Delivered May 30, 2008
Reference Jonah 1
Jonah isn’t exactly anybody’s favorite Bible story character is he? Well maybe for the humor involved, but in all reality, isn’t Jonah just a whiney little brat. God tells him to go to Nineveh, he says no and runs in the other direction. He’s swallowed by a great fish, he’s spit out onto the shore. He finally does what God tells him to and then he gets mad at God for not smiting the Ninevites and wants to die. He’s just a bit over dramatic don’t you think.
For a humorous parallel illustration of Jonah, watch Seinfeld, season 5 episode 3 - The Puffy Shirt.
Watch from 10:11-11:46
So Kramer’s girlfriend is what Seinfeld coins as a low-talker. Somebody that talks at such a low volume that you can’t hear what he or she is saying.
In Jerry’s interest at being pleasant and agreeable, he nods and says sure to whatever the low-talker “says” and He ignorantly agrees to wear the puffy shirt on national TV, which I believe was the first artifact from a television show to be showcased in the Smithsonian institute.
The puffy shirt, the ridiculous ruffled, frilled up, pirate shirt. And in Jerry’s hope to escape, knowing that he’ll be heckled endlessly for wearing this shirt, and being the “First pirate” he utters in desperation, but I don’t want to be a pirate.
Amazingly it would seem that Jerry appears better than Jonah in his actions. Jonah hears the Lord loud and clear and runs the other direction in effect saying, much like Jerry, “But I don’t want to go to Nineveh” while Jerry, doesn’t hear a word the low-talker says, agrees to something not so pleasant and goes through with it.
But this attitude of whining, complaining at what they are supposed to do is very much an underlying theme and problem for many of us today.
I believe a growing attitude in America has become, “I’m only going to do what I want to do.” People don’t want to be encumbered by anything other than their own personal agendas and I would count myself among that crowd. I don’t want to help you with your snow shoveling, I have 9 seasons of Seinfeld to watch, why would I help you?
No matter what we want to do or don’t want to do, Christ does what is right in the lives of his people, regardless of our complaining and whining.
And the Lord is impossible to run from. Which Jonah found out the hard way. What I take away from Jonah’s story is that God will put you where he wants you on this earth, whether you like it or not. You can resist, but to what point and to what end? Resisting God’s will got Jonah swallowed by a great fish. And we know from Scripture that resisting the Holy Spirit can be detrimental to our eternal salvation.
Perhaps the word of the lord doesn’t come as clearly to any of us as it did to Jonah, and then again perhaps it does. But it is comforting on some level to know that while the word of the lord may come and we may not hear it clearly, the Lord doesn’t stop speaking. He is ever persistent with his word. As Christ says in Matthew, Mark, and Luke “Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
So it is good to know that while we may miss God’s words from time to time, they will always remain, just as he promises to always remain with us, Amen.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Unashamed of the Gospel and Myself
While growing up in the faith, I learned at a very early age that sin produces guilt, and being guilty and feeling guilty, we are led to repent of the sin which is bothering us, and receive forgiveness for the sin we have committed.
In many eastern cultures, being shamed or losing face is about the worst thing that can happen to a person. Keeping one’s reputation intact is extremely important while building relationships with people from China, Japan, and other south east Asian countries.
This concept of shame is not nearly as prevalent in America, where while we may worry what others think of us, it’s not very often that people who think low of us are forthright and straightforward enough to say it to our face, to make us feel bad or shame us.
But oftentimes I find there are many people who are of the attitude that they would prefer greatly that if you have a problem with me, say it to my face, let me know, right here, right now, don’t go gossiping behind my back.
This is not the case in many other places, southeast Asia I know in particular. Confrontation is not a good thing to many people.
It seems to me that in my life. When I sin, I not only feel guilt, which motivates me to repent, I also sometimes feel shame. I just feel so awful for what I have done, that it makes me reluctant to repent because I don’t feel like I deserve or can even ask for forgiveness, from God or from another person.
Some people have tried to mesh guilt and shame together saying they’re essentially the same thing when dealing with sin, but I will say flat out that not only do I disagree, but that is just plain incorrect.
And here’s why:
Reference: Romans 1:8-17
We’re going to be dealing with verses 16 and 17 in particular “I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.”’
When I sin, the law that is written in my mind and on my heart makes me feel guilty, but it does not make me feel ashamed. What makes me feel ashamed, I believe, is a misapplication of God’s law, and a missed opportunity for God’s Gospel.
I believe guilt is the result of a correct application of the Law, when somebody does not feel guilty for their sin.
I believe shame is the result of a misapplication of the law when a person already feels guilty for their sin.
This is most often done to me by myself. I sin and my mind knows the sin and my heart feels the guilt and my mind bashes my heart again, saying you should have known better, you’re a terrible person for thinking that, for doing that, for saying that.
Or I hear the law from a Christian brother or sister who cares deeply for me and knows I am ignoring the beginnings of guilt and the law takes root and I feel guilt.
I feel shame when I’ve heard the Law from any number of sources repeatedly that I am a terrible person, that I am worthless, that I am not worthy of God’s righteousness, nor will I ever be. I hear all that, with no hint of the Gospel to interrupt, to give me life, to restore my soul.
And when I feel shame, it blocks the Gospel. Shame makes my ears numb to the gospel. It no longer has the same effect it would have if applied before the law could smash me deeper into my hurt.
For an example of this you can watch a clip from the movie X-Men, the first movie of the trilogy. These movies are about a group of humans who has mutated and gained superpowers, it’s based on a series of comic books.
In these two scenes, you’ll see a girl named Rogue, whose power is to steal other people’s energy, in the case of mutants, their powers. You’ll also see the most famous X-Men, Wolverine, who has an impenetrable metal running through his body, Adamantium and also the power to heal extremely quickly. His dark past causes him to have nightmares, one of which he is having in the first scene.
You’ll see what happens, and the aftermath…
Watch X-Men from 38:30-40:34
Watch X-Men from 44:08-45:20
So this young boy Bobby (well it's really Mystique posing as Bobby) makes Rogue feel even worse for what she had done. She felt terrible already, and he drove her even further down to the point of self-loathing and great personal shame.
Paul says “I am not ashamed of the gospel” so let’s take that a few steps further, therefore I am not ashamed that my sins are forgiven, therefore I am not ashamed of the sins I have committed in the past, as the Lord says through the prophet Jeremiah, “I will remember their sins no more.” We should not wallow in sin that has been forgiven.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God does not call us to shame, he calls us to forgiveness, as Paul continues, “for in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed.” A righteousness from God is revealed and placed upon us as children of God “from first to last”
If we remain ashamed of our past sin, we are in great danger of being ashamed of the Gospel. We are in great danger of being ashamed of who we are as children of God, redeemed and restored by Christ on Calvary.
There are people out there, truly suffering, truly hurting inside from previous mistakes. They know their fault, they know their sin. And what do they receive? Very often they receive the Law. They receive dirty looks and a general segregation from society. We look down our noses at them, thinking that they are despicable people for their past conduct. We look at them Ashamed of the Gospel. We look at them hoping to make them feel worse for their actions instead of sharing with them the awesome power of the knowledge we have that Jesus Christ DIED FOR their sins and TOOK THEM AWAY!
Dear friends, this world is filled with people who are broken and hurting. It is filled with plenty of people who could care less about their sin, but it is filled also with people who know their sin and know no escape from it.
We perhaps wish to boil it down to if they are secure in their sin, then use the law, if they are broken in their sin, use the gospel.
Do you really think it is that simple for any one human being, that they can be labeled as secure or broken in their sin. All of us undoubtedly have some mixture of security and brokenness, but you can’t just look at a person and know that mixture. It takes a relationship, it takes time, it takes listening, not just “you’re a sinner” or “Jesus loves you”
Both are true statements, but letting somebody know that they are not mutually exclusive is very important. Yes you are a sinner, and yes Jesus loves you. As Paul writes in Romans 5, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Delivered May 29, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Overcoming Darkness (or the Dark Side)
Disclaimer: If you are not a Star Wars fan, do not bother reading this post.
As a wedding present, my wife and I received Episodes I, II, and III of Star Wars, so we took our gift cards and made sure we bought IV, V, and VI as well. And of course, we’ve watched them all already. I’m sure in the 12 plus hours of movie watching you could find many things that would connect Star Wars to the Christian faith, but this is the theme that I think is most prevalent.
Reference: John 1:1-14
I’m primarily going to focus on verse 5 – "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."
I’ll explain connections after you watch these two clips.
From Episode VI - Return of the Jedi watch from 1:23:38-1:25:41.
So here we see Luke attempting to convince his father to come back to the side of good. To let go of his hate, and return to his former self. But Vader says it is too late for him. He feels as though the darkness of the dark side has consumed him completely.
From Episode VI - Return of the Jedi watch from 1:55:52-1:57:30 (and beyond if you like)
And so we see that Luke was right, Vader could be turned. Throughout the series as we learn that Darth Vader is evil, people close to him, namely his wife, Senator Amidala (in Episode III) and his son, Luke (in Episode VI) defend Darth Vader, saying, "I know there is still good in him." For whatever reason they were able to see a light somewhere amidst the darkness of this machine-man.
