First Pres. Bucyrus - Service for 09/21/2003

First Presbyterian Church, Bucyrus, Ohio

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This Sunday’s Sermon

Service for Sunday,
Sept. 21, 2003
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Theme: The Upward Call #3—
To Live Is Christ

“To Live Is Christ”

Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Theme: The Upward Call #3—To Live Is Christ

Sermon: “To Live Is Christ”

Readings (open all):

• OT: Josh 1:1–9
• R. Ps: Ps 16
• Epis.: Phil 1:18b–30
• Gospel: Lk 12:32–34

Hymns:

• Opening: #30, “I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord”
• Acclamation: “Sanctuary”
• Gathering: #447, “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God”
• Pulpit: #675, “Jerusalem, My Happy Home”
• Closing: #661, “Be Strong in the Lord”

Interludes:

• Prelude: “Reverence” (Hughes)
• Offertory: “Berceuse” (Schumann)
• Postlude: “Onward to Victory” (Hughes)

Special Music: “When We Are Living” (arr. Hopson)

Assistants:

• Liturgist: Rob Neff
• Children’s story: Shannon Sharrock
• Ushers & greeters:
Curtis & Cindy Inscho,
Kaiden Rose
• Duty elder: Tami Robinson
• Percussion: Bob Thompson

From the Pastor
When I was a kid in school, we all learned that Nathan Hale, when about to be shot as a spy, said, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

This Sunday, we continue our series on the book of Philippians, in a passage where Paul once more lets us see into his heart and its struggles. Many of his first readers had been won to Christ through Paul’s ministry in Philippi, helped by Timothy and perhaps Luke (Acts 16:3, 10 “we”). Now Paul is in prison—probably in Rome—and writes the congregation until he can visit them again.

This Sunday, we look at Phil 1:18b–30. I return to Nathan Hale below, in connection with v 29, but first, let us see this passage in terms of two leading ideas.

Live or Die, OK
Paul knows he may not be released from prison and may even be executed. Certainly, he is ready to depart and be with Christ (v 23)—his sufferings have been terrible (see the catalogue in 2 Cor 11:23–33, and the less-specific list in 2 Cor 6:4–10)—but also thinks there may still be work for him to do (v 24). He concludes that he will be spared to see them again (vs 25–26), but whether he lives or dies, he prays that the greatness of Christ will be displayed in him (see v 20 below). This struggle lies behind his famous words, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v 21, see below).

United in Outreach
His readers, for their part, must live the life the gospel calls for and stand together against all opposition to the Christian faith (v 27). Three verbs help (but do not fully) spell out the life worthy of Christ:

standing firm,

striving side by side, and

not frightened in anything (vs 27–28).

One of Christ’s gifts to them is the privilege of suffering for him (v 29, see below), something they had actually seen Paul pass through when he was in their city (Acts 16:11–40) and now must share (v 30).

Here are notes on a few details of this passage:

v 20: Paul intends that Christ shall be “honored” in his body.
The Greek use the word “magnified,” which implies more than “honored” expresses, and the word translated “body” (soma) often means “person” rather than just the physical body. Paul wants “Christ to be magnified in my person,” or, as the REB puts it, he wants “the greatness of Christ to be displayed in me.”

v 21: “to live is Christ”

“For me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain”
(Philippians 1:21).
This statement seems to me so sweeping it can hardly be explained. You can’t say anything without saying everything. Paul doesn’t unpack it; he just says it. It’s almost a throwaway line, since he’s just said very much the same thing. But it’s there, and it invites us to understand it and say the same thing. But I think it implies two huge truths about the Christian life:

We must live the way Christ lived and taught. When people see you, they see Jesus. Our behavior must conform to his; his ways must become ours. His sternness with evil and compassion for all people in need must become ours. His willingness to suffer that good may come should be ours. Our “manner of life” must “be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (v 27).

We can live this way only as Christ’s divine power enters and transforms us. We live “through the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (v 19). The Christian life is the Christ-life, not just in character (1) but in power that enables. He lives out through us.

To restate it simpler: Christ both determines and enables the ultimate goal of our lives, and it must be... himself, his ways, his mission. This is the life that God begins in us and promises to carry forward to completion (Phil 1:6).

Please, Lord: Let each of us say from the heart, “For me, to live is Christ!”

v 29: “It has been granted to you” that you should suffer for his sake.
A “grant” is usually a gift of some sort, but more and more in our world of government and foundation support, it comes only after arduous hours of preparation and submission, and it comes with strings attached.

The Greek word here is charidzomai, and it means “to give as a gracious favor.” It seems to be the wrong word for suffering.

That’s where Nathan Hale comes in (see above). Paul has this same high sense of love and loyalty in suffering for Christ’s sake, and he wants us to feel that way, too. He says, “God gives you the privilege of suffering for Christ’s sake.”

Elements of the Service

The other biblical readings connect to Paul’s themes. In the Old Testament reading, Joshua 1:1-9, Joshua commands the people to stand firm in faithfulness to God’s word, especially now that Moses has died. In the Gospel reading, Luke 12:32–34, Jesus urges us to regard spiritual realities as more important than possessions. The responsive Psalm 16 is full of confidence in God and hope for God’s good other world.
These are this Sunday’s hymns: Opening, #30, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,” a hymn of praise to lift our hearts to God; the acclamation of praise, “Better is one day in your courts,” a song the Group Workcamp gang brought back with them and that we sang in their service on Aug. 24; the pulpit hymn, #675, “Jerusalem, my happy home,” picked to reflect Paul’s eagerness “to depart and be with Christ”; and the closing hymn, #661, “Be strong in the Lord.” The latter is new to our congregation; we sang it twice last March. It’s a splendid hymn of strength and resolve with which to close our service.

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