The Sovereignty of God is one of the essential tenets of the reformed faith. It is one that I find particularly comforting. The fact that God is on His throne and totally in control of everything that is, has been, and will be gives me great peace. That God initiated everything and nothing I do can mess up God’s plan reassures me.
In the synagogue at Thessalonica, Paul preached, taught, and persuaded from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is Sovereign. “Jesus is Lord” is the earliest and simplest profession of faith. It is crucial. Every Christian affirms this truth. But although the words are simple, they are packed with meaning. To claim that “Jesus is Lord” is to declare that Jesus is King, the Ruler, not just over one’s individual life but over all that is, has been and will be. It is to say that Jesus has a right to all that I am, that He is in control of my life and I am not, that He directs me, that He owns me, that I have no right to myself.
As much as I sometimes like to think that I’m in control, I know that I’m not, and that when I try to be I usually get it wrong, so I’m grateful that there is Someone who knows exactly what is going on and what to do about it. Because we did get it wrong, very wrong…
We messed up our Father’s World, and so Paul proves from the Scripture that it was necessary, absolutely necessary for King Jesus the Messiah to suffer and rise again from the dead. He had to. Both suffering and resurrection were necessary to purchase and apply redemption. Just because we don’t like it, doesn’t mean it isn’t true. We heard in a sermon on Reformation Sunday why we ought to rejoice in this truth.
Many believed Paul’s message. Most were God-fearing Greeks, and once again, for the 3rd time in Acts, prominent women are listed as believing. We know from Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians that his first visit lasted more than 3 weeks. He was able to set up his tentmaking business here and had time to receive a gift from the church at Philippi. But that doesn’t mean it was easy for Paul. At some point the Jews started making trouble for Paul.
Since Jesus did suffer and rise from the dead, since Jesus is King and on His throne, since this is our Father’s world, why is our world so messed up still? Why isn’t it fixed? This is theodicy, that if God is all-powerful and all good, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world. If the death and resurrection of Christ was sufficient, why do bad things still happen? This is probably a universal struggle among believers and nonbelievers. I remember being in college working through this paradox. I never doubted that God was in control. I so desperately needed to believe this and still do, but I remember doubting that God was really all good. My Methodist friends don’t struggle with this paradox in the same way that I do. Their theology emphasizes God’s goodness over God’s sovereignty when the two seem to not fit together very well.
But if God is God, if God is who God says He is in His revealed world, both God’s goodness and sovereignty must be equally true. We can guess and guess why God works the way God does until our head explodes and still be way off base. But we hold to that profession of faith that “Jesus is Lord.”
For some, the paradox is too much. When God doesn’t fit the image we expect God to be, we reject God. This is what happened in the synagogue in Thessalonica. Though many believed after hearing Paul teach, the Jews didn’t allow him in to teach in the synagogue anymore after three weeks. Paul and the new believers had to meet elsewhere. And later on, out of jealousy, they stirred up a mob to attack Paul and Silas, but not finding them, they instead attacked Jason, who had been hosting them. Jason had to pay a fine and promise that Paul and Silas wouldn’t be staying at his house anymore. Paul and Silas leave Thessalonica quietly that night so that Jason and the other believers don’t face any more harm.
We don’t like the theology of suffering, but it is undeniable in Scripture. When we do deny a theology of suffering we trivialize Christ’s own suffering. As Paul taught, Christ had to suffer. And Paul will explain to us in one of his letters that our own suffering today is still the suffering of Christ; that we fill up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction on behalf of the body of Christ.
In a world full of suffering Jesus IS still on His throne. Ron Goetz wrote, “Let us never suppose that the power of the love of Christ to turn the world upside down depends upon our capacity to calculate the physics of the maneuver. God works through the word we have been called to proclaim, but God is free to flip the world over his shoulder in ways that confound our calculations." The Kingdom of Jesus is an upside-down kingdom. (Or as this morning’s children’s message said, Jesus is King Backward.) We see Christ’s reign in the world by faith. We know its reality, and then we live it so that others can see it. Paul and Silas were accused of turning the world upside town—flipping the inhabited world on its head. We too can turn the world upside down!
We are the ones who make the invisible kingdom of God visible. The summary of the Great Ends of the Church is the “Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World”. Our church motto says it, “Living Christ’s Kingdom Now.” When we live the Kingdom now, not only do we help others to see the reality that Jesus is on His throne, but we help ourselves not only to see it but experience it. We also help fix those wrongs in the world.
We know from Paul’s letters and an inscription on an archway in Thessaloniki that even one of Jason’s persecutors was transformed. Secundus was one of those politarchs that extorted Jason. But he believed in Jesus and became a friend of Paul. Jason did not let persecution stop him from serving the Lord. He may be the same Jason that Paul lists in Romans as giving greetings to the church.
God is sovereign; God is in control, and God doesn’t need us. But God has chosen to use us. We are His chosen people, His chosen instruments, His chosen vessels, through which the Kingdom of our Lord is made known. Charles Hodge in his Systematic Theology says, “Every believer receives Christ as his king. Those who receive Him in sincerity constitute his kingdom, in the sense in which the loyal subjects of an earthly sovereign constitute his kingdom. Those who profess allegiance to Christ as king constitute his visible kingdom upon earth.”
Our redemption is for a purpose. We are ordained for service as ambassadors for the upside-down kingdom. When filled with the Spirit of Christ, we can change the world. Christ in us is at work to bring the world to restored order and so we work until He comes again. The world needs to know that Jesus is Lord, and that He is still on His throne. Preaching King Jesus may get you into trouble with the world just like it did Paul and his companions. But if we don’t live and proclaim the kingdom, how will others see it? How will they know? Romans 10 says, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in One of whom they have never heard? And how can they hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent?” Will you say, “Here am I; send me?”
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
When the Spirit Says, "No!", Acts 16:1-10
I heard an advertisement on the radio this week for a website that compares clichés that people think are in Scripture with the actual words of Scripture. This one happened to be, “I dare you to find in the Bible where it says, ‘When God closes a door, He opens a window.” You won’t find it. It’s not there. Sometimes the Spirit says, “No.”
Someone said, “The stops as well as the steps of a person are ordered by the Lord.” That’s what we see in today’s Scripture. Twice the Spirit says, “No.”
Paul and Silas start out on the journey revisiting the churches in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. In Lystra Paul chooses Timothy, a young disciple, to join the team. Timothy was converted during the first missionary journey, probably as a pre-teen or young teenager, and grew strongly during the 3 years or so that Paul had been away. He had grown in the faith so much that the other believers spoke well of him. His discipleship had come in large part through his mother and grandmother. Timothy would be an asset to the team because of his spiritual maturity and familiarity with both Jewish and Gentile cultures. Paul has Timothy circumcised before he joins the journey so as not to offend the Jewish believers. Timothy’s heritage was Jewish because Jews practice matrilineal heritage. If Timothy’s father had been Jewish and his mother Gentile, Timothy would not necessarily been considered Jewish unless his mother had converted. This is why Ezra sent the wives and children of those in mixed marriages back to their homelands when the Jews returned from exile. This is why Ruth encouraged Naomi and Orpah to return to stay in their homelands, but Ruth chose to convert.
Timothy is circumcised only for cultural reasons, not theological ones. Paul had refused to circumcise Titus, who was totally of Gentile background on theological grounds. Paul is serious about cultural sensitivity, much like missionary William Carey to Asia who died his hair black and adopted native dress in order to better fit in. Most foreign missionaries spend a great deal of time learning new languages. Even in my short time in Japan, it was essential to learn and use as much Japanese as I could. Another example of cultural sensitivity is Bible translation. This sets Christianity apart from Islam. We believe that Scripture is just as valid in Swahili as in any other language. Although the original languages of Greek and Hebrew are important, we believe that because the gospel was intended for all people, all ought to be able to understand it and hear it in their language. This is even shown in Scripture at Pentecost. It was important for all those people groups to hear the good news in their own languages. We believe in the translatability of the gospel. In contrast, Muslims believe that the Scriptures, in their case the Quran, is only valid in Arabic. Translated versions are not pure, but corrupt. It is important to learn the Quran in Arabic to truly understand it. Every culture, including our own and our own subcultures have things that we can celebrate, elements with which we can connect, as well as those aspects we need to challenge and even condemn. It seems easier to challenge and condemn than to celebrate and connect, but we have to do both. We cannot stop challenging our culture, especially in a day and age in which the Church has become so dangerously accommodated and numb to worldly ways. But we must also connect. Otherwise, the world will not have ears to hear the mandate to come out of Babylon and to live in the glorious kingdom of God. They will have no clue what God’s kingdom truly is. What are the implications of cultural sensitivity for us today? How do we become culturally relevant to the lost people in our area so that they understand their need for Jesus? What changes or adaptations ought we be willing to make in order to reach unbelievers where we live?
Timothy joins the group and they continue on their way, strengthening the churches previously established. Paul saw that the Galatian churches were strong enough to carry on the gospel. But then Paul wants to go west. He is forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Silas was a prophet, so perhaps he most clearly heard and discerned the Spirit’s, “No.” Just to make sure, he tries again after going through Galatia to take the northern route through Bithynia. Again, the Spirit stops them. Paul could not go the way he wanted to go. The door was closed. In the same way Paul had to give up his desires to yield to the Spirit, we must give up our human desires, plans, what we think is right, and even surrender our dreams for God’s vision.
Why did the Spirit say, “No” to Paul? Whatever God’s reasons, we know they were good. We can trust that whatever God’s reasons for the Spirit telling us, “No,” they are good and for a greater good. We know from I Peter and from church history that these areas were evangelized. Pliny the governor of Asia writes by the end of the first century there were many churches in this area. Peter writes his letters to churches that include the areas of Asia and Bithynia. He himself was able to go where Paul was not. Perhaps he was already at work in this area and there was no since in duplicating efforts. Better for Paul to go to a totally unreached area. Sometimes the Spirit says, “No” because it is not good stewardship to duplicate outreach efforts. This is one of the reasons I am against “sheep swapping”. There are enough people who have no church home and who do not know Jesus than to trade members with other churches. If there are no unreached people or only those who have clearly chosen to reject Christ, then it is time for us to move to a new area and to a new ministry.
After the Spirit says, “No” twice, Paul has a nighttime vision in Troas of a man from Macedonia, who says, “Come over and help us.” This wasn’t a dream. The word for dream is different from vision. Vision implies being awake. This may have been a supernatural vision, like Peter with the sheet coming down from heaven in Acts 10, or it could have been an encounter with a real person, perhaps even Luke himself. God’s answers can come through dreams and supernatural visions, but they also come through real people. Divine encounters aren’t always mental or psychological but God speaks through flesh and blood. We know Luke joins them at point, as the narrative changes to first person. Luke was originally from Philippi, which is in Macedonia. Philippi will be their next major stop and we will find that the narrative will change back to 3rd person there, as Luke leaves Paul and Silas again. It would be characteristic of an author to indirectly refer to himself, just as John does in his gospel, referring to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Luke was a Gentile believer. Perhaps he was converted in Troas, or perhaps earlier, but he knew the spiritual condition of his homeland, and desired to have Paul come and preach the gospel where it was desperately needed. Whatever the vision was—supernatural or Luke himself—there was an eagerness and urgency to the call to “Come over and help us.” We will see that in Philippi there isn’t even a synagogue, so even the Jewish influence was minimal. These were unreached people. And the Spirit says, “Yes.” Paul knew that this encounter was of the Lord, and that this was the direction the team should go. Who in our community is hungry for the gospel? Who is being missed or neglected by other outreach efforts?
Sometimes the Spirit tells us, “No.” Sometimes God wants us to wait. Other times, God wants to totally redirect us. We must maintain a sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, not forging ahead on our own, but allowing the Spirit to give us new visions, trusting that God is good, that God’s plans are always good.
Someone said, “The stops as well as the steps of a person are ordered by the Lord.” That’s what we see in today’s Scripture. Twice the Spirit says, “No.”
Paul and Silas start out on the journey revisiting the churches in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. In Lystra Paul chooses Timothy, a young disciple, to join the team. Timothy was converted during the first missionary journey, probably as a pre-teen or young teenager, and grew strongly during the 3 years or so that Paul had been away. He had grown in the faith so much that the other believers spoke well of him. His discipleship had come in large part through his mother and grandmother. Timothy would be an asset to the team because of his spiritual maturity and familiarity with both Jewish and Gentile cultures. Paul has Timothy circumcised before he joins the journey so as not to offend the Jewish believers. Timothy’s heritage was Jewish because Jews practice matrilineal heritage. If Timothy’s father had been Jewish and his mother Gentile, Timothy would not necessarily been considered Jewish unless his mother had converted. This is why Ezra sent the wives and children of those in mixed marriages back to their homelands when the Jews returned from exile. This is why Ruth encouraged Naomi and Orpah to return to stay in their homelands, but Ruth chose to convert.
Timothy is circumcised only for cultural reasons, not theological ones. Paul had refused to circumcise Titus, who was totally of Gentile background on theological grounds. Paul is serious about cultural sensitivity, much like missionary William Carey to Asia who died his hair black and adopted native dress in order to better fit in. Most foreign missionaries spend a great deal of time learning new languages. Even in my short time in Japan, it was essential to learn and use as much Japanese as I could. Another example of cultural sensitivity is Bible translation. This sets Christianity apart from Islam. We believe that Scripture is just as valid in Swahili as in any other language. Although the original languages of Greek and Hebrew are important, we believe that because the gospel was intended for all people, all ought to be able to understand it and hear it in their language. This is even shown in Scripture at Pentecost. It was important for all those people groups to hear the good news in their own languages. We believe in the translatability of the gospel. In contrast, Muslims believe that the Scriptures, in their case the Quran, is only valid in Arabic. Translated versions are not pure, but corrupt. It is important to learn the Quran in Arabic to truly understand it. Every culture, including our own and our own subcultures have things that we can celebrate, elements with which we can connect, as well as those aspects we need to challenge and even condemn. It seems easier to challenge and condemn than to celebrate and connect, but we have to do both. We cannot stop challenging our culture, especially in a day and age in which the Church has become so dangerously accommodated and numb to worldly ways. But we must also connect. Otherwise, the world will not have ears to hear the mandate to come out of Babylon and to live in the glorious kingdom of God. They will have no clue what God’s kingdom truly is. What are the implications of cultural sensitivity for us today? How do we become culturally relevant to the lost people in our area so that they understand their need for Jesus? What changes or adaptations ought we be willing to make in order to reach unbelievers where we live?
Timothy joins the group and they continue on their way, strengthening the churches previously established. Paul saw that the Galatian churches were strong enough to carry on the gospel. But then Paul wants to go west. He is forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Silas was a prophet, so perhaps he most clearly heard and discerned the Spirit’s, “No.” Just to make sure, he tries again after going through Galatia to take the northern route through Bithynia. Again, the Spirit stops them. Paul could not go the way he wanted to go. The door was closed. In the same way Paul had to give up his desires to yield to the Spirit, we must give up our human desires, plans, what we think is right, and even surrender our dreams for God’s vision.
Why did the Spirit say, “No” to Paul? Whatever God’s reasons, we know they were good. We can trust that whatever God’s reasons for the Spirit telling us, “No,” they are good and for a greater good. We know from I Peter and from church history that these areas were evangelized. Pliny the governor of Asia writes by the end of the first century there were many churches in this area. Peter writes his letters to churches that include the areas of Asia and Bithynia. He himself was able to go where Paul was not. Perhaps he was already at work in this area and there was no since in duplicating efforts. Better for Paul to go to a totally unreached area. Sometimes the Spirit says, “No” because it is not good stewardship to duplicate outreach efforts. This is one of the reasons I am against “sheep swapping”. There are enough people who have no church home and who do not know Jesus than to trade members with other churches. If there are no unreached people or only those who have clearly chosen to reject Christ, then it is time for us to move to a new area and to a new ministry.
