Thu, 7 February 2008 Humankind has always had a fascination with heroes – people who rise above the “usual� and do extraordinary things. They stand out from the crowd by virtue of their acts, or quality of character.
Another thing you often notice about true heroes is that they’re not interested in getting attention for their deeds. They just did what their beliefs and personal values told them they should do.
In
Witness many of the TV shows today that are in some way involved with “heroes:� for the adults, Smallville, Heroes, or Journeyman; on Nickelodeon, shows like Jimmy Neutron or Kim Possible show are there for our kids to see characters doing heroic things.
These are very popular shows. In NBC’s drama, Heroes, for example, normal people find that they have superhuman powers, and the fate of the entire world rests on their shoulders. The show is VERY successful: Top-20 ratings and multiple Emmy® awards attest to the fact that lots of people keep tuning in.
Many communities will have a spot on the local newscast for “hometown heroes.�
It’s not my intention to disrespect anyone who has been called “hero,� so please don’t worry about that. There really are heroes in our world, and lots of these folks aren’t doing it for the fame.
What I want to explore this morning is how our cultural and cultic elevation of heroes might be causing us to miss something very important.
Here’s the question of the day: What if, through the lives of heroes, God is trying to get our attention and help us align our values with His values? Is God trying to get each of us to be heroes for others?
An online user poll ranked adult responses to the same “What-do-you-want-to-be� question asked of the kids.
The top five things people had wanted to be one day as they began their more mature formation as an adult? Rich, singer, superhero, movie star and cowboy.
No surprise here: dump-truck driver and janitor were featured at the bottom of the rankings list, as honorable as those professions are. Honorable, but not always admirable.
We learn at an early age that there are people in our world who are more admirable than others, based on our sense of their power, prestige and potential for greatness.
What about the Church? When was the last time that you heard anyone talk about what an influence a hero of the Christian faith had upon his or her life?
Consider from today’s text: Peter, on a mountaintop with Jesus, suddenly sees his rabbi chatting with not just one, but TWO of the greatest heroes of his faith: Moses, and Elijah.
Peter is ecstatic! Suddenly, he can see everything clearly: Jesus, his rabbi, is the Messiah, the anointed one of God who is going to bring the world back to the right.
But what does Peter NOT see?
The parallel passage from Luke 9 says, “As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)� (Luke 9:33, NIV)
Peter wants to give Jesus the status of a hero – because he’s not seeing the whole picture.
But let’s not send Peter back to school for this until we think about the effects that this encounter had upon him.
We can see this encounter as one of the ways by which God was changing Peter into one of the strongest leaders of the early Church.
You see, Jesus certainly can be the hero… but part of Jesus’ work is to unleash the heroic in us so we can be heroes for others, to inspire them to greater service and life in the Kingdom.
Therein lies the whole point of the process of being perfected in God’s grace: “You were designed for something greater — the greatness of living to love others.�
This passage is about transfiguration (being changed into something glorious): the transformation of Jesus AND the transformation of His people.
In the transfiguration, the Beloved is extending love to those whom he sends out to love the world. Perhaps he’s calling out to the hero in each of them — the desire for lowly fishermen and tax collectors to become something greater.
Your and my transfiguration by the power of God is what sends us on a love mission from God Himself.
Your life and my life are intended to be lived for the purpose of loving others, not for the sake of being loved by the masses.
Don’t regular people want to know they are loved by their Father?
Don’t regular people want to know that God is pleased with them?
Don’t regular people need to be freed by love in order to love?
As Jesus is leaving his earthly ministry behind, he’s passing the mantle of the kingdom on to his disciples, and namely these Three. What better way to commission them to love the world than by demonstrating that being Beloved means extending love to others?
God has always engaged people this way — from Abraham to YOU – blessed to be a blessing.
Lord God, open our eyes that we may how you are releasing the hero in each of us… that we may see you open the eyes of others. Amen. Sources Consulted: “The Divine Hero,� Homiletics, January 2008. ACCS, Vol. NT-1b (IVP, 2002) Wilkins, Michael J. Matthew (Zondervan, 2004) length: Direct download: Open_Our_Eyes_That_We_May_See_-_Matt_7.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 3:24 PM Comments[6] |
Sun, 27 January 2008 There’s a book (by Po Bronson) called, “What Should I Do with My Life?� The whole focus of the book is not to give advice on how we should change our lives to be happy. It’s filled with the stories of people who “of those who actually took action, changed their lives, and enjoyed or suffered the consequences.� It’s about how they faced their own identity, and learned to ignore the urges of the world to be someone they are not.
For example: • A mother torn between an Olympic career and her adolescent daughter. • The Cuban immigrant who overcame the strong disapproval of her parents and quit her lucrative career to go into social work. • The OB/GYN physician who walked away from her lifelong “destiny� of being a doctor and was trying to make sense of it all. • A high-powered IT saleswoman who gave up the certainty of salary to be a massage therapist because she missed a close connection with people.
So much of the time, as we think about who it is that we should be – or should have been – we end up looking back to discover who we really are.
This is the situation that the prophet Micah sought to address as he brought the Lord’s word to the people of
Put in a simpler way, it’s like this: they were very much into the rituals of their faith, but not willing to take the second step into truth righteousness.
They were faithful church-goers, but not faithful disciples. Micah was sent to remind the people of their purpose in life: God was saying, “It’s MY life, and it should be LIVED!�
What’s the answer? Simplify the way you live – don’t make things so hard.
The people of
Their offerings to God were simply the fruits of their frantic labor, much like those of us who believe that if we can just do enough – if we can just give enough, work enough ... then our God, our boss, our families, our friends will finally be pleased with us.
