What Is Your Vocation?

Posted by Chris on August 24, 2008 under Sermons

[Audio begins with remarks by college student John Carson.]

We encourage our young people to go to college and study so that they might be prepared for their vocation. We tend to think of a vocation as a career or a job. That’s the typical understanding of the word today.

But this word has deeply spiritual roots. It comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call.” A vocation is a calling.

• LFC students: They will earn their degrees in physics, business, medicine – but they have a calling to ministry in Christ’s name …
• We see young men and women who would certainly be great people regardless, but they have accepted the call to do something exceptional. A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for …

A servant of Christ is exceptional calling. It is a worthy vocation. We are all called to set sail and be servants of Christ.

We are inspired by our college students and our missionaries, but if we take the message of James and the teaching of Christ seriously, then we are all called to be hearers and doers of the word. Their circumstances are different, but our calling is the same – to live and die for Christ, to practice pure religion, to be hearers and doers of the word.

Unfortunately, there is a bland imitation wisdom that tells us that the kingdom of heaven is a “gated community” within which Christians can feel unthreatened and keep out the undesirables. This false wisdom keeps us in a Christian bubble – a safe harbor from which we never set sail.

If we all led quiet, ordinary lives that kept us out of trouble and safe, we would very likely be content with one another. One can be considered a good Christian if he or she knows something about Christ, goes to church, has been baptized and takes communion every Lord’s day.
But that’s a very minimal Christianity that doesn’t pay attention to one’s vocation.

Jim Wilson brought a need before us on behalf of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. John Carson has brought Jesus’ words to our attention – the one who takes these words and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds a house on solid ground.
I also want to place before us a word from Jesus from that same sermon – “Unless your righteousness surpasses the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

There it is. Jesus is calling all of us to be exceptional disciples. Jesus is calling all of us to be ministers, agents of the kingdom rule right here and now. He is calling us out of the safe harbor and Christian bubble.

What is our vocation? James understood it like this — James 2:14-17

Back-To-School Blessing

Posted by Chris on August 17, 2008 under Sermons

THERE IS NO WRITTEN SERMON TEXT FOR THIS EVENT

Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Anger

Posted by Chris on August 10, 2008 under Sermons

Self-Control and Speech

Learning how to say just enough, but not too much is standard for interviews …

Throughout the ages, philosophers and moralists have offered advice on controlling one’s speech. They encourage us to be silent and speak briefly. Silence is safer. It avoids misspeaking.

According to James, controlling our speech is more than a matter of self-control. We are meant to be the result of God’s word implanted in us. His word of truth gives birth to a new creation. (1:18-21) So, when it comes to the way we use words, there is more at stake than our reputation.

James says that the tongue (by which he means the power of human speech) is set on fire by hell. He means that this incredible gift of speech is corrupted by the power of evil. If you want to find the frontline of the battle of good and evil it is often in our words …

• We are caught up in a tension between the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below.
• We are either friends of God or friends of the world.

Our speech (and this is especially true of the teacher) hovers in the space between that tension. The way we speak and act is a part of what God is doing to change the world. So James raises the bar and calls us to “perfection.”

• But at the same time James reminds us how hard it is to be perfect.
• James is cautioning us to think twice about accepting the responsibility of being a leader or teacher because of this difficulty in speaking perfectly.
• We don’t have to interpret this neurotically as if some sort of absolute perfection is called for and one can never say anything at all. We need not interpret this hyper-literally as if we can never say something erroneous – even if we don’t know it.
• We live in a day and age when every single word is placed under a social microscope. Words and phrases are parsed and twisted to elicit meanings that the speaker never intended. James is not calling for perfection from the cynical lens of society.
• Rather, James is calling us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (1:19). He has already stated this and 3:1-12 is an elaboration on that.

Perfection is Maturity

It is not too much to ask that we should keep our speech perfect from the sort of words and language that are borne out of immaturity, anxiety, and anger.

Boasting, slander, gossip, grumbling are types of speech that are not only rude, but they place us under God’s judgment.

• Judgment of God – We are to speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. 2:12 This is the law of love (2:8) that James has already mentioned. It is rooted in the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

Consistency and Character – Love God, Love One Another

When a righteous Israelite spoke God’s name, he or she would say “Yahweh, blessed be his name.” To speak the name of God is something very holy and heavy. How audacious that we should speak his name. When we speak it, we bless it.

• With the same power and function of speech, one can utter stinging, burning words of condemnation and scorn toward others. It isn’t just that these word are unkind, rude, and hurtful (which they are), but there is a problem on a much larger scale – humans are created in God’s image. It makes no sense that we would bless the name of God and then curse anyone who bears the likeness and spirit of God. That is an inconsistency.

