How many people have you told, “I love you.”? What did you mean by it? How old were you? Do you still love them? Today’s message is about love and it scares me to death. Not because I think that I am going to say something wrong, or controversial or something like that. But because it’s just too darn easy for this message to fall flat like a day old Pepsi can sitting out in the sun. I believe that love means a lot more than what we’ve accepted it to mean and the reason that I believe this is because of what I read in the Bible about love. We’ve made love into chicken broth when I believe it is something more like Kim Chi.
Has anyone here ever eaten Kim Chi? I have. Only once. Kim Chi is a staple of the Korean diet and is extremely important for that culture. It is made by fermenting vegetables, like cabbage, for a long time. The taste is unparalleled by anything else I have ever tasted. It is spicy, yes, but terrifically pungent and hits you like a ton of bricks. Some people love it (like I said, it is a staple of the Korean diet) but for many Americans (myself included) it is just too much for my nose and tastebuds to handle.
I believe that love, according to the Bible, is much more like Kim Chi than chicken broth. While chicken soup can be comforting when you are sick, Kim Chi is considered one of the most healthy foods you can eat, especially when you are sick (that is, if you can stomach it). In the same way, love, the way it is sold to us as Americans, is all about chocolate hearts at Valentines Day and snuggly teddy bears. But love in the Bible, is presented as something that isn’t always very snuggly and delicious.
There are two statements and two stories that I’d like to present to you that have convinced me that love is much more radical than we make it out to be. The first is this: God is love. Now that sounds nice and all, but have you ever thought about how different you and I are from God? “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Says the Lord. And yet, when we hear that “God is love” we somehow think that Valentine’s Day comes close to what “love” means.
If God’s thoughts are so different than ours. If God’s ways are so different than ours. Than why do we assume that our concept of love is so similar to God’s? Maybe hugs, and kisses, and tolerance, and smiles, and nice words, and doing a few good things for people barely touch the surface of what real love is in God’s eyes. In fact, I think we have definitely underestimated what love is according to a second statement, again from today’s reading: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Hands nailed into rough cut pieces of wood, having your face spit on, a crown of thorns, abandonment, sacrifice, forgiveness . . . that’s what love looks like. A crucified Jesus is the face of love. Have you ever come close to that kind of love on Valentine’s Day? Have we ever come close to that kind of love as a church?
Let’s come clean this morning and admit that we haven’t a clue what love means, at least not the kind of love that “God is” and the kind of love that Jesus had for us in order to die on the cross for us. Why is this so important? Because we have to start over. We have to chuck out our old concepts of love and get a new one—albeit a more radical one, if we are ever to understand how to truly love one another.
You’ve heard the two scripture passages, but now I have two stories of love. The first one is actually the beginning of a rather long story about a Father’s love for his children. “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. The Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Some of you might know this story. You might know that, as the story goes on, the man did eventually eat from that tree with the help of his partner. And that Father, the Lord God, cursed that man, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
So what does this loving Father do with his cursed children? This is where the real love shows I believe, “The Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.” Now, does that seem like love to you? Not in most people’s definition of love.
What are the words that you hear when we talk of love in the church? Acceptance. Compassion. Tolerance. So, if “God is love” how is it that He can cast his children out of their garden so that they can’t live forever? What’s so wrong with living forever? When I brought this question up at seminary one time, my professor answered in this way. “If Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever in death . . . as cursed people . . . they would have lived forever in their sin.” The most loving thing for God to do was to make sure they would die so that, one day, in Jesus Christ, their death might be destroyed. So that one day Christ would become a curse to free Adam, Eve and every one of us, from the curses we are under. A loving God does not accept or tolerate sin—he sacrifices himself to free you from sin. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” This love does not smell like chicken soup . . . it smells like Kim Chi!
But it is more than our definition of love that is so different than God’s. It’s how God DOES love that is so different and how he uses that love to do amazing things in His world. Why is love so important? Because people come to know God through our love for them. No kidding. “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” THEY WILL KNOW we are Christians BY OUR LOVE. And if they know chicken soup love, that what they’ll think God’s love is all about. The kind of love that is nice to visitors, tolerant of newcomers, compassionate for victims. And if they know Kim Chi love, that’s what they’ll think God’s love is all about. The kind of love that is more than a feeling, but willing to sacrifice something important for the sake of a stranger. A kind of love that is passionate for those who are the hurting and the lost. The kind of love that doesn’t just accept someone, but is willing to forgive unconditionally. The most radical kind of love is forgiveness.
Another story, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’” What did he say? Did he argue for her civil rights? Did he say that they were wrong to judge her? Did he try to get her off the hook? No, he said this, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” They all left.
But the story continues and Jesus’ love becomes much more radical than letting a guilty woman go free. “Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. “then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” Jesus forgave her, he did not condemn her. But just as His Father did in the garden of Eden, he did not want her to live forever in her life of sin, “Go now, and leave your life of sin.” He said. What if our church didn’t just love people, or tolerate people, but when we saw someone struggling with a sin, what if we loved people so dearly that we could tell them the truth about it, and never leave their side until their heard and believed that that sin was forgiven.
Maybe you’d like to see more of this kind of love in the church, but how do you get it? “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he is God.” If you want to love as God loves, you must have faith in God, because “God is love”. “We know God through love and rely on God for our love. If you start trying to love on your own you will fail. If God loves through you, He will succeed every time.
