Tom's Desk

Pour Out Your Heart - Psalm 62 - January 29, 2012

2012-01-28T20:56:00.002-06:00

What music would youchoose to be the sound track of your life? Would it include people like Bennie Goodman or the Andrew Sisters, maybePerry Como or the Lettermen, or perhaps the Rolling Stones and Billy Joel. My kids will tell you that James Taylor sangout in our household in Thailand, Malaysia, Texas, and even in Oklahoma.

Because we see thePsalms as a book in the Bible we can forget that they were written in musicalform. When we hear the Psalms we are listening in on the music that shaped anddefined life for many of God’s people through passage of time. They are the soundtrack of worship, They singof real life emotions, personal struggles, and of moments of grand celebration.We heard all of them emotions in Psalm 62, sung by our Sanctuary Choir onlymoments ago. With each note and movementthe choir helped capture the flavor of this song sung to God that emerged freshfrom the life of His people. It speaks with majesty, beauty and power. Take a closer look at this song of faith withme.

The Psalm begins; Truly my soulfinds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. ² Truly he is myrock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. The greatpreacher Charles Spurgeon preached a great sermon of encouragement just onthese two verses. He focused on thepromise that God is our rock, our salvation, and our fortress. These are wordsto hear and cheer. But I do not want tomiss that initial word that our soul can find rest in God. Our lives can be so busy, so hectic, and wecan have so many different people and obligations tugging at us, we can findourselves weary – weary to the depths of our soul.

Our temptation is to decide to try to fix it ourselves. If we only make a minor change in ourschedules, or get someone to cover one of our tasks, and it we believeeverything will be better. We tellourselves when we are down that we will find a way to cheer ourselves up theneverything will be OK. There are timeswhen what we need is not to reset our schedules or cheer ourselves up. What we need is to claim rest for our soul inGod’s presence. We are invited to claiman unhurried time of rest with God, who is the way of our salvation; who is ourrock, on whom we can stand in the midst of the storm; and who is our fortress,in whom we can find safety and security in times of difficulty or distress. ThePsalmist wants it clear that a deep relationship with God is a safe place forus to be.

ThePsalm sings out; ³ How longwill you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, thistottering fence? ⁴ Surely they intend to topple me from my loftyplace; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in theirhearts they curse. The Psalmist looks around and sees people who havebrought pain into his life. You can fell the hurt in his words. Sometime peoplelet us down. Sometime people who aresuppose to love and care for us can hurt us. These are hard but irrefutabletruth. When we feel wounded by others itis easy to feel isolated. Hear that youare not alone. The psalm reminds us that this is an age old issue thattranscends place and time. When you comefind yourself wounded by those around you, cry out to God. God cares and God hears.

ThePsalmist knows this. We hear the psalmechoes his first themes of assurance and goes a step further. The psalm singsout; ⁵ Yes, my soul, findrest in God; my hope comes from him. ⁶ Truly he is my rock and mysalvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvationand my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. ⁸ Trustin him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is ourrefuge. I love how Eugene Peterson sees verses 7 and 8. He interprets them this way…”Myhelp and glory are in God —granite-strength and safe-harbor-God— So trust himabsolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place tobe.” I think Peterson captures the picture of God as place of strengthof refuge. But, I think he missed theinvitation to pour out our heats to God. I chose to the title of the sermon on verse 8’s call to Trust in him at all times, you people; pourout your hearts to him, for God is our refuge because I believe that theinvitation to pour our heart out to God is at the heart of discovering a deeperrelationship with God. The psalmist hasover and over again used language to help us understand the safety and securitywe find in God. The psalmist has overand over again used language to help us understand the strength we find in thearms of God. I believe that all of thislanguage is designed to help us understand that trust God enough to pour outour hearts to God.

Ithink a lot of us can imagine pour out our hearts to a close friend. We believe that the love and care for usenough to hears the cry of the depths of our heart. But, I am not sure we fully understand andembrace what it can mean to pour our heart out to God. Some many of us have been taught structuredprayers with a religious sounding vocabulary. We are tempted to hurry intoprayer and back out of it because the language we have learned somehow feelsunnatural to us. The Psalmist imagines conversations with God that are so deepand so pure that the words we claim emerges from the core of who we are. This kind of conversation with God is morefocused on its honesty and sincerity than it is its vocabulary. If we believe that our closest friend wouldcare about the cry of our heart, how much more would God, made us in His image,who breathed the very breadth of life into our soul, who is our salvation, ourmighty rock, the one in whom our honor depends, invite us to pour out our heartto Him?

Iacknowledge that there is vulnerability in pouring our heart to God. It seems that there are parts of our livesthat we are proud of and are glad to share with God. But, for many there are darker parts of ourlives that we have a hard time imagining lying at God’s feet. The hard news isthat God already knows all that we have thought or done. The good news is thatrelationship with God is a safe place to be wholly who we are. God is bigenough, strong enough, and loves us to hear our secret shames and our deepestpains. Our brokenness is a part of ourstory and should be a part of our story with God. Our brokenness is where God steps in. In pouring our heart out to God we invite Godto change us and renew us – to truly redeem us in the midst of our pain andbrokenness. God is ready for us to pourout the depths of our hearts to Him. Through our faith relationship in God through Jesus Christ we come toGod feet and there we can discover His healing and restoration not only foreternity but for our daily hurts and real life pain.

ThePsalmist has already sung out in despair that others have hurt and betrayedthem. Next the Psalmist reminds out that when the weigh the value of other andanything you can hold in your hand against God it is like they are nothing atall. He tell them this as the Psalmistsings; ⁹ Surely the lowbornare but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they arenothing; together they are only a breath. ¹⁰ Do not trust inextortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do notset your heart on them. The answeris clear. There is no one like God. Wecan trust God enough to pour out our whole heart to God. We can lay ourselvesspiritually bare before God. God is notfar away or is on his throne in heaven waiting to zap you for every misstep.No, God is near, ready to love us, ready to hear us, ready for us to pour outour hearts and to meet our greatest needs. The Psalmist ends in song with theassurance that “Power belongs to you,God, ¹² and with you, Lord, is unfailing love.”

Thismorning I invite to pour your heart out to God. Share the depths of who you are with God and invite God to sweep intoyour life with healing and redemption. God has the power to redeem and renew you. God has the unfailing love whose desire foryou is a life of abundance joy – of life like it was meant to lived. I just keep thinking about the description ofMoses relationship with God reported in Exodus 33 when we hear, The LORD would speak to Moses face to face,as one speaks to a friend. May wechose to pour out our heart for God and discover a relationship with God wherethe Lord will speak to us face to face, like one speaks to a friend. Let’s not settlefor less. God awaits us. How will we respond?

Food Bank Follow Up

2012-01-22T09:33:00.002-06:00

Larry Hawkins just came by my office with an update on yesterday's mission venture to the Regional Food Bank. 21 people participated, ranging in age from youth to senior adults. They sorted 15,500 pounds of food. The Food Bank estimates that they help to prepare for distribution the equivalent to 11,769 meals. Photos to follow soon. Well done FBC church family and hats off to Larry Hawkins for putting this event together.

Grace and Peace, Tom

What words.......?

2012-01-21T16:36:00.002-06:00

If someone asked you about your church what words or phrases would you use to tell your church's story? OK, I want to stretch you. Don't use the generic words to would apply to any church. What makes your church distinctive? Over the past two weeks I have been in a couple of settings where I had the opportunity to hear some members and ministers in our church family offer their perspectives on what makes First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City who were are. What I heard made me smile. Almost no one talked about the brick and mortar building. I listened as people talked about finding a church family where they actually felt a part of the family - even when people knew all about them. People talked about being a place where broken hearts and broken lives find family and healing. They talked about the way music sings across the life of the church and of finding joy in worship that speaks across generations.They talked about what it meant to grow in their walk with God together - listening to one another and learning from each other. They talked about the way our church family pours itself into our community. Still others talked about being part of church that cares about refugees and others who need a place to call home.

The conversations reminded me how each church has a unique sense of mission, purpose and personality - and the our church has chosen a path direct from many others. It is not a place to just come and sit as a spectator. It is a place to dive in, to open your heart and mind to what God has to say, to invest in others, to listen for where God is calling you, and then to roll up your sleeves in living expressions of love and service to others. {While I was working on this blog I stopped to take a phone call from a church member who was working at the Furniture Bank this morning - saw a need - and saw God open the way to meet that need within a matter of hours.} It is fun to be a part of a place where all you have to do is look up to see God at work.

In the coming days we will be finding ways to hear the voices of others in the church family - and looking for other ways to help tell our church's story. If you are a part of the FBCOKC family, what words or phrases would you use? If you are part of another church family, what words or phrases would you use to share your church's story with others? Tom

Taking Jesus At His Word - John 4:46-53 - 1/15/2012

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-06:00

Henever looked comfortable in a coat and tie. His hands were work worn and he hadlost a part of a finger in a work accident many years before. His work clotheswere coveralls and you were more likely to find him on a tractor or in histruck then you were riding in the Cadillac his wife had come to love. He had been raised with some simple but clearbeliefs; you work hard, you do right and your word is as good as a bond. His once rural farm had been surrounded bybustling suburbs and somewhere along the way he had to make the transition fromtobacco farmer to land developer - and somewhere along the way had become a manof wealth. But whether you foundyourself talking to him in his role as a farmer – or him in his role as a landdeveloper, those old beliefs still rang true. I liked Omer. If Omer said it you could believe it – and ifyou shook on it you could take it to the bank.

Thereare some Jesus stories that are used in sermons and Sunday school lessons overand over again. We hear about Jesus walking on water, feeding the 5000, andeven speaking to wee little Zacchaeus up in the tree. But there are some otherstories that seemed to get passed over. Somehowtheir story and what it tells us about Jesus is almost lost along the way. Thismorning’s focal story is one of those stories. In this story we see Jesus meeting an unnamed and unknown publicofficial whose son is very sick. In thisstory we see that you could take wake Jesus said to the bank. Nolen read the passage as a whole earlier inour service, but let’s take a closer look together. The story begins; ⁴⁶Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went tohim and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

This storycomes as the second miracle story that John will share. John sets the stage by telling us that Jesuswas going back to Cana of Galilee the site of his first miracle. If we arepaying attention that intro should give us fair warning that somethingsignificant was about to happen. A“certain royal official” with a very sick son enters the scene. It is interesting reading over the strugglemany pastors and scholars put into trying to unravel whether this official wasa Jew or Gentile; whether he was an official in the political realm or thereligious one. But as I read the passage the personal details of this namelessfaceless office do not matter. John hassomething much more important for us to hear.

John wants usto hear that this “certain royal official” came to Jesus in person. Thegospels provide several stories of where officials would dispatch a servant ontheir behalf to speak to Jesus. This official could have sent one of hisservants or one of his underlings to do his bidding. It is one thing to send someone – it issomething else also together to come in person. This royal official thought the life of his son was so important that hepersonally came to Jesus face-to-face. He came with hope that Jesus could do something to heal his son. He was not above begging Jesus in front ofothers if it meant Jesus would come to his home and help.

Jesus heardhim pleading and spoke directly. ⁴⁸“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will neverbelieve.” Jesus was right, so many can only believe when it is accompaniedby a grand show. We are so easilycaptivated by the grand, the impressive, even the miraculous. But this officials heart was different. He did not care about the show, he justwanted to have his son alive and well and in his arms again. ⁴⁹ The royal officialsaid, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus replied,“your son will live.” How many of us would have looked at Jesus and saysomething like, “That sounds great, now come to Capernaum with me and heal myson.” But this is not what happens. Whathappens next is what makes this story incredible. John reports simply, The man took Jesus at his word and departed. Wow! No more pleading, no more begging, he justgets up, scoops up his stuff and heads home. His action is a remarkable display of faith.

Iimagine that many gathered that day must have found his response ridiculous,but what John tells us next should make us stop in our tracks. ⁵¹ While he was still on theway, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵²When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him,“Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” ⁵³Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had saidto him, “Your son will live.” This nameless faceless official took Jesus athis world and everything changed. The official’s faith was reward. His faithchanges the life of his son. Life and love replaced the prospect of death andgrief. John also tells us, So he and his whole household believed. Hisfaith changes his life and the life of everyone in his household. It all beginswhen he took Jesus at his word.

Whatdo you think our lives might look like if we took Jesus at his word? Jesus tells us; “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you cansay to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing willbe impossible for you.’”(Matthew 17:20) He says this in response thedisciples wondering why they cannot do some of what they had seen Jesusdo. Jesus wanted it clear that if wereally took him at his word we could have the kind of faith to move a mountain– not one shovel at a time, but to push it out of the way in whole, to do whatGod calls us to do. Do we have the kindof faith that moves molehills or mountains?

Wehear Jesus say; ¹⁸ “Truly Itell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever youloose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell youthat if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be donefor them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather inmy name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:18-20) Jesus describes for his disciples thekind of faith and the kind of prayer than can break the power of evil and leadus to praying for the heart of God. We hear Jesus but we are tempted to give upon the power of prayer when we do not immediately get what we want or believewe deserve. Jesus teaches us to pray forthe will of God and to trust God to answer in the way that is best for us. Dowe take Jesus at his word when he tells us that God hears and responds to ourprayers?

Welisten as Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan and when in anothersetting he is questioned he teaches; “‘Lovethe Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all yourmind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew22:37-40) We have emblazoned this greatest commandment on the walls of our mainhall because we understand that a call to love God and love each other withabandon is at the heart of God’s way. But, it is one thing to write in on a wall and something very differentto chose to emblazon and another all together to emblazon it on ourhearts. Do we take Jesus at his word andlive a life defined by our love for God and others?

Wehear as Jesus stands on a hillside in Galilee and tell his disciples and usthat;”But you will receive power whenthe Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and inall Judea and Samaria, and tothe ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)Jesus tells us that our witness is empowered by the Holy Spirit and that Godwill use us to take his word to our city, nation, and world. If we took Jesusat his word how might it change the vigor with which we proclaimed the goodnews of Jesus to all that we know?

Thisstory of Jesus’ encounter with a nameless faceless official invites us toembrace a passionate pursuit of God’s way. It is a way that calls for us totake Jesus at his word – to truly trust God and then to pick up our stuff andgo – knowing that God has gone before us. It is a bold way not a timid one.When we choose to take Jesus at his word things change. We are changed. Our way of life is changed.When we take Jesus at his word we get to see God at work and those around uscannot help but be impacted.

TheGospel of John tells a story about a nameless official that took Jesus at hisword and he and his household believed. What will be your story? Whatwould happen if you took Jesus at his word? What would happen if you became a household of faith?

Passionate Pursuit- Isaiah 51:1-3 - 1-8-2012

2012-01-16T21:53:00.000-06:00

OnJanuary 9, 2005 I stepped onto this platform for the first time as yourpastor. I vividly remember that firstmoment like it was yesterday. I came with to the moment filled with both hopeand trepidation. I wanted to convey asense of self confidence and a sense of direction. While a part of me couldclaim those feelings, there was another part of me that wondered if perhaps Ihad gotten in over my heard. I had doneconsiderable research and knew much about the church’s heyday when ministrieswere blowing and going and every room was filled to capacity. I knew a great deal about the powerfulpreaching that defined Hobbs and Garrison’s era, and the compassion thatdefined Jeff Zurheide’s season here. I knew about First Baptist’s heart for itscommunity but I also had heard stories of pain and heart break, of the struggleto define the church’s identity as it looked into its future. I knew that felt that God had lead me here,but I do not think I could have imagined how much I would come to love this churchand the church family that calls it home.

Sonow, some 2,555 days later, I step on this platform again. In that first sermonI tied to lay out some sense of where I saw God leading us, and every year onthe second Sunday in January I have tried to do the same. Now for the eighth time, I look to Scriptureand I look to God for a fresh word of hope and direction for us. While mostyears I have claimed this moment to announce a new inititiave, mission orministry program, or staff change. This year is different. This year the message speaks to the heart ofwho we are in our walk with God. Thisyear, the passage that seized my heart and has defined this service is Isaiah51:1-3. It is calls us to be definedby a passionate pursuit of God.

Youneed to know that the words of this passage was originally written to a peoplethat we broken hearted and drowning in uncertainty. They were in a lost and longed to hear thatGod was ready to work on their behalf. “This passage contains strong words of encouragement for peoplewho have been through terrible times. Perhaps their situation is still awfuland words of hope are not easy to believe. They may sound like wishfulthinking, pious optimism, a futile blowing in the wind. So the prophet workshard to present his message of hope in as convincing away as possible.”[i] While our setting is very different, thewords the prophet brings speak with power to where we are as we seek to be arelevant and a meaningful people of God in an ever changing culturalcontext.

Thegreat prophet Isaiah begins, calling out for the people’s attention. He raiseshis voice and summons them with expectation; “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD. Isaiahbegins with the presupposition that the people to whom he spoke were people whowere actively pursuing righteousness – actively and passionately pursing livingthe right way – God’s way. In 2 Timothy 2 we hear Paul describe toyoung Timothy what it means to pursue a rightly focused life. He teaches, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursuerighteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord outof a pure heart.”(vs.22) This word that both Isaiah and Paul uses is astrong word. They do not talk aboutwalking or jogging toward a right life, they choose that word that is activeand passionate. When one pursuesrighteousness – it is about an all in, fully committed, dead sprint kind ofpursuit of a right life. It is a mad dash,pushing forward, straining toward the finish line kind of commitment to livingGod’s way.

Inthe past I have called to restructure our church ministerial staff, to step outin new mission endeavors, and to expand our congregational programming. This year I believe that our call is tostrengthen our spiritual core – to choose to personally and congregationallygrow in the depth of our walk with God. In the weeks and months you will hear about: expanded opportunities in prayerministry; a focused small group Bible study experiences for men; a parallelfocused small group Bible experience for women; a special discipleshipopportunity for Senior adults; a DiscipleNow weekend event for youth: andoccasional book studies designed to stretch our worldview and help us gain anew understanding of the heart of God. During my summer sabbatical we will partnerwith the Baylor School of Social Work to do a Church Census that will help usto understand the heart cry and the great spiritual needs in our congregationin an effort to design our ministries to meet those needs.

Butit is important that you understand that the call to a passionate pursuit of aright life with God is ultimately more personal than programmatic. The choiceto embrace a passionate pursuit of God’s way is not something you do for amoment and then go back to your normal routine. Isaiah tags the call to purse righteousness with the additionalqualifier as those who seek the Lord.Paul adds the qualifier as those whocall on the Lord out of a pure heart. They were clear that the pursuit of aGodward life found its foundation not in just in what we do, but in the natureof our walk with God. They both envision that God works in the midst of apeople with a passionate pursuit of a rightly focused life; a relentless driveto become the people God calls us to be; a tireless and ceaseless seeking of theway and will of God for our lives.

Thiskind of faith – this kind of faith life – is contagious. We felt a flavor of it in the testimonies weheard on Wednesday night and in testimonies offered from this pulpit over thepast year. We see glimpses of this wayof life in the face of those around us that give of themselves freely and aredrawn to God’s feet in prayer as a pattern of life. Many in our community andmany in the world long to encounter followers of Jesus who live authentic livesof faith and devotion instead of encountering people who fill their languagewith religious words but live lives that are indiscernible from them own. Ourcommunity and our world long to see examples of people wholly dedicated toliving their lives God’s way. The wayone person can change the world is to embrace a passionate pursuit of God andthen to allow God to use them as a witness for all the world to see.

Isaiahknew that call to pursue righteousness and to seek the Lord might strike thecommunity as hollow religious words in light of their currentcircumstances. For us too, the wordmight sound like just more church chatter for those living in a culture that isgrowingly hostile to the Christian message. So Isaiah called them to remember whence they came. He called out, Look to the rock from which you were cutand to the quarry from which you were hewn; ² look to Abraham, yourfather, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only oneman, and I blessed him and made him many.

Isaiahtook them back to the beginning of the beginning – of the moment when God firstcreated His covenant with His people. Hecalled Abraham to leave all that he knew and to trust God to lead him, providefor him, and to bless him and to bless others through him. Isaiah reminded them of Sarah, Abraham’s wifewho was to give birth to a child despite her advanced age. She laughed at God’s promise, but God wasfaithful and birthed a nation through her. Abraham and Sarah’s stories were not easy one – but they demonstratedthat God was faithful over and over and over again. They were cut from the rock of people oftrusted God and passionately pursued God despite the challenges. They were hewnfrom a quarry of faith and faithfulness. God had led them in the past – God would lead them into their future. He wanted them to understand that the God hecalled them to pursue with passion, had pursued and sustained them with an evengreater love and passion.

Manyof the dreams I laid out before us over the past seven years have come tofruition and are now a part of our church life. We sought to reach out to thoseon the margins and have become the centerpiece congregation for the work amongrefugees. We talked about reaching into the Classen-Ten-Penn community andlaunched our S3 mission endeavor. In one of these sermons we announced the planto offer an Experiencing God opportunity and we witnessed together God move inour midst over the twelve week small group study and prayer program. We dreamof the birth of a missions center, of renovating the facilities, of becoming amodel of a missional congregations that would encourage other downtowncongregations. In several of the sermons we announced changes in churchstaffing that has lead us to the ministerial staff that helps to lead us everyday. I celebrate what we have been able to do together. But, I should also notejust as quickly that a number of the things I brought before us moved towarddevelopment and just as quickly faded away. I celebrate these as well, becausethey showed the heart of a congregation willing to try new things – and tocontinue to try new things – as we sought to discover God’s way for us. I want to thank you for trusting me enough tobe willing to push outside of tradition and comfort zones to seek to be thechurch calls us to be for this era.

But,your heart to be shaped to be the right church doing the right things for theright era should not surprise anyone. Forthose who are newer to First Baptist, know that when you look back across thehistory of this church a discernable pattern emerges. In each era that the church has been willingto embrace whatever needed to be done to be the best church possible. In the midst of the Great Depression the churchrallied together to build a new building to expand discipleshipopportunities. In the 50’s the churchwas willing to call the first Minister of Christian Recreation in Baptist lifeand build a gym as a part of a new youth education building to reaching peoplein a changing culture. This same spiritled the church to say “yes” to launch Good Shepherd Ministries and to betelevised. It lead many of you in theroom this morning to lead Sunday School classes and departments where youraised your children side-by-side and sustained the church ministries with thesame passion you sustained your families. When other churches left downtown for the comfort of the suburbs youchoose to stay and minister to this community. Who we are now and who we are becoming is unmistakably shaped by the wayGod has worked in this church and through you in the yesterdays and theyesterdays before that. Who we are nowand who we are becoming is unmistakably shaped by the faithful spirit you havedemonstrated doing quality ministry yesterday – and now today. Godhas pursued us and was faithful to fulfill his promises in our yesterdays – andwe can trust Him to be faithful in where he leads us in our tomorrows.

Withthose words of strong assurance lingering in the air, Isaiah points them towardtomorrow. ³ The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look withcompassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelandslike the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her,thanksgiving and the sound of singing. This short verse from Isaiah 51emphatically seeks to break open an unimaginable future. Expectations arereversed; life is to be changed. We struggle with the idea of change because weit is always easier to stay huddled and event content where we are. Change canbe unsettling – uncomfortable – and even unnerving. But only when we allow ourselves tocontinually be changed and reshaped by God can we know what it is to pursue aright life with God. While we cancherish our yesterdays – whether ones from years ago or weeks ago or days ago –we cannot linger there. God has more instore for us. Isaiah wanted them to knowthat their situation was about to change - but that they would find joy andgladness, thanksgiving and the sound of singing on the other side.

Welive in the moment between the days defined by memory and the days that willshaped by our dreams; between already and what is next before us. I believe that we focus ourselves and ourcongregational life on a passionate pursuit of God that God will lead us to aplace of joy and gladness. While ourtomorrows may look different than our todays and yesterdays, I believe that ifwe commit ourselves and our church community to follow God’s lead with abandonwe will come to a spirit of thanksgiving and sing songs of praise. If we choosea passionate pursuit of God and God’s way as our way then God will turn thedeserts and wastelands of our spiritual lives into overflowing gardens ofgrowth and beauty. Isaiah wanted the people to understand that God was about todo something amazing in their midst – and that what God desired of them was forthem to pursue a right way of life that would lead them only to Him. His call is our call – we can see how God hasmoved in and through First Baptist Church in the past and in this most recentseason together – but I believe to the very depths of my soul that we are onlybeginning to see what God has planned for us. I do not pretend to know all that God has in store for us. But, whilemany Christians quake in fear of the future, I believe we are called to stepout boldly and to pursue God’s way and God’s word with passion. Choose to make space in your lives and participatein the opportunities we will offer to give you the tools for a passionatepursuit of God. Make space in your lifeto spend time with God – reading, praying and listening. Make space in your lives to take time toremember how God has moved in your life in your yesterdays. Prepare yourselves for what God might callyou to do and where God might call you – and us – to God. Great days with God await us.

[i] DANIEL J. SIMUNDSON, “Comfort and Challenge: Prophetic Preaching inPentecost,” Word & World 16/3 (1996)

Renewing the Covenant - 2 Kings 23:1-3

2012-01-16T21:47:00.000-06:00

“Renewing the Covenant” 2 Kings 23: 1-3 1/1/2012

I borrowed a book a couple ofweeks ago from Joe Hodges. Its titleintrigued me. It is entitled, “Does God Have A Big Toe?’ It is a book of stories about stories emergingfrom the Bible. It comes from the Jewishteaching tradition called a midrashwhere a rabbi tells story about a Biblical story to help draw out a specificpoint or meaning. This morning I want toshare a midrash by the author of the book, Rabbi Gellman. It is a storyemerging from the story of Enoch, one of the people whose story is told inGenesis 5, as a part of the transition from Adam to Noah. Enoch is known for one thing. His faith was so strong that he walked withGod, and God loved him so much that he took him into heaven rather than havinghim face the stark reality of death. The midrash is entitled, “The AnnouncingTool” and I have asked Joe to read it for us:

Along time ago, when all people lived in one place, getting news was easy. Theyhad

yellersthen who would walk around town and after a few minutes of yelling everyone got

the news.But when people began living all over the place, even the yellers could notyell

loud enoughto get the news around. Mostly people didn’t get the news. But some special

times justhad to be announced. And the arrival of the new year was one of those times.

So God askedEnoch to go find an announcing tool.

The next dayEnoch returned with tow rocks. “Oh God, listen to my find announcing tool,”said Enoch, who nagged the two rocks together making a lock rock-banging sound.

God said toEnoch, “What kind of announcing tool is this to tell of the arrival of the newyear? Rocks don’t make music. They onlymake noise. The new year is a time for music and singing, not banging andyelling.”

Enoch ran offto find another announcing tool.

The next dayEnouch returned with a gong. “Listen to this one!” shouted Enoch as he gonged thegong, making lots of gonging sounds until God said, “STOP! What kind ofannouncing tool is this to announce the arrival of the new year? The gong doesmake a strong sound, but the going is made of iron and iron is used to makeswords and spears and arrows and other weapons of war. The new year is a timeof peace, not war.”

So Enoch ranoff to find another announcing tool.

The next dayEnoch returned with a harp. “God, this one is a winner!” he said as he strummedsome lovely harp sounds that filled the air. “Close,” Said God. “Very close, but not close enough. The harp is a lovely instrument. It is notnoisy. It is not made of iron. But it is too soft and find for an announcingtool. The new year is a time of loudrejoicing. We need an announcing toolthat will carry the news from hilltop to hilltop around the world. Try again.”

The next dayEnoch returned with a golden trumpet in his hand and announced to God, “Whatyou see here, God, is the perfect announcing tool! It makes music and not noise;it is not made of iron. And it is loud enough to carry the news of the new yearfrom hilltop to hilltop!” Enoch then blew some fine notes on the goldentrumpet. The God said, “The golden trumpet is a good announcing tool.”

Enoch jumpedup and down with joy until God continued. “Good, but not good enough. The golden trumpet makes loud, beautifulmusic and is not made of iron. But it is made by somebody who pounded it androlled it and shaped it. I want a natural announcing tool that is not made ofgold. Prices are going up. Nobody could afford such an announcing tool.” Enochwas getting depressed, but he ran off one more time to hunt down anotherannouncing tool.

The next dayEnoch was a little late coming to God. When he did arrive, he was out of breath. “I am embarrassed, God, toshow you my new announcing tool. It isonly this ram’s horn – not nearly as sweet as the harp or as beautiful as thegolden trumpet. But it is not made ofiron. And nobody pounded it or shaped it (except for the ram). I even think it is loud enough to get thenews from hilltop to hilltop. But I am not sure if it is a good enoughannouncing tool.”

“Why are younot sure?” asked God.

