Gail Stathis Prayer

Good morning. I’m really glad to be with you today. It’s a very interesting morning. Last night there was a group of people from all over Greece, that came to celebrate the Sandas family. It’s been such a joy to have this family with us. They’re going to be moving back to Norway. But they’re going to be with us a few more weeks, right? So, we’ll have a Sunday morning where we’ll just get to hear from some of you, what a blessing it’s been to have them with us.
This is also a morning of a sad celebration, it is a celebration, but some celebrations come with a little sadness. Just a few minutes before Eva-Lena arrived at church this morning, she learned that her father has passed away. He is now in a most wonderful place, forever and ever Amen. And we celebrate that, but it is a period of separation. And one day, we will be together forever and ever and ever. Amen.
When I was a little girl, I learned a song, and it said, ‘Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory, and grace. I will see, my Savior’s face. Heaven is a wonderful place.’ So, would you begin with me today, that we just pray that the peace of the Lord on the family. We know where the father is, and that there will be a sense of thanksgiving that he’s in. forever and ever, the presence of the Lord.
Heavenly Father. We thank you this morning, we thank you Lord, that this side of heaven, there are moments, Lord, that we are privileged, dear Lord, to remember just truly that we are just passing through. We have such a short amount of time. 98 years old, that’s seems like a lot of years and it is. But Oh Lord, compared to eternity, it’s just a breath. It’s just a twinkling of an eye, it’s just a moment, a blip on the radar screen. And we are so thankful for this life, Lord, every moment we’ve met Billy and Eva-Lena, what an amazing family this has been. He pastored; he served you for years in Sweden. So, now we want to join with the family saying, ‘Thank You Lord, that heaven has opened the gates Lord, to receive another warrior, and the battle is over. He’s in Your presence with peace forever and ever Lord. So, God, we just pray for Billy and Eva-Lena, to have the peace of the Lord that her father is now in Your arms and we give You grace. In the name of Jesus.
Interesting Scriptures that I chose to read today. There are Bibles on the chairs, if you would like to read a paper Bible. Those that are visiting today, we’re encouraging our people to go back to book Bibles. It is amazing how many people who have used just their cell phone, have forgotten where the books of the Bible are, because it doesn’t show it in the big page. So, we do have some Bibles on the chairs around if you like.
The first Scripture, Psalm 42:8,11, “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life… Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
And then I would like to read Jeremiah 31:23,25,26, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, oh righteous dwelling, oh sacred mountain.’… I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.”
Would you stand. ‘Thank You Lord for Your Word. Thank You Lord, You refresh. Thank You Lord, You are our song. Thank You Lord, with each new day. Lord, we know You’re there. You’ve already entered the day, You will be with us through the day and You will lead into the next day, as we give You glory, and say You are the King of our lives. Oh, thank You Lord.’
Let us sing ‘As morning dawns.’

