Archive for Sermons

sermon: 11.22.09

November 22, 2009 · Filed under Sermons

Sermon: Christ the King

Text: John 18:33-37

Introduction

Christ the King Sunday

Today is Christ the King Sunday.  If you notice, the Christian calendar has several holidays that it celebrates.  We celebrate most of these holidays because they are biblical.  We celebrate Easter because of the resurrection story. We celebrate Christmas because of the story of the birth of Christ.  We celebrate Pentecost because of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  That’s not the case for Christ the King Sunday.  It rose out of a desire for the church to make a statement that Christ is the king.  In the year 1925, Pope Pius XI noticed that the church was in trouble.  It was during WW1 and the economy was poor.  During this turbulent time, the pope observed people “bending their knee” to human saviors and political parties to rescue them. At the same time, religion was being forced to be more of a private practice than a public confession. So the pope took charge and called for an annual day to pronounce that “Christ is King”.  He called for a day that the church would bend its knee to Christ and confess to the world that Christ is king.

Our situation

Today, our economic system is suffering.  We have people with no voice, no health insurance, no money, among other things.  Many times, it’s very tempting to turn to someone other than Christ to be our savior.  It’s easy to put our trust and hope in politicians to fix everything.  Now, of course it’s ok for us to believe in someone.  However, our hope is in Christ.  Our devotion is to Christ alone.  He is our savior and rescue. He is who we are to turn to whenever we are in need.

In the text this morning, Christ has a conversation with Pilate.  Christ goes before Pilate to receive his sentence.  However, during this conversation, Christ reveals some things about the nature of his kingdom.

One thing that Christ reveals is that he calls us to devotion as individuals.

Christ calls us to devotion as individuals

Changing my oil

I’m not much of a handy man.  To be honest with you, whenever Jade and I buy something to put together, Jade is usually the one to put it together.  The last thing that I put together was a coffee table.  Eventually, probably as a result of me putting it together, it fell apart. So, when we need something put together, Jade’s the best option.  Whenever I turned sixteen, my dad bought me a truck.  As any teenager, I was thrilled about my truck.  However, once I got the truck I soon realized that vehicles require a lot of maintenance.  So, whenever the oil needed I changing, I asked my dad to change it for me.  After a while, I think he got tired of it and did the unthinkable: He made me change my own oil.  Yes, it was disgusting.  I had to climb under my truck on the dirt. I got dirty. I got oil on my clothes, my hands, and my face. But, in the end, I had changed my oil all by myself.  I was very proud of myself.  Of course, changing my oil is about the only thing that I can do with my truck, but I am proud that I can do it.

Children of Abraham

Whenever John the Baptist was preaching in the desert for repentance, many were tempted to say, “I’m ok.  Abraham is my father.”  However, John makes it clear that that’s not enough. He goes on to say, “from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”  In other words, he was saying, It doesn’t matter who your father is, you must repent.”

Jesus and Pilate

“Do you ask this own your own, or did others tell you about me?”

Choosing Christ for ourselves

We are very fortunate to have our parents to raise us in the faith.  They train us and model for us the life of Christ.  However, there comes a day when we have to decide to follow Christ on our own.  We have to make a decision to make Christ our Lord. 

Infant baptism causes confusion

Avoiding individualism

Now, this isn’t to suggest that once we accept Christ it becomes just “me and Jesus”.  I once had a friend in high school who didn’t go to church.  However, he claimed that he was a Christian. So I asked him one day, “Why don’t you go to church?”  He told me that he didn’t need the church and that he could follow Christ without going.  I disagree.  How is it possible to be a part of the body of Christ without being with the body of Christ? When we gather in God house with God’s people, we gather with a shared hope of Christ’s return. We need one another.

We are called to choose Christ for ourselves.  Christ also makes us confront truth. 

Christ makes us confront truth.

“Just tell the truth”

When I was a child and would do something wrong, I would usually make it worse because I would say,”I didn’t do it!”However, my mom would usually say, “Son, if you will just tell me the truth, you won’t get in as much trouble.”  All that she wanted was the truth.

In v. 37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  In response, Pilate asks the famous question, “What is truth?”

Why does Pilate ask this question? To stay in control?

Political leaders avoiding truth to stay in power.

When we confront truth

How do we respond when we confront truth?  Do we obey and follow?  Do we avoid it?  Do we crucify it like Pilate?

The hard truth

We live in the tension of being truthful with people. Sometime we want to sugarcoat things so that we don’t hurt people’s feelings.  Especially in the church.  Sometimes we think that our calling as the church is to be the nicest people in the world.  However, Christ didn’t call us to simply be nice. He called us to follow truth and reflect it to the world.

Christ calls us to follow as individuals, he confronts us with truth, and his kingdom isn’t of this world.

Christ’s kingdom isn’t of this world.

His Lordship

Whenever we accept Christ, above all, what we are doing is making him Lord of our lives. We are no longer in control.  Christ is. We are no longer working for our own kingdom but Christ’s.  However, this can sometimes be difficult living in the world. What do we do when Christ’s commands conflict with the world’s?

Prayer in schools?

There has been a lot of uproar in the church over the last several years about prayer in schools.  Churches have protested and marched in support of putting prayer back in school.  But my question is, “Has prayer really been taken out of school?”  “Can we really not pray?”  Simply because there’s no a prayer over the intercom doesn’t mean that students can’t pray.

Maybe Christ’s followers should be more worried about practicing the discipline themselves than trying to force it on our government and public schools.  What’s ironic is that the majority of Christian’s prayer less than one minute per day.  Why are we forcing our practices on schools and the government when we are barely practicing them?

What kingdom are we devoted to?

So, the question becomes, what kingdom are we devoted to?  We must be reminded that Christ’s kingdom isn’t of this world and he calls us to live for another kingdom.  What kind of kingdom are we helping to build?  The kingdom of God, or the kingdom of man?

Conclusion

Lord of the holidays

We are about to enter the holiday season.  This is a season that we have set in the year to be mindful of the birth and the coming of Christ.  However, it’s very easy during this season to become so busy that we miss what it’s all about.  As we submit to the Lordship of Christ, may we not allow the busyness of the season to control our thoughts.  May we plan our calendars to allow Christ to be in our midst.  As the world invites us to participate in endless consumerism, may our focus this season be on communion with Christ and his body.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Sermon: 11.15.09

November 15, 2009 · Filed under Sermons · Tagged

Sermon

Mark 13:1-13

 

Introduction

Left Behind

I have a friend who came to me once for advice.  He told me that he had been talking to someone about Christ and he felt like he was making some progress.  He came to me asking for advice about a book that he could give him.  My immediate thought was, “Well, how about a bible?”  But my friend wasn’t interested in getting him a bible.  “The bible is a little too confusing for him right now.  I want to get him something a little bit easier for him to read.  Something that he can understand.”  So I began listing off books that might work.  Then he told me, “Well, I already think I know what book I am going to get him. I think I am going to get him Left Behind.”  I think my reaction gave away my feelings.  Now I’m not a huge fan of the series, and I’m certainly not a big fan of giving this to someone exploring the faith.  I think my response to him was something like this: “So, you want to give your friend a book.  You don’t want to give him the bible because it’s too confusing.  So, you want to give him a book about the End times, which is probably the most confusing theological category in the entire bible?”  I believe I convinced him to just get the bible.

The End

I have to be honest, studying about the end times and the apocalypse just doesn’t interest me all that much.  Maybe it’s because I’m young and I don’t think about the afterlife much.  However, surprisingly, Jesus doesn’t spend an extraordinary amount of time talking about it either.  He does mention it some, as in this text, but usually not how we would picture him talking about it.  Jesus usually uses discussions about the end to encourage us in our lives today. I think this morning’s text is more about hope that God offers, even in the midst of trouble.

Hope during troubled times

Jesus knew that difficult times were coming.  He wanted to be honest with the disciples in telling them that the road wouldn’t be easy.  However, Jesus provides them with hope, even in a dark future. In discussing the future, Jesus left them with several challenges. 

One thing that he challenged was their historical identity.

Jesus challenged their historical identity

Radical statement by Jesus

Jesus’ statement about the temple being torn down was a very radical statement.  The temple has been the focal point of the Israelite faith for years.  Now the Messiah was saying that the disciples shouldn’t worry about it and that it would be torn down.  Imagine how people would respond?

Disciples finding their identity in the temple

These disciples were finding their identity in the temple.  However, Jesus said that soon the temple would be destroyed.

Living in the past/buildings

Imagine if during my first Sunday here at Rehoboth, I walked in and you were giving me a tour of the church.  You were talking about all the history of the church and how beautiful it is.  Then, after you are bragging about the beauty of this place I say: “It doesn’t matter.  One day this place will be torn down!”  Imagine how you would feel.  That’s probably the way the disciples felt. 