Enochreplied, “Well, you see, Oh Holy One, Blessed be You, I have been practicingwith this thing all morning and it is ever so hard to blow. Sometime I blow and blow and I get is a peep! or a pfft!or skeek! and then maybe another pffft!.”

God spoke toEnough with great love: “Enoch, you have done well! The ram’s hone is theperfect announcing tool. It is naturaland loud and can make beautiful sounds. I know that it is hard to play, but that is just right. The new year ishard too. It is a time for deciding todo good things and give up bad things. The new year is a time for apologizing to others for hurting them in anyway. An all that is very very hard todo, even harder than blowing the ram’s horn.”

The God satEnoch down and taught him how to blow the ram’s horn for the big celebration ofthe new year that was soon to begin. Bythe end of the lesson from God, Enoch could blow the ram’s horn with a peep! a pffft! or a skeek![i]

Ithink the reason I liked this midrash so much is I watch as we dive head longinto the new year with grand resolutions to lose weight, to change jobs, to getout of debt, or some other profound personal change, only to discover withindays or weeks we have fallen back into our old patterns and find ourselvesfrustrated, aggravated, and somewhat depressed. This story understands that a choice to truly change at new years ishard and demands the work of God. Rabbi Gellman’s midrash reminds us, “Thenew year is hard too. It is a time fordeciding to do good things and give up bad things. The new year is a time for apologizing toothers for hurting them in any way. Anall that is very, very, hard to do, even harder than blowing the ram’s horn.”In our hearts we yearn to be more fit, more faithful, more the person Godcreated us to be. But, we despite ourefforts we find ourselves stumbling and falling again and again.

Our story is not a new one. In2 Kings 2 we hear about a dramatic moment of when the people of God took stockof who they were and what they needed to do to make real change in theirlives. The young king, Josiah, washaving the temple cleaned up and renovated when the workers came across theBook of the Covenant, the book that described the nature of God’s relationshipwith the people and the people’s relationship with God. This young king realized that they were farfrom where they were supposed to be in their walk with God and called thepeople together. It was a moment thatwould change the course of the lives of all who were there. The traditionaltranslation of the passage is printed in the worship guide, but hear thetelling of the story from Eugene Peterson’s interpretative translation, TheMessage. It reads; The king acted immediately, assembling allthe elders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then the king proceeded to The Temple of God, bringing everyone in histrain—priests and prophets and people ranging from the famous to the unknown.Then he read out publicly everything written in the Book of the Covenant thatwas found in The Temple of God.The king stood by the pillar and before Godsolemnly committed them all to the covenant: to follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions,heart and soul, on what to believe and do; to put into practice the entirecovenant, all that was written in the book. The people stood in affirmation;their commitment was unanimous.

In this moment the king stoodbefore the people and read the book to them. For him these were more than words held in a scroll. They were a call to a different way of lifeand a different standard of living. Then, in front of everyone, he made a personal choice to renew hiscovenant relationship with God. He didnot demand they follow him. The peoplechoose to follow in renewing their covenant relationship with God because theysaw how it impacted their king and wanted that same kind of relationship withGod. They wanted the kind of life only possible when you walk with God.

Earlier in our service welistened and participated as Paxman shared a new year tradition from his churchbackground. It was a call to reflect andto pray. In the midrash we heard a callto choose good, to reject the bad in our lives, and to reconcile brokenrelationships. In our passage, welistened as the King Josiah invited to people to seize the moment and renewtheir right relationship with God and others. Each of these voices call us to do more than simply make a fresh set ofNew Year’s resolutions this year. I want to invite you to become an announcingtool, making a bold but wonderful sound of music for the world that you havechosen to renew your covenant relationship with God rather than to simply makeNew Year’s resolutions. While traditional resolutions beckon ustoward something a quick and/or temporary fix, our choice to renew our covenantrelationship with God reminds us who we are in God. It calls us back to the moment we wereredeemed and set free. It calls us to remember, to seek God’s face, and tostart again. Blow your ram’s horn sothat from hilltop to hilltop the word will go out that it is a new year – and anew season in your walk with God. Embrace this moment as a spiritual touchstone verse a pledge of fleetingresolutions. Our resolutions are notvery resolute. Our covenant relationshipwith God is.

Now is a time ofdecision. How will you respond? Will you go through and compile our usuallist of New Year’s resolutions or will we choose to seize this moment to renewa right relationship with God and with one another? Will this be a year we choose to do right, towalk away from evil, and to reconcile the places in our lives that ourbroken? In minutes, when we come to thetable to remember God’s great grace gift, will it call us to God’s presence ina spirit of renewal or will we simply go through the motions one moretime? This is a time of decision – a newyear awaits us – how will we respond?

[i] Marc Gellman, “TheAnnouncing Tool” in Does God Have a Big Toe?, (HarperCollins: NewYork, 1989), pp. 85-88.

Waiting in Hope - Luke 2:25-38 - December18, 2011

2011-12-18T08:06:00.000-06:00

This is a gift from beneathmy Christmas tree at home. (hold up for people to see.) It is oneBeth is giving me. Thank you, Beth! But I have a problem. It is not Christmas yet. I have never been very good at this waitinggame. Even as a kid I would look forpresents beneath the tree with my name on it and when I thought no one else waslooking, I would pick it up to see how heavy it was. I would rattle it to see it if made anynoise. I would feel around it to see ifget some sense of its shape or size. (Act out each of the actions mentioned withpackage in hand.) I would try my best to try to figure out what was on theother side of the wrapping paper. Don’tlaugh; I know a lot of you out there did exactly the same thing. I have decided that there is a balance outthere somewhere between the frustration of the unknown in my hand and theanticipation of the joy that is to come when I finally get to see thegift. I know that I will love it becausethe person who bought it and wrapped it as a gift for me loves me and wishes mejoy. So, for now, I wait, and I hope,and I wait, and I hope, and I wait, and I hope……

The story of Jesus has twostories sitting side by side that are about people waiting and hoping. They are stories that carry into the templecourts as Mary and Joseph come to dedicate Jesus. The first story is the one William Dooleyshared with us earlier in the service. It is Simeon’s story. We hear that there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon,who was righteous and devout. He hasbeen waiting for something almost his whole life. He dreamed of seeing the one that would bethe face of salvation for his people and the world. He knew that there was apurpose in his waiting.²⁶ Ithad been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he hadseen the Lord’s Messiah. Then theday he had been waiting for arrives. Luke tells us that Simeon,²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents broughtin the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required. Itappears that as soon as he saw the face of Jesus he knew. ²⁸ Simeon took (Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismissyour servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: ³² a light forrevelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” ³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

But the moment was notthrough. ³⁴ Then Simeonblessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause thefalling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spokenagainst, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Simply said, Simeon told themthat Jesus would turn everything upside down and impact the heart of many. But in this great blessing there is aforeboding word, something would happen to Jesus that would break their hearts.

It fascinates me that God chose Simeon be a part of early moments of the gospel story. There would have been many others in the temple compound that Mary and Joseph could have gone to circumcise their eight day old infant. In fact, for the couple, it was much less important who did the ritual than that it was done on the day and in the fashion their faith demanded. This was no ordinary day. It was the day Jesus would claim the symbol of God’s original covenant with His people. But the one God chose to use for this sacred moment was one who had waited with hope. Simeon did not need to see Jesus perform miracles or hear him teach. Simeon led a life of spiritual expectation. This spirit gave Simeon the heart feel and the eyes to see the face of God in the infant’s face.

Lying beside Simeon’s story is another. Itintroduces us to a woman of great faith named Anna. Elizabeth Ogburn shared herstory. She wears the face of one who has seen many, many years pass by. God rewarded her faithfulness and gives her agift worth waiting for. She had livedthe life of a wife, and then endured a long season as a widow. In our context we hear that simply as a womanwhose husband has died. In that time itwas more. Not only had she lost herhusband, she had lost her identity and her means for survival. A widow was completely dependent on her malechildren, and if she did not have any, she had to rely on the pity andgenerosity of others. Luke tells us that Anna never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.Anna spent her days and nights worshipping and waiting, ready for God tospeak. In response God gave Anna aspecial gift. She was so focused on God’s voice that she was seen as a prophet,one speaking to others on behalf of God. As Simeon’s words still hung in the air Anna came up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke aboutthe child, Jesus, to all who werelooking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna is equally an incredibly unlikelyparticipant. As an 84 year old widowAnna would have had no standing to step into this moment. She was neither a friend of the family nor aninvited guest. The fact is that shechose to intrude. She did not intrude because she was rude, but rather becauseshe felt God’s compelling. God summoned one who had dedicated herself toworship, prayer, and fasting. Anna had waited with hope. When the moment cameshe did not need to see Jesus perform miracles or hear him teach. Anna led a life of spiritual expectation. This spirit gave Anna the heart feel and theeyes to see the face of God in the infant’s face.

Simeon and Anna are powerful, butuncomfortable, models of faith for us. The power of their witness is that they show us what it looks like towait with anticipation and absolute trust. Their witness is uncomfortable because waiting is hard and in our case,counter-cultural. We want what we want when we want it. Our culture is anon-demand culture. We are the creators of fast-food, the ATM, drive through carwashes, and a countless list of other devises designed to meet our desiresinstantaneously. We have come to view waiting as a violation of one of our basic human rights. We expect the cashier at McDonald's to apologize if it takes longer than 30 for our food to arrive at the counter. We listen as the man at the table next to us strum his fingers on the table top if he thinks the waitress has taken a bit too long bringing the check. We listen as people blow their horn a microsecond after the light has changed, demand the car in front to move on.

Waiting is frustrating. Too many of us livelives of frustration, waiting impatiently for something we want or believe wedeserve. We dream of a new job, and our frustrated waiting cheats us from fullyinvesting ourselves in the task that God has put before us. We dream of living in a different place, andspend countless wasted hours spinning plans on how to get there, rather thanpouring ourselves into the place where God has planted us and the people that Godhas put in our lives. We find ourselvesliving between where we once were and where we hope to be with our emotionaland spiritual bags packed and ready to go. We are seized by our frustrated plans rather than being defined by hopeand expectation.

Waiting is spirituallychallenging. When things do not happen on the time we believe is right or fairwe begin to wonder why God has not responded. It can make us doubt God’s lovefor us or God’s willingness to do good and right things for us. But, hear me clearly, this doubt is not ofGod. While it is hard for us to conceive that waiting could be a good thing. It is even a harder thing to conceive that waiting can be a tool of God. Instead of being spiritually challenging, it is entirely possible that waiting in hope can become a tool God uses to shape us and change us.

But when we look again Simeon and Anna’switness we discover that it resonates across the breadth of Scripture. We are taught to wait with hope andexpectation for God to act - and having the faith to know God will act in a waythat is best for us as His children. The Psalms presumes a stance of faithfulexpectant waiting as act of worship. Listen to what some of them have to say.

Psalm 27:14 Wait onthe LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say,on the LORD!
Psalm 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patientlyfor him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry outtheir wicked schemes.
Psalm 33:²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;he is our help and our shield. ²¹ In him our hearts rejoice, for wetrust in his holy name.
Psalm 38:¹⁵ LORD, I wait for you; you willanswer, Lord my God.
Psalm 130 ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my wholebeing waits, and in his word I put my hope. ⁶ I wait for the Lordmore than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for themorning.

In the waiting we findourselves dependent on God. In thewaiting we find ourselves forced to learn to truly trust God with our future. Itpushes us to learn to live in today with God and to entrust God with ourtomorrows. In our waiting God has the opportunity shape us and draw us close.In our waiting God will strengthen our hearts. In our waiting we learn to face our future with a sense of divine expectation,knowing that God is loving and faithful. Simeon spent his life waiting with acertain hope in God and God responded beyond his wildest dreams. Anna lived a life of devotion and expectationand God spoke to her and through her. While waiting on God will stretch us, it can also help us discover a newdepth of trust in God. Where is God calling you to wait with hope, trusting Himto do what is right and best for you? Where God shaping you, strengthening you,and calling you close? Will you respondin frustration or respond in faith? Wait, with hope and expectation. Wait,trusting that at the right time – God’s perfect time, God will move in a waythat redeems and renews us.

Setting the Stage - Matthew 3:1-12 - December 4, 2011

2011-12-03T17:25:00.001-06:00

Our traditional worshipplatform has been transformed into the heart of Bedford Falls. The stage has been set for this week’s fourperformances of It’s a Wonderful Life:The Musical. If you had been in this room any time over the past two weeksyou would have seen a steady stream of people armed with hammers and nails,power saws and measuring tape, each working feverishly to put every board inplace. At the same time people have been putting countless hours of rehearsaltime working on their lines, musical numbers, and dance moves; while stillothers were setting lights and still others gathering props and finalizingplans to make sure everything is in place so that show can go on. In a matterof days hundreds will find their way into the pews, the house lights will godown, the stage lights will come up and the grand story of grace and hope willbe played out right where I stand.

The time had come for thepeople of God to return from exile in Babylon back to the Promised Land. You would think that people would be liningup to go, but many had settled down and settled in. Others knew that the reality was that theirformer capital was in shambles; that there was not much to return to; and thatthose who did return had much work in front of them. The words from Isaiah or those that followedin his footsteps brought a prophetic promise that would have spoken to theheart of the people. God was going to dosomething that would change history forever. One was coming who would help them set the stage for God and God’sdramatic act. In the first few verses of Isaiah 40 we hear; ³ A voice of one calling: “Inthe wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert ahighway for our God.⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, everymountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the ruggedplaces a plain.⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and allpeople will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

The people returned and builtagain. Time passed and one generation gave way to another and another, and onegeneration gave way to another, and another, and another, and another – thepeople waited with anticipation. God hadbeen faithful to His promises before. God would be faithful in fulfilling thisone as well. This morning we find thepages of the Bible turned from the Old Testament to the New, and the gospelstory begins to be played out on history’s stage. Isaiah’s prophetic promise is realized. As Chapter 3 in the Gospel of Matthew beginswe read; ¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in thewilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heavenhas come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophetIsaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way forthe Lord, make straight paths for him.’” When the first people heardthis promise I imagine that they envisioned a major road project to make theway for a grand military ruler and king. This is even probably what Isaiahwould have dreamed When we learn thatJohn is that voice crying from the wilderness we begin to understand that Godhas something very different in mind. The cry to prepare the way forthe Lord, to make the straight the paths for him, we be begin to see thatthe promise of finding our way home again with God was not a physical journeybut a spiritual one.

John is an unlikely voice forGod to use. He did not come from among the priest or the royal court. He was the consummate outsider. The culturewould not have known what to do with him. While times had changed, John dressed, acted, and spoke like one of theprophets of old. ⁴John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around hiswaist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to himfrom Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Peoplewere responding to John’s call to confession and preparation. They could look around and see that they werenot where God wanted them to be. Theirleaders were corrupt, the Romans disregarded their faith and faith tradition,and the religious leaders seemed to be more focused being self-righteous thanrelevant, and even the Temple seemed to be more focused on income than it wason directing people to the feet of God. Jesus would later describe them as harassedand helpless, like sheep withouta shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) The people came because they knew theyneeded to do something to prepare themselves for God great act. The people came because they knew there weremountains and valleys, crevasses and potholes in their lives that need to beaddressed. The people came because theyknew that they needed to make the paths straight in their lives that they mightfind the way back home to God.

The religious leaders of theera saw something going on and wanted to see if they could get in on it. John has a hard word for them. He wanted it clear that their self-righteousattitudes were not going to get them anywhere. Verse 7 through 12 hears him proclaim; ⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he wasbaptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee fromthe coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ Itell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does notproduce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ “Ibaptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is morepowerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize youwith the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand,and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn andburning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John wanted the Pharisees and the Sadduceesand all those gathered for baptism that God’s grand act was about to beunveiled. He had a very specific role. He was setting the stage for God’s greatgift to them and for all of humanity. His father sung his story before hisbirth. We heard David Cochran read it before; ⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the MostHigh; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of theirsins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the risingsun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living indarkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

What an incredible job description. Can youimagine being given the responsibility – the privilege – of being the one whois called to help prepare the way for Jesus? Can you imagine the joy you could find if your primary job was to givepeople the knowledge of salvation, the promise of forgiveness, and to guidepeople’s feet into the path of peace found only in Christ? While John embraced this role in advance ofthe public ministry of Jesus, we inherit this role from him as the people whohave come to faith through Christ. As assuredly as those that helped set thisstage with hammer and nail for the story to be on display, we are called to setthe stage for the story of Jesus to be on display in our lives.

This is not a new message. It is the common theme of the Adventseason. But, while we hear this messagereoccuringly, we find it much harder to live out in real life. It is hard tolead people to the promise of peace when for many of us it seems so elusive inour own lives. The problem is thatsometimes we find the spiritual mountains in our life so high, that they lookinsurmountable. We know our foibles and our failures. In our eyes they areRocky Mountain in scale and we have a hard time imagining that God can trulyforgive us. For others the mountains are personal, financial, emotional, orrelational in nature. The sheer face of the rock is so high and imposing wefind ourselves paralyzed with fear and apprehension. For others among us the spiritual valleys sodeep we do not think we can crawl our way out. We think that if people reallyknew what we had done or what had been done to us that they would not be ableto look us in the face. The valley seemsso deep we cannot conceive that God can reach in and pull us out. For others of us, the spiritual potholes sodistracting that we find ourselves again and again on the wrong path. We want to find our way back to that roadthat leads us toward being at home with God. We just do not know how. It ishard to make the path straight to Christ for others when we still finding ourselveson wandering roads.

We need to hear John’s call and confess oursins and prepare our own lives for the God’s great gift in Christ. The mountains will be made low, the valleyswill be filled in and we can find ourselves at God’s feet when we embrace theforgiveness and grace of God through faith in Jesus. Just like the stage hasbeen prepared for this week’s musical presentation, we must not let anythingstand in our way for setting the stage for Christ to be on display in ourlives. Over and over again you hear mesay that the coming Jesus is the act of God on which the history of humanityhinges. But hear with equal passion that the coming of Jesus is the act of Godon which your life hinges. Through Christwe find the forgiveness, the salvation, and the peace of God. With Christ nospiritual mountain is too tall and no spiritual valley is too deep. Apart from Christ we are defined by themountains and the valleys. We need tohear John’s call and claim our part in setting the stage that others might findthat same forgiveness, salvation and peace. Make the path straight – straight to the feet of God. Set the stage –so the story of Jesus is on display.

Big News For FBCOKC

2011-12-03T11:44:00.001-06:00

Over the past 60 days FBCOKC has received a litany of bignews.

The Church received a Lilly Renewal Grant for over $49,000to fund a sabbatical experience for the pastor.
Dr. Bobby Kelly and Dr. Mack Roark will serve as thepreachers and teachers for Sunday morning worship services and SALT Biblestudies on Thursdays during the pastor’s sabbatical.
FBCOKC will work with the Baylor School of Social Work to doa “Church Census” during the sabbatical period. This survey process will helpdefine the spiritual heart cry of the church family that will definecongregational ministries during the second half of 2012 and in to 2013.
The Good Shepherd Ministries Medical Clinic was only one ofthree of the 22 Christian clinics serving the OKC metro to receive a grade “A.”The grade was given as part of a review by the Butterfield Foundation.
The fact that the Good Shepherd Medical Clinic received agrade “A” qualifies it to submit a multimillion grant request to theButterfield Foundation. The likelihoodof received a large scale grant looks very good. 2012 should witness a dramaticincrease in the scale and impact of the Good Shepherd’s Medical and DentalClinic ministries.
Round Up Cleaners and its six stores across the metro hasjoined FBC and Good Shepherd Ministries in an initiative to raise 1000 coats todistribute to children and adults this winter. The Hobby Lobby ChaplainDepartment has already given 25 coats as a part of this effort.
The Oklahoman dida feature article on the FBC Can Sculpture Competition in both print and webeditions. http://newsok.com/religion-oklahoma-city-church-shows-can-do-spirit/article/3622207
KLOVE Radiopicked up the story on the can sculpture competition and broadcasted itnationwide. Word Magazine heard theradio story and is preparing to do a feature article on their website as aneffort to inspire other congregations to stage similar events to raise foodthat can be shared in their communities.
The Oklahoman dida feature article on the FBC/Good Shepherd Furniture Bank in both print and webeditions. It focused on the partnership with Catholic Charities and SkylineUrban Ministries (United Methodist) and how the result of the partnership is agreat new ministry resource for our city. Response to the article has been strong. http://newsok.com/bring-your-nearly-new-lamp-or-sofa-new-oklahoma-city-bank-accepts-deposits-of-furnishings/article/3624402
The Hobby Lobby Chaplains Department featured the FurnitureBank in its latest newsletter. TheOffice of Faith Based Initiative featured the Furniture Bank on its website andits latest newsletter.
A new leader The ESL Language Lab emerged; the Language Labhas reopened and is experiencing steady growth in students.
The City Sentineldid a nice feature article on the upcoming production of It’s a Wonderful Lifein its print and web editions. http://city-sentinel.com/?p=2027
FBCOKC did a full page full color newspaper wrap for 55,000homes on Black Friday promoting church Advent programs.

More announcements of this caliber are coming soon. God isat work in and through FBCOKC related ministries. Thanks be to God.

A Generous Life - I Chronicles 29:14-18 - November 27, 2011

2011-11-28T07:34:00.001-06:00

This morning we begin ourjourney toward Christmas. Most years wewould be looking at an Old Testament prophecy like the one read earlier in ourworship service. (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Butthis year I want to set a different tone for our Advent passage to theChristmas manger. I want to offer aninvitation to a different way of living that will shape our Christmascelebrations and grow our walk with God. This morning I invite youindividually, and as a church family, to embrace a life of generosity. It is a way of life on display in theChristmas story and lived out in front of us by people we love and cherish.

Not long ago I attended thememorial service for Jim Denton’s mom, Rachel. I listened to person after person describe the impact her life ofgenerosity had on them and on seemingly countless others. I asked Jim to share how her story inspiredhim to become the person he is through Christ.

THEEXAMPLE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING – by Jim Denton - I was delighted to finally get that packagehad finally come in the mail. Income taxesare due on April 15 and it’s a busy time of year at my CPA firm. Since my father passed away more than 15years before, each year I have handled my mom’s federal and state filings. I rapidly shuffle through her envelope seeingfamiliar with her accounts, properties and payments; but I notice substantialand consistent gifts to her church and a long list of gifts to missions, faith-basedorganizations, TV preachers as well as a few local charities. Seeing the TV preachers, my face flushed, Ilurched for my cell phone to call my brother who lives in the same town tocomplain that she was being frivolous and he needed to control her payments. Yousee she had just moved to a nursing facility and being a true accountant, I wasconsidering how long I projected that she would live, the potential forexpensive care that she would need, and how the stock market had dropped and witha fixed income she keeps on giving these large amounts! Especially those to her TV preachers!

Butsomething stopped me from hitting the speed dial. I looked back at the previous years’ tax returnsand saw that she had given similar amounts to her church and to missions. She gave gifts to the organizations and theTV guys as well. This was her pattern. This was her belief and commitment. Most importantly, it was her life! Hercontributions list told me what was important to her. I put the phone down, smiled to myself as I wasbeginning to understand her beliefs, her commitment and unwavering devotion toGod’s work in the world today. As usual, my reflex was more than a few degreesoff.

MyMom had a disease. Specifically, she hadwhat I term as the “generosity gene.” Shewasn’t exactly born with it. Shedeveloped it through circumstances along with some great examples, a fewlearned behaviors and an open heart. Countlesstimes she would see someone truly in need and she would make something happen. I think it came from the fact that she grewup in a meager setting herself and a handful of kind people constantly reachedout to her. Later on when she had some means, her overriding desire was to keepgiving back.

Shealso understood the commitments she had made and was true to them. More than anything she loved the Lord and washighly devoted to her local church. Sheshowed that through her giving of money and her time. Best of all she and my dad instilled in methe importance of consistent generous giving. We lost her in October of this year but I believe that her legacy liveson.

AtFirst Baptist Church we have some amazing examples just like her. I see these legacies from the choir on Sunday,teaching our Bible Study and in the kitchen on Wednesday evening. They give faithfully because of their love,their beliefs, commitments and their broken hearts for a broken world. They have the generosity gene. I cherish eachof them. I know that their gifts to theLord are their life!

Mybelief is that the generosity gene can be passed along to the next generationand the next and the next. But the keyis that it must be consistently demonstrated, taught and exercised or it justlays dormant and stops. If we want ournext generation to be selfish, that example is prevalent in our popular cultureand we just let the world do the teaching for us. If we want the next generation to be generousthen we must show them the way by being generous ourselves and talking aboutour love for God and our mission here on earth. It’s time to take them by the hand and show them how generosity fits intoeverything we do. You never know who youmight inspire!

Thank you, Jim. Your mom’s story – and the story of otherslike her – calls us toward a generous life. I believe that this way ofgenerosity is at the very heart of the Christmas story. The gift of the Christchild is the ultimateact of God’s generous nature.

We hear it in Paul’s instructionsto Titus, the 3^rd Chapter, Verses 4 through 7: ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, butbecause of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal bythe Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through JesusChrist our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, wemight become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

When you look at the rangeof the way dictionaries try to describe “generosity” we discover that it is anopen-handed, selfless, ready, abundant, substantial way of giving. I think ittakes the full breadth of this kind of definition to begin to wrap our armsaround the depths of God’s love and generosity reflected in the birth of theChrist child. The very act of God’sincarnation – of God coming in flesh through Jesus – and God’s gift ofsalvation through Christ is God’s generosity on display. God’s redemptive act of grace shown in thebirth, crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus that we could be forgiven andbecome heirs of eternal life is the ultimate open-handed, selfless, abundant,and substantial act of giving. It is aChristmas gift of scandalous proportion. Generosity is a manifestation of thevery nature of God. Simply said,generosity is at the heart of God, and as His children we are to mirror thissame kind of selfless generosity.

There is a great OldTestament passage that describes the kind of life of generosity that can growour walk with God. It is text we looked at once before but I think speaksuniquely to this moment as we begin our Advent journey and as we face God’sbold future as a congregation. Look withme at I Chronicles 29: 14-18. Itreads; ¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should beable to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have givenyou only what comes from your hand. ¹⁵ We are foreigners andstrangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are likea shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ LORD our God, all this abundance that wehave provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from yourhand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you testthe heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have givenwillingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willinglyyour people who are here have given to you. ¹⁸ LORD, the God of ourfathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in thehearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

This passage emerges fromSolomon’s dedicatory prayer for the grand temple in Jerusalem. At the time of its construction, Solomon’sTemple would have been one of the most beautiful and remarkable buildings inthe world. The construction of the grand temple, that was to serve as God’searthly home, had been his father’s, David, dream. But David’s choice to claim the wife of amarried man and then arrange for the death of the man, one of his loyalsoldiers, so he could then make Bathsheba one of his wives, was a stain onDavid’s legacy and the cause for God to deny David’s dream and allow his son tobuild the temple. So with this story, at once very personal and profoundlyreligious, in the background, Solomon comes to dedicate this remarkablestructure. Instead of focusing on his own story or seizing the moment for hisown glory, he offers a prayer that celebrates a generosity flowing fromcomplete dependence on God. Theabundance of their gifts for the temple begins with God’s generous gifts tothem. Ourculture of self sufficiency stands in sharp contrast to a theology that beginswith the belief that everything belongs to God and all we have comes from God. Solomonhad no doubt. He understood that God has made the means for him and his peopleto be the people of God. We see this even more profoundly because we are apeople made the children of God through God’s great act of love and gracethrough Jesus Christ. We are called to agenerous life because of God’s generosity in our lives.

It is importantto hear that a generous life is an expression and reflection of the whole ofwho we are. It is not choosing a category of our lives where we give ofourselves. Our stewardship is a life stewardship. It means giving of our time,returning to God a portion of the time he has given us. It means giving of ourtalents. God has uniquely gifted and equipped you for the work of the Kingdom.The kind of giving I am talking about is not just about generous gifts ofmoney, because while money is important it is about more than money. Money alone is not enough. The kind of givingI am talking about is not just about the generous giving of our time, becausewhile the giving of our time is important it is about more than the giving ofour time. Giving time alone is not enough. Living a generous life means giving of the whole of us - anopen-handed, selfless, ready, abundant, substantial way of giving of ourselvesfor others and for the Kingdom of God. At some level we know that this is the kind ofway of life God desires of us, but it is hard to image what that might actuallylook like in our lives.

