This should have been posted earlier it was preached on March 7th, 2011

(Read from Green Eggs and Ham pages 1-16)

Do you know the story?  I bet you do.  It’s one of Dr. Seuss greatest works.  “Green Eggs and Ham”.  You know I hate that book.  Didn’t always hate it though, no sir when I was a kid I loved Green Eggs and Ham, and when Stephen was born I promised myself that I’d buy that classic for my children, and I did.  And my kids love it and I have read it to them let’s see, at last count, 3,123,789 times approximately.  And I have come to hate that book.

“Green Eggs and Ham” was published in August 13, 1960, exactly 2 months after I was born.   Written by Theodor Geisel, who we all know as Dr. Seuss.  Actually we pronounce it wrong, what we refer to as Seuss, was his middle name and it’s German.  A friend of Seuss’s Alexander Liang wrote:            You’re wrong as the deuce

                        And you shouldn’t rejoice

                        If you’re calling him Seuss.

He pronounces it Soice.

But finally Seuss gave up went with the flow and he started pronouncing it the way everybody else did and Dr. Seuss was born.

The book came about when Geisel’s editor wagered him that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 words.  And he did and it has gone on to become the third bestselling children’s book of all time.

You know the story.  Sam keeps trying to get his friend to try green eggs and ham.  Would you eat them in a box?  Would you eat them with a fox?  And at every rejection he tries something new.  And his friend keeps saying, no, no, no I don’t like them, until finally it would seem that Sam has tried everything because his friend says: (Read from Green Eggs and Ham pages 46-50)

Read

My eyes were opened almost 20 years ago when we went on vacation to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  Deborah was allowed to take some books for bed time stories and you guessed it she took Green Eggs and Ham.  And so as I settled down one night to read my daughter this childhood classic I saw something that I had never seen before.  If Sam had of been your typical Christian from you typical church than when his friend said, “I do not like them Sam-I-Am, I do not like green eggs and ham.” then Sam would have said, “OK.  No problem” and that would have been the end of the story. Sam would have happily gone on his way and his friend would never have experienced the joy of eating green eggs and ham.  But no, Sam wasn’t content to take no for an answer.  Luckily for his friend, Sam wasn’t like a typical Christian in a typical church; he wasn’t worried about offending his friend or driving him away.  All he knew was how important it was that his friend make the decision to try green eggs and ham.

Now I am not trying to trivialise this sermon, but think about it, if a character in a Dr. Seuss story book knows the importance of being persistent when trying to convince someone to try something new, how come we don’t?

Well needless to say I determined that if I ever got a chance to start a church from scratch it would be firmly grounded in the principles of Green Eggs and Ham.  About this time you must be getting ready to lean over to your spouse and say, “I knew it was a cult Margaret, let’s get out of here”   Just bear with me OK? What can we learn from Sam-I-Am this morning, March 6, 2011?

1)  We Need To Care About People.  Sam I Am wanted his friend to try green eggs and ham.  Why?  Because he liked his friend and he felt like his friend was missing something in his life, in this case it was green eggs and ham.  But he cared enough that he not only asked his friend but he continued to ask his friend.  His friend mattered to him.  Cornerstone Wesleyan Church needs to put people number one.  We need to care that people need Jesus or they will go to hell, in essence

That’s always the kicker isn’t’ it?  Just how convinced are we that this book is true?  How convinced are we that there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned?  If what this book says is true, then those who accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives will spend eternity with God.  But by the same token those who don’t accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life will spend a Christless eternity in torment.  Now I realize that heaven and hell can be a little abstract to grasp, but somehow we as a church need to become convinced of the value of Jesus Christ in the lives of people, not only for the here and now but for the there and then.  And once we become convinced of that then we have to be ready to communicate that to people in a culturally relevant way.  That is culturally relevant to this area, in March of 2011.  And that can be tough, after all if it was easy every church would be doing it and they’re not.  Too many churches are sound evangelically and sound asleep evangelistically.

If we believe the reality of hell and according to the word of God hell is a reality, then we should be heartbroken over the fact that we have friends and family who will in reality be tormented for eternity.  That’s what the book says and we don’t debate the book.  Did you know that the Bible speaks more about Hell then about heaven?  Listen to how Jesus describes it in Mark 9:48 as a place where ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’ 

and in Matthew 18:9 Jesus speaks of the Fires of Hell and again in Matthew 13:42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Are we as convinced of the reality of Hell as Sam was convinced of the value of green eggs and ham?  And if we are then the next question has to be: are we that convinced that Jesus is the only solution to the reality of hell?  There are not many ways to heaven, there are not several ways to heaven, there are not even two ways to heaven.  You can’t get there by being good, or by being sincere, following Buddha won’t get you there, following Mohammed won’t get you there, as a matter of fact Jesus said in John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 

And friends that is not being narrow, that is being scriptural.  And until we understand that we will never see the need to tell people about Jesus. Cornerstone Wesleyan Church wasn’t planted so that we could have a Wesleyan Church in Hammonds Plains, we came here to help depopulate hell.  Now along with being convinced of the validity of the Gospel  3. We Also Need To Be Convinced Of The Value Of our Church

Have you ever heard how people talk after they have seen a movie they really liked?  Or have discovered a musical artist that they really liked, or found a great new restaurant?  You can’t shut them up; they want to let everyone in on this wonderful secret. 

