Archive for July, 2009

Sermon: 7-26-09

July 26, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermons · Tagged , ,

Title: When God Moves In
Text: Ephesians 3:14-21
Topic: Making room for God when he moves in.

Introduction

Halfway point of Ephesians

We are now at the halfway point of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The first part of the letter, he shared with the Ephesians what God has done for them. He talked about how God had chosen them, how Christ had redeemed them, and how the Spirit has sealed them. Then we talked about how, through the cross, we are united as one. This is what God has done for them and us. Beginning at chapter four throughout the rest of the letter Paul then talks about how we are to respond to God. Next week we will begin taking a look at how we are to respond to God.
However, halfway through the letter, Paul stops and offers up a prayer for the believers. The prayer is our text for this morning. I believe that it’s very appropriate to stop after God has revealed something to us and pray. We are so eager to respond to God sometimes. God has spoken to us, now we want to get up and get busy. No time to stop and pray Paul. We got work to do. However, I believe that Paul has made a point to us with his prayer. After God speaks, we should stop, listen, and reflect.

Trading spouses

Sometimes Jade and I watch this show called “Trading Spouses”. It’s about families who, being extreme opposites from each other, trade spouses for about a month. One family sends their wife to someone else’s home while they take in the other spouse from the other home. It’s very interesting to watch and see how they respond. At first, they usually start off nice to one another and are excited about the change. Then, over time, they clash. They soon realize how different things have to be with the new parent in the house. They are forced to accommodate the new spouse and change things. Once he or she moves in, everything changes.

Paul’s prayer: When God moves in…

Paul’s prayer is pretty much telling the Ephesians this: When God moves in, your life will change. Just like everything changes when a new spouse moves in on “Trading Spouses”, so it is when God moves in. Paul takes a few moments in his letter to pray and reveal what happens when God moves in. Paul puts the focus not on what we do, (that will come later) but who we are becoming. When you allow God to be Lord of your life, this is what happens. When God moves in, this is what to expect.

One thing that happens when God moves in is that we will be strengthened with power in our inner self.

We will be strengthened with power in our inner self.

In Ephesians 3:16 Paul “prays that according to the riches of his glory, may God grant that you may be strengthened in your inner self with power through his Spirit,”

Our fascination with appearance

We have a fascination with appearance. We really want to look good on the outside, even if it means neglecting the inside to do it. At the beach you see countless people in the trying to improve their appearance by getting a tan without thinking about the effects of sun on their skin. We want pretty smiles so we brush our teeth. Studies show that 94% of people brush their teeth daily. However, only 28% of people floss say they floss regularly and dentists would say a lower amount. We want a pretty smile, but all that really matter is how it looks on the outside. We get caught up with our appearance.

Even the church

Even the church is guilty of being more concerned with outward appearance rather than inward change. When folks become Christians we automatically put new expectations on them. We give them a list of things that they can and cannot do and if they break the rules they aren’t genuinely Christian.

Jesus and the religious leaders

Once when talking with the religious leaders, he compared them to a cup. He said that they were like a cup that was clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside.

Our goal: Spiritual transformation

Our goal above all should be an inner transformation. If we worry about being formed inwardly, we will naturally bear good fruit on the outside. To immediately force rules on new believers is to miss the point entirely of what life in the church is all about.

Knock-out roses

If you walk onto the deck at the parsonage, you will see four small plastic bowls with dirt and what looks to be little sticks in the bowl. My dad used to own a nursery and knows quite a bit about gardening. He tried to get me to help him with his nursery while I was in high school, but after realized that I had a brown thumb, thought that I would probably do better elsewhere. Well, when he helped us move up here we went and visited Duke University because they wanted to see the school. I showed them the divinity school, the football field, and Cameron Indoor Stadium. When we were leaving Cameron, I noticed that they had some knock-out roses planted in the front. So I though to myself, “It would be really neat to root some knock-out roses from Cameron”. My dad agreed. So, while looking over our shoulders to make sure no one was looking, my dad took a clipping from the knock-out bush. I’m currently in the process of trying to root them. Whenever I put them in the soil, they had a nice bud on them. However, my dad told me to remove the buds and leaves because they will absorb all the life for the roots. In other words he said, “Don’t worry about what it looks like now. Just concentrate on the roots.”

