Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Focus and Function

Focus: The Christian life is all about reconciliation. God reconciled Himself with us

through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ

we are to be God’s ambassadors and act as agents of reconciliation. We are to

spread the good news that God has reconciled us with Himself. This good

news will also bring about reconciliation between people. As people love God

people will love each other.

In two days Barack Obama will be inaugurated as President of the United

States. This is an historic opportunity for reconciliation. As agents of

reconciliation let’s take advantage of this opportunity and promote

reconciliation between the various ethnic groups with the love of Jesus Christ.

Function: To encourage the congregation to act as God’s ambassadors to promote

reconciliation among people.

The Sermon

I. Introduction

A. Ending of “Naked Gun” movie: Detective Frank Drebbin announces his love for his girlfriend in front of a major league baseball game. This causes wide spread reconciliation at the game. We see a Jew hugging an Arab, a dog licking a mailman and baseball players, who were previously fighting, crying and hugging each other. .

B. Many of us remember this movie scene in “Naked Gun” where we see massive reconciliation

· We find it humorous because it is so ludicrous to think that one sappy proclamation of love could bring about such reconciliation. BUT…

· It’s not ludicrous to expect the love of Jesus Christ to bring about such reconciliation.

II. Real life examples of the love of Jesus Christ bringing about reconciliation

A. Story of a marriage in trouble: Wife was an alcoholic and husband was on the verge of leaving her. Wife trusted in Christ and stopped drinking. Marriage has been steadily improving ever since. Husband has not yet given credit to Jesus for his saved marriage but, in time, I believe he will.

B. Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice: At the age of 16, Spencer visited his swollen and beaten father in jail. His father was a an activist pastor. Spencer swore he would never live or work with a white person. Now he has teamed up with Chris White, a suburban white man to bring racial reconciliation. They co-authored the book More than equals: Racial Healing for the sake of the gospel.

C. The reconciliation that has been occurring here at Glynlea Grace UMC.

III. It shouldn’t surprise us that the love of Christ can bring reconciliation. It’s clearly

stated in Scripture. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

A. First, as followers of Christ, we learn to see people as God sees people: From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 16-17)

· The Holy Spirit changes us and enables us to see people as Christ sees people

· We must ask Jesus to reveal any racism, prejudice or hatred that may still be present in our hearts and then ask Jesus to remove it and replace it with His love.

B. As we begin to see people as Jesus sees people, we become agents of reconciliation: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 18-19)

· We are to be agents of reconciliation in two ways:

1) Reconciliation between us and God: We proclaim the good news that God has reconciled the world to Him through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

2) Reconciliation between each other: We encourage reconciliation between people. Romans 12:18

· We are empowered to be agents of reconciliation by the Holy Spirit

C. As agents of reconciliation, we become ambassadors for Christ: So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 20-21)

· An ambassador represents the positions of his particular country.

· As ambassadors for Jesus Christ, we present Jesus’ position, which is love and reconciliation.

IV. An historic opportunity: The inauguration of occurs in two days Barack Obama

A. The election of Barack Obama presents the United States with an opportunity for reconciliation

B. Regardless of who you voted for, as Christians, we should take advantage of this opportunity.

· On January 19, 2009 (Martin Luther King’s Birthday) President elect Barack Obama is calling all Americans to observe a national day of service.

· It would be a great service to do something specific to help bring about reconciliation

1) It could be on a personal level: Calling an estranged family member to repent/forgive or mending a relationship at work

2) It could be on a community or national level: Participating in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event or spending time in service to people you would not normally hang out with.

V. Conclusion

A. Being an agent of reconciliation starts with repentance and faith in Jesus.

B. If you have not yet given your life over to Jesus, you can do so right now and begin the process of becoming an agent of reconciliation

C. If you are already a Christian but have not been doing your part to be an agent of reconciliation, you can make that ‘u-turn’ right now. Simply ask for empowerment from the Holy Spirit and do what you need to do.