Sermon: Legacy Leavers

Scripture Lesson: Acts 1: 15- 17, 21- 26

Date: May 28, 2006

 

I)       Decorations at cemetery

          Last week, while trying to track down Evelyn Waggoner for the church history information, Joe told me she was a the cemetery for decoration.  Thinking about where she was at, my mind went back to East Tennessee and how during the month of May most of the church cemeteries had decoration Sundays.  On any given Saturday or Sunday in May, You will see family members and friends visiting cemeteries and laying flowers, placing a letter, or hanging a wreath on the grave of someone who passed away in their families.  In particular, you will find small flags on the graves of those who were veterans which brings us this special Weekend. 

          Memorial Day goes back as far as 1868 when General Logan decreed that,

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic. 

          Many wars has since past since the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghan war, Iraq war and the ward on Terrorism, but one thing they all have in common is that people died to make sure we can enjoy this land and life we have.  And through their deaths and wounded sacrifices, they left legacies for those who follow after them. 

 

II)      Memorial day today

          Over time, however, the reason for memorial day has been forgotten.  Memorial day weekend is more than an opportunity to go to the lake, a weekend of Bar B Q's, extended weekend vacations, and shopping bargains.  It is a time to pause and think about those who lost their lives while defending ours.

           There is nothing pleasant or fun about the cost of war.  Everyday service men and women risk their lives while trying to make a difference in this world, and some lose their life as a result.  We need to not let those who died, die forgotten and in vain.   In their deaths, they become heroes and leave legacies that inspire generations to follow.

 

III)     So it is with Christ

          It is the legacies of the first believers that you and I are here today.  It is because of them and those who followed after them that the good news of Christ continues to be shared today.  It is because of the persecutions and sacrifices, along with faith and hope of disciples like Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Batholomew (Nathaniel by John)  and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the zealot, Judas son of James (Thaddeus) and the addition of Matthias who was, like others, with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry until his end. 

          Everyone of these followers of Jesus Christ, except for John, died as martyrs for the sake of Christ.  Men and women of faith would risk their lives for the sake of the gospel and many of them would die at the hands of those who hated them because of what they believed. 

          Yet, as soldiers of the cross, no matter how difficult life became, they willingly shared their faith and the love God gave to them so that some might experience the salvation of God offered by Christ Jesus.  They left their legacy of faith that inspire those who come after them.  

 

III)     Why did they do it?

          Why did they do it?  Why not deny Christ and live vs. proclaim Christ and risk dying?  What was it that led believers to take what they heard and share it wherever they were scattered?   It is apparent they believed in something that was worth dying for!  There was something about their relationship with God that enabled godly men and women to love as Christ loved them even if it killed them!   Something changed them and that something was God made known through Jesus Christ.  Thus instead of being competitors and combatants, Christians became like Christ in their willingness to minister to others event to the point of laying down their lives for their friends.  They were truly soldiers of the cross!  And they wanted people to have what they had.

C        A relationship with God who love them so that God allowed God’s son to die so that we can live. 

C        A relationship with God who would be with them no matter how chaotic life became.

C        A relationship with God who will hold them close when they are lost and alone. 

C        A relationship with God who promise to take care of their every need.

C        A relationship with God who gives hope and joy to the hopeless and the down trodden. 

          They wanted to leave a legacy of faith so that when people remembered them, they remembered what they did for the sake of Christ and those they loved. 

 

IV)     What will be our legacy?

          What legacy do we want to leave behind to be remembered by?  What is it that we want people to remember us for after we move on or pass away?  What lives will be touched because of what we did or didn’t do for Christ sake as soldiers of the cross? 

C        Think about your own life and how God wants to use you to raise your kids in a home filled with God’s love.

C        Think about ways that God calls on your give a helping hand to a neighbor and pray for a friend.

C        Think about how you can be a witness for others when you are caught up in the midst of a battle when you are wounded by illness, or by shrapnel of some sin that nags you with constant pain, or by how you overcame the razor fence and minefields of life to save someone God calls on you to love. 

          With your scars of from life’s battles, experiences gained from life’s struggles, and your faith that helped you to survive, you will become a legacy leaver of what it means to be a soldier of the cross and a servant for Jesus Christ.