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
length: Comments[2] |
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:
“ length: Comments[4] |
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[9] |
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] |
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] |
Sun, 30 September 2007 Children of the Harvest Ministry is an outreach of the Dakotas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, serving on the Spirit Lake Reservation near Devil's Lake, North Dakota. You can learn more about Children of the Harvest through the Dakotas Conference's website: www.dakotasumc.nonprofitoffice.com. Missionaries Mike and Libby Flowers are the directors of COTH Ministry. Mike and Libby visited our parish today and brought the message, news of what God is doing with this ministry with and to the Spirit Lake Nation. Thanks for listening! length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 17 September 2007 I have a story for you. Two
When it came time for the trial run, the two entrepreneurs climbed up the platform and looked down on the gathering crowd. They knew what they had to "do," but decided to shoot fingers to see who got to "do it."
The entrepreneur who "won" (or "lost," depending on how you look at it) put on the harness and dove off. When he came up the first time, his partner noticed that his nose was bloody. When he came up the second time, it was obvious that one eye was turning black. When he came up a third time, part of his ear was missing.
He yelled out, "Are you okay?" On his way down a fourth time, his partner yelled back, "What's a piñata?"
Those two entrepreneurs didn’t take into account the differences of perspective from
There is an important difference of perspective that sets the Christian apart from the world he or she lives in. The truth is, though you and I live in this world, our spiritual commitments dictate that we operate from a different perspective – one that acknowledges that we are only here for a while. We are passing through on our journey to eternity with our Lord. If we live out our faith in the way that the Bible teaches it, then we have to take into account that we won’t see things that the way the world does; we will not live the way the world accepts as “normal.�
What does it mean to live out your faith in this different perspective from that of the world?
If you are really serious about considering that question, there is no way that you can avoid Hebrews 11. The verses we are studying today provide a summary of the Christian faith that teaches two things. First, it brings together the New Testament and the Old Testament and demonstrates why the Old Testament is relevant to our story as disciples of the New Covenant. Secondly, it provides examples of faith that will help us stay away from the kind of faith that really only trusts in one thing: ourselves and our abilities.
This faith in ourselves is the kind of faith that will fail the final test every time because it only has the form of true religion and none of the substance of true religion. What’s the difference? True religion arises from living faith that is focused on the world to come. This faith is concerned about making new disciples for Jesus Christ ALL the time, regardless of the cost. The person with the faith of true religion will always live out that faith with a bold confidence in God’s reality.
What does that mean – “God’s reality?� Let’s turn to the examples in today’s reading:
Ÿ the story of Abraham teaches us that home is wherever God is – and wherever God leads us. No matter where God was calling him on that nomadic pathway, Abraham was confident that he was exactly where he was supposed to be, which is why everywhere he went he built altars to God, holy structures, like at Bethel — “an Altar to the LORD� (Genesis 12:8). Ÿ Noah lived within the reality that his life was always in God’s hands – and the fate of the world is always in God’s hands. Ÿ Abel and Enoch remembered that pleasing God is important – verse 6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.� (NIV)
Now, we get to the “Great What If?� This is the point where we will often stumble in our quest to live a biblical faith. “I suppose I could live that way… but what if…
… my friends can’t or won’t understand, and I will end up alone? … the town I live in will think I’m weird and shut me out? … God calls me to go someplace else to serve Him, and I have to leave everything behind? … I can’t measure up to the standard of faith, or the examples the Bible gives me?
Those are perfectly valid questions. We will all struggle with them at some time, probably more than once. Here are some answers to any of the “what-ifs�:
Ÿ We’re not called to be superheroes, we’re just called to be faithful. The heroes of the faith that we read about in the Bible are for our inspiration, not necessarily for us to duplicate. God calls each of us to live boldly by faith – with all of our warts, worries, and shortcomings – as we are. That’s why God provides grace greater than our sins – that’s why it’s grace, after all! That’s not weird at all! Ÿ We’re not called to follow blindly; we’re just called to follow faithfully. Just because you’re a believer doesn’t mean you have to surrender your ability to think. Ÿ Faith involves God doing extraordinary things in the lives of ordinary people. Every one of the faith heroes named in today’s reading had a very human side to them – go read the stories, and you’ll see. Yet, God did powerful things through them even as they were searching and struggling for holiness. This means that you and I are equally eligible to be included in God’s workings. Ÿ Faith works in many situations – and you have to be content knowing that you are being faithful, even though you may not see the results immediately.
Faith carries us through times of victory and times of trial. We need not become paralyzed with the fears of what might or might not happen if we are faithful. God is with us always, and He is very patient – and He doesn’t want anyone to perish.
So, live with the perspective of the faithful: remember who you are, and where your journey will take you.
Following God’s lead may indeed bring you to a new point on the map, but it will more likely lead you to shift more in your relationship with God and move toward new understanding and growth, changing your heart and mind toward God’s direction in the process. It starts with a first step, not with a particular destination laid out. Faith is an open-ended ticket, an invitation, an adventure that starts but never ends — even when you do!
If you think about it, the church is really a travel agency, helping people book their place on the journey of faith, inviting them to follow God wherever he might lead — to a foreign country, to the back alleys of the city, to their next-door neighbor, or even just to a new way of living.
One thing about this trip that’s for sure — you’ll lose your life in the service of God and God’s people. But, as Jesus would say, that’s the best way to save it! So don’t worry about the “Great What-If!�
Sources consulted: Faith Treks; Homiletics, August 8, 2004 The Faith 500; Homiletics, August 12, 2001 Life Is Difficult, but…; Homiletics, August 9, 1998 By Faith Living; Homiletics, August 13, 1995 Craddock, Fred B.; The Letter to the Hebrews (NIB Vol. XII); Abingdon, 1998 Guthrie, George H.; Hebrews; Zondervan, 1998 Lane, William L.; Hebrews (WBC Vol. 47-A); Word, Inc., 1991 length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 10 September 2007 Christian discipleship is something that requires that Jesus be the disciple’s primary allegiance; in other words, God wants to have priority in all areas of our lives.
How do we put this into effective practice?
Part of discipleship is discerning what God desires of us. We do this by being involved in the community of faith, by giving and receiving encouragement in the community; by offering prayer alone and with others, and listening to God’s voice.
Have you ever made a commitment to an organization or another group without first finding out what would be expected of you? Have you ever gotten burned because you didn’t read the fine print?
If you will closely consider what Jesus says in this teaching and elsewhere, you shouldn’t be surprised by the requirements.
In this passage, Jesus seems very much to be trying to get the crowds to understand what it means to follow Him with their lives and not just their feet!
This passage must have seemed just as harsh to the crowds who first heard it as it does to us today a paradox – on the one hand, we are to love our enemies without question; but on the other, we are to hate our families because they are an obstacle to eternal life?
This isn’t really paradox –it’s hyperbole (making something more noticeable than usual).
When it came to understanding what Jesus was truly teaching, the crowds didn’t do very well. They were pleased and amazed when He performed miracles. When he said profound things, they would quote Him.
The crowds were very good at following Jesus: with their FEET. But when Jesus stopped being warm and cuddly, they were less interested in what He had to say.
We don’t have a record of what exactly it was that put Jesus in His pulpit that day. Jesus was always much more patient with folks in a one-on-one, or small-group situation. But with the crowds especially, He’s a straight-shooter who gives it to you exactly how it is.
Jesus could have used the “kid gloves� approach to discipleship: “It’s pretty painless being a disciple. Show up at church a few Sundays a month; love your spouse and your kids; be sure you’re to work on time, and be nice to your neighbors.� Sounds like some TV preachers, doesn’t it?
But he didn’t. He puts discipleship in terms of priorities: a disciple’s focus must be so evidently on Christ and kingdom that by comparison it’s as if they hate their family.
This doesn’t mean that we are to literally hate our mother or father; it doesn’t mean that our kids FINALLY have biblical license to despise that little brother or sister who vexes them so!
What it does mean is that our preparations for the life of the kingdom must not place a higher priority on earthly relationships than heavenly relationships.
Here’s a way you could think how your priorities measure up: Compare the amount of quality time do you spend with your family with quality time with God? Or, compare the amount of money you spend on family vacations and gifts compared to contributions to kingdom causes?
In terms of the kingdom’s passion for justice – what priority is given to family comfort, compared to the comfort of the poor and marginalized that we know exist around us?
Those are some tough questions to consider. There are many of us who value our families to a degree that we would gladly sacrifice anything for their health and safety.
Jesus says He wants that kind of response from His disciples for the things of the
Another way of looking at “Kingdom commitment� could be in our pocketbooks: how much it financially costs to be a Christian.
Add up the amount of money you spend on tithing, supporting missionaries and Christian charities; things here at the church, and other things like buying books and paying for kids’ camps, and so on. It really adds up!
Non believers don’t spend money that way.
The question Jesus is raising is not about how much it costs us, it’s about whether or not it costs us enough.
Jesus’ comments to the “fan club� that followed Him from place to place and cheered him as He did “cool� things, about building towers and going to war, were intended to highlight their shallow view of how much sacrifice goes into vibrant faith.
To love Jesus means loving money, possessions and comfort so little that we give uncomfortable amounts of it away.
We say, “Lord, I can’t afford it.� And Jesus responds, “You must.� The most powerful statement in today’s passage is verse 27: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.�
Please note: Jesus doesn’t say we “may not be His disciples,� He says we CANNOT be His disciples.
Jesus isn’t teaching that we must be perfect before we are saved. Salvation comes by God’s grace, and the gifts and blessings He gives us are the things that make it possible to become what He has called us to be. What Jesus IS teaching, is that we have to be willing to put all of ourselves into becoming disciples. The evidence of willingness is a complete change of our priorities, values, and pursuits as we become new creations in Christ.
Here are some questions you can ask of yourself to “take your temperature� as a disciple, and think about how you’re coming along on the road to perfection in God’s grace:
God’s call to us is to follow Jesus with our entire LIFE. It’s what allows us to truly be cross-bearers – and it’s what makes the journey truly worthwhile. Sources consulted: “Grunting Allowed,� Homiletics, September 2007 NIV KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) ACCS, Volume III (IVP, 2003) Bock, Darrell L. Luke (Zondervan, 1996) Culpepper, Alan R. The Gospel of Luke (Abingdon, 1995) length: Direct download: Following_Jesus_with_Our_Life_-_Luke_14.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 7:00 AM Comments[0] |
Mon, 3 September 2007 Faith in theory is one thing… faith practiced in reality is another. What is it that we each should be doing every day, as followers of Christ Jesus? What’s in the Verses?
The common bond between all believers created by the blood of Christ cannot help but create the ties of family in the Body: love your fellow Christians.
A parallel to Ge 18:1ff and Ge 19:1ff (Abraham and
A euphemism for sexual intercourse. Historical note: in the first century chastity was a novel concept; any many considered it an unreasonable demand of the faith. In short, sexual sinners are likely to go their own way, not truly caring for others and careless in all of their relationships. However, when God judges the purity and righteousness of their lives, they will be found lacking.
Sexual impurity and (financial) covetousness come from the same root sin: lust. speaks to the person who pursues selfish aims (whether sexual or financial) without regard to the rights of others. The essential teaching is that one needs to unlearn the insecurities that drive him or her to this behavior because God is completely reliable – God’s people are secure no matter what.
A declaration of confidence that continues the thought of Verse 5; “If God is for us, who can be against us?�
The “Word of God� is the totality of the Christian message (not just the Bible); this is a reminder that the message is of divine origin.
Also, the believers are encouraged to follow the example of faithful leaders in the Body so that, when they are tempted to fall away in unbelief, they can stand strong.
We should not ever fear that Christ will be different for us than He was for the believers in the past. Christ will be the same for all time, even into the future which we cannot know about.
The life of the believer is based upon this certainty.
15. “…the sacrifice of praise…�
Since a loving God is working out His purposes all the time, there is no time when the believer should not offer praise – the acknowledgement of Christ.
16. Sacrifices pleasing to God
Even though Christians do not have animals to sacrifice, this does not mean we have nothing to offer.
Because God looks to Christians to take (follow) Christ's way, He expects them to make their response by offering praise, good deeds, and works of love and charity.
How can we apply this to daily life?
The point of all of this is, followers of Jesus have always been called to do these things from generation to generation. Christ has been “the same yesterday and today and forever� (v. 8) and his call to serving others follows that pattern. Disciples of Christ see every day as an opportunity to offer a “sacrifice of praise� through words of encouragement and actions that speak of Christ at work within us.
This being Labor Day weekend, many have Monday off and are glad for it. But we should not take a day off from representing Christ in the world. Sources consulted: “D1NT,� Homiletics, September 2, 2007 NIV KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) Craddock, Fred B. The Letter to the Hebrews (Abingdon, 1998) Guthrie, George H. Hebrews. (Zondervan, 1998) length: Direct download: Persevering_and_Practical_Faith_-_Heb_13.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 7:00 AM Comments[0] |
Mon, 27 August 2007 I want for us to spend time thinking about worship today – but I want to make sure you know what I mean by that. This passage from Hebrew IS about worship; but it’s not about the style of worship that you or I might prefer over other styles of worship. It’s not about how we express ourselves, but about the substance of true worship. This passage contains teaching on what God considers true worship. One of the biggest comparisons that the writer of Hebrews offers in this passage is contrasting the past with the future. As a matter of fact, we aren’t far from a very well-known verse, Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.� (NIV) This teaching begins with a comparison of two mountains. Even though the writer doesn’t refer to the first mountain by name, we know that it is Sinai as it appears in Exodus 19-20: a mountain of doom, gloom, and unapproachable holiness. If even an animal touched the mountain, it had to be killed (Exodus 19:12,13). This mountain was SO scary that even Moses, God’s chosen spokesman, was rattled to his bones. The second mountain is completely different. Look in verses 22-24 for the symbols that describe it: · A heavenly city, the city of the living God · A city where thousands upon thousands of angels meet in joyous assembly · The church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven; where the spirits of the perfected righteous and Jesus live · Where a better word is spoken. This is a place where you feel welcome, where you are not afraid to approach – a place that we anticipate going to. The point that the writer is making here is that our anticipation for this wonderful place should not only be something gleaming in our future. It should light our days, NOW. Don’t let the doom and gloom of the past rule your future! The point of comparing these mountains for you is not to say that God has changed. We should have a healthy fear of God, for He is the Creator who calls us into life and also to the end of our life. The difference that we’re supposed to see is that God’s covenant has changed. In the new covenant struck with the blood of Jesus Christ, God wants to be approached in a way that’s made possible only by grace. The bottom line is that God is available and like priests, we can all enter the most holy place to encounter him. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get to the questions of the day: Is your relationship with God a thing of legalistic works and impersonal piety? Do you view God as remote and unapproachable, a God who’s not really interested in you? Or, do you see God as a God who desires intimacy with us, inviting us to live the joyous life of the new One of the ways that we access God is through our worship – because worship is where God calls His people, and asks for a response. In worship, God speaks, we listen, we sing, and God listens. We “give thanks� since we “are receiving a kingdom� (v.28) — those are ongoing present tense verbs. Worship extends outside of 15 minutes of singing — in fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Worship is never an event; rather, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a posture, an attitude, an ongoing recognition of the need to respond to God for how he continues to bless us. This is the reason that ultimately in our churches, styles of worship are only means to an end. The true ends of worship are not whether we like it mild or wild — this is worship of worship.
This is important to understand in our preference-driven society, because the church is squarely in the middle of the tug-of-war for the hearts and the minds of the people that is going on in every corner of life. In a day and age where the “most entertaining� most often gets the biggest response, we the church need to encourage people to come and worship and then live worshipful lives – that are not entirely based on their personal preferences, but based on what God considers true worship. Joy Davidman wrote a book over fifty years ago called Smoke on the Mountain.[1] In this book, she tells a story about a Martian anthropology student sent to Earth for an assignment. This student was to observe the The student wrote in his notes on Sunday morning that these Earthlings must be sun worshipers, with one day in seven set aside for religious observance. These loud and rowdy religious rituals are held in the open, drawing large crowds to arenas or bodies of water. The mystics of the tradition address a holy ball – a solar symbol – by themselves, sometimes in groups of three or four with clubs in open fields. Other worshipers lay beside a body of water after hurling themselves in ecstasy into the waves; afterwards, they anoint themselves with holy oil, and lay flat on the ground, surrendering themselves to the holy sun. The Martian student went on to comment that not everyone was doing this on Sunday. There was a small group of unbelievers who rejected sun worship by dressing soberly, and gathering behind closed doors in buildings that were obviously constructed to keep the sunlight out. They show none of the joy of the sun worshipers – in fact, their minds “seem devoid of thought or emotion.� Sounds like things haven’t changed much in a long time! Have you ever notice that some folks, when describing the kind of church they are looking for, sound about the same as they do when placing an order at a restaurant? This is what we’re dealing with! We have to meet this by helping people learn to understand what worship really is, and help them learn HOW to worship in a true way. In our busy world, people are so busy that involvement in the community of faith gets shoved to the back burner way too often. Life is hard enough that we get so preoccupied with meeting our physical needs that we get distracted from important spiritual issues – and our souls are in danger because of it. As I said earlier, “Worship is never an event; rather, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a posture, an attitude, an ongoing recognition of the need to respond to God for how he continues to bless us.� God has given us all grace as a motivation to persevere. How many people know, and accept and live this now? How many stay away from church because they are afraid of being judged? We can help with that! Worship of God is about our access and our need to respond to God’s calling and blessing. Nothing more. So then, shall we worship, and teach others to do the same? Sources consulted: “Wild or Mild?� Homiletics, August 2007 The KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1994) Guthrie, George H. Hebrews (Zondervan, 1998) [1] Joy Davidman, Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments ( length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 20 August 2007 One of the abiding tensions within the Church is the question of accountability: To what degree God will hold the people of the Church – the “saved� – accountable for the way in which they have lived out the heavenly grace for their sins that they received?
Some would say that there will be universal salvation because God’s grace is all-powerful. I disagree: the Bible makes it clear in many ways that, while your sins are forgiven, there are expectations of those who have accepted the call of Christ on their lives. If you spoke your vows, but your life didn’t change, there are consequences.
This part of Isaiah’s prophecy is one of the points in Scripture where God makes this idea clear. Jesus teaches heavily on this same part of Isaiah in John 15, and also Matthew 21. You might think of it as a scriptural warning label for us so we remember what it means to be members of the body of Christ and not just “spiritual free agents.�
The “vineyard� is a symbol for God’s people. In Isaiah’s prophecy, this refers specifically to the nation of
The singer of the song is God, who has done many wonderful things for His people; but for all of the effort, all they do is produce sour grapes.
We’re in farm country, so we know what happens when a crop goes bad: you have to get rid of it.
This scripture is a reminder from God – a warning, if you will – to remember who we are, and what we are supposed to be doing!
A lot of the warning labels that we see on products today are just plain silly:
There is nothing silly about the warnings God issues. Yes, this passage starts out as a love song; keep reading and see how it ends.
Accountability is about being responsible when you are the one at fault. if a child plays in a dishwasher, we have to blame the customer, not the dishwasher-maker.
If a man gets a birthday candle stuck in his ear, we have to blame the man, not the candle company.
If a woman steps on a 12-inch rack for compact disks and falls, we have to blame her for not obeying the warning label that was prominently placed on the CD rack: “Do not use as a ladder.�
In the case of the bad fruit in Isaiah, the same is true: The fault lies with the vineyard.
Instead of growing into the good people God intended them to be, they turned into wild and unruly creatures.
In short:
They failed to be what they were created to be, and to do what God intended them to do, and the result of their failure is complete and total destruction. This is God’s warning. And it’s not silly at all.
What we need to be concerned with is, are we doing everything we can to grow into good and healthy grapes.
God has done everything that can be done to help us to be fruitful, but there are daily choices that we must make if we are to keep from going bad. Are we paying attention to the issues of justice and righteousness that God considers to be so important to our fruitfulness? God does not forsake anyone without cause, or righteous judgment.[1]
What does this warning label say to us when we focus more on the good of the church than on the good of the world around us? Simple: if our relationship with God doesn’t improve, things are not going to go well for us.
Now, having said all of that, let me also say this: I did not come here today to speak sternly and leave out the good news of the Gospel: Just like all scripture passages, this passage also speaks of God’s love and concern for us.
Pastor Michael Bingenheimer of
God knows that our daily lives don’t always reflect justice and righteousness – but He doesn’t give up on us, either! God wants us to come with repentant hearts so that we might be fruitful. Only God has the power to remove the wildness of sin from our hearts so that we can be productive people in God’s eternal kingdom.�
If you’re a little hazy on the details, let’s sum it up this way: the key to being accountable to God is by having a right relationship with Him, and with your neighbor.
The Lord wants us to work for honesty and justice and peace in the world around us, and to be people who are living in harmony with him and with our neighbors. This is the secret to being good grapes, and avoiding the kind of desolation and destruction that can come to unfruitful vineyards.
May this kind of harmony be yours and mine each day for ever. Amen! Sources consulted: “Warning Labels,� Homiletics, August 2007 Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. X (IVP, 2004) Oswalt, John N. Isaiah (Zondervan, 2003) NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 1 (Zondervan, 1994) NIV KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 7 August 2007 A stingy old lawyer who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness was determined to prove wrong the saying, “You can’t take it with you.� After much thought and consideration, the old ambulance-chaser finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died. He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillow cases. He then directed her to take the bags of money to the attic and leave them directly above his bed. His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to heaven. Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased lawyer’s wife, up in the attic cleaning came upon the two forgotten pillow cases stuffed with cash. “Oh, that darned old fool,� she exclaimed. “I knew he should have had me put the money in the basement.� We laugh at this story, but I think underneath, it might make us nervous because our Western culture doesn’t base its living habits on the teaching underlying this parable. What’s the teaching, in a short sentence? Try this: You’re not a bad person simply because you are wealthy, and you’re not spiritually bankrupt because you had a bumper crop this year – as long as you don’t forget the spiritual reality behind all that you have: God has blessed you so you can bless others. It’s a challenge for many Western Christians to see themselves in this parable because the man Jesus proclaims to be a “rich fool� has only done things that we have been raised to consider good stewardship of what is ours: work hard, work wisely, and plan for the future. We have all in some way been encouraged to be savers so that late in life, our comfort is assured. But, let’s examine the evidence about ourselves. I have, and I personally am feeling uncomfortable – but let’s not stop! We Americans are RICH! As Christians, shouldn’t we keep an eye on ourselves so that we aren’t foolish in God’s sight? The recently-released 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States has some information that paints a sobering picture of our nation. Yes, we are rich. But, the character of our lives reveals us to be a nation of stuffed barns. For example:
There are lots more to read in the report, of course, but the gist of it is that among the peoples of our world, we are blessed to excess, and we apply most of those blessings to ourselves. It’s interesting what people in poorer countries think of us. Deborah Lynn Merrill, a blogger, recorded experiences she had on a recent missions trip to an orphanage in “The people in the cities will not drink bottled water. We drink nothing but bottled water because the water here is not filtered. We even brush our teeth with bottled water. The hotel we were in last night had brown water. Some in our group went without a shower. Some poured bottled water over their heads and called it good. “The reason Cambodians in the city will not drink bottled water is because they see all the Western tourists drinking it. And they think we’re fat! They think it’s the bottled water that makes Westerners fat! “They may be on to something. They’re drinking bad water which probably has a parasite or two in it. We aren’t getting the parasites that so many Westerners could probably benefit from — to lose weight!! Now everyone in our group calls bottled water ‘fat water.’ ‘One large fat water for me please — to go!!’� This parable is a teaching of Jesus where we should make sure we don’t leave ourselves out. Often, we consider the “rich fool� of the story to be some Donald Trump of his day. But, considered in the context of his time, he’s about like the average American of today. If we applied the Census Abstract’s information to him, he’d be 30 pounds overweight and watching his $2,500 flat-screen TV. How do we find ourselves in this story? Let’s think of some American equivalents to what we read in this story:
This rich man believed that he was capable of hoarding enough to bring delight and protection to his soul. He envisioned only his own pleasure over the years; he lived for himself, talked to himself, planned for himself and congratulated himself. What he forgot is that his soul is not his - and only his - concern. God is the only one who can accumulate what he needs for spiritual strength and safety. And when God requires his soul, he dies. Anything he had built up for himself passes on to others. This can all be summed up in the scripture, "For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (9:25, NIV). The Bible is consistent in teaching that: • We are given to — so that we might give to others; • We are blessed — so that we might be a blessing; • We are loved — so that we might love; • We are reconciled — so that we might reconcile; • We are forgiven — so that we might forgive. When we forget that blessings are intended to be used to bless others, we fall into the trap of greed and accumulation. Yes indeed, may God bless us – but only so we might be a blessing to others! Try going through your closets once or twice a year, and give away what you don’t use or wear. Make a list of wants and needs, and try sticking to the list of needs. When you find yourself coveting something nice someone else has, stop and pray for your own contentment with how you yourself have been blessed. If you have a storage unit, take a weekend and figure out if you really need it! The lifestyle our culture teaches us to desire will always lead us away from being “rich toward God� (v. 21). But the message of Jesus is that we are blessed to be a blessing. So leave the bigger barns to the rich fools of the parables and the rich fools of the census and commit to being better at sharing than at storing. It’s how the Kingdom is built! Sources consulted: “Rich Fools,� Homiletics, August, 2007 “Barn-Building Fools,� Homiletics, August, 2001 KeyWord NIV Study Bible (AMG, 1996) McLaren, Brian Generous Orthodoxy (2004, Youth Specialties) Hauerwas & Willimon, Resident Aliens (1989, Abingdon Press) length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 30 July 2007 Take a moment and think about the things you know by heart. This could be anything from phone numbers to your bank accounts; maybe you know the license plates of every car you’ve ever owned. The main question is, “what do you know by heart?�
What about your daily routine? What are the things that you do, that you have done for so long, that you don’t even think about it any more? What was once fresh and exciting, meaningful – that is no longer?
Now, think about the people around you? How many do you “know by heart?� If you’re really honest with yourself, whom do you take for granted because you know him or her so well?
I guess one of the risks of life is that we could become so familiar with something or someone that we don’t spend as much time concentrating on it, him, or her, as we once did.
Our religion – that is, the way in which we live out our faith – is just as susceptible to becoming empty ritual. How many times have we found ourselves in church saying the words and going through the motions, but deep inside, our souls are dry? It can happen to any of us – even preachers. I think as we go through the seasons of life, there are times of drought and times of rain. Some times, we cannot help but find ourselves close to God and excited about all of the opportunities we have to live out our personal discipleship. Other times, it seems we always ask ourselves, “What is the point, anyway?�
With the gospel reading focusing in on what we’ve learned to call “The Lord’s Prayer� today, I thought it might be helpful to revisit this teaching of Jesus that we know so well and do some listening to God about our own renewal.
The truth is, without a regular, intimate connection with God the Father, we can find ourselves saying the words of prayer without letting the language of prayer stir our hearts and bring us closer to Him.
The Lord’s Prayer is among the most frequently-repeated items of Christian literature. Even people, who are not terribly religious or very serious about being a Christian, know the prayer. It is very familiar to many. Perhaps it is too familiar to us in some ways.