Honoring the past

I can remember reading a book where a pastor tells a story about when he was wanting to add on to the church building.  The church was in a very confined area and the only way that they could add on to the building was by building on top of the graveyard beside the church.  He was really pushing this with his congregation.  How do you think they responded?  Not very favorably. Well, he wasn’t there much longer. 

I think it’s a terrible idea to build over a graveyard.  However, I do think that this story leads us to ponder a question.  What are we hanging onto that’s holding us back from living out our faith?  For the disciples, they were hanging onto the beautiful temple and all that comes with it.  What are we hanging onto?

Jesus challenged their historical identity.  He also challenged their loyalties.

Jesus challenged their loyalties

v. 1 one of the disciples says to Jesus, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

He was basically saying, “Look how great these buildings are!  To which Jesus responded: “Do you see these great buildings?”

I can just see their faces.  “He loves these building too!  Jesus loves what we love!” Jesus was building anticipation.  Then he says, “Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  Imagine the shock!

Visiting Cameron

In April Jade and I came and visited this lovely church. Then, the next day, we spent some time in Durham.  We visited several places.  But one place that I wanted to take Jade to see more than any other was Cameron Indoor Stadium.  As we walked up, I was in awe.  Then we went inside.  I found a seat and just sat there taking it all in.  As we left, I asked Jade what she thought.  She wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was.  “It’s fine.  Sort of small.” 

In the same way, Jesus wasn’t as impressed with their buildings.  He knew that eventually they would be torn down.  They are only temporal.  However, the buildings also represent something else.  The disciple’s love for these buildings shows their commitment to the state. Jesus challenged this commitment.  “You love these great buildings.  However, they will eventually fall to the ground.  Then what?

Where does your loyalty lie?

In other words, Jesus was asking them: Where does your loyalty lie?  Does it lie with these buildings and the state, or does it lie with me?  When these walls fall, are you going to join the revolt and fight for the walls to come back up, or are you going to be faithful to me?

9/11 and war

9/11 was a devastating day.  I remember the shear terror of watching it over and over on tv.  I remember one of friends being terrified at school because his mom was at the Pentagon on that day.  He would eventually find out that she was ok. Many lives were lost.  Two beautiful buildings feel to the ground. Our sense of security was challenged. Not surprising, after that day, the United States sense of commitment to the state rose.  People even began going to church again…….for a little while.  Then, we decided that we needed to go to war to destroy evil.  We were completely committed to this task.  “You messed with us.  Now you are going to pay!”  Sadly, you even heard this type of language from pulpits all across America.  It was almost like the Crusades over again.  If you didn’t agree with the attack, you were immediately called unAmerican.  On many levels the followers of Christ joined in with America to launch this devastating war.

Where do your loyalties lie?

Now, I don’t expect everyone to agree with me on this issue.  However, I do think that this raises a valuable point?  Where do our loyalties lie?  Do they lie with the state or with Christ?  Do they lie with the American flag or the cross?  Now I’m not suggesting that we not be committed to America.  I’m proud of being apart of this great country.  I’m grateful for all of the brave men and women who serve in the military to protect us and our freedom.  But remember, as the military has fought for our freedom, Christ willingly laid down his life for our freedom.  Our freedom has already been won in Christ.  In the midst of honoring all of those who fought for our nation, don’t forget that Christ died willingly on the cross for our freedom and we are called to follow his example. 

Jesus challenges our historical identity, our loyalties, and our vision.

Jesus challenged their vision/motivations

Focus on the things above

As the disciples were looking around focused on the buildings, Jesus reminded them to focus on eternal things. 

Songs at the nursing home

Several years ago I went with my family to play music at a nursing home.  For some reason, we decided to play a lot of the newer contemporary music.  As we were playing, the people didn’t look like they were getting into it too much.  After the third or fourth song, my granddad came up to me and said, “Josh, play some songs about heaven.” I asked him, why?  He said “because older people like to sing about heaven.”

That was a revelation to me. The majority of the people in the room were in the 90s.  Of course they wanted to sing about heaven.  They had traveled through this long, difficult life.  Many were worried and afraid that they were soon die.  However, as they sang about heaven, they found hope.  They were reminded that eventually all of the suffering would be over.

Focused on heaven

It’s never too early in our lives to focus on heaven.  The early church spent their days thinking that Christ would soon come back.  Many didn’t even want to get jobs or stay involved in society because they were awaiting the Savior.  During their days, they were focused on the things above.  What would our lives be like if we spent them in anticipation of life eternally with Christ? 

In the meantime, don’t neglect the present

However, that eternal life doesn’t begin when we die.  It begins now.  We don’t know much about heaven, but we do know that it’s life with God and that life begins now.

Conclusion

Instead, endure

Jesus knew that the disciples had a tough road ahead.  Because of this tough road, he reoriented the disciple’s focus.  If they focused on buildings, the nation, the past, and earthly things, they wouldn’t make it.  Jesus challenged them to focus on the things above.  Our challenge this morning is to look past our surroundings to Christ.  And as we look to Christ, we find hope for tomorrow and hope for today.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Sermon:11.1.09

November 1, 2009 · Filed under Sermons · Tagged , ,

All Saints Sunday

Facing Death

John 11:32-44

I. Introduction

Hitting the tree/Leaving my mark

I can remember my first youth outing with my last church.  We were in the process of confirmation and I had planned an outing for them at one of our member’s house.  So we were out there having a good time.  We were playing games, eating, talking, etc.  Well, we were about to go somewhere so we all piled into the church van.  Once we loaded in, I put it in reverse to back out, and then I heard a crash.  Boom!  I had hit a beautiful tree!  As you can imagine with a bunch of sixth graders, they were yelling and screaming like we hit a car on the highway.  So I jumped out of the van and realized that the van was fine.  No scratches at all.  However, I left a huge dent in the tree.  So, the first time I visited at that house, I left my mark.  Everytime they look at that tree, they will remember me.

The imprint of saints

This morning we are celebrating All Saints Day. I’m sure that your minds are filled with people who have gone on to be with the Lord who have had a huge impact on your life.  As you look around this room, there is so much history that has taken place.  We are reminded of them today because they have left their mark on our lives.  Above all, saints are people who have encountered God and have left a mark on our lives.  They are people who have lived their lives, not for themselves, but for others.  So, what are other characteristics about Saints?

One is that saints are people who have witnessed the power of Jesus.

 

II. Saints are people who have witnessed the power of Jesus

What makes one a saint? Holiness?

Whenever we hear the word saint, we usually think of someone who does no wrong.  Every time I hear saint I automatically think of my grand dad. My granddad is someone who I have never seen do anything wrong.  I have never heard him cuss, I have never heard him yell, he have never kicked a dog, he never misses church.  When I think of saint, that’s usually what I think of.  Personal righteousness. Holiness. Therefore, I usually think that a saint is a perfect, super spiritual person.  However, that’s not necessarily the case.  For one, a saint of someone who has witnessed God’s power.  

Jesus’ power

In today’s story, Lazarus is dead.  Everyone is sad and some are wondering why Jesus didn’t get there sooner.  However, he says to the people, “Remove this stone.”  When Martha questions him for doing this, he says, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  Then, after Jesus calls, Lazarus comes out of the tomb.  The people had witnessed the power of God.  Because of this encounter, the people will never be the same.

My first Braves game

When I was about 5 or 6, my dad took me to my first Atlanta Braves baseball game.  This was back during the Dale Murphy days when the Braves were terrible.  We sat right behind the dugout.  I brought my glove to catch foul balls with, even though I never got one.  I loved everything about the experience.  I loved the smell of peanuts.  I loved when we sang “Take me out to the ballgame.”  I discovered for the first time at this game that the Braves were America’s team because when we did the National Anthem we sang that America was “the land of the free and the home of the Braves”.  I loved watching the players.  I loved seeing the action live.  I don’t remember much about my childhood, but I remember a lot about this game.  I went to the game as a normal 6 year old, but I left as a Braves fan.

Saints encounter God

In the same way that I’m a Braves fan, the people of God are Saints because they have witnessed the power of God.  They have encountered God’s goodness and have been eternally affected by it.  Maybe they have never seen anyone raised from the dead, but they have experienced the goodness and forgiveness of God.  They are Saints because their encounter with God has sanctified them.

Saints are people who have witnessed the power of Jesus.  They are also people who have brought life into a death filled world.

III. Saints are people who have brought life into a death filled world

Jesus overcoming death

This story in John 11 puts death in its rightful place.  Jesus, the light of the world, shows darkness and death that he has power over them.  Even death is no match for Jesus!

Mother Teresa

When you think of a saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta comes to mind.  It’s amazing all of the things that she has done.  In a world full of pain and suffering, she gave her life to bringing the love of God to people. 

Doesn’t have to be on the same scale

However, we can bring life into the world right where we are.  We are not all called to do what Mother Teresa has done.  God has called us to bring life into the world right where we are.  We must simply be opened to what God wants to do through us. Even Mother Teresa said that “I am a little pencil in the hand of God trying to write a love letter to the world”.  We are saints to the world whenever we disappear and people can see the love of God.

