Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community

During the season of Advent, we talked about how we might unwrap some of the gifts given to us by God through Jesus Christ. Well, now that Christmas is over, we've shifted gears and considered the gifts we might offer God. Beginning on Sunday, December 28, we started to focus on the following:

December 28 - Offering Our Gift of Praise
January 4 - Offering Our Gift of Attention
January 11 - Offering Our Gift of Time
January 18 - Offering Our Gift of Talents
January 25 - Offering Our Gift of Treasures
February 1 - Offering Our Gift of Energy
February 8 - Offering Our Gift of Enthusiasm
February 15 - Offering Our Gift of Love

On Sunday, we continued this series by looking at how we can offer our gift of energy. Below is a video of the service, a presentation of the sermon, and the program for the service. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

December 28 - Offering Our Gift of Praise
January 4 - Offering Our Gift of Attention
January 11 - Offering Our Gift of Time
January 18 - Offering Our Gift of Talents
January 25 - Offering Our Gift of Treasures
February 1 - Offering Our Gift of Energy
February 8 - Offering Our Gift of Enthusiasm
February 15 - Offering Our Gift of Love

On Sunday, we continued this series by looking at how we can offer our gift of energy. Below is a presentation and the text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, does anybody here keep a diary? I know I don’t, never have. But let’s suppose you did and you do, what would you have written about this last week? Well, if you didn’t mention that intense cold we endured, then you’re probably either a snowbird down in Florida or you’ve eating pizza floating in the Caribbean. But for the folks up here, man, it’s been cold. As a matter of fact, colder than I remember when I lived in eastern Montana, a place where we used to say, “The cold keeps out the riffraff.” In fact, last week, it was so cold that I broke out my raccoon skin coat, something I only wear when the temperature in below zero. Let’s get real, only an event that’s really dramatic, you know, like marriage or the birth of a first-born child, (not one of the other “want-to-bes”) or maybe the Steelers hiring a new coach would push the cold from the center of our diary entries for last week.

Of course, regardless of the weather, we’re still plowing through this series entitled Our Gifts to God: Offering Ourselves to Our Heavenly Father. And to this point, we’ve talked about offering God our praise and our attention, our time and our talents, and last week, when a lot of y’all were in your pajamas streaming, our treasures. Now that’s all in the books. And this morning we’re going to turn the page and spend a little time talking about why and how we might offer God our gift of energy, in other words, that inner power and strength and intensity that we all have. Why should we and how can we give that to God?

Of course, this isn’t exactly a foreign concept within our world now-a-days, and I’m talking about giving our energy, our power and strength and intensity for a greater cause. For example, in the next seven days we’re going to see two major sporting events: the Super Bowl and the beginning of the Winter Olympics. And I’d put money on the table that, in this up-coming week, we’re going to hear some athlete talking about giving 110% or 150% or maybe 200%. Of course, when I hear it, I already know that my first thought is going to be what it always is; it’s physically impossible to give more than 100%. I mean, it’s simple math. But you know, having said that, I understand why an athlete might make this claim. You see, they’re telling their team and their fans that they’re going to dedicate their energy, you know, their power and their strength and their intensity to winning the game or the event. Now that’s what they’re expecting to give as they compete.

And I’ll tell you, we can do the same. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. In other words, we’re going to considering what it means to offer our energy to God, and I’m talking about our power and our strength and our intensity. And as we’ve done over the last five weeks, we’re going to do this by answering two questions: first, why is it important, and then second, how can we actually do it. And even though we might not reach the level of a Patriot or a Seahawk or an Olympic snowboarder, we should have a better handle on giving to God this energy we all carry around on the inside, whether we know it or not.

Of course, before talking about how we can do it, I think we need to clear about why it’s important. In other words, why should we offer God our gift of energy? I mean, why is it important for us to give God some of the strength we have on the inside? Why should we offer our inner power to God? And why should we pass on to him some of our intensity? Now, that’s the question. And you know, when you think about it, in my opinion, there’s two pretty obvious reasons.

I mean, first, I believe it’s important for us. You see, for me, it’s important for us to make this kind of gift to God. In other words, I think it’s important to present this energy, this strength and power and intensity to him, because, for us, it’s a recognition on our part of something very special that God has actually given to us. And I think that’s what the prophet Isaiah was getting at when he said this:

Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
Creator of the earth.
He never gets weary or tired;
his wisdom cannot be measured.

The Lord gives strength
to those who are weary.
Even young people get tired,
then stumble and fall.
But those who trust the Lord
will find new strength.
They will be strong like eagles
soaring upward on wings;
they will walk and run
without getting tired. [Isaiah 40:28-31, CEV]

You see, when we intentionally offer to the Lord a portion of the energy we have on the inside, I think we’re doing something really significant. I mean, we’re recognizing that we have God-given strength that we can offer back to him, and I’m talking about the strength to overcome trials and the strength to persevere through hardships and the strength to hold on to our faith when we’re just plain mentally and emotionally and spiritual exhausted. But not only that, we’re also acknowledging that we have divine power on the inside, that despite our limitations and weakness, we’re energized by something that comes from outside of us and that, through this power, as God said to the Apostle Paul, “My power is strongest when you are weak.” [1 Corinthians 12:9b, CEV] And I’ll tell you, when we accept that the intensity that drives us forward, that drives us to overcome, that drives us to win, when we accept that is really a gift given to us by God himself, my goodness gracious, how can we not become a little bit humble and how can we not feel a deeper dependence on God and how can we not draw together with others who share our understanding. You see, for me, that’s why we should offer God our energy, because, first, it’s important for us.

