Today our confirmands led worship, including preaching. I thought it would be nice to keep record and share the brief sermon that we developed (I say we as I did assist them in the preparing and crafting of the sermon, but the focus and content was ultimately up to them and a result of our study of the text together) for the service. The text was John 15:9-17 with verses 12-15 being key in the message they preached.
9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Jesus shows we have a new relationship with God. How does he show this? He calls us friends. The literal definition of a friend is "a bond of mutual affection." To us, this means friends care for, support, and are there for one another - they are in a way, equal. For God to call us friends is unbelievable...it's unfathomable...it's the Gospel!
Jesus dies for us the next day, actually forgiving us and making us equal in righteousness with God. But he also already starts treating his disciples as equals. "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing," he says. Instead, he calls us friends "because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father." Friends share. Masters don't necessarily share with servants, but friends do. Have you ever been to a bon fire at night? Think of all the stuff you share [with friends]. If you stay there late enough you'd probably tell them if you ever killed a guy once.
As friends with Jesus, it also means we are there for him. If we are more than servants we do his commands not because we have to but because we want to. Our confirmation class has to do a service project next week, but we're going to the nursing home because we want to serve there. We want to help them. Jesus trusts us as friends to care for one another. "This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you." Friends are not just loved, they love.
The other Lindsey last night looked at a picture of the Last Supper on the wall downstairs (take a look when you go down to fellowship today). She said, 'That is what I think of when I think of Jesus talking about friendship.' Then pastor said, 'Exactly, because that's when he said this!' [It was] when he gave communion. When you go up to communion today it's us still eating with Jesus. It's between friends. It's him looking after us, it's us being tied to one another. It's "love one another as I have loved you." Amen.
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| The picture referred to was Da Vinci's Last Supper painting |
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