If the source of imperfect, harmful speech is not foolish patter or pontificating, then it is typically anger …

Anger seems to accomplish much. An angry employer drives his employees to greater productivity. An angry husband and father keeps his wife and children in submission and “runs a tight ship.” An angry wife and mother gets her way as the rest of the family does not dare to risk her ire. An angry church leader can bully the congregation, so that no dissension appears within the flock, and a happy uniformity of belief and opinion prevails.

Anger is epidemic. It’s too easy to play the “I’m offended” card. An angry person can intimidate others so that everyone else is cautious of that person’s sensitivities.

Edwin Friedman — “Beware the insensitivities of the sensitive!”

Anger does not work God’s righteousness … A wrathful person stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. (Proverbs 29:22)

It’s not too much to ask that we show some judgment with the words we use. After all, if we don’t … God will!

But if no one can tame the tongue, what’s the alternative? Are we just supposed to keep our mouths shut and smile and speak nice? Hardly.

No one can tame the tongue – but God can. We can ask for the wisdom that comes from above. We can receive the implanted word that saves us. And it saves our speech.

In the coming weeks we will see that James speaks of a way that Friends of God employ the power of speech in ways that do not harm and tear down, but instead can use words and deeds to bless others, to confess sin, to pray for others, and to sing encouragement.

A portion of the sermon above is taken from the article “Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger: A Plea to the Commissioners to the 71st General Assembly” by James S. Gidley which was printed in New Horizons and can be found here: http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH04/06b.html

Faith and Works

Posted by Chris on August 3, 2008 under Sermons

Miss America question – Why is it that Miss America contestants are asked, “If named Miss America, what would you do to promote world peace?”

• The interview question portion of the contest seems sort of empty and contrived.
• It’s not that the contestants give empty answers, sometimes they answer the questions quite well, but what is Miss America really going to do about it? That’s the problem. I don’t recall the title of Miss America having any real authority. We never see Miss America brokering peace in the Middle East or enacting legislation to lower gas prices. We know that Miss America cannot really do much, but we want to hear a good answer.
• Then again, I suppose the public and the Miss America organization decided that actions do speak louder than words. So, beginning in 1989 Miss America contestants were required to choose and issue of relevance to society and set out to make a difference in that area.

We have a lot of old sayings that send this message:
Actions speak louder than words.
If you talk the talk, then walk the walk.
Practice what you preach.
The first century version of this is: Faith Without Works is Dead.

What James is Not Saying:

1. He is not saying that we earn our salvation through works.
   1. We cannot do anything that places a claim on God. James 2:24 has been the focus of controversy for many hundreds of years now. It seems to contradict what Paul says in Romans 3:24
   2. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
   3. The confusion is centered on the word justification. Paul and James use the term differently. They both use it differently than we do. We tend to think of justification as legal ruling. Justification is the process through which something “Gets us off the hook.” And the debate for at least the last 500 years has been over that can happen through anything we can do.
   4. Terms and concepts that Paul and James wouldn’t have concerned themselves with have added a lot of baggage to this term. But maybe there’s another way for us to understand “justification.” Take it out of the legal world and move it into the world of typesetting. One makes the text line up on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. Justify in this sense means that someone or something lines the text up to a norm.
   5. Maybe this gets us closer to the biblical meaning, even though typesetting is completely foreign to James and Paul. God, in his grace, is lining us up. He is moving us from unrighteousness to righteousness. It’s a process; it is change; it is training. He’s making us holy.
2. James is not saying that words and faith are unimportant. He covers the follow up to the concern that faith is just empty talk. He can hear someone who’s really task-oriented saying, “Alright, you take care of the faith stuff and I will handle the deeds!”
   1. But that sort of unenlightened and uninformed work is just as empty and meaningless as faith without deeds.
   2. We can suffer not only from idleness, but also unreflective work. Such work will tend to focus on ourselves and our own talents rather than God and the power of his Spirit.
   3. James is making the case that faith and deeds go together.

What James is Saying:

1. James is saying that faith must be embodied. That sounds a lot like Jesus who taught us that our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus was the word of God made flesh. Probably no one knew that as well as James.
   1. So the illustration about failing to meet the physical needs of a brother or sister.
   2. We are body and spirit and being a friend of God is faith and deeds.
2. James is saying that faith means risk. Abraham and Rahab. They took a chance, they risked. Why? Because they believed in God’s word. They had faith.
3. James is saying that faith and deeds are always working together.
   1. A friend of God not only believes what God believes, but does as God would do.
   2. This goes back to the lesson of hearing and doing the word. We have to put it into action.
   3. We must be careful that we do not get caught up in any false dualism that forces an emphasis on faith and teaching to the exclusion of action OR an emphasis on action to the exclusion of prayer, reflection, teaching and faith.

