Our Sunday Message

Saints Worthy of Imitating: Hebrews 13:7
Rev. Dr. Kenneth A. Corr
November 5, 2006
All Saints Sunday

  Today is All Saints Sunday in the Christian calendar. It is a day to celebrate all God’s children, living and dead. It is a time to remember those who have gone before us, “who have fought the good fight, who have finished the race, who have kept the faith.”
  But All Saints is not just a memorial service for the dead. It is also a renewal service for the living. It is a day to remember those who have gone before us so that we can imitate their faithfulness in Christian living. The writer of Hebrews said, “(become) imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”1
  The Greek word imitate is always used in a good sense. It is used in a continuous tense exhorting us to model and develop the habits of those who live well. “Remember your leaders,” the writer says, “those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”2
  The apostle Paul understood that we need to choose our models well. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul writes, “Now we command you, beloved, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us.”3 And so, All Saints Sunday is a chance to thank God for all the saints, living and dead, and to renew our efforts to imitate those who live well.
  This year, the ministerial staff decided to do something a little different. We recognize that this church has many examples of faithful Christian living. My Thinking Out Loud article reflects some of these examples. But we decided this year that we would recognize one: one that we all agreed is worthy of imitation, one whose life is exemplary in every way, one whose faithfulness and maturity is worthy of recognition.
  He will not want this recognition. He never seeks recognition. Most of what he does is behind the scenes and that is the way that he likes it. His personal reward is in serving. But the Bible says, “Give respect to whom respect is due; give honor to whom honor is due.”4 The Bible also says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor.”5 Today we are just obeying the Scripture.
And so, in spite of his humility, and because of his humility, we recognize this saint today as worthy of imitation in his service, his teaching, his faithfulness, his generosity, his faith, his love, his prayers. “Remember your leaders,” the Scripture says, “those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”6
  Henry Martin is a native of Virginia. He became a Christian at age eighteen. He graduated from Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, and later Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX. He served four years in the Coast Guard during WWII and then surrendered his life to foreign missions.
  Henry and Margaret served as a Southern Baptist missionaries in Nigeria for twenty-five years and returned to Memphis in 1980, where he joined the staff at First Baptist Church as Assistant to the Pastor, which is a wonderful euphemism for “doing whatever it takes to serve the church.”
  Henry retired from full-time ministry in 1992, but he has never retired from service. Henry is still active. He is
   • director of our Home Extension Department,
   • teacher in our adult Sunday School,
   • security volunteer in our Preschool,
   • and a regular visitor in the hospitals and nursing homes.
  I have asked Ray Hatton and Kris Azlin to share a personal word about Henry.
  Ray Hatton: I have known Henry and Margaret Martin for 20 years now, and they have been wonderful friends, caring for me and my family in many ways.  I worked with Henry Martin on staff here from my arrival in 1986 to his retirement in 1992.  I could tell you a lot of funny stories of things that happened during those years, but in keeping with our theme today, I want to tell you why Henry Martin is the model of a saint for me.
  Henry and I used to sit in his office early on weekday mornings before the other workers arrived.  In many ways, he has been one of my best mentors.  Our talks taught me many things, including:
Caring for people more than for programs
    Faithfulness and dependability
    Keeping confidences
    Being even-tempered during hard times
    Showing love by doing for others
  Henry has always been a doer of the word.  Even when he retired from our staff, he kept right on doing the little things that made such a difference: calling on shut-ins, visiting the sick, conducting funerals, supporting the church and its staff.
  When I came to First Baptist, Henry directed the LLL program, and I led a large choir of senior adults.  Together, we took them on a tour to Hawaii, and I will always remember singing for Sunday morning Chapel at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, and then taking the boat ride to the memorial at the Battleship Arizona.  Henry, in his quiet way, made that visit even more meaningful as he reflected on his WWII service, and his prayer at the memorial was an emotional moment for me.
  Henry’s words were always well-chosen when he led worship.  I used to call him “The Master of the Segue-Way,” because when he got up for whatever assignment he had, he would find a meaningful way to tie the previous element of worship and the one that followed.  I think that showed not only his profound regard for his role as a worship leader, but also his respect for all of us others on the staff, and the work that we did.
  Henry’s prayers are also meaningful.  I can remember times when he would pray something to this effect:  “Lord, we thank you that we go to the market and there is food; we get in our car and there is petrol; we turn on the switch and there is light. . . ”  I have reflected that these references to things we often take for granted may have been born out of his 25 years on the mission field in Africa, where these sorts of things were not taken for granted.
  Henry Martin takes nothing for granted—especially not people.  He goes about quietly showing his love for us and for all God’s children.  On this All Saints Sunday, I am thankful that God sent Henry into my life to be one of my teachers, one of my examples of what a saint looks like.  Thanks be to God!
  Earlier this week I was reading the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude. When I came to a certain verse I started smiling and even let out a laugh. In Mark 6:32 it reads, “they all ate and were satisfied.” Right then I underlined the word “satisfied” and drew a line out to the margin of my Bible and wrote, “Henry Martin’s word,” and drew a smiley. I think this is the first and only smiley I have ever drawn in my Bible. The reason I laughed and wrote what I did was because if you are ever around Henry especially after a meal and you ask him if he would like more, he always replies, “I am satisfied.” He has had two cookies and you want to give him a third….he will say, “I am satisfied.” When I was asked to share with you today about Henry, I immediately thought of his phrase. The word “satisfied” not only describes his comfortable contentment after a meal, but goes much further and deeper than that; it describes a way of life for him which finds such satisfaction in serving God by serving His people, His church and beyond. To me when Henry says “satisfied” he is saying in effect, “I could want for nothing more, all is well.” His satisfied life is reflected in his prayers. When he asks the blessing at mealtime, he always is thanking God for things we overlook or take for granted and recognizes God’s faithfulness to us. In Psalm 63:5 we read, “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
  Henry, may we imitate your satisfied life in serving God through serving others.
  On this All Saints Sunday, I can without reservation or hesitation encourage you to imitate the faith and the service of Henry Martin. Henry, thank you for your commendable life of faithful service.
  “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”7
The challenge for each of us is to become imitators so that our lives can be worthy of imitation as well.

1 Hebrews 6:12.
2 Hebrews 13:7.
3 2 Thess. 3:6-7.
4 Romans 13:7b.
5 1 Timothy 5:17.
6 Hebrews 13:7.
7 Hebrews 13:7.