Sermon- Church On The Move - Pastor Jisun Yang - 5-3-26
- Middletown UMC Meadowlark
- May 3
- 2 min read
Pastor Jisun proclaims that we'd rather stay where things are familiar, where we know people, where life makes sense. But life does not always go as planned, relationships shift and sometimes we find ourselves in places we never expected to be. Sometimes we have to let go of our dreams. Maybe it was a life changing event that made us start over - losing a job, moving away, becoming a parent, becoming an empty nester, retiring, a serious illness or injury - and disrupted our sense of security. When it is not our choice, it makes it even harder.
We return to the book of Acts, which reflects the church on the move. When the apostles boldly proclaimed that Jesus was alive it challenged the authority of the religious leaders who had pursued his death on the cross. When Stephen preached that God's presence was not limited to the temple, it was seen as a threat to sacred tradition. Stephen was stoned to death under the approval of Saul who was persecuting Christians and putting them in prison. Persecution was meant to silence the church but instead it encouraged Christians to scatter and preach the good news wherever they went. The church was the people and now it was on the move.
The church is not perfect - there will be conflict, there will be tension, but when we carry the good news into the world we are reminded that the joy of being together is greater than the pain of scattering, a joy that comes not from perfect circumstances but from the presence of Christ. The question for us today is not "Why am I here?" or "Why is this happening?", but rather, "How is God moving through me and you here in this space?". Because when the church scatters and the gospel crosses boundaries, may we be the church on the move carrying the love of Christ wherever life sends us.