Early inmy ministry I had a friend that loved to work with horses. One afternoon I watchedhim working a young horse and it blinders like these on. I could not understand why he was using themand he explained that sometimes a young horse can be easily distracted by whatother horses, or even people, are doing. The blinders, he explained, was to help limit the horse’s vision to onlywhat was directly ahead of him. Ibelieve the greatest single obstacle for us to live a generous life is that weare harnessed with spiritual blinders. We are so defined by what we havewitnessed before, and so laser beam focused on the future we think we see infront of us, that we simply do not see all that God is doing in our lives andin the world. We are so focused on thedemands of the day, the tugs of the monthly bills, our already stretchedschedules, and our theology of limited resources, we cannot see anything beyondwhat is in front of us. As a congregation,we can be so wounded by the failures and frustrations of another season, soshaped by the long season of decline, so anxious about the survival of thechurch, so consumed by a theology of limitation and limited resources, that wecannot see beyond what is in front of us. By allowing our vision to limited by spiritual blinders we miss seeingGod at work in our lives and in the world around us. By allowing our vision to be limited byspiritual blinders we remove God from the throne in our lives. By allowing our vision to be limited to belimited by spiritual blinders we cheat ourselves from experiencing the bountyof God’s love, grace, and generosity.

It is time to let the failures and the frustrations of yesterday go. We have to look up. We have to throw off ourblinders and intentionally look to see where God is at work in our lives, inthe life of our congregation, and in the world around us. When we begin to see the wonder of God’sworks and a glimpse into God’s bold future for us, our walk with God will bechanged. We will begin to understandthat it really all does belong to God and that God is incredibly generous inour lives. I know that there are timesyou must hear me like a used car salesman as I describe where I see God at workin our midst. So, decide to open youreyes and your heart wide and see for yourselves. Eagerly seek the signs ofGod’s generosity in your life and the life of our church family so that yourheart and faith will be strengthened. Seek the signs of God’s generosity so that you might find the courageyou need quit holding on in fear and release yourself to a generous way of lifethat reflect the heart and the way of God. It will change how you give ofyourself and the resources that God has given you.

May our prayer – our verylife song echo the words of Solomon; “Butwho am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generouslyas this? Everything comes from you, andwe have given you only what comes from your hand….I know, my God, that you testthe heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have givenwillingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willinglyyour people who are here have given to you.

“Left Over” - John 6:1-14 - We Gather Together Dinner - 11/16/2011

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Tonight our church hosts an event where our congregation and those we share Thanksgiving baskets will share a meal together. Folks from across the life of the church and across the life of our community will share their stories with one another. Below is the devotional thought I bring to this great event. It captures my heart for Thanksgiving.

In 1994 Beth, the kids, and I spent our first Thanksgiving in Thailand. In a whirlwind year we had been appointed as missionaries, sold our home and the vast majority of belongings, attended a month long orientation training process, had landed in Bangkok, and had begun language school. We had been in language school about four months and every day had been a struggle. While the language school process was still the hardest thing I have ever done academically, it was the heat, and the pollution, the strain of living cross-culturally, and the difficulty of getting from point A to point B in a city of 12 million that had almost worn us down. Because our language school was taught an international population, they did not take a break for Thanksgiving Day. But we decided to take a day off to spend with our kids and to remember Thanksgiving celebrations of years gone by. We shared our Thanksgiving meal with an older British – actually Scottish - couple that lived on the other side of our duplex home. Carl and Angus McNeil had become like family to us and we were glad to share our table with them. Beth had worked hard on the meal. While it did not have many of the normal fare, we had been able to buy a frozen turkey from a specialty grocery store. We tried very hard not to think about how old the turkey might have been or how long it had been frozen. I cherished the day away from language school. I cherished the day with my family. I cherished the meal that we shared with friends. But, the thing that I will always remember and still cherish from that day was something that Angus told us over the dinner table. He told us that this was only their second Thanksgiving. They had been a part of one years before when they served in Africa. Their American missionary friends had invited them to join them then – and now we had invited them to join us for our Thanksgiving meal. Angus told me that while Thanksgiving was a uniquely American holiday, there was reason that he was celebrating with such joy with us that day. He had learned that the Thai term for Thanksgiving was Wan Kap Kun Prajow – that means “the day to thank God.” He shared that he relished claiming a day to thank God for all God had done in his life. These were words that encouraged me and nourished me. Even in the midst of a crazy and difficult year I had seen God at work. I had so much to be thankful for and relished setting aside a day to offer my thanks to God. Ever since that time I put aside stories of pilgrims dressed in black and white and Indians welcomed to the feast. No, when I come to a moment like this one – I come with the single purpose of thanking God for all God has done and is doing in my life.

So, let me share a very different Thanksgiving story with you from the Bible – the Book of John, Chapter 6. 1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

This is one of the first Bible stories I remember hearing in my childhood. Maybe the reason it stuck with me so quickly is because as a little boy I thought it was pretty amazing that Jesus used a little boy’s lunch to do something really amazing. But, as I have grown my appreciation for this story has grown with me. It is a story of the disciples who were so focused on what little they had and how big the crowd was that they had little room left in their heart or faith for Jesus to do the unexpected. It is the story of Jesus who is so focused on the needs of the people in front of him that he could not imagine not meeting their need. This is the story of a little boy who trusted Jesus so much that he was willing to give him everything he had. This young boy demonstrated a life of authentic generosity – open-handedly sharing the best of who he was and what he had with God. God not only used what he offered to feed the huge crowd of people – there was food left over.

I often wonder who in the story we are most like. Are we like the disciples who were defined by the boundaries of what they could see and hold in their hands? Are we like Jesus, so focused on meeting the needs of others that there was room for a miracle? Are we like the little guy, so trusting of God we are willing to give God everything and trusting God to multiple it and make it work for His purpose?

Part of what I love about this story is that fact that the two fish and the loaves of bread were small. It lets me know it is not about the size of what I offer to God, but is instead is about having to heart of trust and thanksgiving. When we truly trust God will all we are and all we have, we give God the opportunity to do something greater than we can even begin to imagine. May this be a Thanksgiving where you share yourselves generously with others and celebrate a Day to Thank God for what God has done, is doing, and will do in and through you in the days ahead. Happy Thanksgiving!

“A Collection of Directions” - Hebrews 13:1-8 - November 13, 2011

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My junior and senior year in college I served as a resident advisor for dorms filled almost exclusively with freshman. Every year the scene was the same. Parents pulled up and helped their child load way too many belongs in a room half the size than their rooms back home – and it would be a room that would have to be shared with another. After the poundage of personal belongs had squeezed their way into the room the tears would begin. Having now taken Aaron to college, and in anticipation of taking Elizabeth to college in the fall, I understand these emotional farewell scenes. But what always made me chuckle was what would happen next. With tears following either the mom or dad would stand with one foot in the car and the other still hanging on to the parking lot and say something to the effective of, “OK, before we go, I want to tell you one last time….” and with this the litany of last minute instructions poured forth. Some were predictable: “get enough sleep,” “use your money wisely,” and “remember you are here to study and not to play”. But each year there were some of these last minute directions that could not help but make me laugh to myself. I heard parents call out; “don’t forget to brush your teeth.” The prospect of an 18 year old that still needed to be reminded to brush his teeth made me wonder about where this student was ready to be there. A dad called out, “don’t forget to be nice to your teachers.” I could not help but think that if the young man had to remember this message his life in class was going to be tough. And the one I did not fully appreciate at the moment, “make sure you don’t forget to wash your clothes.” After six or seven weeks a stench began to drift from this young man’s room that reminded me of a smell I had first encountered just outside a paper mill or when driving past a dead skunk. When the smell became unbearable I stuck my head in his room and called out, “remember that your mother told you not to forget to wash your clothes. I think it has been a while.” His response was, “oh yea, probably need to do that. I have not washed clothes all semester. Can you tell?”

When we come to the last chapter in Hebrews we hear the writer offering a collection of directions that included some vital things the people needed to hear before they moved forward in their walk with God. The writer has spent twelve chapters trying to help the earlier followers of Christ understand Christ’s ssupremacy over everything else that was, that is, that was to be. He had tried to help them grab hold of the divinity of Jesus, while still holding fast of the personal, present and intimate nature of Christ’s grand redeeming act of their behalf. He had tried to help them understand that they were part of the grand race of the faithful but theirs was a faith not built on works, but God’s incredible grace. Now, as he moves to conclude this missive, he pauses to offer them some final directions. Earlier in our service you heard this collection of directions read by a diversity of voice from across the life of the church. Their very different voices help remind me that that are many people who speak into our lives. Let’s take a closer look at this collection of directions and the voices who call us to remember a life meant for more.

1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. In this I hear the echo of a parent’s voice reminding their children that they are family and that they need each other. It is too easy, seemingly too common, to talk about a church in terms of a “church family.” But, if this term is to have meaning it must be born in our true love for each other following from God’s love for us. This is an invitation to get past petty personality differences, social boundaries, and personal differences and love each other in a way that transcends friendship and makes us belong to each other. We did not get to choose who was a part of our natural families and we do not get to choose whom God brings together in our church family. This pushes us out of our comfortable small groups of friendships and compels us learn to love the whole of who God has brought together in the place. We have much to learn from one another and must to do side-by-side. God’s love is a redemptive love. So should our love be for one another. It is time to let go of anything attitude that separates from a brother or a sister and to learn to authentically love one another. Love one another.

2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. As these words roll from my lips I hear my grandmother’s voice. I will always remember the time I spent with her in the last year of her life as she battled cancer. But, there is one memory I will carry forever. My grandmother heard that a neighbor had the flu. It was not one of her close friends but they were a “neighbor.” So, she had the person that was helping her make it day by day, help her out of her bed and into the kitchen, so that she could make her neighbor a pot of soup. I deliver that pot of soup and wondered if the person I handed it to would ever appreciate the amount of love, pain, and heart that went into that simple pot of soup. We easily express our love and hospitality to love in our families and to those we call friends. Hebrews calls us to more. Hospitality is more than an act or a dinner it is a heart attitude about making our homes – but more importantly - our lives open to those God brings into our paths. Seize a spirit of hospitality.

3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. We tend to view those in prison as people who deserve what they got. Sometimes we are right. But, sometimes the inability to secure appropriate legal help….sometimes life patterns that began in childhood….sometimes tragic acts of injustice leave people behind bars. This is only one of many times we are taught to remember and to visit those in prison. It is amazing that such a clear teaching is so comfortably pushed to the edges of church life. But, here the writer takes another step. It also calls us to the side of all those whom are mistreated – with the same passion and urgency we would show if we, or the ones we love, were the ones mistreated and suffering. This morning I want to express my appreciation to Larry Ray and Anna Ellis for the way they stand with kids who know lives of mistreatment and suffering. I want to thank the KidsHope mentors and prayer partners for pouring themselves out into the lives of kids who could so easily be forgotten. I want to thank those who teach in our schools and those who serve at Good Shepherd for investing yourselves in the lives of those who live on the economic and social edges – those that our society pushes away so callously. Well done!

But, I also want to claim this moment to tell you that over the next few months I will begin to share with you a vision that God has laid on my heart to bring together Christian business, educational, non-profit, and congregational leaders to work together to transform our city into a place of hope and grace. This will not be about another nice religious effort to pacify our need to do good things. The vision will call us – not just First Baptist Church, but the whole of the Christian community, to become agents of transformation for our city and for those who have been mistreated, pushed aside, forsaken and forgotten. Invest your lives in those who are imprisoned, mistreated, forsaken and forgotten.

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. This direction seems so counter-culture in a society where the idea of a pure and loving marriage appears a vestige of another era. It is our loss. Scripture uses marriage as the model to describe Christ’s relationship with the Church. When you look at how some treat one another this could be a scary prospect. God calls us into marriages that are model grace and faithfulness. In premarital counseling I tell couples that we learn to love and we learn to be married by watching our parents. For some this is a blessing. For others it can be a curse. Make your marriage one defined by love and faithfulness – the same kind of love and faithfulness we learn in our relationship with God.

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Money shapes us more than we want to admit. For some it is a monthly struggle to make month and money end on the same day. For others is it at the heart of daily worry and stress. For others, watching every penny and guarding every dime can become a consuming way of life. We worry we will not have enough for today. We worry that we will not have enough for retirement. We worry that we will not have enough to carry us to the closing day of our life. We worry that we will not have enough to leave our children and our grandchildren. We worry, we work, and we wonder. Hebrews speaks with authority to this heart struggle. It reminds us that God is with us – taking care of us – providing what we need – that God will never leave us – or abandon us. We do not have to worry. We have to learn to trust God with our today and all of our tomorrows. Do not let money define you. Trust God enough to know that he will make the way for you.

6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Just as money can shape us, fear can define us. The nightly news will sensationalize each story to attempt to capture as many viewers as possible. But sometimes the words we hear make us fear. There are other voices in our lives that cause us concern – that trigger our hearts to race every time a strange car passed by or an unknown person speaks to us. We fear for our homes. We fear for our possessions. We fear for our lives. While reasonable caution has its place, we are not supposed to be defined by a spirit of fear. God is our helper. God is with us. God is there to bring us peace. Fear can isolate us. Trust in God will set us free.

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. As he wraps up, the writer of Hebrews comes back with a familiar refrain; follow the lead of those who teach you and who demonstrate lives of faith. I want you to notice what the passage does not say. This passage is not about submission to the authority of those in ministry or in congregational roles of leadership. Instead it focuses on following the example of those who are living authentic lives of faith. I am weary of high profile preachers proclaiming one way of life while living another. Hebrews tells us to look at the product of a leader’s way of life. When you lay their life and way of life against the teaching of the Bible, does it ring true? When you find people whose lives and way of life are an authentic reflection of their followship of Christ – listen to them and imitate the choice to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. This phrase is familiar to many who have spent any lengthen of time within the bounds of a church family. It is one of the great affirmations of faith. As Hebrews moves to a close we end where we begin – with the acknowledgement that our life story begins and ends with Christ at its center. We see how Christ moved in our life. We witness Christ moving in our life. And we wait and trust with eager anticipation to see how Christ will lead us, guide us, redeem us, sustain us, and lead us toward joy in the days ahead. Thanks be to God for being faithful in our yesterdays – is faithful for today – and in whom we can trust because he will be faithful forever.

Verses 15 and 16 sings out: 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. This collection of directions paints the picture of how to live that life that is a sacrifice of praise- a life that demonstrates our live for God, our love for others, and our trust that God will be faithful in every part of our lives. Let’s not settle for less.

“Shaped By God” - Hebrews 12:1-3 (4-13) - November 6, 2011

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Next time you are in the church offices, pop by my office and take a glance at the shelves. Of course you will find a couple of thousand books. You would also see an accidental elephant collection that grew from one to 82 over the last couple of decades, one at a time, from a wide range of family members and friends. But, one of the things that you would notice that might surprise you is my growing collection – or better said – growing obsession with pottery chalices and bowls. I begin with a single chalice to use for a Lord’s Supper service and now have probably ten or twelve sets in my office or at my home. I think the reason I like them so much is that each is truly unique but also truly simple. What began as just a lump of mud has been shaped by an artist’s hands into a thing of beauty that comes a tool to help remind me of Christ’s last night – that last supper – with his disciples. (Lift one goblet from among of the couple of sets sitting on a table). When you look closely, you can see the care the artist took in slowly but surely shaping the clay to craft this wonderful goblet. Almost every time I look at one of them I cannot help but think about the Old Testament story in Jeremiah where God sends him to the potter’s house to watch a pot being shaped by potter and there gives his a prophecy of how God will shape the people of Israel just like the potter shapes the clay. I think of Isaiah 64:8 where the great old prophet proclaims; Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

For me, it is remarkable to think about the fact that God loves me so much, that He is shaping me, molding me, making me into the all He dreams me to be. As we continue our walk through the Hebrews, we come to Chapter 12 where we are taught more about what it means to be shaped by God. We hear that while the process is not always easy, it is purposeful. God is alive and at work in our lives, shaping us, just like a potter at the wheel, to become the work of art that we were created to be.

Earlier in our service we heard the first three verses of Hebrews 12 read in multiple languages. It sets the tone for God plan for us. It reads; 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We could spend hours just looking at these three verses, but what I want you to hear is that we do not run this race of life alone. Others have gone before us and still others go beside us. We are called to this grand race and we have to choose to strip away – to let go of – anything that might slow us from going where God wants us to go and to become the people God wants us to become. Christ goes in front of us, showing us the way. But you know, and I know, the path we run is not easy. Sometimes we stumble and fall. Sometimes our way of faith even seems painful because it is different than the path of least resistance – it is the way of God. Look with me at the Verses 4 through 13. They teach us that God is shaping us, molding us, teaching us – even discipling us, to make us who we were created to be. I read these verses from Eugene Peterson’s interpretive translation, The Message. I think his take gives us the best feel for what the writer of Hebrews wanted us to understand.

It reads: In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear children, don’t shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

I have to be honest. This passage makes me uncomfortable on multiple fronts. First it parallel’s the way a parent trains and disciplines a child with the way God trains and disciplines us. The reality is that there are some in this room who we instantly draw back because their experiences with their parents were far from ideal. Instead having a dad and mom who loved them and taught them and shaped them through blessing and discipline, they experienced tyrannical control and senseless abuse. In the proclamation of “spare the rod and spoil the child,” they experienced nothing short of brutality. Hear me say loud and clear that this is not what God teaches and I am deeply sorry for the emotional, spiritual, and physical wounds you now carry.

The second reason this passage makes me uncomfortable is that clearly understand there is a pervasive attitude in our culture that seems to walk away from any concept of discipline and blurs the power of the image the writer is trying to use. Many in our current cultural context have seen enough of the strong armed parenting approach of another generation and have reacted against it. This attitude is as prevalent within the Christian community as it is outside of it. So, I know what I say now will run counter culture to what some in this room hold as truth. But, please hear me out rather than tune me out. I believe this and countless other passages portray the role of the parent as a sacred responsibility. We are responsible before God how we live out this role. The Biblical principle is not a heavy handed abusive controlling model of parenting. In fact I believe this is counter to the way of God. Likewise, when we do not establish boundaries for our children and allow our children to behave in the way they sit fit, we have fallen short of what God asks of us. The Biblical principle is that our responsibility as parents is to love, guide, and shape our children in a way that leads them toward becoming the people God created them to be. Appropriate and purposeful disciple is not only a valuable tool in this process, it is essential. It teaches them to respect you and others, and will help them to understand God’s work in their lives.

With this in mind, our passages wants us to understand that just as loving parents shape and guide their children with discipline as one of their tools, God shapes and guides us, with discipline a one of God’s tools. We understand that there are consequences for our poor choices and actions, but this passage tells us that there are also times when God’s changes our circumstances as a way to redirect and reshape us. The passage is clear that God’s discipline is not malicious, or capricious, or irresponsible. It is quite the opposite. God’s discipline is purposeful – design to that we might share in God’s holiness. God’s discipline is loving – done for our good. God’s discipline is hopeful – intended to let us experience God’s grand will for our lives. God’s discipline is not punishment – it is divine shaping and training that pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. I want to be clear. God is not sitting there waiting to zap us with punishment or pain. God is not playing with us like living toys. God is not “doing things to us” to make us miserable. God is leading us and shaping us to be the work of art we were created to be. In this process we discover that he is shaping us with His divine love and touch. Sometimes God’s shaping is uncomfortable or even painful. The pain is born in our resistance to do what God wills for us. It is unpleasant because we have to give up our way for God’s way. So what does it look like when God shapes us or disciplines us? It is different for everyone. We will know when it is happening because we will be forced to make painful but essential decisions that will cause us to move in another direction or address a sensitive part of our lives. We will know it because we will realize that the only one we can turn to for help and direction is God.

God knows we have a race of faith to run that will carry us to His feet. God knows that we are tempted to fall back and to drift off course. We were created for more. God loves us enough that he shapes us and disciplines us so that we might follow his will and way and live the life of joy he intends for us. God is shaping us and disciplines us that we might be all we were created to be. God loves us enough not to let us settle for less. Do, what are your takeaways for the morning? * Let go of what is holding you back and seek God’s way. * Know that God loves us and wants us to be our best. * As followers of Christ, when we find ourselves in difficult and painful situations we must tune in and focus on God’s voice to see if this is a moment where God is shaping us or redirecting us. * Finally, Help each other out. And run for it! We do not run this race alone.

"Ransomed and Set Free" - Hebrews 9:14-15 - October 16, 2011

2011-10-16T10:11:00.001-05:00

If you wandered into my den and found our family watching television you would most likely find us watching the Food Network, History Channel, Discovery Channel, or ESPN. But there is one show on one of the traditional big three networks that has captured my interest. On Sunday nights CBS airs a show called, “Under Cover Boss.” It shows what happens when the leader of a major corporation or organization leaves their desk and goes undercover to see what working on the front lines of their organization or company is like. Last week’s episode focused on the University of California at Riverside’s Chancellor, Tim White. Like most episodes, you see him stumbling as he tries to do the work of others. But, the high point of the show is when he follws the show's pattern and reveals his real identity and does something good for each person he worked beside. But, in this particular episode you meet a student who, like the Chancellor, had a tragic accident that took her father away from the family. Maybe because Chancellor connected with her story, or maybe it was because the depth of pain and the tremendous joy she managed to show in spite of her situation, the Chancellor arranges to have the student’s college debt forgiven, secured funds for a scholarship that would pay for her to finish school, and provided additional funds to help secure a new apartment for her and her mother located nearer to the university. All on camera, and most in my home, had tears streaming down their faces. Over and over again she said that she could not believe that her debt was forgiven, that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Earlier this week the Seattle Times reported that; “British and U.S. forces freed an Italian cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates in a dramatic rescue Tuesday after retrieving a message in a bottle tossed by hostages from a porthole alerting ships the crew was safely sealed inside an armored area. The crew of 23 on the Montecristo were brought to safety, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. The 11 pirates were taken into custody.” Stories of Somali pirates seizing ships and holding hostages for ransom have become commonplace. Each year millions of dollars of ransom is paid for the release of hostages who tell difficult stories of emotional and physical abuse. They had to wait for someone else to do something for them that they could not do for themselves. With tears and shoots of joy, each celebrates the companies that paid the ransom that let them be set free.

It seems each week as I move toward entering the focal passage for the morning, I echo again that the writer of Hebrews addressed a congregation rising out of the Jewish religious tradition. Our passage this morning carries the hearers back to the temple and the picture of the animal sacrifices that had defined their understanding being reconciled with God. Songs like Psalm 49 would have sung out in their memory. The Psalm sings out: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— 9 so that they should live on forever and not see decay.

But Hebrews tells them – and us – that while no one could pay the ransom or redeem the life of another, that God had made the way. Earlier we listened as Steven Brooks read Hebrews 9:11-15. The first three verses replace the High Priest with Jesus, entering in the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place, in a perfect tabernacle. Their minds eye would carry to the picture of the Temple on the Temple Mount, but they hear that Jesus moves in a place more wonderful, more perfect than anything they had experienced before. This tabernacle is not crafted with human hands, but is the home of God fashioned by the hand of God. In our time we might say that while this church is a beautiful place of worship, the place he envisions is much more beautiful than these stained glass windows could begin to contain. There, in this perfect tabernacle, the sacrifice of blood is not from sheep, or bulls, or heifer cows, in the symbolic acts of redemption like they had seen before. No, the blood that provides the way to real and eternal redemption – the once and for all redemption - is the blood shed by Jesus Christ. Verse 14 proclaims, How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Jesus became the means to bridge the wide gulf between God’s holiness and our sinfulness. No one can redeem the life of another or give God a ransom for them because the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough. They could not – and we cannot – buy our way out. It took an act of God to change our story and pay the price for our eternal lives.

My conversation with “Jack” began simply enough. He noticed my church name tag while rode an elevator down to the lobby of a local hospital. “So, what do you do at the church,” he asked? I told him that I was the pastor. He told me that he had been here once, but it had been a long time since he was in church. When I invited him to come and worship with us again, he told me, “You do not know all the things that I have done. You would not want me in your church. In fact, I do not think God would even want to deal with me again.” It seemed that his life story and the choices he had made weighed on him like an unpayable debt. It seemed “Jack” and many like him feel like they are held captive by the consequences of their actions. They do not realize that their debt has been forgiven and their ransom has been paid.

Over the past two months we have hosted a SALT series called, “Our Neighbor’s Faith.” We have heard and responded to voices from Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This past Thursday I wrapped up the series and invited questions at the end. The question that stilled the room was, “so in the end, do it matter what you believe.” This question gave me an opportunity to share a part of my own testimony of faith and to answer the question with a resounding “yes, it matters!” I think some time we have a tendency to think that everyone that comes to SALT is already a Christian. That perception is wrong. At the close of SALT I had an opportunity to begin a conversation about Christ with one of the participants. He is one of many who now join us who are seeking something real and meaningful. In hearing the presentation on the other faith traditions it was clear that each is either driven by a blind obedience to commandments or a quest for redemption where each person must find the way for their own salvation. While we can respond to those from other faith traditions with respect, the reality is that we can never be good enough and faithful enough to obey every commandment and if we are responsible for our own salvation we will always fail. We listened as the Jewish Rabbi taught that modern Judaism teaches complete obedience to the law. She said that any sense of emotional or spiritual connection with God was a bonus. The task was obedience. I believe we were created for much more. We were created for a real, personal, authentic relationship with God. God made the way through Christ for our reconciliation. The claim of our faith that God acts on our behalf is unique. The fact that we live out of the promise that our debt for our sin has been paid by Christ changes everything!

Verse 15 proclaims, For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. We hear that theme echoed in Mark 10: 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The old Psalm sings, No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— No, no payment we could ever pay is enough. But through Christ we have been set free. “Jack,” God knows all you have done and has paid the price for your freedom. God has not given up on you. God has made the way for you the weight to be lifted from your shoulders – for your heart and soul to be renewed. God has made the way for you to be forgiven; God has made the way to set you free.

This morning’s message is the heart of the Christian story. It is the Gospel story. It is the Jesus story. You cannot inherent your parents faith. You cannot earn God’s love. You cannot be good enough and you cannot make the way for your own salvation. All you can do is to accept this great gift from God – the spiritual debt of the bad choices you have made has been cancelled; the ransom for your soul has been paid. Redemption awaits you at the feet of God. It is an old story. It is the Gospel story. This morning I invite you to make it your story.

“A Life of Imitation” - Hebrews 6:9-12 - October 9, 2011

2011-10-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks I have been asking different people in our congregation to share stories with me about people that have encouraged or inspired them. It has been a great exercise. Let me share some of the names that I have heard. -

• Roxanne Jensen told me about a friend of her from Jenks named Christi. She has been an example to Roxanne in the perseverance of faith she has shown despite so many trials. She is an encouragement as we share our faith in spite of shared trials.

• Pam Williams told me that there were many women who encouraged and inspired her growing up in the church, but she highlighted two. She lighted up Fran Wilkinson, who was her GA leader. She says, Fran “had the most infectious laugh of anyone I know and taught me to take myself less seriously. Fran exemplified Gods love no matter who you were, she made you feel important.”

• She also mentioned Joyce Shelby, who served as youth minister. Joyce encouraged the group to lean on the Savior, but also “instilled a sense of family within our youth group and within the church.”
• My son, Aaron, told me about how Don Miner inspired him as a model of what it meant to be a Christian in the way he did his business and in the way he lived out his life as a husband and father.
• Kim Greer offered three names for me. The first is Lane Davis. She says. “Lane Davis inspires me to look at my life of faith differently. He has experienced such trauma and tragedy in his life but remains fully trusting in God. If Lane can do that, then I can too!
• The second is Scott Ferree. Kim says that Scott “inspires me to live a life of authentic faith. He is mostly unrecognized in his behind-the scenes work and help in music and children’s ministry. Yet he shows up week after week with a positive spirit and generous heart to offer himself to all of us.”
• The third is Laurie Ashford. Kim says she “is another one who made a huge difference in our lives and in IAWL last November and December. She worked tirelessly, putting up with some difficult people and maddening circumstances to make sure our set was right and in place. She makes me want to be faithful in ministering even when nobody else knows about it.”

I could talk about the way Neal and Ann Brown’s deep faith in God despite the pain of loss, touches me deeply. I could talk about how Jay Allen’s servant heart inspires me, or about how Larry Fitch’s sense of strength encourages me, or about how Nellie Christian’s heart for others moves me. I could go row by row, person by person, story by story, and seemingly never run out of names of those who inspire and encourage me.

The power of these stories is that let us see where what people believe and how they live their lives come together. They are witnesses of a faith of both word and deed. Earlier in Hebrews 6 we read as the writer challenges those who are spiritual deserts, resistant to the word and way of God. As we transition into our focal passage the tone changes completely. The New Living Translation proclaims the second half of verse 9 with, We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. The words that follow provide a profound word of encouragement and a faith life challenge. The passage beckons the listener to a life and faith worthy of imitation.

First, hear the word of encouragement. Verse 10 sings out; God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews proclaims that God will not forget the work and love you have shown him as you have helped his people. There is something I want to make sure we do not miss when we look at this verse. God celebrates the work and love we have shown HIM as we help his people – and keep on helping them. The motivation for service others is not because we have a benevolent heart or because we are good people, but is instead is to be a reflection of our love for God.