A. J. Jacobs – The Year of Living Biblically

• Jacobs sets out to live the instruction of the Bible as literally as possible. Nothing is left out. Along the way he finds that this task begins to affect his thinking and his actions in more than just the obvious externals (like growing a beard and wearing fringes). One of the people who quizzes Jacobs about his project is his free-spirited, hippie neighbor Nancy. Nancy lives alone with her dog Memphis and she is working on a book about Jimi Hendrix.
• On Day 372 of his project, Jacobs learns that his neighbor Nancy has died. Jacobs feels regret. Maybe he and his wife should have invited her to dinner. Maybe he could have helped her get her book published. He could have bought her a gift to repay her for the ones she bought his son. So many good thoughts and good intentions, but no action.
• His last chance to redeem himself was to find her dog, Memphis, and good home. After some work and campaigning with friends, Memphis found a good family in the suburbs. He moved from the apartment to a house with a yard and a porch. Jacobs felt like he had done something that Nancy would have liked, but he flashed back to a question that Nancy had asked him months ago: Did he help because the Bible told him to, or because he really wanted to?
• What Jacobs discovered was that in time and as faith matures, the line between pretending to be better and actually beginning to be a better person fades away. What the Bible says and what he wants to do merge.

We can ask so many questions about faith against works, maybe we just need to start letting them work together as God always intended.
I commend this congregation. May God help us to 1) know what we believe and trust in God’s grace for salvation, and 2) live out that salvation and show it at work in us through the things we do. I see it.

CURE, Hope Chest, Car Care, Girls Making an Impact – see, we even have a name for some of it at West-Ark. But then there are all the many and varied ways that you are showing your faith in your deeds: visiting others in the hospital, providing for the needs of those who cannot supply them, fellowship that overcomes loneliness, taking meals to new parents, young people mowing the lawn of widows, sending a card. That’s not just busy work – that’s faith.

Do you have faith? Put it into action.
Are you active in good works? Great, but is your faith in the work or in the One who equipped you and prepared the work for you?

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

Posted by Chris on July 27, 2008 under Sermons

Read James 2:1-13.

William Booth – The Salvation Army began with William Booth’s ministry to the poor in East London. As a minister in the Methodist Church, Booth once entered the Blind Beggar Tavern to preach. He proclaimed, ‘There is a heaven in East London for everyone,’ he cried, ‘for everyone who will stop and think and look to Christ as a personal Saviour.’From the pub came a volley of jeers and cursing, followed by a rotten egg. The preacher paused, egg running down his cheek, prayed, and turned home.

Even though Booth’s followers were converted, churches did not accept them because of what they had been. In those churches were they were allowed, they were forced to enter through the back and sit in the back. Seeing that there was no welcome of these converts or spiritual guidance, Booth left the Methodist Church and formed the Salvation Army as a sort of church on the streets.

The time and place where we ought to feel most loved and welcomed is too often the time and placed where too many feel judged and excluded.

Scenes – I want to paint some images for you.

• A woman with her two children feels judged and eventually just stops going to church because she has heard others comment on how her husband doesn’t attend church with her.
• A church with a bus ministry holds a separate children’s worship because some of the members are frustrated by what they call “the smelly and unruly bus children.”
• A white family with an adopted black daughter is told they might want to consider that their daughter might feel worshipping with her own kind.

These scenes are real and they have unfortunately been repeated in some form or another far too many times …
The time and place where we ought to feel most loved and welcomed is too often the time and placed where too many feel judged and excluded.

A Word from James
After hearing James 2, which is probably one of the earliest Christian writings, how could anyone who claims to be Christian show favoritism or discriminate – especially in worship?
After hearing James 2, how could anyone who claims to be Christian dishonor, exploit, or judge those who are “poor in the eyes of the world?”

In the ancient world, society was structured by classes. People had a station in society. The ancient philosophers believed that society functioned properly when everyone held to their station. No one intended to shame or abuse those of a lower station, but when such philosophy meets the reality of human existence abuses follow. We play favorites. We know that those of a higher rank can help us if they show us favoritism, so naturally they receive special honor. In time, society structures they way that honor and station is to be demonstrated – perhaps in the clothes one wears or the bowing, the language, even something as simple as seating arrangements.

America resisted that sort of structuring of society. Everyone is the same legally in America – well, not at first as women had to be given the right to vote and servants had to be regarded as whole persons and set free. But we’re there now and the fundamental principles of this nation got us there. So we do not treat individual persons according to status or rank in society. The partiality that remains among us is much more subtle. But it is there. We cannot cop out and say, well that’s just the way things are. James won’t allow that. It is a part of the world system and James warns us not to be friendly with it. Rather, as friends of God James is urging us to look at reality differently. God is turning reality upside down so that the poor are favored and rich in faith. God is defining community not as a place where everyone is stratified according to income or lineage, but we are all the same in Christ. God is calling those who would be his friends to practice a morality that comes from the heart of the law that gives freedom. James’ text for his sermon is Leviticus 19:18 – Love your neighbor as yourself. [James’ brother said that this was the second greatest commandment]. James must have had verse 19:15 in mind too: Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

I have appreciated the feedback from those who like James’ straightforward message. It doesn’t get plainer than this: Don’t discriminate! Don’t judge! Show mercy!

