Bible Text: Luke 1:26\u201345 +2:16\u201320, John 2:1\u201310; 19:25 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | The church needs both intro\u00adverts and extro\u00adverts to act thoughtful\u00adly! Two ser\u00admons deal with the inter\u00adac\u00adtion of peo\u00adp\u00adle with the\u00adse two per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons. Mary, the mother of Jesus, shows some distinct\u00adly intro\u00adver\u00adted cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adristics. Today the focus is on intro\u00adverts. They are chal\u00adlen\u00adged to grow into spi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly and emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly matu\u00adre people.<\/p>\n
Four weeks ago Debo\u00adra Som\u00admer was with us and pre\u00ada\u00adched on the the\u00adme \u00abCurtain up for quiet Chris\u00adti\u00adans\u00bb. I have been working on this topic for about a year and have the con\u00adcern that see\u00adtal chi\u00adle beco\u00admes a good home for all \u2013 for extro\u00adverts and introverts. \tDo you also con\u00adsider Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be rather intro\u00adver\u00adted? What speaks for this? Did God spe\u00adci\u00adfi\u00adcal\u00adly choo\u00adse a rather intro\u00adver\u00adted per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty for this mission? Bible Text: Luke 1:26\u201345 +2:16\u201320, John 2:1\u201310; 19:25 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | The church needs both intro\u00adverts and extro\u00adverts to act thoughtful\u00adly! Two ser\u00admons deal with the inter\u00adac\u00adtion of peo\u00adp\u00adle with the\u00adse two per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons. Mary, the mother of Jesus, shows some distinct\u00adly intro\u00adver\u00adted cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adristics. Today\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[53],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-willkommen-daheim","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-2522","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nAs I am most\u00adly intro\u00adver\u00adted, it has always been important to me that our events are desi\u00adgned in such a way that visi\u00adtors can feel 100% safe at all times. That\u2019s why we don\u2019t have any calls to greet and com\u00adpli\u00adment the per\u00adson next to you, to pray in groups and also no hall inter\u00adviews. For me, it would be bad if I had to spon\u00adta\u00adneous\u00adly ans\u00adwer a ques\u00adti\u00adon in front of ever\u00adyo\u00adne. I think we are basi\u00adcal\u00adly \u00abintro\u00adsen\u00adsi\u00adti\u00adve\u00bb. And yet someone told me recent\u00adly that she would never approach anyo\u00adne in info egge. Ano\u00adther stron\u00adgly intro\u00adver\u00adted per\u00adson told me that she was so glad for the bis\u00adtro. The\u00adre she does\u00adn\u2019t have to join the crowds and can lea\u00adve unmo\u00adle\u00adsted at the end of the service.
\nDuring the first years as a pas\u00adtor, I felt bad about my intro\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon. In the back of my mind I car\u00adri\u00aded the ide\u00adal that a pas\u00adtor had to be invol\u00adved in an asso\u00adcia\u00adti\u00adon, at least in the fire bri\u00adga\u00adde, in order to have cont\u00adact with peo\u00adp\u00adle. For me, howe\u00adver, it is essen\u00adti\u00adal for sur\u00advi\u00adval to spend an evening in my \u00abcave\u00bb wit\u00adhout a church appoint\u00adment. That\u2019s the only way I can keep my ener\u00adgy levels up.
\nBeha\u00adviou\u00adral pat\u00adterns of intros
\nA very good exam\u00adp\u00adle of an intro\u00advert is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is still a teen\u00adager when an angel comes to her with the chal\u00adlen\u00adging mes\u00adsa\u00adge that she would beco\u00adme pregnant by the Holy Spi\u00adrit and give birth to a boy named Jesus. He would be the pro\u00admi\u00adsed Saviour. Mary agrees.
\nHer gre\u00adat ans\u00adwer is: \u00abI am the ser\u00advant of the Lord and bow to his will. May all that you have said come true and be done to me\u00bb (Luke 1:38 NL<\/span>). It is of cour\u00adse inge\u00adnious and right for someone to call hers\u00adelf the ser\u00advant of the Lord and to bow to his will. To say such a thing in this excee\u00addin\u00adgly gre\u00adat chall\u00adenge is sim\u00adply exem\u00adpla\u00adry. Mary pro\u00adves here her gre\u00adat faithful\u00adness to God. Intros, howe\u00adver, like to tip the sca\u00adles and are some\u00adti\u00admes sub\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adve to peo\u00adp\u00adle in an unp\u00adlea\u00adsant way. Yes, not infre\u00adquent\u00adly they even slip into a vic\u00adtim role and feel sor\u00adry for themselves.
