07-28-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: THE ABCs OF THE CHURCH

  Several weeks ago, I was at one of the banks in town and got to talking to the bank manager.  She knows I’m a minister and – as often happens with ministers – the subject of church became the focus of our conversation.  She asked me if we were getting a lot of young people at our worship services on Sunday mornings.  I said that society has changed, that we worship out of a traditional format, and that young people simply don’t attend church that much anymore.  We’ve got a number of devout, young families in our church…but we’re certainly not seeing an abundance of them.

  Then she told me about the church her son and his wife attend.  Apparently, that church is booming, and it’s packed to the gills with new, young families every week.  As you might suspect, the music in that church is what we call contemporary…but then she went on to tell me about the minister.  She said, “We just hate having to listen to him!  He is so incredibly boring!” 

  I’ve got to tell you…that crushed me.  It shattered an image I have long tried to foster about the preached word.  You see, to me, a sermon is a work of art…and I try to paint a masterpiece every week.  Okay, maybe I don’t paint a masterpiece every week, but that does not mean that I don’t try.  My philosophy has always been: Give people something they can sink their teeth into – something they can take home with them – and they’ll be back the next week.  Yet as the aforementioned story seems to indicate, that philosophy may not be right.   

  In my devastation – and I do mean devastation – I turned to God in contemplative prayer.  In the process, I received a message that could only have come from up above.  The message was this: If you plant the seed deeply, it takes a little longer to grow.  Again, if you plant the seed deeply, it takes a little longer to grow.  Perhaps the question now is, “How do we plant the seed deeply?”  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world….and abiding in the kingdom

of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  The issue we will essentially be dealing with today is substance.  More specifically, how do we plant the seed deeply?

  Jesus addresses just such a thing in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew.  He says, “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  Some seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly.  Yet having no depth of soil, when the sun rose, they were scorched.  Some seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Some seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain…some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

  The disciples failed to understand the point of Jesus’ story, so he explained it to them this way.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart.  This is what was sown on the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  Yet such a person has no root, and when trouble or persecution arises, they quickly fall away.  As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears God’s word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word…and it yields no fruit.  But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and yields – in one case – a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

  That’s fairly self-explanatory, I suspect.  The question now is: How do we get there?  How do we ensure that we – and by “we” I mean the church – are planted in good soil?  How do we ensure that the seed is planted deeply?  But then again, do we even want to plant the seed deeply?  I mean, if you look at what the results are when one aims to be significant these days, planting the seed deeply just might be the last thing a preacher would want to do.

  For example, let’s consider what many people call the ABCs of the church.  The ABCs of the church are how one typically measures success in the church.  The ABCs of the church is an acronym that stands for: Attendance, Buildings, and Cash.  We tend to measure the success of a church – or the lack thereof – based upon the number of people who are in attendance on Sunday mornings, the condition the building is in, and the amount of cash coming in on a weekly basis.  There you have it: The ABCs of the church.  Yet do prolific ABCs truly represent a successful church?

  Loren Mead takes issue with that in a book entitled, More Than Numbers: The Way Churches Grow.  In it, as you might suspect, he addresses the question: What does it really mean for a church to grow?  He then outlines four specific categories of church growth.  They are: Numerical growth, Maturational growth, Organic growth, and Incarnational growth.

  Numerical growth is exactly what you think it is.  It’s growth in the ways we ordinarily describe it: growth in Sunday worship attendance, growth in the size of the budget, growth in activities and programs, and growth in active membership.  Maturational growth has to do with growth in the spiritual maturity and stature of church members.  Organic growth is the growth of the congregation as a functioning community.  Incarnational growth is growth in the ability to take the meanings and values of the faith story…and make them real in the community outside of the congregation.  Thus, the ABCs of the church are not just Attendance, Buildings and Cash.  Perhaps the real ABCs of the church are: Attention to God and what he is still trying to do in the world; Building the kingdom of God in our little corner of the world; and Caring for the community in which we live.  In my mind, those ABCs are better.  What remains for us at this point in time is to find a path that will lead us there.

  Perhaps the path the church must take is similar to the path that Jesus took.  Jesus came to show us how to live and how to love.  Yet the path Jesus took was that of a suffering servant.  Think about it.  Jesus always took the lower place.  Jesus always displayed humility.  And when it came time to offer himself as a living sacrifice, did he call upon a legion of angels to squash the hated Romans and preserve his own life…or did he willingly go to the cross to die?  As Jesus once said, “He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s…will find it.”  Perhaps the secret here is not self-preservation, but rather, going so far as to offer up one’s very life for the sake of others.