That’s plain – and yet, if we are honest we tend to squirm when confronted by this teaching. What if we’re “rich”? On a world scale, most of us are wealthy. Right here in America, many of us would be considered wealthy. Do we have to feel guilty about that? – can’t we just enjoy what we have without feeling guilty? James has no interest in making us feel guilty. Rather, he wants us not to judge. Don’t discriminate. Don’t play favorites. And by all means practice some mercy!

Rhetorical Question: Okay, someone says, I haven’t done that. I wouldn’t do that. Alright, but we know too many stories that turn out to be true don’t we. The time and place where we ought to feel most loved and welcomed is too often the time and placed where too many feel judged and excluded.

Rhetorical Question: I wonder, is there a risk if we don’t have some sort of judgment? How will we ever maintain holiness and decency if we aren’t aggressive in our expectations?

This is how the pick-n-choose approach to religion begins. Our worry and anxiety, rather than mercy and faith, lead us to be double minded and unstable. James shows us that if we are going to honor God’s morality as God’s friends, then we need to honor everything in God’s word. For instance, we are concerned about sexuality purity and rightly so. God said – Don’t commit adultery. Jesus taught us that that includes lust. We should respect this word of God if we are going to be his friends. But we must also respect the word “Do not murder.” And Jesus taught us that this means hatred and contempt and not just killing. We have to be just as discontent with expressions of such immorality.
James shows us how to maintain holiness and decency as God’s friends: 1) Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s how you do right. That’s how you keep the law – strictly! 2) Show some mercy. We are going to be judged – by God. And judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who doesn’t show mercy.

Bottom line: Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Our time together in worship and assembly is special. It is a sacred time. We ought to be reverent. Reverence means honoring God, but we do not honor God when we are unmerciful, discriminatory, rude, and ungracious in our attitudes toward one another. We follow the “rule” that brings freedom, not oppression. If we want to honor God then we will be rich in faith and honor others, especially those that God notices …

We all have our favorite songs to sing when we come together. I imagine that James was thinking about a church song when he was addressing the church. It was a song that tells us a lot about God.It is a song that his mother taught him … his mother, who also happens to be the mother of Jesus Christ. It’s a song that James mother, a woman who was in her time judged harshly, sang out when she experienced God’s mercy and kindness … [Luke 1:46-55]

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

Take a Look in the Mirror

Posted by Chris on July 20, 2008 under Sermons

Read the Text – James 1:18-27

Take a Look in the Mirror –
We glance in our mirrors. We are concerned about our appearance. We devote a great amount of attention to our appearance. How much time did we spend in front of the mirror this morning?

• It is staggering when we stop to think about how much of our time and energy as a people is devoted to our outward appearance and physical nature. [Clothing, make-up, treatments, surgeries]
• How much attention do we give to our internal nature? How much do we give to the development of our character and person?

Ignoring the Blemishes …
23-24 Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like.
James describes two blemishes of character: 1) Anger, which usually manifests itself in violent speech. 2) Selfish desires.

Anger …
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Some would say, “But anger isn’t a problem until it leads to sin.” Some would say that, but not James. James urges us to overcome anger and control our speech because anger tends to draw us away from the righteousness of God. If anger isn’t a problem, then why does James warn us that it will lead to a worthless religion.

Selfish Desire …
each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Selfish desire is a malignancy that leads to sin and death. Some would say, “But the desire isn’t wrong until it becomes sin.” Some would say that, but not James. James is urging us to overcome the selfish desire that keep us from being perfect – that is, mature and complete.

Hearing, Doing, and Blessing …
25 But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it-not forgetting what they have heard but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.
We spend so much time focusing on our outward appearance. We spend much effort on acquiring what we want. Our goal is often to feel better about ourselves. To be happier. But there will always be something else we want and our appearance will never be perfect.
But if we hear the word and do the word – as difficult as that may seem – we are blessed in doing this. The blessing is that we become the sort of people God intended for us to be.

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress …
Over against the angry, mean-spirited, blemished religion that is worthless to God, is an unblemished religion (pure and faultless) that focuses on seeing to the well-being of those who cannot help themselves. The orphans and widows were among the most helpless in ancient society. Who are the widows and orphans in our society. Sometimes I think it is single parents – they are often without any type of assistance and they struggle to care for their children and work for a living.
We are blessed when we bless others. When we look to the needs of others, we become the sort of people God intended for us to be.

… and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Notice that there is more to “pure and faultless” religion than simply benevolence. We must resist the pollution of the world’s prejudices, warped values, and skewed perspectives. The world is the source of the values and thoughts that lead us to anger, selfish desire, and thus to sin and death.

