Children’s Message (Oct 6th, 2019)

By Andrew Geery…..

Something we talk a lot about in church is faith.

Faith is one of those really hard words to understand because it seems so abstract.

I can point at a door and say, “that is a door”. But what can I point at and say, “that is faith?”

I can hold a microphone in my hand and say, “this is a microphone”. But what can I hold in my hand and say, “this is faith?”

I can hear the piano and say, “this is music”. But what do I hear when I listen for faith?

Faith is different from doors and microphones and music. But it’s really not hard to understand.

Faith is simply shorthand for what we think is most important.

Let me say that again: faith is what you and I think is the most important thing to do.

Everyone has faith because everyone has something they think is most important.

It’s what we do. It’s how we spend our time. 

It would be silly to talk about one person having more faith than somebody else. That would be like moving a tree into the middle of the ocean — it doesn’t make any sense!

Instead, we should ask, “What do you have faith in? How do you spend your time?”

Jesus had faith in God. He spent his life thinking, “What does God want?” And then doing it.

One way Jesus thought of God was like a parent and the people in the world like God’s children.

Just as a parent wants their children to be loved and valued, God wants all of the people in the world to be respected and cherished. And not just some people (or children) but all people (and all children).

Jesus spent most of his life seeing and healing and eating with poor people, sick people, marginalized people, and people other people didn’t like or thought were bad. He took seriously the idea that all people are children of God.

And this church has the same faith. And that means that we put our time and effort into things like Black Lives Matter, Cathedral in the Night, LGBTQ rights, climate change, nuclear disarmament and a radical welcome.

And this is why so many people have worked so hard to keep this church running with movie nights and church fairs and guest preachers and worship committees.

It is because we have faith in God; which means that we think this church is a really good way of being the hands and feet of God in the world, to change the world to be the way God intended it to be.

Now, this faith is not always fun — it takes  your time.

And this faith is not always satisfying — change is slow.

And this faith isn’t magic — thoughts and prayers are not enough; it requires our hands and feet and showing up.

But our faith is rooted in the idea that God is actually in the world and that God can take these small, seemingly insignificant efforts and change the world with them.

You have seen faith: it is the faces of the people around you.

You have held faith: it is the sandwiches you’ve made for CiTN.

And you have heard faith: it is the voices in this church calling out for God’s justice to roll down like water.

And let the people say, “Amen”.

Andrew Geery delivered this message to children of the church on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019