  All too often, the church is primarily concerned with itself.  We worry more about Attendance, Buildings, and Cash than we do about Attention to God, Building the kingdom, or Caring for the community in which we live.  Perhaps at this point, we should ask ourselves a question.  What difference would it make in our community if our church was no longer here?  Would our community be greatly diminished, or would life go on pretty much as usual?  If the answer is the former, we’re on the right track.  Yet if the answer is the latter...we’ve got some serious soul-searching to do.

  The way we plant the seed deeply is by proclaiming a message of self-sacrifice.  The way we reveal that the seed is planted deeply within us is by living a life of self-sacrifice.  The more the church aims at self-preservation, the more likely it is to die off completely…or at least come to be irrelevant.  Yet the more the church aims at self-sacrifice – like Jesus did – the more likely it is to encounter the resurrection that Jesus himself encountered.

  Now this is not the kind of message that’s going to make us popular in the short run.  But maybe in the long run, it will come to bear the fruit we desire.  Someone recently sent an article to me that I believe was sent to them by none other than Ted Martin.  It was written by a young woman by the name of Andrea Dilley, and it’s entitled: Change Wisely, Dude.  She writes:

When I came back to church after a faith crisis in my early twenties, the first one I attended regularly was a place called Praxis.  It was the kind of church where the music was contemporary, the message was affirming, and the atmosphere was soothing.  In fact, one Sunday morning the young, hip pastor actually lifted an infant in the air and said, “Dude, I baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit.”

  To Andrea Dilley’s credit, she was not impressed.  Later she adds:

I’m not the first person ever to go low-church, and Praxis isn’t the first institution to pursue the hard-to-get demographic of young people.  Across America today, thousands of clergy and congregations – even entire denominations – are running scared.  They are desperately trying to convince their youth that faith and the church are culturally relevant, forward-looking, and alive.  And the way they do it is to radically alter the old model.  It’s out with the organ, and in with the guitars.  It’s out with self-sacrifice, and in with self-fulfillment. 

  She says she was raised in a small Presbyterian church, but left it in her early twenties.  When she came back, she wanted an anti-institutional church that looked less like a church than it did a coffee house.  But after a couple of years of that, she says that the coffee began to taste thin.  Now she’s back in a more traditional church because she found that she actually missed the hymns, the tradition, the sacraments, and the substance.  She closes her article using these words:

So as you change – or as change is imposed upon you – keep your historical identity and your ecclesiastical soul.  Fight the urge for perpetual reinvention, and don’t watch the roll books for young adults.  We’re sometimes fickle.  When we come – if we come – meet us where we are.  Be present to our doubts, our fears, and our frustrations.  Walk with us in the perplexing challenge of postmodern faith.

Even so, your church – and your denomination – might die.  My generation and those following might take it apart…brick by brick, absence by absence.  But the next generation just might rebuild it.  They might unearth the altar, the chalice, and the vestments and find them not medieval, but enduring.  They might uncover the Book of Common Prayer…and find it anything but common.

  In other words, in spite of the direction society seems to be going these days, we need to maintain our theological integrity.  We need to plant the seed deeply, and give it time to grow.  The ABCs of the church are not Attendance, Buildings and Cash.  The ABCs of the church are Attention to God and what he is trying to do in the world; Building the kingdom of God in our own little corner of the world; and Caring for the community in which we live.  If we can do that, we will be placing our faith in God to resurrect us, rather than placing our faith in ourselves.  And truth be told, isn’t that how a resurrection takes place anyway?  Amen.

 

07-21-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101:

YOU ARE THE ONLY BIBLE SOME PEOPLE WILL EVER READ

  Early last January, a man walked up to the ticket booth at Heinz Field – the place where the Pittsburgh Steelers play – and asked if he could buy some playoff tickets.  The ticket agent said to the man, “I’m sorry, sir.  The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the playoffs this year.”  The man said, “Thank you,” and then slowly walked away.

  The very next day, that very same man walked up to that very same ticket booth and asked that very same woman if he could buy some playoff tickets.  Again, the ticket agent said to the man, “I’m sorry, sir.  The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the playoffs this year.”  The man said, “Thank you,” and then slowly walked away.

  Then, for the third day in a row, that very same man walked up to that very same ticket booth and asked that very same woman if he could buy some playoff tickets.  The ticket agent said to the man, “I’m sorry, sir.  The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the playoffs this year.”  Then she added, “Sir, this is the third day in a row you’ve come to ask me if you could buy playoff tickets, and I keep telling you that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the playoffs this year.  Why do you keep coming back?”  To which the man replied, “Ma’am, I’m a Cleveland Browns fan…and I just love hearing you say that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the playoffs this year!”