We are accustom to hearing the words of Jesus in Matthew that proclaim, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” This passage reinforces this truth with the picture of God cheering for us and celebrating our help for others because God sees it as the direct reflection of our love for Him! This means every time we help others through Good Shepherd, or the Furniture Bank, or KidsHope, or through home renovations in South Texas, or our work with refugees in Kuala Lumpur or Ottawa, or a host of other missional expressions, we are engaged in living acts of love and worship of God. In the face of the child, or the hungry, or the hurting, or the struggling gives us a glimpse at the face of God. Let me try one more time from a different angle – our motivation for missional engagement is not be out of economic or social guilt, or a sense of religious duty, or out of a benevolence spirit, but instead what should trigger us to get up and pour ourselves into others is that every moment and every act is an act of love for God.

Our passage continues, 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. The expectation was not that they would do “good” as an act of their love for God, but that they would be “diligent,” and keep doing “good” as an ongoing expression of their love. This is enforced in the next verse when he tells them “We do not want you to become lazy.” I am not sure when we hear the word “lazy” we really get the heart of the message. Other translators choose other words like; “dull,” “sluggish,” “apathetic,” and “disinterested.” The writer was not worried about them kicking up their feet, but rather losing their heart in the task of loving and helping people when they faced rejection and mounting persecution. It is reminiscent of what we hear in Galatians 6:9 that proclaims; Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I know that it might seem that we are always pouring ourselves out in ministry and sometimes it seems like the options and opportunities will never end. Part of the struggle is that too many Christians and too many churches are self-focused leaving a mountain of need untouched. But, our task is not to focus on what others should be doing. Our task is not to grow weary, or lazy, or sluggish, or apathetic, or disinterested, but to keep on helping others as a reflection of our love affair with God who first loved us.

Ultimately this passage in Hebrews tells its hearers the way to get this right is to imitate those who live lives of authentic faithfulness. It is a picture of faith is that is both doing good and living as witnesses of faithfulness, or in other words, proclaiming what we believe and acting like we believe it. We are blessed to have people in our lives to encourage and inspire us. We see in them people who serve others out of their love of God. We see in them people that have persevered because they knew they could rely on God. I celebrate those who encourage and inspire us, but I want you to know is that for others, that person is you. Choose to live a life of faith worthy of imitation. Let the words of your mouth and the actions of your hands sing out of your love for God.

The Forgotten Center in Baptist Life - Revised

2011-10-04T11:09:00.002-05:00

There are times I feel alone. I did not use to feel this way. I used to feel a part of a family with a wide tent, big enough to hold a wide diversity of folks who all called themselves Baptist. It seems that Baptist have followed our national political trend of polarization. Those on the right seem to keep drifting further right. There seems to be little room in their world for anyone that might disagree with anything they think. Their truths and opinions (often they do not seem to be able to tell the difference) are absolute. Those on the left are equally entrenched. It seems that it is not enough to be given the freedom to believe as they will – to practice their faith as they will. But, they are so sure that they are right that their truths and opinions (often they do not seem to be able to tell the difference) are absolute. Those on both sides will not be satisfied until everyone embraces their way of thinking – their way of interpreting Scripture – their way of dealing with the politics of nation – their way of living life. Those on the right were so demanding that they drove many of us out of the tent seeking a new home. Now those on the left are so insistent that their agenda is highlighted and featured in conferences that the tent that I moved to now seems progressively less comfortable, progressively less like “home.”

There is a part of me that yearns for the absolute certainty of those who live on my left and right. It is easier to live in the absolutes. You do not have to think as hard or work as hard because everything is clear cut. My problem is that I that I live at the center/center-right of the Baptist spectrum. I claim the strong faith statements of traditional Baptist theology. I also claim the reality that Paul proclaims in I Corinthians 13, For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. I want to live in the balance of a ministry of Word and deed. I am a faithful follower of Jesus that with equal passion taught and healed, preached and feed. I want to serve as a witness of a gospel that speaks both of law and grace, of justice and mercy. I want to be a Jesus person; both where that blesses and where that offends. It can be difficult to live in the theological center because it demands that I give great care to working through what the whole of the Bible says about an issue, and that I take the interpretation of the Bible seriously. I cannot allow my culture to so shape, from either perspective, what I read that I misread the Word of God. It means that my task is not driven by a poll of what one generation thinks about homosexuality, abortion, gun control, the death penalty, immigration, or a hundred other political and social hot buttons of the day; but rather what God has said to His people across the generations and across cultures. It means that when I come to preach and teach I come with the certainty of a God who was from the beginning and shall be forever; that God that is unshakable and is my refuge and strength. I teach and preach about a God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I teach and preach from a Bible that is the divinely inspired Word of God, not in part but in whole. But, I also bring the frailty and the fallibility of my own perspective – worldview – and faith walk.

As I talk to other pastors and church leaders from across the nation they tell me that I am not alone. They tell me that they too are theological centrists in Baptist life. They tell me that they have also felt alone and forgotten in the emerging Baptist landscape. They tell me that they felt out of place in one tent, and progressive equally out of place in another. They tell me that their answer has been to dive in and focus solely and wholly on their local church’s mission and ministry. They are at home in the local church context and disconnected from the institutions and organizations that shape the Baptist landscape. They are old and young; graduates of the six historic Baptist seminaries and from the newer ones that have emerged over the last twenty years. They are ministers and they are laity. They long to feel connected. They long to work side-by-side others. They long to find community that is not drawn left or right by the latest poll, the quest for financial survival or the latest political wave. They are weary of seminars that are agenda laden and publications that seem to echo single points of view. They are the forgotten center in Baptist life. I wonder where and how they might fit together and work together in the days ahead? Any thoughts?

Grace and Peace, Tom

"Savior and Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT- October 2, 2011

2011-10-01T21:31:00.004-05:00

In a few minutes we will come to the table for a Lord’s Supper experience. It carries us to the moment when Jesus lifts ordinary elements on the Passover dinner table and they became symbols of the extraordinary. When we come to the table and hold the element of the bread, we pronounce “the body of Christ given for you.” The bread serves to remind us of Jesus’ incarnation; that moment when God took on flesh and made His home among us. It reminds us of Jesus’ ministry when he walked and talked, preached and healed, feed and cared. It reminds us that Jesus was tried, beaten, and crucified on our behalf. When the bread touches my lips I remember the gift of the body of Christ, given for you and for me.

Likewise, when we hold the element of the wine, we pronounce “the blood of Christ shed for you.” This pronouncement is scandalous for me. It reminds me that the shed blood of Christ is the dear price required for my redemption. It reminds me that Christ, who was sinless, took on my sin – and your sin – that we might find forgiveness in this incredible act of God’s grace. When the sweet taste of the grape juice, representing the wine, touches my lips, it leaves a bittersweet taste. The bitterness is not because the grapes have spoiled, but instead is born in the reality of the bitter price paid for each time I made choices that damaged my relationship with God or others. But the sweetness reminds me of God’s sweet choice to act on my behalf, to extend grace to me and to you when we did not deserve it. Every time I taste the sweet taste of juice I remember the gift of the blood of Christ, given for you and for me.

We come to the table with great regularity in obedience to Jesus’ command, “Do this in remembrance of me.” But there is a temptation every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper that we focus on what Jesus did on the cross as if it was the end of the story. While the story of the cross plays a central role in our faith narrative, if the story ended there our faith would be built on a martyr’s story rather than the Savior’s story. We are an Easter people. While grace is finds its foundation at the feet of the cross, it is made complete in the moment of resurrection. But, our story does not end there. It is not just about what Jesus DID for us, but also of what Jesus DOES for us as a people of faith.

Earlier in our service you heard Betsy Stewart read our focal passage from the New International Version. I would like to share it again, but this time from the more contemporary New Living Translation. I think it puts in terms we can best understand. It reads, 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

You may remember that when I began this sermon series on Hebrews a few weeks ago, I told you that the audience for this book was believers who had come out of Judaism. The writer unapologetically uses images and language that would have been familiar to them. In this passage the writer seized the image of the High Priest, the one who was to be the people’s advocate God. This image would have grabbed their attention. It would have immediate meaning for them. But, in a quick twist they hear that Jesus is that ultimate High Priest. It is Jesus that leads us to the throne of God. The writer wanted them to understand that Jesus understood them. He had dealt with the same temptations and testings that they, and we, face. Jesus understood their and our weakness because he had walked beside them, and walks besides us still. This scripture tells us that Jesus, who is Son of God, the very face of God, is at the same moment our High Priest and Divine advocate. It tells us that the Jesus who acted on our behalf on the cross, still acts on our behalf so that we can come boldly God’s throne and find mercy when we need it most. God is a God of second chances. You can start your life with God again. You can find the grace and mercy you need to be renewed and restored. You have an advocate – a High Priest. Your heart cry matters to God! This Scripture reminds me that my testimony sings out both what God did for me and what God continues to do in my life.

Where can you specifically identify where God is active in your life? Claim it and celebrate it! What is going on in your life where you need to move boldly to God’s feet to find God’s mercy and grace? Jesus understands what you are going through. God stands ready to act.

Today, I invite you to celebrate what God has done that we might find forgiveness, grace, and a personal relationship with God. Today, I invite you to run with boldness to God throne knowing that mercy awaits you. Today, with equal passion, I invite you to sing out what God is doing in your life. In Jesus we have a Savior and a Priest, our Lord and our advocate.

(Homily followed by Lord's Supper by intinction at five stations located throughout the sanctuary.)

"A God-given Rest" - Hebrews 4:1-11 - Sept. 25, 2011

2011-09-24T13:28:00.003-05:00

(This sermon/homily is offered following a testimony by a congregation member that after the death of her husband and a season of grief and pain, God brought her a peace/rest that would sustain her, a joy that would define her, a person to share her life, and a ministry to touch the lives of others.)

There are so many voices clamoring for our attention. There are so many demands for our time. There are so many memories that fill our minds. There are so many hopes that have yet to be fulfilled. There are so many unresolved dreams that clutter our heart. There are so many tasks that wait to be done. There are so many needs that are yet to be met. There are so many unresolved concerns and conflicts. There are so many wounds we have sustained in life and relationships that we are weary. There are so many times we have failed or fallen and have gotten up, dusted ourselves off, and moved forward that we fear that the next time we fail or fall there will not be enough energy left to for us to get up again. There are so many people who want something from us – sometimes what they want is worthy, and sometimes what they want from us distracts us from where we are going and who God wants us to be. There are so many….

In the Genesis 1 and 2 story of creation we see the God institute the idea of the Sabbath. With the work of creation done, God rested and modeled the idea of the Sabbath – a time to rest, reflect and recover. It has always been God’s plan for His people to claim a God-given rest. He knew we would live lives of “so many “ that would drain us, strain us, and distract us from the kind of relationship with Him and others we were created for. We heard Katie Smith read our focal passage in its entirety. In this complex passage we hear we the story of disobedience to God and that they had failed to claim a God-given rest. What an incredible indictment of God’s people! It is an indictment we share.

Our culture blesses lives of unfettered chaos – the dead sprint of trying to fit everything in. I hear people say over and over again that they wish that could squeeze one more hour into their week. The problem is that we would probably fill that hour just as quickly as we have filled the hours that God has already given to us. Our work and our play seem to be defined by our capacity to multitask. Can we watch our kids play sports, while checking email, text our friends, and checking out the last score or movements in the stock market all at the same time? Phones are no longer defined by the capacity to make a call, but by how many apps they can hold and how many functions can the offer. We do not give our minds or our bodies any substantive rest. In an effort to keep awake and function we consume an alarming volume of caffeine intensified energy drinks. The energy drink market now tops 7.5 billion dollars a year. We seem to be trying to squeeze as much work and as much play as humanly possible into our days, with little thought of the consequences of our frenetic ways of life. As I listen to people tell their stories, the price seems to be the quality of our relationships with our spouses, with our children, with our friends, and with God. We quietly know we were meant for more. We silently wish for more.

It is not only our pace of life that threatens the kind of God-given rest God intends for us. Our woundedness and brokenness also gets in the way. We keep trying to figure out how to fix ourselves. We keep trying to fill our emptiness with something or someone. We keep trying to “get over it and get on with it” only to find ourselves still weighed down. We find ourselves stirred with heart break and emotion. We quietly wonder if we will ever be better. We silently wonder if we will ever know peace or joy again.

Our passage brings a promise that we need to hear and claim. Verses 9 thru 11 tell us; 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. The Scripture tells us that the price for rejecting the God-given rest is that we will perish. Most of us do not worry about being consumed by the shark of a grand act of evil. No, for most, the fear is that we will be nibbled to death by a thousand small obligations and expectation and consumed by the profound sense of isolation form God and others that can emerge in our hurried life styles.

We have heard in song and testimony that God offers a rest that can sustain us. We are called it remain in a Sabbath-rest; to make it a part of who we are and how we live our lives. This leads us to the promise of a Sabbath rest that brings recovery, reflection, and renewal.We have heard in song and testimony that God offers a rest that can sustain us. It is the promise of a Sabbath rest for recovery, reflection, and renewal. It is a rest for our body, our mind, and our spirit. It is a rest from our labors and the chaos of life. It is a rest that gives us real time to connect with one another and to connect with God. It is a rest that leads to real peace. It is a rest that leads to wholeness. But we must claim this rest in an act of obedience – to claim time for Sabbath and to make time in our life for real rest. This is more than taking a nap or scheduling one less thing. It is about claiming space for rest in God where God can speak into our lives – where God can shape our lives – where God can bring us peace- where God renew us. When we enter the God’s rest we thrive. When we respond in chaotic disobedience, scripture tells us we are lost –consumed – we perish.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish. Let us make every effort to enter that rest that we might find the kind of rest in God where God can renew and restore us. Let’s not settle for less.

The Forgotten Center in Baptist Life

2011-09-23T15:19:00.001-05:00

There are times I feel alone. I did not use to feel this way. I used to feel a part of a family with a wide tent, big enough to hold a wide diversity of folks who all called themselves Baptist. It seems that Baptist have followed our national political trend of polarization. Those on the right seem to keep drifting further right. There seems to be little room in their world for anyone that might disagree with anything they think. Their truths and opinions (often they do not seem to be able to tell the difference) are absolute. Those on the left are equally entrenched. It seems that it is not enough to be given the freedom to believe as they will – to practice their faith as they will. But, they are so sure that they are right that their truths and opinions (often they do not seem to be able to tell the difference) are absolute. Those on both sides will not be satisfied until everyone embraces their way of thinking – their way of interpreting Scripture – their way of dealing with the politics of nation – their way of living life. Those on the right were so demanding that they drove many of us out of the tent seeking a new home. Now those on the left are so insistent that the tent that I moved to now seems progressively less comfortable, progressively less like “home.”

There is a part of me that yearns for the absolute certainty of those who live on my left and right. It is easier to live in the absolutes. You do not have to think as hard or work as hard because everything is clear cut. My problem is that I am a centrist. I claim the strong faith statements of traditional Baptist theology. I also claim the reality that Paul proclaims in I Corinthians 13, For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. I want to balance a ministry of Word and deed, of law and grace, of justice and mercy. I want to be a Jesus person; both where that blesses and where that offends. It can be difficult to live in the theological center because it demands that I give great care to working through what the whole of the Bible says about an issue, and that I take the interpretation of the Bible seriously. I cannot allow my culture to so shape, from either perspective, what I read that I misread the Word of God. It means that my task is not driven by a poll of what one generation thinks about homosexuality, abortion, gun control, the death penalty, immigration, or a hundred other political and social hot buttons of the day; but rather what God has said to His people across the generations and across cultures. It means that when I come to preach and teach I come with the certainty of a God who was from the beginning and shall be forever; that God that is unshakable and is my refuge and strength. I teach and preach about a God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I teach and preach from a Bible that is the divinely inspired Word of God, not in part but in whole. But, I also bring the frailty and the fallibility of my own perspective – worldview – and faith walk.

As I talk to other pastors and church leaders from across the nation they tell me that I am not alone. They tell me that they too are theological centrists in Baptist life. They tell me that they have also felt alone and forgotten in the emerging Baptist landscape. They tell me that they felt out of place in one tent, and progressive equally out of place in another. They tell me that their answer has been to dive in and focus solely and wholly on their local church’s mission and ministry. They are at home in the local church context and disconnected from the institutions and organizations that shape the Baptist landscape. They are old and young; graduates of the six historic Baptist seminaries and from the newer ones that have emerged over the last twenty years. They are ministers and they are laity. They long to feel connected. They long to work side-by-side others. They long to find community. They are weary of seminars that are agenda laden and publications that seem to echo single points of view. They are the forgotten center in Baptist life. I wonder where and how they might fit together and work together in the days ahead? Any thoughts?

Grace and Peace, Tom

A House Made By God - Hebrews 3:1-6 - Sept. 17, 2011

2011-09-20T13:46:00.002-05:00

About six months ago I began a new sermon planning process with our staff. For much of the first six years sermon titles were either drawn for the lectionary, burning issues arising from congregational life, or something that I felt God put specifically on my heart. While this has served us well, I wanted to make sure that we were addressing a passages and Biblical issues emerging from the wider breadth of God’s movement in our church family. So, I checked into how some pastors I respected developed their sermon themes and scriptures and ran across an idea from First Baptist Church, Wilmington, North Carolina. Their model was that selected members of their ministerial staff gathered once a quarter to see what passages were emerging in their personal quiet times, from across Bible study classes, from questions raised by congregations, and passages that God was placing on their hearts together as a community of spiritual leaders. This model struck me because I value the voices of our ministerial staff and thought that I could clearly see God moving in and through each of those I celebrate calling colleagues and friends. I also valued the gift of proclamation we see in several members of our church staff. I decided to approach the staff to see if they were game for this kind of process and their response was strong. You have seen the product of our first gathering over the past few months. You have heard sermons from a rich diversity of Biblical passages and have had the opportunity to hear Brad, Sarah, and Kristin find their way to this pulpit. I believe our worship has been better because of this process and that my sermons have also been stronger and even more deliberate at speaking to the heart needs of our church family.

But, there was one suggestion made in our day away that first caused me to pause with a bit of apprehension, but now brings me to you with a sense of joy and excitement. One of the suggestions made in our planning day was a sermon series on Hebrews. It is a book that speaks with authenticity about how life and faith come together, but its author is unknown and its language lacks any of those pithy summary passages that fit comfortably in a sermon format. No, Hebrews draws on a more complex sermon model born in another era and arises from the heart of those emerging from Judaism to a new faith in Christ. It is rich with images and personalities from that which lies within what we call the Old Testament, but what would have been understood at the time as the core writings of the Jewish faith. It is an important book in the New Testament and has much to offer us, but because of its format is not common sermon fodder. I believe it is worth our time and effort and can speak with meaning and purpose to who we are as a church family in this time and place. Over the next nine weeks we will move through Hebrews and hear what it has to say to us and how we might respond to God’s call in this season.

We begin with the first six verses of Chapter Three. You heard Larry Hawkins read it in its entirety earlier in our service. Now let’s take a closer look together at a passage that gives us a power picture of “A House Made by God.” There was a part of me tempted to walk out wearing a tool belt or to ask Jerry, Lee, Charles and some of the other of gifted in construction to put together a simply built façade of a house, or maybe pull out one of the prop houses of the “It’s A Wonderful Life” set and put it in place. But, I am not sure any of those images would have helped us wrap our arms around the picture our passage has in mind. Our passage begins, 1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Judaism was seen as a religion of place. The Arc of the Covenant, the priests that led them in worship, the heart of the sacrificial system, and the very seat of God was tied to the Temple in Jerusalem. By the time Hebrews was written the Romans had destroyed the Temple and the Jewish people and the Christians that had emerged out of Judaism, we seeking to understand what it meant to have a relationship with God outside of that profound sense of place. We can understand. Many of us grew up with an understanding of church that seems to claim some of that same kind of place identity. When I grew up I heard pastors frequently refer to the church as “the house of God.” I remember that as a child I thought that God lived at church. I think we adopted some of this worldview from the language of the Old Testament. I also think it was a part of what carried over in the language of the Church from the days long before the reformation. We dressed for church, because we wanted to bring our best for God. We dressed our churches with stain glass because we wanted to the church to be a place of special beauty, a place worthy of an encounter with God. On Thursday I listened to Rabbi Abby Jacobson talk about High Holy Day Worshippers – the folks who come to the synagogue when it is a special festival or major holiday. We have our own version of those – people who come to church on Christmas and Easter and in times of crisis. They come to visit God at God’s place. Our passage tells us that if we come to a place like this looking for God’s home, we are looking in the wrong place.

Our passage lifted up Moses, the very model of faithfulness to the original hearers of these words. He lifts Jesus and his faithfulness to his mission from the Father over and above Moses. While Moses was completely faithful “in all God’s house,” Jesus has greater honor for He is the builder of house. He reminds them that every house is built by some one – but ultimately God is the builder of everything. In more contemporary language, Moses had helped them live as God’s people under the law, the religion of sacrifice, of place, of priests, and Temple. Jesus is preeminent because He was at the heart all of creation – over and above all that Moses established. Instead of man building a Temple to serve as the house of God, Jesus changes everything. It is God who is the builder and the place God will call home is within his people.

The theology of place is transformed. In verse five and six makes this clear. It reads; 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. I cannot read this and not think about 2 Corinthians 16 where we hear; For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, “I will live with them walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people.” The theology of place is transformed from the brick, mortar, and traditions alive at the Temple to a theology of flesh and bones. The house of God is found within the hearts and lives of the people of faith in God through Christ. God’s place becomes the middle of our lives. I know we love the beauty of the walls and windows that surround us, but if you want to see the real beauty of God’s house, look around you at the lives he is changing and hear the stories of how God is alive and at work in the people who sit next to you.

God’s plan is not for you to visit church in times of crisis praying that God will respond. God’s plan is not to wrap ourselves in personal piety and come to this building to out of duty or obligation. God’s plan is not for us to come to a building like this one to go through the religious motions trying to find some kind of connection or in a fruitless attempt to make amends for some wrong we have done another. We gather in this place so that we might learn together how we can shape our life and faith so that God is always at home in our lives, rather than an occasional guest in moments of crisis and stress. The power of this place is it where sinners and hypocrites, fallen and the forgiven, can come together to study God’s Word together so we might learn how to better grow in our relationship with God. We come to this building to worship God together. We come to worship a God who is worthy of our songs and prayers and praise because God has made the way for us to find forgiveness and redemption so we might become at home with God and that God might make His home in our lives. We gather in this place so we can hear stories from one another of how God is moving in our lives and find encouragement in our walk of faith with and from one another. We gather in this place to find a sense of community – a sense of family – with others who seek to walk with God. We gather in this place so that we might step out in mission together; living out our faith in word and deed. We gather in this place because we know together we can better understand what it means to be the people of God and to walk in God’s way. In the truest sense, God is in this place only when the people of God gather within its walls.

If you have come looking to find God in this place – while it beauty make create a positive setting for the journey – God does not live in a home of brick and mortar. God seeks to make his home in the midst of your heart – your life – and your way of life. Through faith you are the house made by God. So often when we look in the minor we see our flaws. God sees something very different. God sees the beauty in you that you were created to demonstrate. You display the beauty of redemption, more beautiful than any stained glass window. You are wonderful. You display the love of God that makes you His own. You are the house made by God that God might be on display in your life and through your faith. You see, the picture of you living for God and God being at home in your life is more beautiful than any church or Temple made by man with brick and mortar can begin to depict. It is a living story of life with a living and loving God. It is your story – it is my story – it is the story of all who come to God through faith. Thanks be to Jesus Christ who through the power of a cross and the resurrection tomb transforms the theology of place- and made the way for us to become the home of God.

To Transform a City - a book recommendation

2011-09-15T16:30:00.002-05:00

Last week I have the opportunity to get to know Eric Swanson. You might recognize his name as the co-author of The Externally Focused Church or from his role with the Leadership Network. I am glad to now call him friend. Eric has recently co-authored another important book; this one entitled To Transform A City. I want to recommend it to every pastor and church leader that desires to see God work in and through their church to begin a movement that can meaningfully impact the life of their community. The book offers several specific examples of congregations and networks of congregations from across the globe that are having a transformational influence on their cities. These examples do not “how to” guides, but rather as living narratives of what it can look like when a transformational movement begins.

I think part of what resonated so powerfully with me is that these congregations were willing to dream God-sized dreams that were only possible with the movement of God in their midst. I believe that for too long the American church have either become cultural chaplains or prime marketers of religious entertainment. I fear that too many churches have become complacent with its place on the edge of the public square or as a relish their place as part of the latest religious trend, rather than to live outs its mission as salt and light. The teen pregnancy rates, the number of children who go to bed hungry every night, the number of women whom are abused by their spouses, and the level of those addicted to drugs and alcohol that walk our streets and live next door, all speak to the reality that the Church is not having real impact in our cities. We can do better. We must do better. I believe that God shaped us to be more. This book offers pictures of what can happen when we truly endeavor to transform a city.

6 phrases emerging from my quiet time

2011-09-14T16:35:00.001-05:00

There are times God seems to speak in a whisper and other times God seems to speak so loudly you cannot help but hear what he is saying to you. Over the past week or so 6 phrases have emerged with clarity and power from my quiet times. As I have worked through them, I have come to believe that they describes the ethos that I pray is manifested in the life and ministry of First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City. I am really not sure at this point where these phrases might be shared and discussed as a church family, but I believe that they will soon find their voice among us.

Follow Faithfully
Worship Joyfully

Give Generously

Serve Gratefully

Witness Purposefully

Live Abundantly

I would love to hear how these phrases resosnate with you and what others you might add or what alternative wording you might choose.

Listening to God's voice with you.....

Grace and Peace, Tom

CBF and CBFO Face Leadership Transitions

2011-09-13T17:53:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago T Thomas, Coordinator for CBFOklahoma, announced that he has accepted a pastorate in the outskirts of Paris, France. This week Daniel Vestal, the Executive Coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, announced his retirement. Both of these two leaders profoundly shaped their respective organizations with the heart for the Church and their missional passion. CBF owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Vestal for his season of selfless leadership. Likewise, CBFO owes a profound sense of appreciation to T Thomas helped us find our identity in mission engagement.

This time of transition offers both organizations an opportunity to build on what foundations these two leaders provided, but also offers the opportunity for CBF and CBFO to re-envision the role of that Coordinator plays in organizational leadership. When the movement was young, the need for leadership stability was clear. But, now two decades later, the time for the naming a Coordinator for life has passed. I would recommend that CBF and CBFO move toward a model embraced by many other Baptist bodies across the globe where key leadership is elected for service for a specific term of service. I would like to recommend that the CBF Executive Coordinator and the CBFO State Coordinator serve for a four or five year term with the capacity to be re-elected for up to one additional term. This would mean that we these two essential leadership roles would be elected from among the body and return to the body at the close of his/her term/s of service. This would enable these roles to remain rooted in the life of the local congregation and would speak from among its midst rather than over and above and outside of it from an institutional stance. While CBF and CBFO pride themselves as a movement of both churches and individuals, I fear that a major contributor to CBF’s ongoing financial struggles is progressively diminishing connections with local congregations. It seems that too often individual agendas have shaped discussions pushing congregations further aside.

Thank you Daniel and T for the leadership you have offered. I look forward to seeing what God will do in and through the CBF and CBFO in the days ahead.

“Fruit of the Vine”` - John 15:1-11 - September 4, 2011

2011-09-04T09:36:00.001-05:00

I did not realize that I was a daily participant in international intrigue rife with stories of mafia connections, global smuggling operations, and bribery scandals. Don’t worry, I will not soon appear in an episode of America’s Most Wanted or even merit a mention in the Oklahoman. I am just one of millions of consumers who like to cook with olive oil. The global demand is stretching the available supply so there is a huge international criminal conspiracy to put fraudulent olive oil on grocery store shelves. Sometimes this oil is made from spoiled olives. Others have mixed a bit of real olive oil with mixtures of oils from other sources. (1,2)In a recent government crackdown they found an expensive imported Italian olive oil actually significantly blended with cheap soy, peanut, and hazelnut oil. (3)It seems just because the bottle says it is olive oil, does not mean that it actually is.

He seems like any other passenger when he sat down beside me. I simply could have never imagined what awaited me on my flight from Atlanta to Dallas. It seemed that as soon as we had cleared the runway he turned and introduced himself to me. He explained that he was cucumber quality control officer for a pickle company. His dad had been one before him. He was raised with a keen eye on which cucumbers could be great pickles and which should be sliced up for a salad. He took better than an hour to tell me everything I would ever want to know about cucumbers and much, much more. Finally, he paused, then began to rant about a lawsuit his company was about to files a lawsuit against a competitor who had began to package and sell something called a sandwich pickle stacker. He explained that it could not be called a pickle because their product was based on something from the squash family rather than a cucumber. In raised voice he declared with a passion that only a cucumber quality control officer would know, “if it does not begin with a cucumber then it can never be a pickle!”

