Damaged Goods – Theology of Sin

Posted by Chris on March 18, 2007 under Sermons

FOUNDATIONAL CORE

Damaged Goods: The Story

• God creates … and it is good, very good! (Genesis 1)
• God takes one day to enjoy it all (Genesis 2:1-3)
• God makes man and woman and they live together without shame (Genesis 2:25)
• God, humans, world – it’s all good!
• The lying snake (Genesis 3:1-4)
• Relationships
  • Humans and God: Damaged (Genesis 3:10)
  • Human and Human: Damaged (Genesis 3:12, 16)
  • Humans and Creation: Damaged (Genesis 3:13, 17-19)

A REAL PROBLEM: Sin, Evil, and Death

1. Elements of the Human Condition that need to be transformed. They are part of the biblical story. This is the problem of the good that has been damaged.
2. This Human Condition is a real problem and not some mere transgression of breaking the law
3. Sin is the result of the damaged relationship with God
4. Evil is the result of the damaged relationship with other humans
5. Death is the result of the damaged relationship with creation

SIN

You Are Truly Forgiven

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

In 1967, James Robert Ringrose had been on the FBI’s most wanted list for one year. He was wanted for writing bad checks. He had bounced his fraudulent checks all over the world. He was finally arrested in Osaka, Japan and spent time in a Japanese jail before being returned to the U.S. When he met the FBI agents who were transporting him back to justice, he told them that he had been saving an item for several years and now he needed it. He then presented them with the Monopoly game card, Get Out Of Jail Free.

Ringrose truly thought it was that simple, but you and I know that it isn’t. When a crime is committed, one has to pay. Unless of course you are pardoned. Most of us have heard the familiar illustration preached in many sermons about the prisoner on death row. At the last moment he is offered a pardon by the governor. All he has to do is walk out of his cell. He is free. That’s how pardon works. The illustration is meant to show us how God forgives and all we need to do is accept it.

Is it truly that simple? In the sense that God forgives us because of his mercy and grace and not because we merit it, then it is simple. But in the sense that God’s forgiveness is a legal transaction like a pardon or a Get Out Of Jail Free card, then no, forgiveness isn’t simple at all. You and I know that there’s much more at stake with God’s forgiveness.

In the case of the prisoner pardoned by the governor, such an act may be legally binding an effective, but the governor isn’t truly forgiving the prisoner. Governors and presidents pardon often pardon people they do not know. The pardon is not personal. The prisoner or accused has not personally offended or harmed the governor. The pardon isn’t even delivered in person. It is effected through the courts and the prison system. Think about it – when the governor pardons a death row inmate, does he come calling on that prisoner. Does the pardon mean that the prisoner may now come to the governor house and they can sit down to a meal together for the first time in years and put behind them all the hurts and grievances behind them. No, none of that happens. The governor isn’t truly forgiving the prisoner.

This is why you and I know that there is much more going on in true forgiveness. Jesus tells a story that describes what it means to truly forgive and to be truly forgiven. (Luke 15:11-32). It is a story about a man with two sons. The younger son was very disrespectful to his father. He was greedy and dishonorable. He asked his father for his share of his inheritance. Essentially, he was saying that he had no interest in continuing his life as his father’s son and wished his father were dead and that they were reading his will. The father had every right to beat this insulting child and throw him out of the house, but he does an strange thing. He gives him what he wants.

Now this dishonorable, greedy, insulting child leaves his father with his share of his inheritance. He takes the wealth that has been in his family for generations. He takes the money that his father has carefully saved and cautiously invested so that his son might have a future. He leaves the people who care about him and takes with him the riches that would save him in uncertain times ahead. He takes it and uses it to satisfy his basest desires. He pays for food and drink to make himself happy. He pays women to satisfy his lusts. He pays for others to be his friends. He pays for anything he wants, but when bad times come along he can keep nothing. And in no time at all his family fortune is gone.