  It never ceases to amaze me how rabid some N.F.L. football fans really are.  They get all dressed up in face paint and jerseys, and abuse the fans of the opposing team.  Their emotions – even their very lives – seem to rise and fall based upon the performance of twenty-two men on a field of grass.  It seems as though we all need something for which we can hope, and – apparently lacking anything of greater substance – it seems a lot of people opt to place their hopes in the performance of some team.

  Fifteen years ago, my oldest son was playing little league football in Salem, Ohio.  Three of us fathers worked the chain gang…you know: the down and distance markers on the field.  What that meant was that, during the game, we stood with our markers on the opponent’s sideline.  We had a bird’s eye view of the field, which was great.  But we also had to listen to the ranting and the raving of the parents of the opposing team. 

  One time a controversial call went our way, and the parents on the sideline were up in arms.  They screamed at the referee as if he had robbed them of their souls.  The referee then walked to the side of the field, simply shaking his head.  I happened to catch his eye, and he said to me, “Can you believe these people?”  I said, “I think the problem is that every one of these parents thinks that their little Johnny or their little Bobby is going to become the next great N.F.L star.”  To which the referee replied, “I know…and that just ain’t-a-gonna happen!”

  Like I said, we all need something for which we can hope.  Sometimes it’s an N.F.L. football team.  Sometimes it has to do with living vicariously through our children.  Sometimes it has to do with a house or a job or a car.  The point is that we all need something for which we can hope.  We all need something upon which we can pin our aspirations for the future.  Keep that thought in mind as we move on. 

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  Since we’ve clearly seen that people need something for which they can hope, my theory today is that the church needs to be a hopeful community.  The question now is: How do we get there?

  When people find out that my wife is married to a Presbyterian minister, they often start asking her theological questions.  You know, “How can a God of love allow evil in the world?  How do you know that Christianity is the only faith that’s right?  Do you really think there’s anything beyond this earthly life at all?”  It frustrates her to no end.  She’ll often say to me, “I wish I was as smart as you are!”  No, I’m kidding!  She’s never said that to me!  But she will say, “I wish you’d been there to answer their questions.  Sometimes I just don’t know what to say!” 

  Honestly, I’m not sure if my presence would help or hurt in a situation like that.  You see, maybe the questions these people are asking aren’t really the issue.  Maybe they’re actually smoke screens that hide what they really want to know.  Maybe what they really want to know is this: “Is it true?  Is there really something out there in which we can place our deepest, darkest hopes?”  Perhaps the best argument in favor of that is not an intellectual idea.  Perhaps the best argument in favor of that…is a well-lived Christian life.  As I said last week, sometimes Christianity is better caught than it is compelled.

  Consider the passage Bill read from the book of Colossians.  The Apostle Paul says something profound there that really caught my eye.  He says, “We thank God always, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love you have for all the saints – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven, that you have heard about in the gospels.”

  Did you catch that?  Paul says here that faith and love spring from hope.  Hope is not usually considered to be the source of faith and love, but it would appear as though that’s exactly what Paul is saying.  Biblical scholar N.T. Wright puts it this way: “The solid fact about the future hope of Christians is a powerful motivation for constant faith and costly love in the present.”  Hope is defined as confidence in a good future.  What, then, is the future hope of Christians?  The future hope of Christians is that there is something beyond this earthly life.  That’s what keeps us from centering all our hope in a football team, or a child, or some material possession.  As Christians, our hope is in God…and the marvelous future he has prepared for us.

  Now there are actually two ways we can share this message.  One is verbally; the other is by example.  A lot of us don’t feel comfortable sharing the hope that is in us verbally.  We’re afraid we’ll offend someone, or that we don’t know enough about the subject matter and we’ll end up looking stupid…or worse, intolerant.  God forbid that we be labeled intolerant these days!  Of course, if we worship regularly, pray daily and study diligently, that’s a lot less likely to happen.  Yet the other way we can share the hope that is in us is by the way we live our lives.  As the Apostle Paul said, faith and love spring from the hope that is in us.  And that should necessarily impact the way we live our lives. 

  That which lies within us will always impact the way we live our lives.  Madonna, of rock-and- roll fame, once said, “My drive in life comes from a fear of being mediocre.  That is always pushing me.  I push past one spell of it, and discover myself as a special human being, but then feel I am still mediocre and uninteresting unless I do something else.  Because even though I have become somebody...I still have to prove that I am somebody.  My struggle has never ended, and I guess it never will.”

