Not every single thing in my life is exactly the way I want it to be right now. And so, what I thought about doing was running the list for you. I look at the list every day, and I frequently revise it. I mean, after all, you never can tell when something else is going to go awry and when you’ll therefore be able to add to your carefully composed list of all that’s not right. So, my list of all the things in my life that aren’t exactly the way I want them to be right now contains about 473 items. Yes, I understand that it will take me a while to read that list to you.

This morning at Embry Hills, we bring to a conclusion what has been for me a meaningful journey through The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Having considered Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, and Risk-Taking Mission and Service, we turn our attention today to the fruit of Extravagant Generosity.

Our journey through the fruits of effective congregations continues today here at Embry Hills. We’ve considered the fruits of radical hospitality, passionate worship, and intentional faith development. This morning, we ponder what it means to practice the fruit of risk-taking mission and service.

This morning at Embry Hills, we continue our journey through “The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.” Now, if this is your first Sunday here, or if you’ve been sleeping through worship over the past two Sundays, the “five practices” refers to a book by a United Methodist Bishop named Schnase, who suggests that every effective congregation, regardless of size or denomination or style, has five behaviors in common. Having tasted from the fruits of Radical Hospitality and Passionate Worship, we turn our attention this morning to Intentional Faith Development.

This morning at Embry Hills, we continue what we started last week—a five Sunday look at the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, which happens to be the title of a recent, very popular book by United Methodist Bishop Robert Schnase. And, as we look week by week at the five fruits that Bishop Schnase mentions, we do so within the framework of some of Jesus’ words from the Gospel of John. “You did not choose me, but I chose you. And, I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

This morning at Embry Hills, we begin a five-week series of worship services, during which we will focus on the five practices of fruitful congregations. This idea comes from a really helpful book written by Bishop Robert Schnase of the Missouri Area of The United Methodist Church.