When God’s holiness encounters the world

This is what the church is called to be.  We are called to represent the love of God to the world.  We aren’t called to judge them.  That’s God’s job.  We are simply called to be a light in the world of darkness.  Saints aren’t people who are so holy that they are judgmental, but people who have experienced the love of God and share it in a dark world.

Saints are people who have witnessed the power of Jesus,  people who have brought life into a death filled world, and they are also people who have lived a life for us to model.

 

IV. Saints have lived a life for us to model.

Children watching movies

Have you ever noticed how children act after they get out of a movie?  If they watch spiderman, they leave wanting to go by the store to buy them a spiderman costume.  If they watch a Hanna Montana movie, they leave wanting a Hanna Montana toy.  When they encounter these stories, they are affected by it. 

In the same way, a saint is someone who has been affected by the life of Christ and sets a model for us to live by.  They leave God’s presence like a child leaves a movie and wants to put on God’s costume.  They want people to see the love, grace, and mercy of God through them.

My faith has been shaped by models

As I think about my life, it has been shaped by many different people.  I’m sure that you can say the same thing this morning.  We are sitting here this morning because someone had an impact on our lives.  In the same way, we try to follow their example and live the Christian life in they same way they did.  Saints are still with us today because they have left a legacy.  They have left people behind who talk like them, walk like them, pray like them, because they gave us a model.  A saint’s presence never leaves because the holiness that they left behind never dies. 

V. Conclusion

The promises Resurrection

Jesus waited before he came to Lazarus.  One reason is so that everyone there could experience the power of God.  Another reason, probably the main reason, is to forecast his future.  He showed everyone there that not even death had power him.  When Lazarus was raised, it was a snapshot of what was coming in Christ.  In the same way that Lazarus was raised, Jesus will be raised.  So today, as we think about our loved ones who have gone before us, who are with God in heaven, be reminded of Christ’s resurrection.  Be reminded that the story isn’t over.  It continues in the presence of God because of Christ’s resurrection.  Thanks be to God. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Sermon:10.25.09

October 25, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermons · Tagged , ,

When Suffering Ends

Job 42

I. Introduction

My long day

One of the worst couple of days of my life were the days that we spend moving here.  Those were probably two of the longest days of my life.  The day before we moved we spent the entire day packing.  That seemed to take forever.  Then, once we were finally finished, Jade locked the keys in the car.  So, after running a coat hanger through the window and finally getting it unlocked, we got the keys out.  Then we had a lot of people wanting us to come by and see them one last time.  As much as we wanted to, we were exhausted.  Then, when the morning came and we were ready to go, we couldn’t find our cat.  It took us about 30 minutes to find him and then another 15 to get him out from his hiding place.  Finally, we were on the road.  Now comes the best part, a 12  hour drive.  It’s not very easy trying to weave in and out of traffic when you have four cars following you.  It’s an understatement to say that I couldn’t wait to get to Henderson.

Learning about yourself

Usually, when things are tough, it seems that the goal is to tough it out until the end.  However, I don’t think that’s the case.  I believe that goal is learning about ourselves and God  through the trials.

Marathon

Whenever you run a marathon, you usually think about the end and can’t wait to finish.  However, what’s great about a marathon really isn’t where you finish but what you learn about yourself.  As much as I couldn’t wait to get to Henderson after a long couple of days, I was surprised what I learned about myself during that trip.  Mainly, I’m not nearly as patient as I thought. 

Job’s trial ends

Finally, after much suffering, pain, and heartache, Job’s trial ends.  He is restored and get’s back family and possessions and lives a long life. However, as great as those things are, we miss the point of the story if we think that’s what the story is about.  This story isn’t about God rewarding us if we just hang on through trials.  This story is about what Job learns about himself and about God during his trials. 

One thing that he learns is that there’s more to God than he could ever imagine.

II. There’s more to God than we could ever imagine.

Job 42:1-3 Job says “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?  Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

Finding more than you bargained for

Adopted parents getting twins

Have you ever gotten more than you bargained for?  I remember hearing a story about a married couple who couldn’t have a baby.  So they decided to adopt.  They went through the massive amounts of paper work and finally found someone that would let them adopt her baby.  They elected to wait to find out the sex of the baby.  So they spent time getting the room ready.  They just couldn’t wait.  Well, they finally got a phone call saying that the woman was in labor and that they were invited to come to the delivery room.  When they got there, she was ready to have the baby.  So they stood by each other in excitement as she gave birth to their beautiful daughter.  When it was over and they took the baby out, the couple was about to leave the room.  “Where are you going?”  The doctor asked.  “We still have another baby to deliver.”  “What do you mean?”  “Oh, she didn’t tell you?  She’s having twins.  The other is on the way as we speak!” 

Talk about getting more than you asked for! 

What Job doesn’t learn.

This is a story where we never find out the answer to our question.  Job never finds out why God allowed him to suffer.  Why on earth would God allow a good man to suffer?  Unfortunately, we never find out. 

We usually ask the wrong questions.

One of the most frustrating things that I have encountered so far at seminary is the lack of answers I get. Whenever we ask a question, there’s usually not one answer which I can find really frustrating.  However, the teacher tells us that he’s not there to give us the answers. 

Teacher: “I’m not here to give you answers.  I’m here to teach you to ask the right questions.”

Job learns that God is deeper than he thought

During his trial, Job learns to ask different questions about God.  He learns to look past himself and even his suffering to see God’s activity in the world.  As you go through trials, ask yourself, what can I learn more about God?  What questions about him is he inviting us to ask.  It’s ok to ask questions. When we serve a true God, these questions have a solid foundation. As we ask questions, we may never get them all answered.  However, we will learn more and glimpse the depths of his mercy and love.

Through our trials, we will learn more about God.  Also, our theological foundations will be shaken.

III. When we face struggles, our theological foundations are shaken.

My first years as a Christian

A couple of nights ago, a few of us when to a Christian concert.  Going to this concert reminded me of the first years as a Christian.  Being a Christian then seemed so easy.  So simple.  And I found myself wanting to grab that simple faith again. 

Painful process

Unfortunately, our faith isn’t easy.  The more we learn about God, the more we understand how complex it can be. 

Job learns about God/simple faith

Job was a righteous man who thought that righteousness would lead to a blessed life.  However, he suffered.  His theological foundation was shaken.

Our sloppy faith

As we live our Christian lives, we learn that our faith isn’t as neat as we thought as Children.  Unfortunately, it can be a little sloppy.  There are no clean formulas to guide us.  We can’t say, if you live right, you won’t suffer.  We can’t tell people, don’t worry, you will be ok.  The truth is, we don’t know.  All across the world people are suffering for their faith. 

Invite questions, invite doubt

God is ok with us asking questions.  He’s even ok with us doubting.  If you are really serious about your faith and about seeking truth, you will doubt God at times.

God is greater than we can ever imagine, we we face struggles, our theological foundations are shaken, and above all, the Lord is with us.

IV. Above all, the Lord was with Job

Job’s search

Throughout the book, Job spends some time searching for God.  As he searches, he can’t find him.

But then he says, “Now my eyes have seen you.”  Sometimes it takes a difficult trial to become aware of God. 

CS Lewis

God shouts in our pain.

What this story isn’t telling us.

This story isn’t telling us that, once we get through trials, all will be restored.  However, this story tells us that God is with us, even when we are unaware.

Riding a bike

One of the most difficult things for a child to learn to do is ride a bike.  It’s one of their first steps into independence and it’s scary.  Usually, their parents will buy them training wheels to help them.  They will spend time learning the techniques with the training wheels and then, it’s time to take them off.  Usually, the parent will walk with their child as they try to adjust to riding with the training wheels.  They will run along side of them to guide them and make sure that they don’t fall.  Then eventually, the child will look back and see that their parent has let them go on their own.  To their amazement, they are riding on their own!

Sometimes, they will fall.  They might even scrape their knee.  But, no matter what, they have learned something about themself.  They can ride a bike.  They need work and practice, but they can do it. 

In your trials, what have you learned about yourself?  What have you learned about God?  Whenever you look over your shoulder and not see God, what do you learn about your spiritual life?  Do you doubt?  As you struggle, be reminded that Job realized that God was with him always.

V. Conclusion

 Learning in community

Thankfully, we aren’t alone.  We have the family of God to help us when we struggle.  When we look over our shoulder and can’t see God, to church will remind us that God is with us. Job was restored with much, but he’s greatest gift was the return of his family.  Rejoice in your church family this morning! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Sermon: 10.11.09

October 14, 2009 · Filed under Sermons · Tagged , ,

Title: When God is Silent

Text: Job 23:1-9;16,17

Topic: Finding ourselves when God is silent

Introduction

Recap

This is our second week looking at the story of Job.  Last week we looked at how Job lost everything that he had.  He lost his possessions, family, and health. But regardless, he still remained faithful to God.  He began to question God, but he remained faithful.  Well, eventually he had some friends to come a visit him.  They were trying to comfort him but they actually made it worse.  Our text this morning is Job’s response to one of his friends. 