  Clinical psychologist Oliver James, in a book called Affluenza, describes very well what’s going on here.  He writes: “Constantly comparing your lot with others leads to insecurity.  You will have a nameless sense that there is always something you should be doing; call it a free-floating anxiety.  You will be obsessively running yourself down because you do not do as well as others, yet moving the goal posts if you DO succeed.”

  That sense of inadequacy is something we bring with us into church life.  Maybe we look around the church and think, “I’m not as successful as he is,” or, “I’m not as gifted as she is.”  At best, we fear being ordinary.  At worst, we fear being irrelevant.

  Whatever we wanted for our lives, if we’re Christian…we probably assumed that God wanted it for us as well.  We might not admit it – even to ourselves – but we we’re pretty sure that God was going to come down and provide for us as only God can do.  The problem, though, is that what we assumed was going to happen…is not necessarily what did happen.

  Nobody ever grew up thinking, “I’m going to get cancer at age forty-one.”  Nobody ever grew up thinking, “I’m going to get fired at age fifty-seven.”  Nobody ever planned to be divorced twice by age forty-five, or alone and depressed at age thirty-two.  Nobody thought their son would end up in prison at the age of twenty.  Nobody ever imagined they would not be able to have a child.  Nobody planned to be caught in a dead-end job.  Nobody assumed their marriage would be mediocre at best.  But sometimes it happens, and we end up being frustrated, or hurt, or

mad.  Yet it’s times like these when the light that is in us can truly shine the brightest.

  If you truly have faith in God, you have the hope of a brighter tomorrow…regardless of your present circumstances.  Hope like that can become contagious.  It impacts other people to the point that they want to have what you have.  Thus, living a life of hope can become the greatest tool for evangelism there is.  Why?  Because you are the only Bible some people will ever read.  Amen.

07-14-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: ARE YOU PECULIAR?

  God has the unique ability to provide us with exactly what we need…exactly when we need it.  For example, I recently encountered a story about how God provided Adam and Eve with exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it.  The story takes place shortly after Adam and Eve had been banished from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge.  Adam and Eve were lamenting the fact that they no longer enjoyed the intimate communion with God they had once enjoyed.

  Adam said to God, “Lord, when we were in the Garden, you walked with us every day.  Now we don’t see you nearly as often.  We’re lonesome here, and sometimes it’s difficult for us to remember just how much you love us.  Isn’t there something you can do?”

  God replied, “No problem.  I will create a companion for you who will be with you in good times and in bad.  He will be a reflection of my love for you so that – even when you do not see me – you will know that I still love you.  Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are.  He will love you unconditionally, in spite of yourselves.”

  So God created a new animal to be a companion to Adam and Eve.  It was a good animal, and God was pleased.  What’s more, the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve, as well…so pleased, in fact, that he wagged his tail whenever they came around. 

  Yet still, there was a small problem.  Adam said, “Lord, I have named all the animals in the kingdom, but I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”  God said, “Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, its name will be a reflection of my own name.  Thus, you will call him DOG.”  So the dog lived with Adam and Eve, and loved them, and was a perfect reflection of God’s unconditional love.  Thus, Adam and Eve were comforted, God was pleased…and the dog was content and wagged his tail.

  After a while, however, it came to pass that an angel appeared before God and said, “Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride.  They strut and preen like peacocks, and they believe they are worthy of adoration.  Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, yet perhaps he has taught them too well.”

  God said, “No problem.  I will create a companion for them who will see them as they truly are.  This new companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.”  So God created CAT to be a companion for Adam and Eve…and Cat would not obey them.  And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings they fancied themselves to be.

  Adam and Eve learned humility, and they were greatly improved.  God was pleased, the dog wagged his tail…and the cat did not care one way or the other.  Like I said at the beginning of this sermon, God has the unique ability to provide us with exactly what we need…exactly when we need it.  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying, and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry, and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.  And if you still fail to comprehend exactly what that difference is, at least you’re in the right place to begin to do so now.

  Today we begin the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  In the passage Henry read from the book of Isaiah, we get a sense of just what God expects that community to be.  God says, “Seek the Lord where he may be found; call upon him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways…and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

  Then God showed us exactly how he thinks in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus told of a father who got taken advantage of by a wayward son, yet all the while longed for him to come back home.  Jesus told of a Samaritan – looked down upon by the people of his day – who perfectly revealed what it meant to be a good neighbor.  Jesus allowed his own people to scorn him, mock him, and put him to death…thereby revealing the love God had for all of humanity.  Jesus revealed a God who was like no other god the world had ever seen.  The Greeks and the Romans had created a pantheon of gods and goddesses who acted a lot like humans act…often at their worst.  Their gods lied, cheated and killed.  Their gods committed adultery and punished each other out of jealousy and rage. 

