at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

It is a familiar story.

We are not sure how they first met; it may have been an intentional encounter or just a chance meeting. But from the beginning, there was clearly interest on both sides. They have made it a point to get together fairly regularly, and have been seeing each other, once every couple of weeks, for some time now.

They have increasingly enjoyed each other’s company and have begun to share their hopes and dreams with each other. But she – it could just as easily be a “he,” but let’s say it’s a “she” -- she has begun to realize that his objective is an exclusive and long lasting relationship. While she cares for him, she has enjoyed the limited nature of the relationship, of being able to control it within safe and predictable parameters and to come and go as she pleases. The thought of a deeper, exclusive commitment is disquieting, and she hesitates with uneasiness.

Finally, although she does not want the relationship to end, she speaks the words he does not want to hear: “I’m not sure that I am ready for a serious relationship.”

It might not be so tragic if I were describing a suitor and a young woman. But I’m not. I am describing the relationship between Christ and someone – male or female – someone we may know. Perhaps someone who is us.

Today, we welcome three new members to our church family. Over the past few months, Dana, Paul, and Chris have attended a series of Covenant Classes and pondered in depth the sacred promises they make today before God and this congregation. This morning, these three people have committed to nurturing their faith journeys within this covenantal community, to follow in the way of Jesus; to witness to his work and word; and to participate in the life and mission of this church family. They have publicly professed their faith in Jesus Christ. And they have promised to be Christ’s disciples, and to nurture their relationship with God by practicing the six marks of discipleship. In other words, you new members have said that you are ready for a serious relationship with Christ!

In turn, we as a congregation have responded to these new members by promising our friendship and prayers, sharing the hopes and labors of this church, and we have committed to growing with them in the Christian faith.

And just as Dana, Paul, and Chris have taken these sacred vows, the rest of us have also had the opportunity to re-affirm our holy promises to God, to each other, and to this church. Judging from the number of voices I heard answering the questions, many of you have joined me in re-committing to being Christ’s disciples and to nurturing our faith journeys within this family of faith. And many of us have committed to growing in the Christian faith by practicing the six marks of discipleship. In other words, most of you have said that you are ready for a serious relationship with Christ.

And to our newest members, we welcome and embrace you with these words from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” It is my prayer that you will soon feel that this is your extended family, if you don’t already; that this is where you can be nurtured on your faith journey, this is where you can ask the difficult questions and find faithful friends who will share in your laughter and your joy. This church may indeed be the place where you celebrate some of your most joyous moments – the baptism of your child, a confirmation, a wedding.

It may also be the place of profound sorrow, where you journey through illness or loss or the death of a loved one. And it is my prayer that this is where you will come when life isn’t going so well, when you need a shoulder to cry on; that in this church family, you will seek and find arms to embrace you when the bottom falls out of your world.

Because you see, it’s all about relationship – with God through Christ and with each other.

Being a disciple is all about relationship.

Our transition from a membership model to a discipleship model of church is all about relationship; it’s about turning our attention away from the rights and privileges of membership and re-focusing on our relationship with God through Christ and each other.

And the six marks of discipleship are all about relationship. They are the way we can grow in our relationship with God and with each other, they are the way we can tend to those relationships and allow God to do something in us and with us.

Daily prayer affirms the relationship between our Creator God and humanity, bringing heaven to earth in the life of Jesus Christ. Daily prayer can lead us to a deeper relationship with Christ as well as those for whom we pray.

Weekly worship is our opportunity to come together as a family of faith to renew and deepen our relationships with God and with each other. When we pray, receive Holy Communion, hear God’s Word, or sing our hymns of praise, we enter into a timeless community and are surrounded by those who have gone before us and those who are yet to come to faith.

The daily reading of the bible and the story of God and God’s people awakens us to a God who desires to speak directly to us, and it opens us to what God wants for us and from us. Through the words of scripture, God invites us into a relationship with Christ, who is the Living Word.

Serving others within and beyond the church flows naturally from a relationship with God through Christ because Jesus never comes to us without bringing others with him. As we have been loved, so are we called to love, and serving others is Christ’s name is essential to our identity as Christian disciples.

Spiritual relationships are those in which we can share our deepest concerns and most difficult transitions, and such relationships can change how we see and value others. As a spiritual practice, nurturing these kinds of relationships means moving beyond the social friendships we have and to develop friendships based not only on love, but also on accountability, support, commitment, encouragement, and spiritual growth.

Generous giving is an essential aspect of a life of discipleship, and we are called to reflect the magnanimous heart of God in our practice of generosity. We can grow in discipleship by offering to Christ’s Church our best — not the irregular “whenever” giving of leftovers, but the consistent, intentional, substantial and committed giving of a disciple’s heart.

To our newest members – Dana, Paul, and Chris – and to all of you who are ready for a serious relationship with Christ, it is my prayer that you hold in your hearts the sacred promises you have made this morning, that you carry out your vows to grow in the Christian faith as faithful members of Christ’s church, participating in the life and mission of this family of faith and sharing in its hopes and labors. And it is my prayer that as you answer the call to be Christ’s disciple, you will also carry out Christ’s Great Commission to go and make disciples, confident in his promise to be with us always, even to the end of the age. Amen.