Let God transform you

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. God isn’t looking for people who always say the right things and who looks the part of being a Christian. God is simply for looking someone willing to be inwardly transformed. Once you accept Christ, you begin a process of being formed into a part of the church, being the body of Christ.
Remember, God is transforming you according to the riches of His glory. Let God transform you on the inside. Don’t cheat yourself. Let God clean you up.

Appetizers

Whenever I go to a restaurant my eyes are usually a lot bigger than my stomach. I’ll order something but by the time it gets to me I am already full on appetizers, bread, and salad.
In the same way, we can become consumed and full of ourselves when God is trying to offer us His riches.
God wants to transform your inner self according to His riches. He has high expectations for us. But remember, he does the transforming. We just need to cling to him like a grape clings to a vine.

<em>Paul prays that the Ephesians may be inwardly strengthened. He also prayed that Christ may dwell in their hearts.

May Christ dwell in your hearts.

Ephesians 3:17 says “and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, being rooted and grounded in love”.

Family moving in

If you are like me, you probably have one or two family members that you don’t necessarily enjoy being around. It’s ok though, because you only see them a few times a year and if more than that, it’s for small amounts of time. However, imagine if that person was for some reason forced to move in with you! Imagine the difference. You could tolerate them seeing them on occasion, but it’s a different story if they move in with you. Then, everything changes!

Inviting Christ to dwell

Once you accept Christ into your life, you are inviting him to dwell. You are inviting him to take up residence in your life. Many times we want Christ to visit with us to provide for us and to try to make us better people. But when it gets a bit difficult, that’s when we want to send Jesus to a hotel and give us some space. However, to be a follower of Christ is to have Him to not only enter your life, but to dwell.
Obviously at first, it will be difficult. Christ invites us into a completely different way of life. To think that someone can handle this change easily is to misunderstand how radical of a life Jesus has called us to. To say yes to Christ is to say no to a lot of other things.

Jazmine and lattice

My stepmom used to have lattice on the front porch. One year she decided to put some jazmine-like vine on the lattice. It didn’t take long for that plant to overpower all of the other plants. She eventually had to remove the vines.
When Christ dwells in our hearts, He will eventually take over. It takes time, but like the vine, His ways will eventually overpower our ways. Soon, we will begin thinking like Christ and living the way that Christ lives.
When God moves in, we will be strengthened with power in our inner self, Christ will dwell in our hearts, and we will have power to comprehend and know the love of Christ.

May you have power to comprehend and know Christ’s love.

Ephesians 3:18,19 says ” you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpassed knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

The love of Christ

The love of Christ is so amazing that we aren’t able to comprehend it without Christ’s help. The challenge of the Christian isn’t getting Christ to love us. As a matter of fact, he’s always loved us. Romans 5:8 says that “Christ demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The problem isn’t getting Christ to love us. The issue is understanding his love.
Learning to see with your heart
This love isn’t something that we can figure out. I believe that’s why so many don’t receive the love of Christ. They can’t figure it out. This love goes beyond reason. It takes revelation from God to receive it and know it.

Open the eyes of our heart

Whenever I first became a Christian, the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” was very popular in the church. The more I think about that song, the more I understand how theologically sound it is. We need God to open the eyes of our heart so that we can see Him and His love.
When we experience Christ, the goal is to see with our hearts and not as much with our minds. To receive the love of Christ is illogical. Pretty much everything that the church stands for in the world is illogical. It takes eyes beyond our minds to receive it, believe it, and live it.