  Jesus revealed a God who was like no other god the world had ever seen.  His thoughts were not our thoughts, nor were his ways our ways.  Truth be told, this God of ours seems to be a bit…peculiar.  And it would appear as though that’s exactly what he wants from us, as well.  He wants us to be peculiar.  Perhaps the question now is: Are you…peculiar?

  From what I understand, the statistics these days seem to indicate that Christians are not peculiar.  By that I mean that there tends to be precious little difference between the behavior of Christians and the behavior of those who are not.  Christian and non-Christian divorce rates are now quite similar.  Christians are just as likely to end up in prison as non-Christians, as well…although Presbyterians typically prefer what we call “white-collar” crimes.  Christians are just as likely to abuse drugs, step on others to get ahead, or suffer from hopelessness as non-Christians, as well.  Shouldn’t there be at least a little bit of difference?  Shouldn’t we be a bit more peculiar?

  As I said at the very beginning of this sermon, God has the unique ability to provide us with exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.  I recently encountered an interesting article entitled, “Being the Church Today,” that I think very much pertains to this.  Listen closely. 

  According to the article, the numerical height of the mainline Protestant Church in the United States occurred in the year 1965.  That was the year the largest percentage of American people affiliated with – and attended – church.  More Americans were going to church in 1965 than at any other time in U.S. history.  Nineteen sixty-five was the year The Sound of Music premiered on film, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act, and A Charlie Brown Christmas was first shown on T.V.  In other words, it wasn’t all that long ago.  In the living memory of many of us are the days when the church was more popular than at any other time in U. S. history.

  We tend to be a bit nostalgic when we think back on the church’s role in American society.  Perhaps the change in the church’s social status from being at the center of culture, to moving toward the periphery, has clouded our vision.  We think that – once upon a time – all of our churches were big, bustling centers of activity: filled with children, distinguished by selfless service to the community, and immersed in happy, loving relationships between people. 

  We used to be the popular kid in class, but now…not so much.  One response to these changing circumstances has been the creation of an unrealistic mental picture.  We think we were once a great and glorious church, but now we fear we’re doomed to the dustbin of history.  Perhaps this delusion keeps us from seeing the ministry that is right in front of us.  The problem is not that we’re getting smaller and more peripheral.  The problem is a lack of imaginative faith…and a lackluster sense of commitment.  Like I said earlier, maybe God is giving us exactly what we need exactly when we need it.  Wistful complaints about declining membership rolls and budgets do not offer a prophetic word to anyone.  Yet perhaps paying a bit closer attention to the people in our communities does.  The question now is: How do we get there?

  Before we get to that, allow me to give you a brief history lesson.  According to Rodney Stark in his book, The Rise of Christianity, in the year 40 A.D. – shortly after the death of Jesus Christ – there were only about 1000 Christians in the world.  That amounted to roughly .0017% of the world’s population.  Yet by the year 350 A.D., there were 33,882,008 Christians.  That amounted to 56.5% of the world’s population.  How did such a dramatic transformation take place in such a relatively short amount of time?

  The most compelling explanation is this: The lives that Christians were living were so different, so hopeful, and so appealing…that others wanted to have what they had.  The early Christians were peculiar.  The lives they lived were different – and many obviously thought better – than the lives the general populace was living.  Thus, people were simply drawn to the Christian faith.  In other words, Christianity was not so much compelled…as it was caught.

  Perhaps we need to become peculiar once again.  We need to become more focused on the kingdom of God than we are on the kingdom of this world.  Now I know what you want at this point.  You want six simple steps to living in the kingdom of God.  Then you can simply follow the rules, feel as though you have mastered them, and then get on with your life.  But I’m not going to give you that today.  Because I think that living in the kingdom of God is more of a process than it is a procedure.  Let me show you what I mean.

  George Fox was the founder of the Quakers, a Christian movement in 17^th century England.  William Penn became one of Fox’s most dedicated and successful followers.  William Penn grew up in a wealthy household and received the best education available.  In those days, it was customary for upper class folk to wear a sword at their side.  The sword was not intended to harm anyone; it simply distinguished one as a member of the upper class.

  After Penn became a Quaker, he began to struggle with whether or not he should continue to wear the sword.  After all, it was a symbol of war, as well as a symbol of class distinction: two things that Quakers stood firmly against.  So William Penn went to see George Fox to seek his guidance on the matter.  “May I continue to wear the sword?” he asked.  George Fox’s answer was a bit surprising.  We might expect him to say, “No, you may not continue to wear the sword!  It represents everything we stand against!”  Instead, George Fox said to William Penn, “Wear it as long as you can, William.  Wear it as long as you can.”