Jesus taught that our love for God should come from every last fiber of who we are: all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul, with all of our strength. In order to pray as we ought, all of those things need to be applied to our prayer life. Since the Lord’s prayer is something that we have become very familiar with over the years, it makes sense that we should occasionally revisit the text to study what Jesus taught so we can remain spiritually fresh.
What does the Lord’s Prayer teach us? [1]
Conclusion:
Praying as we ought means that we are called to first make room in ourselves for this life-giving activity which provides an intimate connection with God, who gives us the gifts of physical and spiritual health.
Praying as we ought also provides a connection with our friends and neighbors in the family of faith where we can share our joys and pains, and find strength to always seek the will of God before the will of the world.
Praying as we ought equips us to live with the full faith and knowledge that our Lord loves us and wants to meet our needs so we can grow daily towards perfection in His grace.
Sources Consulted: Homiletics, July 30, 1995 Homiletics, July 26, 1998 Homiletics, July 25, 2004 Bock, Darrell L. Luke. Zondervan, 1996; pp. 307-315. length: Comments[0] |
Fri, 4 May 2007 If there is one thing that our world loves, it’s a “silver bullet� that provides a one-step, magically complete solution to a problem, a task, or reaching a goal. Witness all of the products and plans out there which try and sell you one of these silver bullets: With weight loss, controlling the cortisol hormone is the current silver bullet that’s making people rich. Cortislim and other companies tell you, “it’s not your fault that you’re fat – it’s just stress and that nasty old hormone. Control the hormone, and you’ll have the body you’ve always wanted but couldn’t get!� Riiiiight. Friends, I do have some genetically-inherited tendencies to be heavy… but I am the one who ate too much and didn’t exercise enough. Pure and simple, it IS my fault, and no silver bullet will reverse the weight gain other than exercise, healthy living, and eating fewer calories than I burn. And I don’t care how much hair regrowing stuff I could buy, it’s not coming back. Minoxidil, Avacor, whatever. There are better things to worry about. In the business world, there are all sorts of plans that say we can become rich and powerful with ease – just use the silver bullet! Beautiful houses, expensive cars, and a life of ease can be yours without delay if you’ll just sign up and use the system. I don’t know about you, but I have met very few wealthy people who haven’t worked very hard for what they have. No systems, no gimmicks, just hard work. There are so many promises of success by following someone’s “simple� plan. But then, you find out that the simple part is giving someone else your money, and you’re back to square one (or worse) because you’ve been taken for a ride. What to do? Maybe you’re not looking at the truly simple option. That’s something that I think bears a look for we disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s very easy to get caught up in the fads of popular Christianity and miss the point. Some would tell you that you’ve arrived if you go to a church that has “vibrant and exciting worship.� Others teach that certain rituals are certain to bless those who participate in them. And on and on. But so often, we miss the core point of Jesus’ teaching on what it takes to be a disciple. You can sum it up with three simple things: Feed His lambs, tend His sheep, and feed His sheep. That’ s all there is to it. No gimmicks, no slick marketing, no big emotional jolt. Just take care of Jesus’ sheep. This is what Jesus was making sure Peter understood when he kept asking, “Peter, do you love me more than these?� “Peter, do you truly love me?� It’s not the easiest job in the world, being a disciple – but the expectations are simple. Jesus wants each of us to know that if we’re serious about being a follower, being a true disciple, that we understand what is expected of us. The underlying charm to these “get rich quick,� or “lose weight easily� products is that they try and make you think that you can get something without having to give anything else up. Or, like the lottery says, “spend a buck – you might win millions.� Essentially, the message is that you can keep on drifting along in life, because this product or plan won’t demand anything of you. That doesn’t mix with what Jesus taught. If you look at all that Jesus taught about following Him, it’s easy to see that you’ll never be an effective disciple if you aren’t willing to put some effort into it. What Jesus is saying is, “if you truly love me, you’ve got to get dressed, wade ashore, roll up your sleeves, and DIG IN to the life of discipleship.� It’s pretty simple! That’s an unpopular idea with many “Christians,� because there’s no room for coasting. It demands that you place yourself in the line of fire – against the culture, against the winds of popular opinion. But you’ll never find out what God's will for you is if you won’t take the initiative and allow Jesus to transform you. This the idea that the Apostle Paul taught in Romans 12: that through the renewing of our minds, we will be able to know what God's will is (12:2). What is the will of God? Here it is, straight from Jesus: that Peter and those who would love Jesus like Peter said he did, MUST feed the lambs, tend the sheep, and feed the sheep. Three simple things: Feed, Tend, Feed. This is the idea that we should try and embody when we construct a mission statement for our church. We should be able to look at every thing this congregation does – everything – and see that it falls within those three simple things that Jesus taught. And if we’re not doing those three simple things, it’s time to start shaking things up and making changes until we are. True Christian community expects those things of its members so that the work of the Kingdom is done. It’s what you must have to maintain your direction and course of discipleship. If you don’t think that’s important, then please remember this: the congregations that keep these priorities are growing, longer-lasting, and much more vital than the ones who treat these things as optional. The other part of feeding, tending, and feeding means that you look and reach beyond the boundaries of your Christian community. We do this so that we can engage our culture, and combat the concerns that keep people from living full, vital lives. There are always families that are in danger of falling apart, there are always people whose life options are limited due to illiteracy and lack of education; the demons of domestic violence always seem to be lurking in the shadows. These issues are right here in our town – and these are some of the things that Jesus calls us to confront and combat as we feed, tend, and feed. This is not an easy life, but it has its rewards: people are attracted to congregations that put faith into action and make a point of working to make a difference in the world. It’s scriptural: Jesus said that those who lose their lives for His sake will find new life. The good news is that we can all do this. You might think you are not strong enough, not virtuous enough, or even forgiven enough to be an effective disciple – but that’s not so. Jesus forgives the most impossible sins, overcomes the greatest fears, comforts the biggest hurts, and breaks the heaviest chains, all to set us free so we can serve. The disciples were amazed at how many fish they caught when they put their nets where Jesus said to cast them. We, too, will find amazing abundance when we dedicate ourselves to following Christ’s direction and fulfilling His good purposes. Those three simple things (feed, tend, feed) bring all of the good things of God to us as we bring them to others. Isn’t it time that we find a way to make this a priority for all we do?
Sources consulted: Homiletics, April 2004 Burge, Gary M. John. Zondervan, 2000. O’Day, Gail R. John (in NIB Vol. IX). Abingdon, 1995.
length: Comments[0] |
Fri, 4 May 2007 One of the hardest things we have to do as followers of Jesus is to apply the word of God to real life. It would be nice to be able to use all of the beautiful words and grand concepts of scripture without getting into tangles, but that’s the way life is. When I say that we get into ‘tangles,’ this is what I mean: when we apply the word of God to real life, as we reach our conclusions and attempt to come up with a consistent way of living out those conclusions, traditions almost always result. What are some of the traditions that we have around here? We have Missions in Motion and harvest festivals in the fall, to give thanks for the harvest and to support some of the ministries we believe are important. Lots of folks in our community can’t imagine life without sports in our schools. There’s a bunch of guys who drink coffee at the hardware store (including me, sometimes) and discuss how the world is getting along. As a society, we have a tradition of putting our money in banks instead of burying it in the back yard (or whatever). Even though we are supposedly a nation that promotes freedom of religion (not ‘freedom from religion’ as some advocate) we traditionally take the fourth Thursday in November as a quasi-religious holiday (Thanksgiving). And so on. Traditions have value and help us to function. Whether we are dealing with religion or ordering our society, traditions help us order our lives and keep the trains running on time. Our country couldn’t operate without some traditions in the foundation. Our Christian life is just the same. We need traditions to help us stay connected to the foundations of our faith. So, we traditionally worship on Sunday morning. We traditionally celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of the month, and our traditions have taught us to expect that times like Christmas and Easter will contain special times of celebration and remembrance. Jesus did not reject the idea that we need some traditions to help us stay the course of faith. Another way that we might say that is He recognized that we need wineskins – that is, forms and traditions – to hold the wine, the essence of God’s truth in our lives. If we didn’t, we’d be standing in a puddle of juice![1] The thing about wineskins, though, is that after a time, they grow old and are no longer able to fulfill their purpose, to do the good thing they were intended to do. (See Mk 2:18-22). The traditions of Judaism and the holiness codes were initially intended to do three things: First, help the Jews be holy in the Lord’s sight through actions that were attainable in daily life. Secondly, the holiness codes were created to maintain and preserve their identity as God’s people in a world of pagans. Thirdly, following these sets of rules gave the impression that creation was a calm and orderly place where one could show his or her devotion to God by following the rules. The Pharisees maintained these traditions through an honest desire for holiness and devotion to God. The problem was, their actions were not changing their hearts. Traditions become evil when they no longer help the people fulfill God’s purposes. Traditions become a corruption when the people become more devoted to maintaining the tradition than obeying God’s commands. If you hang on to a tradition because it is safe and comfortable, instead of allowing it the power to bring you closer to God, you run the risk of getting stuck in it. It’s like some kinds of crabs who have to shed their shells from time to time in order to live and grow. While the crab is growing a new shell, it is vulnerable. But if it won’t leave its own shell, it will grow so hard that it will become that crab’s coffin. The point Jesus makes in his conversation with the Pharisees isn’t about whether or not tradition is bad, it’s about the motivations behind carrying them out. It’s the condition of your heart and soul that determines your spiritual healthiness. When your outward behavior stinks, it’s because your inner life is rotten. If your hand is doing wrong, your heart cannot be right. Righteousness is not about what you do, it is about who you are. It would be easy to sit back and talk about how those nasty Jewish Pharisees were just setting themselves up for God’s judgment because they let their traditions get the better of them. But let’s be honest about our own involvement in traditions. Christianity has had its own troubles with traditions that resulted in a dead faith. We too have often times become very legalistic about certain traditions, and have paid the price for it. Most religious people have the tendency to hold on to human traditions as if they were divinely revealed by God. When that happens, the virtues of love, reconciliation, and the good news of Christ's salvation can be lost in the shuffle. The show becomes more important than the transformation of our hearts. That’s why Jesus’ accusations were so shocking to the people. In the Jewish tradition, the Pharisees were considered to be amongst the most holy of the holy people. They were the ideal to follow; they were the example that could lead you into God’s presence. But here Jesus is, saying, “You’ll have to do better than that.� Hearing the list of things that revealed a rotten heart must have made many of the people there that day feel like their case was truly hopeless. To hear that being angry at someone is just as bad as committing murder was bound to shake them up. For the men to hear that if you look at a woman with lust, it’s the same as having committed adultery with her undoubtedly provoked some guilty shudders that day. But if righteousness really is about what’s in your heart and not what you’ve done with your hands, it’s true. God sees what’s really going on with you. You’re just as clueless and lost as the Pharisees. Here’s the bad news: you have to be better than a Pharisee to get into heaven. But wait, here’s the good news: if you get your heart right, everything else will fall into place. So where do we start? It’s a big job for any person, because our human nature gives us a built-in tendency toward being bad instead of being good. And what a list of things Jesus hits us with! Evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness, all thoughts and deeds that make us feel very uncomfortable. Many well-known people have self-destructed over the last 30 or 40 years because of the things that Jesus named: The musician Jimi Hendrix, and others, died because of drug abuse. Coach Bobby Knight lost his integrity and began throwing chairs and physically mistreating his players. Now former-majority leader Trent Lott lost much of his influence because of the controversy surrounding his statements about Strom Thurmond’s 1948 segregationist campaign for the presidency. Darrell Strawberry, Robert Downey Jr., Tonya Harding, Mike Tyson… who else would you add to this list? We can all think of someone. But as you are making your list and checking it twice, don’t forget to consider where you have fallen. We have these tendencies in ourselves, and we all need God’s grace to bring us up from our failures. The good news is that there is always hope for us. Always. With God, we always have the opportunity to get our hearts right so that the rest of us can follow through. His love covers the full range of human failings: God, in his mercy, says to us, “You are forgiven, no matter how rotten you are.� God loves us all, especially the ones who are the most desperately lost, the ones whose hearts ache the most desperately. [2] God created us all, and loves us all, and brings us all home. I started out by saying that one of the hardest things we have to do as followers of Jesus is to apply the word of God to real life. But even though it is hard, we still must do it. The early holiness codes were intended to provide boundaries between God’s people and pagan culture. But, as the lesson of the Pharisees teaches us, boundaries that are too tightly kept choke out love, and we lose the focus that keeps God in our lives. Jesus shows us how to let our traditions feed our faith without getting caught in the net of legalism. If you’re struggling with that issue today, of going through the motions without experiencing any transformation of the heart, try not to let those feelings defeat you. God is not concerned so much with your past, your sins, or your shortcomings as he is with your answer to two questions: Will you rise above those things? And, will you allow him to heal you of them? The first part of applying God’s word to your daily life is learning how to let it change YOU. As you become whole and more holy, your outward acts and actions will become more and more representative of the glory of God. He is with us, each step of the way, and his grace is working every moment to bring us to perfection – no matter how rotten you are. Sources Consulted: Perkins, Pheme. Mark (Abingdon, 1995), 604-608. “Inherent Vice,� Homiletics, August 2003, 62-68. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 15 April 2007 For today’s sermon, I want to focus in on how this passage really teaches us that sometimes, doubt will help us arrive at a stronger faith. A lot of the time, when we read this passage, we zero in on Thomas as the one who is the “doubter,� the one whose faith needs to be firmed up by actually seeing and touching Jesus. But actually, all of the disciples need some faith firming – because all of them are suffering from some doubt! On the day of resurrection, Jesus’ words to Mary were not initially sufficient to confirm her faith. Jesus had to call her by name before she recognized Him. When she went and told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,� their faith was still not at full strength. And now, they are still in the same state of fear and doubt. Verse 19 says, “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!� They were in fear because of the Jews – and that Jesus suddenly stood among them likely produced some fear, too. They had forsaken Jesus in His hour of trial, and they probably expected a strong rebuke or blame in some way for their actions. But Jesus again does something unexpected: He offers a traditional Jewish greeting (see 1 Sam 25:6) and pronounces peace upon them. That was a radical, challenging action! Not too much later, the disciples were again gathered behind locked doors, this time with Thomas present, and this happens again. Thomas is the “new� twist to the story – though he was told, he would not believe. And then the challenge is offered – now you see, will you believe? But another confirmation is needed – and it is given. What’s going on here is very powerful: it’s not just about confirming one person’s individual faith; Jesus is delivering on the promise that he has made: that the peace of God’s Kingdom will be here for the world. This is the central essence of His earthly work; this is the foundation of the Kingdom. What this means for us is that having doubts within our faith does not automatically mean that we are on the outs with God. Not every person can believe as easily as another; some persons need to see more before they sign on. Some will have faith, but, like Mary in the garden, might not know what they are seeing and need some help. Some times, the way that we grow in faith is by asking questions – some times, because of a little doubt, we ask questions, we learn and grow, and God gifts us with a deeper and stronger faith. Part of the process of growth in faith is that sometimes, we ask “what-if?� We’ve all asked those what-if questions at some time in life: “Hey Dad, what if I jumped out of the car while it was moving? What would happen?� “Hey Mom, what if I stuck my tongue in the socket?� “What if I only drank root beer floats for meals?� What if the Earth didn’t have a moon? Actually, that one’s been asked by a prominent scientist, University of Maine science professor Neil Comins, and he sat down and thought about this particular what-if question. Among the things he came up with were that our world would only have 8-hour days, because we wouldn’t have the gravity of the Moon to slow our rotation down. We’d also have smaller ocean tides, which would mean that the tide pools we now see on the coasts would not exist. Our world would also have many more horrible tornados and hurricanes, and 100-mile-per-hour winds would be common. Long story, short, we wouldn’t be living or playing outside very much. Very likely, we’d be living in caves or underground – if we were here at all. Looks like God knew what he was doing when he set the Moon in the sky over us! What about the “what-ifs� of adult life: What if I married the wrong person? What if I never went back to that horrible job? What if I never became a parent to these children? What if I hit the lottery? What about the what-ifs of faith? What if God didn’t exist? (A question that isn’t always approved of in the church?) So… really: what if Jesus stayed in the ground after Easter? This what-if was not just speculation for the disciples. This was a question that struck to the deepest parts of their reality. Even though Jesus was indeed God in the flesh raised from the dead, the disciples had no way of knowing this. For all they knew, Jesus had been wrong. In order to understand this scene, we have to stop and put ourselves into their experience. These were confused faith-misfits who appeared to be totally wrong about the King of the new kingdom. Their rabbi was dead, and now they feared what could happen to them (v. 19). Imagine all the haunting “what-if� questions they thought of, based on what they had seen and heard for the last three years. So when a person of faith has what-if questions, how does God help with the questions? The simple answer is that God helps each person with questions through a religious experience. Jesus met the disciples behind closed doors, first turned their fear to joy, and then commissioned them for a Spirit-filled life of service to the Kingdom. Now, this was only 10 of the disciples. One of the disciples – Judas – may have never believed in the Christ. He killed himself. Thomas was still an outsider to the Christ the 10 had experienced. He was still locked in the tomb of doubts. This scripture doesn’t come out and tell us what Thomas’ experience was: distraught, confused, bitter? We don’t know. If we think about the experience of all the disciples, though, we can make a good guess: prayers seem to bounce off of the ceiling. They don’t know how to relate to an invisible God. Life is hard so God hardly seems loving. They are beset with disbelief as they watch hypocritical church leaders ensconced in scandal. Pain is a problem, dinosaurs have evolved, and the supernatural is unnatural. Experience does not match up to what faith asks them to believe. Some folks need more proof than others – and Thomas a perfect example of that. These are the ones who really wrestle with questions such as: Jesus appeared to Paul, why doesn’t he appear to me? God spoke audibly to Moses, so why don’t I get a burning bush? God gave Gideon a wet fleece, so why won’t he tell me his will for my life? We read that when Jesus did return to visit the disciples it was a week later (v. 26). What was that week like for Thomas? Maybe it was like it is for those who doubt today – they feel alienation from friends, not just alienation from what they believed. They need community, but tend to avoid it because their community holds dearly to things they are questioning and wrestling with. As we encounter those who doubt, we remember that God knows their needs more than we do. Perhaps he is testing and strengthening them through their exploration. Perhaps they need to lay down their idol god or their ideal god in favor of the Real God. In any case, God knows best what they need and God is working their doubt, like all things, for their good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, there is no better way to partner with people in their doubt than to pray that in his kindness God would address their deepest needs and make known the ways he is shaping them through their questioning. But go back and notice what Jesus doesn’t do in the face of one doubting him. Punish. Ignore. Shame. Patronize. Marginalize. The important thing for we the church to remember is that God helps those of little faith. He doesn’t ever push them away. Remember the storm story in Matthew’s gospel? (8:23-27). A seismos comes up quickly on the lake, and the little boat in which the disciples and Jesus are sailing is swamped. Jesus is sleeping; the disciples are not. So they awaken Jesus, and Jesus says, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?� Jesus really did say that – but, He did NOT say, “Hey, you people of little faith, come back to me sometime when your faith is strong, when you really believe, and then I might try to help you out.� He reminded them that they had room to grow in their faith journey and then rebuked the winds. Jesus has this power, and we don’t. We can’t make having faith a good work. Thomas doesn’t “achieve� a coming to faith. Faith is something the risen Christ brings to Thomas. Faith is a gift from God, even when we are in “what-if� mode. The positive side of doubt is that if we honestly embrace it, ask questions, and faithfully seek answers, God can lead us to a new level of belief and living. It really does work. And if we, the church, can embrace, dignify, and journey with those inside and outside of the church who have doubts of the risen Christ, we will strengthen the blessed that Jesus spoke of: “those who have not seen and yet have come to believe� (v. 29). Sources Consulted: “What If…� Homiletics, April 2007 Burge, Gary M. John (Zondervan, 2000) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 8 April 2007 Harry Denman, the great Methodist evangelist of the mid-20th Century, is reported to have prayed the Lord’s Prayer with a significant addition: it was not just “thy will be done,� it was “thy will be done in ME, in ME.� This world – in fact, all of creation – was brought into existence for the sole purpose of giving glory to God. Further, this was not just the act of an ego-centric God who simply desired someone nearby to worship Him, it was an act of love undertaken that He might have someone to share the joy of life with Him. That is why each one of us is here – to acknowledge the loving glory of the Lord God Almighty, through lives that are fittingly lived as a testament to the reason for our very existence. That sounds easy enough. However, with the love of God came freedom. Each of us was created with the ability to make our own choices. So, we don’t just automatically begin living lives of holiness at the moment of our birth. The process of overcoming the sinful nature within us begins when we first ask God to help us become a new person, the person that He created us to be. The journey begins with the realization that this will only be achieved through self-discipline and an ever-closer walk with God each day that we are alive on this earth. There’s where the rub lies, though. Doing that will place us not against just our own natural desires, but against the very fabric of our society! Self-discipline is not popular in our society! Even a lot of Christianity today insists that the intent of accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ is so we can feel good, be personally gratified, and find fulfillment through doing what we want as we ask God to bless us. If you carefully read Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church over the ages, you’ll soon see differently. To put it in the terms that John Wesley used in his Covenant Service so many years ago, Christians have been created by God to be used by Him to fulfill HIS purposes. That means at some times, we might be used by God for a season to accomplish something, and then have to be patient and wait while someone else is used. Reverend Don Haynes, a professor at Hood Theological Seminary in The only way anyone could ever live a fulfilling life after giving oneself to God in this fashion will be through personal, God-assisted discipline. Wesley himself considered the “way of salvation� to include discipline as a means to both personal and social holiness. You may be wondering by now, “is this biblical? What does the Bible say about this?� The first answer is that this way of thought is VERY biblical. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes … and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.� (Eph. 6:11-12, paraphrased, NIV). Jesus Himself noted the marks of the person who desired to save his or her soul: seeking the As Methodists, we express this desire for salvation by noting that person who truly desires to be saved will show evidence of this desire in three ways: Ÿ Avoiding known sin Ÿ Doing good and avoiding evil Ÿ Attending the worship of God The fruits of the Spirit as the Apostle Paul notes them in Galatians 5 are the visible results of our decision to live a deliberately virtuous life: Ÿ Love Ÿ Joy Ÿ Peace Ÿ Patience Ÿ Kindness Ÿ Goodness Ÿ Faithfulness Ÿ Gentleness Ÿ Self-control How will we be successful in our quest to give these evidences of our salvation? We will be victorious through the living of deliberately virtuous lives. We will always be challenged in this respect. As humans, we will always find ourselves both attracted to and repelled from the idea of goodness. We take great joy in raising individuals up as heroes and saviors – but also find enjoyment when they are revealed to have “feet of clay.� The “self-help� market in this country is a real money-maker. Countless thousands of people buy book after book, tape after tape, and attend workshop after workshop in the hopes of finding the magic key to tapping all of their potential. But, at the same time, so many fall off track because they are not willing to confront the bad habits that are making their lives less than complete in the first place! The Apostle Paul sums it up well: “14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.� (Romans 7:15-18, NIV) Just remember: we are always free to choose to be the good self that God created us to be, or we can sell out to the evil that is around us. The virtues are gifts of grace that God offers to all of us. They go beyond being a series of moral skills that we can go and get for ourselves. That is because God is the one who gives them to us. It doesn’t matter what your background is: God desires each one of us to be whole, and is giving us a way to become so. This is not the time to think that we as Christians have the higher ground morally. True moral character is not just about belonging to the right “club� or group of people. It’s all about each of us doing our level best to become the person God created us to be. It’s all about recognizing that there may be other people near us whom we might have passionate disagreements with, who are also doing their level best to be morally serious in their lives – and that we can work together for increased holiness and righteousness The virtues are a way that we can all come together for the greater glory of God’s Kingdom. By widening the commitment to the moral life, we can offer our society the healing it so badly needs. Seeking the virtues of wisdom and courage; justice and temperance; faith and hope; love, joy, and peace, will lead us closer to God if they are faithfully practiced. We will see the presence of God in that we will be patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and live with self-control. Best of all, others may come to know the Lord as we do. That, friends, is the life we are called to lead. Perhaps God will make use of us this year, or lay us aside to wait for another season. Whichever occurs, may His will be done – to us, to us. Sources consulted: The Workbook on Virtues and the Fruit of the Spirit, by Maxie Dunnam and Kimberly Dunnam Reisman (Upper Room, 1998). Wesley’s Covenant: Antidote for morally lax times, by Donald W. Haynes. Published in the [1] length: Direct download: The_Case_for_Living_a_Deliberately_Virtuous_Life.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 11:40 PM Comments[1] |