Conclusion

When God moves in, we will be strengthened with power in our inner self, Christ will dwell in our hearts, and we will have power to comprehend and know the love of Christ.

Knock-out roses before
If you were to look at the knock-out roses on my front porch, you wouldn’t see much. All that you would see is a small stick in some dirt. But, despite its appearance, it is still a knock-out rose.
You may look at yourself and say, “I’m not worthy to be a part of the family of God. Compared to all of these beautiful blooms in the lives of others, I look like a worthless stick.” Know this, you are no less a part of the family of God as anyone else. You will one day bloom, as long as you are in the master’s hand. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Comments (5) »

DeWayne Wise

July 24, 2009 · Filed under baseball · Tagged , , ,

Mark Buehrle had a perfect game going into the 9th inning. He got the first out. Then the next guy hit one deep. Watch what happened.

 

watch?v=sMPnsOjPXh0

 

That’s why baseball is the greatest game.

Comments (1) »

The importance of what we do during worship according to Stanley Hauerwas

July 22, 2009 · Filed under Duke, theology · Tagged , ,

“One reason why we Christians argue so much about which hymn to sing, which liturgy to follow, which way to worship is that the commandments teach us to believe that bad liturgy eventually leads to bad ethics. You begin by singing some sappy, sentimental hymn, then you pray some pointless prayer, and the next thing you know you have murdered your best friend.”
- Stanley Hauerwas

Leave a comment »

Avoiding division in the UMC

July 21, 2009 · Filed under theology · Tagged , ,

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-episcopal-church11-2009jul11,0,3371251.story?track=rss

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2009/07/17/poll-explains-why-most-anglicans-support-homosexuals.aspx

http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/episcopal

The Episcopal Church is in a flux right now because of the homosexual issue. At a recent convention, the highlight was the topic of same-sex marriage (and the ordination of homosexuals as priests). The above links show how TEC is having a difficult time dealing with this issue. If it doesn’t improve, a denominational split is likely.

It’s no secret that The Episcopal Church is certainly more progressive in regard to this issue (Along with the UCC) The UMC has debated this issue, but as of now still supports a traditional view of marriage between a man and a woman and only allows heterosexuals to serve as ordained ministers (according to the Disciple). I personally don’t see this changing anytime soon and we would most likely see a church split before marrying and ordaining homosexuals.

I understand that this is a complex issue and needs to be debated. But the question is, “At what cost?” How effective is our ministry during this debate? Whenever we are debating this issue, are we open-minded to listen to our other brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we seeking unity in the body of Christ as we debate?

I’m not naive. I know that the UMC as well as all denominations will face this issue (The UMC already is). My prayer is that we would debate in light of the mission that Christ has for us. My prayer is that we will keep the cross central, and not our own agendas. My prayer is that we will understand that the mission of the UMC (and the church universal) is much, much bigger than this small issue.

Many have predicted that the UMC will be non-existent by the turn of the century. I’m convinced that if we are united, even if we disagree on certain issues, this won’t happen. But divided, our church will struggle.

Below is Adam Hamilton’s attempt at understanding both sides and trying to find unity among disagreement.

http://adamhamilton.cor.org/2009/02/03/in-dealing-with-homosexuals/

“In things essential, unity; In things inessential, liberty; In all things, charity.”

St. Augustine

Comments (7) »

Sermon: 7-19-09

July 20, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermons · Tagged , ,

Title: United in Christ

Text: Ephesians 2:11-22

Topic: Christ breaks down barriers so that we can be united.

