God, Grits, and the Status Bar Sermonette

This morning I had the pleasure of providing the devotion for our United Methodist Men’s Group.  I also had the pleasure of cooking the grits for breakfast.  For some reason the group has taken a liking to both.

Our scripture was 1 Peter 3:8-16.  (Selected verses below from Crosswalk.com)

8.Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9.Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing… 15.But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Recently I came across a blog written by the Rev. Mark Brown.  Mark is an Anglican Priest in New Zealand.  He leads the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life and I plan to virtually attend the service this afternoon.  He has also written a wonderful paper on The Digital Revolution and the Church.  His work has been a great resource for me as I plan for future presentations on cyberministry.

This morning I shared a group that Rev. Brown setup on Facebook, a popular social networking site.  The name of the group is the Status Bar Sermonette Movement.  The Facebook status bar is a feature that lets users leave short messages for others who visit their page.  Looking over my Facebook page I see the following status bar entries from some of my friends.

Tim is hoping to squeeze in 90 minutes today to watch the Lost episodes he missed last season.

Mark says Please offer a prayer for my wife who is one week overdue tomorrow with our fourth child.

Kristy thinks Bride Wars was a great movie.

Jennifer is putting the computer up to start studying.

Donna is having trouble seeing since she stepped on her glasses.

As you can see, most of these updates are not particularly profound.  They are not meant to be.  They are simply ways to keep your friends up to date with what you are doing.  Some are funny, some are serious, some are mundane.

Rev. Brown came up with an idea to use this Facebook function for something more significant.  He suggests members use the status bar to post a mini sermon, or sermonette.  In just a couple of sentences, give the reader a peak into your spiritual life, give a life lesson, or tell what God means in your life.  He describes it as “the challenge of sharing the Word of God in around 120 words..”

This idea is consistent with the scripture above.  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  We should always be prepared to explain the hope, peace, and love, that loving Christ gives us.  If we are going to be prepared to give account of what God means to us in our lives, it is probably a good idea to give it some thought.  This doesn’t have to be a long, theologically profound, discussion.   In fact, I contend it should be exactly the opposite.  It should be personal.  It should be based on our experiences.  It should focus on what God means in our lives.  It should be engrained in our hearts and minds so that we are always prepared to share it with others.

What would your Status Bar Sermonette be?  How would you describe what God means to you in just a few sentences?  I encourage you to give it a try.

Here is one I wrote.  God loves the whole world and God loves me.  I honor God when I share that love with the folks I encounter everyday by being kind, forgiving, and generous.  It is through loving others that I demonstrate my love for God.  Jesus said, “Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.”  My challenge as a Christian is to always take care of the least of these.