\nBut then Mary lea\u00adves the city whe\u00adre she lived and goes to a remo\u00adte vil\u00adla\u00adge in the hill coun\u00adtry of Judea. \u00abFor about three months Mary stay\u00aded with Eliza\u00adbeth and then retur\u00adned home\u00bb (Luke 1:56 NL<\/span>). Mary takes a three-month time\u00adout with her rela\u00adti\u00adve (pre\u00adsu\u00adma\u00adb\u00adly cou\u00adsin) Eliza\u00adbeth to pro\u00adcess the who\u00adle sto\u00adry. This is typi\u00adcal beha\u00adviour for an intro\u00advert. She needs quiet and retre\u00adat to think through a situa\u00adti\u00adon and come to terms with it.
\nThen comes the time of the birth. Mary gives birth to Jesus in a sta\u00adble. The she\u00adp\u00adherds come from the field and then it says: \u00abThen the she\u00adp\u00adherds told ever\u00adyo\u00adne what had hap\u00adpen\u00aded and what the angel had told them about this child. All the peo\u00adp\u00adle who heard the she\u00adp\u00adherds\u00bb account were fil\u00adled with won\u00adder. But Mary kept all the\u00adse things in her heart and often pon\u00adde\u00adred them\u00bb (Luke 2:17\u201319 NL<\/span>). Mary does not imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly burst into jubi\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon and shout \u00abHal\u00adle\u00adlu\u00adjah!\u00bb loud\u00adly. She hears ever\u00ady\u00adthing and thinks it through in her heart. A few years later, when Jesus is lost in the temp\u00adle, the Bible text says again: \u00abThen he retur\u00adned with them to Naza\u00adreth and was an obe\u00addient son to them. His mother kept all the\u00adse things in her heart\u00bb (Luke 2:51 NL<\/span>). Intro\u00adverts think a lot and need time to do so. Out\u00adward\u00adly they may not show many emo\u00adti\u00adons, but in their inner world the\u00adre is an immense amount happening.
\nThe dan\u00adger for intros is that they stay thin\u00adking and don\u2019t say things. But that\u2019s not the case with Maria. She speaks things out, and she speaks them out cle\u00adar\u00adly. At the wed\u00adding at Cana, to which Jesus, his fri\u00adends and his mother are invi\u00adted, this beco\u00admes clear. The wine runs out. This is quite embar\u00adras\u00adsing for the host. Mary gives Jesus to under\u00adstand that he could help in this situa\u00adti\u00adon. And then comes a sen\u00adtence that is so simp\u00adle that the depth of it is often over\u00adloo\u00adked. \u00abBut his mother ins\u00adtruc\u00adted the ser\u00advants, \u00abDo wha\u00adte\u00adver he com\u00admands you.\u00bb \u00bb (John 2:5 NL<\/span>). Intro\u00adverts are peo\u00adp\u00adle who don\u2019t need many words, but what they say is thoughtful and clear. Mary had kept ever\u00ady\u00adthing she had seen of Jesus so far in her heart and thought it through. She had come to the con\u00adclu\u00adsi\u00adon that Jesus is inde\u00aded the pro\u00admi\u00adsed Saviour, the Son of God. The\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre, she could now cle\u00adar\u00adly say: What real\u00adly counts is that you lis\u00adten to Jesus and do what he says.
\nIn the rest of the sto\u00adry, Maria does not appear very often. The reason for this is per\u00adhaps her intro\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon. But at the very end, when Jesus was alre\u00ada\u00addy arres\u00adted, mocked and nai\u00adled to the cross, we meet her again. \u00abNear the cross stood Jesus\u00bb mother and her sis\u00adter, and Mary the wife of Clo\u00adpas, and Mary Mag\u00adda\u00adle\u00adne\u00bb (John 19:25 NL<\/span>). In this most dif\u00adfi\u00adcult hour of Jesus, it is not the extro\u00adver\u00adted Peter who is pre\u00adsent, but the intro\u00adver\u00adted Mary. She does not run away or hide as the other disci\u00adples did. Her thoughtful, deep and unam\u00adbi\u00adguous faith leads her to endu\u00adre this ter\u00adri\u00adble ago\u00adny here at this moment. She will also be one of the first to know about the resurrection.
\nIt is a cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adristic of intro\u00adverts that they show a lot of per\u00adse\u00adver\u00adance. Once they are con\u00advin\u00adced of some\u00adthing, they stand by it.