So James sends us to the mirror of the “perfect law of freedom” and tells us to get cleaned up …
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

We are blessed because we are saved. Being saved means that we become the sort of people God intended for us to be. And James has said something about this implanted word already.
18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Here’s the word that shapes us. I am always talking about the word shaping us because I want us to understand that when we speak God’s word and use God’s word to describe our life together and our perspective we are doing more than just teaching lessons. We are letting that word take root in us and letting become embedded and implanted in our character …

Take a Look in the Mirror, and what do we see? Listen to the perfect law that brings freedom, and what do we hear?

I hear James the brother of Christ saying, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
That sounds a lot like Jesus who says, the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. [Matt. 13:23]

I hear James the brother of Christ saying, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress …
That sounds a lot like Jesus who says, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ [Matt. 25:40]

I hear James the brother of Christ saying, those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it-not forgetting what they have heard but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.
That sounds a lot like Jesus who says, Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” [Luke 11:28]

I hear James the brother of Christ saying, Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
That sounds a lot like Jesus who says, I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. [Matt. 5:22]

I hear James the brother of Christ saying, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
That sounds a lot like Jesus who says, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” [Luke 6:46]

Take a look into the mirror …
We gaze into the perfect law that gives freedom, we gaze into the gospel, and our goal is to be like Jesus. To be perfect – mature and complete. To listen to his words and put them into practice. Not just to believe, but to believe and do. Otherwise, why do we call Christ the Lord?

First Century Christianity

Posted by Chris on July 13, 2008 under Sermons

What do we mean by the phrase “first century Christianity?” What do we mean by the phrase “New Testament Christianity?”

• Like the Great Commission or Golden Rule, it is a shorthand slogan that refers to something we all accept, but do we mean the same thing by it?
• 21st century Christians like to summarize their faith in a simple statement on MySpace or Facebook …
• It is a slogan that has been around for more than 200 years …

Among leaders of the American Restoration Movement such as Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone, it means returning to the earliest era of Christianity as a way of restoring the church. It was an attempt to divest Christianity of corruptions and return to a simpler form.

• The emphasis on forms, names, ordinances, and structures
• It was a mostly a reductionist approach. They understood what they wanted to set aside, but how did they understand the core and the substance of first century Christianity?
• Also, what point and what place in the first century do we model?
• 21st century Christians who are committed to the idea of being first century and New Testament, might want to get a firm handle on what the slogan should mean and not just what we’ve always assumed that it means …

What would a first century Christian say about New Testament Christianity? Let’s listen to a first century Christian and get his take on it. Not just anyone, but someone who is regarded as a pillar of the church, a leader respected and honored by Paul the Apostle. Let’s ask James, who grew up in the same household as Jesus of Nazareth. James, the brother of Jesus. Here’s a first century Christian with impressive status, but in his greeting he calls himself nothing more than a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In his letter, James is a reliable voice who gives us a glimpse into the core of what it means to be a Christian. James summarizes Christianity as being a “friend of God” as opposed to being a “friend of the world.”

Friend of the World – What does he mean by “world”? The world is not a place. It isn’t planet earth. It isn’t even modern times (because James is a first century Christian). The world is a system of values, but it goes beyond the beliefs we hold. It is a set of ideas about reality, community, and morality that shapes our character and actions.

More important that understanding world, what is meant by friendship whether it is with God or the world? In the first century, friendship was understood as a strong bond existing between those who share a common interest or activity.

• Abraham was a friend of God. He demonstrated a commitment and faith that came from his perception of the hand of God working in the world. He wasn’t limited to the values and limitations of “the world” and the natural way of things.

So, if we want to be first century or New Testament Christians, then according to James we are friends of God. Being a friend of God means living out a commitment to God. We are friends of God when we incorporate into our outlook and behavior a common interest, a friendship with God, which gives us a sense of 1) reality defined by God, 2) community defined by God, and 3) morality defined by God. READ JAMES 1:1-16.

Reality Defined By God

1. Wisdom (1:5-7) – Wisdom from heaven, a different perspective. Not the double-minded instability of the world.
2. Reversal of position – the rich are in a low position and the poor are in a high position. God redefines reality and gives perspective – life comes to an end and riches will not change that.
3. Trials and what’s real- an unusual response to difficulties. It isn’t God punishing us. “What does God want you to learn from this?” 1:13-15 – Rather evil and sin in the world has ruined the creation. But if we are friends of God and learn to see the world truthfully, we are in line to become the “firstfruits” of creation …

Community Defined By God

1. America was not the beginning of egalitarian community. In fact, we must admit that this nation hasn’t always lived up to the high idea of all men being created equal. But James calls out to us over the centuries and in the first century he understood, because he was a friend of God, that everyone is created equal. Why? Because God doesn’t discriminate.
2. There is no rank and status in the community of God. James himself is a servant. The poor and the sick deserve as much attention as anyone. In the community of God’s friends, everything we have is a gift of God, so we share it with others just as God shares with us. The world’s system of values, separates us, classifies us, alienates us, but in God’s system there is one Lord and we are both his servants and friends.
3. That makes us friends to one another.