After the Spirit says, “No” twice, Paul has a nighttime vision in Troas of a man from Macedonia, who says, “Come over and help us.” This wasn’t a dream. The word for dream is different from vision. Vision implies being awake. This may have been a supernatural vision, like Peter with the sheet coming down from heaven in Acts 10, or it could have been an encounter with a real person, perhaps even Luke himself. God’s answers can come through dreams and supernatural visions, but they also come through real people. Divine encounters aren’t always mental or psychological but God speaks through flesh and blood. We know Luke joins them at point, as the narrative changes to first person. Luke was originally from Philippi, which is in Macedonia. Philippi will be their next major stop and we will find that the narrative will change back to 3rd person there, as Luke leaves Paul and Silas again. It would be characteristic of an author to indirectly refer to himself, just as John does in his gospel, referring to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Luke was a Gentile believer. Perhaps he was converted in Troas, or perhaps earlier, but he knew the spiritual condition of his homeland, and desired to have Paul come and preach the gospel where it was desperately needed. Whatever the vision was—supernatural or Luke himself—there was an eagerness and urgency to the call to “Come over and help us.” We will see that in Philippi there isn’t even a synagogue, so even the Jewish influence was minimal. These were unreached people. And the Spirit says, “Yes.” Paul knew that this encounter was of the Lord, and that this was the direction the team should go. Who in our community is hungry for the gospel? Who is being missed or neglected by other outreach efforts?
Sometimes the Spirit tells us, “No.” Sometimes God wants us to wait. Other times, God wants to totally redirect us. We must maintain a sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, not forging ahead on our own, but allowing the Spirit to give us new visions, trusting that God is good, that God’s plans are always good.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sticking it Out, Acts 14
As we continue to remember the what took place 10 years ago in this country, may we also keep it in perspective that equally heinous acts and even worse take place frequently all over the world. And while the terrorists declared holy war on our nation with their actions, the attack was more about politics, economy, and cultural and societal disrespect than about true persecution. But there are many of our brothers and sisters around the world who do face persecution every day. They lose their jobs, homes, and lives for believing and speaking the truth of Jesus Christ. As Paul and Barnabas wrap up their first missionary journey, Paul says to the new disciples and elders in the church plants, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.”
In the Pro Ecclesia document that we released this year, we wrote, “Remaining faithful in the cultures of this world requires the church to strive, struggle, sacrifice and suffer. Still the Church can be faithful and persevering in the world until the King and the Kingdom arrive in glory to perfect all creation and culture. We reject the assumption that [being faithful] to Christ and His Church is achievable with ease…” The road of the kingdom is a difficult road. Jesus called it the “narrow and strait way.” The Greek word translated “persecutions” is a word that conveys the image of squeezing or pressing. Think of squashing olives to make olive oil. We must endure much squeezing to enter the kingdom of God.
Paul encouraged the new church leaders and disciples that the squeezing process shouldn’t stop them from living for Jesus. He was letting them know that trials and tribulations are normal in the lives of those who live into the kingdom of God. The way of the kingdom is the way of the cross. I don’t know about you, but when I think of my brothers and sisters in Christ in Pakistan or Somalia, I don’t feel like I’ve been squeezed a whole lot. But they like these early disciples in this chapter are also much bolder than I.
We have seen the pressing, squeezing and hardships that Paul and Barnabas faced in this first missionary journey. They faced an attempted stoning in Antioch, and Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra. Their detractors and enemies followed them from town to town. When you do the Lord’s work, the enemy will hound you. We should be just as fervent in preaching the gospel as those were and are who oppose it. Paul and Barnabas didn’t invite suffering unnecessarily. They fled from 2 towns when the persecution increased. And they left Lystra after Paul had just a day to recover. But neither did they give up. They didn’t abandon these towns but went back to encourage the believers. Sometimes we may need to walk away from a situation or group of people, but we mustn’t give up in proclaiming the gospel or on God’s people.
Even in the midst of trials and tribulations, there are also rewards and blessings. Highlighted in this chapter is the healing of a lame man, much like Peter encountered in Acts 3. Paul saw the man, and our text says that Paul saw this man had the faith to be healed and said to him in a loud voice, “Stand on your feet.” The man leaped up and began walking. He was healed by faith. This faith came through the hearing of the gospel that Paul preached. As Paul says in Romans, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” The hearing of the Word is the key to the formation of faith. It is the response to the Word proclaimed. Jesus said to several people that He healed, “Your faith has healed you.” At the gathering in Minneapolis, one woman shared her vision of the church thusly: “A motley crew of sinners compelled by the love of Jesus and healed by our faith.” This vision recognizes that we are all sinners. We have different favorite sins, but we are sinners nonetheless. We are compelled by the love of Jesus—our love for Christ calls us to live for Him, not for ourselves. And we are healed by our faith—our faith frees us to allow Jesus’ transforming power to change us and heal us. There are no limits to Christ’s power. The miracle that occurred confirmed the Word that was spoken. Jesus allows us to be a sign and a wonder in the world and does signs and wonders through our hands.
The crowd thought Barnabas and Paul were gods. In contrast with Herod Agrippa, who basked in the crowd’s praises, the apostles do everything they can to stop the crowd from worshipping them and to correct the crowd’s errors in thinking and practice. Faith and practice go together. To disbelieve God is to disobey God. They call the people to repentance and point them to the true, living God. Our God is living—not just alive, but He is Life. Paul showed them that even creation points to God. He called them to turn from idols—cheap counterfeits of true God.
We too are challenged to stand strong in the faith, turning from idols to the living God, persevering until Christ’s kingdom comes in all of its fullness. Perseverance is key our Christian faith and life. Jesus is our Lord. Jesus is our strength. And in Jesus, we can hold firm. As difficulties increase, so does the revelation of God’s goodness.
Will Willimon says, “Growth and victory are wrought on the hard anvil of suffering and peril.” Our brothers and sisters in China know this very well. They face peril nearly every day and yet the church in China is exploding with hundreds of new believers everyday. Will we be a church that perseveres like those in places where it is much harder to be a believer? Will Willimon also says, “Any church bold enough to preach the word, which dares challenge the cultural status quo, which refuses to accept present political arrangements as eternally given, which is convinced of the truth of its message, which is willing to suffer for the truth, will grow!” May we be a people and a church who are willing to stick it out for the sake of the kingdom.
In the Pro Ecclesia document that we released this year, we wrote, “Remaining faithful in the cultures of this world requires the church to strive, struggle, sacrifice and suffer. Still the Church can be faithful and persevering in the world until the King and the Kingdom arrive in glory to perfect all creation and culture. We reject the assumption that [being faithful] to Christ and His Church is achievable with ease…” The road of the kingdom is a difficult road. Jesus called it the “narrow and strait way.” The Greek word translated “persecutions” is a word that conveys the image of squeezing or pressing. Think of squashing olives to make olive oil. We must endure much squeezing to enter the kingdom of God.
Paul encouraged the new church leaders and disciples that the squeezing process shouldn’t stop them from living for Jesus. He was letting them know that trials and tribulations are normal in the lives of those who live into the kingdom of God. The way of the kingdom is the way of the cross. I don’t know about you, but when I think of my brothers and sisters in Christ in Pakistan or Somalia, I don’t feel like I’ve been squeezed a whole lot. But they like these early disciples in this chapter are also much bolder than I.
We have seen the pressing, squeezing and hardships that Paul and Barnabas faced in this first missionary journey. They faced an attempted stoning in Antioch, and Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra. Their detractors and enemies followed them from town to town. When you do the Lord’s work, the enemy will hound you. We should be just as fervent in preaching the gospel as those were and are who oppose it. Paul and Barnabas didn’t invite suffering unnecessarily. They fled from 2 towns when the persecution increased. And they left Lystra after Paul had just a day to recover. But neither did they give up. They didn’t abandon these towns but went back to encourage the believers. Sometimes we may need to walk away from a situation or group of people, but we mustn’t give up in proclaiming the gospel or on God’s people.
Even in the midst of trials and tribulations, there are also rewards and blessings. Highlighted in this chapter is the healing of a lame man, much like Peter encountered in Acts 3. Paul saw the man, and our text says that Paul saw this man had the faith to be healed and said to him in a loud voice, “Stand on your feet.” The man leaped up and began walking. He was healed by faith. This faith came through the hearing of the gospel that Paul preached. As Paul says in Romans, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” The hearing of the Word is the key to the formation of faith. It is the response to the Word proclaimed. Jesus said to several people that He healed, “Your faith has healed you.” At the gathering in Minneapolis, one woman shared her vision of the church thusly: “A motley crew of sinners compelled by the love of Jesus and healed by our faith.” This vision recognizes that we are all sinners. We have different favorite sins, but we are sinners nonetheless. We are compelled by the love of Jesus—our love for Christ calls us to live for Him, not for ourselves. And we are healed by our faith—our faith frees us to allow Jesus’ transforming power to change us and heal us. There are no limits to Christ’s power. The miracle that occurred confirmed the Word that was spoken. Jesus allows us to be a sign and a wonder in the world and does signs and wonders through our hands.
The crowd thought Barnabas and Paul were gods. In contrast with Herod Agrippa, who basked in the crowd’s praises, the apostles do everything they can to stop the crowd from worshipping them and to correct the crowd’s errors in thinking and practice. Faith and practice go together. To disbelieve God is to disobey God. They call the people to repentance and point them to the true, living God. Our God is living—not just alive, but He is Life. Paul showed them that even creation points to God. He called them to turn from idols—cheap counterfeits of true God.
We too are challenged to stand strong in the faith, turning from idols to the living God, persevering until Christ’s kingdom comes in all of its fullness. Perseverance is key our Christian faith and life. Jesus is our Lord. Jesus is our strength. And in Jesus, we can hold firm. As difficulties increase, so does the revelation of God’s goodness.
Will Willimon says, “Growth and victory are wrought on the hard anvil of suffering and peril.” Our brothers and sisters in China know this very well. They face peril nearly every day and yet the church in China is exploding with hundreds of new believers everyday. Will we be a church that perseveres like those in places where it is much harder to be a believer? Will Willimon also says, “Any church bold enough to preach the word, which dares challenge the cultural status quo, which refuses to accept present political arrangements as eternally given, which is convinced of the truth of its message, which is willing to suffer for the truth, will grow!” May we be a people and a church who are willing to stick it out for the sake of the kingdom.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
A Church God Can Use
Different title than the bulletin, but more appropriate-sermon changed directions a few times prior to writing. Go Holy Spirit! Click the title to listen.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Power of Prayer, Acts 12:1-19
In this story today, we find that we are not the only ones who are surprised when God answers prayer. We all know and believe that God answers prayer. Carvie is proof. We prayed that he would be declared cancer free with no follow up treatments, and he is. We prayed that God would provide for our roof, and we received a generous offer on the timely sale of our land that should more than cover the cost. We had 90 days of focused prayer this spring and saw God answer various needs in so many ways. And yet we are prone to grow weary in prayer. We don’t pray without ceasing like we should, and then when God does show up, we are surprised.
Most of us are prone to pray more fervently in times of crisis. Perhaps that was a motivation for this group of believers praying so earnestly. The apostle James had recently been beheaded. A famine was coming; persecution was increasing. It was Passover. 10 years earlier Stephen had been stoned, and 13 or so years earlier, during this particular festival, Jesus was crucified. Passover should have been a time celebrating freedom. But for Peter it was a time of bondage. Still, Passover provided a wonderful opportunity for the believers to gather together in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many scholars believe this is the same home where Jesus did share His last supper with the apostles. Mary’s husband was still living back then because the gospel of Mark refers to a “good man of the house.” The believers would have been used to gathering here on a regular basis. Rhoda, the servant girl, is included in the prayer meeting.
The text doesn’t tell us exactly for what the believers were praying. I’m sure they were praying for Peter’s spiritual well-being, and perhaps deliverance. I’m sure they were praying for an end to the persecution and for Herod to stop being a people-pleaser. Certainly they were praying for God’s will to be done. What we know for sure is that they were continuing in prayer—it wasn’t something short and sweet or something they did once—and they were praying from the depths of their heart. And like Jesus prayed in the garden earnestly from His heart, they prayed for the will of God to be done.
Prayer is the power of the church. It can overthrow governments. Prayer moved God to thwart the plans of Herod. Prayer vigils at the Berlin wall resulted in its being torn down. Prayer moves angels to action. Prayer caused an angel to be sent to guide and protect Peter. Prayer moved the angel Gabriel to give a vision to Daniel. Prayer resulted in another angel being sent to Daniel to give him a vision and to let him know his prayer was heard and acted on immediately even though the angel was hindered at first from responding and called upon the archangel Michael to help. I don’t know if we each have our individual guardian angel or not, but we do know from Daniel and from Revelation that there are territorial angels who contend for us. They serve under the command of God—the Lord Sabbaoth—the Lord of the Armies. They are God’s messengers to us.
Prayer brings peace in the midst of trials and tribulations. Despite being chained between two soldiers, Peter was able to sleep so soundly that the light accompanying the angel didn’t wake him. I have gotten more and more light sensitive as I’ve gotten older. Light is more likely to wake me than sound. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom. But the light didn’t wake Peter. In fact the angel had to hit Peter pretty hard in the ribs to rouse him. The word “tapped” is too mild for the Greek word that is usually translated “smote”. Then Peter is so calm, thinking that he is dreaming, that he isn’t in a hurry to leave. The angel has to tell him to put on his belt, sandals, and cloak. The angel seems much more urgent in this passage than Peter who dutifully follows. I don’t know if you’ve ever had an angelic encounter. But I do know I have been in dangerous situations and have had perfect peace because I knew God would take care of me. I had prayed and I knew others were praying.
An old Puritan prayer says, “In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, and anxieties disappear and are of as little significance as a puff of wind. In prayer I can place all my concerns in Your hands to be entirely at Your disposal, having no will or interest of my own. In prayer, all things here below vanish, and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others. In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life and taste heavenly joys, entering into the eternal world.” In other words, what people think of me is no longer important, whether good or bad. The only thing about me that matters is my heart condition, my spiritual condition. Further, I don’t even see myself but only all that God is. How can you have fear, care, or anxiety when you see God? Prayer causes us to stop looking at ourselves and our circumstances and enables us to see God.
And yet God’s answers often surprise us. Peter is shocked once he realizes that he is really free. It wasn’t a vision or a dream, but he is really on the street. Then he moves more urgently into action, going to Mary’s house. Rhoda is so shocked upon hearing Peter’s voice through the gate that she forgets to open the door. The congregation is so shocked that Peter would actually be free that they doubt Rhoda’s claims until they go with her to the door and open it. They are so shocked that they can’t stop talking, and Peter has to “shush” them with his hand. I’m sure he doesn’t want to draw too much attention their way until they are safe inside. And even then, Peter doesn’t stick around town very long. He probably left within days of this event. The guards are shocked when they can’t find Peter at the change of the watch. Herod is shocked when the town is searched and Peter is nowhere to be found. He has the guards killed.
We too are surprised when God answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect. That is okay. God is glorified in our amazement. We can be surprised by God’s answers, but we ought not be surprised that God does respond to prayer. The Scriptures tell us that prayer is effective. Jesus told us that if we ask in His name the Father will hear and answer. God tells us He will hear and answer when our hearts are right before God. There is promise after promise about our God who answers the prayers of His people. We ought to always pray boldly in faith knowing that God will answer our prayers, regardless of what that answer might look like.
If we want our church to grow, we have to pray for it—not just once or twice or half-heartedly, but full of faith trusting that God will answer even though the answer might surprise us. But God answers! Who knows how the church prayed when James was arrested? He was killed, but Peter was delivered. Why did God work so differently? We don’t know why God moves the way God does, but we know God was glorified in the martyrdom of James just as much as God was glorified in the deliverance of Peter. Praying that God will be glorified in and through our lives and the lives of others and the life of our church is a prayer that is guaranteed to be answered because God is incapable of doing anything else but bringing glory to Himself. Let us pray as those who are willing to be surprised by God’s answers, but not surprised that God will answer.
That same Puritan prayer I quoted earlier also says, “In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, Your kingdom to come with greatest freedom, ardent hopes, as son to his father, as a lover to the beloved. Help me to be all prayer and to never cease praying.”
Most of us are prone to pray more fervently in times of crisis. Perhaps that was a motivation for this group of believers praying so earnestly. The apostle James had recently been beheaded. A famine was coming; persecution was increasing. It was Passover. 10 years earlier Stephen had been stoned, and 13 or so years earlier, during this particular festival, Jesus was crucified. Passover should have been a time celebrating freedom. But for Peter it was a time of bondage. Still, Passover provided a wonderful opportunity for the believers to gather together in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many scholars believe this is the same home where Jesus did share His last supper with the apostles. Mary’s husband was still living back then because the gospel of Mark refers to a “good man of the house.” The believers would have been used to gathering here on a regular basis. Rhoda, the servant girl, is included in the prayer meeting.