It was the night of all nights. The disciples had gathered in the Upper Room to share the Passover meal together. Jesus had unnerved them a bit by washing their feet when they entered. They had been troubled by Jesus’ pronouncement that one of them was about to betray him. They had struggled to understand what Jesus meant when he told them that he was going away from them but that God would provide a Comforter for them. They listened closely. They hung on Jesus’ every word.

Now, Jesus invites them to claim a picture that would have been a common sight for them. He used the everyday image of the vine and its branches. But, as he had done so many times before in their walk with Jesus, he talks this ordinary everyday image and transforms it into something sacred. He tell them to think of God as the vine and that they were the branches and they were to bear good fruit. But he tells them if they are to bear good fruit, if they are to know the joy that God intends form them then there is something they must do. When we hear Jesus’ words of instruction in the New International Version we hear Jesus teach, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Older translations like the King James Version and more literal translations like the New Revised Standard Version use a different term. In them we hear Jesus teach, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you.”

Abide is a word that has been virtually lost in current common English. It is our loss. It better captures the essence of what I believe Jesus was trying to teach his disciples. “Abide” speaks to both a place and time relationship. (4) “Abide” is a “where.” You do not abide in a hotel; you pass briefly through its halls. You abide where you reside – where you settle in – where you are you with no pretence – where you are at home. Jesus wanted them to know that they needed to make themselves at home in the presence of God. “Abide” is also a “when” word. The “when” is always! Abiding is about an ongoing, never-ending, no time-out, settling in -not just passing through- kind of relationship. Abiding is about being at home in the presence of God and rooting ourselves in to the will and way of God. If you listen to what Jesus is saying in John 15 it is clear that he wanted them to understand that the only way that they could bear fruit that would bring glory to God; the only way they could know the kind of joy that God intended for them; the only way they could know what it was to be sustained by God’s love and word; would be to abide in Him.

I think one of the reasons that this word, “abide”, has almost vanished from our language is not that the word is archaic, but that the very idea has become foreign to our contemporary way of life. We live in a very temporary disposable kind of culture. Football coaches, CEOS, and politicians understand that they have to be successful NOW because way we measure success is not with a long term view but rather with the resounding question, “what have you done for me lately?” A life time pledge of commitment has become reworked as a commitment until one of the two don’t feel the same quality of passion any more or feel they have “outgrown” the other. The career of a missionary that was once measured in decades is now most often measured by whether they served three, five, or seven years. The employee’s commitment to the company and the company’s commitment to the employee that was once measured by generations is now defined by “until something better comes along” or “until there is a shift in the economic conditions.” It seems that our understanding of forever is progressively shorter and shorter and shorter. Jesus is trying to help his disciples, and those like us who followed them, to understand is that our relationship with God is not supposed to be for a season, but is to be the kind of relationship that defines us today, tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil can only be what is promised if that every drop comes from olives. Apparently a pickle can only be a pickle if it begins with a cucumber. Nothing else will do. If we are to be the people in God we are intended to be then we must find our nourishment and our identity in the vine that is God. We are just the branches that spring from God’s love and God’s word. We can only bear fruit if what courses through us is the way and will of God. Anything else would be a poor substitute. Anything else would be scandalous. Anything else would cheat us from knowing God’s joy. Anything else cheats God of the glory that is due him. We are to be a people who abide in God, nothing else will do. Jesus teaches, This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

There is an uncomfortable part of this passage. It tells us that if we do not abide in God – if we choose our own way rather than the way and will of God, then we are of no value and are cut away from the vine and casted aside. This is a picture that I can hardly put my hands around. God invites us to His side with love through Christ. God’s desire is for our redemption and our joy. Why would we settle for anything less?

What claims your attention? What stops you from abiding in God? What kind of fruit are you producing and what kind of reflection is it on the love of God? Make this the day you choose to claim a defining relationship with God. Make this the day you choose to make a commitment to spend real time with God. Make this the day you choose to set anything that that gets in your way aside and choose to abide in God. Life, real life in and through God, awaits you.

Note: Focal passage was sung in its entirity as "Scripture in Song" by our Sanctuary Choir

(1)http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12571726

(2)http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller
(3)http://www.cpbn.org/article/olive-oil-fraud
(4)Influenced by http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=678

“A God We Can Depend On” - I Kings 8:22-24 - August 28, 2011

2011-08-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

[This sermon/homily is offered as a part of a service of testimony. 3 members of our congregation spoke to critical moments in their life where God’s faithfulness was on display. The service also included a choral version of “If It Were Not for Grace” with a solo that was testimonial in flavor. The homily serves to pull the voices of witness into a Scriptural context and to challenge the church family to discover their own testimony of God’s faithfulness.]

I can only image what Solomon must have been feeling when he took his place before the altar that morning. He was there to dedicate the temple. The temple has been his father’s dream, but God choose for him to be the one to complete the task. Maybe he felt a little like many of us do right now, seized with the power of God’s story of faithfulness expressed in Don, Cathy, and Larry’s spoken testimony and Dennis’ testimony in song. Maybe the music that surrounded the service that morning while different in tone and language, moved with passion like ours this morning, drawing Solomon and the worshippers there closer and closer to God’s feet. But, our passage tells us that just at the right moment, Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took a position before the Altar, spread his hands out before heaven, and prayed, O GOD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them as they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today! [The Message, Peterson]

Solomon’s dedication of the temple was strikingly different than most building dedications we would experience in our era. His first words of dedication were not words to celebrate the craftsmanship of what would have been one of the greatest buildings of that era. His words did not celebrate the great wealth he had amassed that made the construction of the temple possible. His words did not celebrate the growth and development of the great city of Jerusalem that the temple called home. He did not celebrate the kingdom he ruled over and their growing status in the region. Instead Solomon begins with a testimony that God was a God that the people could depend on because God delivered on the promises He made.

In my lifetime I have watched our confidence in our government erode because of Watergate, the Lewinsky scandal, political polarization, and national debt figures in the trillions. In my lifetime I have watched our confidence in our religious leaders fade because of a seemingly endless list of ministers embroiled in sexual impropriety, drug abuse, and financial exploitation of their congregations or television followers. Many of us have had people let us down when we needed on them the most. If we are not careful we can begin wonder if there is really anything we can count on. The testimonies and the Scripture we have heard this morning testify that we can depend on God. God is always faithful.

Solomon had faced war with his brothers and was a product of his father’s moral failure. It would have been easy for him to doubt everyone and everything. But, his testimony is clear. God has honored every promise; God has come through at every turn. It was time to celebrate. The temple was done. And in this moment when he could claim the limelight, he made sure that the only one that would get glory was God. God was unquestionably, undeniably, unswerving dependable. God still is. O God, You kept your word, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today! Thanks be to God!

So you have heard the testimony of Scripture and of those who walk beside you every day. What is your testimony? Where do you see God moving in your life? Where has God proven faithful in your life? Let your voice be heard. God is faithful – just as He promised – just as He said.

“Everyone Matters!” - Romans 12:3-8 - August 21, 2011

2011-08-21T12:12:00.000-05:00

I love my daughter, Elizabeth, and she plays a lot of different roles in my life. There are moments the little girl comes out and we laugh at things like we did when she was young. There are moments when she is wise beyond her years and we talk about things that really matter. There are moments she is my co-conspirator in pulling together something new in the kitchen. There are still others when we work together on a project designed to touch our community or our world. There is one very important role she plays for you. She is my hokey illustration filter. One of the tasks of writing a sermon is to try to find an image that can help draw you in – to help you enter an age old Bible text from a new and fresh perspective. Sometimes in the effort to be creative and engaging I can be tempted to wander off into – well, into the hokey or silly. Do you remember the morning I used a door a few months ago – only to discover I could not open it when I was supposed to? Or maybe you remember the band major’s jacket that found its way to stage several years ago? She had real doubt about both of those – and I should have.

I have to tell you that this week’s message invited the prospect of some pretty hokey options. As I thought about how to introduce the idea that everyone in the congregation matters to what we do, I thought about bringing in a pot and a host of veggies, throwing the vegetables in one at a time in a congregational soup or stew that was suppose to show that when we are all mixed together something amazing happens. But, I it did not take long for this pleasant little image to go over the top and hit the Elizabeth filter. I also thought about placing huge puzzle pieces in different parts of the sanctuary and have people bring them up and symbolically talk about what we are all a part of the puzzle and when all the pieces are brought together a beautiful picture emerges. When I moved from talking about the idea to how it would work, Elizabeth game me a look.

So, with no props and no silly images I invite you to look at a family passage where Paul tries to help the church in Rome understand the contribution that each member of the church brings to the life and the ministry of the church. We heard Mike Wanzer read the passage as a whole earlier in our service. Now let’s take a closer look at what it says. Paul begins; For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Paul understood our temptation to value some roles more than others, some gifts more highly than the other, and some people more than other people. He takes this head on. Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should because of who you are or what you do; any spiritual gift or talent you bring to the table is given by God. It is not about you. It is about God working in and through you.

He wanted them – and us - to understand it the ministry and mission of the church was found in who they were as they expressed their gifts side by side. He tells them; For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. This is one of my favorite passages because it drives home the reality that everyone matters. That none of us are spare parts. Regardless of our age, experience, or gender, everyone matters. God has gifted all who come to him in faith with gifts that are necessary for the fulfillment of the mission/purpose of the church. To be the people we need to be, we need each other. To be the church we need to be, we need each other. While we all are different and bring something different to the table, we BELONG- all of us – we belong to God and we belong to each other. We need each other. We cannot do it without each other. And that is exactly what God had in mind all along.

Paul offers a remarkable list of the kind of gifts he saw. This list is not comprehensive. Across the New Testament we see similar lists that include parts of this list and add others as well. Some have gotten caught up in trying to figure out how their spiritual gifting fits one of the lists. I believe this is misdirected. The point is that everyone one is gifted differently by God and every gift matters. Here we hear Paul say; 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

I love this list because it captures images of those who teach and preach; those who serve with passion; those who encourage others; those who give, and those who share their heart with and for others. This list is a glimpse across the life of the church, as if Paul is peering in and calling out those he sees in service. I think the list for our church might look a bit different. I think it might include a list like: If your gift is making children feel special on Wednesday nights by serving them at their own line; or if your gift is financial oversight expressed by serving as a teller; or if your gift is one of fellowship demonstrated by being a part of the kitchen team; or if your gift if one of hospitality expressed in service as a volunteer receptionist; or if your gift is of compassion expressed in folding clothes, or assisting people in the food pantry, or listening to people’s stories, or praying for people in need at Good Shepherd; or if your gift is a gift of song for worship; or if your gift is creativity expressed with hammer and nail, or if your gift is the gift of humble service expressed in picking up furniture for the furniture bank; or if your gift is expressed in a wide range of other ways where your sometimes publically, but more often in quiet, impact the lives of others through the mission and ministry of the church, then do it joyfully. Each of these expressions of ministry – each of these reflections of spiritual giftedness makes us who we are as a church and as a church family. When Claire McAtee spent hours decorating the gathering room for the VBS section of Kids of Broadway when she knew that her only reward would be the joy in the eyes of the kids, then she shared her giftedness in a way it touched people’s lives. When Bob and Emily Self serve kids on Wednesday nights or when Gene Haney helps wash the dishes, or when John Turpin hands out bulletins and makes people feel welcome in worship, or when Scott Feree runs sound, or fill in the blank here with a name of someone in our church family giving of themselves, we see the God at work in and through one another. God shapes us and calls us- gifts us and makes us who we are as a unique church family. Every person and every act of faithfulness is essential. Everyone matters! Everyone matters and every gift matters because we can only be the church we are called to be when the gifts of everyone are expressed/lived out/valued/embraced.

There is one word we often miss in Paul’s teaching is “generous.” Paul wants it clear that we serve and give not out of obligation but out of joy and a spirit of celebration. It means that every act of service, every act of ministry, and every moment we live out of the spiritual gifts that God has given us regardless of its scale, becomes an act of worship. When we value each person and each act of the spirit, we become the reflection of God we are intended to be as a church family. God has gifted you. The living expression of your God given giftedness is essential to us being the church we were created to be for this era. Every gift matters! Everyone matters!

You do not want to miss the Passages exhibit at the OKC Art Museum

2011-08-16T21:06:00.001-05:00

This afternoon Aaron and I spent several hours touring the Passages exhibit at the OKC Art Museum. It is an interactive exhibit that celebrates the 400th Anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible and includes the story of the translation and transmission of the Bible through history. The exhibit included an incredible display of rare and special Bible texts and a host of other significant religious and cultural documents that shape the story of the Bible we carry in our hands. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the presentation by animatronic historical characters and the video clips that help set the historical tone of each era included in the exhibit. I was also very please to encounter a remarkable display of scrolls and scroll cases of Torahs from a diversity of global settings and historical timeframes; to see a fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls; and to be able to look at letters from Martin Luther and the Pope that speak to conflict at the heart of the Reformation. Our overall experience was worth every dollar and every minute we invested. I highly recommend that if you are within driving distance of Oklahoma City you make the drive to see this exhibit. The exhibit will leave OKC in October to go on display at the Vatican. Catch it before it leaves!

Grace and Peace, Tom

“A Dinner to Remember” - Luke 5:27-32 - August 14, 2011

2011-08-16T20:42:00.001-05:00

{This sermon was offered in the midst of a worship service filled with symbols of commitment. The service included the baptism of three young adults, a celebration of the Lord's Supper, and the licensing of my son, Aaron, for Gospel Ministry. The focal passage was read in two sections; the first showing Levi's choice the follow Jesus and the second, telling the story of Levi's party.}

Levi would have been hated by most in the mainstream in culture. They hated him because he was a tax collector, not the kind of institutional dislike we hear expressed for the IRS during tax time, but instead it was a searing personal hatred for someone they viewed as a crook and a traitor. The Romans had an interesting way of paying tax collectors. They told them how much they were to forward on to the government and their pay was whatever they could collect over and above that. It was a recipe for getting wealthy and for being despised by almost everyone who walked the streets beside you. They were the living embodiment of everything the Jewish people hated about the Roman occupations. Levi was of a particularly despised class of the tax collectors. They had mobile booths and would set up wherever they saw a crowd or could expect traffic to give them the maximum take. Some scholars speculate that Levi has been setting his booth up so he could tap the crowds that were drawn to Jesus. He is an incredibly unlikely person for Jesus to invite to his side. It is even more remarkable that he becomes the catalyst for others on the edge of culture to find their way to Jesus.

Whether Levi set up his tax booth on the fringe of the crowds around Jesus or was someone Jesus saw in his regular going in and out of Capernaum, it is most likely that Levi knew about Jesus. In the days before the fishermen working along the seashore had heard Jesus’ call and followed him. Jesus had healed a man with leprosy and another who was paralyzed. Word about Jesus spread like wildfire and the crowds gathered to see what Jesus might do next and to hear what he might next say. Luke tells us that one day Jesus “went out,” out from the crowds and the chaos that swirled around him, to claim a personal encounter with Levi. Of course Jesus finds him attending his tax booth, where else would he be?

I wonder what Levi was thinking when he saw Jesus coming down the road toward him. Jesus speaks. Can you believe it? Jesus speaks to the one everyone hated; to the one no one would have thought of as being worthy; to the one who was a crook and a traitor. Surely he had come to pronounce judgment on him. Surely he will curse him. This is what everyone else did. Were his ears lying to him? Did he hear Jesus correctly? “Follow me.” YES! He did not care how much money was on table and did not pack up his booth. In one moment, in one act, he left everything behind. He committed to follow Jesus and never look back.

Tyler, Morgan, and Abby this morning we celebrate your baptism. It is a bold statement of faith like Levi’s. It is an public act of spiritual obedience. Your baptism makes us remember the moment we decided to follow Jesus. Your baptism makes us remember when your faith was new and passionate. Your baptism makes us remember our first moments following Jesus. Your baptism is a living testimony that Jesus comes for us – each of us – regardless of how others see us or what other say about us – and invites us to follow him. Thank you for your witness among us.

As we heard earlier in the service, Levi’s story does not stop with the choice to follow Jesus. He threw a party and invited all of his friends to get together and get to know Jesus. It was an odd assortment of fellow tax collectors and others that lived on the fringe of the community. The religious set pulled Jesus’ disciples aside. With a mix of sarcasm and self-righteous judgmentalism, they ask how Jesus can eat with sinners like those gathered at the table that evening. Jesus steps in. He has news for them. He did not come for those like them. He came for those whose hearts and lives were sick.

The call to the table is also an act of spiritual obedience. Jesus tells us to do this and remember that the bread is the symbol of his broken body and the wine is the symbol of his shed blood. But was we look at our time at the table through the lenses of Levi’s story we have to ask, when you came to the table this morning, what attitude did you bring with you? Did you go through the religious motions, or did you understand that the Lord’s Supper is a dinner for sinners? Like the table at Levi's dinner, it is intended not for the self-righteous, but instead for those who understand their righteousness is found first and only in Jesus Christ. It is a table where those who are heart sick can find the story to heal them. Jesus tells us that his body is broken and his blood is shed for the forgiveness of sin for the many.

I am not a spectator to this moment. I am a part of the many. I find my place among Levi’s friends – those who know that the only reason that they are with Jesus is because Jesus has welcomed them. There is no part of me that is worthy for this great dinner invitation. On my own merit, my name should be dropped from the list. But Jesus – the Jesus who came for me when I was a stranger and outside the family of God – invites me to the table that flows with grace. This is a table that reminds us that because of Jesus a group of sinners that deserve rejection are invited to the table that testifies God’s grace. We who were a part from God and we not a part of the family of God, because of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, are made children of God. When one says the church is filled with hypocrites and sinners I can only rejoice. That is exactly what Jesus intended. It is exactly what we see modelled at Levi's table and at the Lord's Supper table commissioned by Christ.

I love Levi. He gets it. He knows that he does not deserve a relationship with Jesus, but Jesus comes and gets him. While my place in culture is different than Levi’s, I claim his heart. I know my faults and failures. I know that the only way I have a relationship with Jesus is that he came for me. I know that I did not do anything to earn it or could live a life worthy of God. I could have been- I should have been- left out. But Jesus invited me in. Lord, please help me to remember that I belong at the sinners table with Jesus – not among the self-righteous religious elite second guess God’s grace. I fear that Jesus is not pleased with the modern evangelical Church because we have in our piousness we begin to sound more like the Pharisees than claim an identity with the sinners who know that apart from Jesus we are nothing.

Aaron, in a few moments LaJuanda Speegle and Larry Fitch will come to affirm your call to ministry. I celebrate your response to God’s call. Remember Levis. It is well to be clear that the call to follow is not a once and done, but a once and always leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. Remember Levi. When you find yourself sitting comfortably in judgment of others, you are in the wrong place. It is your call to go out of your way to reach out to those on the edges of religious life and invite them to join you at Jesus’ side and then trust God to move in their lives.

How about you? What is your testimony about your relationship with Jesus? Is Jesus welcoming you to begin a relationship with him through faith? Is Jesus inviting you to follow Him? Have you said “yes” to following Jesus but have never made that commitment public so others might see and hear your witness of faith? Is God calling you to ministry – to missions – or to some specific place of service? Is today your day – or your family’s day to join this congregation as it seeks to follow Christ in this place?

The hymn of response is #285, Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go. How is God calling you and how will you respond?

[1] http://www.gracecommentary.com/luke-5_27-32/ available online on August 12, 2011.

“The Mission of God: The Mission of the Church” - I John 4:7-12

2011-08-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

Last spring I was asked to deliver a sermon for the CBFO General Assembly and the topic I was given was “The Mission of God: The Mission of the Church.” As I prepared that sermon over and over again I felt led to bring this same theme and this same passage to our church family. You would think that I would be tempted just to preach the same sermon, but I believe that a sermon is written for a specific people in a specific moment. So, while a sentence here and there may sound familiar to those who were there that morning, the reality is that little of the earlier sermon remains. Our congregation is at a different point in our missional journey than those gathered for that earlier event. We are on a mission-centered path, but, I think it is critical that we continue to go back to Scripture to make sure the path we are on is on track with God’s will for us as individuals and as a church family.

A little over fifteen years ago Robert Fulghum released a book entitled, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” As I thought and prayed about this morning, I had a Robert Fulghum kind of moment. The passage that played over and over in my head was the first verse I ever learned. It was John 3:16. I learned it out of the King James Version, so no matter what translation I have in my hand at the time I always hear it the same. How about saying it with me? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. From my earliest memories of church this passage impacted my view of God. The God that love the world – and loved me – was not far way. This God was and is a sending God. It also told me that the God that loved me also loved everyone else in the world. It just made sense to me that we needed to make sure every knew that God loved them.

So, for the next few minutes I want to claim the heart of the passage I learned in kindergarten and look it its more expanded expression found in I John 4:7-12. We heard this passage read earlier in our service. Hear again verses 7 through 10. 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The redemptive love story between God and humanity is born in the heart and the nature of God. With the same love that moved God breathed the breath of life in the Genesis, moves God to send his one and only Son, his very incarnation, to the world that we might find our way back home to Him. The Mission of God is a reflection of the very heart and nature of God – it is the love of God that initiates the Gospel story. God loves us and wants us to live in that love. This is not a polite religious philosophical statement. God has demonstrated the depth of His love with God’s remarkable choice to come incarnate to walk among us, to teach us, and to show us the way. God has demonstrated the depth of His love with God’s incredible choice to claim a path of sacrifice that we might know redemption and grace. Real and authentic love begins in the heart of God and is initiated in the action of God.

Verses 11 and 12 makes the sending Mission of God personal. It reads; 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Verse 11 is almost identical to verse 7- it is the reoccurring theme that because God loved us we are called to love one another. Our love is to be reflection of God’s love. We hear it when Jesus teaches; “A new command I give you: Love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. (John 13:34-35). We hear it echoed in Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth when he teaches that those who have reconciled to God through Christ are called now to become ministers of reconciliation. We hear it from the lips of Jesus when he proclaims, “As I was sent, so I send you.”(John 20:20) The redemptive Mission of God expressed through the love of Christ is to become the Mission of the Church. As we experience God’s redemptive love for us – as we experience God living in us and God’s love being made complete in us, the expectation is that we will become a reflection of that redemptive love for others. For God so loved the world he sent his one and only Son….for God so loved the world he sends His people – the Church into the world.

This Redemptive Sending Mission of God is at the heart of the Great Commission. When Christ commissions the Church on the Galilean hillside it transformed the scope of the disciples’ world and catapulted them into a global mission with God. The church was and is called to be at the center of missions. Bill O'Brien, one of my friends and favorite Baptist missiologist, introduced me to one of his favorite quotes. It says, "missions is to the church as flame is to the fire." When the congregation claims its place at the center of missions it is restored to its right and rightful place in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. In its living out of mission the church finds a central element of its “raision d’etre” or reason for being; its foundation for its relationship with the world.

There was a time when we as Baptist outsourced our place in the Mission of God to organizations and structures that required our cash and asked for our prayer, and sent others in our place. The missionary was called out of the church to fulfill their individual sense of call. They were on mission and the task of the church was to support them. We were thrilled to get to see occasional slide show and were enthralled by stories of people that lived far, far away. While this method was efficient and the church could celebrate its global impact in supporting others to serve in their stead, the Church failed to understand their mission as a reflection of the sending Mission of God. The Mission of the Church was not designed for the selected few; it was and is to be a reflection of the way of life of every believer.

We who are made children of God through the love of God expressed through Christ, each one of us, are to be the reflection of God’s love for the world. This means that the missionary and the minister, the lawyer and the bricklayer, accountants and acrobats – all who are a part of the Church because of their relationship with God through Jesus Christ – all who have known God’s love -are to be are to find their place in the living out of the Mission of God reflected in the Mission of the Church. When the Mission of the Church is the living out of the Mission of God there are no spare parts. Everyone matters and every disciple is called to engage – who they are and where they are- and wherever God might send them. Each will have a different place, but each has a place.

As you know, a number of our youth and 20somethings headed to Canada to work with refugees in July because they heard God’s call. One of the results of their work crossed my desk this week on email. A community center leader that had viewed the work of a refugee focused Baptist Church with skepticism has changed their tune. This week they wrote a letter asking for the chancellor of that area to do a letter of appreciation to the church, to the missionaries they worked with, and to the FBC OKC mission teams for the great work they accomplished during their time there. A heart of compassion and hands of service built an important relational bridge to will change the texture of ministry in that community for the good. The team did not pass out tracks or preach on street corners. The directly and meaningfully served in humility and love. They reflected God’s love and those in that community felt its power. Similar stories emerge from almost everywhere we God in God’s name – whether across the street or across the world. God is calling out and sending out people to find their place in His Redemptive Sending Mission. Our job is to have an open heart and a willing spirit. For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son – and now sends His church

But hear that our embrace of our place in the Mission of the Church it is no small short term task. It would be easy to sit down and pat ourselves on the back and pronounce “well done!” for all we have done. But when the church understands its place as a reflection of the Redemptive Sending Mission of God it will continue to be call it out of its comfort, into the difficult highways and byways of its community and the world. The Mission of the Church will continue to draw us from the safety of our sanctuary to rub shoulder to shoulder with the poor, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, and with those who live their lives separate from a relationship with God. The Mission of the Church will compel us to learn to speak to a world that it not our own, even when rejection and suffering are a part of the package. The Mission of the Church will summons us to act as agents of reconciliation, responding cross-culturally to the hurt and the hopelessness that captures the souls of those living a world of darkness. The cross-cultural response will be to the both in our own community and to those across the globe that do not have a personal relationship with God. Let us not grow weary in doing good – let us know grow weary in claiming our part in the Mission of God.

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son…Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. As I was sent, so I send you. Where is God calling you? Where is God leading us next? Amen.

“For Thine Is the Kingdom” - July 31, 2011

2011-08-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

[Sermon timeslot begins with a testimony by Pam, a member of our congregation. She speaks to God’s faithfulness in a dark period of her life and the joy she finds in now faithfully giving and serving for the sake of God’s Kingdom] Thank you, Pam, for being willing to share a part of your faith story with us. Your words and your living witness encourage us and challenge us.

For the past few weeks we have been looking at the Lord’s Prayer and its call for utter dependence on God. It is a prayer where we invite God to step into every part of our life and to trust God with the very essence of who we are and with the path we walk. We come now to the close line of this great prayer.

We pray; “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.” What words would you use to describe God? What hymn or song does your heart sing when you see God move in your life? Up until this moment every word from the Lord’s Prayer is lifted from the Jesus’ teaching on the hillside outside of Capernaum known as the Sermon on the Mount. But, when we look at Matthew 6 or the corresponding passage in Luke, we find these words absent in the text. You probably find it as a small footnote on the bottom of the page in your Bible - but it’s not found in the most trusted manuscripts that scholars use to translate our current versions of the Bible. It is commonly called David’s doxology and was linked to this prayer early in the development of the church. It seems to have been their cry in response to this incredible prayer of absolute dependence on God. While it is not found in the Scriptural text, it is seen as a traditional part of the prayer and has had significant standing in church history/tradition. It is tied to and echoes the heart of I Chronicles 29: 11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

It is a remarkable picture. The prayer has led us to the feet of God with a bold humility. The prayer invites us to voice a series of petition or pleas to God. We pray that the God who is at one moment both up close and personal and eternal and transcendent will be honored and revered in our lives. We pray that the kingdom of God and the will of God be done among us just like it is at the foot of his throne in heaven. We pray that God will provide our most basic needs and call us daily to dependence. We pray God will lead us away from temptation and evil – that God will keep us away from anything and anyone that would lead us away from God’s presence. Petition by petition we affirm our absolute dependence of God. Petition by petition we pray that God will align us – guide us – direct us to toward the will and way he has for our lives. It is a prayer of absolute dependence, absolute obedience, and absolute trust. It is incredibly counter-cultural to our culture that extols the virtues of self-reliance and independence. It was equally counter-cultural to those who first claimed this prayer as a regular part of their worship experience. But what they discovered was in their prayer of bold humility that carried them to their knees they found themselves face-to-face with God who was worthy of their worship and worthy of their trust. The songs of their heart found voice in this doxology. They so relished in the greatness and power and glory and majesty and splendor of God that the words they claimed became a permanent part of the Lord’s Prayer. Their witness flows from our lips every time we repeat this great prayer. The call is for us to claim the kind of relationship with God where our witness becomes like theirs - our song of faith joins their song.

