TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you,5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.9 For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

"MODELS WANTED! JOB ASSIGNMENTS EVERYWHERE"
(modified from sermon originally preached in '96)
TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22

Models.
They are constantly before us. Here in New York, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the country. This is the city of glitz and glamour. I had not lived here long before I realized the impact that fashion models have on everyday life. Beauty is everywhere beckoning us to have a certain physical appearance. Urging us to wear the right designer clothes-and if we can't afford those at least an imitation of the real thing.

Soft, sultry, beckoning. Modeling agencies abound in this city. I get caught up in it without even meaning to do so.

How many of you have "head shots" readily available? There is money to be made in this city if one has the right look. There are head models, hair models, hand models, foot models. You name it, there is a model for it. When I used to go with John to auditions I never ceased to be amazed at how many parents were caught up in the bankability of their children. Portfolios to kill. I look into the mirror and wonder-what would it take for me to look like that fellow modeling the suit from Bergoff-Goodman?

Then there are the athletic models to emulate. The Political models to call up from the past for endorsement appeals. The acting teachers, the financial wizards, the college professors….

So you want to be a model? Well, regardless of whether you think of yourself as a model or not, a model you are! Like me, you may not be the glamour model of the fashion district or the model of athletic grace and skill or the model of financial entrepreneurship for young MBA's, but you are a model. The way that you live your life directly impacts the way that others who watch you determine how they will live their lives. And you don't even have to pay an agent. The real question is this: " what kind of life am I modeling?"

The apostle Paul had something to say about that very subject.

How do we best learn how to live and how to act? Through education? Through our church? Through Bible study? Through listening to sermons? Well, as effective means for teaching Christian living while each of those can be helpful and is important in their own individual ways, none of them are as far-reaching or effective as modeling-Christians demonstrating in their own lives what it means to be believers.

This is what Paul demonstrated to the Christian community that was developing at Thessalonica. (v. 5)

This is what the Thessalonians were, in turn, modeling to the believers of Macedonia and Achaia. (v. 8)

These women and men modeled Christian faith before their community in the lives which they lived. They modeled steadfastness by building their character upon the hope which they held in Christ They modeled sacrificial love as they labored in their care for one another. They were models worth emulating.

And they were people who were willing to pay the price for that life style. Becoming a model in any area of endeavor carries with it a price tag. Paul states that the disciples in Thessalonica modeled Christian discipleship in spite of persecution. They paid the price.

Ask any one who is regarded as a model in their chosen field of endeavor and they will tell you that they didn't get to where they are without paying a price.
EXAMPLES

But also models get paid. Again, ask anyone and they will tell you that with the price there came a reward.

For the disciple the reward is an unmeasurable joy-a joy given by, or inspired as Paul states, by the Holy Spirit of God. And that joy leads to an ultimate payoff or prize-our rescue by Jesus from a "wrath that is coming."

Paul began this letter to the Thessalonians by taking the time to give thanks to God for those who have decided that they were going to model Christian discipleship to others. At other places he names names. October is the month that Metro members focus on remembering that which has gone before us preparing the way for our own discipleship and is the month that we focus on dedicating ourselves anew to Christian discipleship through the ministry of this church and in the places where we live our daily lives.

With that in mind, I want us to take a moment to a few moments to give thanks for those who have served as models in our lives.------------------------ (mom and dad, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mr. Green, Ed Christman, Max Bryan, Wayne Oates, Glenn Hinson, Carman Sharp, Dr. Van to name a few personal models)

I have often heard folk excuse their behavior by saying, "Well I'm not Christ, so what do you expect of me." Well maybe they are right. It is hard to live up to the high standards of Christ. But just maybe, it would be possible to live up to the standards of those whose memory we hold dear for the ways in which they modeled Christ to us. And if we can be as those models than just maybe we can even improve upon the examples left us. After all they would have wanted us to do so. So I ask you, Do you want to be a model-a model of Christian discipleship? There are places everywhere that such models are needed. The possibilities are limitless.

Well, for better or worse, good or ill, you already are, so let's get on with the program and dedicate ourselves anew to be models of discipleship worthy of immolation.