Sun, 8 April 2007 Have you ever seen the movie, Forever Young? Forever Young is the story of a test pilot (played by Mel Gibson) who loses his true love. He is so devastated by his loss that he is heartbroken. Seeing no reason to stick around, he volunteers for a scientific experiment which will cryogenically freeze him. The way the story unfolds, first, the laboratory is destroyed in a fire – and his scientist friend dies trying to save him – and then, the capsule in which he is frozen falls between the cracks of government paperwork. Forty or fifty years later, I don’t remember which, a group of young boys stumble across the capsule when they are playing in the warehouse where it is stored. Being boys, they start messing around with the capsule, and Mel Gibson’s character is revived. He befriends one boy’s mother and learns that, against all odds, his old sweetheart is still alive. The permanent coma she was supposedly in lasted only a few years, and she had woken up and continued on with her life. They can’t stay together because the process that froze him was not perfect, and once thawed, he begins to rapidly age. But for a moment, he was able to reconnect with his one true love. The movie is just a nice story. But cryogenics, the science of freezing of someone down to -350° Fahrenheit when they die on the off chance that you might be revived someday when science comes up with a cure for what got you, has been in the news in the last year. You probably remember the flap when baseball great Ted Williams died. His will, written in 1996, had stated that he was to be cremated. But a daughter and a son wanted to have him frozen, arguing that they had signed a pact with their father in 2000. They won, and so Ted Williams’ body is suspended upside down in a tomb of liquid nitrogen, frozen at minus 350 degrees. Why do people do this? Largely, because they fear dying and are unable to accept that some day, they will not continue into the future. Some do it because they are intrigued with the idea of living beyond a typical lifespan, and this seems the best way to approach the challenge of finding a new shot at life. But fewer than 1,000 people have arranged for this manner of preserving their bodies after death. It’s still very much a controversial issue. The religious leaders of That wasn’t the expectation, though. The disciples were running scared, and believed that Jesus had just died like any other man would have. The crowds surely didn’t think that he would rise again, either. Everyone expected Jesus to stay in the tomb – you might say that they expected him to stay frozen. When Mary Magdalene discovered that the stone door had been removed from the tomb, she never dreamed that Jesus had walked away. Her conclusion was a very logical one: someone had taken the body, and she did not know where they had laid him. There are a couple of interesting things here that we should think about. The first is how the people tended to put Jesus on ice, so to speak. They wanted – even expected – him to stay one way. The second is how these same people were frozen in their way of thinking, even the ones who had been with Jesus the most. How often do we tend to do these things? How often do we fall into the trap of keeping Jesus on ice because a Jesus who doesn’t change things is so much easier to deal with than a living Lord who makes demands on our lives? How often do we freeze our own attitudes and ways of thinking because it makes it easier to resist changing when God chooses us to serve? Here’s what I mean by that – some examples of what we’re attracted to versus what Jesus really taught. We are attracted to a Jesus who teaches us about love. But, if you look at Matthew 5:44, we meet a Lord who commands us to not just love whom we wish, but love our enemies. Another image we find attractive is the Jesus who helped the unfortunate. But when we look at Mark 10:21, we are confronted by a Lord who challenges us to sell what we own and give the proceeds to the poor. We are excited when we read about a Jesus who worships in the Family values are something that we all consider important in some way. But when Jesus predicts that he will cause divisions in families, pitting fathers against sons and daughters against mothers, we are taken aback. (Luke 12:52-53). And probably the one we accept the most is a Jesus who accepted people as his disciples, but not the Lord who challenges us to walk the way of the cross, and find a new life through sacrifice. So what do you think? Are we more content with a Jesus who is frozen, instead of an active and challenging one? Of course we are! We are all creatures of habit to some degree, and we’re more comfortable when we can keep our practices and lifestyles that fit us the most easily. I started out seminary wanting to concentrate on just being a worship leader in a large church. Just sing and play instruments, and make worship like a concert every week. But you know something? It took a long time, but I finally realized that was not what Christ had called me to… it was what I was most comfortable with. I grew up in a household where we were just as much at home on stage with music or theatre as we were sitting in our living room. And when Jesus took my attitude out of the freezer and made it clear what HE wanted me to do, that was quite a world-shaker. Country churches? Preach sermons EVERY week? Not have a rock band leading the music? AUGH!! Here’s an Easter truth that I learned from that experience: Christ is risen, and we can’t live as though he is still in that grave. He won’t let us! Any limitations we try and put on him only make him laugh at us. You can’t stay frozen when Jesus calls you. He won’t let you! When Peter and the other disciple run up to the tomb to see what Mary is talking about, Jesus unfreezes their expectations by being absent (Jn 20:3-10). When Jesus stands before Mary, he is in a form that she doesn’t recognize – a gardener. But when he speaks to her and she does recognize him, he won’t let her hold on to him. He knows that he must move onward, eventually meeting the Father in heaven. So he tells her, “Go and tell the others that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.� Here’s another attitude that might require some people to thaw out a little bit: with Jesus’ command to Mary, you could very well consider her to be the first apostle. An apostle is someone who is sent forth. Mary was sent forth to spread the wonderful news of the resurrection. Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus, our risen and living Lord, moves among us this morning? Jesus is not frozen. He’s alive and well and moving among us, calling us to follow him into new adventures in faith. Just remember – we, his disciples, are chosen… but not frozen. Our Lord is not a comfortable Lord who preaches a gospel of personal wealth and success and offers himself as our ultimate business partner. He’s not predictable, and he will not stand for intolerance or small-mindedness. He’s not encouraging anyone to focus on themselves and neglect the needy of our world. He won’t let us get stuck in our attitudes when they keep us from moving with him through life. It’s a new day. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Will you go with him? Sources consulted: “Jesus On Ice,� Homiletics, April 2003 NIV Bible Commentary, Vol 2. (Zondervan, 1994) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 8 April 2007 “Letting Jesus Be Jesus� Luke 19:28-40 April 1, 2007 Think about the annual silliness of the Academy Awards on television. Silliness? Why would I say a thing like that? Well, it’s like this. The Academy Awards, or the Oscars, as they’re called, attract the attention of one-sixth of the human race, according to TV ratings data. Nearly a billion people tune in or attend so they can see their favorite stars on the red carpet. Over the years, all of the gawking and gossip has turned into a world-stopping event. The E! Entertainment network features a multi-hour “pre-show� before the beginning of the awards show itself so that there can be continuous coverage of the stars arriving for the ceremony. Here’s why this strikes me as so much silliness: with all of the attention the Oscars get, you’d think the actors and actresses are the pinnacle of human civilization, destined for immortality and the eternal worship of their fans. But is this true? Well, this year it is – but what about next year? Will the glitter, glamour, and gossip still shine for them… or will they be yesterday’s news? I think the attraction of the whole The way things play out in the annual Oscars hoopla can help you understand the Bible stories of that first Palm Sunday – really! If you think of it in terms of all the hoopla surrounding the Oscars, the behavior of the crowds actually makes a lot of sense. People saw Jesus as some sort of star, or even superstar. With all of the pilgrims coming to A star was coming, and so people put out the red carpet – well, it was cloaks on the road, but you know what I mean. And, as Jesus the star approached, there were many palm branches being waved around to welcome the celebrity of the moment. Glitter, glamour, and gossip. All present and accounted for. In Jesus came, with all of the pomp and circumstance you would expect for a king, or a general who had won a great victory on the battlefield. The people sang Jesus’ praises for all he had done. Immortality and eternal worship, here we come. But, here came reality to pop the fantasy bubble: Jesus came to claim a cross. He knew that, but the people didn’t want to hear it. They may have given him love for a bit on Sunday, but the machinery that killed Him on Friday was beginning to work in the background: - The Pharisees try to get Jesus to stop his disciples praising Him, but Jesus refuses: “if these were silent, the very stones would shout out.� (vv. 38-39). After this, the gossip starts to turn ugly. - Jesus isn’t interested in running the Romans out of town. - Jesus and his disciples weren’t armed. - Jesus talked about wars, persecutions, and hard times, instead of victories and prosperity. We know how this all turned out. The Jewish leaders started looking for a way to get Jesus killed. Even though the Roman governor could find no reason to put him to death, the crowds kept pushing for blood, and in the end, they got what they asked for. Jesus was crucified because he failed to live up to the peoples’ fantasies. Instead of being the celebrity that the people wanted him to be, he insisted on being who he really is, someone who embraced his cross and called the people to do likewise. The essential message of Holy Week is that we must remember to let Jesus be Jesus: the savior of humanity who offers God's grace and goodness to all who will receive him. We can’t allow the temptation to paint Jesus as an inspirational “good teacher� to guide our Christian life. He loves us and cares for us; he walks with us and talks with us… but he also challenges us to move beyond ourselves. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace. To maintain a state of grace, we must live according to the grace we have been given. Jesus saw the spiritual state of the crowds – sheep without a shepherd – and his compassion for them was so strong it almost made him ill. How’s your compassion doing these days? We must let Jesus be Jesus: if we claim the name Christian, we have to be willing to live the life as he defines it. Letting Jesus be Jesus means that we will become poor so we might become rich; it means loving without question or reserve. It means not expecting a ticket to Easy Street just because we say the right words, or wear the right religious jewelry. It means leading by serving, and serving by leading. Human nature often destroys the celebrities who fail to live up to our fantasies. May we rise above that nature and see all people as God's chosen children, according to the grace we have been given – because we follow Jesus as he truly is, not who we imagine him to be. Amen. Sources Consulted: “Palm Branches and Red Carpets,� Homiletics, April 2004 KeyWord NIV Hebrew-Greek Study Bible (AMG 1996) Bock, Darrell L. Luke (Zondervan, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 5 March 2007 The key verse of this passage to pay attention to is the first verse we read, verse 17. Paul says, “join with others in following my example…� and “take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.� (NIV) Here in Lent, as followers of the Methodist tradition of the Christian faith, we have examples and patterns that we are accustomed to following. We will in some way follow the church calendar established in early Christian tradition; this means that forty-six days before Easter, we have a day called “Ash Wednesday.� Forty-three days later, on Good Friday, we remember the death of our Lord, and forty-six days after Ash Wednesday, we have a glorious Sunday celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. Fifty days after that, it’s Pentecost. And so on. But while that is the same for many, the details sometimes vary. In our country, it’s very common to see our Roman Catholic friends eating fish on Fridays during Lent, foregoing red meat as part of their Lenten discipline. But in That’s not the only bizarre feast item that our faithful Catholic friends around the world have petitioned to add to their Lenten menus. Over the years and in different places, beavers, geese, puffins, assorted marine animals and even muskrats have been approved, though as one Michigan bishop put it, anyone who is chowing down on muskrat is “doing penance worthy of the greatest saints.� But these traditions, though important, don’t change the basic nature of who we are as Christians – or at least I hope they don’t! I don’t think that any of us is less Christian because we were snowed out on Ash Wednesday and were not able to have our traditional church meeting that night. Lent reminds us that what goes into our bodies is less important than what we take into our spirits. No matter what we feed ourselves, we are all part of one kingdom made possible by the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this letter to encourage the Philippians, because they were living the life of colonists, which was a challenging life for the faithful. In 42 B.C., about 100 years before Paul put pen to parchment, Roman generals Paul was the one who planted the Christian church in Paul and Silas escaped from the jail because of an earthquake, but they refused to leave. As Roman citizens, they claimed the right to a fair trial from the officials in this Roman colony. The very mention of their Roman citizenship caused the magistrates to change their tune very quickly and the missionaries were escorted away from the prison (Acts 16:16-39). It was salvation by citizenship! The Philippians knew that Paul was one of them – someone who also lived out his faith in challenging places, in challenging times. Paul wants to serve as a good example of faithfulness for them, following the example of Christ as he does. Some of the Philippians had not take Christ as their example, and they needed encouragement. Self-indulgence, gluttony, and setting their minds on earthly things had taken a priority. So Paul reminded the Philippians that their identity was not to be bound up as citizens of a sinful and self-serving world, but to remember that their “citizenship is in heaven� (3:20). To put it another way, they were colonists who were living in this place but still faithful to their homeland. That’s who we are: we may live here, but we are citizens of another place – God’s kingdom. Our job is to colonize earth with the Kingdom’s culture. We don’t need to fear the world, nor do we need to become citizens of it, because even the present world is “subject� to the power of God. Therefore, Paul urges the Philippians (and us) to “stand firm� and continue to live and work as citizens of God’s kingdom. Here’s how this applies to Lent: Lent is about opportunity. This is an opportunity to renew our heavenly citizenship papers no matter where we find ourselves on earth. This is an opportunity to check in and ask God for guidance with our own appetites. Fasting and abstinence can be helpful disciplines for doing that, but rather than just thinking about taking things away during Lent, we should be adding some as well — like prayer and journaling, serving others intentionally, or engaging other disciplines that get us thinking beyond ourselves Lent is an opportunity for Christians to discuss what it is that unites us rather than divides us, and use that for the glory of God. We need to recognize that we are all citizens of the same kingdom. This is a good time to join in a celebration of citizenship – together. What goes into our bodies is less important than what we take into our spirits. We are all part of one kingdom made possible by the sacrifice of one Lord. We are all looking for a Savior — the One who was, who is, and is to come. Someday, as the communion liturgy says, we’ll all be sitting down together at a great banquet table with the King as the host. It’s who we really are. Sources Consulted: “Capybara – It’s What’s for Dinner,� Homiletics, March 2007 ACCS Vol. VIII (Galatians-Ephesians-Philippians) (IVP, 1999 NIV Keyword Hebrew-Greek Study Bible (AMG, 1996) Thielman, Frank, Philippians (Zondervan, 1995) length: Comments[0] |
Thu, 22 February 2007 We Americans really like our conspiracies. For years, we have enjoyed spending time learning about the conspiracies that supposedly occurred at The issue of who really killed JFK, and how many shooters there were, is a question that never goes away. There are many theories of what happened. Space aliens, the world ruled by a small group of secretive and insanely wealthy old men; the belief that pro wrestling isn’t fake… (well, maybe that last one isn’t a true conspiracy theory) – they go on and on. If you look around the world, you’ll see that we Americans are not the only ones who speculate on who is running things, and what is going on behind the scenes in all of Creation. There’s always someone to see that the “hidden hand of the puppeteer� is everywhere! Theodore Sasson, a sociologist with You can about imagine that kind of thoughts that must have been running through the heads of Peter, James, and John when they witnessed the Transfiguration. All of this stuff is going on, and apparently, no one doing it. Must be a divine conspiracy! Jesus is transformed before their very eyes and Moses and Elijah join him. The three men discuss Jesus’ departure, soon to occur in As quickly as it all started, the moment of wonder and awe concludes, and the disciples are left in bewildered silence. Quite a conspiracy: a quiet prayer retreat on a mountainside turns into a powerful announcement that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Chosen One. You look at this story and you can see the hand of God at work – everywhere! The problem is, though, that it doesn’t feel quite right to apply the word “conspiracy� to this event. The word has so many negative baggage with it – we’re very used to hearing this word used in terms of, say, people plotting to do bad things to other people. Let’s go back and reclaim the true meaning of “conspire� before discarding this word as something unusable for good things. The word “conspire� literally means “of one breath� or “breathing together.� When people get together and plan something, they are breathing together. If you want to get right down to it, a board meeting to plan how this church will do its ministry is a conspiracy! We are breathing together as we plan how we will go about the work of God’s kingdom. When God works with us to advance His will, we breathe together with Him: God’s spirit fills us with life as we breathe it in (in-spiration), gives us power, and gives us ability to push God’s plan into the world. So what does it mean to be in “conspiracy� with God? Let me tell you a story about some Christians who “conspired� to behave like Christians. A certain man, a Christian, lived in the southern part of His neighbor had two fields below his. One night, his neighbor made a breach in a retaining bank and drained off all the water from the Christian man’s field into his own two fields. When the Christian noticed the breach, he repaired the breach and filled his field again. This happened three more times. Finally, the Christian man consulted some of his friends and told them what he suspected his neighbor of doing. He said to them, “I’ve tried to be patient, but is it right to continue to be quiet about this?� After they had prayed together about it, one of them said, “If we only try to do the right thing, then surely we are poor Christians. We have to do something more than that which is right.� The troubled Christian took these words to heart. The next morning, instead of repairing the breach once again, he first filled his neighbor’s two fields and then in the afternoon he filled his own field. After that the water stayed in his field. His neighbor was so amazed at his actions that he began to inquire the reason and in due time, he, too, became a Christian. When we work together, allowing God’s breath (ruach or pneuma) to fill us and inspire us, and give us the power to advance the Kingdom, we are cooperating in the greatest conspiracy of all time. If we go back into our scripture reading, we’ll see four ways to participate in this divine conspiracy that lead us on to greater things: · Prayer At the beginning of our reading, Jesus is at prayer. Therefore, the way to begin conspiring with God is to first follow Jesus in this practice. In practical terms, prayer first settles us down, and then opens us up. It’s a way that we can lay aside our own attitudes and agendas, and God can speak to us and change our hearts. In prayer, we learn of God’s desires, and can become co-conspirators with God. Like Frederick Buechner once said, “Even if God does not bring you the answer you want, God will bring you Himself.� · Changing Appearance When you start breathing with God, your appearance will change. Look back at not only Jesus, but also Moses: contact with God changed the way they appeared. Maybe you won’t glow like they did, but things will change: you’ll act like a different person – offering your enemy a smile, speaking the truth to your neighbors, and living in love as Christ loves you. All this comes from an intimate conspiracy with God. · Discipline and Self-Denial When Moses and Elijah appeared and discussed God’s plan with Jesus, it involved a tough topic: what Jesus was to accomplish in This teaches us that if we are going to “breathe� with God, it will involve self-denial: the death of selfish desire, and the birth of godly desire. (You might check out John 12:24 for more on this). · Fellowship The Transfiguration is an event that Jesus was (and is) a King with the power to change the course of history. That’s the truth. Once you know this truth, you have two choices: pick your cross and follow Him, or stay out of His way. There’s no room for the warm and fuzzy Jesus that many people like, because that vision of Jesus doesn’t push you to grow or be challenged in your faith. The Jesus of the Bible, the Savior who bled and died for each of us, is far more than that. In other words, we don’t change the message, the message changes US. The challenge of the Church is to breathe together – and when we do, exciting things can happen. The breathing can’t be left to just one person. So, what do you think? Are you ready to be part of the conspiracy? Sources Consulted: “Breathing With God,� Homiletics, February 2007. Bock, Darrell L. Luke (Zondervan, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 4 February 2007 Have you ever thought about the journey that the printed Word of God has gone through, just to get to you here today? Our reading today from 1 Corinthians has been a long time coming: Paul sent a message that made it to the Paul begins this last major section of 1 Corinthians with a reminder of what he had preached while in It doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with the Word of God, a message in a bottle thrown into an ocean, or a time capsule that has been buried for the benefit of future generations: Someone MUST carry the message onwards so it reaches its destination. You cannot just keep it to yourself! How will you pass on the Gospel message that has come to you? If you’ve been doing it for a while, keep it up! If not, now is a great time to get started! All you need for your “message in a bottle� is two things: the Good News of Christ, and your testimony; that is, your personal experience of God and Christ. If you look at what Paul has written here, you’ll see that his message is this kind of two-fold message that includes both personal experience and the Gospel news. First, he tells the Corinthians about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…� (1 Co 15:3-4, NIV) Then he tells them about his personal experience – in verse 8, he tells us that Christ appeared to him. He also takes a moment to note that Christ appeared to him, even though he was very unworthy of that honor. That’s another thing that you and I should not forget – you don’t have to be perfect to be an apostle, and you don’t have to be perfect to be a faithful person. This was a surprise to the Corinthians, and I think a lot of us will get surprised by this truth when we think about it. We get in the habit of thinking that the Apostle Paul was some sort of “Super Christian,� and it was his “super-ness� that qualified him for his position of honor in Christian history. If you remember the occasion of Paul’s calling in Acts 9, you’ll remember why perfection isn’t required to be included among God’s people. He openly admits his human failings in verses 9 and 10: “9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
Paul was called as an apostle even though he had persecuted the Church. His whole life was changed and turned around because of God’s wonderful gift of grace and new life. We must never forget the core of why we believe: that God raised Jesus Christ to new life, and through that miracle, each and every one of us is entitled to receive that gift as well – whether you need a major readjustment or something less powerful. You’re a message in a bottle: you’ve been sent into this world with a purpose and a future. God’s message of grace has traveled through many places and many centuries to you, and now it’s your turn. Who knows what God has in store for you? Only God, of course – but you’re ready to go. Mark Earley was the Attorney General of the Then in 2001 he ran for governor of the state, and he lost. As he says, “I came in second.� After this defeat, he received a call from Chuck Colson, asking him to consider becoming the president of Prison Fellowship. This was the last thing on Earley’s mind, since he hadn’t spent a single day of his life thinking about ministering to prisoners. But in his personal Bible studies he ran into Moses, who once killed an Egyptian and buried him in the sand; he also came across Paul, persecutor of the Mark Earley is now president of Prison Fellowship USA, a national ministry that focuses on fellowshipping with Jesus, visiting prisoners, and welcoming their children. By the grace of God, Earley is who he is, and God’s grace toward him has not been in vain. You are in God’s future, too. You are not the final recipient of the Good News, and none of us are supposed to bury it in a time capsule for 50 or 100 years. Find a way to share the words of grace and new life in whatever way you can with others. Forgive a hurt. Love a neighbor. Offer hope to someone who is grieving. Tell a child about Jesus. Remember that you are an apostle, “one who is sent,� so your job is to go out and offer others the message that you have received. You will find that any success you have is not a purely human achievement — it’s found in partnership with God. “I worked,� says the apostle Paul, “though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me� (v. 10). You don’t need to invent new words. Just tell them the truth – the old, old story of Jesus and His love. That’s what the world needs to hear, now and always. Sources Consulted: “The Christ Capsule,� Homiletics, February 2007 ACCS, Vol. NT-VII, “1-2 Corinthians� (IVP, 1999) Blomberg, Craig. “1 Corinthians� (Zondervan, 1994) KeyWord Hebrew-Greek NIV Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Fri, 2 February 2007 Today, we are going to study the “most excellent way� that Paul writes about in this chapter (Chapter 13) of 1 Corinthians. This “most excellent way� gets right down to the issue of what it is that holds the Christian life and the Christian community together: love. The singular feature of love is that it seeks to always build UP, not tear DOWN. With its partners, faith and hope, it is the most powerful force in the universe. A college professor was preparing to retire, and was asked what he thought the most important part of his years as a teacher had been. His response was, “I have spent my career being a traffic officer. Most people who direct traffic are trying to avoid collisions. But I have been trying to arrange them. I have considered it my calling to arrange collisions between the minds of young people and the great truths of our human existence." Paul was trying to arrange that kind of collision between the love of God and the members of the Corinthian church. The Corinthians’ concern over proper beliefs and the distribution of spiritual gifts had worn them out, and they needed to regain their strength. In chapter 12 Paul used the analogy of a human body to try and get the Corinthians to view charismatic gifts within the proper perspective. Now it was time to tie everything together into one, powerful whole. Our bodies need one essential thing to keep everything working: blood. Paul begins teaching that, for the Church, the lifeblood of love is that one essential thing. Just as the individual organs of the body cannot function without the blood coursing through them, we humans are nothing without love flowing through us. It’s all well and good that we have brains, hearts, lungs, kidneys, and all the other stuff… but without blood, they won’t work. A body that doesn’t have blood won’t work. A body that has something wrong with its blood will not be healthy – just as a person with AIDS, leukemia, or sickle-cell anemia will not be healthy. A church that has its organs – preachers, teachers, apostles, evangelists, and so on – but doesn’t have the blood of love flowing through its veins can’t function well. What is love? Throughout all of Scripture, “love is first of all an action, an unconditional commitment, a promise that is never broken.�[1] It’s hard to define love beyond that point, because love is portrayed as so many different things – our culture uses the word to mean just about anything BUT what the Bible says about it. A better way to remember what love is, is to understand it from its RESULTS. Genuine, Christ-like love will always produce the fruits that will let others know that it truly is love at work, not something else. Case in point: In verses 1-3, Paul refers to people whom God has given strong gifts – but who are not using them in love. For example, there are many persons who think that sharing the Gospel with another person means first scaring the heck out of them. This may be done with good intentions by the one doing the scaring – but the “love� that motivates it is warped version of what the Bible teaches. Too often, the person who has been scared simply ends up so beaten down that they can’t see any good news. It does no good to be an evangelist if the love of God does not build up the people who hear the message. There are those who are very gifted in making a defense of the faith – God has given them the benefits of being able to think and express themselves clearly. But unfortunately, so many educated Christians destroy the arguments of their opponents in such a way that makes them look no better than the most hardened secular cynic. We can go on an on with this, but I think you get the idea. Is this “the most excellent way?� of which Paul spoke? Of course not! This is why Paul, after spending so much time on spiritual gifts now turns to love: it’s more powerful than any gift. It’s the blood of the church! Paul’s point is that having spiritual gifts like speaking in the tongues of “angels,� being prophetic, understanding the mysteries of the universe and even having rock solid faith all comes to “nothing� without love. Even the sacrifice of your own life itself amounts isn’t worth a thing if it’s not done in love (13:1-3). True, godly love is stronger than everything else – even death. Paul talked about love a lot. When he did, he wasn’t talking about sentimentality, romance or positive feelings. Those are an emotional condition that concentrates on physical feelings –eros, an emotion that covers everything from “warm and fuzzy� to physical lust. The kind of love that Paul teaches us is “the most excellent way� is agape, a love that expresses itself as an act of the will, a choice, a commitment made without conditions. It is a truth that our choices define us, not our abilities. Our choices are the “blood� that fuels who we are and the lives we lead, for better or for worse. Love in the Church is the blood that lets us see ourselves as we truly are, and to see others as God sees them – so if we have love, it allows us to live God’s most excellent way. Elizabeth Elliot wrote in her newsletter almost 10 years ago that a missionary student in Indian language school wrote his own interpretation of this chapter of Corinthians: “If I have language ever so perfectly and speak like a pundit, but have not the knack of love that grips the heart, I am nothing. If I have decorations and diplomas, and am proficient in up-to-date methods, but have not the touch of understanding love, I am nothing. If I am able to worst my opponents in arguments so as to make fools of them, but have not the wooing note, I am nothing. If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and wonderful visions, but have not the love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. … … If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of love that is kind, I am nothing. If I can write books and publish articles that set the world agog, but fail to transcribe the word of the Cross in the language of love, I am nothing.� Mrs. Elliot said that what this student had written cut her to the heart as she thought about her own attitudes during her missionary work in Elizabeth Elliot Elliot was the wife of Jim Elliot, one of the five missionaries slain in Ecaudor in 1956 and whose story was adapted into the critically acclaimed movie, The End of the Spear. The way of God’s love is the way that leads to life. The relationships of love in the church is the blood that holds us together and allows us to minister in Jesus’ name in whatever way we are called to do so. The need for a genuine, Christ-like love in our world is as great as it has ever been. To quote an old favorite song, “There is power in the blood.� May it be ours forever, and may God call us to change the world with its power. Amen. Sources consulted: “The Potter Principle,� Homiletics, January 2007 “A Lovehope Faith,� Homiletics, February, 1992 Blomberg, Craig. 1 Corinthians (Zondervan, 1994), 258-266 The NIV Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 21 January 2007 Everywhere – or maybe anywhere – you go, it seems that life does its best to mold us into something like something else – cut from the same mold with the same cutter. If you go into The fashion industry does its best to keep us wearing what other people are wearing – guys and gals alike. In the corporate world, even though there are some outfits that have become a little more casual in their dress, pretty much everyone dresses like everyone else for business. Corporate Ronald came around in 1963. Do you know who the very first Ronald McDonald was? It was Willard Scott, who spent many years as the Today Show’s weather man. Willard, as Ronald, started out with a paper cup for a nose and a cardboard tray as his hat. Things changed in 1966 when McDonalds decided Ronald should be nationally known. So, they completely redesigned the way he looked – giving us Ronald as we know him today. For TV commercials and appearances, he always looked the same. By 1972, Ronald was so popular that McDonalds realized that they needed more than one Ronald to get the job done. So, they created a book that details exactly how to look like, sound like, and act like “the� Ronald McDonald. It’s not a bad job to have. The base pay for Ronald is about $40,000, and a busy one can make $100k. The premier Ronald, the person who does the national TV commercials, makes about $300k. As the song goes, “nice work if you can get it.…� So how many Ronalds are there? McDonalds won’t say – it’s a secret – but it is estimated that there about 250 actors working in the role. There is a closely-guarded annual convention for them, not open to the public. McDonalds policy forbids any two Ronalds from meeting in public so the illusion of just one Ronald is ruined. And, the actors have to meet very strict appearance guidelines – if you don’t pass inspection, you’re out of a job. Ronald McDonald – ambassador of a giant kingdom that has a lot of power and influence in this world. Ask any little kid if they know who Ronald McDonald is, and you are almost assured that they do. Ronald’s not the only well-known representative. Remember Mr. Goodwrench? GM brought him back this year after retirement in 1985. I would imagine there is more than one person here today who could name at least one quarterback playing in the Super Bowl this afternoon. The point is a lot of influence can be had in the world by looking or acting like something else. We certainly place a lot of value on individualism, but look at how much money is spent by Americans every year to follow a certain style, fashion, or philosophy of living. Look at how many restaurants are now hopping on the Atkins bandwagon. The Apostle Paul’s point in today’s text is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t gift the church so that we members are all the same. What God DOES do through the Holy Spirit is gift the church so that, even though we are different and individual, we all function for the benefit of the whole. If we all looked the same, it wouldn’t work. We each have different and unique gifts that God has given us. We each have different passions. All of these things were given to us so God can use them for his glory. Even though we are different in many ways, though, Paul cautions us not to take that too far. In verse 13, he writes, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.