It seems in our lives, it is exceptionally difficult to find the good or the light in certain people. Sin clouds our vision terribly, both our own sin, and the sin of other people around us, to the point where we often forget that each person we see each day was died for by the same Jesus who died and was raised for me and for you.
This light shining in the darkness of Darth Vader seems to be an internal goodness.
But the light that shines in each of us, in all of us, is a much more important light, a light that is much more difficult to extinguish, it is the light of Christ.
While it is of great importance to recognize this light in others, for the sake of community, reconciliation, and peace, it is as important and perhaps more difficult at times, to see that light in yourself. It’s so easy to beat ourselves up over the sins we commit on a daily, even hourly basis. So many people in this world, when met with the Gospel message seem too ashamed to realize that "yes, this can still speak to me." Rather they think as Darth Vader did, it is too late for me.
But it is not too late! The light of Christ shines in the darkness of our lives and the darkness has not overcome that light.
I don’t know Greek all that well anymore, but I know a few translations have translated this verse into English as, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it. Overcome and understood are very different terms in English, but I’m assuming in the Greek that there is a certain sense of intentional ambiguity. I think that works quite well for this illustration.
The darkness has not overcome the light of Christ in our lives. But for many people. They are excessively conflicted, much like Darth Vader. The darkness can’t understand this light that is inside them. They feel it, but they don’t know how to pay attention to it. They can’t figure out how to make it work for them, when the truth of the matter is, they don’t have to do the work. The Holy Spirit at work in our lives, helps us with this understanding.
While it is not easy by any means, we need to let go. Let go of trying to figure it out for ourselves and let God help. Let that light come forth and shine, stop holding it back, stop assuming it’s too late, stop hiding that light.
The light will continue to shine in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. Let it shine for others to see and for yourself to see.
Delivered May 23, 2008
As a wedding present, my wife and I received Episodes I, II, and III of Star Wars, so we took our gift cards and made sure we bought IV, V, and VI as well. And of course, we’ve watched them all already. I’m sure in the 12 plus hours of movie watching you could find many things that would connect Star Wars to the Christian faith, but this is the theme that I think is most prevalent.
Reference: John 1:1-14
I’m primarily going to focus on verse 5 – "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."
I’ll explain connections after you watch these two clips.
From Episode VI - Return of the Jedi watch from 1:23:38-1:25:41.
So here we see Luke attempting to convince his father to come back to the side of good. To let go of his hate, and return to his former self. But Vader says it is too late for him. He feels as though the darkness of the dark side has consumed him completely.
From Episode VI - Return of the Jedi watch from 1:55:52-1:57:30 (and beyond if you like)
And so we see that Luke was right, Vader could be turned. Throughout the series as we learn that Darth Vader is evil, people close to him, namely his wife, Senator Amidala (in Episode III) and his son, Luke (in Episode VI) defend Darth Vader, saying, "I know there is still good in him." For whatever reason they were able to see a light somewhere amidst the darkness of this machine-man.
It seems in our lives, it is exceptionally difficult to find the good or the light in certain people. Sin clouds our vision terribly, both our own sin, and the sin of other people around us, to the point where we often forget that each person we see each day was died for by the same Jesus who died and was raised for me and for you.
This light shining in the darkness of Darth Vader seems to be an internal goodness.
But the light that shines in each of us, in all of us, is a much more important light, a light that is much more difficult to extinguish, it is the light of Christ.
While it is of great importance to recognize this light in others, for the sake of community, reconciliation, and peace, it is as important and perhaps more difficult at times, to see that light in yourself. It’s so easy to beat ourselves up over the sins we commit on a daily, even hourly basis. So many people in this world, when met with the Gospel message seem too ashamed to realize that "yes, this can still speak to me." Rather they think as Darth Vader did, it is too late for me.
But it is not too late! The light of Christ shines in the darkness of our lives and the darkness has not overcome that light.
I don’t know Greek all that well anymore, but I know a few translations have translated this verse into English as, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it. Overcome and understood are very different terms in English, but I’m assuming in the Greek that there is a certain sense of intentional ambiguity. I think that works quite well for this illustration.
The darkness has not overcome the light of Christ in our lives. But for many people. They are excessively conflicted, much like Darth Vader. The darkness can’t understand this light that is inside them. They feel it, but they don’t know how to pay attention to it. They can’t figure out how to make it work for them, when the truth of the matter is, they don’t have to do the work. The Holy Spirit at work in our lives, helps us with this understanding.
While it is not easy by any means, we need to let go. Let go of trying to figure it out for ourselves and let God help. Let that light come forth and shine, stop holding it back, stop assuming it’s too late, stop hiding that light.
The light will continue to shine in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. Let it shine for others to see and for yourself to see.
Delivered May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Not a Tame God
If you haven't gone to see Prince Caspian yet, be forewarned. I don't talk too much about plot lines, well at least not predictable ones. I'll post other thoughts in more blog form and less public speaking form within the next few days.
Delivered May 22, 2008
If you haven't seen Prince Caspian, I’d recommend it. I won’t say it is as good as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it is just a very different movie. More medieval warfare than a story of growing up and being brave.
The Christian nature of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is inescapable. It is very clear how the death and resurrection of Aslan reflects the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In Prince Caspian, the dialogue on faith is much more subtle, allowing people like me to dig deeply into it.
I looked through youtube and couldn’t find the clip I wanted to show, when it is available, I'll put a link in here.
So for now I’ll simply quote/paraphrase the scene I wish to use as an illustration.
At one point in the movie, there is a bit of a power struggle between Prince Caspian and the High King Peter Pevensie. Caspian wants to stay at the stone table fortress and ward off the attacking armies from there. Peter wants to go to the enemies’ castle and bombard them with a surprise attack. Both options seem rather gloomy and defeat seems inevitable. Lucy, the youngest queen of Narnia gets everyone’s attention and says, and I’m paraphrasing "why does everyone assume there are only two options, die here, or die at the castle?" and there’s some argument here and there and Lucy calls Peter out, smacking him in the face with his pride, "or did you forget who really defeated the White Witch?" Peter still filled with pride responds, "I think we’ve waited for Aslan long enough." And he goes forth to attack the castle and lose many soldiers.
Isn’t that how it is in our lives so frequently. We just plain think we know better than anyone else. We are too stubborn to hear the words of truth ringing through our ears, from any other source We continue to think, no, I’m right and nobody will convince me otherwise.
Peter thinks Aslan has abandoned them, that he is gone, that he doesn’t care about them anymore, perhaps even that Aslan doesn’t exist anymore. And what’s worse, he thinks he doesn’t need Aslan anymore. He thinks he can do it alone.
I know I’ve felt that way about God. If God really cared about me, he’d show up right now and help so I could see what he was doing, so I could know he hasn’t abandoned me, but I can do it alone. I don’t need him.
I’m sure in some way we all have done that.
We see it illustrated throughout scripture. Notably Jonah. God says go to Nineveh and Jonah says, no, I think I’ll run in the opposite direction.
Also the attitude of being forsaken is many Psalms.
From Psalm 10 – "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"
From Psalm 13 – "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"
From Psalm 22, some words from Jesus’ own lips on the cross – "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
But now, we understand, that since God forsook Jesus on the cross and poured out his wrath on his only Son, that we no longer need to fear being forsaken. Paul says in Romans "The wages of sin is death." Death, being forsaken by God so that your life is no longer intact. yet he continues… "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Yes we have earned death with our sinning. We deserve it. But grace abounds because of Christ who died in our place, so that our death is not an eternal death, but rather a death that knows that since Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised with him.
Eventually, Peter realizes his error and sends Lucy to find Aslan because he knows he can’t win by himself. Aslan shows up and does help, but in his own time, and in his own way. As the saying goes, "He’s not a tame lion." Just as our God is not a "tame God." We can’t put God into a box or wrap him around our finger and say do this for me now God. God can’t be put in a box, nor should we ever try to do so.
It seems that when God is placed in a box, he bursts out of it, much like he burst out of the tomb after it had been closed. If death could not hold him, how can we expect to?
And we should be glad that we cannot, because as the prophet Isaiah writes, '"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.' declares the Lord." And what great news, because his ways are superior to our ways. Amen.
Delivered May 22, 2008
If you haven't seen Prince Caspian, I’d recommend it. I won’t say it is as good as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it is just a very different movie. More medieval warfare than a story of growing up and being brave.
The Christian nature of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is inescapable. It is very clear how the death and resurrection of Aslan reflects the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In Prince Caspian, the dialogue on faith is much more subtle, allowing people like me to dig deeply into it.
I looked through youtube and couldn’t find the clip I wanted to show, when it is available, I'll put a link in here.
So for now I’ll simply quote/paraphrase the scene I wish to use as an illustration.
At one point in the movie, there is a bit of a power struggle between Prince Caspian and the High King Peter Pevensie. Caspian wants to stay at the stone table fortress and ward off the attacking armies from there. Peter wants to go to the enemies’ castle and bombard them with a surprise attack. Both options seem rather gloomy and defeat seems inevitable. Lucy, the youngest queen of Narnia gets everyone’s attention and says, and I’m paraphrasing "why does everyone assume there are only two options, die here, or die at the castle?" and there’s some argument here and there and Lucy calls Peter out, smacking him in the face with his pride, "or did you forget who really defeated the White Witch?" Peter still filled with pride responds, "I think we’ve waited for Aslan long enough." And he goes forth to attack the castle and lose many soldiers.
