First Mennonite Church
June 1, 2025
The Mission Statement for FMC:
To worship God and to grow in Christ with the purpose of sharing the gospel to all, in both words and deeds.
Let us declare it; let us embrace it. And now, let us cast a vision for the life and ministry of FMC for the next five years.
Envisioning the Life and Ministry of First Mennonite Church in Five Years.
Text: Hebrews 11:1-4
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
The other day I was listening to a man making an appeal to tackle the major problem the city of Venice is facing with the rising water. His closing words were: “Changing the present into something else requires optimism. So, optimism is a duty.”
In the church, faith is our currency: faith in God, saving faith, walking or living by faith. The church’s life and oxygen is faith in the God of grace and faithfulness. Therefore, faith is not head-knowledge nor mental power—speak it to get it, or as others say, “speak things into existence.” Biblical faith is not simply an inner and subjective feeling of power.
Just as it is said about love, that it is not a noun but a verb, faith also is an action word. We act in faith; we live by faith. Faith is a way of life with the conviction that in God, and only in God, there is the absolute fulfillment of human well-being. This is what the Bible calls “salvation.” But faith is also the absolute trust that with God’s help we can live God’s intended wellbeing as of now. Therefore, God’s salvation is a reality as of now. We can live a joyous life. We can live in harmony. We can live loving and forgiving others. We can live in peace. We can find strength in God. So, living God’s salvation is possible as of today through faith in God. In the New Testament, this potential and promise of living out God’s shalom—his intended well-being is called “living in Christ.” And we live in Christ.
Therefore, faith is the living evidence of the things we hope for. And, we are hoping for better things than what the present shoves to our faces or the world’s status quo tells us that the present condition is everything there is to this life, so take it or leave it. However, in the context of Hebrews, a better state of things comes about through Divine and human collaborative work. Chapter 11 is a compendium of ancient faith heroes who achieved feats through faith. They were convinced that their present condition was not the will of God for them. Thus, in their trust in God, their “weakness was turned to strength, says verse 34. They looked ahead in faith and believed God was on their side. They looked ahead for better and lasting things; thus, they acted in faith.
The word “better” appears 41 times in the New Testament, but more than a quarter of those times appear in this Letter to the Hebrews. In Hebrews, the author speaks about better sacrifices, better promises, a better hope, a better resurrection, a better country, and better and lasting possessions. It is in that context that faith is presented. Faith is the assurance, substance, confidence, the reality of what we hope for. Faith directs the vision forward. Faith and hope are the key ingredients for a church that is envisioning something better. Faith and hope are what make the present reality, the present state of affairs, and the present ways of doing things not good enough anymore. Faith gives birth to a craving and desire to work for something better, to move to a better place. But let me tell you that the sense of inconformity with the present state of things is not because we are adventurers, but because our faith originates from God, who envisioned the world before it ever came into being. Faith and hope are the turbines that propel a church to renewal and new life. Our faith prompts us to a forward-looking hope that originates from the one who is able to call things into existence, to call things that were not into a new reality. That is the faith God has given you. That is the faith that is moving us today. That is the conviction we have of things not seen yet, but which we are hoping and will be working for. God is calling us forward, and I pray that we respond obediently and trustingly—in faith. Amen!
Items for Discussion:
In the next five years, what do you want to see us doing when we come together for worship? What do you believe will better/improve the communal expressions/experience of worship?
Pastor Romero