Billy Hellmark Main Message

So, good morning to all. Considering the news we had this morning, everyone will probably not know because you came late, or we started early, but I will tell what the news is. Considering that it’s risky to have the two of us here (Stavros and Billy). Those who know Stavros, and his heart, and maybe me as well; on the way here, just ten minutes before we arrived, we had the news that Eva-Lena’s father had passed away, and he has been like a father to me as well for 43 years, I think. So, it’s a bit difficult. And, I’m supposed to be on the Church today. But I think it fits quite well. Because, it’s at a time like this that we need each other. So, we’ll see how this goes, if it will be a short sermon with lots of tears.
I don’t know what you think when you hear the word ‘Church’. I think for some of us we had some bad experiences and it’s not a positive thing to think about Church. But for me it’s something wonderful, amazing. It’s a place to love, because of the people, people like you, and even more so because of God.
The Church is, in a sense where God meets humanity. He’s creating a new community, where He’s present. So, He’s here. He’s everywhere and He’s here in a special way, when we gather. And some people say, ‘Well, I can be a Christian without the Church.’ And I think you can say yes and you can say no.
One of the early Church fathers said that, ‘There is no salvation outside the Church.’ And maybe meaning this Church, the right Church. I don’t think that we should draw these borders. But part of the parcel when you experience salvation, is to become part of a community of believers. Salvation is an offer that we have to give a response to individually. So, when we do, we become part of this community. This beautiful, crazy, strange community. And we don’t really have a choice; we are a part of it, part of each other.
We cannot choose our family. And in the same way, we cannot choose God’s family. Of course, we can distance ourselves. Which happens sometimes in natural families. But we’re still part of the family. So, yes, you can be a Christian without the Church. But even more so, no, I would say. A small yes and a big NO.
Salvation is something we are created and purposed to experience together. “…Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17). And I hope that you feel that you are a part of this family. And this family is full of life. Because God is full of life. God, the Trinity, is life, and life flows from Him. And through the Church, we are invited to share in this life.
In the community center, where I spend a lot of my time, downtown in Athens, a friend of ours painted a huge picture on the wall. Actually, it’s an ancient motive, but it is three persons sitting at a table, and on the side closest to the person that is watching, is empty. The idea behind this is that this is God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, sitting at this table, and there’s an empty space, where we are invited to sit down with God Himself. And I think it is a beautiful picture, even of the Church, that God is there, and is inviting us to share the fellowship, to share the table with Him. So, this is what the Church can and ought to be.
Let’s read something from Ephesians 2:19-22, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
We can learn a lot from these verses. That we are no longer foreigners and strangers, that we are fellow citizens with God’s people, we are members of His household. We become part of His family. It’s built on the foundation of Apostles, Prophets, it has a long history. But it’s not built on the Apostles, it’s not built on the Prophets. It’s built on Jesus Christ. In Him, the whole building is joined together, and to ‘become a holy temple in the Lord’, it says. And the purpose is that we should be built together, to become a dwelling, a house in which God lives by His Spirit.
Many times, we think what do Churches do? Well, we do a lot of things. But what defines us is not so much ‘what we do’, but more ‘who we are.’ And we are to be where God Himself lives. Built not with bricks, but with living stones. God has His plans how He wants to build His house. But He’s building it with living stones. That must be challenging. Because with stones, you just take a stone and you place where you want it to be, and it stays there. Living stones have a life. They have an opinion; have a will of their own. But God is building with living stones. And it will be something beautiful, it is something beautiful. Even if the stones don’t always co-operate with the builder.
A few years ago, we were looking for a new place to live; we were going to move and we needed a place. So, we were looking at many different places. And then Eva-Lena saw a picture of a wall; really the inside wall of the house. And it was stones, very old stones. It was a very old building. They all looked different, small ones, big ones, different colors. Lots of cement to make it, how do you say, to fit together. But she fell in love with the picture of this wall. So, we ended up getting that place.
It was a beautiful stonework. How does it fit together with all these different stones? How does it become stable and strong? Lots of cement. To fill in the gaps; maybe two stones don’t really fit together, but the cement covers the hole. This building with living stones, they all look very different. Just look around, they all look very different. Different shapes, different colors. They don’t always look like they will fit together. But when God is building, He uses a cement, and that cement is love. And that’s what holds us together.