Isn’t that how it is in our lives so frequently. We just plain think we know better than anyone else. We are too stubborn to hear the words of truth ringing through our ears, from any other source We continue to think, no, I’m right and nobody will convince me otherwise.
Peter thinks Aslan has abandoned them, that he is gone, that he doesn’t care about them anymore, perhaps even that Aslan doesn’t exist anymore. And what’s worse, he thinks he doesn’t need Aslan anymore. He thinks he can do it alone.
I know I’ve felt that way about God. If God really cared about me, he’d show up right now and help so I could see what he was doing, so I could know he hasn’t abandoned me, but I can do it alone. I don’t need him.
I’m sure in some way we all have done that.
We see it illustrated throughout scripture. Notably Jonah. God says go to Nineveh and Jonah says, no, I think I’ll run in the opposite direction.
Also the attitude of being forsaken is many Psalms.
From Psalm 10 – "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"
From Psalm 13 – "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"
From Psalm 22, some words from Jesus’ own lips on the cross – "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
But now, we understand, that since God forsook Jesus on the cross and poured out his wrath on his only Son, that we no longer need to fear being forsaken. Paul says in Romans "The wages of sin is death." Death, being forsaken by God so that your life is no longer intact. yet he continues… "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Yes we have earned death with our sinning. We deserve it. But grace abounds because of Christ who died in our place, so that our death is not an eternal death, but rather a death that knows that since Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised with him.
Eventually, Peter realizes his error and sends Lucy to find Aslan because he knows he can’t win by himself. Aslan shows up and does help, but in his own time, and in his own way. As the saying goes, "He’s not a tame lion." Just as our God is not a "tame God." We can’t put God into a box or wrap him around our finger and say do this for me now God. God can’t be put in a box, nor should we ever try to do so.
It seems that when God is placed in a box, he bursts out of it, much like he burst out of the tomb after it had been closed. If death could not hold him, how can we expect to?
And we should be glad that we cannot, because as the prophet Isaiah writes, '"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.' declares the Lord." And what great news, because his ways are superior to our ways. Amen.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Come Back to Me and Say My Land is Best
Reference: Joel 2:12-19
I will be focusing on three main words from that lesson, “Return to Me.” The Lord calls for us to return to him when we have gone astray and he will receive us with steadfast love. We hear much of this from the Gospel of John when Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I imagine what the voice of the LORD sounds like, I think about the Charlton Heston movie the 10 commandments with the voice of the Lord being deep, full, rich and slow. “Moses, Moses…” and when I think about that type of a voice I think about Treebeard…Treebeard is as many of you know from the magical land of Middle Earth, a land that JRR Tolkien writes about in his famed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Treebeard is an Ent. An ent is a type of shepherd for trees, ents can walk and talk and do all sorts of things. They are strong, powerful, wise, and never hasty.
Now Treebeard appears in the second part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and he is surprisingly quite the poet. We get a taste of one of his compositions in the movie, but not the whole thing, This composition tells of how the ents, all males, have lost the entwives, all females.
So keeping that in mind, here is the entire poem.
An excerpt from " The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
ENT: When Spring unfolds the beechen leaf, and sap is in the bough; When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow; When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain-air, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is fair!
ENTWIFE.: When Spring is come to garth and field, and corn is in the blade; When blossom like a shining snow is on the orchard laid; When shower and Sun upon the Earth with fragrance fill the air, I’ll linger here, and will not come, because my land is fair.
ENT.: When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold; When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best!
ENTWIFE. : When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown; When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town; When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West, I’ll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best!
ENT.: When Winter comes, the winter wild that hill and wood shall slay; When trees shall fall and starless night devour the sunless day; When wind is in the deadly East, then in the bitter rain I’ll look for thee, and call to thee; I’ll come to thee again!
ENTWIFE : When Winter comes, and singing ends; when darkness falls at last; When broken is the barren bough, and light and labour past; I’ll look for thee, and wait for thee, until we meet again: Together we will take the road beneath the bitter rain!
BOTH : Together we will take the road that leads into the West, And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.
Now doesn’t that sound an awful lot like us? And I don’t mean our typical male/female romantic relationships, but rather a relationship we are all involved in together.
We know from Scripture that Christ is the bridegroom and we the church are the bride, so let’s pretend like Christ is the Ent and we are the Entwife.
Christ is calling us back, back to his land to his ways which are best. And we stand and argue saying “No thanks Jesus, I like where I am at here without you.” And we’re good through the Springs and Summers of life, until the winters of life come, the bitter wind, rain and cold. And in that time when we are in peril, before we call out for help or even realize we need help, Jesus is already on the lookout for us. Coming to us in our sin, coming to us in our stubbornness, and he finds us. As Paul says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we were still stubborn in our ways, loving our earthly things, God sent Christ into the world to take on sin, and sin’s punishment of death and Christ conquered them both and was raised from the dead.
Paul reflects on this firsthand on how it effected his life in 1 Timothy.
Reference: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
How beautiful. “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
How true, Christ as bridegroom shows his perfect patience to us his imperfect and ever impatient bride. And He comes after us, enters our world and saves us from the peril that most certainly would await us.
So how appropriate that we speak of this so near to the day of St. Valentine, who according to some was known for marrying people who weren’t supposed to get married for whatever reason.
And how fitting for us. There is no reason God should have chosen us, the church, to be Christ’s bride. We are so far below what Christ would deserve from a bride, and yet God decides to unite us in perfect union by the blood of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
This can be shown in another of Paul’s writings.
Reference: Colossians 1:17-23
And all that brings us back to the reading from the Prophet Joel, “Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD weep and say Spare your people O LORD and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations”
And indeed through Christ we are above reproach and we are at peace with God through Christ’s blood.
Delivered February 15, 2008
I will be focusing on three main words from that lesson, “Return to Me.” The Lord calls for us to return to him when we have gone astray and he will receive us with steadfast love. We hear much of this from the Gospel of John when Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I imagine what the voice of the LORD sounds like, I think about the Charlton Heston movie the 10 commandments with the voice of the Lord being deep, full, rich and slow. “Moses, Moses…” and when I think about that type of a voice I think about Treebeard…Treebeard is as many of you know from the magical land of Middle Earth, a land that JRR Tolkien writes about in his famed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Treebeard is an Ent. An ent is a type of shepherd for trees, ents can walk and talk and do all sorts of things. They are strong, powerful, wise, and never hasty.
Now Treebeard appears in the second part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and he is surprisingly quite the poet. We get a taste of one of his compositions in the movie, but not the whole thing, This composition tells of how the ents, all males, have lost the entwives, all females.
So keeping that in mind, here is the entire poem.
An excerpt from " The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
ENT: When Spring unfolds the beechen leaf, and sap is in the bough; When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow; When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain-air, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is fair!
ENTWIFE.: When Spring is come to garth and field, and corn is in the blade; When blossom like a shining snow is on the orchard laid; When shower and Sun upon the Earth with fragrance fill the air, I’ll linger here, and will not come, because my land is fair.
ENT.: When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold; When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best!
ENTWIFE. : When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown; When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town; When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West, I’ll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best!
ENT.: When Winter comes, the winter wild that hill and wood shall slay; When trees shall fall and starless night devour the sunless day; When wind is in the deadly East, then in the bitter rain I’ll look for thee, and call to thee; I’ll come to thee again!
ENTWIFE : When Winter comes, and singing ends; when darkness falls at last; When broken is the barren bough, and light and labour past; I’ll look for thee, and wait for thee, until we meet again: Together we will take the road beneath the bitter rain!
BOTH : Together we will take the road that leads into the West, And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.
Now doesn’t that sound an awful lot like us? And I don’t mean our typical male/female romantic relationships, but rather a relationship we are all involved in together.
We know from Scripture that Christ is the bridegroom and we the church are the bride, so let’s pretend like Christ is the Ent and we are the Entwife.
Christ is calling us back, back to his land to his ways which are best. And we stand and argue saying “No thanks Jesus, I like where I am at here without you.” And we’re good through the Springs and Summers of life, until the winters of life come, the bitter wind, rain and cold. And in that time when we are in peril, before we call out for help or even realize we need help, Jesus is already on the lookout for us. Coming to us in our sin, coming to us in our stubbornness, and he finds us. As Paul says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we were still stubborn in our ways, loving our earthly things, God sent Christ into the world to take on sin, and sin’s punishment of death and Christ conquered them both and was raised from the dead.
Paul reflects on this firsthand on how it effected his life in 1 Timothy.
Reference: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
How beautiful. “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
How true, Christ as bridegroom shows his perfect patience to us his imperfect and ever impatient bride. And He comes after us, enters our world and saves us from the peril that most certainly would await us.
So how appropriate that we speak of this so near to the day of St. Valentine, who according to some was known for marrying people who weren’t supposed to get married for whatever reason.
And how fitting for us. There is no reason God should have chosen us, the church, to be Christ’s bride. We are so far below what Christ would deserve from a bride, and yet God decides to unite us in perfect union by the blood of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
This can be shown in another of Paul’s writings.