If you want to see this kind of love in the church, in your friendship, in your marriage and in your life, there is only one way to get it and it’s not by trying to do it better. You don’t love better just because you are told to (out of fear of punishment if you fail). Remember that there is no fear in love. We love because of faith.
Today, you have another opportunity to put your trust in God, perhaps for the first time and perhaps for the 100th time. Faith isn’t something that you store up over the years, it comes new every morning and every day. If you’d like to know what true love is, pray with me today and risk believing that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God; that he died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins; that every wrong thing you have done has been forgiven once and forever. And when the prayer is over, don’t ever start trying to love someone simply on your own—but when you go out this morning—have faith that God is loving through you. “We love because God first loved us.” Amen.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sermon for September 19th (Truth and Action)
Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did. Are you walking as Jesus did or are just you “doing it in your heart”? Follow me, Jesus said. Are you following him? Be honest. Are you following him in your marriage? Are you following him with your friends? Are you following him at work? Are you following him at church? I’m not asking you if you want to or if your intentions are good because I’m sure they are. But, “The person who says, “I know God,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
When my wife, Kristy, and I first found out we were going to have a baby, we really tried to prepare ourselves for what was going to happen. We bought diapers and a high chair, we had clothes ready for that first trip home, we made sure the car seat was installed correctly, we had our doctor picked out and another lady to help us through the birth, and we had phone numbers to call people when the baby was born. But that’s not all we did, we talked about what was going to happen and how we were going to handle it as parents. We went on a ton of dates before the big day to try and talk about our fears and our hopes—we wanted to be a strong couple before this little one came in and rocked our world. We wanted to be parents, but not only that, we wanted to be the best parents we could be.
Then my little girl was born and I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. I still find myself today wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to do it. I’d rather read about the Husker game on the internet than sit down and play with my kids. I’d rather hand over Micah to his mom than listen to him scream in my ear. I’d rather go to bed and stay there instead of waking up before dawn to get everyone ready for school.
I had tried to estimate the cost of diapers, clothes, beds and food. I had tried to prepare myself for how children would change my marriage and my life, but it is so different. Once you have a child, it doesn’t matter if you want to spend all night in the emergency room before a big day at work or if you were prepared to do it . . . you just do it. It’s what a parent does. Whoever claims to be a loving parent knows that the true cost of parenting really doesn’t have much at all to do with diapers, with food or even college tuition. The cost of parenting is paid with sleepless nights, broken hearts and a mind restless with anxiety about whether you are doing a good enough job from the time they are born until the day you die. I’m sure that there are a lot of parents whose intentions are good, like me, but if a person says, “I’m a good parent” but doesn’t do the things a good parent does then they are a liar, and the truth is not in them.
I’m going to be honest with you. If you believe that the hardest part about being a Christian is getting to church on Sunday morning then you have missed Jesus’ message. It’s not just about getting to church enough, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” When Jesus carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem, everyone knew what he believed . . . do the people you work with know what you believe? When Jesus was mocked and ridiculed on the cross, he did not rain screams of profanity down on their heads or argue that he was right and they were wrong. When you are criticized, what do you do? Get defensive? Would you rather be “right” in an argument and risk losing the relationships with your children, your friends and your spouse? Can you love and forgive someone who betrays you? Jesus did. Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did.
If you believe that tithing, giving ten percent of your income, is the hardest part about being a Christian, you have missed Jesus’ message. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus above anything else. Above any other relationship—Jesus alone. In one Bible story, Jesus stayed to teach a group of people one night rather than leaving with his family when they called. Did Jesus hate his mother or his brothers? No, he stayed because he desired that this group of people might better know their Father in heaven and to be saved for eternal life. Did Jesus hate his life? Was that why he died on the cross? He died on the cross because He loved you above anything else—even more than his life. The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus—the goal is love above anything else.
Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Well what if he DID mean everything? What if we took Jesus at his word? What if we really did give up everything? What if we put Jesus first in our lives and not just “in our hearts”. What if we put Jesus first in our real, everyday lives with real, everyday things? What if we really did give up our jobs, our 401k’s, our houses, our football games, our clothes, our computers and our security and gave them in service to others? In service to God? Would our lives really be destroyed? Is it impossible?
What if Jesus meant what he said? What if the word “everything” really means everything!? What if we stopped making excuses? What if we stopped saying “That’s not realistic” just as an excuse to keep our Ipods. What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when we allow marriages to fail just because we’d rather feel justified in ourselves rather than forgive unconditionally? What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when the only people who know we are Christians are the other people in our church. “This is how we know we are in God: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
When my little girl was born, I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. And as I said before, I still find myself wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to actually do it. But she still loves me, so do all three of my children, so does my wife even though I don’t deserve that kind of unconditional love from any of them. That’s grace. And yes, God knows that you had no idea what you were getting into when you became a Christian. You did not estimate the cost involved in being his disciple. Jesus died alone . . . his twelve disciples and all his followers, left him to die alone. And in your striving for being “realistic” in your life; to make it easier to be a Christian; in your passion for the things of this world rather than the things of God, you’ve abandoned Jesus on the road just like me. But Jesus Christ still loves you even though you do not deserve that kind of unconditional love. That’s grace.