Lost underwater

As I’ve shared with you before, this summer I went to the beach.  While I was there, I tried to get certified as a scuba diver.  Now, I’m not a very good swimmer nor am I comfortable in the water, so I really had no business being there.  But I tried anyways.  We spent time preparing in the pool and then it was time to go into the water.  Several things went wrong for me as I was submerged underwater.  One thing was that I felt like I couldn’t breath.  I hadn’t quite gotten used to breathing with scuba gear.  Another problem was that I was in the ocean and there were probably bigger fish than me swimming beside me.  Also, well, I was in the ocean where I didn’t belong!  However, the scariest moment was when I couldn’t see my instructor.  We had been under for no more than 1 minute and for an eternally long 5 seconds I couldn’t see my dive partner or my diving instructor.  Well, I had already been thinking about going back up to the surface, so I thought that this was as good a time as any.  When my instructor reached the surface, he said that he saw me the entire time.  While I felt lost, my instructor knew where I was.   

Who was lost?

Sometimes when we think we are lost, we really aren’t.  I remember being lost in Wal-mart when I was a child.  I walked around panicked looking for my dad.  Whenever I found him, I just knew that he would be crying and already have a search team sent our looking for me. But that wasn’t the case. He looked at ease and wasn’t worried at all.  He told me, “You weren’t lost.  I knew where you were the entire time.”

When God seems to be missing.

Sometimes, we feel like we are lost.  As we are looking around, we don’t see God anywhere.  We feel like the lost coin, only no one is searching for us.  We feel that God has abandoned us and left us in the dark.  In today’s text, Job feels alone.  He feels like God has abandoned him because he can’t find God.  He is suffering and he has friends around, but they aren’t helping him but actually making things worse.  In the midst of his suffering and pain, God was silent. 

How you ever felt this way?  Have you ever felt that at times God seems to be hard to find?  I have found that for myself, God is usually indeed speaking, but I’m looking at other places for God. Maybe God is speaking, but we aren’t listening.  Or maybe God is speaking, but we don’t want to listen to what he has to say.

Regardless of how we feel, we can bring our frustrations to God.

We can bring our frustrations to God.

When Jade has a bad day

One bad thing about men is that we want to fix everything.  Whenever someone comes to us with a problem, we take it upon ourselves to fix it.  Well, as you can imagine, Jade, being a middle school teacher, has a bad day every now and then.  Regardless of what you believe, all 6th graders aren’t saints. Some days she comes home with hope that she is getting through to the kids and that they are learning.  Other days she comes home stressed.  So, whenever she first began teaching and would have a bad day, she would come home and talk to me about it.  She would tell me how she’s having a hard time with so and so, and that she feels like some of the kids aren’t learning.  So, I thought to myself, “If she’s coming to me to tell me all of this, she apparently wants my advice.” So, I went on to tell her all that she was doing wrong and what I would do if I were in her situation.  Well, come to find out, she didn’t want my advice at all.  She just wanted someone to talk to and vent to.  So men, if you haven’t found out already, when your wife shares her frustrations with you, it’s usually not for your advice. 

Argumentative church meetings

Over the years I’ve had the chance to be in many church meetings.  And sometimes, those meeting can get a bit heated.  But something that I’ve found out is that these people aren’t arguing with each other because they don’t like each other.  They are arguing because they care deeply about their church.

 

Job’s friends

Job’s friends heard about his problems and immediately came to him. They came to try to fix his problems.  However, not only did they give bad advice, but they also missed the point entirely.  At this point in his life, Job simply needed someone willing to listen to him. 

Being genuine

As you read throughout the story of Job, we begin to question whether Job is this upright man that we thought.  He seems to spend a lot of time complaining and questioning God.  He seems to at times lose faith. But the truth is, it’s ok to bring our complaints and questions to God.  Above all, God wants us to be genuine with him.  Sometimes having a loss of faith can show faith to be more genuine.  Above, God wants us to be real and honest with him.  When we are frustrated, God wants us to know that we can bring our frustrations to him.  One of our biggest frustrations in our faith comes when God is silent.

We can find God when we are silent

Lost sunglasses

There have been many times when I was getting ready to go someplace that, at the last minute, I realize that I have misplaced something and end up late because I can’t find it.  One time, I spend about 10 minutes looking for my sunglasses just to realize that they were on my head the entire time. 

God is missing?

Whenever we can’t hear God, is God really missing?  Or has he been there the entire time, but we are looking in the wrong place?

Bad listeners

Have you ever met any of those people who, while you are talking to them, you know that they aren’t listening?  You can just see it in their eyes that they could care less what you have to say.  Usually these people are so eager to talk that while you are talking they aren’t listening to you, but rather thinking about what they are going to say next. 

Job building his case

From this text, I get the feeling that maybe Job was a bad listener.  In V. 3 and 4 Job says “Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling!  I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments!”  Could it be that Job can’t find God because Job is so busy thinking about his argument?  Could God be speaking to him, but Job isn’t listening but rather thinking about what he is going to say next?

When we are silent

We live in a noisy world.  A world full of distractions.  No wonder we feel like God isn’t with us.  No wonder God seems silent to us.  Maybe God is speaking to us, but our surroundings are so loud that we can’t hear God.  Maybe, if we were silent, then we could hear God speak.  Maybe, instead of listening to the advice of others all the time like Job, we can hear the voice of God. 

We can bring our frustrations to God, we can hear God when we are silent, and whenever we find God, we find our true place.

Finding God results in us finding our place.

Finding ourselves

The truth is, God isn’t lost.  We are.  Just as the earth is lost if it doesn’t know where the sun is, just like the baby bird is lost if it doesn’t know where its mother is, just like a fish is lost if it doesn’t know where the water is, we are lost when we don’t know where God is.  It’s not a matter of us finding God, but finding ourselves in God.  The story of Job helps us, above all, to see our place in the story of God.  We need to spend our days seeking to orient our lives around God, and not trying to orient his life into ours.  Finding God helps us find our place. 

Jacob wrestling with God

While traveling with the Israelites, Jacob met God.  He wrestled with him and walked away with a limp.  He also walked away with a new name.  Whenever Jacob found God, we found his place in Israel’s history.  He met God as Jacob, but he walked away as Israel.

Conclusion

Have you found God?

Have you found God?  If so, where have you found your place?  What have you learned about yourself?  When God is silent, search for Him.  And when you find him, you will never be the same!  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Sermon: 10.4.09

October 4, 2009 · Filed under Sermons · Tagged , ,

Title: Finding our place

Text: Job 1:1; 2:1-10

Topic:

I. Introduction

An Atheist response

Being from the bible belt, we usually don’t come across many people who don’t believe in God. I think it has been said that 86% of US citizens believe in God.  I’m certain that number is much higher in the South.  So whenever I do come across an atheist, I like to ask them, “Why don’t you believe in God.”  I sometimes get pretty thought provoking answers.  Sometimes I get, “I don’t believe in God because Christians are so hateful.”  I’ve also heard, “I don’t believe in God because I’ve never seen him.  If he’s real, why won’t he show himself? I have to see before I believe.”  I heard many answers, but the one that I have heard by far the most is this: ” I don’t believe in God because there is so much suffering in the world.  I refuse to believe that if a good God exists, he would allows these bad things to happen.”

Many questions

The book of Job raising many questions.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why would God allow these terrible things to happen to Job?  It’s not just in Job.  If you spend time seriously reading the bible, you will come across stories that will probably make you question God.  As you look at the lives around you, the same questions will arise. Why do you allow this, God?  Like Job, I’m sure that we have asked this question. But the truth is, Job doesn’t give us an answer for this.  The truth is, good people will suffer.

II. Good people will suffer.

 

Zac

I have a friend that  I knew pretty well when I was growing up.  He was a really good guy.  The kind of guy that would do anything for you.  Well, about three weeks ago he was jumping into a shallow pool and broke his neck.  The doctors are saying that it will be a miracle if he will ever walk again.  As I’ve thought about this, I can’t help but ask God Why?

Job didn’t deserve suffering.  Who does?

We usually read that Job was an upright man and automatically think, “It’s not fair for him to suffer!”  But seriously, does anyone deserve to suffer?  Does anyone deserve to lose all that he or she has, including his family and health? Does Job’s righteousness have anything to do with this?  Sure, good people like Job and Zac certainly don’t deserve this, but does anyone? 

Hurricane Katrina

I remember when Hurricane Katrina happened in the fall of 2005.  It destroyed many lives.  One church put on it’s sign “The Big Easy is the modern Day Sodom and Gomorrah”.  I have had many conversations where people actually believe that this terrible tragedy happened because God was mad with some people in New Orleans.  No wonder we question God.  If we truly believe that God causes terrible tragedies like this, we can rightly question him.