But Micah comes to set things straight: “What really matters?� he asks. The way the text puts it is, “What does the Lord require of you?�
Here’s what really matters in God’s sight: the relationship with have with Him, and the relationship we have with each other – relationships that have nothing to do with money, social status, or any other earthly division. Three simple things sum this up: “…[doing] justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God� (6:8 NIV).
When we reach the final Day of Judgment, the conversation with the Lamb will not be about how well we set ourselves up for perfection, or how well we kept up with the rituals. It will be how much we LOVED. Have we simply loved people enough to act justly, to be kind, and to give ourselves over to walking humbly with God and following God’s lead in our lives?
It’s a simple question, but it represents the hardest work we’ll ever be called to do. Keep in mind that the Bible spends a lot of time teaching about the importance of people who live on the boundaries – the people who often are the hardest to love.
Micah’s words remind us that life can be simple if we’ll only be willing to make some hard choices — if we’ll choose to love God and others and let the rest take care of itself.
How does this play out in our life as a church? Here are some ideas, taken from a 2001 TV special called, “Answering Micah’s Call:�[1]
§ At
§ The Rev. Bradley Schmeling, pastor of
§ At First Presbyterian Church,
§ The Rev. Dr. Earl McCloud, pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church,
All of these ministries combine the biblical mandate to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God into programs that reach into the community while at the same time building up the strength of the congregation.
That’s what God requires: when God reminds us that the life he has given each of us is HIS life, we should spend it in a way that is worthy of His calling.
Remember the Lord’s grace in your life, and extend it to others. It’s a simple way to honor God and walk humbly with Him all at once.
Sources consulted: “My Life,� Homiletics Magazine, January 2005. National Council of Churches Web site [1] “CBS-TV special features four
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Sun, 20 January 2008 Often as kids, we would play a game at the beach where we would go under water, and just like the cartoons we watched, we would come up three times before sinking down… supposedly for the last time. One… two… three… going… going… gone.
Whoever was “it� was the one who would doing the “going, going, gone� routine. After the third “sink,� the rest of us would try and find him or her and provide a good dunking. Ah, those were the days.
That’s a lighter way of seeing the teaching of this psalm. The message of Psalm 40 is that one of the greatest joys which follows being restored to new life after a brush with death is the joy of entering one’s house of worship to declare before all in the community that one’s life has been saved and restored by God.
In other words, the writer has returned to his church to give a witness which praises God for rescue and restoration from hardship.
Verse 1 describes how the psalmist waited for the Lord to become aware of his situation and rescue him.
In verse 2, God rescues the writer of Psalm 40 from “the pit.� A Jewish translation of this psalm uses images that clearly bring home that the psalmist was in a bad way: the pit was filled with slimy clay. Symbolically, this means that this person was near death, and in danger of being lost in the underworld forever – but God rescued him from the place where no one is supposed to ever escape.
Once God has drawn the petitioner back from the brink of death, then life returns to normal. One can rise and stand up securely, finding the ability to walk restored as well. One can once again speak or sing praise to God, and verse 3 declares that respect or fear of God is thus instilled in all who see the recovery of the person once believed to be in the grip of death.
In verse 4, happiness or fortune is promised to the person who trusts in the Lord instead of trusting in less worthy sources of help.
In verse 6 there is another possible return to the image of the well or cistern from verse 1 in that the psalmist credits God with “digging� him a new ear, hollowing out his ear, as one would dig a well (Genesis 26:25). In exchange for the cistern of death in which he was trapped, God has dug through his obscured thoughts and given him a new enlightenment with which to understand the true desire of God for right devotion instead of sacrifice.
In the final stage of his restoration (vv. 9-10), the psalmist presents himself to the “great congregation,� presumably those gathered at the temple in
It’s a terrible thing to consider what it might be like, to slip away into nothingness; to be trapped in a place where you can never exit.
Yet, we all have experienced something like that at one time or another. Consider this verse from Psalm 69:
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.� (NIV)
The point is that, even though we have all known despair at some time in our lives – perhaps even more than once, it happens to us all – God is the one who can pull us up.
Maybe we’re dealing with some mystery of illness that we can’t pin down or control, and life has become one dreadful doctor visit after another.
Or, maybe a family member just can’t seem to get his or her life on track. Perhaps there’s an addiction that’s threatening to pull you under the waters for the last time. Going… going… gone.
If you’re at this point, you’re at the point where you need to know that God will pull you up. Even if you are the one who got yourself into the muddy pit, God cares enough to help you up and out.
Like the guys who went out with their brand new speed boat one sunny July afternoon, and were very frustrated because it just wouldn’t perform well. They came back to the dock and had a maintenance man check it out… they had never unhooked it from the trailer!
Even if your troubles are of your own making, there is relief that can come your way.
Now remember the teaching of the Psalmist: First, wait for God… patiently… as you cry out for help.
Then, grab on to the life that He offers and LIVE. Don’t let the fear of what might happen keep you from moving forward.
And then, remember to tell others of how you have been saved from the pit.
Your rescue might be a fast one, or you might need to wrestle with your demons first. You might end up with a limp like Jacob, who kept that remembrance of his own deliverance for the rest of his life. Just remember, praise and gratitude to God can come from all times and situations.
We will always be in some need of God’s help and rescue. But even so, your life can be changed for the better by the challenges you face and your experience of God bringing you through them.
Sing a new song and tell others of your deliverance. Tell of how God is faithful, with your words and your actions. Remember that, whether we are standing or sinking, when our remembrance gives way to praise and our gratitude creates hope, our response will be “Here I am Lord.�
Going… going… gone? Not hardly – not with God there to pull us up. Amen.