  George Fox was laying out an important principal in the Christian life.  When it comes to our practices, or when it comes to our behavior...we need to avoid making hard and fast rules.  What we really need to do is rely upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  As you might guess, William Penn gave up wearing the sword…but not right away.  It took a little while for the Spirit to lay hold of him and convince him how he really ought to live.  Yet William Penn came to this conclusion on his own, with the help of the Holy Spirit.  It was a life-lesson caught, not compelled.

  How do we learn such lessons?  How do we catch such a Christianity that is not compelled?  Perhaps Mother Teresa put it best in her book, A Gift for God.  She wrote:

Love to pray.  Feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take the trouble to pray.  Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself.  Ask and seek…and your heart will grow big enough to receive him, and keep him as your own.

  Ladies and gentlemen, the lesson here is clear.  God takes a day to grow a mushroom, but God takes a lifetime to grow an oak tree.  God takes a lifetime to grow a soul, as well.  Our dedication to our prayer lives will shape us over the course of a lifetime.  It will not happen overnight.  So begin the process of drawing near to this peculiar God of ours.  It may make us peculiar, and it may make the world peculiar as well.  But in this case, that might not be a bad thing at all.  Amen.

 

07-07-2013 Sermon by Rev. Larry Peters

 

FIXING THE FOCUS

Rev. Larry Peters

Psalm 105:1-5, 7

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14: 22-33

  Let’s think for a moment, about drawing a circle.  We may not be able to draw a perfect circle, so we will be using a compass to help us.  The first thing that we do is to decide on a focal point.  We determine this to be the center of our circle.  This is important, because the center (and determining where that will be) is what the completion of the circle depends on.  We will call this fixing the focus.

  The center of the circle is the place where we start and we can then extend the radius outward.  We place the point of our compass at the place we have determined to be our focal point.  This will be our center.  Then, by extending outward, we can make our circle as big or small as we want.  We then draw the perimeter or circumference.  Finally, we have our completed and perfect circle along with our center.

  “Interesting”, you might say, “But what place does this have in church?  And what has this to do with me?”  Well, this is a Christian circle.  You may remember that Rev. Jensen talked last Sunday about a Christian bear.  Today I offer you the concept of the Christian circle.  My apologies to Rev. Jensen, and I ask you to please bear with me.  I’d like to make the analogy that this perfect circle represents a Christian life, each one of us.  Christ should be at the center of our life, our focal point, our sure foundation upon whom our life can be drawn around and made complete.

  There is nothing more important for us than to fix the focus of our lives.  What is central for us?  What is foundational for us?  What is it that shapes our identity, our perception, our values, our decisions?  What is the core reality at the center of our life out of which everything else extends and depends on?

  Some people do not place Christ at the center of their life.  They put something else there.  That something else could be just about anything.  Anything else that you would put, in the matter of importance, ahead of Christ.  Something or anything that you think is more important.

  Now we have already determined that a more perfect circle needs a center, a focal point.  This circle (an imperfect circle) needs some help.  If this were a wheel we would be in for a rough ride!  If this represents our life, then the road we travel is a bumpy one.  As represented by this imperfect circle, we might be bent out of shape, flat or deflated, or pulled in different directions.  There is no control to our life.  A more perfect circle needs a center, a focal point.

  Again, if we think of our life as the drawing of a circle, we do not have a choice as to whether or not there is something at the center of our life; something is.  Somewhere in this imperfect circle there is a center.  There is a focal point; it’s just not easy for us to determine what it is.  We do have a choice, though, as to where and what it will be.  We can determine for ourselves what is at the center of our life shaping us.

  It becomes obvious that not just any center of meaning will do.  Life will be good, fulfilling, meaningful, wholesome and more perfect-or, life will be less than good, less than perfect, depending on what we place at the center of life; the center of our life, our center of meaning.  And the Gospel makes it clear that only God made known in Christ is worthy of that all-important position!

  How do we get to the center?  How do we fix our focus and become centered on Christ?  Let’s look at our lesson today from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Here Paul says that the answer is within you.  It is how you perceive Christ and receive the Word of God.  Paul says that “righteousness comes from faith” (Rom. 10:6).  This lesson declares that “the word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (v.8).

  But what will you do with it?  Will you hide it, suppress it, ignore it?  Or-will you receive it, believe it, proclaim it?  Hear this message and decide what you will do!  “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (v.9).  This means that you will be put right with God.  You will be saved from your imperfect past, and saved for a more perfect life with Christ at the center.  You have made the all-important decision to believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of your life!