I am convinced that we have a pretty good thing starting here.  And notice that I said starting even though we’ve been in Bedford/Hammonds Plains for sixteen years we are only just beginning.  Probably one of the speeches that will go down in history is Martin Luther King Junior’s speech “I have a dream.”  I love that speech not just for the content but for the sentiment, friends I have a dream, a dream of a church where people are valued for who they are, a dream of a church where that is committed to the reaching of the lost. A dream of a church that will be innovative and relevant, a church that will be bold and exciting. The poet W. B. Yeats wrote But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet;  Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.  When we started Cornerstone we started with a dream, and we still have a dream and so I ask you; tread softly because you are treading on my dreams.

Can you see that church with me, can you dream that dream with me.  Can you see this building full of people who will dream that dream with us, people that Cornerstone Wesleyan Church has introduced to Jesus?  Can you see a church that reaches out to help other churches dream, to help other churches reach out?  Can you see a church that touches people at their point of need whether it is spiritual, emotional or physical?  In 1845 the Southern Baptist Church was formed and a plaque was placed to commemorate the event and this is what it said about the founders, “Men who see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and think the unthinkable.”  We need to  see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and think the unthinkable.

Can you see it?  It will only become a reality when we are ready to invite people out.  Just about everyone here is here because someone invited you?  We need to see the value of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, not just for us but for our friends, for our family, for our neighbours.  Who do we invite out.  There are four types of people in our world, in a very simplified sense.  Out of those four groups we are really interested in two of them.  Those four groups are a) The Churched believers, pretty basic.  These are people who have committed their lives to Jesus and are regularly involved in a Bible believing church, that is a church that believes and practices John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 

The next group are b) The churched unbelievers, these are those who haven’t made a commitment to Christ but who attend a Bible believing church on a regular basis.  Those first two groups of people are great to have as friend, it’s super to be with them, but to be truthful they already have a church home.  It’s nice if they come out to a special service or two but I’d like to see them fit into their church home.

However there are still two more groups of people out there, c) The Unchurched Unbeliever, Willow Creek Community Church calls these folks unchurched Harry and Mary, Saddle Back Community Church calls them Saddleback Sam and Sue.  At Cornerstone Wesleyan Church we call them; our neighbours.  These people have never made Jesus the manager of their lives and don’t have a church home.  Oh they might have a church they go to at Easter and Christmas but the other fifty Sundays of the year they’d just as soon go fishing or watch TV or sleep in.  It’s these people who need to be shown the validity of the Gospel, doesn’t’ matter who they are, whether they are a friend, family or the guy you work with, they need to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ or they are going to hell, pretty sobering thought isn’t it?

The last group of people out there are d) Unchurched Believers.  They have made a commitment to Christ, they are going to heaven, but they are not worshipping on a regular basis with a group of believers in a bible believing church.  How come?  I don’t know.  Maybe they were introduced to Jesus outside the church and have never found a church that they felt comfortable in, or maybe they’ve just moved here from somewhere else.  Or maybe they have been hurt, either intentionally or unintentionally in their last church, spiritual abuse is unfortunately a reality, and they haven’t found a church where they can be loved and accepted. 

These people have already discovered the validity of the gospel but they haven’t yet learned the value of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church.

Everyone of us knows someone who fits into one or the other of those last two categories.  People who are either Christians or pre-Christians but who have no regular church home.  They are the people who need us and who we need to love.  They are the people that you need to tell about Cornerstone Wesleyan Church.  Why? 

Because you have something to offer them and it’s a whole lot more valuable then green eggs and ham.  It’s the salvation that only Jesus Christ can offer and it’s a loving church family, a church family called Cornerstone Wesleyan Church.

4) We Need to Be Rigidly committed to flexibility.  As I read Green Eggs and Ham I thought “Hey this guy just doesn’t give up” You won’t eat them with a fox then will you eat them in a box?  No then how about with a goat, uh-huh then on a boat, in the dark, on a train, in the rain.  Sam I Am must have figured that eventually something would click even if his friend ate them just to get him off his back.

I want this church to be rigidly committed to flexibility.  We will do what ever it takes to reach people with the word of God.  If I have to get someone up here to juggle chainsaws and spit fire then that is what I will do.  Although with my coordination I can assure you that it won’t be me.

Right now we are trying to provide the very best that we can with that menu we offer, don’t like our music then maybe they’ll like the preaching, don’t like the preaching then maybe it will be the excellent job that Marilyn and her crew does with the kids.  If that doesn’t appeal maybe it will be a social event that we plan, or the Great I Hate Winter Beach Party or the Super Bowl Party, maybe it will a Christmas Eve service that we are planning even now, or maybe Easter Sunday, what if we gave out roses on mother’s day and new cars on Father’s Day.  And not everything will work and we’ll learn from our mistakes and go on, it was Mark twain who said, “The man who picked the cat up by the tail learnt 40% more about cats then the man who didn’t.”  Well, we are going to pick the cat up by the tail and we may walk away with some scratches but we will learn what works and doesn’t work.