Sources consulted:
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Mon, 19 November 2007 Here’s a radical idea: what if, right after Thanksgiving Day, we just went back to life as usual and skipped Christmas all together?
I know that’s a pretty radical notion, and it may not even set well with you. But, it is something to think about. There’s a called Christmas with the Kranks that floats this idea.
The movie was first called called Skipping Christmas, and it considers the notion of skipping Christmas. Tim Allen plays Luther Krank, a man who is furious that the family spent $6,000 on Christmas the year before – and has nothing to show for it. So, since their daughter is gone with the Peace Corp, he and his wife decide they are going to skip Christmas and do something else.
The whole story is about how the neighbors react to their choice of action. The neighbor who coordinates the neighborhood’s Christmas lights becomes upset because the Kranks are not participating. Their daughter comes home for a surprise visit, only to find that the holidays are not being celebrated as usual. And so on.
This movie, at least what I know of the story, asks the question, “What really matters during the holidays?�
Research has shown that the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day are among the most stressful of the year for everyone. Yet, year after year, so many of us get swept up with what one writer has called the “holly-jolly-jingle-bell-rock-Rudolph-and-Frosty-shop-till-you-drop� season.
On a sad, yet humorous note, an article in Harper’s Magazine notes that the highest-rated television program in New York City on Christmas morning, 2002, was a continuous video loop of a burning Yule log.
What really matters? What are the limits? How many parties, concerts, festivals, or banquets is enough? How many lights for your house are the right amount? at what point do we go from anticipation to being “Christmased out?�
It’s so easy to miss what Christmas is really all about.
God communicated to Jeremiah that he was very upset over the loss of all of the good shepherds. King Jehoiakim, who lived 600 years before Christ came, was a particularly bad example of bad shepherding. 2 Kings 23:35 notes that the Pharaoh of Egypt had demanded that Judah pay a hundred talents of silver and gold, and that Jehoiakim raised the money by taxing the people. He also used some of the money for his own personal pleasure.
It was because of this man and others that caused God to say, "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.�
God will place his people under a new generation of kings who will be good shepherds – shepherds who are good, wise, and fair in their dealings. Then, God will raise up a righteous branch of David – that means, a descendant of David – who will execute justice and righteousness in the land. In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ, “the Lord our righteousness.�
That’s something we don’t see in Christmas cards or decorations; the name of righteousness doesn’t often come up in our caroling. And maybe that’s the reason behind why so many people are skipping past the true meaning of Christmas.
Jesus is not like Frosty the Snowman. Well, he might show up and surprise us, but He is not someone who laughs and plays, but melts away when things get too hot!
Jesus is not Santa Claus, either. He does know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice… but his character is not built on saying “ho-ho-ho� and bringing expensive gifts down a chimney.
Who is Jesus? He’s a SHEPHERD. What’s a shepherd? Someone who pays more attention to the lost sheep than the ones who are safely at home. His joy comes from seeing one sinner turn his or her life around, not from watching people exchange gifts. This is why He is, as Jeremiah said, “the Lord our Righteousness.�
It’s ok to have a wonderful and enjoyable time during the holidays, but let’s not forget who Jesus is and why He came: to make a connection between God and the people, and help people see that any righteousness they have comes from God.
That’s why Jesus shakes so many people up – so many folks believe that they were born on third base, and somebody just hit a triple for them. So many people make the assumption that doing well is the same thing as doing good.
It is only God who makes us righteous; it is only through Jesus Christ that we become just, honorable, and free from guilt. The life, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ is the gift from God that makes it so!
Only the Lord is our righteousness. Righteousness does not come from our nationality, or our political party, our social class, the color of our skin, our denomination, or the school we went to. The true meaning of Christmas comes from the connection between righteousness and Jesus. And that, friends, is way too good to skip!
So what does Jesus bring us for Christmas? Wonderful gifts from God: forgiveness, new life, and new righteousness. Jesus brings a state of grace that restores our relationship with God.
But, as the commercial says, “WAIT! There’s MORE!� Christmas is not about how we found religion – it’s about how, no matter how far we’d fallen, God came and found us.
Righteous living comes from a living relationship with God. Not only do we live in harmony with God, we also live in TRUE harmony with our neighbors in this world. We enjoy this world that God has placed under our care, while taking care of this world. We find ways to solve conflict without resorting to violence on the first try. We always remember that God has a special place in His heart for the poor and powerless. We find inner harmony by obeying God’s commandments.
When you live in a righteous manner, you find that social justice goes hand in hand with personal peace.
Jeremiah teaches that you cannot be a good shepherd and abuse the sheep; that you cannot be a good ruler and abuse your power. Jesus taught the same thing.
Now that I’ve said all of that stuff, let me say this: go ahead, put up your Christmas lights; Frosty can stand on your lawn, and if there’s reindeer in your yard, that’s fine.
Just don’t forget to keep your attention on Jesus in this coming Christmas season – the one who shows us that the Lord is our righteousness.
Because if you skip that part, you are indeed skipping Christmas.