Reference: Colossians 1:17-23
And all that brings us back to the reading from the Prophet Joel, “Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD weep and say Spare your people O LORD and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations”
And indeed through Christ we are above reproach and we are at peace with God through Christ’s blood.
Delivered February 15, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Conversion
Reference: Acts 9:1-22
Conversion…The reading from Acts 9 tells what I would say is the most famous conversion story of all time. The story of someone filled with disbelief in the one true God coming to faith and the knowledge of the truth. This story is about someone who not only disbelieved, but someone who persecuted the followers of Christ, hated the idea that the Messiah had come, and had killed those who were preaching Christ crucified and raised from the dead. This Saul, later known as Paul, not only was converted to become a believer, but to an Apostle of Christ, to the man who went on Missionary journeys to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and show them the power of Christ crucified and raised from the dead, the man who wrote numerous letters to churches throughout the world many of which have been saved and are now placed in holy scripture.
How strange this conversion must seem to anybody who has ever converted. Usually in our culture when we speak of conversion or know anybody who has actually been converted to Christianity, we are speaking of people who have been on the fence and unsure about this Jesus guy for quite a long time, and about this book called the Bible, and eventually through much careful thought and deliberation and a whole lot of work from the Holy Spirit, these people come to faith in Christ and believe that he was crucified and raised from the dead for the forgiveness of their sins.
It is very seldom that we find such immediate change from one side of the spectrum to the other. People often seem to move much slower than that, we don’t expect change overnight. But this was the hand of God at work in Saul’s life, calling him to faith, calling him to ministry, calling him to serve.
I’m now going to show you a more modern version of “conversion” not to the Christian faith, but more generally from evil to good. It is from the box office smash hit Spiderman 3. In this clip, you will see Spiderman aka Peter Parker in a black suit, not his usual red and blue. This suit has made him turn into a terrible and powerful creature and he wants it to stop. And you will see the man who will become his nemesis, Eddie Brock praying for something quite unusual. Let’s watch.
Clip… (coming soon)
So Eddie prays that Peter Parker would die. Isn’t that a bit strange. I am fairly certain I’ve never prayed a person would die. I’m sure I have sinfully wished so in my heart, but I’ve never gathered the nerve to ask God to take someone’s life.
But you’ve got to wonder if maybe some Christian people in the first century AD didn’t pray that Saul would be killed. He was “breathing threats and murder against them” he was making their lives miserable, his death would have made things much easier for followers of Christ, and in fact it did.
Did you see where Saul died in the text.
I’ll recap Saul’s death.
“So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hand on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized!”
And in being baptized, he died. He died the death that all of us who have been baptized have died. The death of which Saul, better known as Paul to us writes of in Romans.
Reference: Romans 6:3-11
So you see this prayer for death of another person, may be one of the most loving prayers one can pray for another, in the correct context of course. Eddie wasn’t justified in praying for the death of Peter Parker, but in a way what he prayed for happens, even if it wasn’t what he truly wanted.
But praying that a person may die to sin and become filled with the Holy Spirit through the water and words baptism may truly be a life saving prayer. Amen.
Delivered January 25, 2008.
Conversion…The reading from Acts 9 tells what I would say is the most famous conversion story of all time. The story of someone filled with disbelief in the one true God coming to faith and the knowledge of the truth. This story is about someone who not only disbelieved, but someone who persecuted the followers of Christ, hated the idea that the Messiah had come, and had killed those who were preaching Christ crucified and raised from the dead. This Saul, later known as Paul, not only was converted to become a believer, but to an Apostle of Christ, to the man who went on Missionary journeys to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and show them the power of Christ crucified and raised from the dead, the man who wrote numerous letters to churches throughout the world many of which have been saved and are now placed in holy scripture.
How strange this conversion must seem to anybody who has ever converted. Usually in our culture when we speak of conversion or know anybody who has actually been converted to Christianity, we are speaking of people who have been on the fence and unsure about this Jesus guy for quite a long time, and about this book called the Bible, and eventually through much careful thought and deliberation and a whole lot of work from the Holy Spirit, these people come to faith in Christ and believe that he was crucified and raised from the dead for the forgiveness of their sins.
It is very seldom that we find such immediate change from one side of the spectrum to the other. People often seem to move much slower than that, we don’t expect change overnight. But this was the hand of God at work in Saul’s life, calling him to faith, calling him to ministry, calling him to serve.
I’m now going to show you a more modern version of “conversion” not to the Christian faith, but more generally from evil to good. It is from the box office smash hit Spiderman 3. In this clip, you will see Spiderman aka Peter Parker in a black suit, not his usual red and blue. This suit has made him turn into a terrible and powerful creature and he wants it to stop. And you will see the man who will become his nemesis, Eddie Brock praying for something quite unusual. Let’s watch.
Clip… (coming soon)
So Eddie prays that Peter Parker would die. Isn’t that a bit strange. I am fairly certain I’ve never prayed a person would die. I’m sure I have sinfully wished so in my heart, but I’ve never gathered the nerve to ask God to take someone’s life.
But you’ve got to wonder if maybe some Christian people in the first century AD didn’t pray that Saul would be killed. He was “breathing threats and murder against them” he was making their lives miserable, his death would have made things much easier for followers of Christ, and in fact it did.
Did you see where Saul died in the text.
I’ll recap Saul’s death.
“So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hand on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized!”
And in being baptized, he died. He died the death that all of us who have been baptized have died. The death of which Saul, better known as Paul to us writes of in Romans.
Reference: Romans 6:3-11
So you see this prayer for death of another person, may be one of the most loving prayers one can pray for another, in the correct context of course. Eddie wasn’t justified in praying for the death of Peter Parker, but in a way what he prayed for happens, even if it wasn’t what he truly wanted.
But praying that a person may die to sin and become filled with the Holy Spirit through the water and words baptism may truly be a life saving prayer. Amen.
Delivered January 25, 2008.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer
In the season of Advent there a few key phrases that come to mind, they include, waiting, preparing, being ready, and Christ is coming.
The following lesson focuses on the word “prepare.” Matthew speaks of John the Baptist preparing the way for the true Messiah, that is Jesus Christ to begin his ministry.
Reference: Matthew 3:1-12
In the frantic world that we live in, we also do a lot of things to prepare for Christmas. Maybe you put up a Christmas tree, or decorate your yard with a dazzling display of lights. Maybe you go to the Hollidazzle parade and check out Macy’s 8th floor. Maybe you go out and buy presents for all of your family and friends, or send Christmas cards. It may sound a bit silly, but one of the things I do to prepare for Christmas is something I’m sure many of you do and that is watching Christmas movies with my friends and family. There are 5 movies that are must sees during the holiday season, in no particular order. Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Home Alone 2 and Elf, and
I’m going to share with you a portion of the movie Elf. This clip requires little introduction, just know that Will Ferrell’s character, Buddy the Elf, grew up at the north pole in santa’s workshop surrounded by elves and nobody in this scene knows that about him. Enjoy.
Watch clip... (will be available soon)
A couple key phrases to remember.
“But Santa’s coming there is so much to do…”
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
Now just to be clear, I in no way am trying to say that Jesus and Santa Claus are the same person nor am I trying to draw any similarities whatsoever other than they are important to their respective stories.
My point is this. In preparation for Santa coming, Buddy goes all out and creates a fantastic Christmas montage, because he wants Santa’s coming to be beautiful and wonderful. He does it all out of love, excitement, and joy.
In your preparations for our celebration of Christ’s coming, while you’re putting up the lights, the tree, or whatever else it happens to be, are you preparing as Buddy with joy, love, wonder, amazement, or is it with stress, anxiety, fear and necessity. I think a very important lesson can be learned from Buddy the Elf, he seems rather wise in his attitude and even his words are captivating. He says to the young lady Jovi, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear” Perhaps we need to tweak that a little bit, but it’s a good start.
How about The best way to spread Christmas cheer is telling people about Jesus, about his birth, about his life, about his death, about his resurrected life and about his ascension into heaven. That’s why we spoke the Nicene creed toward the beginning of this service, to profess those things of the faith we all hold together, which includes Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection “for us and for our salvation.”
So as you prepare for Christmas to come with all of the typical things such as the tree, the lights, the presents etc. remember that while you’re doing all that, you can reflect upon Jesus and you can spread true Christmas cheer, by telling others about Him.
Delivered December 11, 2007
The following lesson focuses on the word “prepare.” Matthew speaks of John the Baptist preparing the way for the true Messiah, that is Jesus Christ to begin his ministry.
Reference: Matthew 3:1-12
In the frantic world that we live in, we also do a lot of things to prepare for Christmas. Maybe you put up a Christmas tree, or decorate your yard with a dazzling display of lights. Maybe you go to the Hollidazzle parade and check out Macy’s 8th floor. Maybe you go out and buy presents for all of your family and friends, or send Christmas cards. It may sound a bit silly, but one of the things I do to prepare for Christmas is something I’m sure many of you do and that is watching Christmas movies with my friends and family. There are 5 movies that are must sees during the holiday season, in no particular order. Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Home Alone 2 and Elf, and
I’m going to share with you a portion of the movie Elf. This clip requires little introduction, just know that Will Ferrell’s character, Buddy the Elf, grew up at the north pole in santa’s workshop surrounded by elves and nobody in this scene knows that about him. Enjoy.