Have you ever felt so close to God that you we moved beyond words? Have ever seen God move in your life where your faith – your trust – your dependence on God was so clearly affirmed all you could do was to sing? Have you ever experienced the power of forgiveness where you were humbled in the presence of God? Have you ever gotten a glimpse of God’s holiness – or of the depths of God’s love – or the wonder of God’s grace – where your heart is stirred? Have you ever had a moment where the “bigness” of God was on display?

This gets personal for me. Nine and a half years ago a young doctor in a suburban Dallas hospital decided that death was more likely than life for me. While I was in an ambulance being transferred to a private hospital related to the University of Texas medical school, he sent my wife to my house with Keith Parks, a Baptist missions leader that had become like a grandfather to my children. Their task was to tell my children to pray because it looked like I might not live to come home again. Where the doctor saw hopelessness, God had another answer. When another doctor told us that I might never speak in public again, they saw only darkness and despair, God had another answer. When a young Physical Therapist pronounced that I might never walk without a walker again, she saw only boundaries. God had another answer. My life story was not designed to be written in a medical journal, it was written by my Father, who is in heaven, whose name is holy and honored in my life. I sing with joy with the Scripture when it proclaims; Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. The prayer rings out, “For Thine in the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Sometimes our stories of God’s work in our lives are big and dramatic. Sometimes the stories are simple and quiet. It is not about the scale of the story, but is instead about giving our lives to God and seeing God at work. Within our church family we know of stories where grief has given way to hope, when pain has given way to healing, when tragedy has given way to a future founded in faith, when despair has given way to joy. In each case God has answer. In each case we see God act. When our story becomes God’s story God’s kingdom and power and glory are on display. When we honor God’s name in all that we do God’s kingdom and power and glory are on display. When our way gives in to God’s will for our lives God’s kingdom and power and glory are on display. When we depend on God’s provision and trust God to meet our daily needs God’s kingdom and power and glory are on display. When we follow God’s lead to His feet instead of following the voices that would call us any other way than God’s way God’s kingdom and power and glory are on display.

We were not created to wander from one day to another on our own; we were created to live lives of trust and dependence God – lives filled with awe and wonder. We were created to lives the kind of lives that sing out to God in praise. Let’s not settle for anything less.

Our Father, who is up close and personal and divine and eternal, Holy, revered, honor and respected, is your name, Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth and in my life, as it is in heaven. Give me today, my most basic needs, so that I depend wholly on you. Forgive us – forgive me, and help me to forgive others the same way I want to be forgiven by you. Lead us away from anything that might tempt us – anything that might draw our eyes away from you- and deliver us from the one who would have us walk any way but yours. For the Kingdom is yours, the power is yours, and the glory is yours, forever! Amen!

“Forgive Us….Lead Us” - Matthew 6:12-13 - July 24, 2011

2011-08-11T20:49:00.000-05:00

I love my brother, Adam. He is one of the most important people in my life. I have to tell you if I had a problem and really needed him; I honestly believe that I could call him in the middle of the night in Atlanta and by morning’s light he would be on an airplane heading this way. He demonstrated this throughout my journey through my catastrophic illness and again two years ago after my hip surgery. When he thought I needed him, he came. I want you to hear my deep love for him, because I have to confess that we spent much of our childhood – let’s see, how should I put this, locked in the natural struggle for self-differentiation one from another. OK, more directly, we spend much of our childhood wrestling and fighting with one another. We shared a bedroom until my sister left for college. Adam and I are only two years apart in age and it seemed that our constant state of being together created endless opportunities to disagree – not so agreeably. I remember that when my mother would hear the chaos, she would come upstairs and tell us; “Stop this now! Now forgive each other, hug, and make up. You are brothers! You should know better.”

Our promise to forgive each other became more about the stopping the fight of the moment – at least until Mom was out of ear shot range. I fear that for many of us, forgiveness is still about making up with someone for the moment, but does not ultimately change the way we feel or act toward others. Jesus understood our struggle to forgive one another. As we move into our third week of taking a closer look at the model prayer – The Lord’s Prayer – that Jesus taught as a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Our the course of the first two weeks we heard that we might best hear this prayer something like…

Our Father, who is up close and personal and divine and eternal, May I make your name Holy, revered, honor and respected in my life. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth and in my life, as it is in at the feet of your throne. Give me today, my most basic needs, so that I depend wholly and daily on you.

Now we hear ourselves pray: And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…In many translations including the NIV we read; And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…and in Luke’s account of this same moment we hear Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

Most of the time when we hear about forgiveness in church, we are talking about God’s grace and the promise that God will forgive us and redeem us. We hear Jesus proclaim from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” We hear Paul teach in Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.” We love these sermons. They are good and encouraging words to hear and the promises are real and true. But, I think we are slower to think about us forgiving others. While we cherish the promise that we are forgiven, we are also called to be a people of forgiveness. In fact, Jesus places a profound responsibility for forgiveness on our shoulders. In the model prayer Jesus teaches us to ask God to forgive us as we forgive those who trespass – who sin – against us. Every time I pray this prayer I find these words startling. I have to be honest with you and with God. My hope and my prayer is that God will forgive me – redeem me – restore me, much better than I forgive others – redeem my relationship with others – restore my walk with others. I think this is true for most of us. Our temptation is to demand justice when we feel we have been sinned against, and mercy when we are the sinner. We want justice when we feel like we have been violated. We want mercy when we blow it and wound another. Jesus wanted to make sure that there is no confusion on what he is teaching. At the close of the model prayer Jesus comes back to this theme. He teaches 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

It was interesting to read the scholars in the various commentaries squirm as they come to terms with the apparent conditional nature of Jesus’ teaching. We are much more comfortable with a single direction forgiveness – of an unrelenting God who forgives us regardless of anything we have done or might do. Jesus wants it clear that those who follow him and know what it is to be forgiven are expected to become a people who forgive others.

We have talked about the fact that this model prayer is a prayer of dependence. We have heard that we must depend on who God is, on God’s will and God’s way, and on God’s provision of our all we need. Here Jesus is teaching that we must so dependent on God’s forgiveness that it shapes our very nature – we who are forgiven become those who forgive. We do not forgive others as an act of benevolence or even kindness. We forgive because we are so shaped by God’s forgiveness that we can do no other. Does this define your heart for others in your life? Do you have an unspoken list in your life of those you simply cannot forgive? Are you still carrying the pain that others have brought into your life? Are you ready to finally let your hate and frustration go – to forgive those who have sinned against you – so that nothing stands in between you and your relationship with God? It seems we forget that the power of forgiveness is an important and releasing for the one who forgives as the one we are forgiving.

We hear ourselves pray; Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil….In these words we hear Jesus teach us to pray for God’s guidance for us to avoid temptation and power of the evil. So often we think that we have the personal fortitude to stand against temptation and evil, but Paul reminds us that we are weak and easily tempted. This is about so much more than the old line from the old Flip Wilson comedy show where he pronounces “the devil made me do it.” It is heard in the trembling voices who say, “I know it was wrong, but I just could not help myself.” We see the unmistakable impact it has on people who find themselves addicted to drugs or alcohol, to pornography or sex, or any one of a thousand other things. We see it lived out in those who tumble from one bad relationship to another. We feel it when we find ourselves stumbling and bumbling over the same issues – making the same mistakes – repeating the same failures, over and over again. We want something more. We long for the power to change. But as long as we continue to depend on our own spiritual strength – our own emotional resolution – as long as we depend on ourselves, we are doomed to repeat the same failures again and again. The only we can actually avoid temptation is for God to lead us away from it – and the only way we can avoid the power of the evil one is to trust God to deliver us from it.

I join these two together because together they help us to see that just as we need God to lead us away from temptation and to forgive us when we fall, we are called to be a reflection that same redeeming and restoring love. Jesus teaches us to pray a prayer that calls us utter dependence and complete obedience. Hear that this is not about become a nice rule abiding religious people. It is about giving ourselves to God a day at a time – a moment at a time. We have to let God define our way of life, becoming a people of forgiveness, and trusting God to lead us away from all that would wound our heart and spirit, and call us toward His feet.

Our Father, who is up close and personal and divine and eternal, Holy, revered, honor and respected, is your name, Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth and in my life, as it is in heaven. Give me today, my most basic needs, so that I depend wholly on you. Forgive us – forgive me, and help me to forgive others the same way I want to be forgiven by you. Lead us away from anything that might tempt us – anything that might draw our eyes away from you- and deliver us from the one who would have us walk any way but yours. Amen!

“Give Us This Day” - Matthew 6:11 - July 17, 2011

2011-08-11T20:39:00.000-05:00

We come to the second week of a five week look into what it means to live in the midst of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is repeated in Christian churches across the globe. It comes in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus has been talking about the kind of prayer that honors God. Jesus spoke to the crowd about the practice that had become the norm for the religious elite. They would stand and pray in public for everyone to hear. He told them that this kind of prayer stole the glory from God and claimed it for themselves. He also addressed those prayers that go on, and on, and on. He then told them that those kinds of prayers belonged to those outside the family of faith and that the quantity of the words was not substitute for the quality of the heart of the one that prays. With these words still fresh in the air, Jesus teaches the crowd a model of prayer that will draw them to the feet of God with a spirit of humility. Ultimately the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer of dependence; purposely placing who we are and how we conduct our lives in the hands of God. In the first movement we declared our dependence on God’s will and God’s way. Last week talked about how best to understand these words and I suggested that we might hear the first few sentences the prayer something like:

Our Father, who is up close and personal but also transcends the breadth of the universe,
Holy, revered, honored and cherished is your name in my life, May your kingdom come and your will be done, on the whole of the earth and in my every part of my everyday life, just like it is in heaven.

The prayer continues and we pray: “Give us this day, our daily bread.” This declaration comes as an acknowledgement of our total dependence on God for even life’s most basic provisions- our daily bread. There is a part of me that wants to go silent and allow others to voice this part of the prayer. This is a dangerous part of the prayer. It calls us to the kind of dependence that seems foreign in our culture.

• It asks us to pray out of our need rather than our greed.
• It asks us to pray out of need rather than our wants.
• It asks us to pray out of focus on God meeting our needs for today rather than the seemingly countless tomorrows in front us.
• It asks us to trust God with our basic life substance and everything else.

I think it would be easier to pray that God might bless our endeavors to earn our daily bread. It would be easier to pray that God multiply our crops – to empower our business efforts – or to sustain our monies in IRAs and other retirement accounts and to multiple the value of our investments. The hard reality is that statistically the more someone makes the less by percent they are willing to give to churches and charitable organizations. It seems the more we are sure we can depend on ourselves and our own wealth, the less likely we are to depend on God. We have become so accustomed to the security we find in what we have earned with our own efforts and in the financial plans we have made to ensure our security in retirement, that the idea of being dependent on anyone – even God – seems foreign. If we are not careful, this can even be true for our church. We are most comfortable when we can define our future success by positive giving patterns and can count on an annual stream of limited dollars we receive from dollars endowed on our behalf. This is not what God intends!

It seems that it takes something dramatic to make us remember that we are dependent on God. A drought, a dip in the stock market, the loss of a job, or a tornado – those moments when our security is turned out upside down – make us pause and realize we cannot guarantee our future on our own; that we need for God to step in. Jesus envisions something very different for his followers. He teaches us to pray for God to provide our daily substance – our most basic – and nothing more.

Apparently Jesus does not understand that we live in and are often defined by our American capitalist consumer culture where who we are is defined by what we have. Or perhaps it is us who fail to understand. In the words that will follow this prayer in of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus will teach the crowd not put treasure things that are temporary and that can we wiped out by rust or vermin. He will teach that they were not to worry because if God would care for the birds of the air, that God will care for us. He will teach that if God dresses the flowers of the fields with beauty, that God will make sure we have what we need. He will teach: So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34 NIV)

He is trying to help the crowd gathered on that hillside outside of Capernaum, and all those who would follow him, to understand that the only way to have the kind of relationship with God that we were created for, was to trust God and depend on God to meet the our needs – our spiritual needs and our physical needs. When we fail to trust God, to truly depend on God, we rip God from His rightful place in our lives. We claim for ourselves the reign and the rule of our lives. We cheat ourselves from peace and the security we are promised in the arms of God.

Jesus teaches those on the hillside to pray a prayer of dependence that invites them to trust God for that day, and everyday – one day at a time. It calls them to look past their wants and their fears, and to truly depend on God to meet their needs. It means giving ourselves up to God – to trusting God – to depending in God -over and over again. It means our financial focus is not some distant goal, but focuses on depending on God for one day at a time. It means claiming God’s promises again and again. It means that we see all that we are and all that we have as that which is given by God. It keeps God at the very center of our life and our way of life.

There is a part of me that this makes incredibly uncomfortable. There is a part of me that wants to know that there is a long term plan that will lead to long term stability. I want to be able to graph it and track it. But, this is not what Jesus is teaching us. We are suppose to focus on being faithful today – to depend on God for today – to live for God today – to pray that God will give us what we need – our daily bread. It is easy to be driven by what we want – what we can touch – what we can count – but Jesus teaches us that this is not the way. We are called to a life of daily dependence on God – no more – and no less.

Do you believe that God is dependable? Are you ready to let go of the reins and trust God to provide what you need? Are you ready to depend on God and trust that the daily bread that God will provide will be enough?

Our Father, who is up close and personal and divine and eternal,
Holy, revered, honor and respected, is your name,
Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth and in my life, as it is in heaven.
Give me today, my most basic needs, so that I depend wholly on you….. AMEN!

“Thy Will Be Done” - Matthew 6:9-10 - July 10, 2011

2011-07-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.”

“Bless, O Lord, both the gift and the giver.”
“God is great; God is good, Let us thank Him for our food.”
“Now, before I run to play, Let me not forget to pray. To God who kept me through the night, And waked me with the morning light….”
“May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face…..”
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith….”

Deep within us is the yearning to talk to God. We want to tell God our needs and want to know that God hears and will respond to us. We teach our children simple prayers that rhyme with sing song verse. As we grow we find others that help us voice our cry. Sometimes they are the ones we heard our fathers or our mothers offer over the dinner table. Sometimes we claim the words we have heard offered in rooms like this one. Still others are prayers that have emerged across time and place to voice something meaningful, something we hear as more profound than the simple words we hear ourselves pray when no one else is listening. Somehow we have come to believe that those prayers are better than the ones in our heart.

In our focal passage for the morning we come to a prayer not written on parchment or punched up on a computer. It is the model prayer that Jesus taught as a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had just talked about the big and dramatic prayer that was more focused on impressing the crowd than talking with God. Jesus had just talked about those muddled and meandering prayers that go on and on hoping that something will land with God. Jesus stopped – and mid sermon began to teach them a short but incredibly powerful model of prayer that would draw them – and us- to the feet of God. We have come to call it the Lord’s Prayer. We voiced it together at the close of the congregational prayer.

There is a little book on my bookshelves that was put together by three friends. It is entitled, Becoming the Jesus Prayer: Transforming Your Life Through the Lord’s Prayer. It is a short but meaningful little text. Early in the book the authors contend; “In our well-meaning and sincere efforts to memorize the prayer, we have lost its wild power. Intended by Jesus to be a prayer that helps us to soar, the prayer has become so familiar and so domesticated that we barely pay attention. Jesus’ Prayer has had its wings clipped.” (1) I think they are on to something. Jesus taught this prayer to help us to claim an authentic voice of prayer and to be shaped by its wild power. So over these next three weeks we are going to take a closer look at this model prayer and see what it has to say to us and how it can help shape how we talk to – and depend on – God.

This morning we look at the first few lines. We begin, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. The words roll off our tongue with a beauty and poetry. But whether we realize or not, these words invite us into an incredible divine tension. It speaks of God who is at one moment as close as our touch and beyond the bounds of place and time.

Renown Biblical scholar Joachim Jeremias began a conversation in 1978 that still dominates recent articles and books about the Lord’s Prayer. He argued that Jesus’ use of the word of the Aramaic “abba” means that Father should be translated like “daddy.” I sure many of you have heard that the term translated that way. But what you might not realize that that it has led to a firestorm of responses both from those who embraced the intimate and personal feel of the daddy imagery to others who feel that this image/term limits God and undermines the wider scriptural understanding of the term Father in reference to God. (2)

I think the best way to hear this is as a both profoundly personal and transcendent. While “Our Father” invites us into an intimate conversation, “Hallowed be your name” reminds us of the holiness of God. The hallowed verbiage is born of the Old English – a better contemporary translation might sound something like….respected and honored is your name… The Living Bible translates it “we honor your name”, Today’s English Version reads;”May your holy name be honored.” Jesus teaches us that as we pray we find ourselves living in the divine tension with a God who is both holy and otherworldly – and at the same time personal and close. Our prayer is that the God who calls us by name, who knows the needs of our lives, and who has made the way for us to become the children of God – will be made holy. The prayer is not that God is made holy in some distant generic or abstract sense. It is about the God who is both intimate and eternal being made holy – revered, respected, honored, cherished, and valued -in our lives.

The Jesus prayer continues; Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven. A more modern translation would sing out, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth just like it is in heaven. If we believe what we are praying we are asking God to do something that could profoundly reshape our lives and our way of life. Many of those gathered in the crowd that day would have come to hear Jesus with the expectation that if he was the Messiah he would fulfil their hopes and expectation for a military leader that could change their political rule of Israel. As I listen to many Christians today they come to God in prayer with the great expectation that God is a divine gift giver that will help address their wants and their agendas. I believe one of the reasons we watched the book on the Prayer of Jabez sweep across the evangelical Church was that it seemed that underlying premise was that if you prayed the right prayer in the right way God would expand your scope of influence – and the bounty of your wealth. It was the perfect message for an American audience driven by place, power, and possessions. All too often our Kingdom prayers have become earthbound to our own wants and wishes. Jesus reminds us to raise the focus of our eyes. In John 18:36 Jesus says, "My kingdom is not of this world." In fact, we have to hear this prayer for the Kingdom to come and the will of God to be done as it is lived out by Jesus in his personal prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Luke 22:41-42 41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will , but yours be done." (NIV)

Our prayer that God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth – in our lives – as it is in heaven is a prayer to subjugate our will to God’s will. It means that we will trust God’s will for our lives. Praying your will be done does not imply resignation to fate; rather, it is a prayer that God's perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world (on earth) as it already is in heaven's throne room.(3) [This] “Prayer is opening one’s life to God. It is inviting Him to act in our lives. [This] Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is being willing to accept His will in our lives.” (4)

Jesus wanted those gathered on the hillside that day – and those gathered in this room today – to claim the kind of prayer life that would let us draw close to God and worship him with awe and wonder. It is the kind of prayer life that invites us to claim God’s will and God’s way for our lives and choosing to settle for nothing less. We were intended for relationship with God that has real power, but we just keep box ourselves in. Jesus invited us to pray in a way where we leave everything else behind and run to the feet of God who calls us his own – and to claim God’s will and God’s way as our only way. It is time for our prayers to quit being a religious exercise and let them become a real and meaningful conversation with a God who longs to hear our voice and is ready to show us the way.

Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy be your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done – in my life as it is in heaven. Amen!

(1)Gregory Palmer, Cindy McCalmont, and Brian Milford, Becoming the Jesus Prayer: Transforming Your Life Through the Lord’s Prayer, (The Pilgrims Press: Cleveland, 2005), p.20.

(2)Robert J. Karris, Prayer and the New Testament: Jesus and His Communities in Worship, (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000), pp. 7-13.
(3)The Life Application Commentary Series Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by the Livingstone Corporation. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved

(4)Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. 1982. Vol. 24: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 24 : Matthew. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series . Thomas Nelson Inc: Nashville, Tennessee

“Do You Not Know?” - Isaiah 40:28-31 - July 3, 2011

2011-07-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Our church signs and worship guide proclaim the title for this morning’s message is “Do You Not Know?” It is an OK title, drawn from the first verse of the three we will focus on this morning. But if I had to do it over again I would borrow the title that William Mott III, an African-American scholar and preacher used when he preached on this text. His title is “People who could fly.” I like it because it tells you from the very first breath that there is something different, something remarkable that awaits us in the text.
We heard a part of our focal passage read in multiple languages earlier in our service, but let’s look it in its entirety. Isaiah 40:28-31 reads; Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

This passage is written to people who are broken and weary and ready to give up. They are captives in Babylon and all that they known and all that they have loved seemed long gone. They have cried out to God and find themselves sitting there, waiting for God to do something. They know that only God can change their circumstances because they have tried everything they know how to do and have failed again and again. They find themselves waiting of God, crying out to God, and on the verge of losing faith that God hears them or that God will respond.

There are times we find ourselves in sitting there with similar feelings. We find ourselves in moments like this as people and we find ourselves in moments like this as a church family. These moments are hard and stretch us to our limits. We find ourselves in situations where we have done all we know how to do and it is still not enough. We find ourselves in the middle of a moment where we do not know which direction to go. We find ourselves caught in a cycle that ends badly every time, but we do not seem to know how to break the destructive cycle. We find ourselves there annually as a church family when we dig ourselves into a financial hole and in panic try to crawl our way out. We worry. We wonder. And we wait.

A message arrives for the people waiting in Babylon from Isaiah. He has a word for them – and a word for us – that can change everything. I can only begin to imagine what it would have been like to be a part of that group hearing these words for the first time. I imagine that some thought Isaiah might join them in their lament for better days gone by. I imagine that others might have expected this great leader to offer them a game plan – a way out of the mess they were in. He brings them a very different word. We hear him thundering words of challenge as the passage begins; Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah wants them to remember – wants them to think through every conversation, every message, every time when they had been told about the nature of God. Their walk with God was not to be defined by the moment they were in. The moment they were in was to be defined by their long walk with God.

Isaiah reminds them that God is the God of history – the God of before it all began, the God of forever, and the God of everything in-between. He paints a powerful picture; God is the everlasting God, God is the Creator, God is the God of the ends of the earth, God is the God that does not grow weary, and God is the God who knows them and knows their needs. Our translation claims the words: “his understanding no one can fathom.” Older translations read “his understanding is unsearchable.” The immediate image that comes to mind is the power of internet search engines that seem to be able to help us find out something about everything. But these words are even more powerful than the idea of an all knowing God. Isaiah is instead telling them that God has a heart-felt – love driven -sympathetic understanding of the needs of His people .(1) Did you hear that? God, the Creator of everything – the God who was at the beginning and is the God of forever – knows your name and knows your needs! He knows our needs! He knows them before we offer the first prayer. He knows them because he knows us. Isaiah passionately pronounces that God is still there with all of the might and all of the power they need. These are words that they – and we – need to hear. When we find ourselves sitting there, broken, wounded, and weary- we are in exactly the kind of place where God moves in brings restoration. God knew that they were in exile – struggling – hoping – on the edge of giving up. God knows when we are at the end of our rope. God knows when we have nowhere else to go. God knows and God stands ready to respond.

In a split second the tone and tenor of the passage changes. The demanding tone to remember the power and the presence of God gives way to an incredible picture of what awaits them. He tells them, but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Some of you may have memorized the verse just a bit differently. In the King James uses the word “wait” instead of “hope.” While I understand why the later translators used the word “hope,” I still like the word “wait” better in this context because I think it speaks best to what the people were experiencing. They were there – waiting on God to move – waiting on God to do something – for some, just trying to wait the situation out. The word from Isaiah was that when we find ourselves in a place where only God can change the story then we discover a faith born and tested in depth. He speaks to those who have been waiting in the divine hope for God to act. He speaks to those who are weary and wounded and wants them to understand that only God can change the story. He wants them to understand that in that moment when they – then we – let God become our lifeline- our only cord for escape (2) then we will become people who can fly! We were not created to held captive by the misery of pointless waiting and muck and mire of frustration and failure. This is a myth we have been sold from the depths of hell. We are created to soar!

I know that this is harder to live out than to say out loud. Our default is to try to come up with our own plan or strategy that we think can help us get out of the mess we find ourselves in. What we discover is that we end up feeling like a mouse on an exercise wheel, running as hard as we can and going nowhere. I’ve been there. I know many of you have been there too. The only way out is insane cycle is to get off the wheel and to get on our knees and wholly and solely on claiming God as our lifeline; as our only way out. This time we cannot settle for less. If we choose to live this way we would finally start looking like the redeemed children of God.

When we first talked about this passage, Kim Greer made an interesting observation about the progressive nature of the three images – a progression on the surface that would be the opposite we would expect. Isaiah tells them that they will soar like eagles – run and not grow weary – walk and not grow faint. You would think that you would progress from walking to running to flying. But, the fact the movement moves the other direction tells us a great deal about who we are and our walk with God. When we have been waiting, broken and frustrated, and we find release we soar. There is that spiritual exuberance that comes in the moment- but fades with the passage of time and the regular movement of life. In the midst of the moment we sprint in our relationship with God, seizing every moment we can to thank God and to grow in our faith. But again, our temptation is to return to the life pattern that got us in the mess to begin with. Isaiah has probably seen it played out in front of him again and again. So the word he brings them is that they will soar – they will run – but ultimately for their life to be truly changed they will have to learn a new way of living – a life born and centered in a daily walk with God – a walk that never wearies – a walk that leads us to the feet of God. If we want to be a people who fly then we must not only be redeemed from the path that led us to brokenness to begin with – we must learn to walk a whole new path.

The God of all of creation does not grow weary of loving you – God that knows you and knows your needs – God knows us as a church family – and God stands ready to move. God is ready to lift you up – to lift us up to soar like the eagles – but our flight begins in humility and on our knees.

(1)Henry Sloane Coffin, exposition, “The Book of Isaiah,” The Interpreter’s Bible Volume 5, (Abingdon: Nashville, 19780), p. 446.

(2) Page H. Kelly, “Isaiah,” Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 5, (Broadman Press: Nashville, 1971), p.302

“God Awaits” - Jeremiah 29:11-14 - June 12, 2011

2011-06-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” NIV

In our worship model, the whole of the worship experience is built to interpret the focal passage. But the sermon occurs this week in a very specific interpretative context where a a the missions commission of a young adult for a medical mission rip to Haiti, a testimony, and the surrounding music serve in effect as the first part of the sermon. The mission commissioning will be following by the chorus of “All of My Heart.” A testimony follows. The testimony tells the faith story of a woman in our church that faced two profoundly painful encounters with grief and loss of her marriage, but found God faithful to sustain and restore her. The church will again respond with the chorus of “With All of My Heart.” Our Sanctuary Choir then answers with “I Will Trust You” by Bruce Greer. It is a song that is based on the focal passage and brings its own testimonial nature. This shorter sermon follows.

There are moments in our life when we stand on the edge and wonder what awaits us. Sometimes what carry us to the edge are moments of excitement and anticipation. These are the moments like when we head to college, start a new job, move to a new place, begin a new life as husband and wife. We come to those moments with joy, but also a sense of uncertainty. We wonder what awaits us. Will it be all we hope? Will it work out? Will we succeed? Will we be OK? We come to this moments knowing our lives will be forever shaped by the step we now take. We know the future awaits us but we can hardly imagine what it will look like. We stand on the edge and…..

Sometimes what carries to the edge are moments born in pain. Something happens to you or someone you love that stops you in your tracks and pushes you to the edge. You do not know how you can move forward from there. We come to this moment with uncertainty. How can we move on? Will we be OK? Can we find joy again? There is a part of us that wonder what our future will hold. There is a part of us that wonders if we can even bear stepping into our future. We stand on the edge and…..

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah writes to those who like us, found themselves living on the edge. They are in a setting that was foreign to them. They were being stretch to their limits. Some of them hoped for something more. Some of them were looking for any sign of hope. Some of them were ready to give up and sit down in despair. They were standing on the edge – uncertain of the future that awaited them. The wondered if they would be OK. They wondered and needed a word. The word given for them is also the word for us. It begins, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

When we find ourselves standing on the edge God wants us to know that He has a plan and that plan is not intended to bring us despair, but hope – not to mire us down in the pain of today but to free us for a future full of hope. It is not a promise of that everything will be practically perfect in every way, but it is a promise that hope and the hand of God will prevail in our lives. Sometimes when our spirit is shaken and fear finds its way into the depths of our being the edge looks scary. It is easy to stay where we are –to hunker down – to freeze. God wants it clear when we come to edge we are not stepping off into a dark precipice but rather stepping into the future that God has created and shaped us for.

But be clear, this is not about trusting our own instincts and striking out on our own. This is not about living out of our plan but instead living out of God’s plan. But to claim that hope and future we have to tune in. The word Jeremiah brings continues; Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD. The when we find ourselves on the edge – when our world is shaken – when the are trying to get our hands around our future –when we wonder what awaits us – our task is seek God’s way. The passage uses some great words: call, come, pray and tells us when we do these things that God is listening. We hear that when we seek God with the very depths of who we are that God will be found. God is not playing hide and seek with us. God is there waiting for us – ready for us to come, ready for us to call, ready for us to pray – ready to point the way.