� One bread, one body, one spirit, one Lord of All. Why does Paul tell us this? · The Corinthian church had lots of examples of how Christians should NOT behave. They needed lots of encouragement. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Co 1:10).� · Paul also tells us this so we don’t forget that, despite their problems, there were good things going on with the Corinthians, too. If you look through 1 and 2 Corinthians, you can see that there were also many instances of the Holy Spirit working in wonderful and powerful ways. · Our unity in Christ doesn’t mean that we are supposed to be exact copies of one another, or exactly like someone we look up to. Paul didn’t want his followers to be like himself, or Apollos, or Cephas – he wanted them to be like Christ. The thing is, God takes as we are and uses us to accomplish the work of the kingdom. So maybe you’re… · a great pie baker · a Sunday school teacher · a writer of children’s books and stories · a musician · someone who dyes their hair a different color and pierces your bellybutton · someone who visits felons on death row ¨ Just as the body is one and has many members, so it is with the body of Christ. ¨ We come together in worship to drink of the one Spirit who gives us life, and go forth to pour ourselves out for others. ¨ Even though some of us are more different than others… it doesn’t mean we are any less a part of Christ’s body: we are all significant in God's eyes. We can all do something as we are; to advance the cause of Christ in our world and help more people come to know the salvation of our God. No one of us can do everything – but we all have our part to play. Not everyone is the quarterback of the football team. If that was the case, we’d never make it! All of the other players are important, because they all work together as a unit. On God's team, we all have our own, very special, role to play, with the special gifts that God has given us. If you are a foot, walk in the path of justice and righteousness. …a Hand, touch others for the sake of healing …an Eye, be open to visions of God's Kingdom …an Ear, listen for God's world May God use you to help the world know of the power of Christ’s love, the renewing brought by His grace, and the life that knows no end. AMEN. Sources Consulted: “Mr. Goodwrench & Mr. McDonald,� Homiletics, January 2004 The NIV Spiritual Formation Bible Bowman, Robert M. “There Are Different Gifts, but one Spirit.� (January 17-18, 1998; United Catholic Church Web Site; rmbowman.com) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 14 January 2007 “All the Same – Part 1� 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 This is the first installment in a series on living in the body of Christ – the community of faith – and how we each are an important part of the body. I’m calling this series “All the Same,� because that is the focus of what Paul is writing in the 12th Chapter and beyond. Paul wants to make sure that his readers understand that God has given each and every one of them the gifts that they need to grow into the fullness of their discipleship potential. As an early Church Father said, spiritual gifts are “…visible signs that the Holy Spirit is at work in the faithful.� (Theodoret of Cyr). The important thing to remember about spiritual gifts is that they are intended to glorify God and let others know that God is at work. They are not intended to make some of us in the Kingdom “stars,� to be lifted up and adored by the rest of the congregation. We are all the same in the Lord. Why would Paul be getting this specific with his people? If you go back and read the sections of this letter before Chapter 12, you’ll see why Paul is turning to this topic. There’s been a lot of instruction about relationships between believers and unbelievers, relationships between married and unmarried persons; what to do about food sacrificed to idols, and other issues central to keeping the community of the faithful together. Of especial importance is Paul’s concern that the people will be led astray by idols – “mute idols,� he says. The Corinthians struggled SO MUCH with the idols of their world. They had come to Christ, yet so many had difficulties breaking away from them. This was not an “evil spirits� problem – this was about the things of the world that the Corinthians had fallen in love with, and could not put down. Psalms 115 has a good description of the “idols� that were causing the problems: 4 �But their idols are silver and gold, 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, 6 they have ears, but cannot hear, 7 they have hands, but cannot feel, (Ps 115:4-7, NIV) It’s always a struggle to walk away from the world’s call to self-indulgence and self-glorification, to worship things that won’t ask anything of you. We face the exact same struggle today – it’s no different for us than it was for the Corinthians. The idols are calling! What idols? Oh… they’re not too hard to identify. The idol of personal fame – look how well shows like American Idol and its spin-offs are doing these days – not to mention the position that sports holds in our culture, as well as the perpetual quest to be young and appealing. How DOES a church remain strong in the midst of these voices calling to us? The answer lies in the spiritual gifts that God has given each of us, and the relationship that exists among those gifts. The church needs all the gifts, and none of the gifts are inferior to the others. Some might seem lowlier, but on the Spirit’s scale, they are all important and each is critical to the church. There is a relationship between each of the gifts that church members possess that makes the message of the church what God intends it to be — that the connections between those gifts make the church much more than the sum of its individual parts. Here’s an example of how this works out: it’s all well and good for a church to have a preacher who can really “lay it down� on Sunday morning. But if the other folks who make sure the building is open, have Sunday school ready to go, and all of the other important things that a church needs to be complete in doing its work, decide they can’t be bothered with doing these things, then the message that is proclaimed on Sunday morning is diminished. The same is true if members don’t exercise their gifts, and say “not me� when the church is in need of their talents and abilities. Think back to the last baptism you witnessed in this church. Remember when the congregation promised to nurture one another in the faith and include the child being baptized in its care? That’s part of remembering our spiritual gifts AND remembering to exercise them. Because we are all the same in our importance to the church, we all have a part to play in its existence. If the relationship between the gifts God has given us is not exercised, then we are failing our calling. Here’s the other example: There’s a large church in downtown A custodian discovered a window in the kitchen broken out, apparently from the inside. The police discovered a boy of 12 who admitted that he had snuck into the building while the single door was unlocked and had been looking around. He didn’t take anything, but by the time he was ready to leave the building, the door had been locked. And since it could not be unlocked from the inside without a key, he was in fact trapped in the building. He finally got out by breaking the window. When a few church members who happened to be meeting in the building that day learned what had happened, one man said that the church should press charges. One woman, however, asked the officer some questions about the boy’s background. He was from a poor family, with no father in the home. He had not been in trouble with the law before, however. This woman argued that under the circumstances, the congregation should react first as a church. She asked the staff not to press charges and to give her a few days to come up with a better solution, and the staff agreed. When Sunday came, this woman told her Sunday school class what had happened and asked them to contribute enough to purchase a membership at the local YMCA for the boy so that he’d have a positive place to spend his free time. She also encouraged the class to try to establish a relationship with this boy’s family. These things were done. Now how many sermons do you suppose had been preached in that church over the years on the subjects of compassion, mercy and loving one’s neighbor? Plenty, no doubt. But for those things to actually happen, someone with the gift of compassion has to make the connection between the sermons from the pulpit and events like the stranger who’d gotten locked in. It’s only natural to focus on our own gifts and contribution to the life of the church and the dissemination of the good news. But if we fail to appreciate the relationships that truly empower the church, the church becomes useless. When we do have such awareness, there will be no division in the body, because we all have equal concern for one another – all the same! (1 Corinthians 12:25). God has given spiritual gifts to each of us, for the common good, says Paul. Let us strengthen the relationships between them, to the glory of God and the accomplishment of the work of the Kingdom! Sources consulted: ACCS Vol. VII (NT) – 1-2 Corinthians (IVP, 1999) Blomberg, Craig. 1 Corinthians (1994, Zondervan) Hebrew-Greek Keyword NIV Study Bible (AMG, 1996) NIV Study Bible, Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1994) Sampley, J. Paul 1 Corinthians (NIB Volume X; Abingdon, 2002) “Why the Church Needs NORA,� Homiletics, January 2007 length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 13 December 2006 I have the privilege of serving three very generous churches, and part of what I say this morning is out of the desire to express some thankfulness for your discipleship. When I look at the track record that you folks have built with your work for not only causes in the home town, but continuing the mission of the Kingdom by supporting work done elsewhere, I have to pause and give thanks – and then say, WOW! The words that Paul wrote to the folks at These folks were not just generous – they were generous givers who gave so that the work of the Kingdom might be done, and the Gospel could be heard in new places, reaching new souls with the good news of salvation. So what is the mark of a faith-filled giver? If we follow closely what Paul wrote, we’ll note in verse 10 that the faith-filled giver is one who FIRST gives with the love that Christ exhibited AND ALSO discerns what is best before giving, so that what he or she does give offers praise and glory to God. Americans in general are a VERY giving people. What we give to one cause or another in a year is amazing – in the billions of dollars. For example, in 2005 ended, we gave $1.78 billion to aid in recovery from the tsunami in I almost feel like a commercial here – wait, there’s more! That giving is only a drop in the bucket compared to total charitable giving by Americans: in 2004, we gave $248.5 billion to What’s more, we as a people don’t worry a lot about deducting our charitable giving from our income tax. In 2004, Americans deducted $40B for their charitable giving, but gave more than six times that amount. WOW! It’s no wonder our mailboxes get so full every Christmas season with letters from all sorts of organizations hoping we will be generous with them. With all of these requests, we have some choices to make, since very few of us are “made of money,� so to speak. Who gets the money, and who gets their letter sent to the “circular file?� As Christians, we need to take our faith into account when we make our giving decisions. For example, there’s nothing wrong with giving $100 to public radio – Prairie Home Companion needs to stay on the air – but is $100 given to public radio the same as giving $100 to help feed the hungry? And if giving $100 to public radio means you have nothing to give the hungry, does that reflect on your compassion or your faithfulness to following Jesus? It’s something for us to think about, as wise Christian givers! As long as there are statistics flying around the room this morning, let me throw one more out for you to think about: in 2004, of the $248.5B donated in America to one cause or another, less than 10% went to organizations that directly help the poor. When Paul prays that the Philippians will have overflowing love, he means the same kind of love that Jesus teaches us we should have for both friend and enemy: agape love. Agape is the kind of love that willfully seeks to reach others through acts of goodness – with the full insight of what is best. Reacting in Christian love means that we have ourselves in a state of being “pure and blameless� and producing the “harvest of righteousness� — we are ready to go when Christ returns. Our giving as believers should be purposeful and wise – not indiscriminate. So what guidelines can we draw from Paul’s words of thanks and blessing to the Philippians? Here are a couple of ideas: 1) Giving something is better than giving nothing. That comes right out of Jesus’ statement that loving our neighbor is second only to loving God. For some of our neighbors, the only way we can express our love is by contributing money to help alleviate their suffering. For Christians, neighbor loving is not optional, so neither is giving – it’s more blessed to give than receive. 2) Giving something when you don’t have something to give is better than giving nothing. This gets at the heart of our motivation. Giving emerges from gratitude to God and obedience to Christ. It’s our duty, and the sacrifice is good for our souls as well as helpful to others. Sometimes, our giving comes from what we can reduce or cut out of our lives so we can be more fruitful as disciples. I have seen these principles at work here in our churches, and it gives me joy to say so. It inspires me to encourage both you and me to use both heart and mind as we give, and to react in Christian love so we can do what is most need and will make the most difference. Hallelujah! Source consulted: “Donation Nation,� Homiletics, December 2006. length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 4 December 2006 I have always enjoyed learning about words – where they came from; that is, what language started them, what their original meaning and usage was, and how they have changed on their journey to ‘today.’ Ok, I’m an English major! It runs with the territory! Our modern word “holiday� began in Old English: haligdaeg, a combination of halig (holy) and daeg (day); meaning both “religious festival� and “day of recreation.�[1] “Religious Festival� we understand, but what about “recreation?� We think of recreation as something “fun,� but that’s only been since about 1400. At first, the word was a Latin word, recreare, meaning “to refresh or restore.�[2] So, ideally, holy days – such as those of Advent – are meant not only to be those days that remind us of the important things of our faith, but also renew us in our bodies, minds, and souls. But we know that renewal often is the last thing that comes to us in this season. We so often drive ourselves nuts shopping, cooking, trying to keep up with everything. Very often, we’re relieved when January 2nd arrives because we can go back to the old grind, boring as it can be. Have you ever heard the “Top 10 Ways You Can Tell Christmas is almost Here?� Here they are: 10) There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree. 9) The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham. 8) It’s A Wonderful Life has been shown for the 13th time. 7) A trip to the mall and back is more challenging than the Indy 500. 6) The Salvation Army bell ringers start accepting credit cards. 5) You are pulling an all-nighter because of the words “Some Assembly Required.� 4) Your Christmas list is written in black while your checkbook is written in red. 3) Santa’s belly is not the only thing shaking like a bowl full of jelly. 2) The NFL referees are not the only ones giving away games. 1) The infamous fruitcake returns from its 12 months of hiding. It’s a sad truth, but for many, these are not holy days. They are hollow days. Days filled with stress or disappointment; days that have no substance, worth, or character. No other holiday can bring out feelings of sadness and loneliness like the Christmas season. At this time of year, all of our senses are engaged, and the sadness might be triggered by anything: a favorite carol or Christmas hymn, the smell of food or pine, the sights of decorations, the memory of a loved one, exhaustion or a host of other things. “Blue Christmas� is not a myth! It’s no wonder that people who suffer the season would be glad to skip it entirely! You have to admit, our culture doesn’t do much to make things better: our consumer-based love affair with the season works to keep us focused on fuzzy feelings and chocolate (and a few other things) instead of celebrating the coming of Christ. What might the church do this Advent and Christmas season in helping people avoid the hollowness of the holidays? We could take a cue from the Apostle Paul, and become, in a way, “living Christmas cards� for the people around us. On the front, we would offer “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?� (1 Thess 3:9, NIV) When the card opens, they discover that we have been praying for them day and night so that we can supply what is lacking in their faith (paraphr. 1 Thess 3:10-13, NIV) If we’re going to do this, we have to remember the theology of the Incarnation – God came and was among us, in the flesh, in Jesus Christ – and help folks rediscover what Christmas is really all about, instead of the syrupy and unrealistic images that our culture keeps handing us. Advent should be a hallowed time, not a hollow time. These are days to bring to folks the God whose child was born to live, days to give hope for a future that rests in God, a future whose seeds are planted in the present situations of everyday life. The holy days of Advent leading to Christmas are days to run to church and sing the great hymns and carols proclaiming the God who lives in our “now’s� and who invites all people to live in them fully and authentically. When people refuse to, or neglect to find God in their present, in their now, their days become hollow days, not hallowed days. Hallmark™, the world’s leading greeting card manufacturer, wraps up its mission statement in that most familiar phrase, “When you care enough to send the very best.� It’s only right that the church offer this world the very best: Jesus Christ! It might sound a little silly, but… would you be a living, breathing Christmas card for someone? Would you meet that person wherever he or she is in life, instead of where you think he or she ought to be? The best greeting for Christians is one that reflects the very life of the God of Christmas, the living Christ in YOUR life! Care enough to send the very best this Advent and Christmas. Be God’s living greeting card this season. You never know how God might bless someone through your words or actions. Sources consulted: “Hollow Days,� Homiletics, December 2006 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Michael W. Holmes (Zondervan, 1998) ACCS, Vol. IX (New Testament) (Inter Varsity Press, 2000) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 26 November 2006 Now that we’re done with Thanksgiving and are plunging headlong into the annual insanity known as Advent, it’s time that we, as people of faith, hit the brakes (even for just a moment) and do some thinking of the value of the here-and-now. “What’s that supposed to mean?� someone is going to ask. Well, it’s like this: as a people, we are very much future-oriented: what’s coming up tomorrow, next week, next year? At some point, though, we MUST slow down and take stock of what’s happening NOW. It’s a truth that we’re not going to live forever. Life has a beginning and an end, and we can certainly live as though we’re going to be around forever… but that will always rob us of finding some of the meaning in life that awaits us in the here-and-now. This is not to say we should ignore the future. Our Christian faith is full of reminders that life not only has a start and a finish, but that there is meaning to be found and experienced in the flow of our days from birth to death and there is a glorious future for the faithful in God’s plan. Our church year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, and then moves through celebrations of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus until we get to the last Sunday of the church year, which is today — Christ the King Sunday. Our Bible is not a random collection of ancient stories. The story of God’s movement within human history is a meaningful flow that moves from the creation of the world in Genesis to the completion of God’s plan in Revelation. Even the story of our relationship with God has a purposeful progression to it, with God first speaking to us through Old Testament prophets, then coming to us in Jesus Christ, and finally living in us as the Holy Spirit. For Christians, life is never marked by endless cycles of random events — it always moves from start to finish, in accordance with the Master’s Plan. To live a life in accordance with God’s purposes, we have to strike a healthy balance between looking to the future and staying present in the here-and-now. We are at the end of a year filled with all sorts of bad news – war, oppression, and many other horrible things. Lots of death. As believers, it’s our job to discover the true value of the present – and perhaps even some of God’s perfection. This was the challenge of the children of Daniel, with a little help from God, realized that there is hope for the present by focusing on the end, where there would be “…one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.� This son of man receives from God “dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him … and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed� (vv. 13-14). God works to bring order out of chaos and victory out of defeat. This theme flows through the Bible all the way to the book of Revelation -- God is not disinterested. The forces of chaos and cruelty may take an occasional battle, but they cannot win the war, because the Lord of heaven and earth is alive and well and having an ongoing impact on human life. God’s son Jesus has come to us once, and he will come to us again, to wipe the tears from our eyes and establish a new heaven and a new earth. He comes to show us that God desires an everlasting relationship with us, one that cannot be disrupted by mourning or crying or pain … or even death itself (Revelation 21:1-4). Can challenging times be the best of times? Yes, they can. There was man named Eugene O’Kelly who was a very successful businessman, the chairman and CEO of a giant accounting firm. A man of faith, O’Kelly realized that – with very little time on earth left to him – he needed to learn the true value of the present. He wrote a book chronicling his last days, called Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life. Eugene O’Kelly decided to “unwind� relationships with important people in his life, taking the time to have intentionally final conversations with those who have meant a great deal to him. Along the way, he experienced many of what he called “perfect moments.� He could have languished in fear and chaos for his last days, but instead did not – and found meaning in the here-and-now that was based in his understanding of the future. Near the end, he arranged times to “unwind� with people who had been important to him over the course of his life. These “unwindings� were intentionally final conversations, held at a house on Lake Tahoe and in The truth of the matter is, we all can live with this same sense of purpose each day that we live – whether we have brain cancer or not. A great way to do this is by starting with things that are valuable in the here-and-now: quality conversations with family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors. Let’s not forget about working on our relationship with God, either. Next Sunday is a new beginning on the Christian calendar, as we embark on another year of the Lord’s favor. Why not turn our experiences of this new year into perfect moments where we can see the hand of God at work in the simple things of life? Each time we see the Lord at work in the here-and-now, it reminds us of the comfort of our future, and inspires us to live our lives in an active and ongoing way. With God, there is always order in chaos, and victory in defeat. In the years when it seems that there is no good news… his truth still marches on in the here-and-now, forever and ever. Amen. Sources consulted: “Perfect Moments,� Homiletics, November 2006. “Daniel,� by Tremper Longman, III (Zondervan, 1999) NIV KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1 (Zondervan, 1994) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 12 November 2006 This passage teaches us about giving, and that much is very obvious. You may have heard this passage used more than once for a financial stewardship sermon; and indeed, this is one “angle� of the text. But, God is not a “give your money and forget the rest� God. God is an “everything� Creator. “God does not love only certain portions of us, but the whole person. Therefore, the response that is expected of the faithful is that we would love God in the same fashion ... the bottom line is that we are called to give our whole life to a God who first loved us so dramatically as to send the beloved Son to give His life for us.�[1] So really, this passage at its heart offers a contrast between true love for God and the absence of true love for God. In the early writings of the Christian Church, the widow Father Jerome puts it this way: “The widow’s gift was measured not by its weight but by the goodwill by which it was offered ... (Jerome) a good will alone suffices for readiness for the kingdom. (Caesarius of By having this kind of love for God in our hearts, we are participating the creation of something great: establishing the Kingdom here on earth. And even if you are on the widow’s end of the spectrum – poor, marginalized, and with little personal power – you have just as much a part to play as the “big shots.� Maybe even more! Here’s an example of how a few little contributions add up to big things. There’s a resource on the Internet called the “Wikipedia.� It’s a free, online encyclopedia with over a million articles in English alone, on virtually every topic that exists. The joy of the Wikipedia is that you or I – the ones who don’t write encyclopedias – can log on and contribute our knowledge to the collection. Anyone, young or old, well-schooled or street-smart, can participate. The encyclopedia now has more than two million entries in 76 languages, and it is getting bigger every day. The Wikipedia has its critics, though – the professional academics (and the encyclopedia companies) don’t like it, and criticize it for being inaccurate and unreliable. But, the truth is, the Wikipedia has a review process that weeds out errors. In actuality, the Wikipedia rivals the Encyclopedia Britannica in breadth and accuracy – and has a lot more information. So what’s the picture? Well… there are lots of scribes issuing stern warnings about the Wikipedia, even though there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. This means that there is good reason to believe that a large group of people is actually smarter than a few elite individuals. The scribes in our text were a group of elite individuals. They started out simply as interpreters of the law, but evolved into a group of men who liked to strut around town in long robes, enjoy places of honor at banquets, grab the best seats in the synagogues, and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces (vv. 38-39). They seem to care little about the truth of God, or the welfare of poorer members of society, and Jesus condemns them for saying long prayers for the sake of appearance, and devouring “widows’ houses� (v. 40). While it’s not exactly clear what it means to “devour widows’ houses,� it may be that these scribes entered into a kind of parasitic relationship with the rich widows of This is where we transition into the temple, where Jesus comments on the widow’s generosity: it’s not the size of your gift that matters — it’s the seriousness of your commitment. It is a truly unbelievable sacrifice that the widow makes. And her gift makes so very clear that Jesus doesn’t want our money — he wants our life, every bit of it. To participate in this great act of creation that God is leading, we have to join together in passionate commitment to the work of Jesus Christ – without reservation, without thought of financial reward, without thought of social reward. Something neat about the online Wikipedia is that there are hundreds of thousands of contributors – but there is only one paid employee. It’s a miracle of living, breathing cooperation and collaboration. That, friends, is the Church at its best: all of God’s children working together, offering our energy, intelligence, imagination and love; dared to contribute our time and talent because we are totally devoted to our subject – and because we want the world to benefit from what we have discovered and learned. An uncomfortable thing that we Americans need to come to grips with is that we Americans are closer to the scribes and the rich people of Like them, we tend to see charitable giving as an option, and we do it out of our abundance, after we’ve paid our mortgages, our utilities, our car payments, our tuitions, our club dues and our credit card bills. We may indeed put large sums of money into the congregational treasury, but we don’t do it at anything approaching a sacrificial level — it’s fair to say that none of us puts in everything we have, all we have to live on. I leave it to you to think about this on your own time, on your own terms, because it’s something each of us has to consider in our heart of hearts. I will leave you with this, though: the church at its strongest finds its strength with Christianity is found in all of God’s people using all of their gifts, as they give everything they have to the work of Jesus Christ. It’s been shown again and again that there is power in working together. Remember the TV show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? What is it that you remember? Many folks first think of the contestants’ panicked phone calls to friends and relatives, when they just couldn’t think of an answer themselves. Each week, the show set up a contest between individual intelligence and group intelligence – and group intelligence won every time. Keep this in mind as you make your pledge to the church budget, as you give your gifts throughout the year, as you volunteer to lead small groups, and as you offer your time and talent to various mission projects. God wants you to put in everything you have. He wants your life — all of it. If we as a church actively collaborate and share with each other, and put everything we have of ourselves – heart, mind, soul, and strength – God will help us create something great, something even better than an online encyclopedia. That is great! Amen. Sources consulted: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (NT), Vol II (IVP, 1998) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol.2 (Zondervan, 1994) “Wiki-Christianity,� Homiletics, November 2006. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 5 November 2006 Today, we thank God for the bounty of this year’s harvest and for the bounty of lives that have enriched our own through the years – the saints of God. As a first order of business, it’s only right that we should consider what it is that makes a saint, a “saint.� Whether you are thinking of the Catholic tradition’s definition of sainthood or a saint of God that we in the Protestant neighborhood think of it, it pretty much comes down to a person who lived a life of exceptional holiness. Uh-oh! What if someone DIDN’T live a life of “exceptional holiness?� Now we’re making judgments… better look out! It’s hard to say what makes a saint for one group of people that will allow another group to brand that same individual as less-than-righteous. Take for example some of the comparisons that have been made between the men and women who braved the Depression and fought in and prevailed during World War II – the generation that Tom Brokaw described as “The Greatest Generation,� and their children, the so-called “Boomers.� The “greatest generation� did some truly great things. They helped advance the American dream and made quite a number of positive changes in their country’s life in the middle third of the 1900s. The next generation, their children, known as the “Boomers,� are often held up and compared to their parents as “self-absorbed, childish, selfish, noisy and materialistic.� So who are the saints, and who are the less-than-righteous here? If you look at the accomplishments of the Boomer generation, you will see that they, too, have had their high points. Thanks to the work of this generation, we have an increased awareness of the need to protect our environment; while the work is not done, race relations have improved; women are no longer second-class citizens in our country, and equality for all is a concept that isn’t so foreign to us any more. So who are the saints, and who are the less-than-righteous here? If the GI generation and the Boomers are righteous, maybe we Gen-Xers are the less-than-saintly! If you look at the history of the world and the literature that each generation has produced, you’ll start noticing that many times, each generation gets labeled as being lesser than their forebears. The ancient Greeks were given to lamenting the loss of their fathers’ manly virtues; the Romans were forever looking back to a Golden Age of heroic simplicity; the Renaissance was driven by a desire to recapture the lost greatness of the ancient world.[1] Maybe we need to rethink the idea of “saint� to include the less-than-exceptionally-holy. Have you ever noticed that God’s work ultimately gets done, despite the sin of God’s servants? Among other things, this is a powerful confirmation of the action of God’s grace among us. There are lots of people in the Bible who had “feet of clay� yet still were used by God to great ends. One such person is the subject of our reading today: the young woman named Ruth. Ruth is Moabite woman and the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi and her family were Israelites who had come to the Naomi’s husband dies there, but her two sons marry Moabite women —Orpah and Ruth. After about 10 years, both of the sons die and Naomi is left with only her two daughters-in-law. Naomi realizes that her best bet is to move back to “Go back each of you to your mother’s house,� urges Naomi. “May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me� (Ruth 1:8). Naomi knows that her relatives in Orpah kisses her mother-in-law and returns home, but Ruth refuses to leave. “Where you go, I will go,� says Ruth to Naomi; “where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God� (v. 16). The God of Israel smiles on Ruth’s determination to follow Naomi to A saint? Well… depends on your definition. Yes, Ruth played a role in God’s plan to bring about the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of All. But… she was not “Miss Goody-Goody Two Shoes.