 

We are never promised that life won’t hurt.

The truth is, God never promises us a life that won’t hurt.  We are never promised that, once we follow Christ, all will be well with life.  As a matter of fact, Jesus warned the disciples on many occasions that following him could possibly bring on more suffering.  Maybe the problem is that we enter the Christian walk oblivious to suffering.  Maybe, when we share our faith with others, we fail to tell them the whole story.  Maybe, while trying to share the love of Jesus with others, we forget to tell them Jesus’ words that in order to follow him, we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow.  Maybe we enter our Christian faith with unreal expectations.

Life hurts

Life hurts, but the truth is, God still speaks to us, even when we suffer.

C.S. Lewis/ Problem with pain

In C.S. Lewis’s book, Problem with Pain he says this: We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities, and everyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. 

GPS

I’m terrible with directions.  I still get lost almost everytime that I go to Henderson.  Well, knowing how bad I am with directions, Jade bought me a GPS this past Christmas. The GPS is a great invention.  However, it’s pretty pointless if I don’t turn it on.  Every now and then, when I’m feeling confident that I know where I’m going, I won’t turn on the GPS.  It always feels better to find something on your own rather than using the GPS.  However, if I’m not 100% sure where I’m going, I usually still get lost and end up turning on the GPS anyways.

Like paying attention to the GPS when we are lost, we have a way of paying attention to God when we are suffering.  No, I don’t think God causes the suffering, but we can be more attentive to God. C.S. Lewis says that God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain.

Good people will suffer. But like, Job, when we suffer we are still called to continue to be faithful to God.

 

III.  Like Job, we are called to continue to be faithful to God.

Job 2:9,10 shows a conversation between Job and his wife.  After his suffering, his wife says to him; “Do you still hold fast to your integrity?  Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. 

He asked questions. 

Job stayed faithful to God, regardless of his circumstance.  However, as we continue through the book of Job, we see that he indeed questioned God.  He lamented.  He wondered, “Why is this happening to me?” 

 

We have questions

We somehow think that if we question God about something then we aren’t being faithful. That’s not true.  Job questioned God.  Moses questioned God. Jesus questioned God. It’s ok for us to express our human feelings to God.  We like to point the finger at Job’s wife here and say, “you should be more like Job!’  But truthfully, if we are honest with ourselves, we are probably more like his wife.  We may not vocalize it, but we may feel it.  That’s ok.  It’s ok to tell God and God’s people what’s on your mind.  For far to long the church has been a place where people have come with artificial smiles.  People who pretend that everything’s ok because, well we wouldn’t be true Christians if it wasn’t.  God wants us to be real and authentic. 

Put back in our original place

This text doesn’t answer our question, “Why does God allow suffering?”  It doesn’t give us a guideline for helping someone who is suffering.  I think this text asks another question: It doesn’t raise the question “why doesn’t God allow pain?”, but rather It asks, How do we understand our place in the universe?  I think this story of Job helps us to find our place in God’s world.  Are we the center?  Is the world made simply for the sake of humanity?  Is God’s goal in creation our happiness?  Is the world designed in a way that we always get what we deserve?  If not, and I believe the answer is no, then human happiness isn’t the end for God’s creation.

Copernicus

In the 13th century, a man by the name of Nicolaus Copernicus caused an uproar in the church.  Prior to him, everyone believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that everything revolved around it.  Copernicus, the astronomer, saw that that wasn’t the case. He point to the sun and said, “behold, the center of the universe.”  He was condemned from the church because of his beliefs.

For the longest time we thought that we were the center of the universe.  It’s all about us.  Everything is created for us.  The sun burns for our pleasure. The stars exist to give us decoration. Copernicus changed that. Just like Copernicus, we must seek to understand our place in this universe.  We aren’t the center.  God’s the center and all things are created by him and for him. Instead of asking the question, “Why do bad things happen to me?”, we should ask “Where’s my place in the universe?”

God calls us to be faithful, regardless of our circumstances

I think that Job understood his place. Just like Job, we are called to be faithful, even when it hurts.  We can ask questions, but like Job, let us “not sin with our lips”.

 

IV. Closing

God is with us

As you read the book of Job and you see his suffering, you will notice that God is with him.  We can find hope in our suffering because God is still with us.

Christ suffered

We have hope.  We have hope in the resurrection.  We also have hope because we worship and serve a Savior who suffered with us.  He’s not asking of us anything that he himself has not went through.  We at times find life to be full of pain and hurt. So did Jesus.  Be reminded this morning that God, even through pain, has been there. He is still with us.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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sermon: Homecoming 9.27.09

October 3, 2009 · Filed under Sermons · Tagged , , , ,

Homecoming Sunday

Title: Back to the Basics

Text: Romans 5:6-11

I. Introduction

Home

There’s no place like home.  Vacation is great. Visiting friends and family is great.  Going on adventures is great. But there’s no place like home.  Home has a way of bringing you back to reality.  Whenever you move away and start you own life, coming back home has a way of reminding you of who you are.

Going to college

 I can remember when I first went off to college.  I was so excited that I was going to be independent.  I didn’t need my family anymore. I was now ready to fly the nest and do things on my own.   Well, I had been at school an entire two weeks when I went back home for the first time.  I hugged my mom like I hadn’t seen her in 10 years. I was so glad to be back home. At school, everything seemed so complicated.  At home, everything made sense.  Jade and I are now 10 hours from home. However, we always stay in touch. We stay in touch with home because it keeps us grounded.  It keeps us connected to our roots.  We were made into the people who we are and home reminds us of who that is.  Home has a way of simplifying things.  Whenever we get in over our heads, home has a way of reminding us of what is important. When life gets complicated, home has a way of taking us back to the basics.

Bank Teller

There was a woman who got a job as a bank teller.  She was really excited about her job and she wanted to do a great job.  So her boss gave her some instructions.  He wanted her to make sure that every person that came through got a piece of candy in there envelope with the money.  She really wanted to please her boss so she really took this serious. Every person that came through she made sure that she put candy in the envelope.  She even put two pieces of candy in some envelopes, just to go the extra mile.  Well, her day ended and she was proud of her work.  Before she left, her boss called her into his office. Then he told her “Sorry to tell you this, but you are fired.”  “Why? What did I do?  I made sure that I followed your instructions correctly and put candy in every envelope, sometimes two pieces.  I did exactly what you asked!”  “Well, you certainly did put candy in every envelope and I applaud you for that.  However, I’ve had 15 people call saying that while they appreciated the candy that you gave them, what they really wanted was their money.  While you put candy in all, you left money out of 15!”

Rediscovering the basics

Sometimes, I think we can be a lot like this bank teller in the church.  I think that sometimes we can get so busy with activities in the church, working hard for the church, preparing lessons from the church, that we can sometimes miss the point.  We can learn deep theological ideas, learn biblical languages, philosophy, etc., and all of these things are great, but sometimes we can put so much focus on these things that we, like the bank teller, forget what’s most important.

It’s good to go back to the basics.  It’s good to be reminded of God’s love.  Above all, understanding that God loves you is what’s most important. We can never be told enough that God love us. 

Now to understand the extent of God’s love, we must understand a few things.

II. We are helpless

One thing that we must understand is that we are helpless.  Romans 5:6 says that “for while we were helpless, Christ died for the helpless.”

The hardest thing to accept

This is the most difficult thing for us to understand.  So many of us want to do things on our own. We want to be the hero.  However, we are incapable. 

Our cover-up

Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t show ourselves to be helpless.  The greatest critique of the church is that we think that we are in some way morally superior to everyone else and to be a Christian, you must be like us and think like us.

Bill Clinton

Dependent

Just like a little child, we must be dependent on Christ. 

III. Christ died for the helpless

While we are helpless, Christ died for the helpless.  Romans 5:8 says that “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Demonstration of love

Valentine’s Day

Let me brag on myself for a minute.  I’m usually not good at keeping things from Jade.  We usually exchange Christmas presents 10 days before Christmas, because we just can’t wait to see what we got each other.  We’ll, this past Valentine’s day I planned a trip for us to spend a night in Savannah.  I wanted to tell her so bad, but somehow I managed to wait until the do of the trip to tell her where we were going.  I planned this trip, one because I wanted to go, but also because I love my wife she had always wanted to go.  It was a demonstration of my love for her. 

Christ’s death

This is why Christ died.  Christ died to demonstrate his love for us.  Sometimes we treat Christ’s death like it’s some kind of transaction. 

Sharing our Faith

Whenever we share our faith, this is what we should communicate. So many times we communicate judgment to people. 

Sign 

Everyday when I’m driving back home from campus on 85 I see this sign that asks the question “Where will you spend eternity?”  While I’m certain that the people who wrote the sign meant it for good reasons, this is another example of the world seeing the church as superior.  We aren’t called to scare people into heaven.  We aren’t even called to tell people who knows Christ and who doesn’t.  That’s God’s job.  We are simply to share the love of God with people and the message of Christ’s sacrifice. 