Sara’s testimony is that she believed that God was calling her to serve in missions. She called and prayed and now we send her to Haiti in mission with Kimberly Anno in a place where she is needed and where God has prepared the way for her. Susan’s testimony is that in the midst of pain and grief, she called out and God listened and responded and lead her to a place of peace. Their testimonies join countless others that when we call out to God -when we come to God - when we pray to God - when we seek God with all of heart - that God hears and responds and carries into a future full of hope. This is more than spiritual platitudes and religious jargon, it is the promise that God is ready to work in our lives when we seek God with all that we are. God awaits!

There is one more word we need to hear. It was the word that the exiles longed to hear. It was a promise to change their todays and give them a tomorrow with Him. They heard, "I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” God knew that they were in a dark place – an uncertain place – as a result of their choices to claim their own directions – their own paths – instead of following God’s way. The word comes to them that there is a way back – back to where they were with God – back to where their songs of faith would sing out in joy. When some of you in this room stand on the edge you hesitate to call out to God because God seems a long way away. It is not that God moved but some of the choices you have made have taken you way from that place where you first heard God’s voice. You find yourself on the edge alone. This is not what God intends for you. God has made the way back for you. Through faith in Christ you can find the forgiveness and redemption you need. God awaits you as well. Call out, come to Christ, and pray – and God will listen – seek God and you will find him. God awaits!

We find ourselves standing on the edge, wondering and waiting. Some come to the edge in excitement and anticipation. Others come burdened with fear, pain and loss. The word of God speaks, “It’s OK, take the step, I have a plan for you- it is a good plan full of hope. I have a future for you. Call out to me. I am here, ready to respond. You do not have to stand there paralyzed. Come and go with me.”

“Whole” I Thessalonians 5:23-25 NIV and the Message June 5, 2011

2011-06-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

NIV May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

My favorite toy when I was small was my big metal yellow Tonka truck. I loved it because it was indestructible. Recently I saw a version of it on sell on E-bay for $60. A fully restored one of that era now goes for several hundred dollars. I have learned that the selling of restored toys and other items from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s is big business. It seems that my generation is buying up items that remind them of their childhood. I think that part of the reason is that people are looking for something that pulls them back to another time in their life - a time before they experienced the twists and turns of life - time when they felt full of hope and optimism – a time before they felt broken.

If we listen to someone’s life story long enough we can hear their stories of brokenness. You hear it when they begin a sentence with “I wish I would have….”or “I wish I could have….”or “I had always hoped to….”or “I always thought we would…” The stories that follow are filled with tales of broken hearts, broken hopes, broken dreams, broken homes, broken families, broken relationships, broken careers, broken bodies and broken souls. These stories are rife with sadness, frustration, disappointment and regret.

We know that we were not created for brokenness so we try to make ourselves whole. We hope if we find the right person, have a baby, make a strategic career move, or buy a new home or car we will feel something – we will feel right – we will feel fulfilled. Then, when we find ourselves with everything we thought would make it right, but still feeling broken, and it shakes us to our core.

Our spiritual yearning was right. We are not created for brokenness – we were created to be whole. But it is not about buying something else, loving someone else, or becoming someone new. It is about letting God work in our lives and becoming who we were created to be.

Earlier we heard Armando Pena read our focal passage to us using the New International Version. Now I want you to hear the same passage through the lenses of Eugene Peterson’s interpretative translations, The Message. Hear his take on I Thessalonians 5:23-25. It reads; May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together-spirit, soul, and body-and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!

Paul wanted the hearers of this passage to understand that wholeness begins with an act of God. He tells them that it is God who makes everything holy and whole that will make them holy and whole. When we hear the story of Naaman in 2 Kings, we hear he goes to the prophet Elisha to be asked to be healed from his leprosy, the prophet tells him to dip himself in the Jordan River and that “your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” The prophet wanted him to understand that the healing God would bring would not only change his skin condition, but would change his heart as well. We hear this same theme resounding in the healing stories of Jesus. It is God’s desire that we know the power of restoration and redemption. The redemption means that we are forgiven – we are made holy – we are made whole by God. In Isaiah 44:22 we hear God declare; “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” We hear in I Peter 1; For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. God knows what we have done and what has been done to us and makes the way to redeem us and make us whole.

This redemption is intended to be complete – reaching into the depths of who we are and restores us to who we were created to be. Paul writes that the God who makes us holy and whole, will put you together-spirit, soul, and body. So often we talk about God’s restoring and redeeming us spiritually. But Paul speaks about God restoring every part of our lives – spirit, soul, and body. This is a wholeness that ripples across every aspect of our lives – our hopes and dreams, our way and our work, our relationships with one another and our relationship with God. But often we create boundaries in our relationship with God. We hold back part of lives from God. We hesitate trusting God with our careers, our resources, and our relationships. We want God to live and work in the religious domain, but we retain complete control of the rest of our lives. Then we wonder why we live in brokenness. God’s redemptive work in our lives is intended to be comprehensive, putting us together – making us holy and whole in every aspect of our lives. But this means we need to let go of our hands on the controls and truly trust God to lead and work in every aspect of our lives. It means that we turn over our relationships, our marriages, our families, our careers, and our future into God’s hands. It is not laying these things at the feet of God in times of crisis and then taking them back up – claiming them again as our own as soon as the way seems clear. It is about laying them at the feet of God and trusting God with them forever. This act of trust openness us to God’s great restoring and redeeming work. Our old ways and our old patterns are not good enough. The only way to know what it is to be holy and whole is to give ourselves wholly to God.

The promise is not pop psychology intended to make you feel better for a moment. It is an invitation to wholeness that is promised and purposeful. Paul writes that we are being put together – spirit, soul and body for the coming of Jesus Christ. News channels were filled for weeks with stories about a fringe pastor’s prediction of the Second Coming. Some sold everything to get ready. May 21st came and went and nothing happened. Some outside the Christian community laughed with scorn. This false prophet’s pathetic prediction casted a shadow of doubt on the legitimate people of faith. I will have to tell you that I did not worry about what was going to happen on May 21st because Jesus told us that we would know not the day nor the hour, so I assume if someone predicts a specific day and hour I can be pretty confident that this is not the moment. Paul was not talking about God making us whole for the future Kingdom of God. Instead it is about being put together –spirit, soul, and body to live as the people who live between the first coming of Christ that changed everything now – and the second coming that will change everything forever. It is about authentically and wholly living as the people of God in this moment and in this place. It wraps our hopes and dreams into the will of God, not our own.

So can we actually believe that our broken lives can be made whole by God? Paul answers an unequivocal “Yes!” We hear pronounce with passion, The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! We can trust God, who knows everything about us, to redeem us – to restore us – and make us whole. It is time to let go of our brokenness and lay it at the feet of God. You do not have to feel broken any longer. Nothing else and no one else can do it for you. You do not have to be filled with regret a moment longer. God is ready to put your heart and your soul together again. God is ready to redeem and restore you – to make you holy and whole.

2011-05-29T09:44:00.000-05:00

“Get Ready” Joshua 3 A Sermon in Three Parts

Prepare: Joshua 3:1-5a “Consecrate Yourselves”

Moses had led the people out of Egypt, brought down the Ten Commandments from the mountaintop, and had led them through 40 years of wandering through the desert. They had seen God part the Red Sea, provide bread from heaven, offer water out of a rock, and had led them as a pillar of fire by night. Moses brought his farewell speech and left the people in the hands of Joshua. They now stood on the edge of the river Jordan ready to go into the land that God had promised them. A buzz of excitement filled their air. Their future awaited them. You could also feel an ominous sense of fear and apprehension. Those gathered at the river’s bank was not sure what awaited them.

In a few days we will choose to leave behind the confines of this beautiful church facility and make our way into the heart of our community. For three evenings we will sing and play and connect with our community face-to-face, life story-to –life story at McKinley Park. For many there is a palpable sense of excitement about this three day event. For some others in the room there is a sense of fear and apprehension because they do not know whom they will meet or what they may experience. Joshua’s words to the people camped on the edge of the Jordan can speak with power to this moment in the life of our church family.

Joshua’s first words to the people were to “consecrate yourselves.” Other translations use the phrase “sanctify yourselves.” They mean the same thing, but candidly both terms are far from common in our every day conversations. What Joshua was telling them to do was to prepare themselves for the task at hand. This preparation was more than a “clean up, pack up, and get ready.” He was calling them to a ritual process of bathing and prayer that was to ensure that their bodies, their hearts and their minds were prepared for what God had planned for them. They were to make themselves physically and spiritually as pure and focused on the holiness of God as possible so that God might move among them and work through them.

I believe this call to “consecrate yourselves” is of equal value for us today. We do not need to simply pack up the church van full of equipment and food and head over to the park. This is more than a little mission venture. It is one step in our journey of acknowledging that the days of opening the church doors and saying “ya’ll come” has passed. If we want to be relevant. It we want be the church we need to be for this era we have to get out of the walls and into our community. We need to begin to prepare ourselves for God to move among us and to work through us. Our preparation process does not require a physical ritual bathing with water, but instead calls us to bath our plans in prayer. We want to make sure all we do in according to God’s will and God’s way. We need to pray for the kids we will work with, for the parents we will meet, and for ourselves. We need to pray that the games that are played, the songs that are sung, and the conversations we share together all are a reflection of God’s love and grace. We need to pray that God will prepare our hearts to meet new people and to engage in their life story. We need to prepare ourselves so that God might move among us and work through us.

Expect: Joshua 3:5-13 “for tomorrow God will do amazing things among you”

Joshua tells the people to prepare themselves – but he wants them to know that they are preparing themselves so that they might witness God at work. He tells them; “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” The people had witness the incredible work of God before, but Joshua wanted the people to understand that they needed to keep their eyes open and their hearts ready to see a fresh and amazing act of God.

I wonder how many of us expect God to do things among us that would amaze us. I wonder if we have become so comfortable in our religious routines that we fail to see God at work. Joshua tells the people; “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you….”and he begins to describe the way that God will go ahead of them and make the way for them. Are we coming to S3 and our ministry at McKinley Park with the attitude that we will play some games, sing some songs, eat a bit of food, talk to a person or two and head home – OR are we coming to S3 and our ministry at McKinley Park with an expectation that God is going ahead of us – making the way – getting ready to do something among us and among the people we will encounter that will amaze us? Are we coming to this week in ministry with a sense of eager anticipation that we are about to see God at work? Do we come to worship expecting God to move? Do we walk with God expecting God to work in us – through us – among us in ways beyond our imaginations and limitations? We cannot, we must not, be content living faith lives that do not make room for God to amaze us. We cannot, we must not be content with a church life based where ever decision and every act is measured by our skills and our capacities. God calls us to more. God promises us more. “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Follow: Joshua 3:14-17 “So the people crossed over”

When I was in my twenties I went with a group from our church in Raleigh, North Carolina to raft the rushing whitewaters of the Ocoee River. The morning of our day for rafting we got up early, packed up, and headed to the river’s edge. I was shocked when we arrived and all I could see was a dried up river bed with a little stream in the middle of it. Apparently I was not alone. Our guide for the day called out, “don’t worry, you will see a raging river soon enough. They have not turned in on for the morning yet. You just wait!” I did not think I had ever seen a dam controlled river before, and sure enough, promptly at 9:05 we were looking at a world famous roaring whitewater river.

The people gathered on the banks of the River Jordon experienced just the reverse. The Jordan was at flood water state and I imagine the people wondered just how they would get across. They had heard Joshua’s promises, but there was the water rushing by. Then, I can imagine that the word began to spread – the priests with the ark of the covenant were on the river’s edge – now they were stepping in – “can you believe it,” the cry goes out, “the water has stopped in its tracks. The path is clear. God is at work. ““So the people crossed over.” - The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

The task of the people of God was to prepare themselves, to come to this moment with expectation, and to follow the way God had made for them. We are not taking God to the Classen-Ten-Penn community or to McKinley Park for that matter. God is gone ahead of us. God loved the people of that community long before they became a focus for our church family. God had a plan for the people of that community long before we ever began to plan. God has gone ahead of us and calls us to follow the path he has set before us. Our task is to be faithful to follow – to cross over the path to the place that God has called us. We do not go alone. God goes before us and with us. I love how Eugene Peterson captures the heart and passion of Joshua’s call to the people in his interpretative translation The Message. Joshua calls out; Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take."

It is time to prepare yourself, to come to this place and to the mission and ministry where God has called us with great expectations to see God do amazing things among us – and to follow God to the places He has called us – whether across the street or across the world. It’s Time!

Food Court Worship - The Starvation of Church Unity - an article by Bruce Greer

2011-05-27T20:06:00.001-05:00

At First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City we are blessed to have a remarkable husband and wife team serve as our Ministers of Music and Worship. Below is an article that one of them recently shared with our church family and others that speaks with power to a healthy approach to music and worship.

Insights & Musings...from Bruce Greer Food Court Worship - The Starvation of Church Unity

As I sit here reading once again of a certain church making the ever popular decision to increase their options in worship styles by adding yet another service, I find myself asking the question, “Really? Another option is the answer?”Somehow we’ve decided that the ‘Food Court’ approach is the best way to reach our ever increasingly diverse world. You know what I’m talking about. Go to the mall and everyone divides up and goes off to eat a meal of your own choosing. It seems logical. Of course, there is no passing of the bread or the cup. No real supping together. And somewhere inside, my spirit is crying out, “NO!”

The obvious conclusion that churches make in reaching the world for Christ is to provide more options in worship styles. Of course, this is only in musical terms because in most cases every other part of the different worship experiences is identical, except for the clothes. The “church” vocabulary remains the same, thus assuming that the unchurched people they are trying to reach will understand their language as long as the music is rockin’ and the pastor and worship leaders are NOT wearing coats and ties. This is not an argument about which clothes are appropriate. I really don’t think God, our audience, cares what we are wearing. Nor is it an argument as to which musical style is best. It is, however, a pondering on the effectiveness of a single church body giving options based on personal musical tastes, as if it’s all about us and what our likes and dislikes are.

So what IS church about? Obviously, it’s about worshipping God through Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. It’sabout lifting HIM up. Jesus calls us to love God AND to love each other as well. There is no formula to carrying out this mandate. There is no musical style that is ‘better’ of more preferred by God. I think it is about being authentic, worshippingin spirit and truth, when we stand before Him in worship as a family. We are family!

So if we are a part of a family, what is the best way to unite ourselves to one another and to Jesus? By standing (or sitting) together to worship God and fellowship with each other. A church body can no more divide itself up into groups and go off into different rooms and worship God separately and still be united anymore than your earthly family could. Imagine going to a family gathering for fellowship together and telling everyone they need to decide what they want to do. Play bridge? Video games? Talk? And then have them go to their designated rooms and remain there. Eat there. Share experiences there, with only the people who have chosen similar likes. That would be a tragedy. That’s not a family engaging together. Part of being family is that we share experiences…together. A grandmother will always choose to spend time with her grandchild even if the child wishes to do something she wouldn’t necessarily choose. The same for the son or daughter, they would choose to be with their parents even if the activity they are engaging in is not their preference.

So why do we think it is best to choose sides and divide up in to groups for worship? I guess we think it is easier that way. Corralling people together and not having to hear grumbling about a disliked song, or organ, or drums, or liturgical reading, makes for one less distraction on the way to proclaiming Christ…right? But what about the unity of the church body? I’ve been in thousands of different churches all over the country. I’ve led as an interim music minister in many, and what I have observed in those churches who fall into the ‘food court’ way is actually several different bodies living under one roof. They are no more connected to the people in the next room than they are to the people in the church down the street. Yes, we are all part of the larger Body of Christ, but we also need to hopefully come together as united church bodies as well.

One body…sharing the experience. I feel that even if there is the physical need for several services within a single church, they should be the same. Whether it’s gospel, liturgical, blended, contemporary, be united! Stop trying to play the role you think someone else wants and start being authentic. You say, well there is such diversity in our church. I know. My church might be the most diverse church I ever been a part of in terms of personal tastes. We try to worship God with whatever musical means we can find knowing that some things connect more with these people and others things with other people. But with each passing day I am surprised by the unity we experience in worship. We don’t do what I call blended worship, but more like a ‘converging worship’ where there is distinction in musical styles. Juxtaposing a grand hymn accompanied by pipe organ right next to a contemporary song led with guitars and drums. You would be surprise how supportive and engaged our people (young, old, rich, poor, black, white or brown) are to this approach. I wrote an article in 1999 for the Baptist Standard called, “Worship Wars”. Here is a passage from that article concerning the use of different styles in worship.

Some churches have tried to make peace by developing a "blended" worship style, Greer reported. "In theorythis works. However, in practice a lot of 'blended' music is scrambled music," he insisted. "Instead of being what it is--diverse songs in diverse styles--it's homogenized." Piano, bass and drums added on a traditional hymn is not a bad idea in and of itself, but worshippers who prefer traditional hymns are disappointed when they are never allowed to hear their favorite hymns in a traditional style. Likewise, sometimes the organ overshadows choruses, and they no longersound contemporary.

For example, praise choruses can be very effective when they are sung in a contemporary style with the use of keyboards, guitars and drums. Similarly, hymns can be just as effective sung in their simplicity without extensive instrumentation or arrangement. These beautiful melodies can be enhanced with just organ and piano.

"Churches can find that worshippers tolerate diverse musical styles when each style is presented with musical excellence," Greer said. "Think through the music regarding style and content, and let the music stand on its own."

Our problem is we try to literally ‘blend’ everything and we come up with nothing distinctly recognizable. It’s kind of like making blueberry muffins. You are supposed to gently fold in the blueberries so that you don’t end up with a purple mush. Or maybe it’s like a stew. The problem is we try to puree the pizza, hamburger and fries, and add it to a seafood gumbo. That way we’ve covered the gamut of tastes in our congregation. Really?

A great, well thought out meal requires a great chef. A great, well thought out worship experience requires a
gifted, creative spirit. It doesn’t matter if the leader is that young guy with hip glasses, tennis shoes and a guitar, or a middle aged person who recalls fond memories of jamming with his garage band, or one who has a doctorate in Choral Conducting, the job requires a heart for worship and a lot of knowledge about music and how to put it all together in a effective manner that speaks to the breadth of your congregation. Those leaders are out there. Don’t always necessarily follow the trail of glitter and rhinestones to those obvious choices. Look deeper for unpolished gems that will somedaylead with brilliance. There are a lot of good cooks but fewer great chefs. Being a great worship leader/planner requires education, experience, exposure to great and diverse music, a heart for God, and good planning. And like a great chef, a sensitive, refined palette helps.

Okay family; let’s come to the table and share the Feast.... together! Pass the Meat, the Bread, the Cup, and maybe a little something sweet! Bon Appétit!

“An Unexpected Gift” - I Kings 17:7-24 - May 8, 2011

2011-05-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I began a tradition on Mothers’ Day to inviting us to look at one of the great women of faith that emerge from the Biblical narrative. Many of the names of these women are familiar to us. But, there are others whose names have been lost and whose stories are lesser known. I want to claim one of these women for our time in Scripture this morning. Her story is a story of trust and faithfulness, tragedy and the movement of God. The story of this widow, her son, and her encounter with Elijah can speak with power for us today. We find this story in I Kings 17, we start in verse 7. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

The story begins with an almost scandalous fashion. God has fed the prophet Elijah with ravens from the sky. Now God sends his messenger to a Gentile widow – one outside the family – but who has a heart of obedience for God. The widow God chooses is not just a Gentile; she was a woman living in desperate poverty. The prophet finds her gathering sticks, scrounging for whatever she could find to sustain her cooking fire. It is interesting that even now statistically those with the least are most willing to share with others. Despite her desperate situation, the widow is willing to be faithful and to trust what little she has into the hands of God.

So, with her meager means she fashions a simple meal for the prophet, her son, and herself. I can imagine the fear she must of have been feeling as she mixed together the loaf of bread seeing how little was left. Can you imagine the look on the widow’s face the first day she went back for more and found it the jar of meal and the jug of oil did not run out? What about the second day? And the third? And after? I have to wonder if there came a point where the miracle became ordinary.

Do you think there a point where we take God’s provision for granted? Do we just assume we will have all we need? Do we really believe what we have is provided by God or have we become content to believe all we have has been produced because of our intellect and hard work? Have we been willing to have a heart of obedience even when the results seemed impossible?

To this moment the story has been a grand one. The widow was obedient – and God’s provision rained down on her and her household. But, our walk with God is not a “they lived happily ever after” story. It invites us into a relationship with God in good days and difficult ones. The widow found this to be true when a life and death crisis visited the house. 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

A contemporary biblical scholar, D.A. Carson, offers a powerful observation on this moment. He states, “The Bible does not assume an inevitable cause-and-effect connection between sin and suffering (or between righteousness and blessing), but leaves room for suffering which is undeserved and, from the human point of view, unexplained. Elijah himself clearly had no idea why this tragedy had struck. His prayer in v 20 shows him bewildered and angry. Then he prayed for the boy’s restoration. His reason for stretching himself on the boy is not clear; perhaps he was simply trying to share the warmth of his body with the boy to encourage his return to life. But the boy’s restoration was God’s doing, in response to Elijah’s prayer.” (1)

22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

You must remember that stories like the one we hear today were not found in nicely bound books like the ones we hold in our hands. They were passed orally, word for word, detail to detail. I can imagine the shock on the faces of people as they heard this story pronounced aloud. The central character God chose to work through was not one of them – but this nameless poverty stricken widow was still one of God’s. When the telling of this story reached this moment of resurrection it would be amazing its own right, but here, the common cultural belief of blame is rejected in the loving act of God. The widow’s obedient faithfulness – not her sin – the humble prayers of a prophet – not his pronouncements - claims the day. God moved! God healed! Mercy rained down underserved. It was not a reward for obedience. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Her obedience had been acknowledged in God’s ongoing provision of meal and oil. This is a very different moment. It comes as an unexpected gift from God. God has made a way when there seemed to be no way. It comes from a God who responded not because of a transactional responsibility but instead responds out of compassion, love and grace. The widow’s obedience set the stage for God to something unexpected – to give a gift of life and joy. We chose to claim a heart of obedience, not out of promise for reward or from fear of the wrath of God. Our obedience is born out of a heart for God that invites us to trust God – in good days and difficult one. Our obedience flows from our love for God because of the countless ways we experience God’s unmerited grace and mercy.

A major local church has come up with a new campaign. I find it quite interesting. It reads; The word "tithe" literally means "a tenth." We return to the Lord 10% of what He's given us, because it belongs to Him. In Malachi 3:10-11, God says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house." The 'storehouse' is the Old Testament picture of the New Testament church. So as New Testament believers, we worship the Lord with the tithe; or the ten percent. But giving away 10% of your income can be a big -- and often frightening -- commitment! That's why we created the Three-Month Tithing Challenge: a money-back guarantee of sorts. Essentially, it's a contract based on the promises of God in Malachi 3:10-11. We commit to you that if you tithe for three months and God doesn't hold true to His promises of blessings, we will refund 100% of your tithe. No questions asked. (2) While this might sound good, I believe that they are way off track. If we have reduced God to spiritual blessing ATM then we have sorely missed the point. Our obedience to God – our faithfulness in our stewardship of the resources God has given us – our generosity in the life of the church and beyond the walls of the church is cannot be seen as contractual financial relationship with God of giving based on the expectation of the blessing of God. How we give cannot be grounded in what we think we can get from God in return. It must be born in an attitude of faithful obedience that emerges from an authentic relationship with God.

What is your story? Are you willing to trust that God will meet your needs? Are you ready to be obedient to God regardless of price? This story of nameless faceless widow living on the edge of survival speaks across the generations to paint a picture of faithful obedience that creates the stage for God to give an unexpected gift of life and joy. I wonder that if we were willing to display the kind faithful obedience that responds to God regardless of the cost – what God might do in and through us?

(1) D. A. Carson, D., New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition. Rev. ed. of: The New Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, (4th ed.) 1970, (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
(2) Available online at https://www.lifechurch.tv/giving/challenge on March 4, 2011

“The Mission of God: The Mission of the Church” - I John 4:7-12

2011-05-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

The following message was brought as a part of the CBFO General Assembly with the theme Missio Dei. I share it with you because it lays out how I understand the Mission of the Church in the context of the Redemptive Sending Mission of God.

When T Thomas called and asked me to bring this morning’s message my mind began to immediately run through what passage to use. It is no secret that my heart beats for missions. So, the Mission of God and the Mission of the Church – or the Sending of God and the Sending of God’s People is theme that finds its way into my sermons rather often. I was tempted to look over my sermon files, find a favorite, dust it off, and be done with the task at hand. It was tempting – there are sermon titles that boldly read: “The Mission of Christ,” “Doing the Right Thing,” “The Call,” “Kingdom People,” “A Heart for Our Community,” “A Heart for the World,” “Accepting God’s Assignment,” and a host of others like them. The problem is that I thought this moment deserved better that a rehashed version of a sermon prepared for another people and another place. Next I thought about claiming one of the great missions passages; Genesis 12, the Great Commission, Acts 1:8, or others - and using it to claim a fresh interpretation of an old mission standard for this place and this moment. But I thought that others had so shaped what we hear in these passages that the struggle to bring some fresh could be lost in interpretation.

A little over fifteen years ago Robert Fulghum released a book entitled, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” As I thought and prayed about this morning, I had a Robert Fulghum kind of moment. The passage that played over and over in my head was the first verse I ever learned. It was John 3:16. I learned it out of the King James Version, so no matter what translation I have in my hand at the time I always hear it the same. How about saying it with me? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. From my earliest memories of church this passage impacted my view of God. The God that love the world – and loved me – was not far way. This God was and is a sending God. It also told me that the God that loved me also loved everyone else in the world. It just made sense to me that we needed to make sure every knew that God loved them.

So, for the next few minutes I want to claim the heart of the passage I learned in kindergarten and look it its more expanded expression found in I John 4:7-12. Mary Hardin read this passage earlier in our service. Hear again verses 7 through 10. 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The redemptive love story between God and humanity is born in the heart and the nature of God. With the same love that moved God breathed the breath of life in the Genesis, moves God to send his one and only Son, his very incarnation, to the world that we might find our way back home to Him. The Mission of God is a reflection of the very heart and nature of God – it is the love of God that initiates the Gospel story.

Verses 11 and 12 makes the sending Mission of God personal. It reads; Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This mission sending of the church is then born in the redemptive Mission of God. As we experience God’s redemptive love for us – as we experience God living in us and God’s love being made complete in us, the expectation is that we will become a reflection of that redemptive love for others. For God so loved the world he sent his one and only Son….for God so loved the world he sends His people – the Church into the world.

This Redemptive Sending Mission of God is at the heart of the Great Commission. When Christ commissions the Church on the Galilean hillside it transformed the scope of the disciples’ world and catapulted them into a global mission with God. The church was and is called to be at the center of missions. Bill O'Brien, one of my friends and favorite Baptist missiologist, introduced me to one of his favorite quotes. It says, "missions is to the church as flame is to the fire." When the congregation claims its place at the center of missions it is restored to its right and rightful place in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. In its living out of mission the church finds a central element of its “raision d’etre” or reason for being; its foundation its relationship with the world. (1)

There was a time when we as Baptist outsourced our place in the Mission of God to organizations and structures that required our cash and asked for our prayer, and sent others in our place. The missionary was called out of the church to fulfill their individual sense of call. They were on mission and the task of the church was to support them. We were thrilled to get to see occasional slide show and were enthralled by stories of people that lived far, far away. While this method was efficient and the church could celebrate its global impact in supporting others to serve in their stead, the Church failed to understand their mission as a reflection of the sending Mission of God. The Mission of the Church was not designed for the selected few; it was and is to be a reflection of the way of life of every believer.

We see this clearly played out at Pentecost. As this little band of fishermen, tax collectors, and other assorted followers leave the safety of the Upper Room and find their way into the streets they experience something incredible. They had spoken Aramaic their whole lives. Now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they listened as other languages tumbled from their lips. I am not sure that they understood what was happening to them, but the scene moves from the Upper Room to the streets. Jewish from across the globe walked the streets, drawn to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple as a part of one of the grand religious celebrations. The crowd was bewildered – confused – even shocked – because they saw these simple Galileans speaking to them in their own language. “The Spirit-powered mission and the message of the church are clearly evident in the outpouring of these other languages. God’s action through Christ on behalf of the world is a proclamation that must be spread, to all people, in all languages, even to the ‘the ends of the earth.’” (2) The command they heard from Jesus on a hillside in Galilee to take the gospel “to the ends of the earth” suddenly was being realized before their eyes. In this moment the earliest “Church” inextricably discovered the living expression of the fact its mission and the redemptive Mission of God was the same.