Morality Defined By God

1. The first century had its share of moralists. There was plenty of advice on how family members, rulers and subjects ought to behave. There were strong opinions on how people should act in the first century. The goal of the moralists was about the same of our moralists today
   • The decision making process focuses on the human predicament and the human dilemma.
2. We must be very cautious about focusing solely on the human dilemma, on manners and forms as the basis of morality. Here’s why: the problem is that focusing on manners can appear very right and good. It looks right if we do things the right way. It looks right if we have the right answers. It looks right if we hold to the right positions. It looks right if we restore the right forms. But that doesn’t mean we are righteous!
   • Being a friend of God means placing our decision making process (ethics) in line with God’s ways.
   • The July Christian Chronicle tells the story of John Rainbow, 83, an African-American Christian who is a song leader for the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York.
   • We dare not define our morality by the manners, trends or the traditions of the age – even if they seem right. And having a form of righteousness is not the same thing as being righteous. Being righteous means being a friend of God and placing our morals in line with God’s ways.

Conclusion

Restoring first century Christianity means restoring the spirit and ethic of God’s ways, not just forms. It means rekindling friendship with God. James has a word for the 21st century about what it means to be a genuine follower of Christ. Let’s spend some time listening to the words of Jesus’ brother who is summoning us to be friends of God. Along the way we are going to be both encouraged and challenged.

God Helps Those Who …

Posted by Chris on July 6, 2008 under Sermons

Our text today is familiar. I am sure that if I started to say it, you could complete the statement.

“God helps those who … help themselves”

That’s our text, but I have no Scripture reference for it. I doubt you will find one for it.

• Perhaps we will have to settle for saying, “Well, it’s in there somewhere.”
• We all know it. 75% of Americans believe that this statement is in the Bible. So it must be in there, right?

But this statement isn’t “in there somewhere.” It comes from Benjamin Franklin who published the statement in Poor Richard’s Almanac … [Before that it was in Aesop’s fables].

• And if that doesn’t cut it, we can just argue that “It sounds biblical.”

Is it biblical? It comes from Benjamin Franklin after all. So the thought must be biblical. What was Franklin trying to communicate? Maybe he was saying that whenever we work to improve our situation that this is really how God helps us. God helps us through our own efforts. But then, is God really helping us at all? That’s not biblical.

• That reminds me of a scene from the movie, Shenandoah … (Jimmy Stewart’s prayer) — “Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel. But we thank you just the same for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Maybe it really isn’t a statement about us at all. We understand that we have responsibilities and effort is good, but let’s not expect God to just drop manna from heaven. But if you want to be biblical, that’s closer to the mark. What is the biblical teaching then about God’s help? (With respect to Ben Franklin, the biblical teaching is a little different.) There are three themes that come up in Scripture again and again …

God Helps The Helpless – God cares about those who are oppressed and those who cannot help themselves.
Isaiah 25:4 – “For you have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat…”

Psalm 10 – God is a champion for those who have no one else. Those who take advantage of the helpless will find that they have to contend with a very powerful friend of the helpless.

God isn’t opposed to us who have wealth, influence, or strength. Rather, we just need to place ourselves behind God. And we certainly don’t want to be caught up with those powers that do take advantage of the helpless. We need to be more like Jesus …

Matthew 9:35-38 – Jesus’ ministry was all about embodying the help of God … Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

God Helps The Lowly – God actively works among us in our lowliness. By lowly we mean that which characterizes “low rank.” God loves to help those who don’t rank high by our high standards of evaluation. There is a theme throughout Scripture of God reversing our expectations of what makes one strong, noble, and powerful. Paul summarized it …

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 – But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

• Abraham and Sarah – Youth or an old man and his barren wife to begin the nation of promise?
• King David – The highest ranking, most influential, strong, brilliant specimen of humanity. Someone with a proven record of experience and leadership. Or a scrawny kid who cannot fill out warrior’s armor? A sheep-herder with a lot of guts and a strong faith!
• Jesus and his disciples – For the all important task of leading the church Jesus could have selected from the sharpest Rabbi’s, upper class power-brokers. Instead he chooses fishermen, tax collectors, and extremist zealots. Some of them may not even have been out of their teens.

Psalm 138:6 – Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly, but he takes notice of the proud from afar.