The text doesn’t tell us exactly for what the believers were praying. I’m sure they were praying for Peter’s spiritual well-being, and perhaps deliverance. I’m sure they were praying for an end to the persecution and for Herod to stop being a people-pleaser. Certainly they were praying for God’s will to be done. What we know for sure is that they were continuing in prayer—it wasn’t something short and sweet or something they did once—and they were praying from the depths of their heart. And like Jesus prayed in the garden earnestly from His heart, they prayed for the will of God to be done.
Prayer is the power of the church. It can overthrow governments. Prayer moved God to thwart the plans of Herod. Prayer vigils at the Berlin wall resulted in its being torn down. Prayer moves angels to action. Prayer caused an angel to be sent to guide and protect Peter. Prayer moved the angel Gabriel to give a vision to Daniel. Prayer resulted in another angel being sent to Daniel to give him a vision and to let him know his prayer was heard and acted on immediately even though the angel was hindered at first from responding and called upon the archangel Michael to help. I don’t know if we each have our individual guardian angel or not, but we do know from Daniel and from Revelation that there are territorial angels who contend for us. They serve under the command of God—the Lord Sabbaoth—the Lord of the Armies. They are God’s messengers to us.
Prayer brings peace in the midst of trials and tribulations. Despite being chained between two soldiers, Peter was able to sleep so soundly that the light accompanying the angel didn’t wake him. I have gotten more and more light sensitive as I’ve gotten older. Light is more likely to wake me than sound. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom. But the light didn’t wake Peter. In fact the angel had to hit Peter pretty hard in the ribs to rouse him. The word “tapped” is too mild for the Greek word that is usually translated “smote”. Then Peter is so calm, thinking that he is dreaming, that he isn’t in a hurry to leave. The angel has to tell him to put on his belt, sandals, and cloak. The angel seems much more urgent in this passage than Peter who dutifully follows. I don’t know if you’ve ever had an angelic encounter. But I do know I have been in dangerous situations and have had perfect peace because I knew God would take care of me. I had prayed and I knew others were praying.
An old Puritan prayer says, “In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, and anxieties disappear and are of as little significance as a puff of wind. In prayer I can place all my concerns in Your hands to be entirely at Your disposal, having no will or interest of my own. In prayer, all things here below vanish, and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others. In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life and taste heavenly joys, entering into the eternal world.” In other words, what people think of me is no longer important, whether good or bad. The only thing about me that matters is my heart condition, my spiritual condition. Further, I don’t even see myself but only all that God is. How can you have fear, care, or anxiety when you see God? Prayer causes us to stop looking at ourselves and our circumstances and enables us to see God.
And yet God’s answers often surprise us. Peter is shocked once he realizes that he is really free. It wasn’t a vision or a dream, but he is really on the street. Then he moves more urgently into action, going to Mary’s house. Rhoda is so shocked upon hearing Peter’s voice through the gate that she forgets to open the door. The congregation is so shocked that Peter would actually be free that they doubt Rhoda’s claims until they go with her to the door and open it. They are so shocked that they can’t stop talking, and Peter has to “shush” them with his hand. I’m sure he doesn’t want to draw too much attention their way until they are safe inside. And even then, Peter doesn’t stick around town very long. He probably left within days of this event. The guards are shocked when they can’t find Peter at the change of the watch. Herod is shocked when the town is searched and Peter is nowhere to be found. He has the guards killed.
We too are surprised when God answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect. That is okay. God is glorified in our amazement. We can be surprised by God’s answers, but we ought not be surprised that God does respond to prayer. The Scriptures tell us that prayer is effective. Jesus told us that if we ask in His name the Father will hear and answer. God tells us He will hear and answer when our hearts are right before God. There is promise after promise about our God who answers the prayers of His people. We ought to always pray boldly in faith knowing that God will answer our prayers, regardless of what that answer might look like.
If we want our church to grow, we have to pray for it—not just once or twice or half-heartedly, but full of faith trusting that God will answer even though the answer might surprise us. But God answers! Who knows how the church prayed when James was arrested? He was killed, but Peter was delivered. Why did God work so differently? We don’t know why God moves the way God does, but we know God was glorified in the martyrdom of James just as much as God was glorified in the deliverance of Peter. Praying that God will be glorified in and through our lives and the lives of others and the life of our church is a prayer that is guaranteed to be answered because God is incapable of doing anything else but bringing glory to Himself. Let us pray as those who are willing to be surprised by God’s answers, but not surprised that God will answer.
That same Puritan prayer I quoted earlier also says, “In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, Your kingdom to come with greatest freedom, ardent hopes, as son to his father, as a lover to the beloved. Help me to be all prayer and to never cease praying.”
Monday, July 18, 2011
Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World, Rev. 2:18-29
“Living Christ’s Kingdom Now” is our church’s motto. If you didn’t know that or forgot it, you will see it on the front of your bulletin. That motto, “Living Christ’s Kingdom Now,” is a good way of summarizing the last Great End of the Church--# 6 of our 6-fold mission statement, which is the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World. When we do all of the other 5 great ends—proclaim the gospel, shelter and fellowship with one another, preserve truth, maintain worship, and promote social righteousness, then we do exhibit God’s Kingdom. God’s kingdom is coming in perfection when Christ returns, repeated over and over in the book of Revelation is Jesus saying, “Behold, I am coming soon.” But Christ commanded us to live out that kingdom even now. Darrell L. Gruder in his book Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World, which I commend to you and will leave on the back table, says, “The exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world must be characterized by faithfulness to both the message and methods of Jesus.” We see in these 7 letters to the churches, Christ admonishing the churches for their failure to live out His kingdom and warning them of the consequences while also giving them hope if they return to faithfulness.
Even as a small church, we are called to exhibit Christ’s Kingdom to the world. The letters in Revelation apply to us too. The suggested reading for this particular great end of the church was the letter to the church at Laodicea. Many scholars find parallels between our culture and that one—it is the last of the 7 letters to the churches. Laodicea is the lukewarm church caught up in consumerism. And why I think that describes some American churches, I chose to read the letter to the church at Thyatira, because I think it speaks more accurately to the state of our denomination.
The church at Thyatira is commended for its works of love, faith, service, and patient endurance. The PC(USA) is great at some of these things as well. We are quick to respond to disasters, we advocate for those who have no voice, we are generous, we work for justice, have fabulous missionaries, etc. But like Thyatira, we have not only tolerated but succumbed to false teaching which draws us away from Christ and Christ’s transforming power. Warren Wiersbe says, “No amount of works can compensate for the tolerance of evil.”
The church at Thyatira was chastised by God for tolerating “Jezebel”. Whatever the false teacher or teachers in the church at Thyatira were doing and teaching, they were compared to Jezebel. You may remember Jezebel from our study of Kings. Jezebel was King Ahab’s wife, and she was a wicked woman. You may remember that she tried to kill Elijah or have him killed on more than one occasion. She wasn’t just a worshipper of Baal, she was a high priestess of Baal. She was responsible for leading and teaching worship. She claimed to speak on Baal’s behalf and deliver his words to the people. Whatever was being taught in Thyatira was similarly heinous in God’s sight. It included idolatry and fornication—people going elsewhere other than to God to have their needs and desires met, and practicing worship in a way contrary to what God has appointed. The teaching and practice was also referred to as “the deep things of Satan”.
There are challenges within our denomination to Jesus alone as the way of salvation, to the authority of Scripture, and to Christ’s call to holiness. You won’t find these challenges in the Book of Order, the words there remain orthodox, but you will hear them in interpretations and debates and see them in practice. Like Thyatira we have had time to repent and have not, and we are looking at an implosion of the church if we do not change.
I think some of the most hopeful words about the power of our risen and living Lord are found in I Corinthians 6. Paul writes: READ I Cor. 6:9-11. Paul says, “And such were some of you.” We were those who could not inherit the kingdom, but in Jesus, we are washed, made holy, and declared righteous. We have the full inheritance of the kingdom. Jesus always takes us as we are, but the good news is that He doesn’t let us stay there. He works to transform our lives. I am not who I was yesterday, and I am not who I will be tomorrow. There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do. If we submit to the Spirit, the Spirit will make us more and more like Jesus. Romans 8 says that all 3 members of the Trinity work to that end in our lives—to make us like Jesus. The transforming power of the Trinity must never be minimized. It’s not that we can’t change, it’s that we won’t change. If we are willing to be changed, then God will accomplish the changes that He desires in us. We have the power to resist change, but is that really what we want do? Sometimes it is because we like sin too much. But the message of the Kingdom is the transformation and redemption of everything and every part of us. Don’t resist the Spirit and the rule of Christ in your life.
Presbyterians love to say that we are “ecclesia reformata semper reformanda—the churched reformed always reforming.” The whole Latin phrase is this: ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei—the church reformed always being reformed in accordance with the Word of God. That last part is crucial. We are not to be about change for change’s sake or just any kind of change, but change in accordance with God’s word. Gruder explains…READ pg. 60, top paragraph.
Also like Thyatira, there are those who have held steadfast to the faith. Not everyone has succumbed to false teaching, and Jesus knows those who are faithful. He doesn’t ask us to do anything else but remain faithful, and keep doing what He has already told us to do. We are to continue in His works. Our prayer for the church can be that of Paul in Philippians 1: READ Phil. 1:9-11. We are to be the Body of Christ in the world until He comes. We are to live in such a way that shows what we can be and what God desires us to be—a redeemed creation, God-honoring, and obedient. We are, as Rev. David Gushee says, “a witness people,” testifying to the goodness and power of Christ and using words when necessary. Darrell L. Gruder says this: READ from pg. v
And finally, we are to be that community of love that John writes about in his letters. Jesus told us that it is by our love that people will recognize that we are His disciples. Love is our central obligation—our love not only for God and for one another, but for every person, including those who we think of as our enemies. Including those who actions and teachings we must renounce. Again Gruder writes: READ pg. 31. Once again we see the amazing goodness of Christ and His ability to transform and redeem the worst of the worst. Further, READ pg.
Jesse Eubanks spoke of this last week. We are to sow the seed everywhere. It is up to God to grow the seeds. We are to sow without compromise—without compromise to our own prejudices or to the demands of the culture around us. We must sow the seed of uncompromised gospel, never compromising the love of Christ.
We can be certain that God will complete what God has begun. God will bring in the great harvest, and God’s Spirit remains in, on, and with the church to enable us to obey in spite of and in tension with her sinfulness. We are called to faithfully exhibit a kingdom that is sure to come and already is come.
Even as a small church, we are called to exhibit Christ’s Kingdom to the world. The letters in Revelation apply to us too. The suggested reading for this particular great end of the church was the letter to the church at Laodicea. Many scholars find parallels between our culture and that one—it is the last of the 7 letters to the churches. Laodicea is the lukewarm church caught up in consumerism. And why I think that describes some American churches, I chose to read the letter to the church at Thyatira, because I think it speaks more accurately to the state of our denomination.
The church at Thyatira is commended for its works of love, faith, service, and patient endurance. The PC(USA) is great at some of these things as well. We are quick to respond to disasters, we advocate for those who have no voice, we are generous, we work for justice, have fabulous missionaries, etc. But like Thyatira, we have not only tolerated but succumbed to false teaching which draws us away from Christ and Christ’s transforming power. Warren Wiersbe says, “No amount of works can compensate for the tolerance of evil.”
The church at Thyatira was chastised by God for tolerating “Jezebel”. Whatever the false teacher or teachers in the church at Thyatira were doing and teaching, they were compared to Jezebel. You may remember Jezebel from our study of Kings. Jezebel was King Ahab’s wife, and she was a wicked woman. You may remember that she tried to kill Elijah or have him killed on more than one occasion. She wasn’t just a worshipper of Baal, she was a high priestess of Baal. She was responsible for leading and teaching worship. She claimed to speak on Baal’s behalf and deliver his words to the people. Whatever was being taught in Thyatira was similarly heinous in God’s sight. It included idolatry and fornication—people going elsewhere other than to God to have their needs and desires met, and practicing worship in a way contrary to what God has appointed. The teaching and practice was also referred to as “the deep things of Satan”.
There are challenges within our denomination to Jesus alone as the way of salvation, to the authority of Scripture, and to Christ’s call to holiness. You won’t find these challenges in the Book of Order, the words there remain orthodox, but you will hear them in interpretations and debates and see them in practice. Like Thyatira we have had time to repent and have not, and we are looking at an implosion of the church if we do not change.
I think some of the most hopeful words about the power of our risen and living Lord are found in I Corinthians 6. Paul writes: READ I Cor. 6:9-11. Paul says, “And such were some of you.” We were those who could not inherit the kingdom, but in Jesus, we are washed, made holy, and declared righteous. We have the full inheritance of the kingdom. Jesus always takes us as we are, but the good news is that He doesn’t let us stay there. He works to transform our lives. I am not who I was yesterday, and I am not who I will be tomorrow. There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do. If we submit to the Spirit, the Spirit will make us more and more like Jesus. Romans 8 says that all 3 members of the Trinity work to that end in our lives—to make us like Jesus. The transforming power of the Trinity must never be minimized. It’s not that we can’t change, it’s that we won’t change. If we are willing to be changed, then God will accomplish the changes that He desires in us. We have the power to resist change, but is that really what we want do? Sometimes it is because we like sin too much. But the message of the Kingdom is the transformation and redemption of everything and every part of us. Don’t resist the Spirit and the rule of Christ in your life.
Presbyterians love to say that we are “ecclesia reformata semper reformanda—the churched reformed always reforming.” The whole Latin phrase is this: ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei—the church reformed always being reformed in accordance with the Word of God. That last part is crucial. We are not to be about change for change’s sake or just any kind of change, but change in accordance with God’s word. Gruder explains…READ pg. 60, top paragraph.
Also like Thyatira, there are those who have held steadfast to the faith. Not everyone has succumbed to false teaching, and Jesus knows those who are faithful. He doesn’t ask us to do anything else but remain faithful, and keep doing what He has already told us to do. We are to continue in His works. Our prayer for the church can be that of Paul in Philippians 1: READ Phil. 1:9-11. We are to be the Body of Christ in the world until He comes. We are to live in such a way that shows what we can be and what God desires us to be—a redeemed creation, God-honoring, and obedient. We are, as Rev. David Gushee says, “a witness people,” testifying to the goodness and power of Christ and using words when necessary. Darrell L. Gruder says this: READ from pg. v
And finally, we are to be that community of love that John writes about in his letters. Jesus told us that it is by our love that people will recognize that we are His disciples. Love is our central obligation—our love not only for God and for one another, but for every person, including those who we think of as our enemies. Including those who actions and teachings we must renounce. Again Gruder writes: READ pg. 31. Once again we see the amazing goodness of Christ and His ability to transform and redeem the worst of the worst. Further, READ pg.
Jesse Eubanks spoke of this last week. We are to sow the seed everywhere. It is up to God to grow the seeds. We are to sow without compromise—without compromise to our own prejudices or to the demands of the culture around us. We must sow the seed of uncompromised gospel, never compromising the love of Christ.
We can be certain that God will complete what God has begun. God will bring in the great harvest, and God’s Spirit remains in, on, and with the church to enable us to obey in spite of and in tension with her sinfulness. We are called to faithfully exhibit a kingdom that is sure to come and already is come.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Pro Ecclesia: For the Church--An Ecumenical Confession
PRO ECCLESIA (FOR THE CHURCH): AN ECUMENICAL CONFESSION
OUR CIRCUMSTANCE
"You are the salt of the earth...
"You are the light of the world..." (Matthew 5:13a,14a, RSV here and following)
God's purposeful love is the starting point for this world. In Genesis, God creates the world and humanity, forming the human person in His image and likeness (1:26-27, 2:7, and 2:21-22). God tells humanity to flourish and multiply, and grants us dominion over all creation (1:28). God empowers humanity to cultivate, and fosters the division of labor that enables us to flourish. Even more, through the prophets and His Son, Jesus Christ, God assists, judges, and blesses humanity's cultural efforts. So by creating culture, we participate in God's love.