� She was calculating, manipulative, devious. We mustn’t sentimentalize her. She knew she needed a husband. A widow, in those days, was marginalized on all fronts at once. To be sure, Ruth had been allowed to glean in the field belonging to Boaz as a way of fending off dire poverty. … Ruth wanted more. She wanted a husband. And she snared one, really “snared� him, since she used the shabbiest entrapment to get him: when he was vulnerable (drunk and passed-out), she arranged things to make it look as though he had “had his way� with her. As an honorable man, he really had no choice but to marry her![2] Inexcusable? Certainly! Shameful? Of course! And we shouldn’t imitate this example, either! Yet we can’t avoid the fact that God’s work continues even when the most appalling clay feet of his servants make a mess of things. Ruth, after all, IS an ancestor of Jesus! I think if we were to arrive at definition of “saint� according to scripture, we would say that a saint of God is someone who faithfully does his or her best to live for the glory of the Kingdom – even if he or she doesn’t get it right all the time. There are so many examples of fallen humanity around us, and sometimes we are the example. Sometimes WE are the ones who gave the Devil a foothold in OUR own lives! Two friends met at a coffee shop. One was a woman whose life was a mess and she needed guidance and counsel from her friend. Her marriage was on the rocks, she had had an emotional breakdown, her social life was in ruins and yet when she came to ask for his help, she was wearing a sweatshirt which had the slogan on it, “Jesus is the answer.� Her friend took one look at it and said to her, “I think you should scrap the idea that Jesus is the answer. Because he never said that. He said, ‘I am the way.’ I think that you need to walk with him to find the answer to your problem.� Sounds like there’s hope for you and me! Remember the lives of the saints who have gone on before us. Remember how God worked through them, in all times; give thanks for the times when God works through each of us – in all times. The fields are white and harvest is upon us. Let us go forth for the Kingdom, as the saints we are, and the saints we should be. Amen. Sources consulted: “The Greater Generation,� Homiletics, November 2006 “Conservative Culture Warriors Looking Haggard,� Timothy Merrill, tmerril.blogs.com, retrieved 11/4/06. length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 1 November 2006 Here’s the message the prophet Jeremiah brought to God's people as they endured exile in The children of If we interpret this through the teachings of the New Testament, this is what Jeremiah’s message means for us: We are “at home� in the body of Christ (regardless of our geography), yet we are also always “in transit� as we live out our witness in this age. There had been false prophets telling the Israelites that their exile was about to end – sooner than later. It was stirring up the people, and they were living as short-timers. God speaks to Jeremiah and says, “Go tell them that it’s not over yet.� So Jeremiah goes and tells the people: “Do the things that you would do at home – because your exile is not yet over.� · build homes and settle down · get married and start families · plant gardens · love your neighbors –the Babylonians!—by praying for them, and help them to prosper… because if they prosper, so will you. Let their peace be your peace. You see, the problem the Israelites had was that they wouldn’t face the facts. Their life situation had changed, and they wouldn’t deal with it. They would listen to anyone that came along that said, “You can have your old life back.� The exiles were homesick, and they were in the perfect state of mind to be led astray. They wanted to go back to So what did the Israelites lose? Plenty – as they saw it. But God has a remedy. Their circumstances won’t change, but their hearts and attitudes can. God's desire is that they will find peace in a time of anxiety and settle down by building homes, farms, and families in a strange and foreign land. What they need to do is to grieve the change, and let go… so they can continue following God where He leads them. It’s all about “tombstones and treasures.� (Hey, it’s Halloween; I had to fit that in somewhere…). What does that mean? · As individual disciples: get a grip on the realities of our situation and lay to rest the things that are keeping us from moving ahead with God. · As a church: essentially, the same thing: faithfully seek renewal by laying to rest whatever is keeping us from fulfilling our mission. I hope that doesn’t anger you, because I don’t say that with malice toward any person or any church. The problem that all of us in mainline Christianity have to deal with, and usually don’t, is that we’ve gone from being a mission movement to being an institution. Over many years, our focus has by and large gone from vigorously going forth to make disciples to sticking close to home. What’s sad is that the guaranteed outcome of this scenario is a church with no life and a dying institution. If we take to heart the lesson that Jeremiah preached to the Israelites, we’ll see that hope is there, and we can discover new life as a mission movement. If we take a look at whatever it is that holds us back, and bury it under a tombstone, we will find new treasure! God promised the Israelites treasure if they would let go of their old life and embrace the new: fertility, family, friends, food, shelter, well-being… and faith in God. Out with the old, in with the new. Allow death to lead to life and let your tombstones turn to treasure! I am not saying this just because I think it would be fun to shake things up. I can be just as fearful of change as anyone. I guess, though, I’ve had to lay enough things to rest and then experienced a renewal that I’m willing to encourage others to do the same. So shall we be an institution, or a mission movement? It really is up to you. Who is God calling you to be? One vision may have to die so another can have a chance at life. I know this: churches that make the effort to create connections with the world around them, so they can reach the people of the world with the Gospel find new life and growth even as they live in a strange and foreign land. We need to focus on what it is about our personal experiences with Jesus that our community cannot live without. We need to recognize that good leadership can come from any age group. And we need to lay to rest the tombstones which are keeping us from finding God's treasure. We also need to focus on what is keeping us from growing. Is it a pattern of behavior? Unhealthy circumstances? Or, we just can’t let go and move on? What will it take for us to be reborn? Not long ago, there was a gas company called Brooklyn Gas Company. They had been a monopoly for many years, but now deregulation had changed the entire marketplace, and Brooklyn Gas had a choice: change, or die. Kenny Moore, a man who worked for the company, knew that this would be a hard transformation for many of the people working there, so he made a recommendation: have a funeral for the old life as they entered the new. He wasn’t just being weird; he was a member of a monastic order – a priest – and he saw this as a way to ease the burden of their souls. Kenny first focused their attention on what they were losing: lifetime employment, guaranteed pensions, the security of being part of a monopoly. Then, he focused them on what blessings could come from their company’s rebirth. And it worked: the people were able to enter a new life after they had grieved the loss of the old, and then let go. Maybe God is telling us, through this scripture, that we need to take… whatever it is… dig a hole, bury it, put some flowers on it, and then move on. We can be transformed – if we let God help. But we’ll have to do some letting go. New life only comes when we let go of the old life – when we realize that times and circumstances have changed, and we are not in What do we need to bury? What treasure can we take with us? Brothers and sisters, we have to die before we can live. It’s the story of You cannot have new life without the death that comes before. You can’t have treasures without tombstones – and God won’t lead us to a new land without taking care of us as He always has. God has given us a chance for a new beginning. Now, what are we going to do with it? Sources consulted: “Funeral Urns and Treasure Chests,� Homiletics, October 2004. Dearman, Andrew J. Jeremiah/Lamentations (Zondervan, 2002), 261-266. Saldarini, Anthony J. The Letter of Jeremiah (NIB Vol. VI, Abingdon, 2001) NIV Bible Commentary Vol. 1 (Zondervan, 1994) length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 23 October 2006 In 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck, destroying lives and property where ever it went. A few days after Andrew destroyed her home, a 7-year-old girl asked her father why God let it happen. What happened? 160-mile-per-hour winds ripped the roof from the Mexican family’s home while they huddled in a stairwell. The girl’s father found himself wanting to defend God. “I didn’t want her to think badly of God – but I had no words,� he said. He finally told her, “I don’t understand why this happened. But sometimes you have to lose the roof to see the sky.�[1] Just a few short years ago, we all watched in horror as airliners crashed into the Hurricane Katrina rocked our world last year. There have been so many things that have caused many to ask God, “Why did you let this happen?� For those who sincerely believe that God has every moment of life completely planned out, this has meant days spent swimming in questions of pain and grief as they desperately try to understand how destruction and violent death fits into “God’s plan.� Why is it that believing in God and following His commandments doesn’t automatically entitle one to a life of happiness? Theologians call this kind of question theodicy: the question of whether God is fair and just. When the nastiest guy in town perishes, lots of people will say that he finally got what he had coming. But when someone suffers or dies for no apparent reason, there are so many questions of “why?�. I’m sure that Job pondered this question. His losses were painful and depressing – his entire family gone, all of his worldly wealth, even his health, was gone. This is a question that I have asked on more than one occasion. One of my grandmothers died of Alzheimer’s disease. Why would a loving God condemn such a faithful, godly woman to such a demeaning and degrading death? There was a kid I knew in high school who was one of the three or four smartest people I have ever personally known. He got the second-highest pre-SAT score in my high school’s history up to that point – one of those brilliant people who could have literally written his own ticket through life. But, he also suffered from depression. One day, when no one else was home, he shot and killed himself. Why would God allow such a waste to occur? Over the years, as I’ve attempted to understand some of why God does things, I really can’t say that I’ve gotten any solid answers back from Him about the “whys� of life. But, scripture and prayer have led me to some conclusions that I can live with: 1. God does from time to time influence the events or the course of our lives, but doesn’t predestine every moment. If God had every second of our lives planned out, there would be no point to the free will that He has given each of us. God’s “plan,� if you want to call it that is that we all should be saved from our sins. God is certainly capable of killing people – see the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 – but it makes no sense that a good life, full of potential, should be snuffed out by a God that loves as our God does. 2. Since God doesn’t predestine everything, we have to accept that we live in a sometimes harsh world where sometimes, hard and hurtful things happen. “Life happens,� as the saying goes. We are human, subject to the frailties of being flesh and blood. We are vulnerable to disease and accidents. But, we are not strictly flesh, we are also spirit. Who we are is eternal, and continues even when our body does not. Let’s look to the text for some answers. We have to admit it: there are times when the evidence is against God, or at least the way we like to think of God. If we can’t admit that, we’re not being honest with ourselves. In Job’s case, losing all of his sheep and oxen certainly count against the idea of a loving God. Losing all of his servants count against that idea… losing all of his camels counts against the idea… losing all of his sons and daughters certainly counts against the idea. Job even sank to the point where he considered still having his wife to be making his troubles worse. So what of it? Well… maybe the question shouldn’t be so much “why did God let this happen� as “Where is God in all of this?� What is God saying here? Start at verse 4: 4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, 11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? Here’s what this is about: When painful things that we can’t understand happen, it’s not a question of whether we can be joyful in suffering. It’s about whether or not we can trust God when it seems like everything that’s happening is NOT of God! In the movie Forrest Gump, there’s a scene where Lieutenant Dan, Forrest’s good friend, becomes very angry with God. Dan had been sent to Dan and Forrest meet up again later on Forrest’s shrimp boat. A storm comes up, and Dan climbs up into the rigging to the top mast, and screams his fury at God. He dares God to show up – be a man, he shouts. He has all sorts of insults for the God who has taken away his legs, his pride, his manhood. “You call this a storm?� he shouts to the wind. Then, there’s a BOOM, a blaze of lightning, and a crash of thunder. No doubt about it, God was there. Lt. Dan walked again, thanks to prosthetic technology, and rediscovered his humanity, and rediscovered love. Suffering is not about us. It’s about our being able to see God in the midst of a storm, and know that our faith has been confirmed by God being there. Even in hard times, God will never abandon us. At the end of Job’s story, God restored everything that had been lost. Through Jesus Christ, God can restore life to us. We may not get back what we’ve lost, but we will certainly receive the things we didn’t know we needed, and the things we didn’t know we lacked. We will not always know the “why� when sadness or suffering occurs. It’s one of the mysteries of life that we are not equipped to solve. But that doesn’t mean that we need to be paralyzed with fear, or go through endless agony trying to understand a question without an answer. The light of God will be in us, and will lead us through any part of the valley of the shadow. It’s about having hope even in despair, and joy even when we are sad. The Christian mystic, Meister Eckhardt, once said that, “Suffering is the swiftest steed that brings us to perfection.� What is perfection? It’s wholeness and completion. If, by embracing the sorrows in life, we can find joy in relationships that are centered in love of God and love of neighbor, then we are on our way.[2] After the Lord had answered Job from the whirlwind, Job had a reply: “I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.� (42:5-6 NRSV) If you find yourself in the midst of despair, or sadness; if you find yourself in a pit of depression, or hard times of any kind, God will be there with us. His light will shine so we don’t lose our way, and he will keep us strong… so that we will always have one of His greatest gifts: faith in a storm.
Sources Consulted: “Is Your HappyLite On?,� Homiletics Magazine, October 2003, 57-60. McBrien, Richard P. Catholicism. Various comparisons on predestination. Newsom, Carol A. Job. (Vol. IV, New Interpreter’s Bible, pp. 597-605. length: Comments[1] |
Sun, 15 October 2006 Text: Job 23:1-9, 16-17 One thing that has challenged the faithful for ages has been the times of silence – not the times when we are silent, but the times when, for us, God is silent. An anonymous writer once commented on this in a work called The Cloud of Unknowing:[1] “You may find a kind of darkness around your mind, as it were a cloud of unknowing. You seem to feel nothing in your will except a naked intent toward God. However hard you try to do something about it, this darkness and this cloud remain between you and God. It seems as though you neither see God by the light of understanding nor feel God in the sweetness of love and affection. But learn to live with this darkness, crying out always to him who you love.� The story of Job is a familiar one to many of us: Job is an upright, blameless, God-fearing man. Satan challenges God, saying that Job is so well behaved only because things are going swimmingly for him. In response, God permits Satan to heap great troubles on Job — including the loss of his property and goods, the death of his children and the affliction of his body. We know that at the other end of the story, all things will be restored to Job. What we’re reading this morning is from the middle of the story. Job has reached the end of his rope, so to speak, and he’s become angry and bitter with God about all of the things that have happened to him. And a primary complaint is that for all of his crying out, God will not answer him. Stephen Covey, the writer of many books on personal and professional management, tells of an unusual experience on the New York subway: While people were sitting quietly in the car, a man entered with his noisy and rambunctious children. The man sat down and closed his eyes as though he were oblivious to his rowdy children. The once quiet subway car was now a disturbing place of chaos. The children’s inappropriate behavior was obvious to everyone except their father. Finally, Covey confronted the man about his children. The man opened his eyes and evaluated the situation as if he was unaware of all that had transpired. “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.� I’m fairly certain that each of us will find ourselves in this kind of state at least once in our life. We’ve had too much, we have cried out for relief, and God appears not to care, maybe even not to be in the neighborhood at all. We don’t know what to do, and we are lost. At the point we enter into Job’s story this morning, Job has reached this point. He is weak, weary, and worn, and he wants relief. But the one person (God) who can grant him relief is apparently nowhere to be found. He really wants a hearing with God, but God is avoiding him! We can all identify with Job at this point: We really want to get a hearing with God — to have God listen to us with understanding. This is true even if we and God are in contention. In the middle of all of this, Job’s friends have been insisting that he must have done something wrong for so much trouble to have come upon him, and they have been urging him to confess his sins and repent. Does this sound like saying that bad things happen to you because you lack in faith? Some might see it that way! But the thing that we have to remember, that this text teaches, is that God is not indifferent to our troubles. When you consider the entire story in this text, you will see very quickly that God’s restraint is not a punishment of Job, but God allowing the test of faith to proceed. Remember that God told Satan that he does indeed have a believer whose faith will not flag even when life is at its worst! Ultimately this is what Job does. Even though he is hurting, angry, and even bitter, he does not lose his faith. Eventually he receives a response from God that meets his need. Faith in God is not just an enjoyable feeling, or something reserved just for those “mountaintop experiences� when all is well, and the light is the brightest. The example of Job teaches us that faith is the foundation for the experience of the believer. Faith is the ability to gain divine meaning even when the physical evidence of life points us in a direction away from God and faith. This is the place was standing. After all that had happened, he could not perceive any evidence for faith. He was going through a long, dark tunnel where his prayers were not heard and his faith was being rewarded with punishment. Yet in the longer view of his life, in what he had seen and heard and felt before the troubles came upon him and what he would see and hear and feel later, he had found and would find again that faith is not forever unsupported — only that in some of the deepest valleys, faith is all we have to keep us going. Remember the first verse of Hebrews 11: “faith is ... the evidence of things not seen� (Hebrews 11:1, KJV). There are two degrees of faith that gave Job the strength to carry on: faith that God exists and has the ability to bring about changes for the good – AND faith that God will bring about justice. Everything will be set right in the end. There will be times in your and my life and when things are not the greatest, and it frankly doesn’t make any sense to us. We can honestly say that we haven’t done anything wrong, we have been faithful, and we don’t deserve what has come our way. That is the time when we need to remember the example of Job and keep the faith. Have faith that God is not unaware of our troubles, and that God does care about us. Also, have faith that God will ultimately set everything right in your life. Here’s a story that can illustrate this: Anne Lamott is a writer and single mother living in California. She and her son’s father split up back when she was pregnant with the child, and for several years, there was no contact between the adults and none between the boy, Sam, and his father. But by the time Sam was 7, he began to wonder about his father and what kind of a man he was. Eventually Sam said he wanted to see his father, and Anne, who had no idea where her former lover was, agreed to help her son. Her initial efforts were unsuccessful. Anne is a Christian and was bringing Sam up that way, and she noted that Sam had begun praying for his father every night. That’s when Anne began to complain to God: “Would it have been so much skin off your nose to give my child an answer?� she prayed, accusingly. Had there been a God’s Business Bureau, she might have registered her grievance more formally, for, like Job, she seemed to be getting nowhere. Though she tried more avenues to locate Sam’s father, nothing was working. But then she recalled a statement she’d heard from essayist Wendell Berry: “It gets darker and darker, and then Jesus is born.� Recalling that line, she said, “I decided to practice radical hope, hope in the face of not having a clue. I decided that God was not off doing the dishes while Sam sought help: God heard his prayers and was working on it.� Well, where was the evidence of that? At that moment, only in her faith. As it turned out, Anne eventually found Sam’s dad, a meeting was arranged, and the father and son now see each other often and have a healthy, ongoing relationship. But there was the point in the search when it took faith to keep trying, to keep believing that God was engaged. And that’s where many of us find ourselves, needing faith to keep trying. Sources consulted: �The Bad Business Bureau,� Homiletics, October 2006 Newsome, Carol. The Book of Job. In NIB Vol. IV (Abingdon, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 15 October 2006 Text: Mark 10:2-16 I think that before I go any further, one thing that I want to make sure that I have said is that this is not so much a sermon against divorce as it is a sermon that is for marriage. These words that Jesus spoke about divorce are perhaps the most clearly-spoken statements against divorce in the entire Bible. But, there are other teachings in the Bible that, while considering divorce and remarriage undesirable, do allow for its occurring. In Genesis, 1:26-27, we read that God created us male and female, made in His image – and, when we read into Genesis 2, it’s also very clear that marriage is a very profound event: “… a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.� (Ge 2:24, NIV) The bond of marriage is seen to be something so strong that divorce is to be avoided; it is seen as something evil that is contrary to God’s reign over Creation. But, in Exodus 21, a female Hebrew slave (we assume that she was purchased as a “bride�) has the right to “divorce� her owner (by leaving) if he fails to provide food, clothing, or marital rights to her. The point of all of this is not to get hung up in the many details of Scripture but to point out that, even though divorce was not seen as a desirable thing, there were times when it was allowed. It’s still the same today – we’ve probably all heard that divorce rates inside and outside of the church are the same, so we haven’t exactly upheld a model of healthy and sustainable marriages for the watching world. We also haven’t done a great job caring for the divorced in our churches. Divorced people tell stories of how they have been socially marginalized in the church — about being branded with the Scarlet “D.� There are still many different opinions on divorce, and I am sure there are many different ones here this morning. I think that what is most important here is that there is another view on divorce that where perhaps we can all find some common ground. Everything Jesus taught and did had to do with justice and equality – so that everyone could live in the way that God intended. When the Pharisees asked Jesus a legal question, he turned them back to God’s heart for marriage. Jesus connects marriage to God’s creation mandate when he recites Genesis 2. God originally made male and female (10:6). His plan was for daughters and sons to leave their families and unite into new families through marriage (10:7). Families can’t be dissolved because they are of the same flesh, blood and DNA — hence marriage is described similarly: “the two shall become one flesh� (10:8). The question shouldn’t be “Is it lawful to divorce?� It should be “How can we be one flesh?� Or, another way to think of this is, when you get married, the question shouldn’t be “can we make this work?� but instead “how are we going to MAKE this work?� In other words, when you take those marriage vows, you’re committing to a life-time of discovering what it means to be one flesh. In order to do that, we have to be very deliberate about building a good marriage: communication, respect, selflessness, compromise, and growth. One of the areas where I’ve gotten a lot of static as a minister is weddings – when I have couples who don’t think for a second about dropping hundreds of dollars on flowers, but just can’t find the time for 8 to 10 hours of premarital counseling. We’ve just finished the crazy wedding season of the summer. So many couples headed off on the adventure of marriage with multiple-thousand-dollar ceremonies. The caterer cost $5,000. The photographer $3,000. The flower lady $1,500. Flowers, food and photos have NO effect on a marriage, yet they get all of our time and money. Isn’t that an unfortunate pattern that many of us have continued with today? Our careers, lawns, kids’ sports and committee meetings get our time. Our cars, clothes and credit cards get our money. What if a little more of both went to our marriages? Jesus doesn’t want us concerned with whether or not we can pursue divorce. He wants us concerned with whether or not we are pursuing our marriage. How do we become “one flesh� with our spouse? By putting elbow grease into the relationship! Learn your spouse’s “love language,� and communicate with him or her. Remember to go on dates like you used to before the wedding. And remember that there’s life after “crazy love.� I love a story from the film, Shall We Dance?, starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, to illustrate what it means to be married – to become one flesh: Mrs. Clark, played by Susan Sarandon, is talking to the private investigator Mr. Devine, played by Richard Jenkins. She hired him because she thought her husband, Richard Gere, was having an affair. When she finds out that he isn’t having an affair — he’s only taking dance lessons — she dismisses the P.I. Before they part, a conversation ensues: Mrs. Clark: “All these promises that we make and we break. Why is it, do you think, that people get married?� Devine: “Passion.� Clark: “No.� Devine: “That’s interesting, because I would have taken you for a romantic. Why then?� Clark: “Because we need a witness to our lives. There are a billion people on the planet. I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage you’re promising to care about everything: The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things. All of it, all the time, every day. You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.’� Be one flesh with your spouse. Work on it – fill your days with the pursuit of it. Find the areas of that aren’t as healthy, and work on them! “Divorce prevention through marriage ATTENTION.� Two lives, one flesh. As God intended. Amen. Sources Consulted: “How to Survive a Shark Attack,� Homiletics, October 2000. “Cramming for Marriage,� Homiletics, October 2006
length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 27 September 2006 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 September 24, 2006
The essential lesson of this passage of scripture is that, whether you are picking up the ark of God or moving your church building 35 feet -- whenever you are intending to change, you absolutely must seek God’s will and be constantly aware of his presence. The ultimate question should never be, “should we do this?� but, “is this what God wants?� The teaching of this story is about how to invite, welcome, and celebrate God’s presence.
1. Inviting God’s Presence: Seeking God’s Will.
Seeking God’s will is a process that first directs us to look into the past and then look forward to the future.
What looks to the past in this passage is David’s bringing of the ark to Jerusalem. His actions recall how God has fulfilled his promises to David, and to Israel’s ancestors before him.
The Temple in the center of the city represents the presence of God in the midst of the people. When we look to the past we are reminded of how God has faithfully kept his promises and helped us to grow in grace. The witness of the faithful who came before us are all part of this testimony that we are all part of God’s plan to save us from our sinfulness so we can be in fellowship with him forever.
Seeing David establishing Jerusalem as the holy city of God also points us to the future, because it speaks of creation at the fulfillment of history. As we read about this Jerusalem, as Christians we know that we are seeing the beginnings of the New Jerusalem in Revelation: · A place where there is no temple, because God is the temple in the new city (21:22) · A place where there is no sun or moon, because God’s glory provides the light (21:23); where there is no night, because is the light for all who live there (21:25, 22:5). · A place where life will be better than it ever was, better than in the Garden of Eden, because this place has both the river of the water of life and the tree of life (22:1-2).
Everyone who lives in this New Jerusalem will have total and eternal fellowship with God, thanks to the new David, who is Jesus. So by remembering and understanding how God has been faithful to us in the past, we can look to the future with faith as we discern what part we are to play in the future as God’s people.
The thing about seeking God’s will is that we must always remember that it MUST be done BEFORE settling on a course of action. We might not be in total agreement at all times, but we should all be agreed that we are at least going in the direction God wants us to go -- because HE is the one who is in charge here.
2. Welcoming God’s Presence: Change has to happen God’s way.
The first thing to remember about making God welcome in our midst is that God is God, and we shouldn’t try and shape him into someone he is not. It’s tempting to try and do things our way because it’s the comfortable way we have always done things. Being comfortable isn’t as scary or as frustrating as trying new things. But I keep coming back to a saying that my father taught me years ago about the option so many people take to avoid change: “Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.� You might say that most people are willing to change not because they see the light, but because they feel the heat!
If we let God guide us as we change, we aren’t ever going to have complete knowledge of what is ahead of us. God does new things. God IS doing new things -- even here in rural North Dakota where it seems like life is often on a big downslide. Great things can happen anywhere and any time if God is doing it.
The most important thing about welcoming God’s presence is that we always keep in mind that we are working for the future. This is part of looking forward in faith as we anticipate how God will some day bring all of history’s events together in Christ’s return. God’s future victory is guaranteed -- we are called to live faithfully in the times before that day. Jesus said that the kingdom of God is here on earth, so it IS. Yet, it has not yet reached all of its fullness, so our work is not yet done.
3. Celebrating God’s Presence: Don’t be afraid to live joyfully where people can see your joy!
Too often, we are self-conscious about our faith, and we don’t do a good job of showing it to the world. I will not recommend that we all go dancing in our underwear like King David did -- that wouldn’t do us much good. But we need people to see that we are excited about our faith and united behind God.
We are living in a changing world that is moving to a post-Christian culture. If we are going to be faithful to the mission Christ has left us, we have to live as though we were presenting the gospel for the very first time. Christian faith thrives in this kind of situation -- and it gives us wonderful opportunities to minister to others.[1] A playful, fearless approach to new experiences can open doors that we might never have imagined would open. When God is with us, it’s time to celebrate!
4. Join the dance -- God’s dance
God invites us all into the dance of eternal life; a dance of praise, creativity, justice, and rejoicing. As we dance with God, he helps us to teach this dance to others in the name of the Lord of the Dance, Jesus Christ.
Let us prepare for the coming of the King of Glory with a renewed outreach to a dying world, an outreach that tells of the greatest news our world will ever hear.