Introduction

Stephen Hawkings

Stephen Hawkings occupies one the most famous and prestigious chairs of education in Great Britain. Some consider him one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He is considered the modern day Albert Einstein. However, as brilliant as he is, he isn’t even able to tie his shoes, brush his teeth, or comb his hair. Mr. Hawking’s body has been crippled by an affliction known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This disease has basically caused his nerves to disconnect from each other, causing messages not to be able to get to his body from his brain. There is nothing wrong with his brain. He is still as brilliant as he once was. What’s striking about this is that there is nothing wrong with his head. It’s his body that’s dysfunctional.
The church has Lou Gehrig’s disease
We are the body, Christ is the head. However, sometimes the body of Christ has a case similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sometimes we can’t receive from the head (which is Christ) because we as the body are disconnected from each other.
What affects the mission of the church more than anything isn’t the world. It isn’t because we no longer have prayer in schools. It isn’t because stores are opened on Sundays. It isn’t even because of our new president. What affects our mission more than anything is disunity in the body of Christ.

No peace and unity

The text this morning shows Paul discussing this very issue. He is dealing with two groups of people whom God has made into one. God’s goal for the Jews and Gentiles is unity. Let’s see what we can discover about unity in this passage.

By human hands, we are divided.

Read vv. 11,12
We are tribal

In middle school it didn’t take me long to figure out that the most evil entity in the world is the teenage girl. It’s amazing how quickly they get mad at each other, how they take sides, and how both sides all of the sudden hate each other. We are tribal, territorial people. They quickly forget why they are even mad. They just know that they have to take a side. You can’t stay in the middle!
This is one of the reasons why gangs are so popular today. They recruit people, give them something to defend, and then they feel like they have a purpose. We are tribal people.
By nature, we are a tribal people. We have this desire to be a part of a group, something bigger than ourselves, and we are considered brave and heroic if we are willing to do anything to defend it.

Duke/Carolina

I love it up here in North Carolina. There is no better place to see this territorial/tribal attitude than in a place where you have Duke, Carolina, and State fans.

Politics

I always find it so humorous to watch political debates on television. If a Rebublican believes something, no matter what it is, it’s almost guaranteed that the Democrat will believe it the other way and vice versa. The issue at hand isn’t what’s important, defending the party is.

The Church divided

Even in the church we have a tendency to divide. It has been said that the most segregated hour of the week in from 11 to 12 on Sunday mornings. Years after segregation has ceased, the church seems to still be behind. We also divide on theological and political views. I have heard fellow brothers and sisters in Christ called non-Christians because they held a differing viewpoint on a certain theological or political issue. There are countless books written by Christian authors with no other purpose than to cause harm to other members of the body of Christ with a different viewpoint.
Even in the church we separate into separate groups. This is why it seems that the church has a case of Lou Gehrig’s disease! We are so disconnected.
It seems that we have a natural way of dividing ourselves from others. By our hands, we are divided. However, hear the good news! In Christ, we are united!

In Christ, we are united.

Read 13-16
Because of Christ’s death on the cross, he has brought all people together. There are no more divisions. We are one body of people.

Richard Hays

One of the primary reasons that Jesus died on the cross was to create “one” body. Richard Hays, NT professor at Duke, says that it’s the primary reason. We who were far off (that’s us Gentiles) have now been brought near by the blood of Christ. The Gentiles now have access to God because of Christ’s sacrifice.

Both groups need reconciliation

However, we Gentiles weren’t the only group that needed reconciliation. v. 16 says that he might “reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross.”
God’s goal was to make a new people entirely. We aren’t included with the Jews. We are an entirely new people. This is one of the basics of the Christian faith. When we decide to follow Christ, at our baptism, we join a new people. The first words that we say in the baptism covenant is “Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are initiated into Christ’s holy Church.
Now, we are called to be faithful to this new community that we live in. While I love my country, my allegiance is to Christ’s church. Sometimes we will be faced with circumstances where our church citizenship and our national citizenship collide and disagree. When this happens, we are called to submit to the lordship of Christ and be faithful to his church.

Diversity makes unity difficult

However, let’s not be fooled: Unity among diverse people is difficult. The church is very much a diverse body and we should celebrate that . All around the world this morning different nations, tribes, and languages are meeting to worship the same Lord as us. However, because of our diversity, whether, ethically, theologically, or politically, unity in the church can be hard to achieve.