Sources consulted: “Skipping Christmas,� Homiletics, November 2004. Dearman, J. Andrew; Jeremiah/Lamentations (Zondervan, 2002), 214-223. length: Comments[4] |
Mon, 19 November 2007 I’d like to begin today with a question for you to mull over: “What does every one of us have in common with the harvest that we celebrate today?� Have you ever been to a Jewish cemetery? Ever notice the headstone erected on the grave of a Jewish man or woman? Instead of flowers, you may have seen stones carefully placed on top of the grave marker. Sometimes these stones will be lined up across the top, like some kind of train. These stones have a specific, commemorative meaning, a meaning that binds that individual person to the whole history and people of Let’s go back to the question of the day. Any takers? Let me offer you a scripture, and let’s see where we go: (Genesis 2:4-7). Any ideas? Ok… what you and I have in common with the harvest is that God has brought us from the very same earth – or dirt – in which He has caused our crops to grow. Our lives are all connected in a very basic and essential way: the Lord God has given us all life! And from the life of the harvest, He provides the blessing of nourishment and livelihood that we might also have life. In Joshua 4, the still-wandering Israelites faced the final barrier that lay between them and the long-awaited Promised Land. It was no small bump in the road, however, for between them and their new homeland lay the daunting Under God's specific instructions, the priests carrying the holy ark of the covenant walked right into the center of the river. At the touch of their feet, the To mark this miraculous safe crossing, God commanded Joshua to choose one representative from each of the 12 tribes and to have each of those individuals select a stone from out of the still-dry riverbed. These 12 stones _ just ordinary river rocks _ were carefully carried to the people's first campsite inside the borders of the new homeland. There, at the place that became Gilgal, whose name means " It is in memory of these stone markers, stone testaments to God's gifts of deliverance, freedom, redemption and the land itself that graveside mourners still place a simple rock on the top of the deceased person's headstone. Those solitary stones connect that one Jewish man or woman to an entire history of a people. But it is up to each individual mourner to place the stone there – to keep the connection unbroken. It’s in the same spirit that we gather each to give thanks to God for the blessing of the harvest. It is essential that we remember to thank the Lord of Life for the connection that we have with Him and each other through the dirt of the earth. As we ponder the nature of the harvest, our thoughts cannot help but turn to the spiritual harvest to which Christ calls us to work. If our bodily existence is nourished by the soil – the dirt – from which we are formed, then it’s only right that we should consider the spiritual soil which has formed us. Can you identify the spiritual soil you arose from? What keeps you connected to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to the God who gives you life? Think of the seeds that have been planted in the soil you are made from. What fruit has been born of the faith that has grown in you? What harvest has come from your discipleship? In 1965, there was a severe drought in the city of Then it happened. In a small Pentecostal meeting, where some believers from the Principe de Pas church had assembled for their regular worship service, the Spirit of the Lord moved in a mighty way. There was a message in tongues, followed a few moments later by an interpretation. It ran like this: Dig a well in the pastor's backyard. There you will find water. There was much opposition from other churches as the deacons, elders and pastor began to dig. They thought these people were fanatics and/or were hallucinating -- especially when they saw that the pastor's backyard was on a hill. A well would never be dug on a hill, as the water runs low. But the pastor, deacons and elders all continued to dig. Soon one of the deacons became quite upset. Why is it in the pastor's backyard? he asked. Why couldn't it be in mine? Another elder thought that maybe the prophecy was biased. One deacon gave up. Another elder left. But there still remained a group ready to press on. Because of the drought, the land was hard, so the digging progressed slowly. On the fourth day, they encountered a big boulder. It was so large they thought they had hit solid rock. The disappointments and frustrations were intensified as another elder left the shoveling team. But they kept digging around the boulder until finally, after two days, they were able to remove it. As they did so, a gush of water came forth. It poured, and they began to drink and drink. It was a remarkable sign for the whole town. What the miracle of the well did to the growth of this church carries on until this day. The number of conversions to Christ was staggering; the entire town was influenced by it. Church membership grew from a few dozen to over 900 within that same year. The branch does not need to get up every morning and say to itself, I must work hard, or there will be no grapes. The branch's power comes from staying connected to the vine. In the same way, God gives us spiritual growth as a gift, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we connect and stay connected with Christ. I am the vine, you are the branches ... bear much fruit (John 15:5). May the richness of the soil God created you with become the source of the most blessed harvest ever seen! Sources Consulted: “Stone Testaments,� Homiletics Magazine, 1995 Herb Miller, Connecting With God (Abingdon, 1995) NIV Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[2] |
Mon, 19 November 2007 The Apostle Paul, in saying, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat,� is telling us that everyone has a job to do. Take, for example, putting together a Sunday worship service. Other than a preacher, we have musicians, ushers, custodians, a bell-ringer, communion stewards, and other people who help make each Sunday service happen.
If you only look at the big picture, it may not seem like it would be that much of a problem if one or two of the parts of that group were missing. But, if we paid attention, we would notice that things didn’t work as well as they should.
That’s the point of saying, “DO sweat the small stuff.� We’ve been told for a long time that we can reduce our stress levels by not worrying about the little stuff, just worry about the big problems. But is that really the best solution? Well, it might be for some things, but for life in general, maybe not.
Here’s an example of why this is true. Researchers in the field of crime and urban decay have discovered something interesting: In a neighborhood, if a single broken window is allowed to remain unrepaired, it will slowly lead to a complete breakdown of the neighborhood.
If you think that’s ridiculous, you should read a book by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called, Leadership. He applied the “Broken Window Theory,� as it’s called, to crime in the city, and in the process, reduced murders from around 2,000 a year to under 600.
The first thing he did was deal with the “squeegee guys,� those people who would run out to your car while you were stopped, and wash your windshield (with dirty water) and then demand payment. Once Mayor Giuliani started having these guys arrested, he discovered that a lot of them were convicted felons. When he started cracking down on people jumping turnstiles in the subways, he found that he was also arresting a goodly number of drug pushers.
The point is, working on the little stuff WILL lead to big results, whether it’s your town or your spiritual life that you’re working on.