But centuries of war, poverty, and oppression, along with momentous achievements in the arts, literature, science, technology, politics, economics, and social organization, attest to the truth that culture -- how a people defines and organizes its life -- is always a flawed project in a fallen world. Therefore, God's purposeful love gathers the Church* to be the primary community through which God's redemptive love in Christ is continuously manifested. The Church is to be the "salt of the earth" and "light of the world," called to stand both within, and apart from, culture as a herald of God's Word, presence, and power. This calling leads to a divinely designed relationship, and an unavoidable tension, between Church and culture.
Through the ages there is ample evidence of the Church, as the Body of Christ on earth, accepting and fulfilling its commission to go into all the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Humanity has often been blessed by the message and model of grace and truth exhibited by the Church. The Holy Spirit has worked through the Church to embody and advance righteousness, justice, integrity, morality, compassion, and forgiveness, and to remind culture of its dependence upon God's providence, grace, and judgment. However, at times through the ages, the Church has notoriously compromised her faith, witness, and life.
Today many North American churches are dangerously accommodated to excesses of American culture -- secularism, materialism, individualism, consumerism, relativism, and sentimentalism. We, clergy and laity, are complicit. We take responsibility. Too often we lack the faith and courage to be the church that is the Body of Christ in this world. We treat the church as a business to expand, as an organization to promote, as a political lobby, as a therapeutic group. Many clergy and laity now appear apathetic toward the church -- her faith and practice, her message and mission. From years of apathy come the apostasy and atrophy of the church, leading to doctrinal and moral scandals with little communal discipline. Church shopping and schism are taken for granted in American Christianity.
Because of this widespread, cultural accommodation of the churches in the United States, there is an urgent need for confession. When the churches' faith and faithfulness are seriously eroded by cultural compromise, the confession of Gospel truth is compelled by God.
The time has come for American Christians -- clergy and laity, Protestant and Catholic -- to confess Gospel truth about the Church and to reject cultural compromise.
OUR CONFESSION
I. Father: Sovereign of the Church
"'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves; because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.'" (Genesis 26:4-5)
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy." (I Peter 2:9-10)
We believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament reveal God initiating a covenantal relationship with a people -- first with Israel, continuing with the Church. God's relationship with the Church is based not on the merits of the people, but on the steadfast love and missional purpose of Almighty God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
We reject the assumption that the church exists primarily to satisfy the perceived needs of needs-driven individuals. This assumption misunderstands the church to be merely a social organization, in competition with many other such organizations, rather than a people called by Almighty God to covenant.
II. Son: Builder of the Church
"'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.'" (Matthew 16:18)
We believe the church receives life from God's eternal Word, and Jesus Christ builds the church by working through Spirit-driven, Word-and-Sacrament ministry transforming the Christian community and witnessing to the larger community.
We reject the assumption that the church builds herself by making herself appealing and attractive to the world -- in appearance, in program, and in preaching and teaching. When Jesus Christ is not the church's builder, what is put together in the name of the church is bound to erode over time.
III. Holy Spirit: Sustainer of the Church
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:1,4a)
"...so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love." (Ephesians 4:14-16).
We believe the Holy Spirit gives steadying power, increasing faithfulness in love, and organic growth to the church. Since the first Day of Pentecost, God's Spirit has given life, structure, purpose, and direction to the church.
We reject the assumption that the church can measure her own faithfulness, determine her own identity, and set her own course, according to conventional wisdom.
IV. Marks of the Church
"We believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church." (The Nicene Creed)
We believe the essential marks of the Church are: unity (see John 17:20-23), holiness (set apart for God's purposes), catholicity (universality in faith, practice, and outreach), and apostolicity (message and mission traceable to the apostles). These marks, given by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-3), evidence the Church's faithful, attentive response to the gracious Headship of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:4-7).
We reject the assumption that the church is best defined by diversity, pluralism, and/or inclusivity. The radical hospitality of the church is not to be promoted by limiting or eliminating the transformative power of the Gospel that unifies and enculturates the church, and blesses the world.
V. Mission of the Church
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.'" (Matthew 28:18-20)
We believe that the source of the Church's mission is the risen Jesus Christ. The church's mission has many dimensions (worship, evangelism, education, prophetic witness, service, and fellowship), but the mission itself is to "make disciples of all nations..." This mission requires Christian adults to lovingly lead children and youth in obeying Christ and in fulfilling His church's mission.
We reject the assumption that the church's mission is based on American pragmatism. Pragmatism in American Christianity is most often demonstrated today in the rush to offer religious goods and services, to increase institutional security, to adopt fashionable political formulas, and to bend the church's teachings to incorporate certain aspects of culture even when the Scriptures teach otherwise.
VI. Ministry for the Church
"The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men [and women] in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." (Article XIII, Of the Church, The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church [2008]. Most churches have similar doctrinal statements.)
"The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament -- a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity with all men [and women]." (Vatican II, Roman Catholic Church, Lumen gentium 1 [November 21, 1964])
We believe the Church is of God. The faithfulness of the church is made possible by God in Christ working through Word, Sacrament, and Order (including doctrine and morals). As shepherds who are servant leaders of the flock guided by the Holy Spirit, clergy through Word-and-Sacrament ministry serve the church in worship and life. Faithful laity, guided by the Holy Spirit, serve the Gospel in their places in the world, as well as in the church.
We reject the assumption that the ministry of the church, her leaders and people, should rely primarily on organizational, business, or political models, and that the church should preach, teach, and live in a way that seeks to remain culturally inoffensive.
VII. Worship by the Church
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)
"'God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (John 4:24)
We believe the church's corporate worship joyfully binds hearts and minds together to praise, glorify, and honor the Triune God. In public worship, the Risen Christ through Word and Sacrament, the means that most profoundly reveal divine grace and truth, encounters the congregation. The centrality and substance of Word and Sacrament are the criteria by which worship is best evaluated.
We reject the assumption that the church's worship should be determined by the expectations of culture, the needs of individual worshipers, and the latest fads in religion.
VIII. Obedience of the Church
"In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6)
In the Baptismal Covenant, church members promise to: renounce and resist evil in this world, confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be faithful to Christ's universal Church, be loyal to Christ in a particular church (denomination or communion), and participate actively in a congregation. (Most churches have baptismal vows that are similar to the above.)
We believe that faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, clergy and laity, are found in joyful obedience to Christ, in the Holy Spirit's power, through the church's Baptismal Covenant. A disciple's relationship with Jesus Christ is lived out in a covenantal relationship in the Body of Christ, the church.
We reject the assumption that Christian discipleship is basically disconnected from the church, practically devoid of discipline, and fundamentally shaped by individual preferences.
IX. Perseverance of the Church
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)
We believe the church can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, be continuously vigilant in: celebrating the God-created goodness of culture, connecting with the elements of culture that reflect Christ and Gospel, and challenging, when necessary condemning, those elements which oppose the Gospel. Remaining faithful, in the cultures of this world, requires the church to strive, struggle, sacrifice, and suffer. Still, the church can be patient and persevering, in the world (Romans 12:1-2), until the King and the Kingdom arrive in glory to perfect all creation and culture.
We reject the assumption that congregational life faithful to Christ and His Church -- at this time, in this place -- is achievable with ease, without God's amazing grace, and with the larger culture's blessing.
*Usually Church (capitalized) indicates the Church universal, and church (lower case) refers to a denomination, communion, or congregation.
Drafting Committee
Mr. John J. Donohue
Morehead City
Rev. Joseph W. Franklin
First United Methodist Church, Morehead City
Rev. Timothy J. Havlicek
First Presbyterian Church, Morehead City
Dr. Ronald N. Montaperto
Morehead City
Rev. Thomas M. Nichols
Midway/Bethlehem United Methodist Churches, Stella
Rev. LaVera Parato
Grace Presbyterian Church, Beaufort
Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth
St. Peter's United Methodist Church, Morehead City
Rev. Norman B. Waligora
Faith Evangelical Bible Church, Newport
Rev. Mark Woods
Cherry Point United Methodist Church, Havelock
OUR CIRCUMSTANCE
"You are the salt of the earth...
"You are the light of the world..." (Matthew 5:13a,14a, RSV here and following)
God's purposeful love is the starting point for this world. In Genesis, God creates the world and humanity, forming the human person in His image and likeness (1:26-27, 2:7, and 2:21-22). God tells humanity to flourish and multiply, and grants us dominion over all creation (1:28). God empowers humanity to cultivate, and fosters the division of labor that enables us to flourish. Even more, through the prophets and His Son, Jesus Christ, God assists, judges, and blesses humanity's cultural efforts. So by creating culture, we participate in God's love.
But centuries of war, poverty, and oppression, along with momentous achievements in the arts, literature, science, technology, politics, economics, and social organization, attest to the truth that culture -- how a people defines and organizes its life -- is always a flawed project in a fallen world. Therefore, God's purposeful love gathers the Church* to be the primary community through which God's redemptive love in Christ is continuously manifested. The Church is to be the "salt of the earth" and "light of the world," called to stand both within, and apart from, culture as a herald of God's Word, presence, and power. This calling leads to a divinely designed relationship, and an unavoidable tension, between Church and culture.
Through the ages there is ample evidence of the Church, as the Body of Christ on earth, accepting and fulfilling its commission to go into all the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Humanity has often been blessed by the message and model of grace and truth exhibited by the Church. The Holy Spirit has worked through the Church to embody and advance righteousness, justice, integrity, morality, compassion, and forgiveness, and to remind culture of its dependence upon God's providence, grace, and judgment. However, at times through the ages, the Church has notoriously compromised her faith, witness, and life.
Today many North American churches are dangerously accommodated to excesses of American culture -- secularism, materialism, individualism, consumerism, relativism, and sentimentalism. We, clergy and laity, are complicit. We take responsibility. Too often we lack the faith and courage to be the church that is the Body of Christ in this world. We treat the church as a business to expand, as an organization to promote, as a political lobby, as a therapeutic group. Many clergy and laity now appear apathetic toward the church -- her faith and practice, her message and mission. From years of apathy come the apostasy and atrophy of the church, leading to doctrinal and moral scandals with little communal discipline. Church shopping and schism are taken for granted in American Christianity.
Because of this widespread, cultural accommodation of the churches in the United States, there is an urgent need for confession. When the churches' faith and faithfulness are seriously eroded by cultural compromise, the confession of Gospel truth is compelled by God.
The time has come for American Christians -- clergy and laity, Protestant and Catholic -- to confess Gospel truth about the Church and to reject cultural compromise.
OUR CONFESSION
I. Father: Sovereign of the Church
"'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves; because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.'" (Genesis 26:4-5)
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy." (I Peter 2:9-10)
We believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament reveal God initiating a covenantal relationship with a people -- first with Israel, continuing with the Church. God's relationship with the Church is based not on the merits of the people, but on the steadfast love and missional purpose of Almighty God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
We reject the assumption that the church exists primarily to satisfy the perceived needs of needs-driven individuals. This assumption misunderstands the church to be merely a social organization, in competition with many other such organizations, rather than a people called by Almighty God to covenant.
II. Son: Builder of the Church
"'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.'" (Matthew 16:18)
We believe the church receives life from God's eternal Word, and Jesus Christ builds the church by working through Spirit-driven, Word-and-Sacrament ministry transforming the Christian community and witnessing to the larger community.
We reject the assumption that the church builds herself by making herself appealing and attractive to the world -- in appearance, in program, and in preaching and teaching. When Jesus Christ is not the church's builder, what is put together in the name of the church is bound to erode over time.
III. Holy Spirit: Sustainer of the Church
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:1,4a)
"...so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love." (Ephesians 4:14-16).
We believe the Holy Spirit gives steadying power, increasing faithfulness in love, and organic growth to the church. Since the first Day of Pentecost, God's Spirit has given life, structure, purpose, and direction to the church.
We reject the assumption that the church can measure her own faithfulness, determine her own identity, and set her own course, according to conventional wisdom.
IV. Marks of the Church
"We believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church." (The Nicene Creed)
We believe the essential marks of the Church are: unity (see John 17:20-23), holiness (set apart for God's purposes), catholicity (universality in faith, practice, and outreach), and apostolicity (message and mission traceable to the apostles). These marks, given by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-3), evidence the Church's faithful, attentive response to the gracious Headship of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:4-7).
We reject the assumption that the church is best defined by diversity, pluralism, and/or inclusivity. The radical hospitality of the church is not to be promoted by limiting or eliminating the transformative power of the Gospel that unifies and enculturates the church, and blesses the world.
V. Mission of the Church
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.'" (Matthew 28:18-20)
We believe that the source of the Church's mission is the risen Jesus Christ. The church's mission has many dimensions (worship, evangelism, education, prophetic witness, service, and fellowship), but the mission itself is to "make disciples of all nations..." This mission requires Christian adults to lovingly lead children and youth in obeying Christ and in fulfilling His church's mission.
We reject the assumption that the church's mission is based on American pragmatism. Pragmatism in American Christianity is most often demonstrated today in the rush to offer religious goods and services, to increase institutional security, to adopt fashionable political formulas, and to bend the church's teachings to incorporate certain aspects of culture even when the Scriptures teach otherwise.
VI. Ministry for the Church
"The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men [and women] in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." (Article XIII, Of the Church, The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church [2008]. Most churches have similar doctrinal statements.)
"The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament -- a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity with all men [and women]." (Vatican II, Roman Catholic Church, Lumen gentium 1 [November 21, 1964])
We believe the Church is of God. The faithfulness of the church is made possible by God in Christ working through Word, Sacrament, and Order (including doctrine and morals). As shepherds who are servant leaders of the flock guided by the Holy Spirit, clergy through Word-and-Sacrament ministry serve the church in worship and life. Faithful laity, guided by the Holy Spirit, serve the Gospel in their places in the world, as well as in the church.
We reject the assumption that the ministry of the church, her leaders and people, should rely primarily on organizational, business, or political models, and that the church should preach, teach, and live in a way that seeks to remain culturally inoffensive.
VII. Worship by the Church
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)
"'God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (John 4:24)
We believe the church's corporate worship joyfully binds hearts and minds together to praise, glorify, and honor the Triune God. In public worship, the Risen Christ through Word and Sacrament, the means that most profoundly reveal divine grace and truth, encounters the congregation. The centrality and substance of Word and Sacrament are the criteria by which worship is best evaluated.
We reject the assumption that the church's worship should be determined by the expectations of culture, the needs of individual worshipers, and the latest fads in religion.
VIII. Obedience of the Church
"In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6)
In the Baptismal Covenant, church members promise to: renounce and resist evil in this world, confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be faithful to Christ's universal Church, be loyal to Christ in a particular church (denomination or communion), and participate actively in a congregation. (Most churches have baptismal vows that are similar to the above.)
We believe that faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, clergy and laity, are found in joyful obedience to Christ, in the Holy Spirit's power, through the church's Baptismal Covenant. A disciple's relationship with Jesus Christ is lived out in a covenantal relationship in the Body of Christ, the church.
We reject the assumption that Christian discipleship is basically disconnected from the church, practically devoid of discipline, and fundamentally shaped by individual preferences.
IX. Perseverance of the Church
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)
We believe the church can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, be continuously vigilant in: celebrating the God-created goodness of culture, connecting with the elements of culture that reflect Christ and Gospel, and challenging, when necessary condemning, those elements which oppose the Gospel. Remaining faithful, in the cultures of this world, requires the church to strive, struggle, sacrifice, and suffer. Still, the church can be patient and persevering, in the world (Romans 12:1-2), until the King and the Kingdom arrive in glory to perfect all creation and culture.
We reject the assumption that congregational life faithful to Christ and His Church -- at this time, in this place -- is achievable with ease, without God's amazing grace, and with the larger culture's blessing.
*Usually Church (capitalized) indicates the Church universal, and church (lower case) refers to a denomination, communion, or congregation.
Drafting Committee
Mr. John J. Donohue
Morehead City
Rev. Joseph W. Franklin
First United Methodist Church, Morehead City
Rev. Timothy J. Havlicek
First Presbyterian Church, Morehead City
Dr. Ronald N. Montaperto
Morehead City
Rev. Thomas M. Nichols
Midway/Bethlehem United Methodist Churches, Stella
Rev. LaVera Parato
Grace Presbyterian Church, Beaufort
Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth
St. Peter's United Methodist Church, Morehead City
Rev. Norman B. Waligora
Faith Evangelical Bible Church, Newport
Rev. Mark Woods
Cherry Point United Methodist Church, Havelock
Resolution on Ordination Standards
Whereas the new language for the Book of Order (G-6.0106b) states:
Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body
responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003).
Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.
Whereas “all aspects of life” includes, but is not limited to, our relationships to other people, including our marriages, our patterns of behavior, attitudes, and actions,
Whereas Scripture and the Confessions are clear in teaching that leaders are to live according to the direction of Jesus Christ, which includes repentance and separation from lifestyle practices that are clearly rejected by God (I Cor. 6:9-11, Gal. 5:16-26, Book of Confessions 4.108, 9.47),
Whereas Scripture and the Confessions define marriage as being between “male and female” (Matt. 19:4-6, Eph. 5:31-33, Book of Confessions 5.246, 6.131, 6.133)
Whereas the new Form of Government states:
…it is incumbent upon [Church] officers, and upon the whole Church, in whose name
they act, to censure or cast out the erroneous and scandalous, observing, in all cases, the
rules contained in the Word of God. (F-3.0103)
Whereas Grace Presbyterian Church is committed, as a Presbyterian and Reformed church, to live in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture and be guided by the Reformed Confessions, which teach clearly that the above standard of behavior is one that is held out to all those who confess Jesus Christ;
Be it therefore resolved that Grace Presbyterian Church will continue to maintain the biblical, historic, and Reformed teaching of the church universal regarding the call of the Christian to a life of holiness which includes the call to live either with fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness, and further that Grace Presbyterian will require that all those ordained to church office must live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness, and that those who do not or will not live so shall not be ordained and/or installed as ministers, deacons, or elders.
Approved by the Session on the 20th day of June in the Year of Our Lord 2011.
Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body
responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003).
Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.
Whereas “all aspects of life” includes, but is not limited to, our relationships to other people, including our marriages, our patterns of behavior, attitudes, and actions,
Whereas Scripture and the Confessions are clear in teaching that leaders are to live according to the direction of Jesus Christ, which includes repentance and separation from lifestyle practices that are clearly rejected by God (I Cor. 6:9-11, Gal. 5:16-26, Book of Confessions 4.108, 9.47),
Whereas Scripture and the Confessions define marriage as being between “male and female” (Matt. 19:4-6, Eph. 5:31-33, Book of Confessions 5.246, 6.131, 6.133)
Whereas the new Form of Government states:
…it is incumbent upon [Church] officers, and upon the whole Church, in whose name
they act, to censure or cast out the erroneous and scandalous, observing, in all cases, the
rules contained in the Word of God. (F-3.0103)
Whereas Grace Presbyterian Church is committed, as a Presbyterian and Reformed church, to live in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture and be guided by the Reformed Confessions, which teach clearly that the above standard of behavior is one that is held out to all those who confess Jesus Christ;
Be it therefore resolved that Grace Presbyterian Church will continue to maintain the biblical, historic, and Reformed teaching of the church universal regarding the call of the Christian to a life of holiness which includes the call to live either with fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness, and further that Grace Presbyterian will require that all those ordained to church office must live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness, and that those who do not or will not live so shall not be ordained and/or installed as ministers, deacons, or elders.
Approved by the Session on the 20th day of June in the Year of Our Lord 2011.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Rights in the Kingdom, Lam. 3:34-36, John 1:6-13
I confess I am an activist. Not a week goes by that I don’t sign a petition or send an email to my political representatives or a company either in support or protest for their actions. I’m a member of several social justice organizations. I put my money where my mouth is by boycotting products that treat workers as little more than slaves or contributing to those who bring clean water, education, and food to others. It is an important part of Christian faith to stand up for those who have no voice. Over and over in the Old Testament God calls God’s people to action to stand up for the orphans and widows, the poor and needy, the afflicted and oppressed, the immigrant and the hungry. God brings judgment on God’s people when they become oppressors. God cares about human rights. We see this in our Old Testament reading. God sees when human rights are being abused. And in this sinful fallen world, we are to speak up for those who have no voice.
I did a couple of word studies on rights in the Bible. The Old Testament word for human rights and legal rights is “mishpat”. It is also translated ordinance, justice, and is used many times in the Law pertaining to God’s laws and justice. While there are many proscriptions for how to determine justice, it is rarely something we are to seek for ourselves. Rather it is something we are to administer and seek for others. The word is used to tell us what to do, not what to demand for ourselves. When it comes to ourselves, we are to rely on God for justice and vindication. Sometimes that happens through human instruments and systems, but sometimes it literally takes divine intervention. Regardless, it is always God who vindicates, who determines right, and who satisfies justice.
Job is an example of one who went directly to God for vindication. He claimed his righteousness and rightness over and over to God and before his friends. Even though God does vindicate Job and declares Job righteous, Job also learns to see his own unrighteousness in the presence of a holy God.
The Old Testament call to defend those who rights are being taken away or abused still very much applies to us today. In our denomination’s mission 6-fold mission statement known as the “Great Ends of the Church,” one of those is the promotion of social righteousness. The world is still a sinful, broken place.
But inside the Kingdom of God, which is the true home for the believer, even now, things work differently. In the Kingdom of God, we have no rights with a couple of exceptions. The main exception is found in our New Testament reading this evening. John 1:12—“But as many as received Him, He gave the right to become the sons of God, to them that believe on His name.” The other exception is the right to the tree of life, which we read about in Rev. 22—“Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they will have the right to the tree of life,” and the negative example a few verses later, “If anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that person’s right to the tree of life.” Everything in the Kingdom is gift or privilege. I’ve been doing a sermon series on the Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, we learn that we don’t have a right to anything. We aren’t supposed to go to court. If we are accused, we are to give the accuser more than what they demand. We are to turn our cheek to our enemy. We are to give to anyone who asks. Now, what we’ve realized as our church has gone through this series is how miserably we fail to live Christ’s mandate and how desperately we need the One who has fulfilled all the law on our behalf.
The New Testament word for “right” is exousia, which means the power to act or authority, and is often translated “power” or “authority”. In the Kingdom of God, we have no authority except that which comes from Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus says all authority on heaven and earth is given to Me. Jesus gives us the right to become God’s children. He gives us authority over evil, over principalities and powers, over spiritual wickedness in high places. He has given us all power over the Enemy. But when it comes to those things that we think of as human rights, we have no right to demand them. Again, from the Sermon on the Mount, we are to be totally dependent upon Jesus for food, shelter, and clothing. Jesus goes on to say that we do not have a right to our bodies to do what we want with them—they are rather, the property of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us in Romans that the potter has the right to the clay—God is the potter; we are the clay. God can make us into whatever God desires, and we are not to talk back. We don’t have a right to our very life. We must lay them down and die totally to self in order to live with Christ. We know we fail miserably which is why Jesus used the continuous tense when He said, “If anyone is to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We have to constantly deny self and daily take up the cross. It is only in Christ that we have any rights, authority, and power. In order to have any rights in the Kingdom, we must submit totally to Christ’s Right—His authority, His power.
When I was in high school youth group, we had a lesson on what it means that Christ is Lord. As part of that lesson, we received a paper that was entitled, “A Surrendering of All Rights.” Listed on that sheet were a lot of things to which we think we have a right, but are not listed in Scripture—the right to our bodies, the right to be free from pain and suffering, the right to food, clothing, shelter, the right to be right, etc. Our youth leader asked us to sign it if we were serious about acknowledging Christ as Lord of our life and keep is someplace where we would remember. I kept that sheet in my Bible for many years. With that sheet, we also received a list of the blessings and promises that surrendering to the Lord brings—peace, unending, unconditional love, joy, the promise that we will never be alone, the promise of eternal life, justification in Christ, forgiveness of all sin, the Holy Spirit, and so on and so on.
Although Christ’s Kingdom is not yet fully and visibly realized, as the Church of Christ, we are to live in the Kingdom to the point where we exhibit Kingdom life to the world. Also in my denomination’s mission statement, the Great Ends of the Church, another one of those six great Ends is the “Exhibition of the Kingdom of God to the World.” When we start demanding our own rights, which are not rights at all, we not only fail to exhibit the Kingdom of God to the world, we obscure its visibility.
And yet there has been a constant push to make privileges into rights within the church. Marriage is a gift, although a widespread one. God gave Eve to Adam. But now the church is fighting about who has the right to be married. The answer according to God’s word is no one. Marriage is a gift. The church is fighting over ordination rights. There are no ordination rights. Ordination too is a gift. No one has the right to be ordained—I don’t care how many years of seminary you’ve had. You are either called and equipped by God, or not. It’s not a right, for anyone.
You may have heard on the radio or read in the paper that my denomination passed an amendment to our Constitution that now allows certain classes of people previously denied “the right to be ordained” to be ordained as ministers and officers in the church. Let me read to you what it is we passed:
"Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates."
There is nothing biblically wrong with this statement. It reminds us of our desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Christ in all aspects of life. To me all means all, including those areas, which some people claim that their “rights” are being denied. We cannot claim rights and joyfully submit to the Lordship of Christ. I did not vote in favor of this amendment despite the fact that in many ways I find it an improvement over our prior language because it doesn’t single out one particular aspect of our lives that we are to submit to Christ. I did not vote for the statement because there has always been an agenda behind it pushing “rights”. No sooner was this amendment passed then a movement to redefine marriage within our denomination started making a lot of noise.
How can a such a statement so in line with Scripture become so twisted? Because we use our self-proclaimed authority to interpret the statement instead of the authority that God granted us in the written Word. Most of the divisions found in today’s church boil down to the authority of Scripture. When we undermine that authority, we have little on which to stand. Our youth group is using an abstinence curriculum by Lakita Garth Wright called “The Naked Truth.” This past Sunday we unlocked the lie of “safe sex.” In our Bible study, we looked at Jeremiah as an example of the lie that Judah believed regarding “safe religion”. Listen to what we learned:
"Problems arose when the people of [Judah] grew weary of God’s ways and devised their own. People today fall into the same trap. When we start living for ourselves, we often want others to join us, so we create lies to convince ourselves and others that it is safe to turn away from God. The King and priests of Jeremiah’s day were preaching the lie of “safe religion.” “Safe religion” says you can do what you want…You don’t have to worry about the consequences of sin because God will always forgive you, always love you, always protect you, even when you totally disobey God’s commands. Believers in “safe religion” look to churches and pastors to tell them they are “safe” even when they are not. “Safe religion” says it’s easier to do your own thing than to follow God.”
We are living in a time where “safe religion” is prominent. Paul warned Timothy about this time where there would “be teaching for itching ears.” While God does always love us and forgive us, there are consequences for sin—including the teaching of lies. Self with God on top is not the way God’s Kingdom works. There must be an exchange of self for Christ.
Civil rights do not carry over into the Kingdom. We don’t need them there. They are unnecessary because Christ gives us everything we need. He has broken down every barrier. Demanding our “rights” except in accordance with God’s promise of Sonship and the blessings that go with it, is a clear sign that we are not submitting to Christ’s authority. We can hold God to God’s promises because God never breaks God’s word. But we can’t ask God to justify the self. The self must die in order to inherit eternal life. We can either have self-justification, which is no justification at all, or Christ’s justification. It is either Christ or self; it cannot be both. Will you keep demanding your rights or will you submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
I did a couple of word studies on rights in the Bible. The Old Testament word for human rights and legal rights is “mishpat”. It is also translated ordinance, justice, and is used many times in the Law pertaining to God’s laws and justice. While there are many proscriptions for how to determine justice, it is rarely something we are to seek for ourselves. Rather it is something we are to administer and seek for others. The word is used to tell us what to do, not what to demand for ourselves. When it comes to ourselves, we are to rely on God for justice and vindication. Sometimes that happens through human instruments and systems, but sometimes it literally takes divine intervention. Regardless, it is always God who vindicates, who determines right, and who satisfies justice.
Job is an example of one who went directly to God for vindication. He claimed his righteousness and rightness over and over to God and before his friends. Even though God does vindicate Job and declares Job righteous, Job also learns to see his own unrighteousness in the presence of a holy God.
The Old Testament call to defend those who rights are being taken away or abused still very much applies to us today. In our denomination’s mission 6-fold mission statement known as the “Great Ends of the Church,” one of those is the promotion of social righteousness. The world is still a sinful, broken place.
But inside the Kingdom of God, which is the true home for the believer, even now, things work differently. In the Kingdom of God, we have no rights with a couple of exceptions. The main exception is found in our New Testament reading this evening. John 1:12—“But as many as received Him, He gave the right to become the sons of God, to them that believe on His name.” The other exception is the right to the tree of life, which we read about in Rev. 22—“Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they will have the right to the tree of life,” and the negative example a few verses later, “If anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that person’s right to the tree of life.” Everything in the Kingdom is gift or privilege. I’ve been doing a sermon series on the Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, we learn that we don’t have a right to anything. We aren’t supposed to go to court. If we are accused, we are to give the accuser more than what they demand. We are to turn our cheek to our enemy. We are to give to anyone who asks. Now, what we’ve realized as our church has gone through this series is how miserably we fail to live Christ’s mandate and how desperately we need the One who has fulfilled all the law on our behalf.
The New Testament word for “right” is exousia, which means the power to act or authority, and is often translated “power” or “authority”. In the Kingdom of God, we have no authority except that which comes from Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus says all authority on heaven and earth is given to Me. Jesus gives us the right to become God’s children. He gives us authority over evil, over principalities and powers, over spiritual wickedness in high places. He has given us all power over the Enemy. But when it comes to those things that we think of as human rights, we have no right to demand them. Again, from the Sermon on the Mount, we are to be totally dependent upon Jesus for food, shelter, and clothing. Jesus goes on to say that we do not have a right to our bodies to do what we want with them—they are rather, the property of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us in Romans that the potter has the right to the clay—God is the potter; we are the clay. God can make us into whatever God desires, and we are not to talk back. We don’t have a right to our very life. We must lay them down and die totally to self in order to live with Christ. We know we fail miserably which is why Jesus used the continuous tense when He said, “If anyone is to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We have to constantly deny self and daily take up the cross. It is only in Christ that we have any rights, authority, and power. In order to have any rights in the Kingdom, we must submit totally to Christ’s Right—His authority, His power.
When I was in high school youth group, we had a lesson on what it means that Christ is Lord. As part of that lesson, we received a paper that was entitled, “A Surrendering of All Rights.” Listed on that sheet were a lot of things to which we think we have a right, but are not listed in Scripture—the right to our bodies, the right to be free from pain and suffering, the right to food, clothing, shelter, the right to be right, etc. Our youth leader asked us to sign it if we were serious about acknowledging Christ as Lord of our life and keep is someplace where we would remember. I kept that sheet in my Bible for many years. With that sheet, we also received a list of the blessings and promises that surrendering to the Lord brings—peace, unending, unconditional love, joy, the promise that we will never be alone, the promise of eternal life, justification in Christ, forgiveness of all sin, the Holy Spirit, and so on and so on.
Although Christ’s Kingdom is not yet fully and visibly realized, as the Church of Christ, we are to live in the Kingdom to the point where we exhibit Kingdom life to the world. Also in my denomination’s mission statement, the Great Ends of the Church, another one of those six great Ends is the “Exhibition of the Kingdom of God to the World.” When we start demanding our own rights, which are not rights at all, we not only fail to exhibit the Kingdom of God to the world, we obscure its visibility.
And yet there has been a constant push to make privileges into rights within the church. Marriage is a gift, although a widespread one. God gave Eve to Adam. But now the church is fighting about who has the right to be married. The answer according to God’s word is no one. Marriage is a gift. The church is fighting over ordination rights. There are no ordination rights. Ordination too is a gift. No one has the right to be ordained—I don’t care how many years of seminary you’ve had. You are either called and equipped by God, or not. It’s not a right, for anyone.
You may have heard on the radio or read in the paper that my denomination passed an amendment to our Constitution that now allows certain classes of people previously denied “the right to be ordained” to be ordained as ministers and officers in the church. Let me read to you what it is we passed:
"Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates."
There is nothing biblically wrong with this statement. It reminds us of our desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Christ in all aspects of life. To me all means all, including those areas, which some people claim that their “rights” are being denied. We cannot claim rights and joyfully submit to the Lordship of Christ. I did not vote in favor of this amendment despite the fact that in many ways I find it an improvement over our prior language because it doesn’t single out one particular aspect of our lives that we are to submit to Christ. I did not vote for the statement because there has always been an agenda behind it pushing “rights”. No sooner was this amendment passed then a movement to redefine marriage within our denomination started making a lot of noise.