The greatest tragedy, the worst offense I could ever make as a Father, or a husband, or a follower of Jesus is to admit my failures without ever seeking to change. To repent, to say “I’m sorry”, and then to still keep making the same old excuses. Making it easier on myself instead of giving up everything. For some reason, by God’s grace, we are loved. It cost you nothing. It cost Jesus his life. Jesus didn’t just love you “in his heart” while sitting on the couch. He walked the road of suffering and death according to his Father’s will. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Amen.
When my wife, Kristy, and I first found out we were going to have a baby, we really tried to prepare ourselves for what was going to happen. We bought diapers and a high chair, we had clothes ready for that first trip home, we made sure the car seat was installed correctly, we had our doctor picked out and another lady to help us through the birth, and we had phone numbers to call people when the baby was born. But that’s not all we did, we talked about what was going to happen and how we were going to handle it as parents. We went on a ton of dates before the big day to try and talk about our fears and our hopes—we wanted to be a strong couple before this little one came in and rocked our world. We wanted to be parents, but not only that, we wanted to be the best parents we could be.
Then my little girl was born and I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. I still find myself today wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to do it. I’d rather read about the Husker game on the internet than sit down and play with my kids. I’d rather hand over Micah to his mom than listen to him scream in my ear. I’d rather go to bed and stay there instead of waking up before dawn to get everyone ready for school.
I had tried to estimate the cost of diapers, clothes, beds and food. I had tried to prepare myself for how children would change my marriage and my life, but it is so different. Once you have a child, it doesn’t matter if you want to spend all night in the emergency room before a big day at work or if you were prepared to do it . . . you just do it. It’s what a parent does. Whoever claims to be a loving parent knows that the true cost of parenting really doesn’t have much at all to do with diapers, with food or even college tuition. The cost of parenting is paid with sleepless nights, broken hearts and a mind restless with anxiety about whether you are doing a good enough job from the time they are born until the day you die. I’m sure that there are a lot of parents whose intentions are good, like me, but if a person says, “I’m a good parent” but doesn’t do the things a good parent does then they are a liar, and the truth is not in them.
I’m going to be honest with you. If you believe that the hardest part about being a Christian is getting to church on Sunday morning then you have missed Jesus’ message. It’s not just about getting to church enough, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” When Jesus carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem, everyone knew what he believed . . . do the people you work with know what you believe? When Jesus was mocked and ridiculed on the cross, he did not rain screams of profanity down on their heads or argue that he was right and they were wrong. When you are criticized, what do you do? Get defensive? Would you rather be “right” in an argument and risk losing the relationships with your children, your friends and your spouse? Can you love and forgive someone who betrays you? Jesus did. Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did.
If you believe that tithing, giving ten percent of your income, is the hardest part about being a Christian, you have missed Jesus’ message. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus above anything else. Above any other relationship—Jesus alone. In one Bible story, Jesus stayed to teach a group of people one night rather than leaving with his family when they called. Did Jesus hate his mother or his brothers? No, he stayed because he desired that this group of people might better know their Father in heaven and to be saved for eternal life. Did Jesus hate his life? Was that why he died on the cross? He died on the cross because He loved you above anything else—even more than his life. The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus—the goal is love above anything else.
Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Well what if he DID mean everything? What if we took Jesus at his word? What if we really did give up everything? What if we put Jesus first in our lives and not just “in our hearts”. What if we put Jesus first in our real, everyday lives with real, everyday things? What if we really did give up our jobs, our 401k’s, our houses, our football games, our clothes, our computers and our security and gave them in service to others? In service to God? Would our lives really be destroyed? Is it impossible?
What if Jesus meant what he said? What if the word “everything” really means everything!? What if we stopped making excuses? What if we stopped saying “That’s not realistic” just as an excuse to keep our Ipods. What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when we allow marriages to fail just because we’d rather feel justified in ourselves rather than forgive unconditionally? What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when the only people who know we are Christians are the other people in our church. “This is how we know we are in God: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
When my little girl was born, I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. And as I said before, I still find myself wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to actually do it. But she still loves me, so do all three of my children, so does my wife even though I don’t deserve that kind of unconditional love from any of them. That’s grace. And yes, God knows that you had no idea what you were getting into when you became a Christian. You did not estimate the cost involved in being his disciple. Jesus died alone . . . his twelve disciples and all his followers, left him to die alone. And in your striving for being “realistic” in your life; to make it easier to be a Christian; in your passion for the things of this world rather than the things of God, you’ve abandoned Jesus on the road just like me. But Jesus Christ still loves you even though you do not deserve that kind of unconditional love. That’s grace.
The greatest tragedy, the worst offense I could ever make as a Father, or a husband, or a follower of Jesus is to admit my failures without ever seeking to change. To repent, to say “I’m sorry”, and then to still keep making the same old excuses. Making it easier on myself instead of giving up everything. For some reason, by God’s grace, we are loved. It cost you nothing. It cost Jesus his life. Jesus didn’t just love you “in his heart” while sitting on the couch. He walked the road of suffering and death according to his Father’s will. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Amen.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sermon for September 5th
“This is the message that we have heard from Jesus and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” Light comforts and light exposes. Light blinds and light leads. Darkness comforts and hides. Darkness blinds and confuses. Are you walking in the light or hiding in the darkness? Are you being led by the light or confused in the darkness.