John Wesley on unity

In light of this, John Wesley said “In things essential, unity; In things inessential, liberty; In all things, charity.” In other words, even though we disagree on certain issues, we should be united on the essential things.

World Council of Churches

The UMC is a member of the World Council of Churches. This is an ecumenical council with the goal of different denominations united to reach the world with the gospel. In order to be a member, one thing is required: Confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and savior. This is an essential. Obviously, when uniting diverse groups, you are going to have disagreements. This is ok. The church will never agree on everything. What’s IS important is that we are united on the essentials, and that is that salvation is through Jesus Christ.

Seminary visit

I recently visited a seminary as I was trying to decide where to do my theological education. This seminary was very popular and had a great academic program. They had several lectures put together and all of them in some way or another talked about diversity, unity, and social work. They talked about how we must celebrate diversity and be united to bring peace to the world. Of course, I agree with this 100%. But what I found odd was that during this entire visit, the name of Jesus was rarely, if ever, mentioned. They were all about doing the work of ministry, but they seemed to be doing it without Christ.

above all, In Christ

Sometimes, when trying to be diverse, we surrender what’s important and have an everything is accepted attitude.
We are united only in Christ and only because of Christ. We have peace only in Christ because He is our peace. The church isn’t called to spend a lot of time discussing and debating peace. Christ himself is our peace and if we are in Christ, we are united as one body and grafted into a new family.

United, we are a dwelling place for God.

The ark of the covenant
In the Old Testament, God’s presence dwelled with the people of Israel in the ark of the covenant. God’s dwelling place was with the Israelites. You can probably remember the story of David dancing in the streets when the ark of the covenant returned to them. They were indeed a special people because God’s presence was with them.
VV.21,22 says that “In Christ the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. “

My Dad and coffee

God’s new dwelling place
God once dwelled in the ark of the covenant. Now his dwelling place is with the united body of Christ.
When we are united, we are free to be the church. Why? Because God is with us. When we are united, the world sees a strange, peculiar people.
Unity as the church’s mission
This unity is primary also for the church’s mission. So many times we try to make a different by our social actions. We try to help the poor, widowed, and hurting. In our efforts to get people to church, we make up nice flyers to pass out, have fun events for people to attend, and seek to make our worship services “guest friendly”.
Of course, these are certainly extensions of the church and a great way to be a witness for Jesus Christ. However, we serve the world best by showing it something that it is not, and that is a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.

Conclusion

The prayer of Jesus
Before his death, Jesus prayed for the church. This was his prayer:
“The glory which you have given Me I have given them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:22,23
It has been said that this is Jesus’ only prayer that has yet to be answered.
As the church, we have a mission and that mission is to make disciples of Christ. Let’s hear the prayer of Jesus that the world will know that Jesus was sent by God when we, the church, are perfected in unity. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Comments (5) »

Sermons

July 17, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermons · Tagged

I plan to post my sermons on my blog for your reading. Some may be decent, but the majority will probably need work. Please feel free to comment and offer suggestions.

This is my first sermon at Rehoboth UMC.

Title: A Strange Way to Save the World
Text: Luke 1:39-56
Point: God works in strange ways to bring us salvation.