But you know, in my opinion, that’s not the only reason, because, second, it’s also important for others. You see, when we’re willing to offer up our energy, our strength and our power and our intensity, in a way that’s pleasing to God, man, we’re going to make a difference in the world around us, and I’m talking about a world that often seems tired and weak, ineffective and passive. Put another way, what we offer God changes what we do. Man, there’s a connection between the two. And you know, that may be the reason Jesus brought these two commandments, one from Leviticus and the other from Deuteronomy together. Just listen to how Mark described the scene:

One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”

Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.” [Mark 12:28-31, CEV]

You see, because we love God with our hearts and souls and minds and strength, now we’re able to love others. And let me tell you, I think this energy we’ve been given, man, that’s exactly what the people in our world need now-a-days. For example, our God-given strength enables us to help others resist the evil that’s alive and well and active all around us and endure the spiritual and the emotional and the physical trials we all face. And I believe presenting this power we have from God will move us to serve others humbly and to love others actively. As a matter of fact, I firmly believe that this intensity that’s flowing from God and focused on God can enhance our peace. I mean, as we all struggle through a world that seems to become more chaotic and more arbitrary and more capricious every single day, our intense devotion and dedication to God can not only sustain us and keep us moving forward, it can become an example of inner peace that might actually inspire others to be calm and steadfast while everything around them hits the fan. You see, for me, that’s another reason why we should offer God our energy, because, not only is it important to us, second, it’s also important for others. And I’ll tell you, for me, that’s why we should do it.

And as to how, how can we offer God our gift of energy, I mean, how can we present the strength he’s given and the power he’s conveyed and the intensity that comes from him, well, I think this involves us doing two very clear and definite things.

You see, on one hand, I think it demands that we look within, and I’m talking about within ourselves. I mean, in a very real sense, it involves us having the willingness and the determination and the patience to look within lives and our hearts and our minds and our hands and to find this incredible source of energy God has given us. And you know, I think that was what the Apostle Paul described doing when he wrote this to the Corinthians:

Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. But he replied, “My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:8-10, CEV]

You see, to get to the point where we’re ready to offer up our energy, our power and strength and intensity, we might need to make some decisions about how we see ourselves, and I’m talking about in the sight of God. For example, to pull this off, we might need to be willing to admit our own limitation, you know, to accept that we just can’t do everything on our own and that we need to rely on divine help. But that’s not all, because we might also need to determine that we are not going to whine and gripe and complain, because doing that is going to decrease our ability to access the help that’s already within, and I’m talking about the strength and the power and the intensity that God has poured into us. And along with that, as we do some of this introspection, we may also need to set patience as a priority: to spend some time in quiet prayer or reading scripture, to relax and to rest and to wait for the Lord. You see, if we want to be ready to present our energy to God, on one hand, I think we need to look within.

On the other hand, though, we definitely also need to reach out. In other words, all that energy we’ve received from God–all that strength and power and intensity we found as we looked within ourselves–it really doesn’t have much meaning unless we use it in a way that helps those around us, because remember, according to Jesus, loving God is forever linked to loving others. And I think the Apostle Paul gave us an excellent example of one way our strength can be used when he wrote this to the Romans:

If our faith is strong, we should be patient with the Lord’s followers whose faith is weak. We should try to please them instead of ourselves. We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself. But as the Scriptures say, “The people who insulted you also insulted me.” And the Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope. God is the one who makes us patient and cheerful. I pray that he will help you live at peace with each other, as you follow Christ. Then all of you together will praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 15:1-6, CEV]

You see, our strength and our power and our intensity, and I’m talking the energy we’ve received from God, man, it can make a difference in the lives of others. I mean, if we’re willing to do it, we can use the strength that God provides to serve our family, to serve our community, to serve our church, my gosh, to serve our country, even our world. And we can use the power we’ve received to work as hard as we can to help those who can’t help themselves, remembering that it is more blessed to give than to receive, but that’s only going to happen, when we determine that we’re actually going to do it. And finally, by controlling our intensity, we can patiently use what we’ve received to be gentle and compassionate to those who often feel isolated and alone and ignored and to help lift up some of those heavy yokes that rest on a lot of shoulders and to help bear some of the many burdens that may be crushing the spirits of folks we see everyday. You see, if we want to offer our energy to God, on the other hand, I think we need to reach out. And brothers and sisters, in my opinion, along with focusing within, that’s exactly how we can do it.

Now, from what my phone tells me, and we all know phones never lie, it’s going to be cold next week, just not as frigid as it been the last few days. Of course, for me that means two things. I mean, for one, Debbie and I will be able to watch the Super Bowl and the beginning of the Olympics without worrying about our pipes freezing. And two, I can put away my raccoon skin coat, something that you may be surprised to know that my dear wife Debbie thinks is ridiculous. But who cares? When it’s under zero, man, that coat is warm.

And so, as we appreciate the dedication of the athletes we’re going to watch in Santa Clara and Milan, I’m talking about those who’ve promised to give 110%, let’s remember that right here and now we have the opportunity to do the same. You see, because it’s important for us and for others, we can present to our heavenly Father our strength and our power and our intensity by focusing within ourselves and by reaching out to others. And in my opinion, that’s why we should and how we can offer to God our gift of energy.

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