How can a such a statement so in line with Scripture become so twisted? Because we use our self-proclaimed authority to interpret the statement instead of the authority that God granted us in the written Word. Most of the divisions found in today’s church boil down to the authority of Scripture. When we undermine that authority, we have little on which to stand. Our youth group is using an abstinence curriculum by Lakita Garth Wright called “The Naked Truth.” This past Sunday we unlocked the lie of “safe sex.” In our Bible study, we looked at Jeremiah as an example of the lie that Judah believed regarding “safe religion”. Listen to what we learned:
"Problems arose when the people of [Judah] grew weary of God’s ways and devised their own. People today fall into the same trap. When we start living for ourselves, we often want others to join us, so we create lies to convince ourselves and others that it is safe to turn away from God. The King and priests of Jeremiah’s day were preaching the lie of “safe religion.” “Safe religion” says you can do what you want…You don’t have to worry about the consequences of sin because God will always forgive you, always love you, always protect you, even when you totally disobey God’s commands. Believers in “safe religion” look to churches and pastors to tell them they are “safe” even when they are not. “Safe religion” says it’s easier to do your own thing than to follow God.”
We are living in a time where “safe religion” is prominent. Paul warned Timothy about this time where there would “be teaching for itching ears.” While God does always love us and forgive us, there are consequences for sin—including the teaching of lies. Self with God on top is not the way God’s Kingdom works. There must be an exchange of self for Christ.
Civil rights do not carry over into the Kingdom. We don’t need them there. They are unnecessary because Christ gives us everything we need. He has broken down every barrier. Demanding our “rights” except in accordance with God’s promise of Sonship and the blessings that go with it, is a clear sign that we are not submitting to Christ’s authority. We can hold God to God’s promises because God never breaks God’s word. But we can’t ask God to justify the self. The self must die in order to inherit eternal life. We can either have self-justification, which is no justification at all, or Christ’s justification. It is either Christ or self; it cannot be both. Will you keep demanding your rights or will you submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Jesus Still Takes Marriage Seriously, Matt. 5:27-37
It’s appropriate that we’ve reached this point in the Sermon on the Mount on Mother’s Day. Marriage is under attack in our world today. There are numerous attempts to redefine marriage. Over 50% of marriages fail. Increasing numbers of couples are choosing cohabitation over marriage either because they think marriage doesn’t mean anything or because they fear divorce. Children are growing up today who have never known a father. Their mothers have long disassociated themselves from the man who impregnated them long before the child is aware that such a person existed. Some mothers don’t even know who fathered their children. No man ever enters the picture of many children’s lives as a father figure. 59% of you have been divorced. The divorce rate among churchgoers is no different than that of society at large. In 100% of marriages I’ve conducted at least one, and most often both parties have been divorced. All except for one couple that I’ve married cohabitated before marriage, and at least one person and most often both people of all the couples I’ve married have claimed to be believers in Christ. In fact, that is necessary for me even to perform a wedding per our Book of Order. These are not good statistics, and yet marriage still matters to Jesus.
Our passage today reveals to us once again that Jesus’ “Great Moral Teaching” only exposes how miserably we fail to live up to it. Jesus starts with expanding # 7 of the 10 Commandments—“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Jesus again expands the prohibition to include lustful thoughts. Like murder, adultery begins in the heart. And like murder, adultery carries with it a death penalty. Jesus is showing us that the wages of sin is indeed death. Adultery implies that at least one of the parties is already married. Jesus will end this section talking about keeping vows. Adultery breaks the marriage vows. Jesus warns us to do what we need to do to in order to keep from sinning in this way. Jesus warns us against wanting was is not lawful for us to have.
Jesus moves from adultery to divorce because they are so closely tied together. Jesus names adultery or infidelity as the only legitimate reason for divorce. God can be no more blunt than saying, “I hate divorce,” which God does in the book of Malachi among other places. According to Jewish law, only a man could initiate a divorce—women could not. But Jesus will allow the woman to initiate a divorce in cases of infidelity. In this teaching in Matthew, Jesus wants us to understand that our sins don’t only affect us, but have much wider consequences. We are so selfish that we think our sin only affects us. But Jesus says that when a man divorces his wife, he’s forcing her to sin. Women did not live independently in Bible times like they do today. They either lived with their parents, or other male relative—like Mary and Martha with their brother Lazarus, or with their sons, or with a husband. The only options for widows to live independently were if they were older widows with no children (widows indeed) who were to be provided for by the community or if they were prostitutes. There was a provision in the law for the nearest male relative of the dead husband to marry a young widow, so that she would be taken care of. This is what we read about in the book of Ruth as well as in Genesis with Tamar. Because a woman had to remarry if she was divorced, Jesus is saying that in cases of divorce that are not recognized by God, the husband who is choosing to violate God’s command is causing others—his ex-wife and her future husband to live in sin. Jesus says this not to criticize the woman and her future husband as much as to make us understand how serious divorce is and that it has far reaching consequences. He does it so that we will rethink our decision and not choose divorce. He reminds us that divorce itself is sin.
In his book Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas reminds us that we don’t have any leeway when it comes to our responsibility to keep our vows. We are not responsible for the other person’s behavior, but we are responsible for our own choices and attitudes. It’s important that the couples with which I work, that those from broken prior marriages be able to articulate their mistakes without justification, regardless of what the ex-spouse did. It’s important because if you can admit you were wrong then you can also choose not to do that wrong thing next time. You can act and react differently. I’m working with a couple now. One of the spouses was badly hurt in a previous marriage, but that spouse also chose to engage in very inappropriate behavior. I knew that behavior needed to be expressed. The person was able to admit that wrong without my prompting, which allowed me to ask the follow up question, “So what can you do to avoid this situation in the future?” The new couple is now able to develop a plan of action and set appropriate boundaries so that the new marriage has greater potential of being their last marriage. Admitting our fault also means that we can be forgiven. Remember that Jesus not only forgives our sins but also redeems us.
Jesus concludes this section by talking about vows. He is referring to any vows, not just marriage vows. He isn’t saying here, “Don’t make vows,” because He will allow Himself to be put under a vow later. But Jesus is saying, “Don’t make vows with conditions attached.” The Jewish teaching was that only vows made in God’s name were binding; otherwise, you could wiggle out of them. Jesus says, it’s stupid to swear by anything because God owns everything and controls everything. Therefore, all vows are binding. Instead, mean what you say. To be anything other than honest is to be under the influence of the evil one. If you have to put in excuses or conditions, you show that you are untrusting and not trustworthy. The marriage vows we take are intended to encompass any condition—sickness and in health, better or for worse, richer or poorer, til death do us part—so that there isn’t wiggle room to get out of our promise to be faithful to another person.
There is a disturbing story in the book of Judges about a judge named Jepthath. Page for page, Judges has more gore and disturbing stories than any other book in the Bible. This judge Jepthath, who is praised as a mighty warrior, makes a vow to the Lord to offer as a burnt offering whatever comes out of his house if the Lord gives him victory over the Ammonites. Jepthath is victorious. And it is his beloved daughter who comes to greet him. Jepthath, as grieved as he is over the vow he made, will not break it, and Jepthath’s daughter accepts it. After having a two month good-bye party and time of mourning with her girl friends, she submits to being a sacrifice. Unlike Abraham with Isaac, God does not intervene and send a ram, because God never asked Jepthath to sacrifice his daughter. In Judges the stories are presented without commentary. The story ends. And yet in Hebrews 11 Jepthath is mentioned as a man of faith. Yes, he did keep his vow, but it was a stupid vow. Why is he called a man of faith? I don’t think it has anything to do with what Jepthath did. It’s all about how God sees Jepthath. God sees only the faith. And when it comes to us, God doesn’t see our mess-ups. God only sees Jesus when we repent. God doesn’t see how badly we’ve failed to keep our vows or how foolishly we have made them. God sees the faith of Christ in us.
The youth group is currently going through an abstinence curriculum by Lakita Garth Wright called “The Naked Truth.” In her book by the same name, Lakita has a chapter dealing with the modern notion that marriage is “piece of paper.” Here’s what she has to say...(I read pg. 154 and part of 155 from Lakita Garth's book, The Naked Truth." It is also proven that cohabitating before marriage does not reduce the potential for divorce later. All of the couples I’ve married realized at some point that marriage is more than just a piece of paper, that it is indeed different than the cohabitating life they have previously lived. They are all able to define what marriage means to them and how it is different. The words “life-long commitment” always come up. They know that cohabitating means a temporary commitment—that I can have an easy out if I want it. It’s proven that married couples feel more secure and more fulfilled in their relationships than cohabitating couples. Each of the couples I’ve married have also realized that there is a spiritual dimension to marriage, and that the spiritual dimension is important to them.
I listened to a Bible Study this week where the Talmud describes the cherubim on top of the mercy seat as symbolizing an embrace—that their wings reaching out to each other with God dwelling in the midst of them reminds us of what our relationship with God and each other as the body of Christ is like. We are to remember that marriage is also a symbol of that relationship. It mirrors what our relationship to God is like. God desires oneness with us. Marriage is important to Jesus because it symbolizes His relationship to the Church.
The more I study the Catholic teaching on marriage, the more I agree with it. Regardless of what the world does, exclusive of civil rights, spiritual marriage is different. It is already defined and cannot be changed because of its representative nature. We also must remember that in the Kingdom of God, we have no rights. Everything is privilege and gift except the right to become the children of God.
Once again, we are all condemned by Jesus’ teaching. This passage leaves none of us innocent. Once again we can be so grateful that Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us. We break our promises and vows so easily. We deserve death, but Jesus gives us life. God remarries us and remains faithful to us when we go astray. Jesus re-presents us as His spotless bride. He changes us from sinners to saints. He redeems our whole lives, including our marriages, so that they too may be holy. And He empowers us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be faithful and obedient to Him.
Our passage today reveals to us once again that Jesus’ “Great Moral Teaching” only exposes how miserably we fail to live up to it. Jesus starts with expanding # 7 of the 10 Commandments—“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Jesus again expands the prohibition to include lustful thoughts. Like murder, adultery begins in the heart. And like murder, adultery carries with it a death penalty. Jesus is showing us that the wages of sin is indeed death. Adultery implies that at least one of the parties is already married. Jesus will end this section talking about keeping vows. Adultery breaks the marriage vows. Jesus warns us to do what we need to do to in order to keep from sinning in this way. Jesus warns us against wanting was is not lawful for us to have.
Jesus moves from adultery to divorce because they are so closely tied together. Jesus names adultery or infidelity as the only legitimate reason for divorce. God can be no more blunt than saying, “I hate divorce,” which God does in the book of Malachi among other places. According to Jewish law, only a man could initiate a divorce—women could not. But Jesus will allow the woman to initiate a divorce in cases of infidelity. In this teaching in Matthew, Jesus wants us to understand that our sins don’t only affect us, but have much wider consequences. We are so selfish that we think our sin only affects us. But Jesus says that when a man divorces his wife, he’s forcing her to sin. Women did not live independently in Bible times like they do today. They either lived with their parents, or other male relative—like Mary and Martha with their brother Lazarus, or with their sons, or with a husband. The only options for widows to live independently were if they were older widows with no children (widows indeed) who were to be provided for by the community or if they were prostitutes. There was a provision in the law for the nearest male relative of the dead husband to marry a young widow, so that she would be taken care of. This is what we read about in the book of Ruth as well as in Genesis with Tamar. Because a woman had to remarry if she was divorced, Jesus is saying that in cases of divorce that are not recognized by God, the husband who is choosing to violate God’s command is causing others—his ex-wife and her future husband to live in sin. Jesus says this not to criticize the woman and her future husband as much as to make us understand how serious divorce is and that it has far reaching consequences. He does it so that we will rethink our decision and not choose divorce. He reminds us that divorce itself is sin.
In his book Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas reminds us that we don’t have any leeway when it comes to our responsibility to keep our vows. We are not responsible for the other person’s behavior, but we are responsible for our own choices and attitudes. It’s important that the couples with which I work, that those from broken prior marriages be able to articulate their mistakes without justification, regardless of what the ex-spouse did. It’s important because if you can admit you were wrong then you can also choose not to do that wrong thing next time. You can act and react differently. I’m working with a couple now. One of the spouses was badly hurt in a previous marriage, but that spouse also chose to engage in very inappropriate behavior. I knew that behavior needed to be expressed. The person was able to admit that wrong without my prompting, which allowed me to ask the follow up question, “So what can you do to avoid this situation in the future?” The new couple is now able to develop a plan of action and set appropriate boundaries so that the new marriage has greater potential of being their last marriage. Admitting our fault also means that we can be forgiven. Remember that Jesus not only forgives our sins but also redeems us.
Jesus concludes this section by talking about vows. He is referring to any vows, not just marriage vows. He isn’t saying here, “Don’t make vows,” because He will allow Himself to be put under a vow later. But Jesus is saying, “Don’t make vows with conditions attached.” The Jewish teaching was that only vows made in God’s name were binding; otherwise, you could wiggle out of them. Jesus says, it’s stupid to swear by anything because God owns everything and controls everything. Therefore, all vows are binding. Instead, mean what you say. To be anything other than honest is to be under the influence of the evil one. If you have to put in excuses or conditions, you show that you are untrusting and not trustworthy. The marriage vows we take are intended to encompass any condition—sickness and in health, better or for worse, richer or poorer, til death do us part—so that there isn’t wiggle room to get out of our promise to be faithful to another person.
There is a disturbing story in the book of Judges about a judge named Jepthath. Page for page, Judges has more gore and disturbing stories than any other book in the Bible. This judge Jepthath, who is praised as a mighty warrior, makes a vow to the Lord to offer as a burnt offering whatever comes out of his house if the Lord gives him victory over the Ammonites. Jepthath is victorious. And it is his beloved daughter who comes to greet him. Jepthath, as grieved as he is over the vow he made, will not break it, and Jepthath’s daughter accepts it. After having a two month good-bye party and time of mourning with her girl friends, she submits to being a sacrifice. Unlike Abraham with Isaac, God does not intervene and send a ram, because God never asked Jepthath to sacrifice his daughter. In Judges the stories are presented without commentary. The story ends. And yet in Hebrews 11 Jepthath is mentioned as a man of faith. Yes, he did keep his vow, but it was a stupid vow. Why is he called a man of faith? I don’t think it has anything to do with what Jepthath did. It’s all about how God sees Jepthath. God sees only the faith. And when it comes to us, God doesn’t see our mess-ups. God only sees Jesus when we repent. God doesn’t see how badly we’ve failed to keep our vows or how foolishly we have made them. God sees the faith of Christ in us.
The youth group is currently going through an abstinence curriculum by Lakita Garth Wright called “The Naked Truth.” In her book by the same name, Lakita has a chapter dealing with the modern notion that marriage is “piece of paper.” Here’s what she has to say...(I read pg. 154 and part of 155 from Lakita Garth's book, The Naked Truth." It is also proven that cohabitating before marriage does not reduce the potential for divorce later. All of the couples I’ve married realized at some point that marriage is more than just a piece of paper, that it is indeed different than the cohabitating life they have previously lived. They are all able to define what marriage means to them and how it is different. The words “life-long commitment” always come up. They know that cohabitating means a temporary commitment—that I can have an easy out if I want it. It’s proven that married couples feel more secure and more fulfilled in their relationships than cohabitating couples. Each of the couples I’ve married have also realized that there is a spiritual dimension to marriage, and that the spiritual dimension is important to them.
I listened to a Bible Study this week where the Talmud describes the cherubim on top of the mercy seat as symbolizing an embrace—that their wings reaching out to each other with God dwelling in the midst of them reminds us of what our relationship with God and each other as the body of Christ is like. We are to remember that marriage is also a symbol of that relationship. It mirrors what our relationship to God is like. God desires oneness with us. Marriage is important to Jesus because it symbolizes His relationship to the Church.
The more I study the Catholic teaching on marriage, the more I agree with it. Regardless of what the world does, exclusive of civil rights, spiritual marriage is different. It is already defined and cannot be changed because of its representative nature. We also must remember that in the Kingdom of God, we have no rights. Everything is privilege and gift except the right to become the children of God.