This is the Apostle Paul’s focus. He doesn’t spend a lot of time preaching on the big-ticket items of the faith – believing in God, or trusting Christ, or reaching others with the gospel. What he does focus in on is how the Thessalonians should attack the little stuff that is eating away at their foundations – the broken windows of the Christian community.
In verse 6, Paul says that we are to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received.
There are two ways that we can take Paul’s words about being ‘idle.’ One way to see this is that he’s talking about lazy people who don’t do anything. The other is that we should be concerned about people who waste time by being unproductive. They may be busy… but they’re not getting anything done. Either way, this is a ‘broken window’ that has to be dealt with. Grandma used to say that ‘idle hands are the devil’s workshop…’ Well, so are misdirected hands!
What’s the difference between being idle, and being busy but unproductive? There is none!
Having a full schedule is not a sin. Keeping up with the busy lives of your children, doing your job, and being involved in your community are good things. But, each one of us has some decisions to make somewhere in our lives that are very important. If you don’t choose to fix your broken windows – that is, if you won’t fix the areas in your live where you’re not productive – the quality of your life and spiritual health is going to go flat in no time.
How might you know what the symptoms are? What about the relationships in your life? Are they as good and healthy as they could be? What about how you use your time? Do you make room for things that nourish your soul, your family, and your community – and your church?
A good way to consider the issue is to think about the things in your life that you never seem to get around to doing. If you’re not coming up with answers, find someone who knows you well who will lovingly tell you the truth. Often times, others can see our broken windows better than we can. If you sweat the small stuff, you’ll find that you don’t run into as many of the big problems. If you take the time to fix the little stuff, you are doing as Paul teaches, to “not be weary in doing what is right.�
Don’t ignore the small stuff! You could end up like the cow that got lost grazing. The cow eats a little patch of grass, then looks for another one. She locates one just a little ways away, and moves over to it. She eats that one, and then another, and then another – never realizing that she’s eaten her way through the hole in the fence, across the road, and into the next pasture. A big problem came into being, one small bite at a time.
The more attention you pay to the little stuff, the less likely you are to get out of control without realizing you’re doing it.
We are the most useful to God when we are in control… and our bodies are a well-maintained temple for the Holy Spirit to live in.
Take a look at your life. Find out what needs to be fixed, what needs to be cleaned – and take the steps you need to take so that what is damaged within you can be healed.
God wants us all to be solid and strong. When we will confess our brokenness to God, he WILL restore us through the gift of forgiveness!
Sources Consulted: “The Broken Window Theory,� Homiletics, November 2004. Holmes, Michael W. 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Zondervan, 1998) length: Comments[2] |
Mon, 5 November 2007 Did you know that the word “follow� is used 87 times in Jesus’ teachings, while He says “Believe in me� only three times?
Walking is a very popular image when describing the journey of faith and discipleship. The point is that true discipleship is always going somewhere: there is a direct connection between believing and putting one’s faith into action. For the true disciple, it is doing that defines the life. To put it another way, faith is not strictly an intellectual act. Faith is always busy – it cannot help but clothe itself in good works.
What does that have to do with walking? Well, it’s like this: people can tell things about you by the way you walk. That’s because we all have a unique way of walking that is all our own. Some researchers in the Homeland Security part of our government have figured out ways to identify a person by his or her walk up to 500 feet away – regardless of the time of day or night, or what the weather conditions are. They will know you by your walk.
As the song goes, “they will know we are Christians by our love.� The world will also know we are Christians by our walk of faith. If we are for real, people will sense that and see it, too. They might even be interested enough to ask how they might learn to “walk the walk� themselves.
What’s a Christian “walk� like? Check out verse 3: - Your faith is always growing; “more and more,� Paul says. - The love that we have for each other is always increasing.
The kind words Paul has for the Thessalonians says that they’re walking the right way – so well that he tells others what a great job they’re doing in Jesus’ name.
We should always be aware that the walk of faith is something that is very visible to the people around us. Even when our backs are turned, people can tell what we’re about and how serious we are about it. Our behavior, our actions, our words; everything we do says much about the quality, reality, and depth of our faith in God.
What does that mean? What’s your daily life like? Do you fight a lot? Are you a gossip or a mean-spirited backbiter? Or, are you kind, merciful, generous, patient, charitable, compassionate, and uplifting by showing love at every opportunity you find?
God’s hope for us is that others will see us as Paul sees the Thessalonian church: disciples who were patient and loving; in it for the long haul, and very focused on ministry in ways that everyone can see. In other words, clearly identifiable as workers for the Kingdom.
The truth of the matter is that love is the bond that unites the entire church (1:3), and that growth is a sign of God’s blessing, not judgment. Our faithfulness is very measurable by observing our Christian walk. Are we interested in being worthy in God’s sight? Are we willing to follow God wherever He calls us? Are we committed to sticking with this life for all of our days?
The people of our community will always be watching to see how we live out our faith. Because people are different, they will perceive what we do from different perspectives: some will be watching to see how compassionate and charitable we are. Others are interested in whether or not we will take a stand that is faithful but unpopular. Some will be impressed at the patience we show with persons who are a real pain in the neck. Others will marvel at the love we show for one another when one of our own is in need.
All of these things are what make up our Christian walk. If we are truly about sharing God’s love, then we must do it every moment of our lives with focused intention and passionate purpose.
This is so very important to spreading the gospel in our world. Here in
The battle of the day is to not give into the idea that choosing Christ is the same as deciding which laundry detergent you are going to buy.