\nChal\u00adlenges for intros
\nSpi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly-emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly matu\u00adre intros lea\u00adve the vic\u00adtim role and take responsibility.
\nImma\u00adtu\u00adre intro\u00adverts tend to with\u00addraw aggrie\u00adved when they feel over\u00adloo\u00adked, igno\u00adred and unwel\u00adco\u00adme. Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, it is very easy for intro\u00adverts to be over\u00adloo\u00adked becau\u00adse they will go to any length to avo\u00adid being noti\u00adced. If I want to be per\u00adcei\u00adved as an intro\u00advert, I have to be wil\u00adling to lea\u00adve the vic\u00adtim role and take respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty. I have to be rea\u00addy to lea\u00adve my safe hiding place in the shell and beco\u00adme visi\u00adble. It is not the atten\u00adti\u00adon of extro\u00adverts that gives value to my intro\u00adver\u00adted being, but the Crea\u00adtor Hims\u00adelf. I am won\u00adderful\u00adly crea\u00adted the way I am. And I want to remem\u00adber that even with my intro\u00adver\u00adted natu\u00adre, I am chal\u00adlen\u00adged to ser\u00adve others with my gifts.
\nLast week I was at the Jubi\u00adlee cele\u00adbra\u00adti\u00adon at Chrisch\u00ado\u00adna. In a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon with a for\u00admer class\u00adma\u00adte, I asked if his three child\u00adren were con\u00adnec\u00adted to a church. He ans\u00adwe\u00adred in the nega\u00adti\u00adve. The\u00adre had been a few domi\u00adnant peo\u00adp\u00adle who had set the pace in the youth work. His child\u00adren were rather quiet. When the par\u00adents tried to rai\u00adse the issue with the lea\u00adders, they were told that the\u00adre was room for ever\u00adyo\u00adne in their youth work. Obvious\u00adly, it is very dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for extro\u00adverts to enter and under\u00adstand the world of intro\u00adverts. How can our groups nevert\u00adhel\u00adess beco\u00adme a good place also for intro\u00adverts? On the one hand, as I said, intro\u00adverts need to take respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty and learn to take their place. On the other hand, it pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly takes matu\u00adre intro\u00adverts who have alre\u00ada\u00addy taken this step to pave the way for others with under\u00adstan\u00adding and patience.
\nSpi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly-emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly matu\u00adre intro\u00adverts app\u00adre\u00adcia\u00adte the strengths of extroverts.
\nSome\u00adti\u00admes I vacil\u00adla\u00adte bet\u00adween reg\u00adret\u00adting not being as extro\u00adver\u00adted as others and accu\u00adsing them of being too loud, rash and per\u00adhaps even incon\u00adside\u00adra\u00adte. Intro\u00adverts often think through their actions and decis\u00adi\u00adons well. It hap\u00adpens again and again that an ext\u00adro comes along and brings cle\u00adver sug\u00adges\u00adti\u00adons. When con\u00adfron\u00adted with such sug\u00adges\u00adti\u00adons, I some\u00adti\u00admes react very cagi\u00adly becau\u00adse ever\u00ady\u00adthing has been thought through and I assu\u00adme that an extro\u00adver\u00adted per\u00adson sim\u00adply thinks too litt\u00adle. For the other per\u00adson, on the other hand, it\u2019s fur\u00adther pro\u00adof that I\u2019m stuck. What seems incon\u00adside\u00adra\u00adte in the eyes of the intros in need of harm\u00ado\u00adny is honest beha\u00adviour from the point of view of the extros, which is quite appro\u00adpria\u00adte and even urgen\u00adtly nee\u00added. The Church needs both so that it can act thoughtfully!
\nSpi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly-emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly matu\u00adre intros share respectful\u00adly and give extro\u00adverts a chan\u00adce to respond.
\nIn the Pla\u00adto\u00adnic dia\u00adlo\u00adgue, Socra\u00adtes asks his interlo\u00adcu\u00adtor: \u00abSpeak so that I may see you\u00bb. This sen\u00adtence reminds intro\u00adverts that some\u00adti\u00admes even quiet peo\u00adp\u00adle should open their mouths: for them\u00adsel\u00adves, for their con\u00advic\u00adtions and insights, but also for the bene\u00adfit of other peo\u00adp\u00adle. Becau\u00adse they too have some\u00adthing to say. It is gra\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading when extro\u00adverts try to draw intro\u00adverts out. But intro\u00adverts should learn to come out of the clo\u00adset even wit\u00adhout an invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon. Too often I still have the impres\u00adsi\u00adon that the peo\u00adp\u00adle around me \u2013 be it the wife, the child\u00adren or co-workers \u2013 have to noti\u00adce for them\u00adsel\u00adves what I think and expect from them. Simi\u00adlar\u00adly, I have beco\u00adme accus\u00adto\u00admed to word\u00adless com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon and ear\u00adly in life con\u00addi\u00adtio\u00adned the mot\u00adto: \u00abI\u2019ll pro\u00adve it to you.\u00bb
\nHere in the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty the\u00adre are very quiet older peo\u00adp\u00adle who would never demand that I visit them again. I find it a chall\u00adenge to tre\u00adat them as equ\u00adals to the others who come for\u00adward and demand.