Sources Consulted: “When the Ark Got Parked,� in Homiletics, July 2003, 21-25. Arnold, Bill T., 1 & 2 Samuel (Zondervan, 2003), 458-468. Birch, Bruce C., The First and Second Books of Samuel (Abingdon, 1998); in the New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume II, 1244-1252. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Abingdon, 2003), 449-450. [1] Pastor Brian McLaren of Cedar Ridge Community Church, Washington DC area, quoted in Liaison, Spring 2001, 1. length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 27 September 2006 “The Connected Christian� Proverbs 1:20-33 How “connected� are you? Another way to ask that might be, “how many ways do you keep in touch with the people in your life?� Let’s see – how many ways can we think of? · Conversation, face-to-face · Telephones (including cell phones) · Email · Cards & Letters · ?? There are so many ways to stay connected today. It seems like everything IS connected! Parking meters at the University of California in Santa Barbara, for example, are now part of a network that you can contact by phone. Coming soon are smart, networked parking meters that can talk to each other and report information to a Web site. If you drive into an area and want to know where an open space is, you simply use your cell phone to access the Web site and find an unused meter. Even better, you will soon be able to punch a button and make a reservation. The meter will flash a reserved sign and hold the space for you for five minutes. This doesn’t mean that those of us USING the meters are any smarter – there will always be somebody, as the joke goes, who will tell the meter maid that he’s still waiting for his gumball, there’s just 5 minutes left… A system called Home Heartbeat connects sensors on washing machines, microwaves, doors and other fixtures. You can program the system to tell you — by text message — every time the front door opens and the TV turns on. Get that particular message, and you know the kids are home from school. And that’s just the LITTLE stuff. I wonder what technology will be offering to us in 20 years. It’s amazing what God can inspire in a person. God wants us to be connected, too. He wants us to STAY connected, so that our lives are lived well and to the fullest. God wants us to be wise and connected, like the Home Heartbeat system that links home appliances and clearly communicates what each one is doing. It’s interesting to note that role that Wisdom plays in the text: out in the real world, offering guidance and teaching to all who will listen. Not in Sunday worship, or in a Bible study, or in a classroom – out where the ones who need to hear the message are! So what is Wisdom? Aside from jokes about wisdom being what you get after making poor choices, it’s becoming mature enough to know when to follow what YOU know, and when to listen to the advice and guidance of other, wiser people. Or, in spiritual terms, know when it’s time to be still and listen to God. Just think of a time when you didn’t listen to the advice of a parent, teacher, or other person who later turned out to be wiser than you’d given them credit for. What happened? The Lord desires that we each be knowledgeable about his will and his way, which is why he says through Lady Wisdom, “I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you� (v. 23). This is not “secret knowledge,� and it’s not hard to understand. It is as clear as the words of the Bible, and as obvious as the life of Jesus Christ: · 10 Commandments · The Beatitudes · The Greatest Commandment (both parts) · The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus · “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,� according to the apostle Paul, “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all� (Ephesians 4:5-6). Those items are very clear, no question about it. The hard part is in the interpretation of those words, and how we are to apply them to daily life. Here are some ways that the body of Christ is struggling with how to apply these words: · How does the commandment “You shall not murder� (Exodus 20:13) apply to abortion, the death penalty and the war in Iraq? · How does the beatitude “Blessed are the meek� (Matthew 5:5) play out in a high-school sports team or a hyper-competitive business environment? · How does the line from the greatest commandment “love your neighbor as yourself� (Matthew 22:39) balance love of neighbor with love of one’s own self? · How do the death and resurrection of Jesus remove the sins of our past … as well as the sins we have not yet committed? · How can we embrace “one faith� in a church so shattered and separated by denominational differences? The only way that we will ever be able to finally gain the wisdom that can answer these questions is to STAY CONNECTED TO GOD AND EACH OTHER. If we don’t stay connected… well, let’s put it this way: · If you break the Ten Commandments, you will hurt yourself. · If you ignore the Beatitudes, you will never know the kingdom of God. · If you fail to love God and neighbor, you will miss out on a distinctively Christian life. · If you turn away from Jesus, and from the church that is his body in the world today, you will fail to make the connection that promises you your deepest joy and satisfaction, in this life and the next. Being connected and staying connected is the best thing for us all – “yesterday, today, and forever.� “Those who listen to me will be secure,� promises Lady Wisdom, “and will live at ease, without dread of disaster� (v. 33). Natural law, moral law, the wisdom of parents, the guidance of Scripture — all these are for our own good. When we listen and act wisely, we’ll be better off. How connected are you? Sources consulted: “Smart Stuff,� Homiletics, September, 2006. “Proverbs,� by Paul E. Koptak (Zondervan, 2003) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1 (Zondervan, 1994) NIV Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (AMG, 1996) “The Book of Proverbs,� by Raymond C. Van Leeuwen (in NIB Vol. V, Abingdon, 1997) length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 13 September 2006 Is your soul “unlocked?� Mark 7:24-37 September 10, 2006 If the Gospel is ever to reach all of the corners of Creation as Christ commanded, each and every person needs to have an unlocked soul. The people who we seek to share the Good News with need to have their souls unlocked so they can receive the life-changing message. Of course, this is something that occurs between God and themselves through the work of the Holy Spirit. The other side of this is that WE disciples must make sure that our souls REMAIN unlocked! If our souls are locked, it will be hard (if not impossible) for us to hear God’s leading in our living; if we can’t hear God’s voice, we won’t be able to easily respond to the call. In this story of Jesus, it’s pretty obvious of how important an unlocked soul is for a person who is seeking the Lord’s assistance. For both the Syrophoenician woman and her daughter, and the deaf-mute man, hearts and souls had to be unlocked for them to be set free of their problems. But it’s equally important that the soul of a disciple be unlocked, too. The history behind this story illustrates this for us: You probably remember that according to some Jewish laws, associating with non-Jews – Gentiles – would make a Jewish person ritually unclean. Jesus, with his actions, teaches us that this kind of separation isn’t in God’s plans for reaching everyone’s heart, mind, and soul. First, he deliberately went into a Gentile area. Among the people he interacted with were Gentiles, and not just any Gentiles – the Syrophoenician woman was from a city that, if you read your Old Testament, was listed as one of the wealthy and godless oppressors of Israel. What’s really neat in this part of the story is what it says about how we can reach people if our souls aren’t locked away from them. Israel understood itself to be God’s chosen people, and that while God might reach out to the Gentiles, they still believed that they came first. The comment Jesus made to this woman reflects the viewpoint of most or all of Judaism regarding outsiders. In the woman’s response to Jesus, we see the response of a soul that the Spirit has unlocked: In effect she says, “yes, I know you folks in the church are first in line, but why does that shut me out entirely?� Let’s think about this in local terms. Some times, we in the church have problems letting outsiders come on to our “gospel ship.� And we might say something like, “sorry, you need a shave, haircut, and a better attitude to hang out with us.� There are plenty of people whose souls are being unlocked by God, and they’d like to be part of the body of Christ. But, when the church makes a comment like that, it’s a sign of a locked soul. So, how do you unlock a soul? It’s not complicated. You need three things to unlock a soul: · Honesty · Humility · Faith Honesty The Syrophoenician woman was an honest person, and it showed in the words she spoke to Jesus. Her soul was unlocked when she heard of Jesus’ powers of healing and she stepped forward in faith to ask that He heal her daughter of demon possession. Socially, she had three strikes against her — she is a woman, she is a Gentile, and she has a demon-possessed daughter. None of these things won first-century Jewish popularity contests. Yet, this woman was determined that she WILL receive the blessing – she may be an outsider, but she will gladly accept that position if it means being fed what she needs. By observing Jesus’ response to the woman’s needs, we learn that an unlocked soul only sees the need: the social factors don’t matter, and should never matter. Humility Bernard of Clairvaux says that “it is only when humility warrants it that great graces can be obtained … and so when you perceive that you are being humiliated, look on it as the sign of a sure guarantee that grace is on the way. Just as the heart is puffed up with pride before its destruction, so it is humiliated before being honored.� We are taught to hide our weaknesses. We’re supposed to pull ourselves up by the boot-straps. We put our best foot forward. But hidden needs can never be met. Scholar David Garland puts it this way: “Pride stiffens the knees so that they will not bow down and muzzles our voice so that we do not call out in humble supplication.� The Gentile mother both bows down and cries out on behalf of her daughter. Her approach to Jesus is humble and broken. Her soul is open. Faith The Syrophoenician woman responded in faith to God and Jesus. She knows that Jesus heals, and nothing will stop her from being faithful to that knowledge. In the same story in Matthew 15, Jesus responds to her by saying, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.� The crowds knew of Jesus’ healing powers, and they sought him out for the deaf-mute man. Their faith was justified: They were “overwhelmed with amazement� and proclaimed what [Jesus] had done to all who could hear (vv. 36-37). An unlocked soul responds to God with faith, with a humble heart. Jesus is still working to unlock souls today, even though the circumstances are much different from those days 2,000 years ago. There’s a lot of folks who put their faith in other things today: faith in ourselves, faith in science, faith in money, faith in technology. Yet none of these can touch the power of God! Who needs their soul unlocked? Many persons! Someone who has separated themselves from the community of faith needs to have his soul unlocked to receive reconciliation. Someone who suffers under the burden of hidden sin needs her soul unlocked so she can experience freedom. The person suffering from pain in the past needs healing. The couple with a struggling marriage needs honesty. The bottom line is that an unlocked soul allows God to fill an uncertain future with hope – whether you’re in the church or out of the church. Jesus can unlock any soul. Is yours unlocked? Sources consulted: “Jesusmeister,� Homiletics, September 2006 “Mark,� by David E. Garland (Zondervan, 1996) “NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2,� Barker & Kohlenberger (Zondervan, 1994) The NIV Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 5 September 2006 The essence of the Good News of God’s gospel is that God can take anything – perfect or imperfect – and reshape and reform it into treasure: something of value, something useful, and something that has a purpose. The powerful meaning of this passage of scripture comes from the yotzer, or potter, who symbolizes God’s creative activity in our world. The potter takes something that is common and apparently worthless – clay – and transforms it into something with function, value, and even beauty. Though we still have potters today, the art of hand-made pottery is not as common in America as it once was. Another way you might think of taking something that is apparently worthless and transforming it into something with function, value, and possibly beauty is recycling. In the US, we don’t always think of recycling as such a profoundly powerful activity. We recycle newspapers, old batteries, printer cartridges, and so on. But if you looked not far from the US, in Cuba, you could find some very creative examples of recycling. Cuba has never been a very rich nation; after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, things became even grimmer. Since the people had nothing new to work with in their poverty, they found new ways to use old things. One example is how a person took an old rotary-dial phone and turned it into an electric fan. Another recycles plastic bottles and jugs into signs. There are other examples, of course. The point is, with this kind of re-creation out of apparent worthlessness, there is no waste. There is value in everything. This is the lesson that God offered Jeremiah when He suggested a trip to the potter’s house in Jerusalem: that even though the people of Israel were on a bad slide toward judgment and exile, God’s creativity could offer the opportunity for redemption. Let’s check the text again, starting at verse 3: “So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’� (18:3-6, NIV) What’s important in these verses? · The potter didn’t give up when the first vessel was spoiled. He reworked it into something that was good and useful. · The Word of the Lord says that God can take something spoiled and discard it OR He can re-create it into something good, useful, and pleasing to Him. What determines what the Lord will do? Let’s read on, starting at verse 7: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.� (18:7-10, NIV) Jeremiah sees that God would rather re-create His disobedient children instead of destroy them – verse 11: “turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.� The key to being re-created is repenting of our wrong-doing. In other words, turning away from wrong and beginning to walk in the way of the Lord. If we make the effort – and are sincere in our desire to change – we’ll find that God is more than ready to help us become someone better. God is not into waste! He doesn’t want to discard anyone! The choice, though, is ours. We have been created with a free will. If we want to make a turnaround, we have to make the first move. Or, if you think of this in terms of God’s grace, He made the first move, and now we make the second. But we ourselves still must choose to turn. What’s the next step? Obviously, it’s to ask ourselves, “do we need to turn?� This is where the project will be revealed as something that is a challenge. Even when we know that it’s time for a change, our human tendency is to resist a change of course: · Change means that we have to lose something to gain something new. Perhaps it might mean dying to one way of living before you can enter another. · Change can mean that we have to confess we were doing something wrong. · Change will bring us face-to-face with our fear of the unknown (and therefore, the uncontrollable). · We might be having too much fun being bad, and we just don’t want to change. Henry Kissinger (the former US Secretary of State) once said of the peace process in the Middle East that people will come to the table only when the cost of conflict becomes too high. It’s a truism that we will come to the Lord’s Table, the Potter’s Wheel, when we understand that the cost of sin, ineptitude, misery, and despair is too high – and only God can reshape us and turn our lives around. What can God re-shape and re-create right here? Some ideas come to mind: · Examining our own souls for flaws that God can heal. · Examining our personal attitudes about discipleship and reaching out to others, and letting God open new doors for us – and then walking through them. · Examining how we do ministry as a church and letting God help us become more effective even though we are tired, busy, or just plain frazzled. With God, there is no waste. Anyone or anything can be transformed by the power of God – sometimes in very dramatic ways. We are the creations of God – we are clay in His hands. He has chosen us to help humanity find a better way. So it really doesn’t make sense to resist the changes that God wants us to make. We are intended to be forgiven and re-created people who are good and useful – AND PLEASING both to God and others. Isn’t it time that we let that happen? Source consulted: “No Waste,� Homiletics, September 2004 Jeremiah-Lamentations, by J. Andrew Dearman (Zondervan, 2002) The Book of Jeremiah, by Patrick D. Miller (NIB Vol. VI, Abingdon, 2001) NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1 by Barker & Kohlenberger (Zondervan, 1994) The Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (NIV) – (AMG, 1996)
length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 28 August 2006 A popular saying of our culture is that “the best defense is a strong offense� – a “do unto your enemies before they do unto you� philosophy of living. This reflects one of the currents that underlie our way of thinking as a people: the concept of rightful revenge. If wrong has been done to you, you have permission to get even with them. I bring this up because today’s scripture lesson is one that we know very well – perhaps even too well. We might have gone to Vacation Bible School as a kid and made little swords and helmets while memorizing these verses. I remember that this passage was the basis for what we taught one of my years as a camp counselor. The point is, this is a very comfortable passage of scripture for us… and if we don’t pay close attention to what is in the text, and what underlies the text, we could find ourselves falling into a trap: considering God’s armor to be an OFFENSIVE weapon, not a DEFENSE against the spiritual trials that come our way. “A trap – what do you mean by that?� some would ask. Let’s go through what Paul has written here, and I think you’ll understand what I mean. This last chapter of Ephesians brings together everything Paul has taught about living as children of the light. Now, he issues a call to action for all believers: stand against the pagan lifestyle of all the unbelievers around them. We all know that taking a stand like this is never easy. It might affect your social relationships with people who don’t believe as you do, and some of those folks are your friends (or even family!). Things could be uncomfortable! This is something that we all have to consider as a reality of being a believer. The main reality, though, is that we have many temptations before us on a daily basis. The Devil rarely (if ever) does us the courtesy of being straightforward with those temptations, usually passing them to us as idolatrous choices that do their best to lure us in. The bottom line of what Paul says here, and church teaching agrees, is that that believers are to deliberately separate themselves from the darkness and work against it; the homes of believers should be filled with reflections of the gospel that bring unity within the body of Christ, and the self-giving of Christ should be evident in every act of living. If the self-giving of Christ is what governs our actions and our responses to the world and the Devil’s temptations, then the first thing that should be very clear about God’s armor is that its purpose is PROTECTING us while we love, not so we can destroy what opposes us. The armor of God is what lets us be faithful while we go about our loving and living as Jesus has taught us. Eph 4:24 can help you understand this: “…put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.� (NIV) We put on God’s armor by consciously making the effort to be godly in our living – Our “faith is proven to be true faith when we live righteously.�[1] If you’re still not the difference between using the armor of God offensively instead of defensively, consider a few things common in our world: § Christians spend more energy protesting abortion clinics and their patients than they do opening their homes and their wallets to promote the adoption of the babies of those pregnancies which may be terminated. § “Preachers� visit university campuses and busy city street corners, armed with a megaphone that pipes messages of fire, brimstone and damnation at drunkards, idolaters and the sexually immoral – but never take the time to get to know why these folks are so broken in the first place, and help them get better! § Christian leaders hyper-spiritualize their politics, even calling for the assassination of anti-American foreign leaders. Is this the mark of followers of a Prince of Peace? § There are loud cries championing “family values,� yet the divorce rates for the church are the same as for those outside the church — if not higher. Where is the disconnect? § We proclaim our faith through fish symbols on our fenders … on cars that cut people off and fail to kindly let others merge in front of us. No wonder some folks don’t want anything to do with the church! The evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, once said, “Of 100 mean, one will read the Bible; the 99 will read the Christian.� Brennan Manning says “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That’s what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.� Perhaps the first purpose of God’s armor is to protect US from OUR OWN follies and foibles! We need to be careful about who we are mounting our defense against. While holy living is the intent of God, the enemy of Ephesians 6 is not sin itself. Nor is the enemy those who sin. Couldn’t we all share stories of how as individuals or as the church we have fallen short on the first step of the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin.� Paul is NOT encouraging us to isolate ourselves from sinners. If this were the case, NONE of us would be eligible for church membership! (ex Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.� NIV) Our enemy is a spiritual one; an invisible one that makes a visible impact upon us. Our war is with “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places� (v. 12). The author C.S. Lewis offers an appropriate thought on this demonic enemy[2]: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.� For most of us, we are materialists, unaware that we have a true enemy in Satan who wants our confusion, our apathy, our hidden weaknesses, our shame, our self-absorption, our hyper-rationality and our hyper-emotionality. Consider his biblical titles: “adversary� (1 Peter. 5:8), “accuser� (Revelation 12:10), the “father of lies� (John 8:44), and the “tempter� (Matthew 4:3). “Stand firm…� A soldier only loosened his belt when he was off-duty; because the belt was the central part of the armor, if the belt was loose, the armor lost its effectiveness. The way that we most effectively put on God’s armor for our daily lives is to first daily work at maintaining our intimacy with God. Secondly, we must intentionally nurture our souls. We must intentionally pray. We must intentionally make ourselves aware of temptations coming our way by noting where we are weaker and keeping alert to interference in those areas. If the enemy is spiritual and armor is spiritual, does it not make sense that our engagement in the battle is a spiritual endeavor as well? Our defense against our enemy may not always look like we have a hard-and-fast plan – but it should always be marked by a prayer-driven intimacy with the one who arms us with his very presence. The result is, when our lives are girded with an authentic passion and pursuit of our God, the crowds around us may stop being so offended by the mistakes of the church – and the armor of God will have done its work… and the Kingdom will be enlarged. Amen. Sources consulted: ACCS, Vol. VIII (Intervarsity, 1999) NIV Bible Commentary Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1994) “Ephesians,� by Klyne Snodgrass (Zondervan, 1996) “The Letter to the Ephesians,� by Pheme Perkins (NIB Vol. XI, Abingdon, 2000) “The Scream,� Homiletics, August 2006 length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 22 August 2006
The sense of what the Apostle Paul was writing about really hit me this week, late in the week. School is just about to start; the urgency of harvest is upon us. Once the beet harvest kicks off, things will really be moving! It seems as though the summer didn’t last as long this year, and it looks as though fall and winter will be busy, too. The key word in this passage is “time,� taken from the Greek work ‘kairos.’ The New International Version translates it as ‘every opportunity’ in verse 16. ‘Kairos’ is a word with many layers of meaning: it can refer to a certain measure of time, past-present-future; or it can point out a decisive moment in time that has been divinely determined as a moment of choice – for example, when you read in the Bible about ‘a time of the Lord’s favor,’ that would be a moment when a decision is expected of you. The way Paul is using the word gives the sense that you have been given a certain amount of time to get things done, so you had best spend that gift wisely. We’d probably say, “there’s no time like the present.� What Paul is telling the Ephesians is that this is a time of opportunity for the believers. NOW is the time to produce good works that will counteract the evil going on around them; NOW is the time to make the most of every opportunity to plant the seeds of God’s grace, because you might not get another such moment. Another way to interpret this passage is, “buy up every opportunity – time is going by, and evil will use it if Christians do not.�[1] My dad once told me that the most valuable thing I would ever have is my time, because it’s the one thing that you will never be able to get back once it’s gone. He told me that when I was 18 or 19, back in the days when I hadn’t really given much thought to what lay beyond 30. I didn’t give much weight to what he was saying. But now, in my 40s, raising a family, I am starting to see what he meant. It really does make a difference how you spend your time. And the choice is all ours. According to a Lou Harris survey from 2003, the amount of leisure time enjoyed by the average American has shrunk 37 percent since 1973. A major reason is an expanding workweek. Over this same period, the average workweek (including commuting) has increased from fewer than 41 hours to nearly 47 hours. And in many professions, such as medicine, law and accounting, an 80-hour week is not uncommon. Harris therefore concludes that “time may have become the most precious commodity in the land.�[2] I would agree. It’s no wonder summer doesn’t seem to be as long as it once was! So, the long and short of it is that Paul’s teaching, to “be very careful of how you live, not as unwise but as wise,� is just as true for us today as it was for the Ephesians. There is still the same amount of hours in a day or a week or a year – but our days have become so full of things to keep us busy that we have to be very careful of how we spend our time so that we don’t waste any precious moments. All of us, but especially Christians, must carefully manage the time that God has given us. It is a valuable resource, and we can either spend it on ourselves or redeem it as a spiritual investment. We can spend it only once, and how we spend it can have eternal consequences. Let us not waste the resources God has given us. Instead, let us redeem the time and use it for God’s glory. Last week, we studied the passage right before this one, where the text asks us, “does the way we live grieve the Holy Spirit?� Do we deliberately live as an imitation of God? Does our life please the Lord, and respond to His will? What we’re reading today pushes us to take that a step further with specific issues of the Christian life. Do we make time for worship — other than Sunday — and prayer? How much time do we give to life with God, and learning about the life? How much time do we spend seeking God’s will? And do we guard against drunkenness in our living? That’s an issue that will get some folks going. Paul talks about being drunk on wine, and we are right to worry about the bad effects that overindulging in alcohol can have upon a body and soul. But, that’s not the primary point he is making. What Paul is really saying is that we should not get carried away with excessive indulgences that diminish our awareness of God and our ability to respond to Him.[3] So maybe you don’t drink alcohol, you don’t take illegal drugs, and you make a point of eating right and exercising. Great! But what about other things, like materialism, beauty aids, or spectator sports? I can think of more than one person for whom those things are the “drug of choice.� We are all vulnerable in some way, and our responsibility is to know ourselves well enough that we aren’t taken over by these things which can make it hard to know our place in God’s plan. Knowing our place in God’s plan simply comes from understanding what the will of the Lord is for each of us. Living a life that is filled with time well spent means that we recognize the nature of the times that we live in and make the most of the opportunities for good by keeping our focus on God, where it belongs. We each have been given just so much time. When it’s gone, it’s gone. So, we live in such a way that we can make the most of what we’ve been given. It all comes back to our anchor, our life in the community of faith. What we do here with our brothers and sisters in Christ is an important part of making the most of our time. Paul counsels that we “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.� Maybe we should be more in the habit of speaking scripture to each other more often, or adopting the motto that “hymns aren’t just for Sunday any more.� Being open about how God is working in our lives each day – and not holding back because some people might think we’re weird. I know you folks won’t be turning into wild-eyed religious people, and I think the people around us know that, too. It’s a mark of being filled with the Spirit that we are open with our faith around others. As I said earlier, the pace of life is picking up again now that fall is near. It’s necessary to make the most of the time you have. The days are still filled with people and things who aren’t interested in Christ or His purposes for the world. It’s our job to keep our living on target, doing things that please Christ and continue his work in the world. One of my desires for the coming year is that we can increase the number of people attending worship in our church each week. For that to happen, we are all going to need to have our living tuned up and our focus on making the most of every opportunity to invite people to join us in God’s house. It’s been said that you never have to advertise a fire because people will always come running to look at it. It’s the same way with a church: if it is on fire with the Spirit, the people will know about it and will come to see what’s burning.[4] Listen to the Lord speaking to you. If you can do it every day, what He is calling you to will become very clear. As you become more aware of His presence always with you, you’ll live in joy – and your celebration will bring others to see the wonderful things that are happening. And then you can tell them about the riches of a life that is filled with time well spent! Sources Consulted: Illustrations from Homiletics Magazine Lincoln, Andrew T., Ephesians (Word, 1990); 337-349. Snodgrass, Klyne, Ephesians (Zondervan, 1996); pp. 285-317. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 6 August 2006
length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 4 June 2006
length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 28 May 2006 Text: 1 Kings 2:1-11
90 years ago tomorrow, one of the most popular auto races in America will take place -- the Indy 500. There's a lot of history attached to the race for racing fans -- A.J. Foyt winning four times, the fourth in 1977; Janet Guthrie was the first female driver, also in 1977. Tom Sneva broke the 200 miles-per-hour barrier in the Indy 500. Great stuff! But you need to go back to the first years of the Indy 500 to begin to get a sense of why the race is such an American favorite today, 90 years after its beginnings. In 1912, something happened that caught America's attention, something that had an effect that has lasted until today. The funny thing is, what happened had nothing to do with the winner of the race. In 1912, a man named Joe Dawson won the race. But it was the accomplishment of another driver, Ralph DePalma, that was so inspirational. Ralph led the pack in his Mercedes for nearly the entire race. In the course of doing so, he broke every existing speedway record for 450 miles. He had an eight-lap lead -- victory was almost guaranteed -- and his car died -- with about a mile to go to the finish line. What happened next was the magical moment. DePalma and his riding mechanic got out of the car and PUSHED it that mile or so, across the finish line. Dawson won, DePalma was disqualified. But the people didn't care. The spirit he showed in finishing the race inspired them, and the Indy 500 became an American tradition. Life too is a race. At the end of the race, we cross the finish line and step into eternity. Though we take this time to remember all of our loved ones who have departed this world, our Memorial Day remembrances also remind us of those who were pushed across the finish line during a time of war. Scripture records King David as describing these persons as those who have gone "the way of all the earth." If we could consult those who have passed on before us, what might they have to say to us? Of course, we can only speculate -- that knowledge is not ours to have. But in scripture, we DO have the words of King David, who knew he was not long for this world. Verse 1 shows that David knew his time was near, and so he spoke his last instructions to his son Solomon, who would succeed him as King. David left Solomon with four pieces of advice for being a good and godly king:
What can we learn from these four pieces of advice? Letâ??s see. Be strong A lot of the time, we expect life to be like a car: something that carries us along from here to there. Weâ??re not supposed to have to carry the car! But then, life hands us a hard bump, and we have to climb out of our expectations, put our dreams in the trunk, and start pushing the car down the rough brick road of experience. We must be strong if we are to live a godly life, and particularly so if we are to serve as leaders in the body of Christ. The words of David to Solomon were not new! These are the same words that Moses spoke to Joshua: Joshua 1:6 "Be strong and courageous" Joshua 1:7 "Be strong and courageous" Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous" Leadership requires strength. It is not for the faint of heart. But leadership is for everyone, because at some level in our lives, we are leaders. You may be a leader in your home. You may be a leader in your community, your school, or in your church. Regardless, it requires strength, and all that goes with strength: It requires character. It requires certainty. It requires integrity. It requires the ability to listen. It requires the willingness to admit mistakes. It requires believing in something. The person who has these things is a strong person. Be courageous. Imagine how Ralph DePalma must have felt when his car died. He was a guaranteed loser -- and nothing was going to change that. Yet, he chose to get out of his car and finish the race -- even though there was no way he could win. That was courage. It's not the same as not being afraid : courage is taking action even though you are afraid. We don't handle risk well at all these days. We dress up our kids like knights in armor -- face pads, knee pads, helmets, goggles -- just to go out bicycling. We won't take a risk unless we are virtually guaranteed success -- that is, unless we know that we're definitely going to get what we want. Even if we have the ability, we aren't willing to take the risk. King David's advice to Solomon was in the imperative -- a "you MUST" kind of choice. Even if things are tough -- you MUST keep going. Be faithful David's last advice to his son is that he "keeps the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies (2:3)." The word of God is to be Solomon's guiding light. God said something similar to Joshua when he began his leadership of the house of Israel: "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful" (Joshua 1:8). Being strong and courageous without being faithful to the word of God only means that our strength and courage are likely to be misplaced and misdirected or, to come as something that's too little and too late. David's point to his son is that his strength and courage should be fortified by the word of God -- and so should ours! Take care of business. This is the practical advice that King David has for Solomon, because life is always lived in the real world. No matter how convinced we are of the higher things of our faith and the glory and goodness of God, we still live in a rough-and-tumble world where truth, honor, and fair play are regularly sacrificed for personal gain. If we each do this, we will make it to the finish line, cross it, and hear the welcome of the "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) who will rise up in thunderous applause as they welcome us home. Source Consulted: "The Finish Line," Homiletics, May 2006
length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 23 May 2006 1 John
5:1-6 Be careful
when you answer that question! It’s all
well and good to claim “the victory� in the Name of Jesus Christ – but it’s not
a victory if it wasn’t achieved for the right reasons, in the right
manner. This is because the victories of
God’s people – when rightly achieved – have nothing to do with domination, only
transformation.