God Helps The Sinful – Finally, we have to recognize that no matter how well-off we are by worldly standards, no matter how much we’ve accomplished, and no matter how hard we have worked – where it really matters we are all helpless. When it comes to our need to be saved from our brokenness and sinfulness we are all helpless …

Romans 5:5-8 – For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

There are two ways we can hear the message about God’s help …

1. When we are confident in our accomplishments and our own abilities. When we are secure in our power and strength (control). When we are comfortable in our status and influence. We need to …
   1. Give thanks to God
   2. Get on board the ministry of God to help the helpless and lowly
   3. Be careful that we are not taking advantage of those who are vulnerable
   4. And remember that ultimately we are all helpless before God (but the good news is that God helps us with that)
2. When we feel helpless. When we experience hardship that makes us feel weak. When we are up against powers that threaten to overwhelm us. When we wonder how we are going to pay our debts. When we wonder how we are going to overcome temptation. When we worry over the future. When we are angry to the point of despair because of those who never seems to be held accountable for their oppression. We can take hope from the good news that …
   1. We are on God’s list — Read Psalm 121 …

God helps those he loves! Be assured that God will help you, for he loves you. Like Jesus, we want to embody that help.

Learners

Posted by Chris on June 29, 2008 under Sermons

Noticing the important things we can easily take for granted …

It is very easy to overlook and take for granted that which is critical. We do not notice air until we find we cannot breathe. We do not notice water until we are extremely thirsty.I recall a moment when I needed water and quenching of thirst as never before or since. It was right here in this auditorium in 1989. Karen and I were newlyweds and we were attending a marriage seminar led by Paul and Gladys Faulkner and Carl and Smitty Brecheen. I had had dental work the day before and used a mouthwash as part of my treatment. It dried my mouth out and left a bitter taste. I sat in the audience and noticed something that to many people would have been ignored. Right next to the podium was a clear pitcher of water. It was filled with ice water and the sides were sweating. I kept staring at the condensation and the water and my mouth got drier and drier. I couldn’t get up easily because we were mid-pew – I didn’t want to disturb everyone. But I was tempted to stand up, ask a question and say, “By the way, could I have a drink.” Who else would have noticed the pitcher of water …

Take a look at the banner that hangs in the back of our auditorium. We went to the effort to make this because we find that it’s message is important and gives us purpose. What does it say?
“Making Disciples for Jesus Who are Eager to Serve Others”

Where does this statement come from? Matthew 28:16-20 and Titus 2:13-15
We often call Matthew 28:16-20 the Great Commission. Simply calling this text “The Great Commission” is a reductionism. It makes it simple to reference, but we can start referencing it by shorthand so much that we neglect what it is saying. We overlook it.
It is easy for us to reduce important matters of faith so that we lose the richness and fullness.

Notice first of all that the setting is very general … “As you are going … .” Going where? Anywhere. Doesn’t really matter. Wherever you go. While you are out and about. The modern missionary movement has emphasized the “GO YE” and the nations. However, nations in this context isn’t the same concept of nation that we have. I don’t want to discredit what missionaries do. Not at all, we need to encourage them. But when we think this statement only applies to them, then we aren’t reading it correctly.

The emphasis is on making disciples. Now what is a disciple? We may think that a disciple is a recruit or a member. It’s someone who signed up. It’s a sale, a buyer, a fish. Jesus spoke a lot about evangelism and being part of the community of Christians, but he uses this word disciple. Why? A disciple is a “learner.” It’s a rather Jewish word. Disciples/learners followed rabbis/teachers. You had to make the cut to be a disciple. But Jesus makes learners out of those who will follow. Jesus wants his learners to make learners and he even wants them to make learners out of those gentile tribes – the outsiders. Jesus was interest in his followers learning more than just information …

Make “learners” – What does it mean to be a learner? What do we learn?

Stanley Shipp – Like all preachers, Stanley has an airplane story. While sitting on his seat a man boarded late. He was in a horrible temper and he was pushing and shoving. He was rude to the flight attendants and complaining. Stanley was thinking, “This man is going to sit by me.” And sure enough he did. The man grumped at Stanley and said something like, “Well, I guess this is my seat, right?” Just then the flight attendant came to the man urging him to get situated because the plan needed to take off. The man yelled at the woman, “I’m trying. Quit bothering me.” He opened up the over head compartment and tried to fit his stuff in it. He took off his jacket and tried to cram it in the compartment. It wouldn’t fit and the door wouldn’t close. The attendant said, “We really need to close that door. It’s regulation.” And as the man argued with the woman who was just doing her job, Stanley got up and moved his bags around. He fit the man’s bags in more neatly. And then he took the man’s jacket and folded it nicely. Now the compartment door closed just as it should. Stanley sat down. The flight attendant sat down. And finally the man sat down. Somewhat humbled, the man introduced himself to Stanley. Not quite saying “thank you” but trying to show gratitude he turned to Stanley and said, “So what do you do for a living?” Stanley said, “I’m a teacher. I teach people how to live.” The man said, “Well, get to teaching. I need it.”