Denn you’re cheapening the gospel by relying on the spectacular?  You mean like Jesus did when he healed the lame, made the blind to see and fed the five thousand?  We will do anything except compromise the word of God.

Do you feel like we need a ministry to three legged, left handed bald people?  Drop by the office and I’ll buy you a coffee and maybe we can figure out how you can start a ministry to three legged, left handed bald people.  Notice that I said “how you can start” ownership is the key to effective ministry.

One of the biggest mistakes the church has made in it’s past has been the refusal to change.  A pastor friend of mine got in trouble with a lady at his church when they put carpet down in their worship centre.  It was blue carpet and every one knows that church carpet is supposed to be red.  Billy Graham tells a story about a young pastor who wanted to leave his mark on his first church so he recommended that they buy a chandelier for the sanctuary.  One of the men in his church said “I’m against it and I’m against it for three reason.  The first is that there aint nothing in the Bible about them there chandeliers, second we haven’t got anybody in the church who can play one and thirdly what we really need is more light in the sanctuary.”

There is nothing sacred about how a church looks, there is nothing sacred about whether we sing hymns or choruses, there is nothing sacred about whether we have prayer meeting, bible studies or discipleship groups.  There is nothing sacred about whether the pastor preaches expositional messages or topical messages.  We will use whatever techniques we need to see this area won for Jesus Christ.  But we will not compromise the message.

The Moncton Wesleyan Church Manifesto says, “We might have our personal preferences about a big church or a small church, a formal service or an informal service, a long service or a short service, gospel music or liturgical music, fiery preaching or quiet preaching.  However, if those preferences dictate which church we attend and support, then we can never experience God’s greatest blessings, because our motives are selfish.” Is it any wonder that Moncton Wesleyan is the one of the largest Church in the Maritimes?  And if you’d rather go to a church that caters to you as a Christian and your musical taste and taste in sermons then to a church which is intent on introducing people to Jesus then Cornerstone Wesleyan church ain’t for you.  I’d rather start with twenty people committed to our dreams and mission statement then with 200 people who just want to play church.

The word of God is unchangeable, the message of the gospel will be uncompromised, but we need to present the message in such a way that it will reach the people of our community, today March 6th 2011 not 1971, not 1981 or even 2001 but 2011 the challenge will be for us to be able to present the gospel in such a way that the message is fresh in 2012 and 2013 and 2014.  The concept isn’t new, listen to what Paul who was one of the greatest preachers of the church in the New Testament had to say when he wrote in his first letter to the Christians in the city of Corinth  in 1 Corinthians 9:22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 

5) We Need To Be Persistent In Our Invitations.  Wasn’t Sam I Am great? Talk about not giving up.  He obviously hadn’t heard the admonition, “If at first you don’t succeed try ,try again, but don’t make a complete fool out of yourself.”  If you were to look in the dictionary under persistence you would find a picture of Sam-I-Am.  If we are going to see people come to our church through our invitations then it will be because of persistence.  Just because somebody can’t come out to church the first time you ask doesn’t’ mean that they won’t come the next time you ask, right?  I mean maybe their hair really did fall out after the hot oil treatment.  We’re not asking them to cut off their arm we’re just inviting them out to church.  And in most cases you need to invite people cause they aren’t going to invite themselves, your neighbour probably won’t be driving down the street this week and say, “You know I ought to go to Cornerstone Wesleyan Church on Sunday.” 

Sometimes we even have an open invitation, when someone says, “Someday I’d like to visit your church.” Do you know what they are saying?  Here is the translation, people; I will say it slowly so you catch it, ready? What they are saying translated into English is; “Please invite me to a service.”

You say but Denn what if I drive them away, where are we going to drive them to, Hell number 2.

That’s why we are in this building, it may not be a white church with stained glass windows, but it is a building that will assist us in meeting our goals of winning people to Jesus Christ. 

And you was built because people believed the dream, the fifty people or so people who made up Cornerstone at that time as well as the donations that were made to our building fund from as far west as BC and California, as far south as Florida, from the Midwest and from Australia. Why? Because they believe in our vision and our commitment to reach the people in our community.

Cornerstone Wesleyan Church exists to reach pre-Christians through dynamic worship and relevant preaching, bringing them to a life expanding relationship with Jesus Christ and guiding them into a practical holiness as evidenced through the fruit of the Spirit. 

Or the shortened version Cornerstone Wesleyan Church exists to reach pre-Christians.  Or the concise version Cornerstone Wesleyan Church exists to help depopulate hell. And that will not happen until each of you has embraced that mission statement as well.  If that isn’t why we are here, if we are not committed to reaching the lost, if the only reason we are here and the only reason we have built is to have a church to attend then we might as well close the doors.  And if that isn’t what you want to do as a congregation then let me know and I start sending out my resume.

But you know how the story ends don’t you?  (Read from Green Eggs and Ham pages 53-62)

And if we do our part some day we will stand in heaven and someone will come up to us and thank us for being convicted of the validity of the Gospel, convinced of the value of Cornerstone and persistent in our invitations.