Watch clip... (will be available soon)
A couple key phrases to remember.
“But Santa’s coming there is so much to do…”
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
Now just to be clear, I in no way am trying to say that Jesus and Santa Claus are the same person nor am I trying to draw any similarities whatsoever other than they are important to their respective stories.
My point is this. In preparation for Santa coming, Buddy goes all out and creates a fantastic Christmas montage, because he wants Santa’s coming to be beautiful and wonderful. He does it all out of love, excitement, and joy.
In your preparations for our celebration of Christ’s coming, while you’re putting up the lights, the tree, or whatever else it happens to be, are you preparing as Buddy with joy, love, wonder, amazement, or is it with stress, anxiety, fear and necessity. I think a very important lesson can be learned from Buddy the Elf, he seems rather wise in his attitude and even his words are captivating. He says to the young lady Jovi, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear” Perhaps we need to tweak that a little bit, but it’s a good start.
How about The best way to spread Christmas cheer is telling people about Jesus, about his birth, about his life, about his death, about his resurrected life and about his ascension into heaven. That’s why we spoke the Nicene creed toward the beginning of this service, to profess those things of the faith we all hold together, which includes Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection “for us and for our salvation.”
So as you prepare for Christmas to come with all of the typical things such as the tree, the lights, the presents etc. remember that while you’re doing all that, you can reflect upon Jesus and you can spread true Christmas cheer, by telling others about Him.
Delivered December 11, 2007
Squeaky Clean
Have you ever just felt dirty and disgusting? I know growing up on a farm there were plenty of times when I felt dirty and disgusting. Probably the worst was baling straw in the July heat. It was generally my responsibility to stack the bales in the loft of the barn where temperatures soared to above 120 degrees at points. Dust never settled and we’d bale between 2000 and 2500 bales in two or three days. After each day, not only was I exhausted and 15 pounds lighter, but I felt like everything, from my hair to my feet was just dirty, not only that, my lungs, inside of my mouth, inside of my nose and ears were filled with dust and dirt. I would take a shower, but I still felt dirty for days afterward. I itched from all of the tiny cuts I sustained on my arms, I couldn’t breathe quite right from all of the dust I inhaled, and no matter how often I cleaned my ears or blew my nose, there was still more junk waiting to come out.
Now perhaps you’ve been fortunate enough to avoid the dirtiness that comes with baling straw in July’s 90 degree heat, but there is a dirtiness of another kind, that I’m certain you have not avoided and cannot avoid. It is the filthiness of your own self. It is the disgusting feeling of guilt you receive after you have sinned. It is the unavoidable stain of who you are as a human being.
You can read the words of the Lord to his people of Judah, from the prophet Isaiah, after they had rebelled against their Lord.
Reference: Isaiah 1:10-18
How often do we become like the people of Judah, rebelling against our Lord with sins of every kind. Becoming dirtier and dirtier. Isaiah even writes that the people of Judah’s hands are full of blood. It is difficult to become much dirtier than that.
The Lord pleads with the people for them to wash themselves, and to stop doing evil.
For our illustration today. I’m going to ask you to read a section from C.S. Lewis’s “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” This story is part of the Chronicles of Narnia.
For a little bit of context. The main character speaking in this section is named Eustace. He is the cousin of Edmond, Lucy, Susan and Peter, who you hopefully remember from previous stories. Eustace is a nasty little boy who has done nothing but be a whining brat ever since he arrived in Narnia. Due to his brattiness and greediness, he has since been turned into a dragon and there is a bracelet wrapped around his arm or front leg that is causing him considerable pain. In the section, Eustace is recounting how he was turned back into a boy.
Voyage of Dawn Treader Reading (exactly what portion will be available shortly)
So not only was Eustace dirty with his wretched personality as a boy, he was so wretched it turned him into a dragon, filled with scales and smoke filled nostrils and all sorts of other things that are gross by our standards.
At this point, Eustace had realized that he was being quite nasty and wants nothing more than to not feel so dirty from being nasty to everybody. He also is quite concerned with relieving the pain in his arm that has become so excruciating.
But notice what happens. Eustace tries to do what Aslan, the great lion says, but he can’t, he can’t cleanse himself at all. He rips his dirty disgusting skin off, but it grows right back, as hard and terrible as ever.
It is at this point, that Eustace perhaps should have brought his Bible to Narnia, so he could pray Psalm 130.
Reference: Psalm 130
Eustace had fallen, just as all humanity into the depths of sin and he cannot get out on his own. Aslan, the great Lion let’s Eustace know what happens. Aslan rips off the scales of Eustace to the very depth of his being and throws him into the water and Eustace comes out a completely different creature. More refreshed, thankful, and pleasant than he has ever been because Aslan did for Eustace, what Eustace could not do himself and that is be fully cleansed.
In our lives we also cannot be fully cleansed by ourselves. We cannot just decide one day to be washed in such a way that we will never again be dirty. We are drawn to the filthiness of sin and cannot escape it alone, but Christ acts on our behalf and dies for our sin, and we are only made truly clean by his blood.
Thanks to Christ’s saving act of death and resurrection we are cleansed. We have been given the gift of baptism to drown our wretched human natures within and put in their place Christ himself, sinless and perfect. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Our sinful clothes are thrown away and we live with Christ.
So even when we feel the dirtiness of sin, we can remember that we have been washed clean by the blood of Christ himself.
It is impossible to become any cleaner than that. Amen.
Delivered November 9, 2007
Now perhaps you’ve been fortunate enough to avoid the dirtiness that comes with baling straw in July’s 90 degree heat, but there is a dirtiness of another kind, that I’m certain you have not avoided and cannot avoid. It is the filthiness of your own self. It is the disgusting feeling of guilt you receive after you have sinned. It is the unavoidable stain of who you are as a human being.
You can read the words of the Lord to his people of Judah, from the prophet Isaiah, after they had rebelled against their Lord.
Reference: Isaiah 1:10-18
How often do we become like the people of Judah, rebelling against our Lord with sins of every kind. Becoming dirtier and dirtier. Isaiah even writes that the people of Judah’s hands are full of blood. It is difficult to become much dirtier than that.
The Lord pleads with the people for them to wash themselves, and to stop doing evil.
For our illustration today. I’m going to ask you to read a section from C.S. Lewis’s “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” This story is part of the Chronicles of Narnia.
For a little bit of context. The main character speaking in this section is named Eustace. He is the cousin of Edmond, Lucy, Susan and Peter, who you hopefully remember from previous stories. Eustace is a nasty little boy who has done nothing but be a whining brat ever since he arrived in Narnia. Due to his brattiness and greediness, he has since been turned into a dragon and there is a bracelet wrapped around his arm or front leg that is causing him considerable pain. In the section, Eustace is recounting how he was turned back into a boy.
Voyage of Dawn Treader Reading (exactly what portion will be available shortly)
So not only was Eustace dirty with his wretched personality as a boy, he was so wretched it turned him into a dragon, filled with scales and smoke filled nostrils and all sorts of other things that are gross by our standards.
At this point, Eustace had realized that he was being quite nasty and wants nothing more than to not feel so dirty from being nasty to everybody. He also is quite concerned with relieving the pain in his arm that has become so excruciating.
But notice what happens. Eustace tries to do what Aslan, the great lion says, but he can’t, he can’t cleanse himself at all. He rips his dirty disgusting skin off, but it grows right back, as hard and terrible as ever.
It is at this point, that Eustace perhaps should have brought his Bible to Narnia, so he could pray Psalm 130.
Reference: Psalm 130
Eustace had fallen, just as all humanity into the depths of sin and he cannot get out on his own. Aslan, the great Lion let’s Eustace know what happens. Aslan rips off the scales of Eustace to the very depth of his being and throws him into the water and Eustace comes out a completely different creature. More refreshed, thankful, and pleasant than he has ever been because Aslan did for Eustace, what Eustace could not do himself and that is be fully cleansed.
In our lives we also cannot be fully cleansed by ourselves. We cannot just decide one day to be washed in such a way that we will never again be dirty. We are drawn to the filthiness of sin and cannot escape it alone, but Christ acts on our behalf and dies for our sin, and we are only made truly clean by his blood.
Thanks to Christ’s saving act of death and resurrection we are cleansed. We have been given the gift of baptism to drown our wretched human natures within and put in their place Christ himself, sinless and perfect. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Our sinful clothes are thrown away and we live with Christ.
So even when we feel the dirtiness of sin, we can remember that we have been washed clean by the blood of Christ himself.
It is impossible to become any cleaner than that. Amen.
Delivered November 9, 2007
Promoted and Renamed
It will help if before reading this post you reference Genesis 32:22-30
In most men, there is a basic desire and hope for the ability to physically dominate all other males in the room. I believe most of the males in the room will agree with me that they at some point have played the game, whether in their own minds or out loud with friends as to who they could beat up in a fight. It was somewhat humbling for me to realize in my later years of college that many of my friend could very easily pummel me if they so chose to do. Many males seek to idolize people who are the best in some physical proportion. I believe this is why the sport of Ultimate Fighting has reached an unseen height in popularity recently. Being the dominate male of a group provides a sense control. “We’re going to do what I say, or I’ll just knock your teeth out.” Controlling people by force does have its allure.