She opened
it and found a brand-new bathroom scale.
Funeral arrangements for the husband were set for that Saturday.
From the
book of James:
“Suppose a
brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you
well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what
good is it?� (James 2:15-16, NIV) Love and
obedience belong together, right along with faith and good works. It’s the way
that God has designed the world, which is why John can say that God’s
commandments “are not burdensome� (1 John 5:3). He knows that they are good for
us, and good for all our brothers and sisters.
John says
that “this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that
conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?� (vv.
4-5). You CAN
conquer the world when faith, love and obedience are mixed together!
With these
things going for us, we can remember with confidence the words of the Apostle
Paul, written to the Roman church:
It’s not an
easy victory, but one that is well worth it!
“People are
often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive them anyway. If you
are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway. “If you are
successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed
anyway. “If you are
honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. What you
spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway. “If you find
eternity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway. “The good
you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway. Give the world
the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you’ve
got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was
never between you and them anyway.�
length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 14 May 2006 1 John
4:7-21
Truth is
what is REALLY happening, has REALLY occurred, or REALLY exists – and truth is
not just what you or I think it is.
Truth takes into account reality, without distraction or personal
agenda, in presenting the facts.
·
If
God is love, explain the holocaust! ·
If
God is love, why is there so much abuse in our world? ·
If
God is love, why are there horrible natural disasters, people in Africa dying
of AIDS by the thousands, and on and on and on?
Even when life doesn’t make sense, we can still catch a
glimpse of God and find meaning in the events that carry us along, even when
life seems meaningless.
“Twisted
Truth,� Homiletics, May 21, 2000 [1] Online dictionary at
www.die.net length: Comments[2] |
Mon, 1 May 2006 “Righteous
Conduct� The
passage from John’s letter that we read last week had an inward focus: how
confession is an essential part of the Christian life that helps us be
accountable to God and our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. This
week, John takes our focus outward. A
good way to sum up this all up is to say, “the treasure of our hearts provides
the basis for our behavior. If love
lives in our hearts, its qualities will be visible in our lives.� So
much of the way our society behaves today can be summed up in The Toddler Property Laws: 1. If I like it, it’s
mine. 2. If it’s in my hand,
it’s mine. 3. If I can take it from
you, it’s mine. 4. If I had it a little
while ago, it’s mine. 5. If it’s mine, it must
never appear to be yours in any way. 6. If I’m doing or
building something, all the pieces are mine. 7. If it looks just like
mine, it’s mine. 8. If I think it’s mine,
it’s mine. 9. If it’s yours and I
steal it, it’s mine. 10. If I saw it first, or
last, makes no difference, it’s still mine. The
signs of this mindset show up in the way we live: bad language, insisting on
our individual rights over concern for the greater good – and a lot of impatience
and hostility toward those whose opinions don’t line up with ours. If someone doesn’t take our side, it can get pretty ugly: shouting, shoving,
demanding, asserting, accusing, posturing, condemning… you get the idea. Life is becoming the Jerry Springer Show. This
does sound discouraging… but there is hope for us. There are some who are trying to turn the
tide and help us become a more civilized people. The
NBA has adopted the idea that “the clothing makes the man,� by specifying a
dress code for the players while they are on the job. Commissioner David Stern pushed
for it last fall, and his request was granted. Now, NBA players are required to dress “business
casual� when they are on the team’s clock. There
was protest from the players -- some suggested that Stern was biased against
the hip-hop culture, and was denying the players the freedom to express
themselves. But Stern said this wasn’t true – the players could “hip and hop,
bag, sag, zig and zag all they wanted — just not at work.� So,
these highly-paid sports stars that influence so many of our young people have
a new look. They are no longer allowed
to wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, T-shirts, chains, pendants or medallions
worn over their clothes. No sunglasses
while indoors, headphones are verboten
except when they are on the team bus or plane, or in the team locker room. And,
players are also going to be required to wear a sport coat on the bench when
they are not in uniform. The
idea is, if we dress up, we live up. In
the eyes of many, that’s exactly what we need.
If we live up, our conduct improves, and the quality of our living will
improve. In the long run, this can mean
that we as a people are more and genuinely civil, supporting, and caring. Now,
to the life of the church: What John has
written here has something to say about being a child of God AND the effect
that it has on your life. It’s about the
relationship between sin, the future, and righteous conduct: that the love of God not only positively
transforms the community’s relationship with God, but it also changes the
relationship of the community with the world. Our
behavior is the first “fruit� or “evidence� of where we are in our relationship
with God. If you read this letter of
John carefully, you’ll see that the direct result of the removal of your sin by
Christ is that you no longer sin – because Christ is now in you, and you are in
him. It
cuts both ways: not only do those in Christ not sin, but those who do sin
cannot have seen or known Christ. The
one who does righteous acts shows him- or herself to be righteous, just as
Jesus is righteous. This
follows the most basic standard of Christian behavior that we take from Jesus’
teachings: We love our neighbors as ourselves. Love
is the message we have heard from the beginning. It’s
out of love that we treat each other as we should. Civility is merely following
the golden rule — treating others as we wish to be treated. What could be more
Christian than, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you�
(Matthew 7:12). If
you want people to be kind to you, be kind to them. If you don’t want to be cut
off in traffic, don’t be the guy who cuts off other drivers. If you want to be
let out into traffic, let others out. If you want civil treatment at the
grocery store, or in your kitchen, treat others with civility and respect. Even
if you don’t get civility in return, keep your cool, and let the civility flow. Righteous
conduct begins with living as Jesus has taught us – so that we model the
heritage we have received from God the Father. We
are the children of God. This implies that we — by nature — will express the
qualities, tendencies of God! That’s
what John is getting at with all this talk about sinning, and about the devil: §
“No
one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him…� §
“Everyone
who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from
the beginning…� §
“Those
who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they
cannot sin, because they have been born of God.� §
“The
children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who
do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their
brothers and sisters…� (1 John 3:6, 8, 9-10) This
means: if we typically behave in a non-loving,
non-forgiving, non-merciful manner, our very relationship with God is thereby
called into question. People who know
God, who are God’s children, do not live this way. If they do, they belong to the devil, and not
to God. Righteous
conduct begins with love and charity, something given to us by the cross of
Christ. Righteous conduct is always concerned with increasing the store of
human kindness for everyone. Jesus
said, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and
action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure
our hearts before him� (1 John 3:18-19). Sources
consulted: length: Comments[0] |
Sat, 15 April 2006 "How
to Give Life" Mark
16:1-8 April
16, 2006 Why
is "good news," good news? What
is it about news that makes it good or bad -- something beyond a "just the
facts" report that announces the details of an event, an occurrence, or a
phenomenon? Right
now the tabloids and gossip magazines are consumed with the lives of Tom and
Katie, Brad and Angelina, and Britney and Kevin -- and the magazines just love
to spot things which might mean bad news for the couples. Who knows what's really going on? We
turn on the evening news, and we are subjected to a never-ending stream of war
reports, death tolls, protests, and other general unhappiness. The balance of "negative news" to "positive
news" seems so often to head for the negative outlook. When
we are exposed to so much of this negativity, you can't help but have them
influence your point of view -- and how you take stock of what you see every
day. While, obviously, there are some
things in life that really are bad
news -- what goes on in our world is not all bad, and we have to keep that in
mind. In
Russia a few years ago, a railway worker accidentally locked himself in a
refrigerator car. Unable to escape or to attract attention, he resigned himself
to his fate. As
he felt his body becoming numb he took a pencil out of his pocket and recorded
the story of his approaching death. He scribbled on the walls of the car: "I am
becoming colder ... still colder ... I am slowly freezing ... half asleep.
These may be my last words." When
the car was opened the man was found dead, but the temperature of the car was
only about 56 degrees. Officials found that the freezing mechanism was out of
order and that there was plenty of fresh air available. There was no physical reason they could find for the man to have died. It was concluded that he had died because he had believed that he would die.
Surely,
we all will die one day. But the
question is, will we allow God to choose that day -- or will we decide that it's
time to start the process, and go too soon?
There is plenty of evidence that suggests that our mental state and our
will to live has a direct effect on how well our bodies function! What
better time to be reminded that God can and does work good through all things --
even when we are apparently in the toughest times of our earthly lives! When
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome head to the tomb on Easter
morning, they aren't expecting to be uplifted. They are bringing spices to
anoint the stone-cold, dead body of Jesus, a dismal and depressing task, and as
they walk in the early-morning light they are worrying about how they will
manage to muscle the heavy stone away from the entrance to the tomb (Mark
16:1-3). This
is work that must be done, for the hot climate of Palestine would soon be doing
its work on Jesus' body. And so, they
make their way to the tomb. What a
surprise it is to see the stone already rolled away! And
another surprise: In the tomb, a young man, dressed in white, is sitting on the
right side. Is he a guard? a gardener? a grave robber? Definitely cause for alarm! "Do
not be alarmed," says the mystery man; "you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here" (v. 6). So, on a dreary morning, good news has made
an appearance: He is Risen! But
that's not all. "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of
you to Galilee," continues the white-robed messenger; "there you will see him,
just as he told you" (v. 7). Jesus is going ahead of them, always ahead of
them, and he will be waiting for them in the future. That's a second piece of
truly good news. Some
times good news takes a moment to be absorbed.
Verse 8 notes that the women fled, "trembling and bewildered." But once they had collected themselves (see
Matthew 28:8 and Luke 24:9), they started talking -- and the Good News spread,
to cover the world and the rest of time. We
are blessed in that the Bible has given this good news to us, because that's
the only place you will find the story of Jesus' resurrection. If
you examine the historical records of Jesus' day, nothing appears in the records
of Jewish leaders or the Romans about Jesus rising from the dead. They didn't
think anything was all that newsworthy in the first Easter. It was just another
day: criminals being crucified,
uprisings being squelched, businessmen bribing politicians, the poor ignored,
and the iron fist of Rome keeping everything and everyone under control. The
average person in Jerusalem probably started that day just as they would any
other: a quick breakfast, whatever
household chores of the moment, and off to a day of hard work. Injury and illness take their toll, conflicts
with spouses, relatives and neighbors top it all off. If you were not in the small group of Jesus'
disciples, Easter would not mean a thing to you. Easter
really doesn't mean much to a lot of people today, either, and that brings us
to the point of the day: how we can give
the gift of life to them. You can give
life by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world. This
is not just about helping people be "saved."
The gospel is for giving life not only to those who are yet to believe,
but also to restore life to those who DO believe, but need help and healing. The
good news is that Jesus is alive, and he is waiting for us in the future.
That's a story too big to be overshadowed by reports of death and disaster,
injury and illness, corruption and conflict. When
Jesus is raised from the dead, he actually succeeds in putting death to death. Now,
he is waiting in the future for us, a future that is being prepared for each of
us -- and each of us is invited to follow him into that future. During
the Second World War, an 18-year-old German named Jurgen Moltmann was drafted
to serve in Hitler's army. Assigned to an anti-aircraft battery, he experienced
the horror of watching fellow soldiers being incinerated in fire bombings.
After surrendering to the British, he spent three years in prison camps, and
saw how other German prisoners "collapsed inwardly, how they gave up all hope,
sickening for the lack of it, some of them dying." Moltmann
had not grown up as a Christian, but an American chaplain gave him an
Army-issue New Testament and book of Psalms, signed by President Roosevelt. He
read the Psalms and found something he desperately needed: hope. He became
convinced that God was present with him, "even behind the barbed wire." After
being transferred to a camp run by the YMCA, Moltmann learned Christian
beliefs, and experienced the love and the acceptance of the local population.
They "treated me better than the German army," he told journalist Philip
Yancey. Jurgen
Moltmann found new life in Christianity after seeing only death in the Second
World War. After the war, Moltmann became a Christian theologian and focused on
the ideas that God is present with us in our suffering, and that God is leading
us to a better future. Both ideas come out of the story of Jesus, and both come
out of Moltmann's personal story as well. Easter Sunday is the beginning of the "laughter of the redeemed," he says; it is "God's protest against death." God
is not satisfied with the way the world is today, and he intends to make all
things new. Easter
is a call not only to celebrate the good news, but to now be the good news. - How can we receive mercy, but not give it in
return? - How can we accept forgiveness, but not
forgive? - How can we be loved, but not love? - How can we be reconciled, but not reconcile? - How can we be accepted, but not accept? The
good news of Easter is that Jesus is alive, and he is leading us to a better
future. It was true when the women visited the empty tomb, and it is true
today. Whether we are facing a time of grief, a period of personal pain or an
experience of hopelessness or desperation, we can look to a Lord who is alive
and well and inviting us to follow him -- and we give life when we share that
good news with others. Sources
Consulted: NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1994) "Happy News," Homiletics, April 2006 Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (AMG, 1996) length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 12 March 2006 Mark 8:31-38 A
TV show that’s had some high popularity is ‘Fear Factor.’ People actually
audition to be on a TV show where the producers will do their best to rattle
them – hard. The contestant who is the most successful at facing his or her
fears – at battling “the fear factor� – will move on to the next round. If
you think about it, there are two ways for you to live out the days of your
life: you can either save your life out of fear, or you can lose your life for
others out of faith.[1]
If you live the first way, you are motivated by fear – the fear of losing, of
not being the most powerful, the most successful, not the best. You see this in
people who are driven to acquire power and status for themselves. Deep down,
they are very afraid of something. Their fear drives them on, and often they
are not able to stop. On the other side of living, the way of life made
possible by faith is a life of giving up status and power so that you can bring
the good news to others. What
we just read from Mark illustrates this very well. The question is no longer,
“who is Jesus?� but, “what has God sent Jesus to do?�[2]
There are no more parables about mustard seeds or seeds scattered on the
ground. Jesus is now very up front that the Messiah will rule His kingdom from
a splintery cross. As
the disciples begin to realize that Jesus is the Messiah, they begin
understanding what it means to live the life of a disciple. Jesus is not the
only one who will bear a cross. They too will have their burdens; they too will
face suffering, and will face the temptation to take an easier path that avoids
any call for sacrifice. Discipleship
definitely involves a fear factor. How well we do at being disciples has a lot
to do with how well we handle our fears. What kind of fears? Let’s think for a
minute on that one. Given our “druthers,� most of us would react like Peter
when we were confronted with the need for suffering. “Lord, you have it wrong!�
It’s hard to conceive a balanced understanding of this when we live in a
pain-killer culture. Security
is a big seller in our world today. Home security systems are a big seller,
along with other items to help us feel safe. If you don’t live in the US and
have about half a million dollars, you can even get the ultimate in SUVs. Why
is it ultimate? It’s the laser-guided gun platforms, for one thing. Looks just
like a regular SUV, but flip a switch, and the sunroof opens and out pops a
gun. Your options: a .50-caliber M2 machine gun, or a 40mm grenade launcher. It
has armor plating that will stop a 7.62mm armor-piercing bullet, and can also
be outfitted with day-night cameras, laser range finders and thermal cameras.
Plus, the guns can be operated from a computer screen with a joystick. The only thing it doesn’t come with are the
guns themselves – the customers have to buy their own, which are only mounted
upon delivery.[3]
Don’t worry, you won’t be seeing any super-sized road rage in our country –
this vehicle is export-only, and mostly sold in the Middle East. Here’s
the challenge: can you lay down your fears and trust God even when you’re
staring a cross in the face? There are three things that Jesus challenges his
disciples to do if they are truly going to follow Him: to put His will ahead of
their own; to place the needs and desires of others ahead of their own personal
needs and desires; and to see the world through the cross of self-sacrifice,
not through the lens of fear that pushes us to build up our own defenses. Losing
our life as Jesus describes it doesn’t mean that we are to be self-destructive
or suicidal. Reckless and crazy are not required. What it means is that we
value discipleship highly enough that we will place doing the right thing over
success and security, wealth and power, prestige and health. It’s about doing
“the Christian thing.� That’s how we bring new life to others and ourselves. Some
times it’s like what the monks of a monastery in Kosovo did a few years ago. As
Serbian forces were pillaging their village, they took in scores of
predominately Muslim ethnic Albanian villagers and sheltered them within the
monastery. A lot of the time it’s about holding the line for Christ in our
community. Bob
Lupton was a member of North Avenue Presbyterian Church 20 years ago. He moved
into a slum because he knew his ministry to inner-city poor families could
never be entirely genuine while he lived in the lap of suburban luxury. He
made quite a commitment: Less than a week after his family moved, his wife
walked in on an armed robbery in progress. Years later, his daughter-in-law,
who lived in the same neighborhood, was abducted at knife-point, kidnapped, and
sexually assaulted. Lupton says, “Nobody’s exempt. There are no guarantees… but
I have never had any regrets. I’ve never looked back.� If
he did look back, now, he would see a 30-year-long ministry in which he has
evolved from a social worker to real estate developer. His ministry has grown
from a storefront operation to a $6M business with 75 employees, and the slum
area where he started has been transformed into a trendy neighborhood.[4] When
we don’t let our fears dictate how we live, the freedom of faith that we
experience can lead us all into this kind of change. We won’t break down when
we’re challenged and lose our courage, and deny Jesus Christ. Obviously, it’s
more easily said than done. We live in a culture that is suspicious of
‘religion,’ not at all interested in keeping a Sabbath, and even hostile
towards sharing faith. But we have all of the things that we need to stand
firm. Paul summed it up well in Ephesians 6 when he recommended the armor of
God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith,
and the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:13-17). A
true disciple really doesn’t have anything to worry about. The fear factor
doesn’t need to have any influence over you. Why? Because true security is
found in the final recommendation of Jesus Christ. When Jesus recommends to God
that we be granted eternal life because we have followed Him in the way of the cross,
which is enough. Life
is not a bargaining chip that can be efficiently doubled or foolishly lost like
money. Its worth is more than the entire world, and its value can never be met
or exchanged. Life is meant to be spent on more than fear. May each day that we
spend as Christ's disciple teach us to distinguish between divine things and
human things so that we can always hear God’s voice and remain open to the good
news that is always a sure sign of His presence. AMEN. [1] [2] [3] “SUV of Death,� Wired, [4] length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 26 February 2006 2 Kings
2:1-12 February
26, 2006 How do you
get to heaven? Depends on which heaven you are talking about. If you want to travel to the stars, money can
get you there. If you have $20M, you can
be just like California investment banker Dennis Tito. He’s the one who is the
first person who bankrolled his own ride into space. Mark Shuttleworth, a
millionaire from South Africa, followed in his footsteps not too long after. Both
men took advantage of a Russian government program that is trying to keep their
space program alive. Anyone who can afford $20M and pass the physical gets a
ride to the international space station and back. The prophet
Elijah went to heaven, too, but not in a rocket – it was a whirlwind that gave
him the boost. Along with a chariot of fire and horses of fire, off he went in
a blaze of glory. Instead of
talking about how one generation of leaders passes the mantle to another, let’s
stay on the topic of heaven, because this story opens up a really interesting
discussion of heaven, and how to get there.
Heaven is a popular topic in any age. Everyone wants to know, or have
some idea, of what waits in the great beyond once we are through with our days
in this life. This curiosity has led to a lot of speculation, and even a little
humor: There was a
spoof on PastorNet back in 2002 that made light of some of the current trends
in society. “Due to the falloff in devotional activities and increased human
preoccupation with material concerns
caused by the dot-com crash in the 1990s, heaven has announced a major
downsizing and re-engineering effort. ‘It is needed to bring supply more in
line with demand for our services,’ announced Senior Vice President Gabriel, a
highly placed spokesman for God. ‘Unfortunately, this happens from time to time
and there’s little we can do except to cut back, given our historic commitment
to free will. We don’t want to force our product on unwilling customers, and
now is a good time to retrench and reconsider our basic value proposition.’ “Marketing
executive, Michael, echoed Gabriel’s remarks and said that a re-engineering
effort was long overdue. ‘Heaven has been sliding along on blind faith for at
least 6,000 years while science and postmodernism have eaten into our core
markets,’ he said. ‘Guilt, fear, and shame just don’t seem to bring ‘em in any
more. It’s time for heaven to get more competitive, especially in emerging
markets like Human Potential, Recovery and 12-Step, Chaos Theory, and so on.’�[1] Admittedly,
that’s a silly way to look at things. But there is a lot of odd thinking going
on today about heaven, and unfortunately, it’s not all happy. I’m sure you
remember Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her five children. As the story
came out after the murders, it was reported that she’d told doctors that she
did it because she wanted her children to go to heaven -- she was afraid that
they might eventually be corrupted and spend eternity in hell. In other words,
to her way of thinking, her children are better off being killed and going to
heaven than risking a sinful life and possibility of hell. Clearly,
Andrea Yates is a person with some very deep mental problems, so let’s not read
too much into what she said there. But some of what she says is right in line
with a lot of thinking in society today: everyone is bound for heaven, and
we’re just putting in our time on earth pleasing ourselves until it’s time to
go.[2] So what
about heaven? Certainly, God doesn’t expect us to scrape up $20M for the ride,
and it’s a sure bet that we won’t exit this earth in a whirlwind surrounded by
chariots of fire. We probably won’t be out walking with God and find ourselves
in glory, as Enoch did. There’s a
growing tendency to believe that all good people, whether or not they consider
Jesus Christ to be their savior, will live in heaven after they die on earth. A
1999 survey showed the American public to be almost equally divided on the
matter: 53% agree, 40% disagree. Half of all adults believed that if a person
is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life,
they will earn a place in heaven.[3] In a
nutshell, here is why those beliefs aren’t Christian beliefs: In one form or
another, they say that salvation is in your hands, under your control. When you
want to go to heaven, you just get a ticket. God is at best trivial, and the
death and resurrection of Jesus mean nothing. You have to ignore a lot of the
Bible to make those ideas work! There are
some things, though, that we CAN say about heaven, that the Bible does support:
§
There is a heaven. Most people agree, and the Bible is very clear on that fact. §
We don’t know where heaven is. Sure, we like to talk about God as ‘the man upstairs,’ and
for many years, we’ve seen creation as a building with three stories: Hell,
Earth, and Heaven. But really, heaven is a reality that is beyond our ability
to fathom. The map that we use to get there isn’t like the ones we would use to
drive to another city. §
Heaven is not a place that you can work your way into, or buy your way
into. The amount of money you put in the offering
plate does not dictate what the final disposition of your soul will be. Being
in church every Sunday isn’t an automatic way in, either: good works don’t
punch your ticket to paradise. §
Even though good works don’t get you in, bad works can keep you out. In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul
gives a list of activities that can sink your boat: 5:19 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.� §
Heaven’s gates are opened only by the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from ourselves, it is
the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.� What we do to become part of the heaven-bound community is
to accept this gift of grace and allow ourselves to be transformed. We don’t do
the bad things any more because God is making us into new people. New
priorities reflect different values and lives that have taken on new meaning. §
One other thing we can say about heaven is that the journey to get there
requires us to be in shape spiritually. It’s all well and good to accept Christ as Savior and all
of those other phrases that are so familiar to us. But we have to get used to
living in a new way that is governed by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.� (Galatians 5:22-23). §
Moral
and spiritual discipline are essential for our preparations: §
Philippians
3: Put no confidence in the flesh, share in the sufferings of Christ, forget
what is behind, and strain toward what is ahead. §
1
Corinthians 9:25 -- “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict
training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a
crown that will last forever.� ·
Heaven is a place where God and his people live for all eternity --
together. It is a
place without tears, crying, mourning, or death. There’s no pain, nothing but
joy. The first
followers of Jesus Christ were very certain about their belief. They didn’t
guess, or hope, or wish about the things to come. They were certain of the
future, and were willing to risk everything for it. They said, “we know our
sins are forgiven … we know that we are children of God … we know that do die
is to be present with the Lord … and we know that nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.� When Elijah
was about to make his final exit, he asked Elisha what he could do for him.
Elisha asked for a double share of Elijah’s spirit. He wanted to follow in Elijah’s footsteps,
and continue his work for God. My prayer for us all is that we would inherit a
double portion of the spirits of those who raised us and have now gone before
us to be with God in eternity, so that we can face each day with a sure knowledge
of heaven, and the confidence that comes from living in that knowledge. Additional
Sources consulted: Homiletics Magazine, March 2002. NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 1
(Zondervan, 1994) length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 22 February 2006 “Signs� Isaiah
43:18-25 February 19,
2006 Consider,
if you will, the role that signs play in our lives. They shape our days! They’re
predictable, too. Message never
changes. You can look as many times as
you like, they will be very consistent: the same yesterday, today, and forever! Yet,
signs come with their own set of risks:
once we get used to them, we don’t pay so much attention to them. We
know what’s there, so why spend the energy to look again? What
if there were no more signs? I
bet that bothers some of you! “Why, we
might feel lost without our signs,� some might say. “How would we know where to
go?� What
is life without signs? Would we know why
we are alive, or what life means? Would we be able to get out of the “messes�
we get ourselves into without signs? That’s
an interesting thing to consider, and it may be a reality in a community near
us before long. The
people who design cities are trying something new and different: no street
signs. The avenues and roadways in this
sense are naked streets. What you see is what you get and not a word, or a hint
more. People
on foot and the people in cars share the same space, the same roadway, and with
no traffic lights, no white cross-walks on the streets, no red-hand crossing
signals, no stop signs, no yellow lines, no sidewalks, no curbs, no painted
parking spaces, no police officers directing traffic flow, no speed limits and
no speed bumps. You
would probably think, as I did when I first read about this, that life would be
purely nuts. But that didn’t happen. Everyone slowed down
and calmed down! Why
did this work? People had to adapt.
Without signs, they had to pay attention to what others were doing – and
they started making eye contact with each other. Kids on bikes, mothers pushing strollers,
veterans in wheelchairs and SUVs become equals on the street. Now,
it wasn’t every person off in their own little bubble – the people no longer
consider themselves separate. There is
no more driving about with windows up, radio on, in climate-controlled bliss. When
you take the signs away, life slows down.