IV. We rejoice in our reconciliation

We are helpless.  Christ died for the helpless. Because Christ died for us, we can rejoice in our reconciliation. Romans 5:10 says “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through Christ’s death…”

Because of Christ’s death, we are reconciled with God and with one another.  

Heaven

I don’t know much about heaven, but I assume that, once we are reconciled people, we are experiencing it.  I’m certain that we are living in heaven even now as we are reconciled with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We experience heaven when we embrace a stranger.  We experience heaven when hug a family member that we once didn’t get along with.  We experience heaven when we embrace our neighbors of another race.  I don’t know much about heaven, but I’m certain that it will be a place of reconciled people. 

V. Conclusion

Welcome Home!

So, Welcome Home!  I don’t know what you were looking for when you decided to come home.  But I hope that as you fellowship with people that you have known for years, you are reminded of the essentials.  It’s my hope that, in this place, as you fellowship with you past, as you reminisce, you are reminded of the love of God, which is our true home.  In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Sermon: 9.13.09

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

Title: The Call of Wisdom

Text: 1:20-33

Topic: Listening to the voice of wisdom

Introduction

I told you so

One of the worst things that we can hear someone say to us is, “I told you so”.  When I was in middle school, nylon Nike shorts were popular.  All of my friends had a pair of these Nike shorts and I just had to have a pair too.  So my birthday was coming and I told my Mom, “Mom, all that I want for my birthday is a pair of these shorts”. So my birthday came around and sure enough she got me a pair.  I was incredibly excited.  I couldn’t wait to wear them to school the next day.  Well, these shorts are very similar to swim trunks and they have a net in them.  So I asked my mom if she would cut the netting out.  She was too busy at the moment but she told me to wait and she would eventually cut them out. I couldn’t wait. So I took my scissors and began to cut the net out.  It actually took longer than I thought so I began doing it faster.  Afterall, I couldn’t wait to put on my new shorts.  Well, I finally finished cutting them out.  Then I noticed that in the process of cutting out the net I managed to cut a huge hole in the back!  So I went crying to mom, thinking that in some way she could go back into the future to stop me.  Well, she couldn’t.  All that she said to me was, “I told you so!”

Ignoring wisdom

She tried to share her wisdom with me, but I ignored her and suffered the consequence.  In the same way, God is trying to share his wisdom with us.  The question is, are we listening? 

The call of wisdom

Wisdom calling out

Wisdom is calling out to us.  As we can see, God desires to share His wisdom with us. 

Proverbs shows this wisdom shouted out.  Wisdom is trying to make herself known in a desperate way.  In the busyness of life, she is trying to guide us.

Calls out in the public places

Notice where the call is coming from. Wisdom isn’t calling us in our privacy.  It’s calling us in the streets.  It’s calling us in the workplace. 

Everyday life

Wisdom is at work the most when it is affecting lives.  

Wisdom isn’t something that we show off.  We aren’t wise whenever we read a book and come away smarter.  We are wise whenever our daily, routine lives are changed.  We are wise when our knowledge puts our hands to work.  Abraham was wise not when he heard God say, “Go to a land that will show you.”  No, he was wise when he went and obeyed.

Everyone

Wisdom calls everyone to participate.  V.22 says that she is calling out to the naive ones, the simple-minded ones, the scoffers, and the fools.  Wisdom is offered to everyone.  Everyone can hear the voice.  But unfortunately, not everyone stops to listen.

Calls us to a new way of being and discipleship

This wisdom is calling us to a new way of being.  It’s calling us to a life of discipleship.  It’s calling us to ignore the voices that surround us and listen to her.  It’s calling us to follow Christ instead of our selfish ways.  It’s showing us a new way.  With all the voices calling, can we hear?

The call of folly

The Indian and the cricket

There was an Indian who went to visit his friend who lived in Atlanta.  They met on a reservation and they tried to stay in contact with each other.  They were able to spend some quality time together.  Whenever the Indian was going to catch his bus to leave, his friend went with him to send him off.  As they were on the busy sidewalk, waiting on his bus, the Indian suddenly got quiet.  Then he said to his friend, “Do you hear that cricket?”  His friend looked at him strangely.  “Umm, no.  It’s very noisy out here.  How do you expect me to hear a cricket?”  Then he told him, “Just listen for it.”  So his friend listened and he still didn’t hear it.  So, whenever the traffic cleared, the Indian took his friend to the other side of the street.  Sure enough, when they got over there, there was a cricket.  His friend was amazed.  As they walked back to the other side of the street, he was asking him how he heard it.  Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. He then dropped it to the ground.  People passing by immediately stopped and looked at the change on the ground as if it were an instinct.  Then the Indian said, “People hear what they want to hear.”

So many voices

The problem is, there so many voices calling to us.  We have Oprah telling us what to do.  Whenever we are having marital problems we turn on Dr. Phil and he tells us what to do.  Everyone has an opinion.  However, among all of these voices, can we hear wisdom calling?  Wisdom is shouting.  Can we hear her?

Consequences

Not listening

Unfortunately, this passage is full of examples of when people didn’t listen to wisdom.  And just like when I didn’t listen to my mom, those who don’t listen to wisdom suffer the consequences.

Responsibility

Ultimately, we have a responsibility.  Unfortunately, Christians are some of the best people at dodging responsibility. 

The broken sound system

There was a pastor who got a phone call from one of his parishioners.  The parishioner said, “Pastor, we have a problem at the church.”  “What’s the problem?”  Well, we have church Sunday and our sound system is messed up.”  The pastor said, “You are right, that is a problem. What do you think we should do about it?”  “Well, I think we should get the prayer group together early Sunday morning and pray!”

Now, all preachers love having someone in their congregation that’s willing to pray.  Prayer is important.  However, sometimes the Christian response is to act.

A smart person can tell you how to fix the sound system.  But a wise person understands that we need the sound system to work and is willing to fix it.

We have responsibilities.  Sometimes we look at passages like proverbs one and think that God is mean.  “God wouldn’t laugh at our calamity.  He wouldn’t allow these things to happen.”  Well, after I disobeyed my mom I can promise you that she didn’t go running back to the store to get me another pair of shorts.  I made a dumb mistake and I had to suffer the consequences.  Part of being free people is that we have the freedom to make our own decisions.  Wisdom is always calling to us, but sometimes we ignore her. 

listening

The chapter concludes on a positive note: “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil”.

Missing the final

In my junior year of college we had finals.  I had already finished with all of my classes and had one final exam left.  I wasn’t sure when the exam was, so I asked a friend and he told me it was on Thursday.  Well, on Wednesday, I had another friend come to me and say, “Hey Josh, why weren’t you in class to take the final?”  “Because the final is tomorrow.”  “Ummm, no.  We just took the final today and you missed it.”  So I had to rush over to my professor’s office and begged for mercy.  He let me take it, but I didn’t get to study.  I had an A the entire semester in the class but because I failed the final, it dropped me down to a B.

I listened to the wrong person.  Whenever we listen to God’s voice, God’s wisdom, he will guide us in truth. 

Conclusion

Maybe you are one of the ones who ignore wisdom.  Or maybe you don’t ignore her, but the other loud voices around you causes you to become distracted.  Maybe you have suffered the consequences of ignoring wisdom and going your own way.

There’s forgiveness.  I may have cut a hole in my shorts, but eventually, my mom bought me another pair.  The Israelites complained and complained and complained.  They ignored God and found themselves wandering in the wilderness. God gave them land but they were conquered by the Babylonians and the Assyrians.  They made mistake after mistake.  So do we. But God sent Jesus Christ.  He sent Him to save us from our mistakes and to guide us in truth.  Just like wisdom, Jesus is calling to us to come and follow him.  There are many voices calling, which one will we listen to?

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Sermon: 8.30.09

August 30, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermon helps, Sermons · Tagged ,

Title: Cross-eyed

Text: Eccles. 1:1-2;1:12-18;2:1-11

Topic: Our lives, even our successes, can sometimes pull us away from Christ.

Introduction

Floods and rivers

In 1994, the entire city of Albany, Georgia flooded.  We had an enormous amount of rain that year and when rain mixes with a river, it will flood.  Many lives were damaged because of the flood. Countless homes were destroyed.  Lives were lost.  The local university was badly damaged.  The Flint River caused a lot of damage to the small town of Albany.

What’s interesting is that usually the Flint River is a great resource for the people of Albany.  It’s used for recreational use and fishing.  I’ve personally spent much time on the Flint with family and friends.  What usually a source of life quickly became deadly in the summer of 1994.  What’s the difference?  Focus.

Rivers are very resourceful and helpful while floods are destructive.  The difference between the two is simply focus.  In a river the water is focused and stays within its boundaries and in a flood the water goes all over the place. 

