“The Ravens Won Last Week!!!”

Luke 14:15-24

September 20, 2009

Rev. Tom Harris

You can talk about a lot of things at Govans Presbyterian Church. You can talk about health care reform and no one bats an eye. You can talk about war and peace issues and people listen and say it was a lovely sermon. You can talk about sexuality and people just yawn. But, there is one topic that really makes people at Govans squirm and it’s the topic of today’s sermon. That topic is evangelism. Evangelism is a touchy subject, not just at Govans but in many mainline Protestant denominations.

          I’m going to keep this short today because you’ve heard what I have to say about this subject before and I’m pretty sure I will be upstaged by the pets no matter what.

          Evangelism does not mean turning people into Christians. It does not mean convincing people they need to believe a certain way in order to be saved or to be right. Evangelism comes from the Greek work evangelion which means “good news.” So to evangelize means to share good news. This is easy to do about almost any other topic besides religion. In most situations when we have good news we can’t wait to tell people and we don’t even mind feeling a little foolish. When we are pregnant we can’t wait to tell people around us. When we get a new job we can’t wait to share the good news with people. When we have just heard the Ravens won the season opener we can’t wait to be the first one to tell people who have not yet heard.

          But, when we have just experienced a fantastic worship service at church we hesitate to share the good news. When we have just felt the presence of God in a real way we are sheepish about sharing the experience. When we meet someone who believes that religion is just guilt and shame and bad news we hesitate to offer our view of a good news religion filled with grace, love and acceptance.

          Today I invite you to consider what is good news about life at Govans. Is it the Blessing of the Animals service you are enjoying today? Is it the great music we hear in worship from Sunday to Sunday? Is it the friendships you have hear? Is it the unique mix of people we have in this congregation that is not really duplicated in other places? Is it the inclusiveness of gay and lesbian people in the life and leadership of our church? Is it the infinitively loving, God we proclaim? Is it the Haiti mission, the Prayer Chain, the Bible Study, the Senior Network, GEDCO mission support or the community garden? Is it the Bring a Friend to Brunch we are having next Sunday between the service? What is the good news for you about Govans?

          Then when you decide what the good news is, go share it. Tell it to people who have not yet heard. Tell it to people who have heard it before. Tell it to family or friends or neighbors. You don’t have to convince them about a doctrine or theology. That is not evangelism. Evangelism is sharing good news about this place.

          The story today is about someone who gave a great dinner and did not tire of sharing the good news. Even when some people were cold in their response, he persisted until he found people that really want to hear it. We are giving a brunch next Sunday to welcome people into the live of this Good News church. So our challenge is to go out this week and share the good news of Govans, of brunch, of community and love. Let us go out and be evangelist about Govans Presbyterian Church.