To illustrate this let’s watch a series of clips from undoubtedly the most popular television show amongst CSP students, The Office. This episode is aptly named “The Fight” you will see Michael Scott, the regional manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company along with Dwight, Assistant to the Regional Manager. I’ll let you just watch the rest.
Watch Clip... (The clips will be available shortly)
So Dwight is provoked to punch Michael, Michael and Dwight fight at Dwight’s Dojo and Michael seemingly beats Dwight up. Then Michael repairs the relationship by promoting Dwight well sort of, at the very least by re-titling him.
That similar to Jacob wrestling with God, God “touching Jacob’s hip socket” and then God renaming Jacob, Israel.
Michael dominates Dwight for the sake of their relationship. Michael has to let Dwight know he is still the boss. God let’s Jacob know who the boss is with His superhuman ability to devastate Jacob with a single touch. This injury for Jacob and this fight for Jacob were things that kept him ever remembering his struggle with the Lord.
So what about the Title/Name change?
Notice, Jacob gives his name freely, and his name at this point, is not a very good one. Jacob in giving his name is admitting his own guilt, that he is a cheater and cheated Esau out of his birthright blessing. The change of his name to Israel, shows the man formerly known as Jacob his new direction. It is a blessing that lets him know that he is forgiven, and he can start over in a new relationship with his Lord. No longer as a cheater, but rather as one who has over come his struggles because of the new relationship with God, that comes through the struggle.
Michael promotes Dwight from Assistant to the Regional Manager to Assistant Regional Manager. And we may think that is absolutely nothing and simple semantics, but for Dwight Schrute, this promotion is pretty much the most important moment of his life.
Dwight does not prevail in his fight with Michael. He is humbled just as Jacob is humbled. But after being humbled he is brought more near to Michael than he has ever been before with the simple removing of two words from his Job Title.
The relationship between Michael and Dwight was on the rocks, and it is restored with a change in title, a change in direction. In essence Michael says to Dwight, you were going backwards in being humbled, but now, you need to get up and go forward, into uncharted waters and unfamiliar territory, with me helping you along the way.
How true that also is for Jacob who was in some serious trouble at this point as he is about to fight his own brother Esau for misdeeds 20 years previous. But Jacob is humbled by this fight with God. Jacob is devastated by God’s touch and Jacob is renamed. So that his past is stopped at this very point, he leaves behind Jacob and is blessed with that fresh start as Israel and walks into a conflict with Esau that is a guaranteed success, with the Lord’s intervening.
Jacob’s struggle with God, his perseverance through the struggle lead to his renaming. With such a name as Israel, his ancestors will see that Jacob struggled with God and men and triumphed and when they are reminded of that, they can have hope that they themselves can overcome struggles and triumph thanks to the relationship and the new direction they now have with the LORD.
We too have this in our own baptism. Perhaps we were not renamed formally, I’m still Andrew, you’re still William, etc. etc.
But we all were taken from the name of SIN and renamed SAINT thanks to the struggle not of Jacob, but thanks to the struggle of God himself in Jesus Christ.
We were in the spot of Jacob or of Dwight. Humbled, unable to ensure a solid outcome on our own, but the LORD doesn’t just let us get smashed to pieces. He takes our struggles whether with the world or with God himself and throws them on his own Son and says there, now you will not be punished for your sin, because there is one who has been punished for it. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So Jesus is named sin and we are named the righteousness of God, pretty good name, don’t you think?
If you read through the next few chapters of Genesis, and even the rest of the Scriptures, you’ll notice that Jacob is not called Israel all of the time. He is referred to by both names. Just as we, even though we are Saints in Christ, are still sinners in this world. That paradox is a struggle and a fight in and of itself for us.
Dwight in later episodes fondly recalls his promotion to Assistant Regional Manager. He considers it one of the greatest moments of his life. That change is very important to him, whether we see it or not.
Jacob’s name, the memory of fighting with God and his injury were reminders to him of who he was as Jacob and who was to be as Israel, in a new relationship with the LORD and on a new path in the LORD. Just as we through Jesus’ death and resurrection are reminded of who we once were, lost in this world in great need of rescuing as Sinners, and who we are now, in a new relationship with God as Saints of his kingdom. Amen.
Delivered October 26, 2007
In most men, there is a basic desire and hope for the ability to physically dominate all other males in the room. I believe most of the males in the room will agree with me that they at some point have played the game, whether in their own minds or out loud with friends as to who they could beat up in a fight. It was somewhat humbling for me to realize in my later years of college that many of my friend could very easily pummel me if they so chose to do. Many males seek to idolize people who are the best in some physical proportion. I believe this is why the sport of Ultimate Fighting has reached an unseen height in popularity recently. Being the dominate male of a group provides a sense control. “We’re going to do what I say, or I’ll just knock your teeth out.” Controlling people by force does have its allure.
To illustrate this let’s watch a series of clips from undoubtedly the most popular television show amongst CSP students, The Office. This episode is aptly named “The Fight” you will see Michael Scott, the regional manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company along with Dwight, Assistant to the Regional Manager. I’ll let you just watch the rest.
Watch Clip... (The clips will be available shortly)
So Dwight is provoked to punch Michael, Michael and Dwight fight at Dwight’s Dojo and Michael seemingly beats Dwight up. Then Michael repairs the relationship by promoting Dwight well sort of, at the very least by re-titling him.
That similar to Jacob wrestling with God, God “touching Jacob’s hip socket” and then God renaming Jacob, Israel.
Michael dominates Dwight for the sake of their relationship. Michael has to let Dwight know he is still the boss. God let’s Jacob know who the boss is with His superhuman ability to devastate Jacob with a single touch. This injury for Jacob and this fight for Jacob were things that kept him ever remembering his struggle with the Lord.
So what about the Title/Name change?
Notice, Jacob gives his name freely, and his name at this point, is not a very good one. Jacob in giving his name is admitting his own guilt, that he is a cheater and cheated Esau out of his birthright blessing. The change of his name to Israel, shows the man formerly known as Jacob his new direction. It is a blessing that lets him know that he is forgiven, and he can start over in a new relationship with his Lord. No longer as a cheater, but rather as one who has over come his struggles because of the new relationship with God, that comes through the struggle.
Michael promotes Dwight from Assistant to the Regional Manager to Assistant Regional Manager. And we may think that is absolutely nothing and simple semantics, but for Dwight Schrute, this promotion is pretty much the most important moment of his life.
Dwight does not prevail in his fight with Michael. He is humbled just as Jacob is humbled. But after being humbled he is brought more near to Michael than he has ever been before with the simple removing of two words from his Job Title.
The relationship between Michael and Dwight was on the rocks, and it is restored with a change in title, a change in direction. In essence Michael says to Dwight, you were going backwards in being humbled, but now, you need to get up and go forward, into uncharted waters and unfamiliar territory, with me helping you along the way.
How true that also is for Jacob who was in some serious trouble at this point as he is about to fight his own brother Esau for misdeeds 20 years previous. But Jacob is humbled by this fight with God. Jacob is devastated by God’s touch and Jacob is renamed. So that his past is stopped at this very point, he leaves behind Jacob and is blessed with that fresh start as Israel and walks into a conflict with Esau that is a guaranteed success, with the Lord’s intervening.
Jacob’s struggle with God, his perseverance through the struggle lead to his renaming. With such a name as Israel, his ancestors will see that Jacob struggled with God and men and triumphed and when they are reminded of that, they can have hope that they themselves can overcome struggles and triumph thanks to the relationship and the new direction they now have with the LORD.
We too have this in our own baptism. Perhaps we were not renamed formally, I’m still Andrew, you’re still William, etc. etc.
But we all were taken from the name of SIN and renamed SAINT thanks to the struggle not of Jacob, but thanks to the struggle of God himself in Jesus Christ.
We were in the spot of Jacob or of Dwight. Humbled, unable to ensure a solid outcome on our own, but the LORD doesn’t just let us get smashed to pieces. He takes our struggles whether with the world or with God himself and throws them on his own Son and says there, now you will not be punished for your sin, because there is one who has been punished for it. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So Jesus is named sin and we are named the righteousness of God, pretty good name, don’t you think?
If you read through the next few chapters of Genesis, and even the rest of the Scriptures, you’ll notice that Jacob is not called Israel all of the time. He is referred to by both names. Just as we, even though we are Saints in Christ, are still sinners in this world. That paradox is a struggle and a fight in and of itself for us.
Dwight in later episodes fondly recalls his promotion to Assistant Regional Manager. He considers it one of the greatest moments of his life. That change is very important to him, whether we see it or not.
Jacob’s name, the memory of fighting with God and his injury were reminders to him of who he was as Jacob and who was to be as Israel, in a new relationship with the LORD and on a new path in the LORD. Just as we through Jesus’ death and resurrection are reminded of who we once were, lost in this world in great need of rescuing as Sinners, and who we are now, in a new relationship with God as Saints of his kingdom. Amen.
Delivered October 26, 2007
A Place to Call Home
Have you ever felt like you don’t belong here? Maybe you’re wondering already, what I mean by here. Do I mean on the internet, or at this blog, or in this particular chair, in whatever city you're in, or maybe I just mean, like you don’t belong on earth at all. I’ll let you continue to ponder my meaning as I move on.
