faith and pray big prayers.

The Scripture tells story after story of miracles and biblical heroes making bold moves. Often those stories can feel like something that happened a long time ago, but doesn’t happen today. The passages of Scripture are not there to tell us about what God did for other people but is not available for us. We need to remind people that the same God who moved in biblical times moves in our world today. Those encounters with God were recorded to inspire us to believe God for big things in our lives.

Once in a while encourage people in your community to believe God for something big. Encourage them to have a bold faith that believes God can perform a miracle or move heaven and earth for them. Ask them to consider: “What prayers are you praying that need God’s power to come to fruition? Name something that would happen and you would know it was the hand of God? What miracle are you praying for?”

Look for miracle stories in the Sunday readings or other supernatural events to preach on bold faith. Often when those stories come up, we are tempted to downplay the miraculous or look for the spiritual truths that can be taken from the encounters. Instead, lean into the miraculous as a way to encourage the people in your community to bold faith.

And by the way, what are you believing God for right now? I am asking myself the same question. Its healthy to have one, if not a few, bold prayer requests to God going in our lives.

Eleven: We are saved by Jesus and not our own efforts.

Quite frankly, our Protestant brothers and sisters are much better at communicating this than we are. My wife Mia was recently talking to a Catholic who has gone to Church his whole life. He goes to confession regularly. While they were talking, he told her that he thought he was probably going to hell. From the conversation, he determined this was his fate because he thought his sin and bad deeds were greater than his good deeds. So many Catholics still think God judges based on our good works alone and not on the cross of Jesus Christ.

My wife’s interlocuter was right: we all deserve hell. Apart from Jesus we have no hope from heaven. That’s why God sent a Savior. It is why the angels proclaim to the shepherds at Christ's birth, “We bring you good news of great joy, for unto you is born this day, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” As we mature in our faith, we more and more know our deep need for Jesus to save us from our iniquities and sinful nature. We feel it emotionally.

Without condemning, we need to remind people that yes their sin is great, but Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross is greater. We do work out our salvation in Christ, not apart from him.

Twelve: You will die, but there is a heaven.

Death is one of our greatest trump cards as a Church. Everyone will die and must face their mortality from time to time. Despite the advances in modern medicine, the mortality rate still hits one hundred percent. We have the greatest news that God has conquered death and has a plan for our eternal happiness in heaven. Unfortunately, most Christians don’t have that high opinion of heaven. They know it is better than the alternative - but don’t look forward to it.

As preachers and teachers, we want to increase people’s hope for heaven. We want to paint a picture of heaven that is appealing and helps people look forward to it. If you need to increase your own hope of heaven, there are a few books I’d recommend. Peter Kreeft wrote two books: Heaven, the Hearts Deepest Longing and Everything You Wanted to Know about Heaven: But Never Dreamed of Asking. Another book I’d recommend is John Burke’s Imagine the God of Heaven.
Check out Chris Stefanick’s podcast for a great interview with John Burke; you can find it here:  What Happens After You Die? Near-Death Experiences that Prove the Existence of Your Soul!

Thirteen: We have a mission to reach the lost.

Jesus said that he came to “seek and saved the lost.” He didn’t get mad at people who had drifted or even ran away from his heavenly Father, he loved them and accepted them. We need to remind the people in the community that Jesus’s mission is our mission.

Parishes that have members who understand our responsibility to reach the Lost will be healthy. Parishes that blame or get mad at the lost will be unhealthy. It’s that simple.

Some great opportunities from the lectionary are coming up this Fall. The parable of the wedding feast is a great reminder that we invite people to a relationship with God because he offers joy and celebration. The parable of the wicked tenants is also a good reminder that God has sent the Church out to bring the fruit of changed lives.

That’s it. That’s my list. Let me know what your list would be. E-mail me at Tom@rebuiltparish.com

Rooting for you,
Tom