Introduction

Extension cord

Not long ago, a friend of mine was getting married. She, Jade, and the rest of the bridal party were going to the dress shop to try on dresses and somehow I got persuaded to go. So it was me,, and a bunch of women trying on dresses. We also had another friend getting married and I discovered that we needed to get her a wedding gift for her upcoming bridal shower. We were running out of time and it was likely that we wouldn’t get a chance to stop and get the gift. So I had an opportunity. I saw a chance of escape. So I volunteered myself: “Jade, I’ll be glad to go to Walmart to get the gift.” Some of the other girls were asking Jade: “Do you trust him to buy a wedding gift? I wouldn’t trust my husband.” But Jade had faith in me so I escaped from the bridal shop and was on my way to Walmart. There, I printed out the registry and began looking down the list at my options. We were late at getting the gift so most of the good gifts were already purchased. So, knowing that I didn’t have much time, I tried to make a quick decision. And there it was on the list. The price was decent. It was close by and nobody had bought it yet. It was very practical and something that the newlyweds would certainly use. So I had made my decision. I was going to get them a nice, bright yellow, extension cord. After all, they registered for it so apparently they wanted it. So I got back to the girls at the bridal shop and proudly showed what I bought for the shower. How did they respond? They all pretty much laughed in my face. I was shocked! “What’s wrong?” All of them were laughing hysterically and Jade looked a bit disappointed. Apparently I had failed. “You don’t get an extension cord for a bridal shower!”

The strange man and woman relationship

Life is full of strange things. But probably the strangest thing is God asking a man and woman, two completely opposite creatures, to try to live with each other. I believe that family is important and is what sustains life, but you have to admit, it is quite ironic that at the core of a family is the relationship between man and woman.

God, strangely at work in human history

God does things in strange ways.
Looking throughout Christian history, God has fulfilled his purposes in ways that seem strange to us. God used the prostitute Rahab to help the Israelites escape. God uses the young boy David and his slingshot to fight Goliath, the mighty Giant. God spoke through a donkey. Over and over again we see God at work in strange ways.

Strange salvation

Our salvation also came in a strange way. The people of Israel were desperately in need of salvation. They were under Roman rule and were waiting on the Messiah that was promised to them. However, when the messiah came, many didn’t believe that Jesus was him. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t what they expected. They expected a great military leader. They expected a great warrior who would liberate them from Roman bondage. However, Jesus didn’t come as a militant leader. Actually, he taught his followers to be peaceful and turn the other cheek. He didn’t come to liberate Israel from the powers of Rome. Actually, he taught them to submit to the governmental leadership over them. Jesus was the messiah, sent by God. But he wasn’t what the people expected. His teaching was a bit, strange.

Today’s scripture: God’s character revealed

The text this morning is another example of God working in strange ways. God sends John the Baptist and Jesus to the world; but he sends them through unlikely people. God sees a people in desperate need, but he sends help in an unconventional way. Whenever we see God at work in the scripture, especially in the Gospels, it tells us a lot about his character. Let’s see what this text tells us about God and how we are to respond to him.

God sometimes acts at a strange time.

Elizabeth: “Why so late, Lord?”
Here we have two women at different stages of life. Elizabeth is an older woman who has felt disgraced all throughout life because she couldn’t have children. Now, at the end of her life, God allows her to have a child. It’s obvious from the scripture that she is grateful, but I’m sure that she has wondered, “Why so late, Lord?” “Why have you allowed me to feel like a disgrace my entire life?”

Mary: “Why now, Lord?”

Now imagine what Mary is feeling. The angel Gabriel comes to the virgin Mary and tells her, “ You are going to have a child!” Like Mary, I would certainly question the timing of the pregnancy. Couldn’t you wait just a little longer until I’m married before this happens? Don’t you understand how this will effect my reputation? I could be stoned for this!

Awkward timing

Why did God choose such an awkward timing for these pregnancies? Why does God not always do things at a convenient time for us? I’m sure that you can think about times in your life when God didn’t show up when you thought he would. You prayed and prayed for God to speak but all that you heard was silence. Why does God choose to be loud when we want him to be quiet and silent when we want him to speak?

Teaches us to rely on God

One reason is because God is teaching us to rely on him instead of ourselves. Relying on God is at the core of our Christian faith. Whenever we say to God that he is Lord, we are telling him that we rely on him to lead our lives. He is now in control and we are not. But some of us find that part difficult. It’s not easy to let someone else lead your life. After all, we have been in control all of this time.

