The message given in the last regular Sunday worship service in the Agar United Methodist church on Sunday morning, January 8, 2023. The Bible verses used are Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
Well, this is it. The last regular Sunday
worship service in the Agar United Methodist church.
It’s a sad thing. There’s no denying that. I’m
sure that some of you, who’ve been connected with this church for a lot longer
than I have, feel that sadness a lot more than I do. But I am sad about
it. It’s not what I wanted to happen. I’m sure it’s not what you
wanted to happen, either.
Our Bible reading, from the book of Eccesiastes, says there
is a time for everything. Everything has a beginning, and everything has
it’s time when it flourishes, and then everything ends. Ecclesiastes does
not say it’s a good thing that there’s a time for everything. In fact,
one of the points of the passage is that it does not matter whether we think
it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just the way it is. We have
to deal with it, whether we like it or not.
But as regular worship services in the Agar United
Methodist church come to a close, let’s also think back with gladness on the
life of this church. This church had a long and vibrant life. Most
of you know more about that than I do, and if anyone would like to talk a
little bit about this church and what it’s done and what it means to you, I
certainly would be happy to have you do that after the message this
morning.
But this church has a proud history. There are a lot
of people who have sat in those pews over the years, including you. You
and many others have contributed a lot to this church over the years.
You’ve contributed a lot to the community. You’ve done your best to be
faithful to God, to serve God, to show love to God and to show love to
others. There are a lot of pastors who have stood behind this pulpit,
too. I am proud to have been one of those pastors, and to be in some
small way a part of the history of this church.
This church has accomplished a
lot. But it did not accomplish anything on its own. Everything this
church has accomplished has been because of God. God has led this
church. God has guided this church. God has been a part of
everything this church has done.
So, with the church ending
regular services, does that mean that God has left? That God has
abandoned this church? No. What it means is that God is going to
take the things this church has done, and the influence this church has, and
use it in different ways.
Remember what the Apostle Paul
wrote in Romans Chapter Eight, Verse Twenty-eight: God can use all things
for the good of those who love Him. I believe that when Paul wrote “all
things”, he meant what he said. God can take even things that make us
sad, things we wish would not have happened, and use them for the good of those
who love Him. I know that everyone here loves God. That means that
God is going to use the end of regular weekly worship services in Agar for
good.
How? I don’t know.
But I do know some things. I know that the people who are part of this
church have strong faith. I know each of you believes in God and believes
that Jesus Christ is the Savior. I know that each of you does your best
to live your life the way God wants you to live it. You are allowing God
to lead and guide your lives, just as God has led and guided this church.
And you are going to continue to do that, even though you will not be coming to
church here anymore.
God has used your faith over
the years. And God is going to continue to use your faith. I hope
you will continue to attend worship services regularly. My real hope, of
course, is that you will attend either the Onida or Gettysburg United Methodist
church. But if you choose not to do that, I hope you will attend
somewhere. And I hope you will not just attend. I hope you will get
involved in whatever church you attend. I hope you will become a part of
that church. I know it will never be “your church” the way the Agar
church has been. Still, you have a lot of knowledge, and a lot of
experience, and a lot of faith. The church you choose to attend needs
your knowledge. It needs your experience. It needs your
faith. God wants you to use those things to help your new church, just as
you have used it to help this church.
I also know that this church
has influenced many people over its years of existence. There are lots of
people who’ve come through those doors. Many have moved to other
places. They are doing lots of things. But the things they learned
in this church, the faith that was planted and grown in this church, has
influenced them, and continues to influence them. And throught their
faith, they influence others. They help plant and grow faith in
others. And those others spread the faith to still others. The
faith that has been planted and grown in this church will be a force for good–a
force for God–in many, many places for generations to come.
This church, and the people in
it, have been faithful to God. You have served God. You have loved
God and loved others. You have done your best to bring honor and glory to
God’s Holy name. And God has seen that. God knows everything this
church has done, and God knows everything the people of this church have
done. God knows the faith of this church and the people in it.
God has seen it all. And
I firmly believe that anytime we do our best to be faithful to God, God will
honor and bless us, and God will honor and bless what we’ve done. The
blessing may not come right away, and it may not come the way we had in
mind. In fact, it may come in a way that we never would have thought
of. But the blessing will come.
There is, indeed, a time for
everything. This church has a long history, and it’s a history to be
proud of. This church lasted a dozen years longer than any other church
in Agar, and that’s something to be proud of, too. But now, the time has
come for this church to close.
But whenever something ends,
something new gets started. God is going to start something new in
Agar. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know when it will
come. I don’t know what form it will take. But I do know
this: the work of God is not finished in Agar. There has never been
a place on earth that God has just abandoned and does not care about anymore,
and I’m confident that Agar is not going to be the first. There is still
work that God wants done here in Agar. And God is going to call on people–including
you–to get that work done. You may not do it through this church anymore,
but God still has things for you to do. And it’s my prayer that you will
do them.
And there’s one more thing I
want to say. I still consider Agar to be part of the Wheatland
Parish. Many of you have seen me wearing shirts and sweaters that list
the towns of the Wheatland Parish: Gettysburg, Onida, and Agar. I’m
not going to take Agar off those shirts and sweaters. Agar is still part
of the Wheatland Parish, and I still consider myself an Agar pastor. Even
if you don’t attend the Onida or Gettysburg church, I hope you will stay in
touch with me. We will continue to send you the church newsletter.
We have a list of people to whom we send a printed copy of the sermon each
week–if you like, we’d be happy to add you to that list. Anytime you need
a pastor–because of illness, because of something you’re going through, because
you’d like someone to talk to, or if you’d just like to get together as
friends–let me know. I intend to stay in touch with you. I hope
you’ll stay in touch with me, too. I still consider myself your pastor,
and I will continue to consider myself as your pastor as long as I’m the pastor
of the Wheatland Parish.
The Agar church will continue
to exist. It will exist in memory, and it will exist in reality. It
will exist in the influence it has had and continues to have, here and
elsewhere. This church has been faithful to God. And when we are
faithful to God, God is always faithful to us.
So, the time has come.
This church will no longer hold regular worship services. But this church
will go on, because your faith will go on. And this church will go on,
because God will go on. God has blessed this church, and the people in
it, throughout it’s life. And God will continue to bless this church, and
the people in it, even though it is not holding regular Sunday services.
God is going to use the end of regular worship services here for good. I
don’t know how, but I know God will. That’s a promise God has made.
And we know that God always keeps God’s promises.
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