According to the book of 1st John, “If we say that we have fellowship with Jesus Christ while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son cleanses us from sin.” Light exposes. That why my family was so happy this summer when we finally got shades at the parsonage. At nighttime, when it was dark outside, turning on the lights inside exposed to the outside world a little too much sometimes. In the book of first John, we hear that, “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we get close to Jesus, he shows us how far from him we truly are in our hearts, in our actions and in our lives. He exposes us as sinners in need of a Savior.
Have you ever seen or gone to the Macy’s counter where they sell all that make-up? Have you ever seen the huge magnifying glass mirrors they have there and the brighter than bright light on the counter. These are the tools of the trade, to come close to your face and let the light expose your minutest skin defects and make you feel that the only way you can face the world is to buy a fifty dollar zit cream the size of a thimble. When your problems are exposed, we are all driven to hide or to stand up and face the light.
While I was attending the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music getting my Masters in Double Bass Performance, I spent a lot of time practicing. Kristy was working as a music teacher in some inner city schools there and would be gone all day, but I would be gone all day and all night. She would ask for me to come home and I’d tell her that I had to keep practicing or I had to go to work or I had to do something else. She could only make me come home when she’d get so frustrated and upset that she would cry. Then I’d feel bad and come. She called me a workaholic, but I didn’t feel the label stuck because I didn’t WANT to work so much, I felt like I HAD to do it for US.
Then, one night, I remember going to bed early (since I had to get up and work early the next day). Sometime soon after, I woke up with the realization that she was right. I was a workaholic and I had missed out on so much time with her that I could never have back. Ever. My sin was exposed to me though I know that I had been exposed to her and the rest of my family much earlier. When I realized what I was like, it was like I could look back at everything I had done up to that point and a light was shown on all of it. I could suddenly see what she had always seen before. When God’s light convicts you of your sin, you suddenly see things that you were blind to before. You start seeing yourself as God sees you. When you become a Christian and start walking in the light of God, you can’t be ignorant and arrogant of what you are like anymore. You are exposed and forced you to either confess your sin or live your life in the full knowledge of your hardheartedness.
But God’s light does more than simply reveal sin, it also leads you in the right paths. “If we say that we have fellowship with God while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. By this we may be sure that we are in Jesus; whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” Becoming a Christian is more than simply realizing your sin and confessing your need for a Savior; it is about following a new way that is opposed to sin and following your Savior. We have to walk the walk and follow Jesus.
I know that a lot of you now have some type of GPS navigational system in your cars, a Garmin or something. And when you type in your destination, the idea is that you are to follow those directions. If you get off course, some voice will start calling out to you, “you’re going the direction” or “recalculating” or something. You don’t type in a destination if you aren’t going to follow the directions.
As a Christian, we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. He is the light that shows us the path to take, but just seeing the pathway to our destination isn’t enough, we have to follow that path. When I graduated from seminary, I had to make a choice about what path to take regarding how I would be ordained. I was still a member of the ELCA at that time and the ELCA had made an agreement with the Episcopal church that every pastor MUST be ordained by a bishop. I believed that this undermined the authority of the Bible. I believed that God’s Word was effective whether I was ordained by a bishop or not. I didn’t want to do something that I believed would undermine peoples’ trust in God’s Word as their source of hope and power and have them put it in a human being instead. However, I knew that, to follow this pathway, would mean possibly getting in a lot of trouble. You see, I saw the right way lit up for me, but I also saw very clearly the impending danger. Just seeing the right direction doesn’t make it any easier to follow. I finally took the way that the light led me, I also did get into a lot of trouble. Thankfully, following God’s leading and walking in the light has led me to LCMC and to this church. There are many times in my life when I see the right thing to do and don’t do it; but, by God’s grace, I took the right path at least that once and that has made all the difference.
The book of first John continues, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” To live a life as a Christian we must walk in the light: that means following Jesus and walking according to God’s commandments “so that we may not sin”, but it also means seeing our sin, confessing it and trusting that Jesus saves us from that sin.
But how can you do both? The text says to follow the light, “So that you may not sin.” How is that possible? To not sin would be to deny what the text says later on, “if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” How can we believe both things at the same time? Are we supposed to “not sin” or confess that we cannot “not sin”?
How can we do both? Well, for once, my seminary training is really helpful. You see, in the language this letter was first written in, it wouldn’t have been so confusing. 1st John was written in Greek, like the rest of the New Testament. And in the Greek language there are different verb tenses than we have, namely, there is a way to show that an action repeats. Perhaps a better way to translate this verse, to get the point across, is to say it this way, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.” Once again, “So that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.”
God knows that we fall short of the glory of God. If we say that we don’t we make him a liar the text says. But walking in the light means that if we do something wrong, when our sin is exposed by God’s light, we need to stop doing it and follow the light in a new direction. We can’t just doing that sin over and over and over again without attempting to change our behavior. Maybe we’ll fail, but when God’s light exposes us again, we must seek to follow God’s light in a new direction. If we continue doing something that we know is wrong without attempting to stop, we are NOT walking in the light and we are NOT living the Christian life.
But it’s hard to walk the walk isn’t it. For instance, the vast majority of couples that are getting married are living together. This is true for both Christian and non-Christian couples. And while having the same address is certainly no sin, what’s happening in the bedrooms at those addresses is according to God’s word. He commands that sexual intimacy be placed within a marriage and not outside it: this includes prohibiting both adultery and pre-marital sex. But the thing is, most couples know this! They know that God doesn’t like it and yet, even once the light exposes this as sin, well, nothing really changes. And, as I said before, it’s not about addresses, it’s about the behavior. We all have really awesome Christian friends or family members that either have done this or are doing it. I am sure some of you here are involved in this as well.