Once again, we are all condemned by Jesus’ teaching. This passage leaves none of us innocent. Once again we can be so grateful that Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us. We break our promises and vows so easily. We deserve death, but Jesus gives us life. God remarries us and remains faithful to us when we go astray. Jesus re-presents us as His spotless bride. He changes us from sinners to saints. He redeems our whole lives, including our marriages, so that they too may be holy. And He empowers us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be faithful and obedient to Him.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
No More Shame--Matt. 28:1-10, Heb. 12:1-2
Today, Resurrection Sunday, is considered by many the most holy day on the church calendar. I see some of you “Eastmas people” here this morning—you know, you only come to church on Christmas and Easter. Please know that we are really, really glad that you are here and came to worship with us this morning. I am so glad that you recognize the importance of this day. But I still wonder, what good is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead if you don’t know why Jesus died. Sure, it’s a cool miracle. It might help support our faith that Jesus is God, but resurrection apart from the cross still doesn’t mean all that much. The choir sings a wonderful song, which if you join us again next Sunday you are likely to hear, called “Without His Cross”. The song reminds us that without the cross, there is no crown. Without Jesus’ sacrificial death, the resurrection isn’t all that meaningful. However, when we know why Jesus died, then we really understand that the resurrection was a cosmic event. It was an incredible phenomenon that gives us much reason to celebrate. It ought to cause us to fall to our knees before God in gratitude, like the women who took hold of Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him in the account we just read.
So why did Jesus die? Most of us, even Eastmas people, recognize that Jesus died for our sins. That gives meaning to the resurrection. But the cross was more than Jesus dying for our sins. Sins are ways we fall short of God’s standards in the choices we make, actions we commit, or to which we refuse to commit. Jesus died to take away the guilt that occurs as a result of our sins. But Jesus also died to take away our shame. He died for who we are at our core. We remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, they sewed fig leaves together because they were ashamed. Something was dramatically changed in the core of their being. Shame separated Adam and Eve from each other as well as separating them from God. Jesus died to redeem us from the full affects of the curse—not just the consequences, but He died to restore our core being. He didn’t just take away our sins and trespasses.
We all feel the affects of shame. Everything that shame does to us, Jesus experienced. As Son of Man, He had to go through it all for our sake. For those of you who missed Holy Week, we will recap some of that this morning. One of the things that shame does is bind us up. It takes away our sense of freedom. It keeps us from reaching out and moving out. Jesus experienced the binding power of shame when he was arrested, bound and taken away.
A second thing that shame does is lead to a fear of rejection. Because we afraid that others will reject us, we keep silent about our shame. We are hesitant to reveal anything about ourselves that might cause others to reject us. And so we hold onto our shame and stay bound by it. Jesus experienced the shame of rejection when all of his disciples fled at His arrest. He also experienced that rejection in the betrayal of Judas with a kiss—a sign of love and affection. He also experienced the shame of rejection when Peter denied Him 3 times. Jesus also experienced the shame of rejection when the crowds that welcomed him days prior shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him.” He experienced rejection by the mocking of the soldiers and the thief on the cross. Over and over in the last hours of His life, Jesus experienced the shame of rejection. His rejection was our rejection, and yet Jesus faced rejection without fear. He accepted it full on so that we too might be accepted.
Listen to this prophetic Psalm which describes Jesus’s shame: READ Ps. 69:16-33.
Closely tied into the fear of rejection is the fact that Shame shuts us up. It keeps us from speaking up and speaking out. In refusing to defend Himself and keeping silent as His trial, Jesus experienced the silencing power of shame.
Closely related to a fear of rejection is the fear of exposure that shame causes. We don’t want anyone to know our dirty little secrets. We truly love darkness rather than the light. Jesus was fully exposed when He hung on the cross. The cross was an instrument of shame. Our paintings, icons and crucifixes of Jesus show Him covered with a loincloth, but most likely He was fully stripped naked. The cross was torture in as much as the pain of humiliation as it was of physical pain.
And the culminating fear with which shame leaves us is the fear of abandonment—that we will be utterly alone. Ironically, shame causes us to isolate ourselves from others so that we won’t be abandoned. How dumb is that? And yet, it is what we do. I won’t make friends so that my friends won’t betray me. Jesus experienced ultimate abandonment in that moment when the Father turned away and Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Because Jesus endured this crushing weight of sin, we now have the promise that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us! God will never abandon us. Though our families forsake us, the Lord will take us up! We are not left as orphans. We are never alone. The Holy Spirit indwells us. Abandonment is not a legitimate fear.
Because of the cross and the resurrection, we can be freed from shame and its binding fears. There is no more shame for us! Listen as I read several passages of Scripture that tell us that Jesus came to set us free from shame. You may want to jot these references down so you can read them later at home or anytime you feel the weight of shame creeping up on you. READ Is. 54:4-10, Is. 61:4-11, Joel 2:21-27, Zeph. 3:14-20.
What amazing promises of restoration these are. Jesus redeems our shame. He redeems the very core of our being. The resurrection obliterates shame. II Cor. 5:17 tells us that in Christ we are a brand new creation—the old is gone, the new has come! We have a new identity in Jesus Christ.
If you read my blog (pastorparato.blogspot.com, which you can also find linked to gracebeaufort.com), you’ll know that I gave a speech at the last presbytery meeting. Although I didn’t have time to give the full speech, I posted the full speech on my blog. In this speech, I brag about Celebrate Recovery, a ministry with which I’ve worked for the past 3 years. I want to share what I wrote with you:
I have worked as a leader in a Christ-centered recovery program for 3 years.
I’m sorry this program has to exist as a parachurch ministry when it should be the way of the church period. Our recovery program welcomes everyone just as they are. We should welcome everyone who comes to our churches just as they are. We should welcome everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior into full fellowship and full communion. We have not, and for that I am truly sorry. The church has been a place of judgment instead of a hospital for sin-sick souls.
But we should also, as we do in our recovery group, love people toward transformation so that they become more like Jesus and put off their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We must, as we do in our recovery group, never make excuses for or make light of our relapses and sins, but constantly submit all of our lives and wills to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Not that we don’t fail, but that our failings are followed by confession and repentance and not justification or dismissal.
One of our theme songs for Celebrate Recovery is “You don’t have to hide anymore!” When you come to CR, you don’t have to hide. We’ve worked very hard for that group to be a safe place, and we have done so fairly successfully. It’s so nice to be able to share our hurts, habits, and hang-ups without fear of rejection. A few weeks ago, in worship, we talked about how Jesus calls us to be salt and light. We read a passage in Ephesians that describes how we used to be darkness, but now in the Lord, we are light. That passage went on to say that it’s shameful to talk about things that are done in secret, but that all things become visible when they are exposed to the light, and in fact when they are exposed to the light, they become light! We expose our hurts, habits, and hang-ups so that we can get rid of them. So that they become light. So that shame no longer keeps us from living like Jesus.
Shame has kept our churches from being more like Celebrate Recovery. We think we are hiding, but we aren’t. Isn’t it time we let go of our shame? A couple of years ago I received some comments about spending too much time away from Grace activities, like CR. But the truth is CR was started for Grace folks. It took me about five months of being here for me to discover who was struggling with alcoholism, who was addicted to prescription meds, who was involved in inappropriate, unhealthy relationships, who was struggling with depression. Now if I just named your shame, please know that you are not the only one. Every category I just named involves or involved more than 1 person attending this church at that time. In talking with colleagues about some of these issues, and please note that I said issues, not names, that 4 pastors associated with this church either as pulpit supply, interim, moderator or other capacity knew that these issues were going on and did nothing about them. So it goes to show you that if you think you are keeping your shame a secret, you aren’t hiding it very well.
After getting over my frustration about the fact that none of these other folks dared to address these issues, I decided I would try. Churches don’t grow when there is sin in the camp. I felt like a spiritual garbage man. I learned some people don’t want to deal with their shame; they are still in denial or they like darkness more than the light. Some people left. Others decided it was time to do something about their issues, but unfortunately felt they needed to leave in order to find that safer place. And others are all in various points in their spiritual journeys, moving toward healing and wholeness.
I kept thinking that if these people actually knew that they weren’t the only ones dealing with these things, then they might do something about it. In Feb. of 2007 I bought the CR curriculum. To run CR, you need at least one leader of each gender. I prayed about who that would be, and David Bruce stepped up to be involved. We meet at Calvary because there are too many activities here. We sat on the curriculum for a year, giving us a time to work through it before we launched in the summer of 2008. The group always in flux—sometimes we just had two people, but we keep at it. And it works. Just this past month we celebrated 2 baptisms, and two more are slated to be baptized in May.
Obviously, I’m a fan of CR. I’ve personally benefited working through my own hurts, habits, and hang-ups through the program. I love that I can be in a group and be totally real. But I also know that there are many other ways besides CR that one can work through the issues that cause us shame. I don’t care if you choose CR or not. It is simply an option. But isn’t it time to get rid of your shame? Aren’t you tired of feeling lonely, isolated, and powerless? The absolute key to success is surrender to our victorious Lord, Jesus Christ, our true power who removes our shame and redeems our failures. And the other key is not going it alone. We were never meant to be alone. When Jesus came, He put us into a body. When He ascended, He created a church. We were meant to need one another. The church should be the place where we can find healing, and I hope we will continuously strive to be such a place—a place where people don’t have to hide.
No one likes having their shame exposed. It is painful and difficult, but it was a lot more painful for Jesus to carry our shame. The pain of exposure brings healing. When we name our shame, it loses its power over us. We start to gain power over it. Remember that what is made visible becomes light. Isn’t it time to trade your darkness for light? I know that some people will still like the darkness more, or they are in denial, but if you are tired of the darkness, don’t let shame keep you prisoner any longer. Don’t let shame keep you from experiencing the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Don’t let shame keep you from experiencing the abundant life that He offers to you. Let go. Let Jesus take your shame away. It is one of the reasons He died and rose again.
So why did Jesus die? Most of us, even Eastmas people, recognize that Jesus died for our sins. That gives meaning to the resurrection. But the cross was more than Jesus dying for our sins. Sins are ways we fall short of God’s standards in the choices we make, actions we commit, or to which we refuse to commit. Jesus died to take away the guilt that occurs as a result of our sins. But Jesus also died to take away our shame. He died for who we are at our core. We remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, they sewed fig leaves together because they were ashamed. Something was dramatically changed in the core of their being. Shame separated Adam and Eve from each other as well as separating them from God. Jesus died to redeem us from the full affects of the curse—not just the consequences, but He died to restore our core being. He didn’t just take away our sins and trespasses.
We all feel the affects of shame. Everything that shame does to us, Jesus experienced. As Son of Man, He had to go through it all for our sake. For those of you who missed Holy Week, we will recap some of that this morning. One of the things that shame does is bind us up. It takes away our sense of freedom. It keeps us from reaching out and moving out. Jesus experienced the binding power of shame when he was arrested, bound and taken away.
A second thing that shame does is lead to a fear of rejection. Because we afraid that others will reject us, we keep silent about our shame. We are hesitant to reveal anything about ourselves that might cause others to reject us. And so we hold onto our shame and stay bound by it. Jesus experienced the shame of rejection when all of his disciples fled at His arrest. He also experienced that rejection in the betrayal of Judas with a kiss—a sign of love and affection. He also experienced the shame of rejection when Peter denied Him 3 times. Jesus also experienced the shame of rejection when the crowds that welcomed him days prior shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him.” He experienced rejection by the mocking of the soldiers and the thief on the cross. Over and over in the last hours of His life, Jesus experienced the shame of rejection. His rejection was our rejection, and yet Jesus faced rejection without fear. He accepted it full on so that we too might be accepted.
Listen to this prophetic Psalm which describes Jesus’s shame: READ Ps. 69:16-33.
Closely tied into the fear of rejection is the fact that Shame shuts us up. It keeps us from speaking up and speaking out. In refusing to defend Himself and keeping silent as His trial, Jesus experienced the silencing power of shame.
Closely related to a fear of rejection is the fear of exposure that shame causes. We don’t want anyone to know our dirty little secrets. We truly love darkness rather than the light. Jesus was fully exposed when He hung on the cross. The cross was an instrument of shame. Our paintings, icons and crucifixes of Jesus show Him covered with a loincloth, but most likely He was fully stripped naked. The cross was torture in as much as the pain of humiliation as it was of physical pain.
And the culminating fear with which shame leaves us is the fear of abandonment—that we will be utterly alone. Ironically, shame causes us to isolate ourselves from others so that we won’t be abandoned. How dumb is that? And yet, it is what we do. I won’t make friends so that my friends won’t betray me. Jesus experienced ultimate abandonment in that moment when the Father turned away and Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Because Jesus endured this crushing weight of sin, we now have the promise that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us! God will never abandon us. Though our families forsake us, the Lord will take us up! We are not left as orphans. We are never alone. The Holy Spirit indwells us. Abandonment is not a legitimate fear.
Because of the cross and the resurrection, we can be freed from shame and its binding fears. There is no more shame for us! Listen as I read several passages of Scripture that tell us that Jesus came to set us free from shame. You may want to jot these references down so you can read them later at home or anytime you feel the weight of shame creeping up on you. READ Is. 54:4-10, Is. 61:4-11, Joel 2:21-27, Zeph. 3:14-20.
What amazing promises of restoration these are. Jesus redeems our shame. He redeems the very core of our being. The resurrection obliterates shame. II Cor. 5:17 tells us that in Christ we are a brand new creation—the old is gone, the new has come! We have a new identity in Jesus Christ.
If you read my blog (pastorparato.blogspot.com, which you can also find linked to gracebeaufort.com), you’ll know that I gave a speech at the last presbytery meeting. Although I didn’t have time to give the full speech, I posted the full speech on my blog. In this speech, I brag about Celebrate Recovery, a ministry with which I’ve worked for the past 3 years. I want to share what I wrote with you:
I have worked as a leader in a Christ-centered recovery program for 3 years.
I’m sorry this program has to exist as a parachurch ministry when it should be the way of the church period. Our recovery program welcomes everyone just as they are. We should welcome everyone who comes to our churches just as they are. We should welcome everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior into full fellowship and full communion. We have not, and for that I am truly sorry. The church has been a place of judgment instead of a hospital for sin-sick souls.
But we should also, as we do in our recovery group, love people toward transformation so that they become more like Jesus and put off their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We must, as we do in our recovery group, never make excuses for or make light of our relapses and sins, but constantly submit all of our lives and wills to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Not that we don’t fail, but that our failings are followed by confession and repentance and not justification or dismissal.
One of our theme songs for Celebrate Recovery is “You don’t have to hide anymore!” When you come to CR, you don’t have to hide. We’ve worked very hard for that group to be a safe place, and we have done so fairly successfully. It’s so nice to be able to share our hurts, habits, and hang-ups without fear of rejection. A few weeks ago, in worship, we talked about how Jesus calls us to be salt and light. We read a passage in Ephesians that describes how we used to be darkness, but now in the Lord, we are light. That passage went on to say that it’s shameful to talk about things that are done in secret, but that all things become visible when they are exposed to the light, and in fact when they are exposed to the light, they become light! We expose our hurts, habits, and hang-ups so that we can get rid of them. So that they become light. So that shame no longer keeps us from living like Jesus.
Shame has kept our churches from being more like Celebrate Recovery. We think we are hiding, but we aren’t. Isn’t it time we let go of our shame? A couple of years ago I received some comments about spending too much time away from Grace activities, like CR. But the truth is CR was started for Grace folks. It took me about five months of being here for me to discover who was struggling with alcoholism, who was addicted to prescription meds, who was involved in inappropriate, unhealthy relationships, who was struggling with depression. Now if I just named your shame, please know that you are not the only one. Every category I just named involves or involved more than 1 person attending this church at that time. In talking with colleagues about some of these issues, and please note that I said issues, not names, that 4 pastors associated with this church either as pulpit supply, interim, moderator or other capacity knew that these issues were going on and did nothing about them. So it goes to show you that if you think you are keeping your shame a secret, you aren’t hiding it very well.
After getting over my frustration about the fact that none of these other folks dared to address these issues, I decided I would try. Churches don’t grow when there is sin in the camp. I felt like a spiritual garbage man. I learned some people don’t want to deal with their shame; they are still in denial or they like darkness more than the light. Some people left. Others decided it was time to do something about their issues, but unfortunately felt they needed to leave in order to find that safer place. And others are all in various points in their spiritual journeys, moving toward healing and wholeness.