Decision about seminary

To be honest, I began to question the timing of God over the last year. Jade and I were living in a good community close to our hometown. We both had secure jobs in a bad economy. Then, I felt a call to move to go to seminary. With the economy the way it is, I had to ask God, “Are you sure that this is the right timing?” It might be hard for Jade to find a job. Financial aid at school isn’t as good this year as in previous years because the economy has affected the endowment. “God, are you sure that you don’t want to rethink this?” But I still felt the call to go. And so far throughout this process God has provided.
God acts a strange time because God sees what we can’t. The timing may not be strange at all, but it seems strange to us. We just need to learn to trust God.

God sometimes uses strange people to do his will.

Playing the bench

I grew up playing a lot of sports, especially baseball and my dad was always my coach. I love my dad, but I remember getting mad at him at least once every game. The reason that I would get mad at him was because regardless of the score, he would play everybody. He would tell us, “If you show up for practice, try your best, listen to what I tell you, and have a good attitude, you will play. It doesn’t matter if you are the best or not. What matters is your attitude.” We could be beating the best team by 1 run with two innings left and my dad would pull out a lot of the starters and let everyone play. It’s almost like he would look for reasons to take the starters out. If a player got an attitude, my dad would pull them out and put in a reserve. So you can imagine why I would get so mad with him. However, despite my dad’s unusual approach, we would still play about as well.

Qualifications for God to use you: Humble and obedient

Looking at this text, I think that God uses a similar approach to using people as my dad. I don’t think he is looking the most talented people. He is only looking for the humble and obedient.

The Bearer of salvation

If I were to pick a way to bring salvation into the world, I most definitely wouldn’t pick Mary. Mary was a poor girl from the small town of Nazareth. She also was a teenager and we know that teenagers can’t do anything, right? So, why did God use her? Of course, there is no way for us to know all the reasons, but we can probably see a few reasons why from the text. V.38 shows that she is obedient to God’s word, despite probably being a little scared. God used her simply because she said yes.

Demonstrates God’s power

Another reason that God uses strange people is because it demonstrates his power instead of our own.

McGuyver

Growing up, I used to watch a show called McGuyver. McGuyver was this very smart guy who always found himself locked up somewhere. What made the show so cool was, no matter where he was, McGuyver would find a way to escape. He would use whatever he had to help him escape. He could be locked up with nothing but a candle, peppermint, and a trashcan and he would figure out how to escape using those items.

Why men never use instructions

Do you wonder why men never use instructions? It’s because it shows how smart we are that we can find our way with limited resources (even though most of the time we usually end up lost)
Whenever God uses the unexpected and the simple, it demonstrates God’s power instead of our own. If God brought Jesus into the world using military force instead of the womb of a poor teenager, it would be man’s doings instead of God’s.

God’s faithfulness leads us to joy and praise.

The gift of gratitude
I recently heard a pastor sharing a devotion. He asked us the question: “If you could give your child any gift, what would it be?” Love? Forgiveness? Joy? After we pondered the question he shared his response, “If I could give my child any gift, it would be the gift of gratitude.”
God fulfills his promises. We might break promises, but God doesn’t. As we have discussed already, God may fulfill them in ways that we least expect, but he does fulfill them.

Conclusion

View of parade

There was a man who hated parades. He is claustrophobic and whenever he is on the ground he gets very frightened. He doesn’t like how chaotic everything is. People going in every direction. There seems to be no order whatsoever. So the man hadn’t been to a parade in many years. One day one of his friends invited to come to a parade and sit in a booth above the parade with him. He was reluctant, but decided to go. As he watched the parade from above, he realized that the parade wasn’t so bad. He was actually really enjoying himself. He noticed that what he thought was chaos was actually order. He just couldn’t tell from the ground.

Ground view

God’s activity usually appears strange to us, but that’s only because we are seeing it from the ground. We don’t have the view of the entire parade like God. We only see chaos. All that we can do is continue marching and believe that God is leading us in the right direction.

Leave a comment »