It still is! It means that the missionary and the minister, the lawyer and the bricklayer, accountants and acrobats – all who are a part of the Church because of their relationship with God through Jesus Christ – are to be are to find their place in the living out of the Mission of God reflected in the Mission of the Church. When the Mission of the Church is the living out of the Mission of God there are no spare parts. Everyone matters and every disciple is called to engage – who they are and where they are- and wherever God might send them. Each will have a different place, but each has a place. While there is and always will be a place for missionaries, they must be tied to the living witness of congregations so that their mission expression is lived out as a part of an intentional corporate body of believer living out its part in the greater Mission of the Church. While there is and always will be a place for mission sending structures, their will and they way must begin in enabling the church fulfill its place in the Redemptive Sending Mission of God.

Even the traditional missional structures within the local church walls give way to a more organic movement of the people as the find their place and the voice in the mission of God. We looked to begin one congregation to meet a perceived need of the refugee community. That was three churches ago. We have gotten involved with Cowboy churches and the birth of an emergent church even before we fully understood how they worshipped. God brought opportunities to us without asking – and we said “yes.” This Kimberly Anno and Sarah Kroutil, two of our twentysomethings, are working on a summer medical mission trip to Haiti. They are moved by compassion by what they have seen and heard related to the ongoing tragedy in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. They have heard God call and have responded. They do not ask our permission to go. They ask for us to release them and to bless their Kingdom endeavors. Paul and Barbara Calmes seemed to always going somewhere –and taking others along with them. India, Guatemala, Ghana, Kenya, China, and who knows where’s next. We are asked to simply bless their Kingdom endeavors. A number of our youth and 20somethings are heading to Canada to work with refugees this summer because they have heard God’s call. Our task is to release them and bless them. . Cathy Manuel prayed that God would fill the shelves of the food pantry and through a Walmart Grocery store God has provided so much that we are now expanding the number of zip codes we are serving. God did not ask – God provided and called us out. In the days ahead we soon ahead we will open the doors of a furniture ministry for refugees and working-poor families; we are working with others in this room to help begin a new Ghanaian church; we will partner with a Korean mission to reach Hispanics because that is where God has placed them. God is calling out and sending out people to find their place in His Redemptive Sending Mission. Our task as church is to embrace them, empower them, and release them. It is not how missions was done in previous eras of church life here, but it is how God is moving, calling, and sending now. For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son – and now sends His church

But hear that embrace our place in the Mission of the Church it is no small task. When the church understands its place as a reflection of the Redemptive Sending Mission of God it will call it out of its comfort, into the difficult highways and byways of its community and the world. The Mission of the Church will draw it from the safety of its sanctuaries to rub shoulder to shoulder with the poor, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, and with those who live their lives separate from a relationship with God. The Mission of the Church will compel it to learn to speak to a world that it not its own, even when rejection and suffering are a part of the package. The Mission of the Church will summons it to act as an agent of reconciliation, responding cross-culturally to the hurt and the hopelessness that captures the souls of those living a world of darkness. The cross-cultural response will be to the both to their own culture, and to those across the globe that do not have a personal relationship with God. It will move us from looking for like-minded Baptist to instead working beside like-hearted Baptist (and others) who will partner with us as we seek to live out our place in the Mission of the Church.

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son…Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

(1) Wilber R. Shenk. Write the Vision: The Church Renewed in the Christian Mission and Modern Culture series. (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995) 90.
(2) From “The Interpreter,” Commentary for Acts 2:1-21, Homiletics, June 4, 2006. Originally published in Homiletics, May 23, 1999.

“A Humble Prayer” - Luke 18:9-14 - April 17, 2011

2011-04-17T10:27:00.001-05:00

The crowds shouted out; “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” I can image the disciples walking behind the colt of Jesus relishing in the moment. They had been harassed and challenged at every turn. Now the crowd embraced them. This was Jesus’ moment! This was their moment!

Jesus understood this scene differently. He knew how fickle the crowd was. They came full of their own hopes and expectations. They knew what kind of savior they wanted him to be. They own religious traditions so defined their experience that could not see Jesus – and they could not image he had come not to change a governmental system, but to change them. He knew that they did not understand and would turn on his in a matter of just a couple of days. The disciples saw this as a day of triumph. Jesus knew it was a parade that would ultimately lead him to a cross.

Jesus had tried to help them understand from the day of his baptism to this spontaneous parade of religious passion. Some time earlier he had gathered Peter and the other disciples around him. Those walking with them gathered close to hear what he was saying. They wanted to know more about the way of God. Jesus taught them with a parable. It invited us to be a quiet imaginary witness two very different acts of faith. Let me warn you in advance, as quickly as we hear that the two central characters of the parable are a Pharisee and a tax collector it will be easy for those of us who have the around church for any length of time to presume that the a negative view of the Pharisee and a positive view of the tax collector, But, it is important to remember that the original audience would have heard the story from a 180 degree perspective. They would “presuppose a positive image for the Pharisee and a negative image for the tax collector.” (1)So, to help us hear this story like those first listeners would have heard it, let me recast the story using characters that we can relate to.

Instead of hearing the word “Pharisee”, I want to invite you to imagine that the person is a key leader in the church of your youth. This leader is named Bob Pharisee and is the picture of devotion. Not only is he there every time the church doors are open, he was the one that opened them. He was probably the one that turned on the coffee pot for his Men’s Sunday School Class. When you needed someone to serve as a committee chair for an important task, your church called on Bob. In regards to the Bob Pharisee, “no one can doubt his disciplined adherence to the moral and ethical code of his faith. He is the faithful, dependable, tithing type who pays the salaries of ministers so they can preach.” (2) The only problem is that Bob thinks of himself as a gift to the God and the church rather than one who needs God and the support of the church family.

Instead of hearing the word “tax collector,” I want to invite you to think of him as Jim Traitor. He is the neighbor whose yard is a mess and that the rest of the neighborhood is always whispering about. You just know that he is a conniver and a crook. He has money, but you know it is because he has conned and exploited others. Imagine that Jim works “for a foreign government collecting taxes from his own people, a participant in a cruel and corrupt system, politically a traitor, religiously unclean, a reprehensible character.

If you listen closely you will understand that the parable of Jesus would have been scandalous – turning the comfortable and expected cultural norms on their heads. Let’s listen in. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Did you notice the target of Jesus’ parable? Our passage begins, He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. Our translation chooses to use the English word “contempt.” I am not sure that this word fully captures the word that Luke uses in the Greek to report the words of Jesus. It might be better understood if we heard that the righteous in the parable “utterly despised” those they thought were their lesser and “treated others as of if they were of no account.” (3) Jesus wanted a religious audience to understand a danger that they faced…that it could be hard to be righteous.

Hear the words of the Pharisee. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' These word are almost shocking to us but we need to understand that that the Pharisee followed all the cultural religious rules and expectations – the only problem is while he satisfied the expectations of the crowd – we would soon hear that he had fallen short of what God has in mind. At the birth of the twentieth century a British scholar named Alfred Plummer did a commentary on Luke that still stands as one of the finest ever produced. In his review of this text he noted that as the Pharisee comes to pray, that “There is no prayer, even in form; he asks God for nothing, being thoroughly satisfied with his present condition. And only in form is this utterance a thanksgiving; it is self-congratulation. He glances at God, but contemplates himself. Indeed he almost pities God, who but for himself would be destitute of faithful servants.” (4)Can you imagine that anyone could come to the place that they thought God was fortunate to have them as a follower? The danger with being righteous, is the temptation to become self-righteous. The problem for the Pharisee is not that he was religious, but it was that he had forgotten whom he was supposed to worship. When we come into this room to worship, do we come because we know we need to have a fresh encounter with God – or because we believe that God and the church needs us?

With the Pharisees prayer floating in the air, Jesus claims a character from the other end of the social and religious spectrum. 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' The contrast of the stance of the two could not be more profound. The tax collector stands at a distance. He knows he is unworthy of God’s attention. He is clear he needs God, not the other way around. He knows his only hope is for God to respond to him with mercy. He offers a prayer born in humility – a prayer that makes the way for God to change him and make a way for him. The crowd around Jesus would have wanted to celebrate the Pharisee and would want justice – not mercy for the tax collector.

Then Jesus says something they would have heard as scandalous. “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." In a single sentence Jesus turns religious tradition on its head. He teaches that it is not about our place in culture, how others perceive us, or even our religious expectations or traditions. Regardless who we are or where we fit in the world, the only way to come to God is to strips away everything else and come to God bare, calling out in humility, seeking the power of God’s mercy.

As we sing the Hosannas of Palm Sunday and begin our journey into the streets of Jerusalem toward the cross and the Easter empty tomb we need strip down our expectations and come ready to have an honest encounter with Jesus. We must make sure that our heart is a heart that seeks to be made right with God. Our songs must be born in an authentic humility – a humility that confesses that we need God’s mercy – we need a Savior. May we settle for nothing less. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

(1)Nolland, J. 1998. Vol. 35B: Word Biblical Commentary : Luke 9:21-18:34 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Word Biblical Commentary. Word, Incorporated: Dallas
(2)Craddock, F. B. 1990. Luke. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching . John Knox Press: Louisville, Ky.
(3) Plummer, A. 1896. A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel According to S. Luke . T&T Clark International: London
(4) Ibid.

Book Recommendation – Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos

2011-04-12T11:55:00.011-05:00

Occasionally I post a book review of a book I have read recently. But, today I want to offer a book recommendation rather than a book review. The reason for the shift in approach is that this is a lesser known book and it I want to more a more informal style to focus on the why I think it is worth the read, rather than to analyze its content. I read the book along with some other friends in a pastoral peer group. I do not know if I would have run across it without the recommendation of a member of the group – but I am glad I did.

The book I want to recommend is Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. It is religious fiction with several powerful theological connect points. This is not one of the theological allegories like I encountered in my fundamentalist youth. Is a fun and lively read where significant truths emerge. It is written in a style that makes it accessible to both people of faith in Christ and those outside of faith who are seeking spiritual truth. The heart of the author’s premise is that we have all at some level shaped our perception of Jesus on who we are and how we see the world and our need to seek the real Jesus. As the story unfolds, Matt rather comically introduces you to a wide range of images of the Jesus that our religious and social culture crafts to meet their own agendas. As you laugh at some of the images, you discover others that can make you feel a bit uncomfortable because they look like the kind Jesus you have fashioned for yourself – whatever that looks like in your life story. The book also confronts the struggle to deal with suffering and invites you into a Communion experience with Peter and Mary built around them claiming time not to just talk about remembering – but claiming time to really remember the life, the ministry, and the gift of Jesus. You find the real Jesus in an intimate personal encounter far away from the flash and the polish of the cultural creations.

Yesterday morning my pastoral peer group was able to stage a Skype call with Matt. He gave us the opportunity to pepper him with some of our questions and answered us with the same honesty and humor that pulses through the book. I am glad for the encounter with Imaginary Jesus and its author. I look forward to using it in a small group context in our church in the days ahead. I highly recommend it to you.

Grace and Peace, Tom

“In the Eye of the Storm” - Mark 4:35-41 - April 10, 2011

2011-04-08T16:29:00.008-05:00

• The airplane hits an air pocket and suddenly drops ten or more feet, your stomach freezes, wondering what will happen next. • You are new to Oklahoma and you hear the tornado siren goes off on a Saturday at noon. You do not know what his happening – no one else seems concerned but you wonder what will happen next. • In one of our recent blizzards you find yourself stuck in your house and the lights start flickering. You wonder what will happen if the power go out. You wonder how you will stay warm in heater goes silent. • The doctor comes in the room. Her face seems sterner than the last time you spoke. She starts, “I do not like what I see in these test results. It looks like we have a problem.” • When the flood waters hit last summer, you found yourself hydroplaning toward an intersection. No matter how hard you hit the brakes they do not respond. You look and you see an oncoming truck. You wonder if the car will stop. You wonder what will happen if it doesn’t. • In moments like these we feel out of control. We don’t know what will happen next. The taste of fear fills our mouths. We wonder, we wait, and we tremble. Sometimes we hear ourselves crying out, “Oh God, please help me!”

This morning we find Peter and the other disciples floating in a boat, leaving behind a series of stories of changed lives. A litany of broken people with broken lives had come to Jesus and found healing at his side. Jesus had loved, and taught and healed and it was time to move on to another place. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. Jesus had them heading across the Sea of Galilee and something happened that would shape Peter and the other disciples forever. It seems to come out of nowhere. The Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden and severe storms. The disciples run right into one. The storm rises, the boat is tossed, and Jesus sleeps. The storm grows in intensity. You can fell the waves crashing against the side of the boat. The waves slosh into the boat. You can fell the water’s weight and see it growing deeper with every single second. The disciples understood the danger of what was happening to them. They thought they were about to lose the boat. They thought they might drown. They were terrified because the situation was completely out of control. They were frustrated because there was Jesus – asleep in the bow of the boat. You can feel their fear. You can feel their anxiety. David Garland, in one of his commentaries on Mark, cannot help but note the irony that these weathered veteran professional fishermen were terrified by the storm and the rising water in the boat – and the carpenter’s son lay unfazed asleep. Peter and the disciples know something has to happen – something has to change The NIV reads; they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care we are about to drown?" Eugene Peterson’s interpretative translation, The Message, tells it this way, They roused him, saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" They were clear that Jesus had cared for others, but in their moment of crisis they were not sure that Jesus would care for them.

In a panic they cry out to Jesus. They had been called to follow Jesus. They had listened to him teach. They had watch him heal and caste out demons. But they still did not understand Jesus’ power. They still did not understand that they were in the boat with God. In my mind’s eye I can see Jesus as he stirs. There is Peter hovering over him. His feelings of terror are written all over his face. Our passage tells us; He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Mark wants it clear. The storm did not subside. It stopped immediately! The Greek here is more graphic than the English can convey. It is not he pious “Peace! Be Still! “Hershel Hobbs tells us that Jesus literally says to the wind is “Be muzzled” Or in a more contemporary vernacular, “muzzle it!” Jesus told the wind to muzzle it and the wind stopped immediately without even a whimper.

With the storm handled, Jesus turns to address his trembling disciples. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Jesus had been tugged, pulled on, caste out demons, healed the sick, and taught the crowd about the way of God. Another crowd was waiting for Jesus on the other shore. The journey across the sea was Jesus’ time to rest and recover. After all Peter and the disciples had seen and heard, they still did not understand that it was God in the boat with them all along. It is easy to take a shot at the disciples because of their fear and their lack of faith. But, you and I know that when we find ourselves out of control; tossed about and in seized by fear in the eye of a storm in life that we too can sometimes we feel like God is asleep.

We too can sometimes feel that God does not understand the pain and the agony we are feeling. Our reality is that storms are a part of life. Sometimes we think that our boat is going to get swamped and sink. Our temptation is to think that we are the only ones to face a storm or believe we are facing the storm all alone. Mark’s gospel was the first gospel written. It was received by a church in the midst of persecution and struggle. Many felt like they were going to die before God heard their cry. I think part of the reason God led Mark to share this story was to tell them – and to tell us - that God is present and is stronger than the storm. While God’s timing is not always like ours – God is with us and can and will respond. God stills the seas – even if is not the way we would choose. God wants us to replace fear with faith. It’s hard!!!!! Fear seems more natural for us. We like control. We like to know what’s ahead. We like it when life’s waters are calm. We get nervous – even fearful when we feel the storm’s wind begin to blow. We sometimes tremble when we see the waves cresting over bow. But sometimes it takes a dramatic storm for us to understand that God has been in the boat with us all along.

And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" God’s power to still the storms is a promise worth claiming – we are not alone – we will not drown – God is with us, even with the pain of the storm of emotions seems unbearable. So where are you? Are you on the way from one shore to another? Do you feel the wind blowing? Are you in the middle of a raging storm feeling like you are about to lose everything? God does not promise us the waters of life will be calm. But hear the good news! God is in the boat with us and has been all along. It is time for fear to give way to faith and for us to claim the peace that only God can offer. Amen.

(1) David E. Garland, “Mark,” The NIV Application Commentary, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1996),p.191. (2) Hershel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of the Gospel of Mark, (Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, 1970), p.78.

“A Solitary Place” - Mark 1:35-39 - April 3, 2011

2011-04-01T18:02:00.005-05:00

I always get nervous when I hear someone tell a story with phrases like; “a friend of mine told me about…,” or “I heard about…,” or “there is a story about…” I cannot help but think of a game I learned in my childhood called “Telegraph” or “Gossip.” Maybe you played it too. The teacher would have us sit in a circle and she would whisper something in someone’s ear and they would turn and whisper what they heard into the next person’s ear and so on and so on until the words reached the last person in the circle who would stand up and tell us what they had heard. Every time we would laugh out loud when we heard how different what the last person said was from what the teacher had first said. With every telling of a single sentence it seems it was twisted and turned just a little bit so that the final words were almost unrecognizable to the original.This childhood game taught a lot of truth. It is important we go directly to the source when we want to hear a story with clarity. I want to claim this truth for our journey from here to Easter. So, for the next four weeks I want to hear the voice of one witness describing their walk with Jesus. I want to hear from one who could tell us about the kind of man Jesus was and the kind of Savior Jesus is for the world. For the next four weeks I want to us to hear from Peter.

I choose Peter because I think he looks a lot like us. He has moments when his faith is strong and other moments when he stumbles, bumbles, and falls. Peter means well but sometimes his temper gets in his way. He wants to be faithful, but sometimes old fashioned fear causes him to doubt. He wants to be like Jesus but sometimes his desire to get ahead pushes him to the back of the line. I think that the best character trait that I can see in Peter is that he available – he shows up and is ready to hear from Jesus. I really like Peter because in spite of his foibles and fumbles God works in him and through him. Peter has a lot to tell us about Jesus. In 2 Peter 1:16 we hear him declare; “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

This morning we start with a short but significant story. It tells us a lot about Jesus and even more about the kind of relationship we are called to as those who follow Jesus. We find it in the Book of Mark, Chapter 1, verses 35 through 39. In the NSRV it reads; In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon (Peter) and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons

This story invites us to Jesus’ side when the dew of the morning was still fresh on the grass. In the New Living Translation, we hear verse 35 offered more succinctly, 35Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. In his interpretive translation The Message, Eugene Peterson sees it this way, “While it was still night, way before dawn he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.” What both translations drive home it that Jesus was up well before the normal movements of the day. Before the people in the house stirred, before there was movement on the town’s dirt streets, before most had even thought about waking, Jesus was up and out headed to a secluded place. Jesus got way from everyone, finding a quiet place where he could talk with the Father. In the predawn hours Jesus looked for and found a place to pray in peace and quiet, without distractions.

This is a reoccurring theme with Jesus. Luke 5:16 reads, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” There is something critically important about alone time in prayer. Jesus models it because it matters. If this made a difference in Jesus’ life how much more do we need this kind of time with God? If we are going to deepen our relationship with God and care for others we need time for renewal and refreshing. We need times when we can talk to God and listen for the voice of God. When was the last time you had time with God with no distractions? Thomas Merton is an American Trappist Monk who I have come to appreciate says this about spiritual solitude; “Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it.” In other words, times of solitude with God is something we have to look for, to plan, to make happen – not in some distant perfect moment in our spiritual journey – but in the now of our lives – in the midst of the chaos and confusion, demands and commitments.

Our story continues; 36 Later Simon (Peter) and the others went out to find him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” As surely as Jesus withdrawing to quiet places for prayer was a part of the gospel story, so are the disciples and others coming looking for Jesus. Jesus had escaped the demands of others for a little while, but they would not let him linger there too long. The crowds beckoned him. They brought their own wants, needs, and agendas. They had pain and brokenness they wanted Jesus to address. There were people they loved that they wanted healed. They wanted Jesus. The disciples brought the word, Everyone looking for him….at least everyone they knew. I imagine that they expected Jesus to come back to town with them. They had witnessed so many remarkable miracles. I image that Peter and Andrew we proud of their new found status in their hometown as disciples of the healer Jesus. The whole city was at their door. I would imagine that they would expect that Jesus would come back and build on his success and new found notoriety in Capernaum.

They were in for a huge surprise. 38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” The disciples came to get Jesus in response to the crowd, but after his time alone in prayer, Jesus was clear that his message and ministry was not just for Capernaum; it was time to move on. He did not allow his ministry to be held hostage by the expectations of others, but rather moved boldly forward in the ministry set before him. “In contrast to that wonderful past in Capernaum, the future, roaming around Galilee was uncertain -- but that is what Jesus has been called to do. He will not walk the safe and seemingly successful way, but follow the way God has set before him. It will not always be what his disciples want. It will not always be with the people want. It will be what God has determined.” (1)

I think it is important for us to hear that this time in prayer was defining for Jesus. The time with the Father kept him focused on why he was here and what he was called to do. It is important for us to hear that we desperately need this same kind of time in prayer in a solitary place to make sure the voice we hear is the voice of God and not the voices of the crowd – or even those closest to us -calling us another way. It is easy to get caught of meeting the demands of the others. It is easy to let the demands of the “immediate” get in the way of what is most important. It is easy to get so caught up doing what is good that we miss doing what is bigger, what is the will of God. It is true for us as individuals and as a family of faith. We must make sure we stay tuned into the voice of God and stay focused on the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to us.

39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus time in the quiet place set the tone for his ministry. He claimed time for spiritual recharge and rest. He claimed time for uninterrupted conversations with the Father. He claimed to refocus and step out in ministry. Jesus time in a quiet place served as the launching pad for his Galilean ministry and the many, many lives he would touch along the way. We live in a world filled with distractions. Our time is often so consumed by email, Facebook, texts, television, phone calls, business meetings, homework, appointments, after-school activities, and calendar demands of family and friends that miss quiet all together. We miss pausing long enough to hear God speak. We miss hearing God pointing us the right way. As we move from this moment toward Easter let us hear Peter’s witness and claim solitary time with God. I wonder what word he has for us. I wonder how we might experience this Easter season differently if the voice that claims our ear is the voice of God.

(1) Soffergen, Brian, “Exegetical notes at Crossmark: Mark 1:29-29” available at http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x29.htm on February 18, 2009

“Unlikely Praise” - Luke 11:11-19 - March 20, 2011

2011-03-19T22:15:00.007-05:00

A pickup truck arrived at the Young canopy loaded with vegetables. They called Cathy up to meet with the man and the story surprised and pleased her. It seems that he was a dental patient at the Good Shepherd clinic and while he could not pay – and did not have to pay – for his dental care he wanted to do something to show his appreciation. He told Cathy that he did not have much money, but did grow vegetables. He wanted to bless others like he had blessed by the dental clinic. His attitude of gratitude touched everyone there that morning. His expression of appreciation caught everyone of guard.

My phone rang and as soon as the receptionist told me the caller’s name I knew exactly who he was. I do not think I will ever forget him. You see the night before Elizabeth had come into the church and told me that she was frightened by a man who approached her in our parking lot. I was a little surprised because she regularly engages the homeless and struggling folks that sometime find their way here. It was obvious that something was different about that man. It did not take me long to figure it out. About that time a large man – no, a very large man – a man so big he made me feel child-sized came around the corner. I am not a small man and am not easily intimidated, but I was clear in a second that if this man became agitated I had a problem. I asked him to sit down, partly to ease him, partly to help me be a little less consumed by his size, and we began to talk. He had made some bad choices but had put his life back on the right track. There was a church in Edmond who had promised to help him take the next step in his life journey, but it was Sunday night and there was no bus service and he did not know what to do. He did not want anything from us really, just some help to get where he needed to go. I grabbed him and me a soft drink and I sat there and listened as he told some of his life story. He desperately wanted to do the right things. He has paid dear price for his bad decisions. He kept apologizing for being so big and scary looking. He wanted me to know that he was actually a nice and gentle man. After a little while I worked with Jerry to help get him to Edmond. When he called the next morning I have to admit I was waiting for the hook. Did the church in Edmond not come through? Did he decide he needed our help after all? I wondered what he wanted. Then his words stopped me in my tracks. He was calling just to say “thank you.” He wanted me to know how much he appreciated the time we had shared when he told me his story. He thanked me for treating him like a man rather than a problem. He told me, “you know because of my size most people just want to get rid of me, you sat and had a Coke with me, like people do.” His attitude of gratitude blew me away. What had been just another encounter with someone from the street had turned into a moment of thanksgiving to God.

Jesus and his disciples were on the road somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. These two places were not close, so it seems that what Luke is trying to tell us that Jesus and his disciples were on the road in the middle of nowhere. There on the roadside at the out of the way village Jesus encounters ten men with leprosy who were standing off at a distance calling out for mercy. Some scholars contend that the village may have been a small leper colony, and there seems to be some merit to this idea since it would have been unusual to see so many lepers in one place. The remote location would have also made sense because the community wanted lepers as far away as possible from them. Leprosy was and is high contagious and it was a symbol of being unclean in both body and soul. The ten cry out, probably like they had done hundreds to times before. They could do nothing to change their lives. They need people to respond to them in mercy.

Then something happens that changes everything. Our scripture says that Jesus “saw” them. The word he does not imply that he glanced their way or even looked at them. It says he saw them and responded to them. There are many in our society that feel like they are invisible. They feel helpless to change their life or their way of life. Part of why I am so thankful for Good Shepherd, for KidsHope, for S3, for the AARP tax help partnership, and for many of our mission and ministry expressions is that it makes us in the “seeing” business; encountering people, seeing their faces, hearing their stories, investing in their lives. Jesus saw the ten and moved into action. The passage tells us; “he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” And as they went they were cleansed. Jesus sent them to the priests because they were the only ones that could pronounce them “clean.” They were the only ones who the community would hear and allow them back into the community again. Part of what I love about this passage is the picture of how Jesus healed them. He did not lay hands on them. He did not call heaven down on them. He did not say any magic words. He spoke and “as they went they were cleansed.”

You would have thought that the healing of the lepers would be a powerful enough story in its own right. But, something happens next that stops everyone in their tracks. Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “We not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

I do not want you to hear that Jesus is not responsive to the one who returned to give thanks. In fact, the response of the one creates an opportunity for Jesus to teach us something significant. You see the one that returned to give praise would have been seen as the wrong one. He was an outsider in the truest sense. As a Samaritan he would have been considered unworthy and unacceptable to the Jewish community even before he got leprosy. This moment of praise is another one of those moments when the disciples’ attitude on race and culture would have been confronted in a way beyond their expectation or imagination. The nine like them were cleansed but never came back to Jesus. They received their healing and went back to their families and previous lives. They had an encounter with God and missed it. That day only one was truly made whole. Only one understood what had happened to him. Only one understood that he had been touched by the hand of God – healed by the love of God. Only one claimed an attitude of gratitude that carried him to the feet of Jesus. Only one! He alone was the one to hear Jesus say to him, “Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well. “ This Samaritan, this source of unlikely praise, was the one to be healed both in body and soul.

Luke never tells us what happens to the other nine. I have to wonder if they were so glad to have their bodies cleansed, to be acceptable to others again, that they never even thought about the need for more. I have to wonder if they were so wrapped up in the security they found in their own cultural set up that they could not have conceived of humbling themselves in gratitude to Jesus. I have to wonder if they thought their place in the religious culture was sufficient for their connection with God. I have to wonder if they thought of Jesus as a travelling “healer” and never gave a second thought about the prospect that they had just seen the face of God.

Where do you find yourself in this story? Are you one of the disciples on the road with Jesus, spectators to a moment of healing? They are the ones Jesus was trying to teach. They were the ones who needed to understand that the Kingdom of God was an upside down kingdom where praise comes from the least likely places. They are the ones that Jesus wanted to confront their own prejudices and biases and to see God move beyond their expectations. They are the ones that Jesus wanted to understand that the only right response to the love and grace of God was a humble thankfulness that carries them – and us – to our face at the feet of God.

Maybe you see yourself as one of the ten calling out for mercy, feeling isolated and cast out, needing for God to step into your life and change everything.

Maybe you see yourself as one of the nine. You know that God is at work in your life, but it is hard to let go of your confidence in your own capacities long enough to humble yourself – ourselves –before God. You know that God is at work in your life, but it is hard to admit that you have to have God at the center of your life. It is easier to live in the comfortable routines of life and to claim the joys of economic and cultural blessing based on who you are, rather than claiming a way of life where all that you are is who you are at God’s feet.

Maybe you see yourself as the one who has been so moved by the healing touch of God that you want nothing more than to heal the voice of God pronouncing you whole. You have lived a fractured life long enough. You are ready to be healed – to be made truly whole – by God.

Look, I see Jesus and his disciples coming up the road now. I hear people crying out for mercy. I look at the gaze of Jesus and see the intensity of how he is looking at those who need healing – he seems to not only to be looking at them, but looking into the hearts and lives. I wonder whose life he will change today? I wonder if it might be mine? Amen.

(I would like to credit the artist for the painting used in today's blog but I cannot find a name tied to the painting. All references indicate that the artist is unknown. If you know who painted this painting please let me know so I can give the artist the mention they deserve.)