A quality of our modern consumer culture is that choice is lifted up as the ultimate freedom. So, when we shop – for whatever – we find that we are confronted by a mind-numbing array of choices that seem endless. The trap is that we may not notice that as our choices increase, the significance of our choices decreases. A year from now, it really won’t matter which brand of soap, gasoline, or paper towels we purchased. Thus, our choices become trivial even as they multiply.
The choices that make all of the difference are those with consequences that do matter. Whom shall we marry? What career to pursue; whether or not you will use illegal drugs or terminate a pregnancy – will you be faithful in your commitments? These are the choices that shape the fabric of our lives. Whether or not we choose to accept and live the Gospel is a choice that matters. Those who do choose to accept the invitation will be accepted by God and will enter into joy. Those who reject it will be treated likewise.
The best way to go walking is to make sure you have three things: the right company, the right shoes, and the right distance. If you walk with the right company, your faith and commitment will grow stronger, and your discipleship will grow along with it. With the right shoes – the right equipment – you will be equipped for the life. And, you have to walk the right distance. If the walk is too short, you gain no benefit. Too far, and you lose your energy.
Jesus calls us all to walk with him – in our own unique and diverse ways – together with all who love the Lord and would follow him. When the church does this, the community around us will see us people who are worthy of God’s call and will who have been granted the power to fulfill every good resolve and work of faith.
There’s an old joke that says, “Walk this way.� It’s usually followed by something silly. If we walk as Jesus teaches, it won’t be silly at all… but truly graceful.
Sources consulted: “Gait Analysis,� Homiletics, October 2004; pp. 68-72 Holmes, Michael W. 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Zondervan, 1998); 209-226 length: Direct download: They_Shall_Know_Us_By_Our_Walk_-_2Thess.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 7:00 AM Comments[0] |
Tue, 30 October 2007 Paul’s second letter to Timothy is among the later letters of Paul that we have; many scholars think that 2 Timothy was written shortly before Paul’s death – in some ways, this is a “last will and testament� of the Apostle, written as Paul waits in a Roman prison to hear the final word of his fate.
In such a significant time of life, it’s interesting that Paul doesn’t any time recounting his life accomplishments. WE don’t hear about the churches he planted, or the sermons he preached; there’s no mention of how many souls were converted – no report card to document his successes.
That’s the kind of behavior that will confound many in our culture today. Ask a football fan how “his� team is doing, and odds are, he will know. Talk to an athlete about his or her competition, and you’ll hear about performance, records, and how hard they are to beat. In school, we keep track of grades to determine how successful a student is (or isn’t). The report cards come home, and it’s a stressful moment for student and parent as the reckoning is performed. What do grades really say? Well, they can be the sole ruler you evaluate yourself by… or they can be something that helps you get a clear picture of what you need to do to keep growing in strength and ability. Learning is a process, not an event. Maybe we didn’t get it right this time… but knowing what went wrong, next time, we’ll do better. The Apostle Paul models this type of thinking: Paul’s own self-assessment in Philippians 3:4-6 reveals prior to the After that day, though, Paul would look at that transcript and realize that it was all “rubbish� (vv. 7-8). He would throw his permanent record in the trash and start over by learning to redefine success in a relationship with Christ. There is no official list of Paul’s accomplishments. The fact is that Paul probably never really got to see the end result of all his work in those many places and with so many people. He couldn’t have imagined that his letters would someday be published and read by generation after generation of Christians who can trace their spiritual roots all the way back to those faraway places. During Paul’s lifetime, many of the churches he planted were rocked by conflict and enticed by the bad theology and moral failure of some of their leaders. People whom Paul trusted as coworkers abandoned him at critical moments (2 Timothy 4:9-15). Looking at it from the perspective of achievement at the time, you’d have to give Paul an “E� for effort, but maybe not much more than that. When Paul evaluates his Kingdom work at the end of his life, he doesn’t spend time on failure, or success. What mattered to Paul is that he had done his best, and that he had been faithful in the work God had called him to. Using the illustration of the Greek games, he spoke of having “fought the good fight� and “finished the race� (2 Timothy 4:7). We as a people often have a hard time with saying that our efforts (or someone else’s) are “good enough.� So often, if you haven’t come out on the top of the heap, you’re a failure. As some say, “second place is the first loser.� In a lot of ways, we live in a culture of fear. We deeply fear not being good enough. Our children fear the consequence of not having grades in school that are good enough; we adults often fear the consequence of not having produced good enough results in our work. What are the fruits of our fears? We are a frantic people who are beset with all sorts of stress-related illnesses, unethical behavior and a crisis of self-esteem. The end result of this fear is that often, we are afraid to try something new because we are simply afraid of failing. A successful relationship with Jesus Christ is based on faithfulness to God’s call on your life. If you are faithful to your job as a disciple, you will be judged faithful. You’re not responsible for how other people responded to the message. Every once in a while, someone will try and stick me with, “well, how many people have YOU brought to the Lord, Pastor?� I have to honestly answer them with, “I don’t know.� I’ll tell you why, by way of a story. Many years ago, now, there was a young couple in my community who felt the church was important enough that they should be married in the church, and have their children baptized in the church. The pastor before me at the church had performed their wedding ceremony, and I baptized their first two children. Beyond those events, though, they didn’t have time for church – too busy with other things. As I prepared them for the baptism of their second child, I took some time to really engage them on the idea that baptism is your entry into the community of faith – and that, if you’re going to do it right, you really need to be in the community of faith, so your children understand what a special thing their baptism is. Long story short, they never did start coming to church – under my pastorate. But, the pastor who followed me was able to seal the deal, and they are now part of that congregation – worshiping, participating, and growing in God’s grace. So, who was it that “brought these people to the Lord?