What can you do about it? Well, if you want to walk in the light you must do more than simply confess that what you are doing is wrong, you are called to change your behavior and follow Jesus, walk in his footsteps and in his light. There is nothing that can separate you from God’s love, you are forgiven completely—this is just one of many sins that we struggle with in this room—but repenting means to turn around and try to follow in the right direction.
We also must be wary of becoming legalistic and prideful of people who are trying to follow God’s will but continue to struggle. Many churches check people’s addresses before allowing them to be married as if that would stop all bad behavior. If you are struggling with this in your relationship, you are welcome here. We’re all struggling with something. And yes, you are welcome to be married here as are your children and friends in the same predicament. We cannot tie up heavy burdens on people so hard to bear without being willing to lift a finger to help. As Christians, we are called not only to shine Christ’s light to expose sin, but also to help people walk in God’s pathways.
All of us struggle to be the kind of Christians we want to be. We are embarrassed by our sins when they are exposed and we are constantly refusing to follow where Christ leads. The good news is that even as we are hiding out in our darkness and even when we choose the dark path rather than the lighted way, our darkness will never overcome God’s light. Just as the smallest sliver of light can fill up an entire room, Jesus love, compassion and forgiveness is enough to fill your life with hope. There is no sin dark enough that his forgiveness will not destroy and there is not direction you can walk where God will not follow you. Amen.
According to the book of 1st John, “If we say that we have fellowship with Jesus Christ while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son cleanses us from sin.” Light exposes. That why my family was so happy this summer when we finally got shades at the parsonage. At nighttime, when it was dark outside, turning on the lights inside exposed to the outside world a little too much sometimes. In the book of first John, we hear that, “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we get close to Jesus, he shows us how far from him we truly are in our hearts, in our actions and in our lives. He exposes us as sinners in need of a Savior.
Have you ever seen or gone to the Macy’s counter where they sell all that make-up? Have you ever seen the huge magnifying glass mirrors they have there and the brighter than bright light on the counter. These are the tools of the trade, to come close to your face and let the light expose your minutest skin defects and make you feel that the only way you can face the world is to buy a fifty dollar zit cream the size of a thimble. When your problems are exposed, we are all driven to hide or to stand up and face the light.
While I was attending the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music getting my Masters in Double Bass Performance, I spent a lot of time practicing. Kristy was working as a music teacher in some inner city schools there and would be gone all day, but I would be gone all day and all night. She would ask for me to come home and I’d tell her that I had to keep practicing or I had to go to work or I had to do something else. She could only make me come home when she’d get so frustrated and upset that she would cry. Then I’d feel bad and come. She called me a workaholic, but I didn’t feel the label stuck because I didn’t WANT to work so much, I felt like I HAD to do it for US.
Then, one night, I remember going to bed early (since I had to get up and work early the next day). Sometime soon after, I woke up with the realization that she was right. I was a workaholic and I had missed out on so much time with her that I could never have back. Ever. My sin was exposed to me though I know that I had been exposed to her and the rest of my family much earlier. When I realized what I was like, it was like I could look back at everything I had done up to that point and a light was shown on all of it. I could suddenly see what she had always seen before. When God’s light convicts you of your sin, you suddenly see things that you were blind to before. You start seeing yourself as God sees you. When you become a Christian and start walking in the light of God, you can’t be ignorant and arrogant of what you are like anymore. You are exposed and forced you to either confess your sin or live your life in the full knowledge of your hardheartedness.
But God’s light does more than simply reveal sin, it also leads you in the right paths. “If we say that we have fellowship with God while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. By this we may be sure that we are in Jesus; whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” Becoming a Christian is more than simply realizing your sin and confessing your need for a Savior; it is about following a new way that is opposed to sin and following your Savior. We have to walk the walk and follow Jesus.
I know that a lot of you now have some type of GPS navigational system in your cars, a Garmin or something. And when you type in your destination, the idea is that you are to follow those directions. If you get off course, some voice will start calling out to you, “you’re going the direction” or “recalculating” or something. You don’t type in a destination if you aren’t going to follow the directions.
As a Christian, we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. He is the light that shows us the path to take, but just seeing the pathway to our destination isn’t enough, we have to follow that path. When I graduated from seminary, I had to make a choice about what path to take regarding how I would be ordained. I was still a member of the ELCA at that time and the ELCA had made an agreement with the Episcopal church that every pastor MUST be ordained by a bishop. I believed that this undermined the authority of the Bible. I believed that God’s Word was effective whether I was ordained by a bishop or not. I didn’t want to do something that I believed would undermine peoples’ trust in God’s Word as their source of hope and power and have them put it in a human being instead. However, I knew that, to follow this pathway, would mean possibly getting in a lot of trouble. You see, I saw the right way lit up for me, but I also saw very clearly the impending danger. Just seeing the right direction doesn’t make it any easier to follow. I finally took the way that the light led me, I also did get into a lot of trouble. Thankfully, following God’s leading and walking in the light has led me to LCMC and to this church. There are many times in my life when I see the right thing to do and don’t do it; but, by God’s grace, I took the right path at least that once and that has made all the difference.