Our lives are like a flood

It’s easy for our lives to be like floods.  We have very busy schedules and can find ourselves all over the place.  We have work, then we to pick up the kids from school.  Then we have to cook dinner.  Then we have to take the children to soccer practice. Then, on top of that, we have to go to church meetings.  Busy, busy,busy. Very easily, in our busyness, we can become numb to what we are doing.  We have so much on our plate that we are no longer focused. Very easily, we can become like a flood.

Solomon’s life is meaningless

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon.  In the book, Solomon is toward the end of his life.  Remember, King Solomon was considered to be the wisest man/wealthiest in the bible.  But towards the end of his life, he begins to realize that his wisdom and pleasures aren’t enough.  He understands that they have there limits.  So, let’s take a look at what Solomon discovered about life. 

One thing he discovered is that wisdom is meaningless.

Wisdom is meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:17,18 says “I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, the more knowledge, the more grief.”

What did you do about them?

There was an owner of a company who was interested in expanding her business overseas.  So she planned a trip and left her assistant manager in charge of the company.  While overseas, the owner wrote letters to the company, giving them certain instructions to follow while she’s gone.  Months went by.  Then she returned.  As she walked up to the front door, she noticed that there were weeds in the flower beds and the grass hadn’t been cut in a while.  A few of the windows had been broken.  As she walked to the receptionist’s desk, she found her doing her nails, chewing gun, and playing games on the computer.  The trash cans were overflowing, the carpet looked like it hadn’t been vacuumed in weeks, and no one seemed concerned that she had returned home.  Finally, she found the person she left in charge playing cards in the break room.  She asked him to step into her office.  “What in the world is going on here?”  “What do you mean?”  “Well, look at this place!  Didn’t you get any of my letters? Didn’t you get my instructions?”  “Oh yeah, sure we did.  As a matter of fact, we had a letter study every Friday since you left, spending time reading the letters and talking about them.  We even formed small groups to discuss the letters outside of work.  And you’ll be pleased to know that some of us even committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs.  One or two of us even memorized an entire letter!  Great stuff in those letters!”  She responded, “Ok, you got my letters, you read them, studied them, and even memorized them, BUT WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT THEM?”  “Do?  We didn’t do anything about them.”

The point of wisdom

Wisdom is good. But wisdom isn’t the end but only a means to an end.  Reading and studying the letters that the owner sent was good, but that’s not the point.  The point is how it affects your life and prompts you to action.  We don’t read scripture and memorize it just to say that we did.  We read it to hear from God and to see how he wants us to respond. Wisdom is meaningless if the focus is on the knowledge and not how it affects us to live.

John 8:32 Jesus says “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

wisdom is a means to freedom

Wisdom is also our way to freedom.  Wisdom is like a lamp in the dark.  It’s a great guide for you, but it does no good if you don’t walk.  In the same way, wisdom is meaningless unless we use it to get to God.  It’s useless unless we allow it to keep our eyes on the cross.

Solomon concludes that wisdom is meaningless.  He also learns in life that pleasures are meaningless.

Pleasures are meaningless

In Ecclesiastes 2:1-3 Solomon says “I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” I said, “is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?” I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.”

Solomon concludes that even pleasures prove to be meaningless.

Children on Christmas morning

My favorite holiday is Christmas.  One of my favorite things about Christmas is watching the children opening their presents.  They get in the floor in sheer excitement to see what Santa Claus has brought.  Then when they finish opening their presents, they are occupied for the next few minutes.  However, it doesn’t take long for the newness to wear off.  Even though they have all of these new toys, not long afterwards they begin looking around at the other children’s toys, wishing that they had them.  The children are at first pleasured to have their new gifts, but for their pleasures to continue to be satisfied, new gifts have to come.

Adults are no different

The truth is, adults are really no different.  Whenever our friend gets a new vehicle, we feel like we need one.  Whenever a woman gets made at her husband, what does she usually do?  She goes shopping, usually with her husband’s credit card.  But overtime we realize that Solomon was right.  Material pleasures can’t buy happiness.  We eventually realize that pleasures are meaningless.

Occupations

A study was done a couple of years ago about jobs.  They were trying to find out what the most fulfilling and satisfying jobs were.  Here’s the top ten: 1. Clergy 2.Firefighter 3.Physical Therapists 4.Authors 5.Special Ed Teachers 6.Teachers 7.Educational Administrators 8.Painters and Sculptors 9.Psychologists 10.Security and Financial Services Salespeople.

You can see a common theme is these careers: They all seek to help others. Most of them aren’t the highest paying jobs, but the people are satisfied.

I believe this shows that joy isn’t found in the pleasures of possessions, but in living the life of Christ. Joy in life comes whenever we take up our crosses and follow Christ.  Even the world catches a glimpse of this whenever it finds fulfillment in helping people. 

Michael Jackson

Over the last ten years or so we have followed the tragic story of the life of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was probably the greatest musician of my generation.  He had almost everything. He had money, fame, but there was one thing that he didn’t have: happiness.  Many people within his circle have said that Michael lived a pretty miserable life.  I’m sure that he would agree with Solomon, pleasures are meaningless. 

Pleasures and material possessions don’t offer life.  We find life only in Christ. Pleasures can be a good thing as long as you don’t try to find fulfillment and life in them, as long as they don’t take your eyes off of Christ.

In Solomon’s life, he has discovered that wisdom is meaningless, pleasures are meaningless, and work is meaningless.

Work is meaningless

In Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 Solomon says “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Solomon was considered the wisest man in the bible.  He was also considered the richest.  However, at the end of his life, he concluded that it was pointless. He concluded that all that he had gained was meaningless.

Story of Martha and Mary

One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of Jesus coming the Mary and Martha’s house.  Jesus is invited to come in to dine with them.  Now imagine if you had a guest like Jesus in your home.  I’m sure that you would want everything to be perfect.  You would make sure the floor was vacuum, the candles were lit, the food was prepared.  Well, whenever Jesus was visiting, Martha was busy in the kitchen, making sure that everything was prepared.  Meanwhile, her sister Mary was spending time with Jesus.  Martha eventually came in and asked Jesus, “Will you tell my sister to help me?”  Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. “  Those are probably not the words that Martha wanted to hear. 

I think what Jesus was saying to her was, “There is a time to work, but while you are in the kitchen, you are missing your chance to spend time with me.”

Who are you like?

Do you think you are more like Martha or Mary?  Does your work ever get in the way of you spending time with God?

Your achievements

 

Solomon lived a very successful life.  But at the end, he realized that all was meaningless. 

Conclusion

In chapter 5, Solomon let’s us know what we should be focusing on. In conclusion of him discussing what is meaningless, he says what one should be focused on doing. Chapter 5:7 says to “stand in awe of God”.

Floods and Rivers

Like the flood in Albany, our lives have no aim. We can be so busy trying to become wiser and learn more, trying to become wealthier, and trying to work harder.  Unfortunately, what eventually happens is that we can lose sight of what we should be focused on.  When this happens, we become like a flood and prepared to cause damage. Solomon doesn’t think that wisdom, pleasures, and work are bad in and of themselves.  We know that it’s good to be wise.  It’s also good to find pleasure in life.  What Solomon is trying to tell us is to be careful not to let these pleasures take the place of God.  In New Testament terms, don’t let them take our eyes off the cross!

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Sermon: 8.23.09

August 23, 2009 · Filed under Rehoboth UMC, Sermons · Tagged , , , ,

Title: Weapons of the Spirit

Text: Ephesians 6:10-20

Topic: We are equipped with spiritual weapons to overcome evil.

Introduction

Recap

Sadly, we are in our final week of our study through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. As you have probably already discovered, Ephesians is a very deep book in which we haven’t even scratched the surface.  If you are interested in doing a basic study of the Christian faith in depth, Ephesians is a good place to start. 

Ephesians has shown us how God has chosen us.  Then we looked at how He united us together with the church.  Once we accept Christ, we are united into the family of God.  Then we saw how, since we are the body of Christ in the world, we are to imitate Christ (Eph. 5:1).  Since we are Christ’s representatives, we must strive to be like Him.  We are to live sacramental lives.  In the same way that the sacrament of Holy Communion represents the body of Christ to us, we represent Christ to the world.  God chose us, united us, and seeks to live through us.

Not the end of the story

If only the story ended there.  If it did, life in the Christian colony would be easy.  If the story ended here, Paul wouldn’t be writing this letter from prison.  It sounds like a very happy story.  We are chosen, sort of like Cinderella, we are united, and also like Cinderella, we are changed. But unfortunately, like all stories, we have an enemy.  Evil and darkness spends its time trying to knock us off track.

Christian persecution

As the Christians would soon find out, living lives counter-cultural to the world brings on enemies.  Christianity became illegal which resulted in them being tortured and many killed.  Whenever the Christians were the minorities, they were persecuted for their faith.  Even today, Christians are being persecuted for what they believe.  We are at war.  We have an enemy.

