My Dream Church

One of my heroes is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and my favorite speech is his "I Have a Dream Speech." During our weekend services at the Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church, I shared my "I Have a Dream Speech." I articulated to our congregation what my dream church would look like. It actually looks a lot like the church we're becoming. If you want to listen to the speech, click on this link: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=57 (you'll have to listen for a few minutes before getting to the speech)

Here is the text for the speech:

Our Dream Church
- by Lead Pastor Lenny Luchetti

…We have a dream of a church that sees a human being not based upon the level of that person’s income or education but based upon their value in the eyes of God,

…A church that is unashamedly committed to Christ and because of that commitment is radically dedicated to loving all kinds of people with all kinds of issues in all kinds of ways,

…A church that is not consumed by petty deliberations about the color of the sanctuary carpet because she is too consumed by the mission of love Christ has called us to live,

…A church that sees overwhelming needs in our community and world and instead of turning away in fear and defeat runs right toward the needs by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, and caring for the sick, the addicted, and the depressed,

…A church that helps seekers become servants of Christ, a church that is led not by perfect people but by people perfectly submitted to the Holy Spirit and guided by the Holy Book,

…We have a dream of a church that is not content to simply share a pew together but who are open to share life together, a church full of people who refuse to hold grudges because they’re too quick to forgive, who refuse to gossip because they’re too busy extending grace, who refuse to judge because they’re too busy loving,

…A church where people can worship by clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and raising their hands or being still, bowing their heads, and closing their mouths, a church that sees true religious devotion not as mere ritual but as love for the orphan and the widow, the successful and the struggling, the friend and the enemy,

…A church who measures the level of their success not by how many people show up on Saturday or Sunday but by how many people are living out Christ’s mission on Monday,

…We have a dream of a church that refuses to put limits on what God can do because she has the fearless, reckless audacity to believe that God has the power to do absolutely anything!

This dream originated in the heart of Christ and is the kind of church we are becoming. If this is the kind of church you want to belong to, you are in the right place. Come join us in fulfilling this dream!!!!

Sermon: How To Destroy Relationships and How To Build Them Again

In this message, I was trying to highlight relationship busters and the antidotes to those busters. All of us probably have relationships in our lives that need some maintenance or extreme repair. During the message we considered how Jesus went about relationships and how we can follow his example. Check out the message by clicking on the link below and feel free to post your thoughts.
http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=51

Sermon: Why We Need Each Other

In this message I was stressing how biblical Christianity's emphasis on community cuts against the grain of the rugged individualism our culture has brain-washed us into craving and cherishing. In this message I was attempting to highlight why we need each other. God made us not as independent but as interdependent beings. At various points during the message I confess my own tendency toward "do-it-yourselfism." I also try to highlight how having people with me at low points in my life has made a world of difference in how I came through those trials.

Check out the message by clicking on the link below and, as always, share your thoughts, questions, etc.: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=49

Sermon: The Fingerprint of Christ

Whenever Easter rolls around, I try my best to tell the old familiar story in a new and unique kind of way. This year my text was John 20:31-38 (the Doubting Thomas story) and I used some detective props, including a magnifying glass and fingerprinting kit, to go on a search for evidence that Jesus is alive. We looked at some historical evidence that Jesus is alive. I suggested that there is present evidence as well; this present evidence is the fingerprint of Christ that shows up on the lives of those who, like the apostle Thomas, make Jesus "Lord and God."

I concluded by noting that there is really only one way to know for sure that Jesus lives. When we make Him Lord of our lives, the center around which everything revolves, we will dust for fingerprints on our lives and Christ's print will appear all over us. When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, we will know for sure that He lives because His print will begin to show up all over our lives in how we love others, etc.

Check out the sermon and feel free to add your insights and questions to this post. Here is the link to the message: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=48

Sermon: When God Doesn't Meet Our Expectations

This Palm Sunday message was aimed at revealing how God doesn't meet our expectations but often exceeds them. The same Palm Sunday crowd who was praising Jesus as he entered Jerusalem was pretty much the same crowd who on Good Friday yelled out about Jesus "crucify Him." And why did they have such a change of heart? Because Jesus did not meet their Messianic expectations. They expected Jesus to lead them in a rebellion against Rome so that the Jews would be in power again. But Jesus did not meet their political, military, or economic expectations. On Good Friday he stood before them beaten, bloody and bruised. He looked too weak to be the warrior Messiah they expected. Many abandoned Jesus at this point because he did not meet their expectations.

Although Jesus does not always meet our expectations, if we can hang on to him beyond the Good Friday death of our expectations we may experience him exceeding our expectations on the Easter Sundays of life. Clink on the following link to listen to the sermon. Please feel free to comment, disagree, ask questions, etc. Here is the link:
http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=47

Sermon: The Pinnacle of T. & O.

My text for this message, which was really a continuation of last week's message, was Genesis 22:1-18. This is the passage where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the promised child Abraham had waited to receive for a long time. This is a troubling passage until we realize that God was never going to let Abraham go through with a child sacrifice. But why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in the first place? What is God trying to do in Abraham's life that this kind of ultimate test might accomplish?

During the message I asked us to consider, "what Isaac do you need to put on the altar of God's love...what Isaac may be causing you worry or idolatry?" I shared about one of my personal "Isaacs" that I have had to place on God's altar through T. & O., trust and obedience. Check out the message by clicking on the following link and please share any insights or comments about the message or your personal "Isaac." Here's the link to listen to the message: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=45

Sermon: We Can't Help But Grow With T. & O.

I don't know about you, but I relish simplicity. I tend to overcomplicate my life, but if I don't do this life has a way of complicating itself. We tend to overcomplicate our relationship with God. To the contrary, developing a deep friendship with God is really quite simple. Abraham, whose friendship with God is chronicled in Genesis 12-22, shows that developing a deeper relationship with God is based upon two simple habits- trust and obedience. Abraham wasn't perfect but he trusted God's promises enough to obey God's commands and because of this the promises were fulfilled. Click on the link below to get to the sermon and ask yourself "do I trust God enough to obey His commands?"

Enjoy and please feel free to post your comments, insights or questions: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=44