The book of first John continues, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” To live a life as a Christian we must walk in the light: that means following Jesus and walking according to God’s commandments “so that we may not sin”, but it also means seeing our sin, confessing it and trusting that Jesus saves us from that sin.
But how can you do both? The text says to follow the light, “So that you may not sin.” How is that possible? To not sin would be to deny what the text says later on, “if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” How can we believe both things at the same time? Are we supposed to “not sin” or confess that we cannot “not sin”?
How can we do both? Well, for once, my seminary training is really helpful. You see, in the language this letter was first written in, it wouldn’t have been so confusing. 1st John was written in Greek, like the rest of the New Testament. And in the Greek language there are different verb tenses than we have, namely, there is a way to show that an action repeats. Perhaps a better way to translate this verse, to get the point across, is to say it this way, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.” Once again, “So that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.”
God knows that we fall short of the glory of God. If we say that we don’t we make him a liar the text says. But walking in the light means that if we do something wrong, when our sin is exposed by God’s light, we need to stop doing it and follow the light in a new direction. We can’t just doing that sin over and over and over again without attempting to change our behavior. Maybe we’ll fail, but when God’s light exposes us again, we must seek to follow God’s light in a new direction. If we continue doing something that we know is wrong without attempting to stop, we are NOT walking in the light and we are NOT living the Christian life.
But it’s hard to walk the walk isn’t it. For instance, the vast majority of couples that are getting married are living together. This is true for both Christian and non-Christian couples. And while having the same address is certainly no sin, what’s happening in the bedrooms at those addresses is according to God’s word. He commands that sexual intimacy be placed within a marriage and not outside it: this includes prohibiting both adultery and pre-marital sex. But the thing is, most couples know this! They know that God doesn’t like it and yet, even once the light exposes this as sin, well, nothing really changes. And, as I said before, it’s not about addresses, it’s about the behavior. We all have really awesome Christian friends or family members that either have done this or are doing it. I am sure some of you here are involved in this as well.
What can you do about it? Well, if you want to walk in the light you must do more than simply confess that what you are doing is wrong, you are called to change your behavior and follow Jesus, walk in his footsteps and in his light. There is nothing that can separate you from God’s love, you are forgiven completely—this is just one of many sins that we struggle with in this room—but repenting means to turn around and try to follow in the right direction.
We also must be wary of becoming legalistic and prideful of people who are trying to follow God’s will but continue to struggle. Many churches check people’s addresses before allowing them to be married as if that would stop all bad behavior. If you are struggling with this in your relationship, you are welcome here. We’re all struggling with something. And yes, you are welcome to be married here as are your children and friends in the same predicament. We cannot tie up heavy burdens on people so hard to bear without being willing to lift a finger to help. As Christians, we are called not only to shine Christ’s light to expose sin, but also to help people walk in God’s pathways.
All of us struggle to be the kind of Christians we want to be. We are embarrassed by our sins when they are exposed and we are constantly refusing to follow where Christ leads. The good news is that even as we are hiding out in our darkness and even when we choose the dark path rather than the lighted way, our darkness will never overcome God’s light. Just as the smallest sliver of light can fill up an entire room, Jesus love, compassion and forgiveness is enough to fill your life with hope. There is no sin dark enough that his forgiveness will not destroy and there is not direction you can walk where God will not follow you. Amen.
Sermon for August 29th (Sent out for Mission)
Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? (Pause) I’m not asking you if you are a Christian; I’m asking if you are a follower of Jesus Christ? For those of you who have been baptized, you were named and claimed by God Himself, cleansed from all your sin, past/present and future, and given a promise to have faith in: the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone. At baptism, you were reborn a child of God, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit and you marked with the cross of Christ forever: you become a Christian. But I believe that many Christians, including all of us here today, have a very difficult time actually becoming followers of Jesus Christ.
Will you be a follower of Jesus? This morning, I want you to consider three important what being a follower of Jesus means. Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission.
According to the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, As Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ? For many, it means being squeezed out of this world, placed on the margins of society, finding yourself in neighborhoods you never wanted to visit, discovering yourself far away from every home you ever knew. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?
Jesus points out that in this world everyone knows their place, even the very animals of the field, such as the fox, and the birds of the air have a home that they know. The cattle in the fields follow the same path each day, grazing across the countryside, but they know their way back to their resting place at the end of the day. Some birds migrate over thousands of miles and over many months only to return to the nests that they made the year before. They know where they belong. The know where home is.
As a Christian, especially a Christian in America, you may also know where you belong. You know where home is. It may be a very comfortable experience to walk into this church on Sunday mornings. But this also creates a problem. A lot of other people don’t feel like they “belong” anywhere, especially not in a church, because of what they have done in their past, how they are living or what their last name is. That’s how this world works: everyone knows their place. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests” Jesus says. But Jesus put all these cultural understandings and traditions in the toilet as he brought the kingdom of God into this world. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, thought they “belonged” with Jesus inside the temple, but he kept hanging out with the sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors in their houses. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?
Being a Christian is important. We come into this place, into this church, to become Christians. It’s not the only place we could go, but it is a very good place. We come in to be inspired by God’s Word, reconnected to God’s people and empowered in our serving. But being a follower of Jesus Christ is not about coming in, it’s about being sent out. Where are you beng sent? The last few weeks, we’ve talked about being sent out to speak, sent out to lead, sent out to bear fruit, and sent out to give. This week, I’d like to talk to you about something that I believe God is passionate about as much as anything else: we are sent out for mission!