So he takes work feeding another man’s swine. It sounds like honest labor, but it is the sort of labor that his family would find shameful. He’s not working for his family, he’s working for a wage among unclean animals. This isn’t the life he was meant to live. His father had provided for him to have a much better life than this – but that was before this son burned through half the family’s wealth. Back in his homeland where people had some sense of decency, someone might have taken him in and shown him some dignity, but in this faraway country no one wants to help him. And perhaps that’s because they know his story. They know what a reprobate he is. They know how shamefully he has treated his father and his family.

The son finally makes a decision to return to his father. He has hit bottom and he knows that even the hired hand at the lowest paygrade back on his family farm does better than he has done. He also knows that nothing can ever be the same between him and his father. He has brought such shame to his father. He has insulted his father and shamed his family. Everyone back home knows that he is a dishonorable, greedy, selfish person. Nevertheless, for the sake of survival he will confess his sin to his father and offer himself as a slave.

Now the father of this foolish child sees him approaching the house. Tradition and decorum dictates that the father should regard the son as “dead to him.” But the father does something truly unusual and truly unconventional. He throws decorum and propriety aside and runs to greet his returning son. Men of importance do not run. He could at least let the son stew in his shame and teach him a valuable lesson before offering him forgiveness, but he doesn’t. He lavishes love on the son who has hurt his family so horribly. It is such an overwhelming display of forgiveness it borders on being shameful. The man had two sons, and his older son is dumbfounded by his Father’s softness. It is one thing to accept the young man’s confession of guilt, but is it necessary to celebrate? That’s the older son’s question.

The father knows what it means to truly forgive. He isn’t just pardoning the son. He isn’t just erasing his debt or overlooking his shame. He is truly forgiving all the hurt and shame so that he can have his son back. He is truly forgiving the son so that he can maintain a relationship with him. And the father would be truly happy if his older son would truly forgive his brother. Because in that way they can all enjoy being family again. We aren’t told how the younger son felt about being truly forgiven. It is probably the last thing he ever expected. Does the new robe around his shoulders feel heavy? Does he twist the ring around his bony finger? Does he wiggle his toes in his sandals (when is the last time he wore shoes?). Does he rub his cheek where his father kissed him? This son doesn’t know what it feels like to be pardoned or to get out of jail free. He only knows what it is like to be truly forgiven – and it is something he will live with for the rest of his life.

Forgiveness is not as simple as a pardon or reprieve. Unlike pardon, forgiveness seeks to reconcile the relationship between offender and offended. Forgiveness strives for love and fellowship

It is isn’t as simple as a truce or forgetting the past and ignoring what has been done. For if forgiveness is truly practiced, then the sins and injuries to be forgiven are on the table. Everyone shares in naming it, but they also share in the blessed work of renaming. The son confessed his sins and he named himself a slave. The father acknowledged his offense, but renamed him “son.”

That wasn’t easy. Forgiveness is costly and there is a good amount of time and effort that goes into the business of restoring relationship. That’s true of you and I when we forgive and reconcile. It is all the more true of our God who forgives us. He doesn’t simply announce a pardon or call a truce. God works through the cross and in our lives to forgive. And he works to overcome our very human resistance to forgiveness. Accepting forgiveness can make us anxious. We would rather deal with the comforting control of law or the neat simplicity of “Get Out Of Jail Free” cards. But God is forgiving us – he is truly forgiving us.

You are truly forgiven. We are truly forgiven. Can we accept that?

Note: In the preparation of this sermon, I have benefitted greatly from two works that deserve special mention.

You Are Forgiven

Posted by Chris on March 11, 2007 under Sermons

Join me on a journey of the imagination and let’s visit the temple in the Jerusalem of centuries ago. It is the tenth day of the seventh month. There is a somber mood to activity. This is no ordinary day; it is the Day of Atonement. The priest is making ready to enter into the sanctified, holy place wherein God’s presence dwells. He has observed the ceremonial rules, cleansing himself and dressing in special garments. This is the way it has always been done. All the way back to Aaron, Moses’ brother.