\n
\nSpi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly-emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly matu\u00adre intros dare com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adon and at the same time remain true to themselves.
\nIntro\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon is not an excu\u00adse in the sen\u00adse of, \u00abOh, you know, I\u2019m just an intro\u00advert, so I can\u2019t main\u00adtain rela\u00adti\u00adonships and do minis\u00adtry in my church.\u00bb Intro\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adses how I am, but does not defi\u00adne who I am. The injunc\u00adtions of the Bible app\u00adly to all peo\u00adp\u00adle. And as long as we are breathing, we are chal\u00adlen\u00adged to ali\u00adgn our\u00adsel\u00adves with Jesus and let him chan\u00adge us. This includes taking to heart what God also cares about; for exam\u00adp\u00adle, rela\u00adti\u00adonships and com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty. Tog\u00ade\u00adther we are cal\u00adled to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13f). Tog\u00ade\u00adther we are cal\u00adled to go into all the world and pro\u00adcla\u00adim the good news of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15). Many think of this as han\u00adding out tracts at the train sta\u00adti\u00adon, street out\u00adreach or events to invi\u00adte peo\u00adp\u00adle who are distant from the church. All this is a tor\u00adment for intro\u00adverts and a source of bad con\u00adsci\u00adence. We can learn a lot from Mary here. She does not make many words, but tri\u00ades to bring peo\u00adp\u00adle into cont\u00adact with Jesus. We too should not feel the need to \u00abevan\u00adge\u00adli\u00adse\u00bb but rather have the desi\u00adre to bring our fri\u00adends into cont\u00adact with Jesus becau\u00adse we love them and expect Jesus to be able to real\u00adly help them. If we under\u00adstand evan\u00adge\u00adlism again as a loving ser\u00advice and brin\u00adging Jesus into cont\u00adact with our fri\u00adends, then even intro\u00adverts can make a dif\u00adfe\u00adrence. I am allo\u00adwed to remain true to mys\u00adelf and do not have to bend. I can stand by my limits and needs. And I am allo\u00adwed to say no wit\u00adhout a guil\u00adty con\u00adsci\u00adence and flim\u00adsy expl\u00adana\u00adti\u00adons. As an intro\u00advert, I can some\u00adti\u00admes remain invi\u00adsi\u00adble and then con\u00adscious\u00adly beco\u00adme visi\u00adble again.
\n
\nThe sto\u00adry of Mary shows that God also wri\u00adtes histo\u00adry with intro\u00adverts and that even intro\u00adverts can beco\u00adme world chan\u00adgers. The sto\u00adry of Mary beg\u00adins with the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing sen\u00adtence from the angel Gabri\u00adel: \u00abGree\u00adtings! You have been bles\u00adsed with gre\u00adat grace! The Lord is with you!\u00bb (Luke 1:28 NL<\/span>). No mat\u00adter what your per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty is, God wan\u00adted you! He also says to you, \u00abI have given you grace and have tur\u00adned to you.\u00bb God wants to use you as you are! And at the same time chan\u00adge you into his image. He does this espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly in the encoun\u00adter with dif\u00adfe\u00adrent personalities.
\n
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead Bible text: Luke 1:26\u201345 +2:16\u201320<\/p>\n
\n\tAre you satis\u00adfied with your per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty? Whe\u00adre would you like to expand your territory?
\n\tDo you agree that we in see\u00adtal chi\u00adle are \u00abintro\u00adsen\u00adsi\u00adti\u00adve\u00bb? What argu\u00adments could you use to sup\u00adport this the\u00adsis? What speaks a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent language?
\n\tFor extros: How could you effec\u00adtively sup\u00adport intro\u00adverts in our community?
\n\tFor intros: In which of the four points men\u00adtio\u00adned do you want to matu\u00adre? How do you tack\u00adle it?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"