Blessed to Be a Blessing

Genesis 12: 1-2 & 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11

Roger Lynn

November 25, 2018

(click here for the audio for this sermon)
(click here for the video for this sermon)

The turkey and dressing have been put away. The table has been cleared. The guests have all gone home. Some of you have been over the river and through the woods, and have now returned safely. In short, we have counted our blessings and expressed our gratitude. We are thankful people.

And now we have a choice. We can sit back, relax, and maybe take a little turkey-induced nap, basking in the warm glow of being abundantly blessed. Or we can ask the all-important theological question – “So what?” What does it all mean? Where does our gratitude lead us next? What do we do with our blessings? And when we take such questions seriously, and look deep inside of ourselves for the answers, we discover what Abraham discovered all those thousands of years ago when he heard God calling him to set out for the Promised Land (the life of blessings). The message he heard from God was this, “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” The whole point of getting in touch with our blessings is to recognize the part we play in the whole grand abundant flowing river of blessing which connects us all. When we take such questions seriously we discover the truth which Paul shared with the church at Corinth. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” What we begin to recognize is that we experience our gifts most fully and we are enriched by them most completely when we find ways to share them. That’s when we really begin to shine.

Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple”, wrote a children’s book called “Finding the Green Stone.” In it she says what I set out to say in this sermon, so I decided to just let her say it. I invite you to sit back and listen to the story.

[read “Finding the Green Stone” by Alice Walker]

May we use our gifts to help each other find our gifts. May we recognize that we have been blessed to be a blessing to the world. May God’s love shine in us and through us. Amen.