I kept thinking that if these people actually knew that they weren’t the only ones dealing with these things, then they might do something about it. In Feb. of 2007 I bought the CR curriculum. To run CR, you need at least one leader of each gender. I prayed about who that would be, and David Bruce stepped up to be involved. We meet at Calvary because there are too many activities here. We sat on the curriculum for a year, giving us a time to work through it before we launched in the summer of 2008. The group always in flux—sometimes we just had two people, but we keep at it. And it works. Just this past month we celebrated 2 baptisms, and two more are slated to be baptized in May.
Obviously, I’m a fan of CR. I’ve personally benefited working through my own hurts, habits, and hang-ups through the program. I love that I can be in a group and be totally real. But I also know that there are many other ways besides CR that one can work through the issues that cause us shame. I don’t care if you choose CR or not. It is simply an option. But isn’t it time to get rid of your shame? Aren’t you tired of feeling lonely, isolated, and powerless? The absolute key to success is surrender to our victorious Lord, Jesus Christ, our true power who removes our shame and redeems our failures. And the other key is not going it alone. We were never meant to be alone. When Jesus came, He put us into a body. When He ascended, He created a church. We were meant to need one another. The church should be the place where we can find healing, and I hope we will continuously strive to be such a place—a place where people don’t have to hide.
No one likes having their shame exposed. It is painful and difficult, but it was a lot more painful for Jesus to carry our shame. The pain of exposure brings healing. When we name our shame, it loses its power over us. We start to gain power over it. Remember that what is made visible becomes light. Isn’t it time to trade your darkness for light? I know that some people will still like the darkness more, or they are in denial, but if you are tired of the darkness, don’t let shame keep you prisoner any longer. Don’t let shame keep you from experiencing the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Don’t let shame keep you from experiencing the abundant life that He offers to you. Let go. Let Jesus take your shame away. It is one of the reasons He died and rose again.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Salt & Light, Matt. 5:13-16, Eph. 5:8-14
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the Beatitudes. Jesus tells us that these are what His disciples are. We also looked at Romans 12 in which Paul gives us instructions on how to live these qualities. Today’s parables of salt and light reflect back to the Beatitudes. The blessed life is a result of what happens as we are fulfilled to carry out God’s mission. Once again, Jesus tells us that salt and light is what we are in the world. These are corporate, not simply individual, conditions. That together as gathered disciples, we are salt and light in the world. We can’t help but be salt and light, but we can lose our saltiness and hide our light.
What good is salt? Salt is a food preservative against rotting. We flavor to life and preserve life and society. When we describe someone as salt of the earth, we usually mean that the person is authentic, real, genuine, down-to-earth, and whose presence adds value not only to our lives but also to the world at large.
Salt doesn’t normally lose its strength, and neither should we. Jesus never means for us to lose our saltiness. The only way salt loses saltiness is by diluting it with water. We lose saltiness when we dilute ourselves with worldly behaviors and practices. High divorce rates, hate speech, gossip, cheating, lying, unethical business practices, and selfish behaviors by those who name the name of Christ cause the salt to lose its saltiness. As salt we are supposed to retard moral and ethical decay, not succumb to it. The good news is that when the water dries up, the salt regains its saltiness. It’s reconcentrated. The same is true for us. When we get rid of those behaviors and practices that contradict the life that Jesus has set for us, we too can be reconcentrated. When we confess and repent, turning again to follow Jesus, we regain our saltiness.
If we are untrue to our convictions, we lose our saltiness. There were also merchants who adulterated the salt by adding a cheap white powder to it in order to make more profit. The church has been guilty of adulterating the gospel in order to attract more followers. When we lose our loyalty to Jesus, we adulterate ourselves with the world and lose our ability to add the flavor of His goodness and holiness.
But we aren’t just supposed to be overwhelmingly salty either. When the proper amount of salt is used in cooking, it doesn’t make the dish salty, but it enhances the other flavors that are there, bringing out their goodness. We when act as salt, we lose our self, but bring out the God-given goodness in others as well as in ourselves.
We are also the light of the world. The light, however, doesn’t originate with us. Christ also called Himself “the light of the world.” He is the light, and we allow Him to shine through us as He lives in us. We make God’s light visible to others. We witness to the light when we testify to God’s transforming power in our lives both by our words and actions. How is God transforming you? What transformations can you see in your life?
Our Ephesians passage tells us we weren’t just in darkness without Christ; we were darkness. Now as children of light we to live what is good, right, and true—things that come from Christ. We also expose unfruitful works of darkness so that they can be renounced. We don’t expose works of darkness to bring judgment, but to turn them into light. We also have full assurance in the fact that the darkness will overcome the light. Have you ever been in a place that was really dark? I went on a cave tour where at one point, they turned off the lights. They wanted you to experience the weight of the darkness and demonstrate how little light was way down under the ground. And it was thickly dark at first. No sunlight could get in. You couldn’t even see the person next to you. But then, as you stood there awhile, you could start to see a bit of contrast. Even in pitch blackness, there was light because living things emit a little light of their own, and the dampness reflected the light. The light will always overcome the darkness, so we can keep shining brightly for Jesus. I have been blessed to know many people who glow with the light of Jesus. It’s really special when I get to see it in you. You do have that potential to burn brightly with Jesus.
We are to light the way to peace and safety like a city on a hill, which would have been a welcome site for a weary traveler on the road. Do we represent safety and rest for weary pilgrims in this world? Is our church a place of safety and rest?
Light also symbolizes meaning and insight. It’s not accident that in cartoons a light bulb is used to represent when someone has an idea or epiphany. We carry the light that gives meaning and purpose to living—the light of the gospel. The light we carry gives hope to a despairing world.
We hide God’s light when our actions don’t match our words. We also hide God’s light when we are ashamed of the gospel. Another way we lose our light is by being unplugged from the source. Jesus is never unplugged from us, because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, but we can choose not to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit.
God’s light is seen in what we do. Kingdom living isn’t passive but active. Light must shine to carry out its mission. We have a job to do—carry out God’s mission. We are to live righteously to reflect God’s glory. It is our purpose to glorify God. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say when they see our good works, we are glorified, but that when they see our good works, they glorify our Father in heaven. All of our good works belong to God and are the result of God. God gets the glory for all we do. If as we serve God, things don’t turn out like we expect and seem to be a failure, we are not failures—the results belong to God. If as we serve God, the ministry seems to be prospering, that too is God’s business. The success belongs to God. God always gets the credit. This stands in direct contrast with those like the hypocrites Jesus will criticize in the next chapter who did things to draw attention to themselves. We are to be salt and light and to do good works in such a way that attention is drawn to Jesus and not to us.
Jesus said that if you are His disciple, you are salt and light in this world. Are you adding an enhancing flavor to the world, bringing out and preserving the God-created goodness, or have you lost your saltiness? Are you shining forth the light of Christ, or are you hiding the light?
What good is salt? Salt is a food preservative against rotting. We flavor to life and preserve life and society. When we describe someone as salt of the earth, we usually mean that the person is authentic, real, genuine, down-to-earth, and whose presence adds value not only to our lives but also to the world at large.
Salt doesn’t normally lose its strength, and neither should we. Jesus never means for us to lose our saltiness. The only way salt loses saltiness is by diluting it with water. We lose saltiness when we dilute ourselves with worldly behaviors and practices. High divorce rates, hate speech, gossip, cheating, lying, unethical business practices, and selfish behaviors by those who name the name of Christ cause the salt to lose its saltiness. As salt we are supposed to retard moral and ethical decay, not succumb to it. The good news is that when the water dries up, the salt regains its saltiness. It’s reconcentrated. The same is true for us. When we get rid of those behaviors and practices that contradict the life that Jesus has set for us, we too can be reconcentrated. When we confess and repent, turning again to follow Jesus, we regain our saltiness.
If we are untrue to our convictions, we lose our saltiness. There were also merchants who adulterated the salt by adding a cheap white powder to it in order to make more profit. The church has been guilty of adulterating the gospel in order to attract more followers. When we lose our loyalty to Jesus, we adulterate ourselves with the world and lose our ability to add the flavor of His goodness and holiness.
But we aren’t just supposed to be overwhelmingly salty either. When the proper amount of salt is used in cooking, it doesn’t make the dish salty, but it enhances the other flavors that are there, bringing out their goodness. We when act as salt, we lose our self, but bring out the God-given goodness in others as well as in ourselves.
We are also the light of the world. The light, however, doesn’t originate with us. Christ also called Himself “the light of the world.” He is the light, and we allow Him to shine through us as He lives in us. We make God’s light visible to others. We witness to the light when we testify to God’s transforming power in our lives both by our words and actions. How is God transforming you? What transformations can you see in your life?
Our Ephesians passage tells us we weren’t just in darkness without Christ; we were darkness. Now as children of light we to live what is good, right, and true—things that come from Christ. We also expose unfruitful works of darkness so that they can be renounced. We don’t expose works of darkness to bring judgment, but to turn them into light. We also have full assurance in the fact that the darkness will overcome the light. Have you ever been in a place that was really dark? I went on a cave tour where at one point, they turned off the lights. They wanted you to experience the weight of the darkness and demonstrate how little light was way down under the ground. And it was thickly dark at first. No sunlight could get in. You couldn’t even see the person next to you. But then, as you stood there awhile, you could start to see a bit of contrast. Even in pitch blackness, there was light because living things emit a little light of their own, and the dampness reflected the light. The light will always overcome the darkness, so we can keep shining brightly for Jesus. I have been blessed to know many people who glow with the light of Jesus. It’s really special when I get to see it in you. You do have that potential to burn brightly with Jesus.
We are to light the way to peace and safety like a city on a hill, which would have been a welcome site for a weary traveler on the road. Do we represent safety and rest for weary pilgrims in this world? Is our church a place of safety and rest?
Light also symbolizes meaning and insight. It’s not accident that in cartoons a light bulb is used to represent when someone has an idea or epiphany. We carry the light that gives meaning and purpose to living—the light of the gospel. The light we carry gives hope to a despairing world.
We hide God’s light when our actions don’t match our words. We also hide God’s light when we are ashamed of the gospel. Another way we lose our light is by being unplugged from the source. Jesus is never unplugged from us, because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, but we can choose not to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit.
God’s light is seen in what we do. Kingdom living isn’t passive but active. Light must shine to carry out its mission. We have a job to do—carry out God’s mission. We are to live righteously to reflect God’s glory. It is our purpose to glorify God. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say when they see our good works, we are glorified, but that when they see our good works, they glorify our Father in heaven. All of our good works belong to God and are the result of God. God gets the glory for all we do. If as we serve God, things don’t turn out like we expect and seem to be a failure, we are not failures—the results belong to God. If as we serve God, the ministry seems to be prospering, that too is God’s business. The success belongs to God. God always gets the credit. This stands in direct contrast with those like the hypocrites Jesus will criticize in the next chapter who did things to draw attention to themselves. We are to be salt and light and to do good works in such a way that attention is drawn to Jesus and not to us.
Jesus said that if you are His disciple, you are salt and light in this world. Are you adding an enhancing flavor to the world, bringing out and preserving the God-created goodness, or have you lost your saltiness? Are you shining forth the light of Christ, or are you hiding the light?
Monday, March 28, 2011
Presbytery Speech Regarding 10-A
Mr. Moderator, I wish I could be speak for this amendment. The wording of this proposed amendment “to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000)” more accurately reflects what we are to look for as we examine candidates for leadership in our church than our current wording. It does not single out a specific area of life. We remember that all aspects of life must come under Christ’s Lordship, our behaviors, our relationships, our attitudes, our actions, our character, our possessions—everything. It reminds us not to exalt one area of life over another, or to justify ourselves, that because we do not struggle in one particular area, our own sinful habits and lifestyles are thereby excused. We have at times been guilty of focusing on a speck without removing the log from our own eye.
I have been grieved by the hateful speech of superiority I have heard from both proponents and opponents of this amendment. All of us struggle with sin. No one’s sin is of lesser severity in the eyes of God than another person’s. We all even relapse and commit the same sin from which we repented. This is our Romans 7 struggle, and therefore is not to be something that should be used to exclude a person called and equipped by God from ordained ministry.
However, it has become very clear through articles, emails, comments, and even the rationale the GA committee uses in the very booklets we were given, that this amendment is not about submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. It is really an attempt to exclude aspects of our life from the Lordship of Christ.
There is a big difference between one who struggles with sin and repents, even though he or she may relapse, and one who justifies or excuses behavior even by saying, “Well, this is just the way I am.” When we dig in our heels and say, “This is just the way I am, we limit the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who can rescue us from this body of sin and death. We have a form of godliness but deny God’s power. If we do not admit that we need transformation, then we will not be transformed, but if we want to be transformed, there is no limit to what God can do.
I have worked as a leader in a Christ-centered recovery program for 3 years.
I’m sorry this program has to exist as a parachurch ministry when it should be the way of the church period. Our recovery program welcomes everyone just as they are. We should welcome everyone who comes to our churches just as they are. We should welcome everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior into full fellowship and full communion. We have not, and for that I am truly sorry. The church has been a place of judgment instead of a hospital for sin-sick souls.
But we should also, as we do in our recovery group, love people toward transformation so that they become more like Jesus and put off their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We must, as we do in our recovery group, never make excuses for or make light of our relapses and sins, but constantly, do as this amendment says, submit all of our lives and wills to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And certainly, when it comes to ordained ministry, our lives should bear fruit showing that we are submitting every aspect of life to the Lordship of Christ. Again, not that we don’t fail, but that our failings are followed by confession and repentance and not justification or dismissal.
I have prayed about this and asked God to correct my theology if I am the one in the wrong. I take sin seriously, my own as well as that in the church and of the Church. I cannot thereby endorse this amendment, knowing that it will be used in the very opposition of its wording.
I have been grieved by the hateful speech of superiority I have heard from both proponents and opponents of this amendment. All of us struggle with sin. No one’s sin is of lesser severity in the eyes of God than another person’s. We all even relapse and commit the same sin from which we repented. This is our Romans 7 struggle, and therefore is not to be something that should be used to exclude a person called and equipped by God from ordained ministry.
However, it has become very clear through articles, emails, comments, and even the rationale the GA committee uses in the very booklets we were given, that this amendment is not about submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. It is really an attempt to exclude aspects of our life from the Lordship of Christ.
There is a big difference between one who struggles with sin and repents, even though he or she may relapse, and one who justifies or excuses behavior even by saying, “Well, this is just the way I am.” When we dig in our heels and say, “This is just the way I am, we limit the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who can rescue us from this body of sin and death. We have a form of godliness but deny God’s power. If we do not admit that we need transformation, then we will not be transformed, but if we want to be transformed, there is no limit to what God can do.
I have worked as a leader in a Christ-centered recovery program for 3 years.
I’m sorry this program has to exist as a parachurch ministry when it should be the way of the church period. Our recovery program welcomes everyone just as they are. We should welcome everyone who comes to our churches just as they are. We should welcome everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior into full fellowship and full communion. We have not, and for that I am truly sorry. The church has been a place of judgment instead of a hospital for sin-sick souls.
But we should also, as we do in our recovery group, love people toward transformation so that they become more like Jesus and put off their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We must, as we do in our recovery group, never make excuses for or make light of our relapses and sins, but constantly, do as this amendment says, submit all of our lives and wills to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And certainly, when it comes to ordained ministry, our lives should bear fruit showing that we are submitting every aspect of life to the Lordship of Christ. Again, not that we don’t fail, but that our failings are followed by confession and repentance and not justification or dismissal.
I have prayed about this and asked God to correct my theology if I am the one in the wrong. I take sin seriously, my own as well as that in the church and of the Church. I cannot thereby endorse this amendment, knowing that it will be used in the very opposition of its wording.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Zebedee, Matt. 4:18-25
Sorry you don't get the visual with this one! Thanks to Larry Crowder for the idea of doing a narrative.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
True Piety, Matt. 4:1-4, 16-18
This was Ash Wednesday's sermon. Example quotations are from a reader's theater written by Rev. Nancy Townley posted on worshipconnection.com for Ash Wed.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Connected Together
The title doesn't match the bulletin, but the sermon changed direction from the time I originally started thinking about it.
I trust that the Lord's guidance and direction is in it.
I trust that the Lord's guidance and direction is in it.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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