  Believing and confessing-part of what we see happening in a life dedicated to Jesus Christ.  As we review the lesson in the Gospel according to Matthew, we will see more.  (I’ve made a list; watch for these).

  Just after the feeding of the multitudes of people on the lake shore, Jesus sent the disciples across the lake by boat.  Here is one example where we see that those who follow Christ are obedient to him.  Jesus had wanted this time to be with his disciples.  A large crowd gathered and Jesus taught his disciples to have compassion for the needs of others and to minister to them.  Jesus then dismissed the crowds of people and he went up the mountain by himself to be in prayer.  There was time with God’s people, and time with God.  Praying is a time for fixing the focus.  Jesus repeatedly acknowledged that God is the source of all goodness and power in his life, and so prayer is going to the source!

  Meanwhile, back at the lake, things were starting to get out of focus.  Jesus was not with the disciples on the boat, and so they began to get distracted.  A storm had come and was threatening them and their small boat with disaster.  There were many storms of life.  We are often in trouble and tossed about, weary from the struggle and about to give up.  Here the lesson teaches us to always be of good hope and to have courage.  “Take heart,” Jesus says, “Do not be afraid” (Matt. 14:27).

  Remember that “the word of God is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (Rom. 10:8).  The Lord of your life will see your distress and hear your cries for help, and moves ever closer!  Christ come to us!, and we are invited to come to Christ!  Notice that the Christian is constantly in movement.  Constantly overcoming obstacles, coming to faith, fixing our focus on Christ our Lord, building upon the close relationship that we have, and seeking to move ever close!  “Righteousness comes from faith” (v.6), so Christ our Lord calls us to come forward an ever stronger faith!

  When Peter asked to come forward to be with Jesus; Christ our Lord said “Come!”  Who could deny it?!  So Peter was obedient to the call.  He went believing that he could walk on water because the One who he confessed to be Lord said that he could!  This was his prayer, and Jesus answered!  It took courage to move out from the boat and over the water.  He went forward on faith!

  As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, all was well.  But, then he became distracted; and we know how easily that can happen.  We often don’t need a raging water below and a stormy sky above to lose our focus.  And we see how important it is to fix and keep our focus on Jesus!  Fear took the place of faith, and Peter began to sink.  He cried out “Lord, save me!” (v.30).  The scripture that we read today reassures us that the Lord “is generous to all who call on him.  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:12-13).  Christ was there for Peter, as he is for us, reaching out his hand of salvation.  This we should celebrate and trust in always, not only in times when we desperately need to be assured of it.

  We cannot fault Peter.  He was doing so well.  By faith and trust and courage, he was walking on the water!  But we may find that it is often true in life that we have a tendency, when things are going well, to take our focus off center and we may seem to have little need for faith.  But then, when the storms of life come and we begin to sink, is it then only that we seek Christ?  We should be reminded to seek Christ every day!  Come forward on a faith that we pray increases and becomes stronger every day!  Let Christ take you by the hand today!  Let Christ be the center of your life.  Fix and keep your focus on Jesus.

  The Gospel lesson concludes by saying, “they got into the boat and the wind ceased.  And those in the boat worshiped him” (Matt. 14:32-33).  Faith, hope, trust, courage, obedience and prayer had been restored!  And they believed in their hearts and confessed with their lips that Jesus is Lord!  Their great proclamation of faith being said was; “Truly you are the Son of God!” (v. 33).

  We are all in the same boat.  We recognize and worship the Lord our God.  So doing-let us be about living the Christian life!  Believing, confessing, worshipping and constantly moving toward an ever stronger faith.  The scripture teaches that “the person who does these things will live by them” (Rom. 10:5).

  Keep in mind these lessons of fixing the focus, with Christ the center of our lives, our focal point, our sure foundation upon whom our lives can be drawn around and made complete.  Amen.

 

 

    

 

 

06-30-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: THE HEART OF THE MATTER

  The season of Advent is certainly a hectic time of year around the office of a church.  At the end of one particularly busy Advent season, a minister had had his fill of responsibility, so he headed off to the great white North to do some bow hunting the week after Christmas.  He packed only the basic necessities, rented a cabin, and went off to spend some quality time alone.

  The very next day he was out in the woods with his bow and arrows in search of that elusive trophy buck, when suddenly…he encountered a giant grizzly bear.  Standing up on its hind legs, massive paws outstretched, the bear looked to be at least nine feet tall.  The minister, realizing that his bow and arrows were useless against such a creature, simply tossed them aside.  Then he dropped to his knees, folded his hands, and began to pray.  “Dear Lord,” he cried, “you know I don’t ask you for much, but please…make this bear a Christian!”

