I Preached Today

For 21 years in Redwood City, California, I preached almost every Sunday and Sunday evening.  I think I preached 1,995 sermons.  I thoroughly enjoyed preaching - sermon preparation was an opportunity to be creative, to burn with the need to communicate something of great importance to people's lives, to draw people to Jesus, to teach grace.

For the past 20 years in Nairobi I have preached very little - a few sermons at the congregation in Eastleigh while I was Director of the computer and electronics college, a few sermons at various churches we visited among the villages in Kenya, a few sermons in Nairobi congregations.  I found myself wanting the young men I know and love to have opportunity to preach, opportunity to grow and be creative and teach grace.

For the past 9 years at Kamulu Francis Mbuvi has been the preacher.  We work together - each week I prepare notes on the passage we use and share them with him, then I teach the Sunday morning class on the same passage.

This week Francis said that since today was to be our last Sunday for a while, as we will go back to a Texas Christmas, he wanted me to preach.  So of course I said "Yes!"

This year we have taught and preached through the book of Acts, a chapter a Sunday.  Now we are following that up with studies of Paul's companions.  We covered Timothy and Titus, and today's person is Epaphras.  I thoroughly enjoyed both teaching and preaching about him.  I reminded them that there is no one in Kamulu named Epaphras, and I asked if anyone had ever known a person with that name.  Maybe there is no one in the world today named Epaphras, not that I would know all however many billion we are now.   I looked at all the passages about Epaphras (Philemon 23-24, Colossians 1:5-10 and Colossians 4:12-14) and found many good lessons for us.

• Philemon 23 tells us that Epaphras was in prison with Paul and he sent greetings to his home church.  But he did not send the message "Get me out of here" or "Get me a good lawyer"  or "Get some money and buy my way out of here."  He just sent greetings -- a man who accepted life as God gave it to him, who was willing to sit in prison with Paul for the sake of Christ.  
• Colossians 1:5-10 tells us that it was Epaphras who taught grace to the Colossians.  I asked everyone to "turn to a neighbor and tell him/her who taught you grace."  That was a good reminder to us to give thanks to God.  
• Colossians 1:5-10 is also Paul's prayer for the Colossians.  I asked them if they would like to have a better prayer life.  And I said, "If so, then read Colossians."  There is more about prayer in Colossians than almost any other Biblical writing.  Paul prays for them, then he prays again in chapter 1.  He tells them to give thanks to God.  He tells them to sing thanksgiving to God.  He reminds them again to always be thankful. 
• In Paul's prayer he reminds them that their trust in God and their love of God's people has come about through the hope they experienced in hearing the Good News.  And this hope means there is something kept safe in heaven for them.  I told them I would now meddle in their affairs.  Because every parent, and every person who plans to become a parent, has a responsibility in Christ to KEEP SOMETHING SAFE for others.  Paul writes that it is not children who save up for their parents, but parents who save up for their children.  So I warned them - if you want to be in Christ and please Christ, then plan to save up for your children, so they have something when they leave home.  I told them, "I know we are in Kenya."  And in Kenya there is the belief that if I have given birth, if I have raised children, if I have given a home to them, THEN, when they get a job, I can retire (I got a laugh out of that).  But if we ground out lives in the Word, then every week after a child is born, we put a little bit aside for them, just as Paul encouraged believers to put a little aside every Sunday for famine relief.  
• Then in Colossians 4:12-14 Paul tells us about Epaphras' prayer.  He prays for them, and the word used of his prayers is "like a wrestler" - Epaphras agonizes, he puts all his strength and energy into prayer, he sweats for them in his spirit.  I said "You may know about those Sumo wrestlers in Japan with the big bellies, bigger than traffic policeman (I got a really big laugh out of that one) - they rush at one another with great energy to push the other one out.  Why?  Because they want to win. And Epaphras wanted to win, with all his being. And he wanted the Colossians to win.  
• What does he pray for?  That they might "stand firm" (Joel led that Swahili song during worship).  That they might be absolutely, totally, fully assured in Christ (I mentioned that this is a very long word in Greek -- 16 letters - and it means he wanted them to know "bila shaka" (without doubt) that Christ is real and Lord and worth dying for and all they would ever need for life itself.  Then he prays that they will be completely obedient to God (I used the Good News translation -- amazing how different many of the translations are on this verse, as each tries to communicate the exact meaning of the passage).  

I closed the sermon with "Let Epaphras teach you how to pray...Let Epaphras teach you how to spread grace around...Let Epaphras teach you how to love."

The young man (Alex Atema) who shared at the time of the giving (Swahili: sadaka) wanted to talk about how life is always a "Good Day". He was speaking Swahili but said "Good Day".  The other young man translating into English (Edward Muhea) put the rest in English but said "siku nzuri" just as smooth as you please.  Alex talked about trying to get a bus to come to Kamulu after a week's schooling at Nairobi Great Commission School. There has been a strike by "matatu" (small bus) drivers and only a few were operating (at risk). He started to step on and they said, "150 shillings" (he had 70 with him for the trip), so he stepped back off and returned to school. But he said it was still "siku nzuri" because that is what God always gives us.  And we should count every day GOOD because we have that day.

A thoroughly wonderful day at Kamulu!  It rained during class and still there were 23.  And the building was almost full for the assembly.  And Joel led "O Little Town of Bethlehem."  He says he is getting us ready for a wonderful end of the year.

peace and joy, charles