Before going any further though, I’d like you to read a selection from Luke’s Gospel
Reference: Luke 16:19-31
Here we see how the rich man was doing fantastic on earth and then in eternity was absolutely miserable in hell, whereas Lazarus who was absolutely miserable on earth but then is doing fantastic in heaven sitting with Abraham! How cool would that be? Has the question ever been posed of you, “When you get to heaven, who do you most want to meet and talk to?” I bet for a first century believer it could have very well been Abraham. Who would you say, seriously feel free to comment.
Now do you think Lazarus had any idea he would get to sit with Abraham after he died? I guess I really don’t know. But he got to, whether he thought he deserved to or had even dreamed of it, he got to. The angel Gabriel sweeps him up from the earth and carries him to heaven, where Lazarus really belongs.
Now let’s watch a clip from the increasingly popular Harry Potter series. This clip is from the first movie – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and for those of you who are unaware of Harry Potter’s background. His parents were magical people and they were murdered when he was just over one year old. Harry was somehow spared from death and then sent to live with his aunt and uncle who were not magical, and also happened to think that all things to do with magic were ridiculous rubbish, so they treated Harry much like Cinderella was treated by her wicked step mother. Like a slave. He lived in a closet beneath the stairs and was regarded as the lowest in the household. You’ll see in the clip Harry’s uncle Vernon, Harry’s Aunt Petunia, Harry’s cousin, Dudley, and Harry’s version of the angel Gabriel.
Clip
So Harry is taken out of this wretched home where he is treated like a slave and he is brought where he belongs, to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry by the most odd looking of messengers, Hagrid – the half giant.
Both stories, I feel strongly reflect what Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 2…
“And he (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
So even though Lazarus was poor and nobody on earth paid any attention to him, he was still brought near to the Father by the blood of Jesus.
And even though Harry was treated like scum in the world of non-magic folk, he still had a home where not only was he welcomed with open arms, but he was famous, everybody knew who he was. Hogwarts was like Harry’s heaven and though he was far off and didn’t even have a clue that he belonged in this world, he is brought near to it.
And perhaps we often feel like we are foreigners and aliens on this planet. And perhaps that’s because we are foreigners and aliens on this planet and our true citizenship lies in heaven, because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
So even when we’re treated like dirt here on earth, and under appreciated, taken for granted, and lost amidst the world’s chaos, we can have peace in knowing, that our home is in heaven and that a place has been prepared for us in heaven because of God’s undying love for us, where we will not be taken for granted, where we will always feel at home.
And our heaven is far greater than Hogwarts. There is no room for evil in heaven, there is no chance of wickedness or sin stepping in.
There is only the good and perfect will of our heavenly Father and a place that we can truly call…home. Amen.
Delivered October 5, 2007
Before going any further though, I’d like you to read a selection from Luke’s Gospel
Reference: Luke 16:19-31
Here we see how the rich man was doing fantastic on earth and then in eternity was absolutely miserable in hell, whereas Lazarus who was absolutely miserable on earth but then is doing fantastic in heaven sitting with Abraham! How cool would that be? Has the question ever been posed of you, “When you get to heaven, who do you most want to meet and talk to?” I bet for a first century believer it could have very well been Abraham. Who would you say, seriously feel free to comment.
Now do you think Lazarus had any idea he would get to sit with Abraham after he died? I guess I really don’t know. But he got to, whether he thought he deserved to or had even dreamed of it, he got to. The angel Gabriel sweeps him up from the earth and carries him to heaven, where Lazarus really belongs.
Now let’s watch a clip from the increasingly popular Harry Potter series. This clip is from the first movie – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and for those of you who are unaware of Harry Potter’s background. His parents were magical people and they were murdered when he was just over one year old. Harry was somehow spared from death and then sent to live with his aunt and uncle who were not magical, and also happened to think that all things to do with magic were ridiculous rubbish, so they treated Harry much like Cinderella was treated by her wicked step mother. Like a slave. He lived in a closet beneath the stairs and was regarded as the lowest in the household. You’ll see in the clip Harry’s uncle Vernon, Harry’s Aunt Petunia, Harry’s cousin, Dudley, and Harry’s version of the angel Gabriel.
Clip
So Harry is taken out of this wretched home where he is treated like a slave and he is brought where he belongs, to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry by the most odd looking of messengers, Hagrid – the half giant.
Both stories, I feel strongly reflect what Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 2…
“And he (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
So even though Lazarus was poor and nobody on earth paid any attention to him, he was still brought near to the Father by the blood of Jesus.
And even though Harry was treated like scum in the world of non-magic folk, he still had a home where not only was he welcomed with open arms, but he was famous, everybody knew who he was. Hogwarts was like Harry’s heaven and though he was far off and didn’t even have a clue that he belonged in this world, he is brought near to it.
And perhaps we often feel like we are foreigners and aliens on this planet. And perhaps that’s because we are foreigners and aliens on this planet and our true citizenship lies in heaven, because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
So even when we’re treated like dirt here on earth, and under appreciated, taken for granted, and lost amidst the world’s chaos, we can have peace in knowing, that our home is in heaven and that a place has been prepared for us in heaven because of God’s undying love for us, where we will not be taken for granted, where we will always feel at home.
And our heaven is far greater than Hogwarts. There is no room for evil in heaven, there is no chance of wickedness or sin stepping in.
There is only the good and perfect will of our heavenly Father and a place that we can truly call…home. Amen.
Delivered October 5, 2007
From the Pot Hole
The example comes from my favorite TV show in the world, Seinfeld.
I’m certain you can watch Seinfeld re-runs multiple times throughout the day. I own the DVDs, so I just watch them whenever I want.
Before you watch the clip however, please look at a couple passages from Scripture.
Reference: Psalm 40:1-11
The psalmist depicts how we were in a pit of destruction and how the Lord heard our cries from the pit and rescued us from out of the pit. Keep that in mind, in particular.
Reference: John 12:27-36
From this keep in mind what Jesus says about being lifted up from the earth, and drawing all people to himself.
Now to the clip, you are about to see a series of four clips, you’ll see George Costanza who has lost his keys. On his key chain he has a toy that when you squeeze it, comes the voice of famous New York Yankee announcer Phil Rizooto saying “Holy cow!” George is tracing his steps trying to figure out how he lost his keys and where they might be. You’ll see him trying to get help to get them out, and you’ll see him drilling to get them, and succeeding in getting them, well, sort of. Let’s watch.
Watch Clip (A link to the clips or simply where you can watch them will soon be available.)
Now, let us paint the metaphor. In Psalm 40, we hear that we are or we were in the pit of destruction. In other words, we’re in a pot hole that was sealed up and now we’re stuck.
God hears our cries from the pit and he hears them from the pot hole, much like George heard his key ring chiming “Holy Cow” every time a car runs over the pot hole, so also does God hear us as we cry out in need of help. He knows we’re stuck in the pot hole and he wants to get us out, and he knows how to get us out. He knows how to help us.
And how does he do that? Our heavenly Father sends Christ to bring us out of the pot hole, and how does Christ succeed, by going into the pot hole with us. This pot hole represents our own sin and our own death that is a result of our sin. Christ comes into the world, into our pothole and takes on all of our sin, and through the cross, takes on our death as well.
And then what happens? George comes along with a jackhammer to get his keys out of the pit. To rescue them out of the pothole.
George Costanza is like the Father in this instance, and yes, it happens more than you might ever dream.
George jackhammers down to get his keys out of the pot hole. In the same way, the Father, bursts open the tomb and Christ walks out resurrected, after being in the pot hole with us.
When Christ is lifted up on the cross, we are lifted up with him out of the pit.
When Christ bursts from the tomb, we burst out from our own tombs of death with him.
Because Christ laid down his life, we are lifted up with him.
And now what happens since Christ was lifted up on the cross and then lifted out of the empty tomb. What does the text say, John 12:32 “And I, When I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself” And that’s exactly what Jesus does in his death and resurrection. Christ draws all people to himself and he says come with me into heaven.
George probably drew quite a crowd himself while bursting that water line, but the power of the resurrection is able to draw more than just an angry mob from a New York City street. It is able to draw all people from all ends of the earth, both living and dead, both slave and free, both men and women, both young and old. All people are drawn to Christ and are given the power to come with him as his children and be raised from the dead and spend eternity with their eternal Father in heaven. Amen.
Delivered September 14, 2007
I’m certain you can watch Seinfeld re-runs multiple times throughout the day. I own the DVDs, so I just watch them whenever I want.
Before you watch the clip however, please look at a couple passages from Scripture.
Reference: Psalm 40:1-11
The psalmist depicts how we were in a pit of destruction and how the Lord heard our cries from the pit and rescued us from out of the pit. Keep that in mind, in particular.
Reference: John 12:27-36
From this keep in mind what Jesus says about being lifted up from the earth, and drawing all people to himself.
Now to the clip, you are about to see a series of four clips, you’ll see George Costanza who has lost his keys. On his key chain he has a toy that when you squeeze it, comes the voice of famous New York Yankee announcer Phil Rizooto saying “Holy cow!” George is tracing his steps trying to figure out how he lost his keys and where they might be. You’ll see him trying to get help to get them out, and you’ll see him drilling to get them, and succeeding in getting them, well, sort of. Let’s watch.