It’s easy for us to say that we love mission or say that we want to follow Jesus, but when the details come out about what that means, we shut up and stop saying anything. To follow Jesus wherever he goes means to join him with “no place to lay his head”. Each of us has particular comforts in our lives that we do want to give up easily. And, as Jesus points out, “Where your heart is, there is your treasure also.”
When a certain ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus explained that he needed to sell all that he owned and distribute the money to the poor. Then, Jesus said, “come follow me.” Why did this person need to sell that he owned? Because that is where this man’s greatest assets were laid. Jesus’ answer would have been different for the widow who gave all she had to the temple treasury. Her greatest assets were not laid up in money. What do you hold to be dearest in life? How would you feel if Jesus told you that following Him meant using those assets for the kingdom of God? Pastor Mark Batterson says, “You greatest asset will become your greatest liability if you do not use it for God’s purposes. Is your identity in something other than your relationship to Christ?”
Will you be a follower of Jesus? What would hold you back? What if you were called to go to India as a missionary? Is your greatest asset your house? Staying in Adair county? Being within a few miles of your family? Is it your job? Is it your reputation? To be a follower of Jesus, would you sell that house? Quit your job? Be called a Jesus freak? Fly halfway across the world for two years? This isn’t about sacrificing all that you love; it is about using your greatest loves and your greatest assets for the sake of the kingdom of God. If your identity is in farming for example, God would not ask you to change who you are in order to serve him—He gave you those gifts after all!—but when you find your identity first in Jesus Christ, your gifts for farming would be used in service to God. As a follower of Jesus, that might take you someplace that looks very different than the fields of Iowa just like it did for Donnie in the video.
Looking at the text from Luke again, Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Why is mission so important? It is the difference between death and life. We have many things to do here on this Earth. Bills to pay, errands to run, dirty diapers to clean, chores to do, people to visit, games to attend . . . but Jesus informs us that what he is calling us to do is of such importance that it takes precedence over everything else. Yes there are other important things to do, but God’s passionate love for the broken and hurting people of this world is so intense that He puts everything else and all of us in service to finding them, healing them and bringing them words of hope.
At the beginning of August, I spoke to you about the importance of being sent out to speak. I gave you the top ten excuses you might hear for why people don’t want to come to church, but I encouraged you to speak up anyway for the sake of their eternal life and salvation. When we are sent out in mission throughout the rest of world, the reasons for not being a Christian are much different. Often, the closest church in 3 hours away and it is an underground church—hidden from the authorities Why? Because it’s illegal to be a Christian. In some places, when you become a Christian, you are at risk to be killed if your neighbors find out or disowned by your family who are of a different faith. People often don’t have a job, live in poverty, don’t have a Bible, are illiterate anyway and have never heard the story of Jesus. We are sent out in mission because there are people around the world who need to hear Jesus’ words of life.
Back to Luke chapter 9, “Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Will you be a follower of Jesus? If so, you must do more than talk about it, you must start doing it. There are no doubt many reasons to turn back from this path and many excuses for why it won’t work for you. Moses certainly have a great deal of excuses when he was called by God in the reading from Exodus today and I bet that you are no different. But Jesus calls us to keep our eyes on Him alone and follow wherever he leads. When we start looking at ourselves, we’ll find many faults and weaknesses, when we look back we’ll start clinging to all we’ve left behind, but when we your eyes are on Jesus, you begin trusting Him to provide for all that you need.
Will you be a follower of Jesus? Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission. If God is pulling at your heart this morning to follow Him into the mission field, don’t stifle the spirit. There are forms in your pews that I would invite you to fill out and return to me, whether it is through the offering plate, after the service or sometime this week. There is no doubt that God is calling us into mission, but where we go and what we do is based on who he calls. My hope and prayer is that we begin a process today that sends out a small group of people on a short-term mission trip. The next several weeks, we’ll be meeting to pray and discern. The next few months, we’ll be planning and preparing. Finally, by next spring or early summer, I envision a group being sent out in mission for Christ.
But even if you don't feel called to be on such a trip, you still have an essential part to play. We need every follower of Jesus to be on board in order to make this mission successful. We need people gifted in prayer, planning, travel, organization, and giving as well as those making the trip because we are ALL called in to be sent out.
Jesus Christ had a mission on Earth--to preach the forgiveness of sins so that you might have faith in his promise of eternal life. The message is still the same and so is the mission. Amen.
Will you be a follower of Jesus? This morning, I want you to consider three important what being a follower of Jesus means. Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission.
According to the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, As Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ? For many, it means being squeezed out of this world, placed on the margins of society, finding yourself in neighborhoods you never wanted to visit, discovering yourself far away from every home you ever knew. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?
Jesus points out that in this world everyone knows their place, even the very animals of the field, such as the fox, and the birds of the air have a home that they know. The cattle in the fields follow the same path each day, grazing across the countryside, but they know their way back to their resting place at the end of the day. Some birds migrate over thousands of miles and over many months only to return to the nests that they made the year before. They know where they belong. The know where home is.