� It wasn’t just me, it wasn’t the pastor before me, and it wasn’t the pastor who came after me! Truth be told, it was all three of us! If the pastor before me hadn’t faithfully reached out to this couple at the time of their marriage; if I had not kept gently bugging them about the importance of not just baptizing your children, but following through on the vows and helping them become part of the congregations; if the pastor who followed ME had not kept inviting them until they did in fact join in the life of the Church … this probably wouldn’t ever have happened. It took THREE of us to get the job done! If I evaluated this strictly on my own actions and nothing else, I wouldn’t be able to say that I was successful! But, I believe I can say with confidence that I was faithful, and my faithfulness combined with the faithfulness of other disciples made it a day of joy in the Kingdom. God’s grace is about helping us learn to be faithful even when the world doesn’t understand anything other than winning and losing, of performance and production. We will always experience the consequences of our moral failures. That’s a given. But we should always remember that God’s grade book is written in pencil. Like a good teacher, God comes alongside us, corrects us, reorients our thinking, and helps us see new possibilities. What the world sees as failures are opportunities God gives us to take a good, honest look at ourselves and find opportunities to grow. The Bible teaches that “no weapon formed against us shall prosper.� We needn’t surrender to our culture of fear we run the race of faith. Simply doing your absolute best without thought of winning or losing in the eyes of the world makes for a powerful witness for Christ. Always remember that Christ comes to us with life and love, filling us with hope, grace, and renewal. So go forth now, living with courage the hope that the Gospel has placed within you. And may the lives you touch grow closer to the Lord. Amen. Sources consulted: “Deferred Success,� Homiletics, October, 2007 NIV KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1994) length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 23 October 2007 The As United Methodists prepare for this significant event in the life of our Church, there are some perennial issues that are already arising. Let me explain: I received a letter recently urging me to work with my congregations and draft petitions to General Conference that get really tough on a certain topic: homosexuality. In short, what they want is that I would rally my people to stand firm in saying that homosexual persons who won"t repent of the lifestyle are not fit for membership in the Church. I haven’t received any letters from "the other side� but I imagine they’re making similar efforts in similar avenues. Homosexuality has been a contentious issue in our church, and present at every General Conference since 1972. As the UMC came into existence in 1968, it should be plain that we’ve been wrangling on this since we’ve been born. You’re probably wondering: what has happened in the last 36 years of debate about this issue? Not much. True, denominational policies have slowly swung to a more conservative position — but overall, roughly the same proportions of votes for or against, every time. Neither side is gaining any ground. In other words, my friends, it’s a stalemate. How does one resolve a stalemate? Quit fighting, and find a different way to confront the problem! So am I going to lobby on this one? YOU BET! But I’m going to lobby differently than the manner in which the activists want me to lobby: It’s really very simple: I would really appreciate it if my brother and sister United Methodists would arise and tell both sides very firmly , “ENOUGH ALREADY!� Do I have an opinion on homosexuality? Of course I do, and I am sure that you do, too. I arrived at my conclusions after a great deal of prayer, study of scripture, and consultation of historic church tradition, as well as current thought on the issue. As I am sure that you did as well. So please don’t think me disrespectful in saying that a lot of people have gotten so focused on this issue that they are missing the real point behind all of this struggle. My opinion on this one issue of homosexuality is not a primary point. I don’t think yours is, either. In this commentary, I am deliberately not expressing my conclusions on this issue because I believe it would only obscure the bigger (and most important) issue: we are losing all ability to work together for the greater glory of God’s Kingdom because we’ve gotten so divided and distracted on ONE issue. If you really want to know my position, ask me (privately), and I will tell you (privately). If you and I don’t agree, I’m fine with that. I love you even when we aren’t eye to eye on something! Isn’t that part of the nature of the true church?
I would think that the I do not believe the right answer to the question of homosexuality is to simply deny persons of homosexual orientation membership in the Church. Or, put another way, here’s why I am not for tossing out gays from my churches because they’re “unfit� for membership: It’s not godly or fair. If I toss out gay people because of their unrepentant attitude, there are a number of unrepentant persons that, in all fairness, I should also excommunicate:
This could become a very long list, but I think you get the point. I’m a pastor. What shall I do with all these sinners? Oh, hold on a moment: I forgot that I should also give myself the old heave-ho since I wrestle with sin as much as anyone and I’m never 100% successful in resisting it. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not attempting to make sin less important. The Bible is very clear about sin, and that “... all have sinned and fall(en) short of the glory of God.� (Romans 3:23 NIV) Have we forgotten that the absolute, God-given truth that sin is sin? Whether you cheat on your spouse, murder your neighbor, or steal from someone — it’s all sin. Sin is sin. Period. If we are going to “get tough� on the practice of homosexuality because, as the Discipline states, it is “…incompatible with Christian teaching,� perhaps we should, in all fairness, get a lot more specific (and tough) on all sin, whether controversial or not. It’s also a clear, God-given truth that if you want to receive God’s salvation, you must repent of your sins, devote your life to following the Lord Jesus Christ and give up conscious sin. There is no salvation apart from Christ and His Church, and a place of eternal misery awaits those who will not accept Jesus as Lord. But it’s also an absolute, God-given truth that there is grace for those who truly seek transformation. As the “children� of John Wesley, we understand this to be the process of perfection in grace: how God, by His grace, transforms us into the persons He always meant for us to be. The Church is an instrument of God’s grace. No one should be deprived of the place where it’s most likely that you will be influenced to turn to Christ and live for Christ. The final judgment of the condition of our souls will be well-handled by God on Judgment Day. Let Him handle this one! This doesn’t mean unrepentant sinners should be able to go anywhere or do anything in the church. A person who’s unwilling to repent of clearly identified sin should not be a leader in the Body (the Bible’s clear on this, too). But why on earth should we shut him or her out and away from what is needed the most? Expelling people because they’re stuck in sin denies them the opportunity to truly experience a holy transformation they won’t find elsewhere. As I said, this debate is going nowhere in the Church, nationally or locally, despite all of the “politicking� on both sides. We’re stalemated. It is time to consider a different tack. The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians about a thorn in his flesh that God would not take away, no matter how much Paul asked Him (see 2 Co 12:7-9). Perhaps it’s time we United Methodists ask ourselves, “Why isn't God removing this thorn from our flesh?� It seems a valid question to ask! Perhaps it's time that we work for peace in our “valley� by first celebrating what we hold in common: the foundation of our unity — the salvation of Jesus Christ. The next step is that we do ministry and bring glory to God instead of giving the media ammunition to report on “who attacked whom at the General Conference.� We may never reach consensus on this issue. Why not use all of this energy differently — and create peace instead of division? We will surely bring more glory to the Father in this way, than by breaking the Body. This is my hope and prayer. Peace, my friends!
