Back to Sermon Index Heritage Sunday April 27, 2008 2 Timothy 2: 1 & 2..."You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also." The early church experienced the miracle of the Grace that is in Christ Jesus. The miracle of grace that comes through the experience of knowing Jesus the Christ as Savior and Lord. They were set free from sin and its power. Their lives were forever changed. They still had problems, and at times their new faith brought negative responses from friends and neighbors and occasionally from the local government. But they had a peace that surpassed all their previous experience, and a joy that overflowed through their lives. The Joy of the abundant life in Jesus. And so the word spread. By word of mouth and touch of hand people shared the story of what had happened to them. How they had come to know Jesus and how he had blessed them, saved them, healed them, and given them hope. The message of joy was spread by the concerted efforts of the Apostles and those who had become pastors, evangelists and teachers as well. They went out preaching and sharing the good news with a Joyful excitement that was contagious. As new people believed and the number of believers began to grow, what was to be done with them? How were they to grow in their faith? So, churches were formed...at first in people's homes and then in regions. Pastors were called and equipped for the work of service, and overseers or Bishops watched over the church in a region and worked with and taught the pastors. The Apostle Paul was the great evangelist who preached the word and helped spread the faith through out their world. But beside being a great preacher, teacher and writer...Paul was also a great organizer. He set up a system whereby he began the work in an area or city, and when it came time for him to leave, he left behind one of his fellow travelers/preachers who he had trained. They are listed for us in the letters of Paul as he sends final greetings and some of their names are very familiar to us: Luke and Mark and Timothy and Titus, as well as Barnabas and Phoebe and Priscilla and Acquilla and Apollos and Silas and many others. In each city he left one or two of these leaders behind to continue his teaching and make sure that the fledgling church got well established with its own leaders coming from its members and being trained as they themselves were trained by Paul. Paul reminds Timothy of this pattern: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also." Follow. Follow Me as I follow Christ. The things you have heard me say and saw me do, these imitate. Heritage Sunday reminds us that we are in a great chain of faith and faithfulness. We have a responsibility to learn from and follow the example of those who came before us. Some of them were well known, and some not...but it is important to remember that we follow their lead. But not exactly as they did it. We are to follow but not to imitate exactly. The church is always changing, because the circumstance surrounding the church are also changing and the people are changing. The key is to find the eternal truth and to make that truth relevant in the culture and experience of the day. The message stays the same...the content remains, the context changes. The message of God's love in Jesus Christ and the joy and peace that he gives does not change. But the church is forever changing the language, the music, and the ministry in response to the ever changing world around it. This local church began simply when a group of people who had migrated to San Jose from back east met one another and learned they were all Methodist Christians. They began to meet for prayer and established a Sunday school for their children...and it was not long before the First Methodist Church of San Jose was established. The church has gone through many different buildings and many different kinds of ministry in response to the city around it. For 162 years the church has met this change and challenge. Some of its history bears repeating. The church has always been downtown, with all that that meant. And it has always been a place that was open to new people and different people. In the 1880's the church opened its Sunday School to Chinese children, which resulted in the ire of a local anti immigrant group that burned the church building to the ground. The church continued its ministry to the Chinese and gave birth to the first Chinese speaking METHODIST Church in the State. Sometimes the challenge was to stand up to the government and the times. During World War 2, many in this church had friends in the Japanese community. When the order came for them to be interned in camps, members of the church (especially Mr. Peckem and Crummey) set up trusts in which to hold the property, farms and belongings of these their neighbors. For many in the Japanese community, they lost everything they owned during the time of internment, but many in San Jose came out to find their houses, farms and property waiting for them. It was the Christian thing to do. There is too much to remember here. In the suburban spread of the 60's and 70's First church helped start and seed new Methodist churches to serve the expanding City it loved. From Alum Rock to Almaden Hills and Evergreen, to Genesis, to the Vietnamese Methodist Church, new churches were started with the help and support of First Church. The Story continues to the fire that occurred in 1991. The church could have decided to move out of the downtown and to rebuild in a location that would be easier and where the pressured of the urban core were not present. But what message would be have sent to this neighborhood and this downtown? What message to the children of families who live in the core, or to the homeless and needy who were on our doorstep? So the church began to build anew...not just hopes for a building to replace the one lost by fire, but to also build a ministry to serve the people that God had given us. To be a beacon of hope and a place of help in the downtown. To make a difference for Jesus, and to share the gospel in word and deed. And so we continue to live out that heritage. To try and be the church in the downtown. What does this mean for you? First, hear again the good news of Jesus the Christ. That God loves you...Yes, you! He loves you enough to send his son to be your savior and he sets us free to live new lives full of hope and grace. And you can join us in this great ministry. To share the life changing message to the ever changing society. Join us as we continue to ministry of hope, healing and hope... Back to Sermon Index