That story makes us aware of what the aim of evangelism and discipleship is really about. Stanley didn’t have to ask the man, “So where will you spend eternity?” When our view of discipleship is reduced to the hereafter, then we can neglect the here and now.

When we think of a disciple as a learner, then we recognize that Jesus’ focus was on the here and now and the hereafter both. How we live now is a seamless continuity with the future.

• Learners are people who are baptized into Jesus and live like Jesus. They are always in development and under construction. They practice life in Christ.
• The Great Commission never claims to be the most important Scripture in the Bible. It reflects back on everything Jesus did and taught … it assumes that you know what Jesus taught, or it assumes that you are going to learn it.
• Being a learner means that the way we live and the way we interact with each other matters – even now.
• Being a disciple is not membership in a group insurance plan.
• It isn’t a fast-pass to heaven.

What are we learning? We are learning to do everything that Jesus taught us. Much more than information or special knowledge, we are learning a way of living and a way of living together

That’s pretty obvious in the Titus [2:11-14] text – For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to everyone. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Do you see the way that here and now and hereafter combine? Do you see the way that information and formation come together. Do you see how the grace and hope in Christ becomes a tendency to do good eagerly?

Tonight at our family meeting we want to introduce you to a focus for our regional ministry.

Campus
  Kids
Healing
Hope

This isn’t everything we do. This isn’t a limitation. It is a focus. It isn’t a reduction because each of these four is about fulfilling our purpose to make learners.

We are inviting people to be learners with us. Not simply getting some facts straight so that we can ace our final exam, rather we are learning how to live. Inviting college students to learn what really matters. Teaching our kids at every stage what it means to be like Jesus. Learning to be like Christ brings healing to our broken lives. We learn to have hope.

It begins with baptism and then it continues in a life of learning. Not just learning about Jesus, but learning from him. For he is with us always – here and now and in the hereafter.

My Name Is Peace

Posted by Chris on June 22, 2008 under Sermons

Issues and Labels

• Conservative and Liberal
• Traditional and Progressive
• Spectrum:
  — “Angry Reactionaries”
  — “Cautious Moderates”
  — “Manipulative Change Agents”

The Union of 1832

T. B. Larimore

• Born July 10, 1843
• East Tennessee
• Baptized 1864 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
• Attended Franklin College in Nashville, Tennessee

Mars Hill Academy

• Florence, Alabama
• 1871 – 1887
• An influential evangelist and educator
• F. D. Srygley, Larimore and His Boys

The Issues – Then

• Instrumental Music in Worship
• Missionary Society
• Women’s Roles
• Re-Baptism
• Professional Ministers
• Hermeneutics

Periodicals of 1870’s

• Gospel Advocate, David Lipscomb
• American Christian Review, Ben Franklin
• Christian Standard, Isaac Erret

The Angel of Mercy, Love, Peace and Truth

“I am for peace – my name is Peace – and no word of bitterness shall ever fall from my lips, even in self-defense.”

Larimore’s Reasons

• “I can understand how it is possible for them to act correctly and still not always do exactly as I do.”
• “I love my brethren, and long, long ago solemnly resolved never to go to war … against them.”

“I Belong to Christ”

“I have never belonged to a ?wing’ of the church or anything else. I belong to Christ, hence to the church of Christ – not to a ?wing’ of the church.”

Time to Choose Sides

“It is not best, in my humble judgment, to be silent when we see our fellow men, and especially our own family, drifting apart. Thousands of you friends believe you owe it to yourself , your family, your friends, your Saviour and your God to speak out on some matters now retarding the progress of the cause of Christ.”
– Oscar P. Spiegel

Larimore’s Reply

“I am sorry to disappoint any of my friends; but it is certainly clearly my duty to leave the discussion of all such questions to wiser, better, abler men and just simply “PREACH THE WORD,” avoiding, always, all questions that ?do gender strifes’ among the children of God.”
– T. B. Larimore

Preaching the Word

• Baptized an estimated 10,000 during career.
• Recognized by Churches of Christ and Disciples.
• Both sides of the Movement gave him tribute following his death in March, 1929.

The Silence of Larimore

“Larimore was in no sense a partisan, and he never spoke evil of any man, but he did have firm convictions.”
– G. C. Brewer (1946)

The Golden Rule

“I never call Christians or others “anti’s,” “digressives,” “mossbacks,” “tackies,” or “trash.” I concede to all, and accord to all, the same sincereity and courtesy I claim for myself, as the Golden Rule demands …”
– T. B. Larimore – (Gospel Advocate, 1917)

Peace and Unity

“Of the seven things Solomon declares to be an abomination unto God, the crown of the climax is ‘he that soweth discord among the brethren.'”
– T. B. Larimore

“Accept the Right, Reject the Left”

Larimore’s Legacy

“The fact is that if everyone had had T. B. Larimore’s attitude, the problems would never have been blown up into divisive issues in the first place.”
– Douglas Foster