Watch Clip (A link to the clips or simply where you can watch them will soon be available.)
Now, let us paint the metaphor. In Psalm 40, we hear that we are or we were in the pit of destruction. In other words, we’re in a pot hole that was sealed up and now we’re stuck.
God hears our cries from the pit and he hears them from the pot hole, much like George heard his key ring chiming “Holy Cow” every time a car runs over the pot hole, so also does God hear us as we cry out in need of help. He knows we’re stuck in the pot hole and he wants to get us out, and he knows how to get us out. He knows how to help us.
And how does he do that? Our heavenly Father sends Christ to bring us out of the pot hole, and how does Christ succeed, by going into the pot hole with us. This pot hole represents our own sin and our own death that is a result of our sin. Christ comes into the world, into our pothole and takes on all of our sin, and through the cross, takes on our death as well.
And then what happens? George comes along with a jackhammer to get his keys out of the pit. To rescue them out of the pothole.
George Costanza is like the Father in this instance, and yes, it happens more than you might ever dream.
George jackhammers down to get his keys out of the pot hole. In the same way, the Father, bursts open the tomb and Christ walks out resurrected, after being in the pot hole with us.
When Christ is lifted up on the cross, we are lifted up with him out of the pit.
When Christ bursts from the tomb, we burst out from our own tombs of death with him.
Because Christ laid down his life, we are lifted up with him.
And now what happens since Christ was lifted up on the cross and then lifted out of the empty tomb. What does the text say, John 12:32 “And I, When I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself” And that’s exactly what Jesus does in his death and resurrection. Christ draws all people to himself and he says come with me into heaven.
George probably drew quite a crowd himself while bursting that water line, but the power of the resurrection is able to draw more than just an angry mob from a New York City street. It is able to draw all people from all ends of the earth, both living and dead, both slave and free, both men and women, both young and old. All people are drawn to Christ and are given the power to come with him as his children and be raised from the dead and spend eternity with their eternal Father in heaven. Amen.
Delivered September 14, 2007
What Lies Beyond the Narrow Door?
When I was growing up, I hated to read almost as much as I hated going out to the barn to do chores. While chores were part of the expected daily schedule, reading was something that my parents offered rewards for. For example if I read a book and was able to tell my mom about it, she’d offer up baseball cards, my pride and joy, as my reward.
My motto was “Why read when you can watch TV?” I’m sure many of the educators in the room cringe at the idea of a second grade boy saying that, but that was how I operated until I got to college.
Needless to say, if I was going to read, I wanted to read something entertaining, and I found that Roald Dahl was able to create worlds to me that were fantastically humorous and quite enjoyable. Numerous of his stories were adapted for the big screen including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Witches, and the first and now again the most recent is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Renamed Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for cinema, this story recounts the journey of Charlie Bucket who receives, against all odds, one of five Golden tickets in the entire world that grants him free admission to the great yet mysterious Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory.
What you are about to see is how these five kids along with a guardian of their choosing are able to enter into this chocolate paradise. As you might imagine, it doesn’t appear so simple.
Watch clip… (a link to the clip or simply where it is in the movie is coming soon)
Now what did you see? A narrow door, a tiny door, and what was said about the tiny narrow door? Mrs. Klug remarked, “you’re not squeezing me through that tiny door” and it is also remarked that nobody can get through there. Sound familiar?
Reference: Luke 13:22-30
In our lives we strive to go through that narrow door, that tiny door that the Law of God demands us to go through. We are asked to keep God’s commands and live life without sin and that is the only way to make it through that tiny door, that narrow passageway of the law, but we know as many of the characters in this scene, that there’s no way we’re making it through, even to the point of saying, I’m not even going to try and get through there, I’ll just get stuck. We feel perhaps sometimes that God is like Willie Wonka, with a surprise around every corner and impossible tasks to undertake. But God, still much like Willie Wonka uses his calming voice to say what? Better press on. He urges us to press on even when we see no possible way of getting through, because he knows how to get us through to the other side. He knows how to turn the narrow door into a gigantic door and lead us into paradise. And how does that door turn from a tiny narrow passageway into a door large enough to fit an elephant through? Christ was able to go through the narrow door himself, not sin and by going through it and then dying and rising again, he opened it for the rest of the world to get through. And we can’t get through without his help.
I am convinced that Roald Dahl had this passage from Luke’s gospel in mind when creating this classic work. The narrow door scene is just one example. The entire story is about how a boy poverty stricken in every way goes from last to first and his peers go from spoiled in first to last.
The reality is that we are never first. God is always first, in our lives and in the world, and in heaven God is first, but we, being with him in paradise, share in his being first, share in the forgiveness he won for us on the cross, and share in entering through that narrow door with his help. As Christ says in John 14, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Delivered on August 31, 2007
My motto was “Why read when you can watch TV?” I’m sure many of the educators in the room cringe at the idea of a second grade boy saying that, but that was how I operated until I got to college.
Needless to say, if I was going to read, I wanted to read something entertaining, and I found that Roald Dahl was able to create worlds to me that were fantastically humorous and quite enjoyable. Numerous of his stories were adapted for the big screen including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Witches, and the first and now again the most recent is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Renamed Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for cinema, this story recounts the journey of Charlie Bucket who receives, against all odds, one of five Golden tickets in the entire world that grants him free admission to the great yet mysterious Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory.
What you are about to see is how these five kids along with a guardian of their choosing are able to enter into this chocolate paradise. As you might imagine, it doesn’t appear so simple.
Watch clip… (a link to the clip or simply where it is in the movie is coming soon)
Now what did you see? A narrow door, a tiny door, and what was said about the tiny narrow door? Mrs. Klug remarked, “you’re not squeezing me through that tiny door” and it is also remarked that nobody can get through there. Sound familiar?
Reference: Luke 13:22-30
In our lives we strive to go through that narrow door, that tiny door that the Law of God demands us to go through. We are asked to keep God’s commands and live life without sin and that is the only way to make it through that tiny door, that narrow passageway of the law, but we know as many of the characters in this scene, that there’s no way we’re making it through, even to the point of saying, I’m not even going to try and get through there, I’ll just get stuck. We feel perhaps sometimes that God is like Willie Wonka, with a surprise around every corner and impossible tasks to undertake. But God, still much like Willie Wonka uses his calming voice to say what? Better press on. He urges us to press on even when we see no possible way of getting through, because he knows how to get us through to the other side. He knows how to turn the narrow door into a gigantic door and lead us into paradise. And how does that door turn from a tiny narrow passageway into a door large enough to fit an elephant through? Christ was able to go through the narrow door himself, not sin and by going through it and then dying and rising again, he opened it for the rest of the world to get through. And we can’t get through without his help.
I am convinced that Roald Dahl had this passage from Luke’s gospel in mind when creating this classic work. The narrow door scene is just one example. The entire story is about how a boy poverty stricken in every way goes from last to first and his peers go from spoiled in first to last.
The reality is that we are never first. God is always first, in our lives and in the world, and in heaven God is first, but we, being with him in paradise, share in his being first, share in the forgiveness he won for us on the cross, and share in entering through that narrow door with his help. As Christ says in John 14, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Delivered on August 31, 2007
An Introduction on How C3PO Was Started
About one year ago, I enrolled in the Master of Arts in Christian Outreach program at Concordia, St. Paul (CSP), through the Oswald Hoffman School of Christian Outreach (OHSCO). Part of my coursework was to create a practicum that in some way involved outreach. Since I was working at CSP in the campus ministry department, I decided to use that as a platform for my practicum. As it just so happened, the chapel at CSP had a new addition and there were renovations being done to the existing nearly 100 year old chapel as well. One of those renovations was a gigantic screen to be used mostly for Microsoft PowerPoint.
I decided to use this screen to show video clips of popular movies and television shows and connect them to the Scripture lessons assigned to whatever week I happened to be in. And C3PO ministries was born. C3PO stands for Connecting Culture to Christ through Pertinent Outreach. It is a ministry that primarily seeks to reach Generation Y with witty analogies between popular culture and the Christian faith.
My tenure at CSP is nearly over, and C3PO is moving on in a different direction, but I'm not sure where exactly at this point. My hope is that through this blog and other social media I will be able to share what I have learned and my method of developing these connections with pastors, teachers, ministers, and lay leaders throughout the Church universal. My vision is that conversations will begin on how to reach this new generation by digging into their culture and using things they will recognize to understand how the gospel message is completely relevant to their lives.
I decided to use this screen to show video clips of popular movies and television shows and connect them to the Scripture lessons assigned to whatever week I happened to be in. And C3PO ministries was born. C3PO stands for Connecting Culture to Christ through Pertinent Outreach. It is a ministry that primarily seeks to reach Generation Y with witty analogies between popular culture and the Christian faith.
My tenure at CSP is nearly over, and C3PO is moving on in a different direction, but I'm not sure where exactly at this point. My hope is that through this blog and other social media I will be able to share what I have learned and my method of developing these connections with pastors, teachers, ministers, and lay leaders throughout the Church universal. My vision is that conversations will begin on how to reach this new generation by digging into their culture and using things they will recognize to understand how the gospel message is completely relevant to their lives.
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