As a Christian, especially a Christian in America, you may also know where you belong. You know where home is. It may be a very comfortable experience to walk into this church on Sunday mornings. But this also creates a problem. A lot of other people don’t feel like they “belong” anywhere, especially not in a church, because of what they have done in their past, how they are living or what their last name is. That’s how this world works: everyone knows their place. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests” Jesus says. But Jesus put all these cultural understandings and traditions in the toilet as he brought the kingdom of God into this world. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, thought they “belonged” with Jesus inside the temple, but he kept hanging out with the sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors in their houses. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?
Being a Christian is important. We come into this place, into this church, to become Christians. It’s not the only place we could go, but it is a very good place. We come in to be inspired by God’s Word, reconnected to God’s people and empowered in our serving. But being a follower of Jesus Christ is not about coming in, it’s about being sent out. Where are you beng sent? The last few weeks, we’ve talked about being sent out to speak, sent out to lead, sent out to bear fruit, and sent out to give. This week, I’d like to talk to you about something that I believe God is passionate about as much as anything else: we are sent out for mission!
It’s easy for us to say that we love mission or say that we want to follow Jesus, but when the details come out about what that means, we shut up and stop saying anything. To follow Jesus wherever he goes means to join him with “no place to lay his head”. Each of us has particular comforts in our lives that we do want to give up easily. And, as Jesus points out, “Where your heart is, there is your treasure also.”
When a certain ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus explained that he needed to sell all that he owned and distribute the money to the poor. Then, Jesus said, “come follow me.” Why did this person need to sell that he owned? Because that is where this man’s greatest assets were laid. Jesus’ answer would have been different for the widow who gave all she had to the temple treasury. Her greatest assets were not laid up in money. What do you hold to be dearest in life? How would you feel if Jesus told you that following Him meant using those assets for the kingdom of God? Pastor Mark Batterson says, “You greatest asset will become your greatest liability if you do not use it for God’s purposes. Is your identity in something other than your relationship to Christ?”
Will you be a follower of Jesus? What would hold you back? What if you were called to go to India as a missionary? Is your greatest asset your house? Staying in Adair county? Being within a few miles of your family? Is it your job? Is it your reputation? To be a follower of Jesus, would you sell that house? Quit your job? Be called a Jesus freak? Fly halfway across the world for two years? This isn’t about sacrificing all that you love; it is about using your greatest loves and your greatest assets for the sake of the kingdom of God. If your identity is in farming for example, God would not ask you to change who you are in order to serve him—He gave you those gifts after all!—but when you find your identity first in Jesus Christ, your gifts for farming would be used in service to God. As a follower of Jesus, that might take you someplace that looks very different than the fields of Iowa just like it did for Donnie in the video.
Looking at the text from Luke again, Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Why is mission so important? It is the difference between death and life. We have many things to do here on this Earth. Bills to pay, errands to run, dirty diapers to clean, chores to do, people to visit, games to attend . . . but Jesus informs us that what he is calling us to do is of such importance that it takes precedence over everything else. Yes there are other important things to do, but God’s passionate love for the broken and hurting people of this world is so intense that He puts everything else and all of us in service to finding them, healing them and bringing them words of hope.
At the beginning of August, I spoke to you about the importance of being sent out to speak. I gave you the top ten excuses you might hear for why people don’t want to come to church, but I encouraged you to speak up anyway for the sake of their eternal life and salvation. When we are sent out in mission throughout the rest of world, the reasons for not being a Christian are much different. Often, the closest church in 3 hours away and it is an underground church—hidden from the authorities Why? Because it’s illegal to be a Christian. In some places, when you become a Christian, you are at risk to be killed if your neighbors find out or disowned by your family who are of a different faith. People often don’t have a job, live in poverty, don’t have a Bible, are illiterate anyway and have never heard the story of Jesus. We are sent out in mission because there are people around the world who need to hear Jesus’ words of life.
Back to Luke chapter 9, “Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Will you be a follower of Jesus? If so, you must do more than talk about it, you must start doing it. There are no doubt many reasons to turn back from this path and many excuses for why it won’t work for you. Moses certainly have a great deal of excuses when he was called by God in the reading from Exodus today and I bet that you are no different. But Jesus calls us to keep our eyes on Him alone and follow wherever he leads. When we start looking at ourselves, we’ll find many faults and weaknesses, when we look back we’ll start clinging to all we’ve left behind, but when we your eyes are on Jesus, you begin trusting Him to provide for all that you need.
Will you be a follower of Jesus? Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission. If God is pulling at your heart this morning to follow Him into the mission field, don’t stifle the spirit. There are forms in your pews that I would invite you to fill out and return to me, whether it is through the offering plate, after the service or sometime this week. There is no doubt that God is calling us into mission, but where we go and what we do is based on who he calls. My hope and prayer is that we begin a process today that sends out a small group of people on a short-term mission trip. The next several weeks, we’ll be meeting to pray and discern. The next few months, we’ll be planning and preparing. Finally, by next spring or early summer, I envision a group being sent out in mission for Christ.
But even if you don't feel called to be on such a trip, you still have an essential part to play. We need every follower of Jesus to be on board in order to make this mission successful. We need people gifted in prayer, planning, travel, organization, and giving as well as those making the trip because we are ALL called in to be sent out.
Jesus Christ had a mission on Earth--to preach the forgiveness of sins so that you might have faith in his promise of eternal life. The message is still the same and so is the mission. Amen.
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