Memorial United Methodist Church
White Plains, New York 10605

A Flawed Vessel with a Guarantee

A Sermon by Rev. Larry Pickens
Based on Jeremiah 18: 1-4 and Philemon 10-11
September 5, 2010 (Not edited or proofread)

A Flawed Vessel with a Guarantee

I. The Divine Touch of God is what gives us Life

1. God’s Love is So Profound that it Actually Breaths Spiritual Life into You and Me.

2. Michelangelo’s Masterpiece-The Creation

1. The Building of the Sistine Chapel in Rome Summoned the Creative Talents of Michelangelo

2. The artist did not consider himself a painter but more of a Sculptor,

1. The picture depicts God touching the finger tips of Adam actually Breathing Life into Him

2. The Creation of Adam Marks the point at which God’s Touch Brings Life and Fulfillment into our Lives

3. The Creation on the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Represents the Spiritual Awakening that Happens when We experience Gods Touch

3. Jeremiah Speaks of God as a Potter

1. The potter is at the Wheel in the Potters House

1. The Wheel is Turning While the Potter is Making a Vessel

2. The Vessel However is Marred; It is Flawed

3. So God remakes the Vessel from the Same Clay Representative of a Redemptive God

4. God is a God of Second Chances

5. Jesus is Representative of a God Who Reaches Out to You and Me Even in Our Imperfection

6. Jesus’ Resurrection Give You and me the Promise the We can be Made Whole

7. When God Remakes you and me it seems good to the Potter to Remake it.

8. The Church is Called to be the Place Where Flawed and Broken people Come in Order to Be made Perfect in God’s Site

9. God Calls the Church to Set the Course for Molding God’s People, Breathing the Life Force of the Spirit into their Being.

2. God Calls the Church to Potter House Ministry

1. We are Called to Mold People in the Faith

2. We Are Called to Nurture People in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ

3. We are Called to Bring Hope to Lifeless and Moribund Faith with a Renewed Vigor for Ministry Spiritual Renewal, Radical Hospitality Profligate Generosity and Overwhelming Community.

II. Examples of Life Giving Acts of Love

1. Anestigiologist Virginia Apgar Changed the way in Which We treat Births in this Country

1. In The 1950s The Infant Mortality Rate in the United States dictated that One in Thirty Died at Birth

2. Agpar Recognized that Malformed Babies, those that were too small or Just Blue and Not Breathing Well were listed as Still Born

3. These Babies Were Placed out Of Site and Left to Die

2. Agpar Believed these Infants who were essentially discarded could be saved.

1. Created a Number Rating for the Condition of Babies

2. 10 points if the baby was perfectly healthy

3. 4 points or less Meant the Baby was Blue or Limp

1. The Points Gave the doctors a basis for Caring for Infants and Seeing those Infants who Previously were Left to Die as Human Beings Worthy of a Second Chance, Redemption.

2. Doctors Therefore Began Giving these Babies Oxygen and Warming Them

3. Greater Attention was given to these Babies and the Infant Mortality Rate went from one death to every thirty births to today’s rate of one death to every 500 births.

3. The Miraculous Story of Kate Ogg an Australian Mother

1. Had Twins and One of Her Premature Babies was Pronounced Dead

   1. The Baby Had No Vital Signs

   2. The Baby Was Limp and Blue.

2. But the Mother Refusing to Give Up on her Baby

1. Held the Baby Against Her Skin in What is Called the Kangaroo Method in Australia

2. Like a Marsupial the Baby was Held Close to the Mothers Skin

3. While She Held the Baby Close to Her Breast Kate Ogg Felt Her Baby Stir

4. Kate Ogg's Experience Mirrors the Experience that You and I can Have With God

1. We Can Appear to Have No Life But Jesus Does not Give Up on Us

2. We Can be the Foulest Sinner But Jesus Will Not Give Up On You and Me

3. We Can Run So Far Away From God that We are Lost In the Wilderness But God Does Not Give Up On Us

4. We are Flawed Vessels with a Guarantee

1. God Guarantees that if You Seek You Will Find Rest For Your Weary Soul

2. God Guarantees that if You Allow Gods Life Giving Touch to Enter Your Life You Will be Invigorated in Faith

3. God Guarantees that if We Pay attention to Our Devotional Life Our Faith Will Be Strengthened

4. This In Turn Gives Us Power

1. Filled With Awe for the Miraculous Signs of Life

2. Miracles Happen All the time we just fail to Recognize them; this is the Power Source of Life.

3. God Calls the Church to Generosity

   1. Sacrificial Generosity as a Sign of Life Giving Force

   2. Tithing, Sharing Our Time and Talents Provides a Guarantee of a Vital, Life Affirming Church.

4. Community Life is Affirmed When We Gather Together in Community; this is where the foundation of our common life is shaped

5. There is Guaranteed Life Through Our Gathering together in Purposeful Community

6. The is Guaranteed Life When We Share Our Faith with Others and Add People to Our Community to Experience the Redemptive Love of Jesus Christ

III. Onesimus Was a Dead Man Walking

1. Onesimus Encountered Paul and He Learned About Redemption

1. Paul Understood What it Meant to be an Outcast

2. Paul Realized Redemption and Realized that Onesimus Needed it too

2. Some of us have a difficult time Extending Grace because we have Amnesia.

1. We have Forgotten How We were once Out there in the World

2. We have forgotten that it was someone Else’s willingness to Open their Hearts to us that Gave us a Chance at Redemption

3. Paul Became Onesimus’ Advocate

1. Onesimus Could Have Been Severely Punished for Running Away

2. Onesimus Asked Paul to Intervene on his Behalf to Philemon and He Did

3. Receive Onesimus Not as a Slave But as a Brother

4. If He Owes a Price I will Pay for It

4. Onesimus was a Flawed Vessel, A Slave With a Guarantee for Redemption

IV. You Are Flawed but You Are Not Finished

1. The Gospel Message is One of Redemption

2. God Does Not Give Up on You No Matter How Limp Your Spiritual Life Is No Matter How Blue You Are There is Still a Chance With God

3. God Can Touch You Today and Bring Joy to Your Heart

4. God Can Touch You Today and Turn Dark Yesterdays Into Bright Tomorrows

5. God Can Touch You Today and Turn Your Flaws Into Possibilities

6. God can turn you into someone who is flawed but With a Guarantee.

Amen