  At that, the bear dropped to all fours and began to charge.  Then, right before he was upon the minister, the bear dropped to his knees, brought those massive paws together, and began to pray himself.  “Dear Lord,” the bear said, “bless these gifts which we are about to receive.”

  Ah, the minister got what he wanted, did he not?  God answered that minister’s prayer, but it didn’t really solve his problem, did it?  Yet the question I want to pose to you today is this: Was that bear really a Christian?  Does the fact that one lifts a few desultory prayers, or worships God when one has the time, qualify one as a Christian?  Or, if one is in fact, a Christian…is one’s behavior necessarily impacted as well?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Quite some time ago now, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry, and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.

  Today we begin the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Yet before we get to that, perhaps we need to examine what our lives, as Christians, should really be.  In the opening illustration of this sermon, we talked about a bear who said grace before a meal.  Yet still, he planned to devour the man who was standing right in front of him.  Is that kind of behavior consistent with one who professes faith in Jesus Christ?

  To that you likely say, “But that was just a joke.  A bear can’t really be a Christian!”  And, of course, you would be right….but that does not change the point.  As Christians, our behavior must be consistent with our profession of faith, or it’s all for naught.  We are called to live the life of faith we claim to profess.  The question now is: Do we?

  For example, allow me to tell you about our dog, Zeke.  Zeke is a 127-pound German Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix.  He is a big, intimidating dog.  Now a dog instinctually has a pack mentality, so naturally – in his mind – there is a clear family hierarchy.  From the time he was young, I honestly believe his hierarchy was this.  First there was me, because I was the primary disciplinarian…then there was our son Rob, then there was my wife, then there was our son Travis, then there was Zeke…then there was our daughter, Mariah.  Zeke truly believed he was higher on the pecking order than Mariah was, so he used to push her around a little bit.  Oh, he never hurt her, but you could just tell that he thought he ranked above her in the family pecking order.  Thus, he occasionally took advantage of the situation.

  People can be a lot like that as well.  When one person feels as though they outrank someone else in the grand scheme of things, they tend to take advantage of certain situations.  For example, how would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat waiters and waitresses?  How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat telemarketers?  How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat the people who work for you?  How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat the policeman who just pulled you over for speeding?  How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat your husband or your wife?  How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat your children?  The sad thing here is: sometimes we treat the people who are closest to us the worst.  It’s true what they say, you know: “You only hurt the ones you love.”

  You see, in our personal lives, we come into contact with the lives of a hundred people or more on a daily basis.  Do we reflect the fact that we are a child of God, in whom Christ dwells, to each and every one of them?  Or do we reflect the fact that we believe those people are somehow there to serve us?  Ladies and gentlemen, people are the most important thing in the world to God…and it matters how we treat each and every one of them.

  I think Jesus addresses this topic in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew.  Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?  In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Thus, you will know them by their fruits.”

  Jesus begins his statement by saying, “Beware of false prophets.”  Yet it’s a bit unclear as to exactly what he means by false prophets.  The Greek word translated false prophet here is: pseudo-prophetone.  Yet could we not conceivably say that a prophet is anyone who claims to represent, or to speak, for God?  So in other words, we’re not just talking about misguided preachers here. We’re talking about anyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ, yet fails to adequately represent him.  Thus, the false prophet can be anyone whose behavior is not consistent with their beliefs.

  Here’s the problem, though.  Jesus says a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Perhaps from that analogy we could go so far as to say that sound and ethical Christian behavior cannot be faked.  Sound and ethical Christian behavior flows from the inside.  Thus, the heart of the matter…is the matter of the heart.

  Malcolm Muggeridge was a journalist who referred to himself as an agnostic for much of his early adult life.  Later, he was profoundly influenced by Mother Theresa while researching a book about her called, Something Beautiful for God.  In the process, obviously, he spent a great deal of time with her.  One day, as they were walking the streets of Calcutta, he saw her kneel beside a sickly leper, embrace him, and gently tend to his seeping wounds.  Malcolm Muggeridge said to her, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars!”  Mother Teresa looked right at him and said, “Neither would I.”  The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

  How do we develop a heart from which compassion naturally flows?  How do we become the kind of tree that produces only good fruit?  How do we become the kind of Christians where our actions are consistent with our beliefs?  Join me over the course of the next few weeks as we explore exactly how that is done.  The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart…and it does matter.  Amen.