So, this house that we are building, that God is building, that we are supposed to be a house where He can be, where He can live. He’s very generous and we should be very generous with this love; spreading the love, holding us together. And love is not always just a good feeling. You probably know that. You don’t always feel good when you meet your family. But this love consists of a commitment to each other, hope and faith, trust, believing the best about each other. And it’s a beautiful building.
And I hope that the way Eva-Lena saw this beautiful picture on the wall, you will catch a glimpse of the building that God is building. To provoke a love, a desire for this house to be built. To understand the privilege that we are together to be a place where God lives. Church is not a museum, or a library or a school. Sometimes we say that church is a hospital; I like the idea. We are not perfect, and God heals us, He restores us. But even more than a hospital, it is a building where God Himself will live.
And God has put us together for a reason. Last night some of us said goodbye to a family, and we will say goodbye some more times to the Sandas family. Today we take our goodbye of our father. When we leave the Church, or when someone leaves the Church, it affects the Church. We’re going to miss you guys, but the Lord is taking you somewhere else to build, to be part of a building. He knows what is best. And there are new stones coming in; little stones.
So, we don’t just live for ourselves. We are so trained today in this society that I make my own decisions; I live my own life; I do what I want. If we are part of a family, we know that that is not how it works in a family. If we are part of a Church, we know it’s not true. What we do affects others. And what they do affects me. So, we need to use a lot of that ‘cement’ – of love. If something breaks, let’s not just leave and do what we think is best. Let’s cover those holes or cracks, so that we can become what God wants.
A Church is a place to love and be loved. All stones are needed. Each has a purpose. You have a purpose. And it’s true. It’s not just something we say. Each one of us have a gift. But we are not just needed or wanted because we have a gift. You are needed or you are wanted, because you are you.
I think I will say something more. I will keep this short. But can sound all so introspective in a way. We are here to be the building or the house of God. But we are to be the house of God, for the sake of this world. You know, in the Old Testament, when they had a Tabernacle, that’s where God’s presence dwelled. It went with the people through the desert. And in the same way, we are called as God’s house, to be with people, to be among people, to allow His presence to be among the people. People need to know how they should live; they need wisdom from God. They need a lot of things from God. And we are called to share that as much as we can.
But they need to know more than anything else that God has not forsaken this world. He came here and He’s still here; lives and walks among us. So, God’s presence in this world, that’s where we can serve. So, often we say this, ‘Jesus is inviting us to follow Him, to invite Him into our lives, to ask Him to forgive our sins, but He’s also inviting us to become part of His building.’ That’s the highest calling we can have to together become a place where God lives. To create a home for God. To be the building where He lives. And we know that one day we will be with Him forever. But even here, we are called to be a part of His building where God Himself lives.
And to me, I think that’s the highest calling I can think of; the most beautiful thing. That God takes these stones, some of them are cracked; probably all of them have some cracks, and if you look at it maybe you think, ‘What can I use this for?’ But in the hands of God, He takes them and looks to see where can He fit them. He fixes what needs to be fixed; He’s building a home, a home for Himself. And that’s us.
So, think about this. God is calling you, not just to be saved, to know forgiveness of sins, to follow Him, but to be a place where God Himself lives. So, that’s a few thoughts about Church for today. And we didn’t cry too much. I want you to just think about that today. Don’t just sit back and think, ‘Oh, I’ve got it all figured out; I know I’m on my way to heaven; that’s it.’ But God is calling us to life here, to create a home for God Himself. A home that is beautiful, that is open and inviting others to come. There are a lot of people around us that are longing for something that will bring healing, that will bring meaning to their lives. So, God is calling you to be a part of this building. Amen.

Gail Statis

It’s a great day. If you’ve never asked Jesus into your life, there’s no better day than today. And as I was sitting there, thank you Billy and thank you so much for a great word, I was thinking again about separation from families, or separated for a while, and some people who never get married, and they think they’ve missed something. Did you know, there’s no marriage in heaven, you’re not going to be married in heaven. At least, not to another person, like here. But we will be married in heaven, and do you know who we are going to be married to? We’ll be married to Jesus. And that one lasts forever. You get to stay with Him forever.
And the wonder of it all is, that it’s a perfect marriage. In the weeks to come, we’ll talk a little about the difference between the Church and the Kingdom. They are different. And talk about this beautiful thing called the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ.
And today for Eva-Lena, and Billy, and for the rest of us, that maybe you’ve had a difficult week, or there might be something, because you know there is always going to be some difficulty ahead, but let’s tell Him today, ‘Oh Lord, You are my strength, and You are my song.’ The Lord can wake us up in the middle of the night, and give us the most amazing hymn, song. Would you please stand with me.