People start to show more concern their fellow human beings. Doesn’t that sound like Matthew 7:12? (“…do
to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets.� NIV) True,
living without signs might make us feel unsafe, or uncomfortable, or even
lost. Some of us happen to like
directional signs and don’t want to give them up. When there are no street
signs, no rules to live by, we get nervous, and fearful. This
is exactly what was happening when Isaiah gave this prophecy to the
Israelites. God came along and said, “I
took away the signs. We’re doing something new now.� Now
here’s the challenge of faith: when God
takes away all of the signs that we dearly love, maybe that action is itself is
a sign. Before you run me out of town, let’s take this apart and see where it
goes! All
through the Old Testament, God takes the people out into the wilderness
(desert) – again, and again. The
people cry out, “Where are our signs?� and God says, “See, I am doing a new
thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the
desert and streams in the wasteland.� (Is 43:19 NIV) Remember
what we read last week? Jeremiah 31:33
said a very powerful thing about how God changed things: the Law would be in the hearts and written on
the minds of the people. Now, God will
be working WITHIN US, instead of working AT us from the outside. God’s
made a new roadway in the wilderness for us to follow. It’s not the rules and
regulations we might expect. It’s not outside us, or posted in predictable
places, saying obvious things like — stop here, turn there, go slow. The
signs aren’t out there somewhere on street corners where we live and work.
They’re inside our believing hearts.
They are what come from receiving divine grace. Now, WE are the signs – signs to the faithful
and signs to the seekers that there is grace and forgiveness for your sins from
a God who loves us forever. What
does it mean to live as a Christian without all of the extra signs? On
the one hand, if you’re someone who likes to always have things
well-spelled-out, and like signs because you like to know where to go… this is
a challenge to you. But
on the other hand… this could mean more freedom than you’ve ever known
before. These
urban designers who are taking the road signs away discovered that if you treat
drivers and pedestrians as idiots, then they’ll behave as idiots. If you remove
the street signage and treat the people as intelligent, compassionate and
thinking beings, they will behave like intelligent, compassionate and thinking
beings. God
sees us in a similar way. God gave us a brain to use and a soul with which to
pray, and hands with which to out reach to others. Living
without signs means that…. §
do
all things in love. §
speak
the truth. §
encourage
one another. §
we
are kind to one another. §
we
forgive one another. §
we
bear each other’s burdens. §
we
don’t have to be told to do this. We
don’t need signs that say: Forgive here, Be kind here. When
it comes to finding your own personal way in the wilderness of life, when you feel
that you don’t know where to turn, it’s then that you need to trust the love of
God. “Love God and do what you will,� said St. Augustine. If
you love God, with all your heart, and soul, and mind, then following God
becomes intuitive; you won’t need signs telling you what to do. If
you still prefer the Law… at least consider giving this a try. Experience the
freedom of grace, life without signs. It
works rather well when you try it. Will
you try it? Sources
Consulted: “Naked Streets,� Homiletics, February 2006 NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1
(Zondervan 1994) Oswalt, John N. Isaiah
(Zondervan, 2003) length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 13 February 2006
Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Where do you find your power for daily living? Sometimes, it's helpful to look to the past to understand who you are today, and why your life is "as it is" today. Just over 70 years ago, America was in the grips of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Those years indelibly marked our nation, and influenced who we would become. Jeremiah's prophecy reveals how our past shapes us in terms of how things are with our souls. Israel was under siege from the Babylonians. They had fallen away from God -- again. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, a word of hope: a new covenant was coming, one that would live in the hearts and minds of the people -- a covenant that would deliver them from their sin and brokenness. Listen on, and see how this new covenant from God gives us all... power for living. length: Comments[0] |
Fri, 10 February 2006
Text: Acts 10:44-48 The message of our faith has been the same throughout all of time: God loves all that He has created, and desires that all of Creation would live in harmony with Him. Another way to say this is, "from age to age, the song is the same." However, from age to age, the way that we sing this song does change -- the song (the message) is still the same, but the tune changes. Listen on to this account from the Book of the Acts of how God's song for humanity was offered in a new and exciting way as the Church was born -- for all times and all generations.
length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 30 January 2006
Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
This passage of scripture highlights a long-standing debate that has gone on in Christian community since the very beginning: what constitutes “sinful� behavior?
Some respond to the debate by arriving at a long list of actions – words, deeds, and so on – that constitute ‘sin’ and live their lives very legalistically in relationship to the list.
Others will go to the opposite extreme and claim that because sin is ‘so personal’ you can’t possibly define what is sinful, and therefore each person has to decide for him or herself, and live according to that decision.
Actually, the answer lies right in the middle, and the Apostle Paul sums it up well: if what you do causes your weaker brother (or sister) to sin, even if it doesn’t cause you personally to sin, you have sinned.
In other words, in contemporary terms, we can’t fashion our day-to-day Christian life in such a way that places the individual over the community’s well-being. The life of a believer should lead others to salvation. Therefore, you and I have some choices to make about how we are going to live.
Making this decision isn’t always going to be easy – because the world is full of shades of gray. It would be nice if things were always black and white, but they’re not. What causes trouble for some folks doesn’t even register for others.
For example, we don’t really have any concept of “food sacrificed to idols� here in America, but that’s still a significant issue in other parts of the world – like some African, Latin American, and Asian cultures.
In our country – even in our own congregation! – we have significant differences of opinion about involvement in activities that can lead to excess and sin, but don’t have to: drinking alcohol, using tobacco, buying lottery tickets, the acceptability of premarital sex, or what constitutes inappropriate dress for our girls and young women.
The best approach to any of this is to first consider the issue and THEN decide what our approach is.
How might we do that? We have to start by remembering that Jesus commanded us to love another as He loves us – and continue with His teaching that whatever we have done – or not done – to “the least of these�
It’s a lot like that saying we often heard as children: “You are what you eat.� This really came home to the Corinthian Christians when they were seeking their daily meat and bread.
Corinthians frequently sacrificed an animal to a Greek god or goddess. They would burn some of the meat on an altar, and then eat some of it in a ritualistic meal.
The remainder of the sacrificial animal was sold to the local meat market, which then turned around and resold the meat to the public. Kind of gross, yes, but economical — you could probably get a pretty good deal on slightly used idol-meat.
This problem for the Christians of Corinth was that they didn’t want to be associated with meat that was sacrificed to a Greek deity.
Given their choice, they won’t ever eat such meat, but it’s tough to avoid the stuff, since it can pop up at the local supermarket, or at a neighbor’s dinner party, or in a religious festival that has important social significance. What’s a Christian to do?
Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that “no idol in the world really exists,� and that therefore, meat that is offered to an idol is not offered to an idol at all but to a block of wood or stone. There is no God but the one true God (1 Corinthians 8:4). He stresses that Jesus is Lord over all that is, so he has power over even the food that has been sacrificed to idols.
That’s all true. The trouble is, not everyone has this knowledge or perception. Some Corinthian Christians look at idol-meat and think “pagan poison.� If they eat this stuff, their conscience will be defiled. Others don’t have this trouble.
Maybe buying a lottery ticket or going down to Hankinson for an afternoon and playing the slots is no more dangerous than playing tiddly-winks for you. Maybe you can stop by the bar after work and have a beer, and it’s no big deal for you?
But what about the Christian who struggles with addiction problems, and looks to you as a source of strength?
In the Bible, Paul teaches that the best course of action is to do your best to avoid eating idol-meat – and to do this not out of knowledge, but out of love.
Paul knows that there is really nothing poisonous about this food, but as a compassionate Christian he doesn’t want to do anything to cause a brother or sister to stumble. “If food is a cause of their falling� concludes Paul, “I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall� (8:13).
You are what you eat – unless you’re a Christian, and then you are what you do NOT eat! A Christian works hard to behave in a way that nourishes, strengthens, and builds up the Christian community, the body of Christ.
This way of thinking can be reduced into three principles that can guide us in the way we live our lives:
•Being aware that what is safe for one Christian may not be safe for another
•Remembering that true discernment requires love as well as knowledge (8:1)
•Accepting that believers have no right to demand a certain freedom if it will prove harmful to those around them (8:9-13)
God wants us to be well nourished as a community of faith, and strong enough to do his work in the world.
He knows that spiritually, we are what we eat, and that our choices about our spiritual food shape our identities as faithful or faithless people.
That’s why he gives us Jesus, the Bread of Life. That’s why he offers us the fruit of the Spirit, the nourishing fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.�
The place to begin with all of this is to be to clearly communicate with each other and strengthen our relationships so we know what would weaken one another.
Then, we support one another as we seek to do Christ's work in this world – and make sure we don’t raise any stumbling blocks for our brothers and sisters in the Body.
We are what we eat – and we are also what we do NOT eat.
Christian fellowship is based in the principle that we are united together in covenant for a common purpose.
There is much good food for us to eat, provided by the God who wants us to be healthy and satisfied and strong. We can eat our fill, and show each other the love that is grounded in personal relationships and Christian principles.
If we do this, we will be living out the love of neighbor that God calls us to live – and share beyond our boundaries. Amen.
Sources consulted:
“Table Manners,� Homiletics, January 2006
Blomberg, Craig. 1 Corinthians (NIVAC); Zondervan, 1994
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. VII (IVP, 1999)
length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 11 December 2005 1 John 1:1-2:2 One of the parts of preparing for the arrival of the Lord in our world is remembering the power of Christian community to aid us in our work of getting ready. Christian community is a partnership of people who have a common experience of Jesus Christ. Christian community is NOT a temporary association of people who have banded together for a cause or through some intellectual agreement that has been arrived at about God. It's all about experiencing God the Father and Christ the Son as believers together. The effect of true Christian community is to bring Christ's vision for new life to the people of our world. The first requirement of living in Christian community is that we live "rightly" within the community. What does that mean? Let's spend some time on verses 6 and 7: "If we claim to walk in fellowship with God yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from every sin." Here is why this idea is so important to John: Individuals in his church were claiming that they had an intimate walk with God, that their lives were unstained with sin, and that they had done no wrong. The problem wasn't some big, glaring sin issue. It was something deeper in the heart that not everyone would or could see. Verse 6 hints that some of these Christians were living a double life. For some reason, these people claimed that physical sin was unimportant -- that God wasn't concerned about the actions of the body, only the inward condition of the soul. That idea is alive and well today. There are some who say that there is no sin in the world. Maybe they've closed their eyes and they can't see the suffering that humanity visits upon each other. Maybe they just can't see the broken hearts and the broken bodies... or maybe they're just not capable of feeling any of that pain. Maybe the problem isn't that the sin isn't seen, it's just that the problem has been, shall we say, "sanitized" a bit so it doesn't look quite so bad. Maybe it's not sin; it's just a little mistake. Good intentions turned out badly. We're all good people... we just have some annoying behaviors, that's all. John says "no" to all of this. This kind of spirituality is a lie. Sin is something that the Bible describes as something in the human condition that needs to be cleaned up -- like dirt, or a stain. For example, Isaiah describe sin as a stain to be removed -- 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Psalm 51 has some similar thinking; sin is a blot to be washed away. "Blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse my from my sin ... Cleanse me ... and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Jesus emphasized the need for a clean soul, as well: in Matthew 15, he said, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a person 'unclean'" (15:19-20). And John is talking about living a spiritually clean life, as well. Here's verse 9 again: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." What he's saying here is that in the Christian community, a clean moral slate should be the norm and not the exception. "Walking in the light" should be a habitual, consistent response by all of those who know God. The first step to cleaning your spiritual house is to "get real with Jesus." Rosanne Barr once said she wouldn't vacuum until Sears came out with one you could ride on. We can't afford to skip our spiritual housecleaning. This is something that we all must make a conscious effort to do. I got the idea for calling this sermon "Getting Real with Jesus" from a story I read a pastor in Dallas who made a dramatic change in his life after becoming convicted of the need. A story appeared in the Dallas Morning News telling how Pastor Kenneth Phillips changed his appearance. He's a man who is so bald that the term "chrome dome" must have been invented with him in mind. When Pastor Ken was still a young man, his hair began departing. This loss upset him so much that he filled in the gaps with a toupee. For 20 years, many of his members and associates were none the wiser. But, one Sunday, in the middle of a sermon, he reached up without warning and removed his hairpiece. As you'd imagine, this caused quite a stir. The associate pastor said it was almost like seeing your pastor naked. Pastor Ken had been preaching a very personal sermon. It was about vanity and the sin of pride, and he confessed that his fake hair had become a barrier with God. So, having confessed his sin, he removed the toupee and has not put it back on. His act caused quite a stir -- it attracted national attention as everyone started talking about the "toupee revival." But it had positive effects at home. One of the members of that church said that, after the shock of the moment had worn off, she realized that you can't play at church, or just go through the motions of religion -- you have to get real with Jesus. What I'm talking about today is not about the "big sins" that come to mind when the topic is mentioned. Obviously, things like cheating on your spouse, stealing, murder, abuse, and the rest of that list are sinful and wrong. Even though sin is sin, God doesn't like any of it. What I am thinking of today are the quiet sins within us, the ones that are not really visible to the people around us, but still affect the fabric of our community's life. John's church was living a way of spirituality that led them to use their beliefs to redefine their need for forgiveness and to separate themselves from others. These are the kinds of sins that we have to be on guard against the most, because they are the sneakiest of all sins. They're like termites. When you discover that your house has termites, odds are that they have been there for a while, hidden away in the darkness. We lived in a house once that termites had done a number on. It looked ok from the outside, but once you started moving in the structure, you quickly became aware of just how much damage the termites had done. The areas of sin in our lives are very much like termites. They are there when Christ comes to live in the house. Everything may look ok on the outside, but inside, they are nibbling away at our souls. Even we don't always recognize that we have a problem -- by outward standards, we are pretty good people. But, deep down in our souls, there are little bits of sin gnawing away. It's true that one termite doesn't eat that much. But if you leave it alone for a while, it will invite its friends... and it will destroy your house one little bit at a time. If you are casual about dealing with one sin, many others will soon follow and insinuate themselves into your inner structure. If you're not willing to work at keeping your house clean, how will you ever inspire others to follow Christ? The community of Christ needs to be filled with people who make a point of regular self- and soul-maintenance so that they do not get taken over by sins that have gotten out of hand. What are those sins? I'd rather not make a list, but instead, put it as John would: They are whatever has become a barrier between yourself and God. God knows what those things are, and you probably do, too. Maybe it's time to do something about it. What will you do about it, as your part of strengthening the Christian community? The point is that we all need to take care of these problems so we don't get so accustomed to darkness that we forget what the true light of God is. Soul-cleaning and getting real with Jesus isn't as hard or impossible as it may sound. There are four easy options that work very well if you use them and keep at it: Worship, prayer, Scripture reading, and Soul-searching. When we worship, we participate with others in a sense of community renewal that helps our souls stay clean. Inviting God into our daily lives for prayer reminds us of our reason for being, and keeps us aware of our need for Gods' presence in our lives. Studying Scripture helps us to know what God wants of us, and soul-searching helps keep us spiritually clean and fresh. Taking stock of the condition of our souls combined with confession of our sins gets us clean and brings us God's forgiveness. All of these things together make us stronger and healthier as the community of Christ and prepares for the coming of Christ in our world. Get real.... with Jesus. He'll help us from there. Amen. Sources consulted: Homiletics Magazine NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2
length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 5 December 2005 Scripture Focus: Mark 1:1-8 Reality shows are all the rage in television programming today. It all started with the Survivor series, and it seems like the producers are trying to milk every possible angle before the craze dies out. One thing that all of these show have in common is that they really don't have much to do with REAL life - they don't have a lot of REALITY to them. Another example of a reality show that actually might come a little closer to the mark is a recent movie called "The Truman Show." Remember that one? The movie tells a story about an orphan who has been adopted by a corporation and raised in an entirely false environment that is broadcast to the outside world 24/7. It really doesn't matter if it's real or not. People are lapping this up, and the producers are only happy to cater to them. There are even fake news programs on the air that have a good or even great following. At one time, you tuned into Saturday Night Live for a humorous look at the news of the week. Now, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart says, "When news breaks, we fix it." On the internet, The Onion poses as an online newspaper (with headlines like "Special Olympics Investigated for Performance-Enhancing Hugs") and keeps folks laughing. There's an interesting trend occurring in the world of news and not-news. Viewership of network news is down. The slide has been steady. The interest in phony baloney is up -- way up. It's clear to see that we the people aren't interested in really knowing what the truth is. In some ways, this is not surprising, and shouldn't be surprising. Look back over the last year of news reporting and all of the controversy about what is truly news, what is editorializing, and what was simply made up - and made up to sound as though it were the truth! Why is this happening? Here's a possibility to think on: maybe people aren't really interested in the news because there is nothing on the news that will make much difference in our day. Sure, there are interesting things we hear on the news, but is there anything that will really change the course of your day? If you didn't listen to the news for a couple days, would it make that much difference in your routine? Probably not. It does not encourage us to respond to it. Most of the news, bad or good may as well be fake news because we can't or won't do anything about it. For news to be relevant to our lives, it has to be based in reality: it has to engage us in such a way that we won't either laugh it off or just ignore it. There was an old man who lived in the center of a desolate and hopeless city. When he walked the streets of the city, he would yell, "Love, peace, righteousness!" at the top of his lungs. No matter the hour or the weather, he did this. One day his neighbor, who was tired of all the yelling, went out and said, "Are you crazy? Don't you know nobody is listening to you? This city is full of hate and crime and hopelessness, there is no love of neighbor and there is no peace and righteousness to be found, so give it a rest and save your breath! Don't you know that you can't change the world?" The old man said, "You are right, my yelling and shouting about love, peace and righteousness may not change the world, but one thing it will do is to stop the world from changing me." The old man had heard some news that changed his way of thinking, and thereby, his way of living. That news was the gospel of Jesus Christ. The very first verse of our reading for today offers "news we can use": "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1, NRSV) What Mark is referring to is the continuation of something already well-established for many years the prophecies and promises of Hebrew Scripture. And now, John announces that those promises are to be fulfilled in a new, powerful, and ultimate way - and the people had to make ready. Preparing for the Lord's arrival in your life means one thing: prepare your heart, prepare your mind, and prepare your soul by living a worthy manner of life. Walk the straight and narrow way, so that there is nothing interfering with His entrance into your heart. This was news the people could use, because it directly affected the reality of the people. To a people who had longed for a savior, John's news was very personal: a new world order in which they could participate the kingdom of heaven. So, out into the desert they went to be baptized by this holy man with the wild wardrobe, going into the river and emerging cleansed and changed by the promise of new life (v. 5). They were called to a new way of life in the Messiah's program. John the Baptist was calling for nothing less than a complete change of heart for the whole community. Massive cultural and spiritual change was on the horizon - the rough terrain of sin and disobedience was about to be leveled in anticipation of the coming Messiah (v. 2-3). Advent is a time when we once again share the news of the Messiah's coming. Our competition is all of the static that our world puts into the holiday. Our world needs to remember that Christ is coming for them, for their salvation. The church's job is calling people to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ instead of just chuckling at another round of Santa jokes. Reality shows haven't not much to do about reality. They've been around for a while: In the 70s, Chuck Barris had The Gong Show. Someone rang the gong when you were only midway through your song. In 1998, CBS and The Survivor turned television programming on its head. Every week, the tribe voted some hapless soul off the island. Then, The Weakest Link appeared and Anne Robinson told us all, "Goodbye!" Now, Donald Trump tells us, "You're fired." Martha Stewart tells us, "You just don't fit in!" I Want to be a Hilton tells us, "You're not on the list." Sounds like this isn't so much about reality as it is rudeness. John the Baptist saw the people around him and knew they were not following God's will for them. He preached repentance and change of life. But he also preached the judgment of God in the age to come. Jesus saw the people around him and knew they were lost and not following God's will but also broken hearted, poor, sick and afraid. He preached about forgiveness, healing and reconciliation as well as a change of life. But he also preached about the love of God for his people and restoration of all to his kingdom in the age to come. The REAL reality show is the way that Christ changes lives with His presence. Advent is a chance to smile at some "good news" for a change. What will you preach to the world around you? Sources consulted: "Fake News," Homiletics, December 2005. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. NT-II Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 2 (New Testament)
length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 27 November 2005 This week on Faith Seeds, Rev. Debra Ball-Kilbourne preaches on being ready for the coming of Christ. Pastor Debra is the Three Rivers District Superintendent of the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 13 November 2005 Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Talents offers a lesson on waiting faithfully for Our Lord Christ's return. In the story of servants who respectively put their master's resources to work well or poorly, we see an indication of how we will be held accountable for those gifts, skills, and abilities God has given us. Will we take the risk of faithful living so our investing of our "talents" will bear greater fruit? Or will we limit our options and possiblities by only staying where things are comfortable? The choice is ours! The notes for this sermon can be read at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Thu, 3 November 2005 What kind of a "risker" are you? Are you a person who only plays it safe, regardless of circumstance? Or, are you a person who doesn't mind risk at all -- it just adds spice to life? As disciples, our attitudes and habits regarding risk directly affect how and how well we reach out to others in the name of Our Lord Christ. While we all are given different gifts by God to use in our service to the Kingdom, none of us are excluded from reaching out. Listen on... and learn about the hazards of risking nothing. The notes for this sermon are available at Mac's Musings. Thanks for listening! length: Comments[0] |
Tue, 25 October 2005 Thanks for checking in! This week's sermon is "Bringing Heaven to the People," and is based on Deuteronomy 34:1-12. The vision of the Promised Land kept the Israelites going in the wilderness -- in faith, they believed that one day, God would fulfill the covenants made with their patriarchs. Moses, as their leader, "brought heaven to the people" as he relayed the Word of God to his people. The church has the same work to do today -- to keep the vision of heaven alive until all of creation has embraced it on a personal level. In other words, we prepare for the reign of God's Kingdom on earth by.... bringing heaven to the people. The notes for this sermon, as always, are available at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 3 October 2005 There are many things that our world uses to determine the value and status of a person -- money, clothes, heritage, diamonds. In this portion of Paul's letter to the Philippian church, we learn that these things mean nothing to God, and we should let them go so we may freely grow toward God, being perfected in his divine grace. The notes for this sermon are available at Mac's Musings. The following is extra HTML code so Odeo can scan this podcast and add it to their listings: My Odeo Channel (odeo/6f760d79de5a324e) Thanks for listening! length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 25 September 2005 Look to the future and envision what your part in fulfilling God's plan is to be. Now, what is your mission -- how will you fulfill God's call in practical, concrete terms? Proverbs 29:18 says (in the King James Version), "where there is no vision, the people perish." This is why it is so important for God's people to not only have a vision of God' work, but a plan for effectively doing God's work. Notes for this sermon are available at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 21 September 2005 Scientists are developing chemicals, called "taste enhancers," that won't change the taste of the food we eat -- but will change how we perceive the taste of the food. Imagine what this could mean -- food could be produced with less unhealthy fat, salt, sugar, and so on, while we could still enjoy the taste of the food as it was before. Now, think about our "tastes" in our spiritual life: how can God change us so that our perception of the life of faith could be changed so we find satisfaction even when there aren't many "menu options" for us? The notes for this sermon are available at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 11 September 2005 Theodicy is a term that denotes humanity's attempts to understand why evil is in our world, and what God has to do with evil's existence. An odyssey is a long journey, physical or spiritual, that often produces change in a person's life through the challenges that surface during the journey. Part of our odyssey of faith involves understanding the question of theodicy: In events that involve evil, where is God in all of this? This sermon, preached on Patriot Day 2005, tries to offer some understanding of how God works good even in the face of evil. You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 4 September 2005 God's commandments (all of them) were made out of love for the humanity he created, and with whom he yearns to be in fellowship. This reaching-out by God shows us how we can best respond to his love -- through love of neighbor. "Living right" is a way of saying that our lives should be lived in a constant effort to strengthen Christian community by sharing God's love. Why is "living right" important? The answer is a simple one: to help the next generation of believers come to faith and continue the work of the Kingdom! You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 22 August 2005 This sermon is about traditions -- how they can be good, how they can be shells that keep you from getting closer to God because of walls they have created. In Jesus' critique of the Pharisees' insistence on maintaining traditions that do not promote holiness, we are challenged to examine our own traditions to see if they are still good for us and our relationship with God, and to make changes if they are not. You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 14 August 2005 A standard way for law enforcement personnel to determine who exactly has been present at a crime scene is to locate fingerprints, and then try and match them to the suspects. We can look for God's "fingerprints" in much the same way, to look with eyes of faith to see how God is present and at work in our lives. In the story of Joseph's acts of mercy toward the brothers who tried to be rid of him, we see how this principle plays itself out in real life. Where are God's "fingerprints" showing up in your life? You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 24 July 2005 The most powerful gift that God has given humanity is hope. Hope builds a bridge between God and ourselves and provides a route for us to grow closer to God. This bridge is provided by God in love, and we walk on it in Faith. Thus, Faith, Hope, and Love are always working in our walk with God.
This bridge of hope that God has provided is like a suspension bridge, which gains its strength from flexibility. No matter what storms life may send against this bridge, it will not collapse.
Let us walk together on God's bridges of hope!
You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 11 July 2005 God's grace provides the means for us to be successful in discipleship and our quest for perfection in God's grace: living in the mindset of Christ, so that all of our thoughts, words, and deeds will reflect God's will and plan for Creation.
You can read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings. length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 3 July 2005 One of the frustrations of the Christian life is that even though we have been forgiven of our sins and made new by God, we still sometimes do sinful things though we don't want to -- and have troubles doing the good that we know we should. The Apostle Paul teaches that it is the sin of our fleshly bodies that causes this stress, but that it is the God-given regeneration of our souls through the grace of Christ that helps us overcome sin.
Read the notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings . length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 27 June 2005 Text: Romans 6:12-23 To be thought of as a slave is something that most or even all of us find offensive. Yet, if we are honest, we will recognize that we do "sell" ourselves for reasons that we find worthwhile or necessary. For example: We support a family by selling our time and our presence to an employer. The Apostle Paul uses the imagery of being a slave to illustrate how devoting ourselves to God will ultimately bring perfection through His grace, while retaining our connections with a life of sin will only lead to physical and spiritual death. Read the text notes for this sermon at Mac's Musings . length: Comments[0] |
Sun, 19 June 2005 Many small communities in eastern North Dakota were struck by flooding the week of July 5, 2005. This sermon seeks to offer comfort by reminding persons of faith that God can work good through all times of life, both good and bad -- and that observing life through the eyes of faith will help us see and understand this. Text: Romans 8:28 length: Comments[0] |
Mon, 6 June 2005 We often find ourselves concerned with how important or powerful we are. If we examine the calling of Matthew and the healing stories in Matthew 9, we discover that true importance comes from how we make use of what power we have. Jesus used God's power to start a process of healing and progress toward wholeness in those who would believe and do God's will. How is God's power making these changes in you? length: Comments[0] |
Wed, 1 June 2005 Paul's letter to the Romans is a veritable catalog of the junk (sin) that can accumulate in a person's life -- and how the power of God can help you clear out the junk and find a renewed life in the process! It's time for a spring cleaning! Will you join in? length: Comments[0] |