length: Category: general -- posted at: 5:41 PM Comments[0] |
Mon, 22 October 2007 Let’s
do a little remembering – as best you can today. What was the first phone
number you had when you moved out on your own?
Now, something more recent: do you know what your car’s license plate
number is? What about your family: what year were your parents born, and what
were the years that your children were born, if you have them? Now,
let’s get “churchy:� What are the first four books of the New Testament of our
Bible? Who was the person who betrayed
Jesus? Who was the Apostle Paul’s most famous student? How
did you do? How’s your memory today, for
the things you know? If you’re having some trouble, maybe you could use a smart
pill. Don’t laugh – there are some very dedicated scientists who are hard at
work on creating new drugs that will help us not just remember, but think
better. Improving
memory is something of great interest to many people. In some cases, the quest
for a cure for diseases like Alzheimer’s has unearthed some new possibilities.
But, there are also many efforts going on to create “smart pills� that you
would start taking in middle age so that you could stop the normal
forgetfulness that comes with advancing years. This
has become a part of the eternal search for what I like to call a “silver
bullet,� that will give us everything we want in one easy dose. The weight-loss
gurus will always have some way to keep people hooked. Twenty years ago, you
were supposed to cut all fat out of your diet. Now, with the popularity of the
Atkins diet, the silver bullet is removing carbs from the equation. Or, take a
pill like Corti-Slim that allegedly will magically melt away the fat from every
area of your body that you don’t like. No
one wants to talk about side effects, though. What price are you paying for
short-term success? I guess “smart
pills� aren’t necessarily “wise pills.� We might take them, but that doesn’t mean
we’ll be given more wisdom just because our memory became better. If
there were more wisdom in the world, a lot of companies would be out of
business, because there wouldn’t be so many suckers who would snap up their
products without thinking things through first. This
is a trend in religion in our world, too. Millions of people, including
Christians, will latch on to anything that seems as though it might have something of substance below
the surface without ever really sitting down and asking, “Is this for real, or is it bogus?� This
is what has sucked so many people into all that goofy New Age stuff; this is
why so many people accept books like the Left
Behind series or The DaVinci Code
as pure truth when actually, they’re entertaining fiction that expertly weaves
fact and fantasy together into a good story. There is nothing wrong with
reading a good novel and enjoying it. There’s nothing wrong with well-crafted
fiction. But you should not be led
astray by it! The
Apostle Paul warned his student Timothy that he would face times such as these
in his ministry: when people would reject solid doctrine and the foundation of
the faith for anything that tickles their curiosity. Instead of sticking to the proven and tested
articles of Scripture and tradition – the reliable guides to knowing God the
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – they’ll be seduced away by teachers who will
tell them what they want to hear… to satisfy their itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This
sounds like a problem for lots of Christendom today: skimming over the more
prominent parts of the Bible that challenge us to reconsider what we do with
our wealth and position in life; to question things we’d rather not question
like the social order and the church’s responsibility to influence society and
culture; to concentrate on the lighter stuff and avoid talking about the wrath
of God for fear of driving people away. It’s easy to get pulled away by someone
who concentrates on making you feel good. The
people who are led astray are the ones who haven’t taken the time to acquire
serious knowledge of Scripture and the historic teachings of the Church. Case in point: Practically every American
home (93%) has a copy of the Bible, and one in five adults report that they
read it regularly. Yet, it’s said that only 4 of 10 churchgoers can identify
the man who betrayed Christ (Judas Iscariot), or name the first four books of
the New Testament. This
is why we need to cultivate the ability to recognize the teachings that sound
Christian, but really aren’t – to know what will improve our imagination, but
not teach us wisdom about the ways of God. That’s
the entire point of what the Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy: stay grounded
in Scripture so that we know what is required for righteous living and
God-given wisdom. As Paul said, “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work.� (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV) Being
grounded in Scripture means doing more than just memorizing verses – it means
learning Scripture, and having a living relationship with God to shape your
mind and your thinking so you can gain spiritual smarts and true wisdom. What’s
the benefit in that? For one thing, you can teach others about what truth is
and what fiction is – and how they can tell the difference. Further, it would
help you in your own service to understand the relationship between God’s grace
and good works – and be prepared for action. Paul
gave Timothy five smart pills that are of use to us all. See 4:2, where he names them: -
Be persistent -
Convince -
Rebuke -
Encourage
“Smart Pills and Wise Living,� Homiletics, October 2004 length: Comments[0] |