At war with the forces of darkness

Ephesians 6 makes it clear to us who our enemy is.  It’s not with the people in the world.  It’s not with the people persecuting Christians. It’s not with the person who cut you off at the red light.  It’s not even with that family member who you can’t get along with.  It’s against the powers of darkness.  It’s against evil and wickedness in the spiritual world.  Sometimes this evil can be represented in others, but we are at war with the evil within them, not the person.

Christian Violence

Unfortunately, our darkest times in Christian history comes from our understanding of this text.  Some in the church, usually when the Christians were the majority, went to battle with the people rather than the evil.  This resulted in an embarrassing history.  Orthodox Christians brutally punished heretics to “purify” the church.  Christians also persecuted Turks, Jews, other Christian heretics, and witches, all in the name of God.  While Christ called us to leave peaceful lives, to love our enemies and to pray for our persecutors, we have turned to violence and hatred.  It’s important to know that we are at battle, but it’s imperative that we know whom the battle is with. I hesitate to use “battle” language because it brings us disturbing images.  But the truth is, we are in a very real spiritual battle and it’s important for us to know where our help comes from.

Spiritual Weapons

We are at war.  We have a battle to fight.  And like any battle, you need weapons.  As Christians, we don’t take up arms.  We have spiritual weapons. The question is, where do our weapons come from?  Where does our power come from?  God has given us weapons to use as we face darkness.  Those weapons are Christian Truth, Prayer, and the Holy Spirit. 

Christian Truth

One weapon that we have in the church is Christian Truth.

Ephesians 6:11 says to “stand firm”.  Ephesians 6:13 says to “stand firm”. Ephesians 6:14 says to “stand firm”. 

Christian Truth

In order to stand firm, we must have a solid foundation to stand on.  This solid foundation is Christian truth. 

Historical Christians standing up for their principles

Our history is filled with people standing up for their principles against adversity.  Martin Luther King Jr., whenever he had hate crimes against him, continued his peaceful movement without violence.  Non-violence was one of his main principles, and even when his principle was challenged the most, he and his followers remained strong.  During the holocaust, many Christians opposed Hitler’s treatment of Jews.  They were standing firm on their principles. In order for us to remain strong, we must have a solid foundation of principles to live by. We must seek Christian truth.

Re-evaluating your foundation

Christian truth is what we are seeking as Christians.  However, in order to seek truth, sometimes we have to question our presuppositions.  If our goal is indeed truth, we should be open to listening to others to try to find truth.  Sometimes we find ourselves defending what we believe to be truth. 

Going to extremes

The dean of Duke Divinity School, Greg Jones, gave a lecture to us this past week about diversity.  He mentioned a book entitled “Going to Extremes” written by Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein.  In the book, Sunstein discusses how whenever we are around like-minded individuals who share a common belief, it’s likely that the group will go to extremes about the issue.  For example, if someone holds the view that the war in Iraq is a just war and they spend all of their time around people who believe that same thing, chances are that they (and the group) will go to extremes about the belief.  If you are pro-choice and spend all of your time with pro-choice people, odds are that you will go to the extreme. 

In the church, we need to be willing to discuss issues with people who hold differing beliefs from our own.  This is how we grow in our faith.  This is how we build a solid foundation for our faith.

Asking questions

Asking questions about what you believe and questioning your presuppositions doesn’t mean that you are giving up on your faith.  It actually means that you highly value truth and are willing to listen to others to find it. 

Standing on truth

In order for us to overcome evil and darkness, we must be grounded in truth.  Above all, Jesus Christ is the truth.  Let us seek to be grounded in His truth.

One of our spiritual weapons is Christian truth. Another spiritual weapon that we have is prayer.

Prayer

Ephesians 6:18 says “with all prayer and petition pray at all times….v19. and pray on my behalf…”

Staying connected to God

Prayer is a way for us to communicate with God and for Him to communicate with us.

24

One of my favorite tv shows is 24.  24 is a show about a unit whose main job is to fight terrorism in the US.  The main character in the show is Jack Bauer played by Keifer Sutherland.  Bauer is the best of the best.  But he has one problem; He thinks he’s always right.  On many occasions during a very crucial point of a mission, Bauer will ignore instructions from his superiors and do the mission himself.  While he’s usually right, he always stays in trouble because of this. 

Ignoring God during difficult times

In the same way, whenever things get difficult, we can sometimes find ourselves trying to do everything ourselves.  Whenever we feel sickness sometimes we look for a doctor before we look for the great physician.  Whenever we are stressed we seek a psychologist before God.  Now I’m not suggesting that you not get medical help, but I am suggesting that your care comes from God a lot more than from physicians. This disconnects us from God. Prayer allows us to stay connected to God.  The most important time for a soldier to have good communication with his commander is in the warzone.  When things get difficult for us, that’s when our communication with God needs to be strong. 

Point of reference

Prayer keeps us connected to God while we are at battle.  Prayer reminds us who we are, even when we can get disoriented.  Sometimes we have to be reminded who we are.  Prayer reminds us by giving us a point of reference.

Swimming

I’m not the best swimmer in the world.  I have always been a little cautious of the water.  Unfortunately, I watched the movie Jaws at a young age and that has scarred me for life.  I was probably about 8 years old before I learned how to swim.  Even today, I’m still not very comfortable in the water.

We’ll this past May, while on vacation, I decided that it would be a good idea to learn how to scuba dive.  So a friend and I signed up to get certified in three days on vacation.  We’ll, the first day we did our pool dives and everything went fine.  I was confident.  I was able to swim around with my equipment.  I did all the drills well.  I was even able to clear my mask.  I was a little nervous, but I was doing fairly well for a non-swimmer like myself.  Then the next day was the real challenge; The ocean.  We swam out about 40 feet to a place known as the Jetties.  The Jetties are some rocks stacked about 60 ft deep in the water to separate the swimming area from the diving area.  So we got out there and I was at the point of panic.  Then our instructor said, “Deflate. Clear your ears.  See you at the bottom.”  And he was gone!  And then my diving buddy was gone.  And then I panicked.  I tried to get my composure together and began to descend.  Fortunately, I had the rock wall beside me to give me a point of reference the entire time.  I got down to about 30 feet and felt a bit panicked.  So I can up.  Then I tried again and couldn’t do it.  I gave a valiant effort, but I wasn’t ready for the ocean.

Despite how nervous I got, I always had a point of reference.  I wouldn’t have made it down 5 feet without the wall of rocks beside me.  The rocks let me know that, even though I was in water, the land was close by.  The rocks reminded me of the land. In the same way, prayer reminds us that God is with us, even in difficult times.  No matter where we are, we can pray and know that God is with us and we are His children.

Praying for enemies

Probably the most difficult text for me in the bible is Matthew 5:44 “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” One person was asked whether he prayed for his enemies.  He said that he does pray for his enemies often.  He prays that they would die!

Prayer is a spiritual weapon that we have, but it’s a peaceful weapon.  Praying for our enemies reminds us that it’s not the person who is our enemy but the evil that is in them.  Sometimes, when praying for our enemies, we become aware that the evil is within us.

Prayer reminds us of who we are and keeps us connected to God.

The weapons of the spirit are Christian truth, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit

Ephesians 6:17  “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:18  “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the spirit…”

God is here

Some say that our battle is difficult because Jesus isn’t here.  But Jesus is here through the Holy Spirit.  We must never forget that the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us as we journey the Christian life.  The Holy Spirit gives us strength to make it where we ordinarily couldn’t.

Where our power come from/The spirit-filled disciples

Think about the disciples.  They are famous now, but most of them were pretty useless in the gospels.  Peter is popular for denying Jesus three times.  He sank in the water as Jesus called him. Many of them couldn’t perform the miracles that Jesus wanted them to perform.  Even after Jesus explained parables to them, they still didn’t understand.  Whenever Jesus was giving them final instructions, their questions to Him proved that they still were clueless about their mission. Overall, they failed Jesus quite often.

However, the book of Acts records that these are the men and women who spread the message of Jesus to the “ends of the earth”.  They overcame countless obstacles to complete their mission.  The same men who were constant failures in the gospels became heroes of the faith.  You and I are here this morning because of their mission.  What changed?  How did these failures become successful?  The Holy Spirit.

Relying on the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God with us.  We can have confidence because we know that the Holy Spirit is with us.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher and comforter.  It is our guide.

Our weapons of the spirit are Christian Truth, Prayer, and the Holy Spirit. 

Conclusion

Our battle is God’s battle

These weapons are grounded in God. The truth is, this battle that we are facing in really God’s battle.  Ephesians 6:10 says “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”  Christian truth, prayer, and the Holy Spirit reminds us that God is where our strength comes from.  This is God’s battle and not ours.  While we find ourselves in the middle sometimes, this is God’s battle.  And the truth is, the battle has already been won through the sacrifice of Christ.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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