The priest has slaughtered a bull – praying as he slaughters it asking that the Lord will forgive him of his own sins. He takes the blood of the bull into the holy sanctuary along with a censer of burning incense. Now he enters the Holiest place where the Ark of the Covenant rests. This is God’s throne on earth. As he places the burning incense before the Ark his mind is repeating the words of Scripture: If he follows these instructions, he will not die. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. (Leviticus 16:13).

Now he sprinkles the blood of the bull before the Ark, the throne of God. He does it just as he has always done it; year after year on the tenth day of the seventh month. He has purified himself from his defiling sins. He has sanctified the holy, but still very earthbound, elements of the Temple. Only now is he able to begin the ceremony of atoning for the multitude of sins staining the people of God.

Just as it has been done every year on the tenth day of the seventh month, two goats are brought as an offering for the sins of the people. The priest slaughters one goat. He will take its blood do what he did with the blood of the bull. The priest takes the other goat by the head and he tells the goat all the horrible and wicked things that the people of God done. He tells this goat how they have missed the mark. He tells this goat how they have fallen short. He tells this goat how they failed to live up to God’s standards. And this is just in the last year, because the priest performed this ceremony only a year ago.

The goat, burdened with a year’s worth of the sins of the people will be led away into the desert. The people will curse the goat as it is led outside the city. They are cursing their sins. They know what they’ve done. They know how they have fallen short. They know how they have missed the mark. They know how they have failed to live up to God’s standards. They know that their sins are as brutal and ugly as the gore and blood of the sacrificed goat that stains the holy garments of the priest. They also know that there is this day for atonement. Yet, they also know that they will do this all over again next year, on the tenth day of the seventh month.

Meanwhile, back in our own day and age it is the first day of the week. The people of God assemble. This isn’t like any other day or time. There is a sense of meditation and reverence. The preacher has been praying all morning. He is aware of his own sins. He knows how he has missed the mark. He knows how he has fallen short. He knows how he has not lived up to all of God’s standards. He may dwell on it in prayer, but that will be enough until next Sunday. The people are gathered this day also aware of their sins. During the quiet of the communion and in their mental wandering during the sermon they struggle …

One man wonders if his baptism was done right. Should he be baptized all over again?

A woman is concerned that her baptism at such an early age might not be enough of a conversion to cover over the horrible sin she committed two years ago that she dare not tell anyone. This is all she has pondered every first day of the week for the last two years.

During the Lord’s Supper some feel unworthy to partake of the bread and wine. They focus on the blood of Christ and the tortured body of Christ. They know that it is their particular sins that have put Christ on the cross. They feel unworthy and ashamed to approach God. But maybe if they keep coming on the first day of the week they will somehow prove worthy.

There are some who plead for change, telling God how sorry they are – especially those who have committed the same sin week after week. They come on the first day of the week to curse themselves for they know how they have missed the mark. They know how they have fallen short. They know how they have not lived up to God’s standards.

After an hour or longer meditating on their sin and after the chance to confess and prayer, some will leave the assembly place hope that this has been enough. For this hour or so they have reminded themselves of their sins, they understand that they have missed the mark. They understand that they have fallen short. They understand that they have not lived up to God’s standards.

Perhaps they understand that they have been forgiven. Perhaps the preacher spoke it. Perhaps they felt it or hoped it when they ate the bread and drank the cup. Perhaps they prayed it as they wrote a check or dug in their pockets for money. Maybe just maybe God will forgive them this day – this first day of the week since they have been good and faithful. But they don’t want to get too confident because they know how easy it is to sin. And besides, they will be returning next week on the first day of the week when they will do this all over again.

Two ages of God’s people, but the same problem: a constant awareness of sin. An opportunity for atonement, but a reminder that this atonement must be managed and handled again and again. I admit that there’s not a lot of hope in these scenes. However, perhaps you recognize the reality in these imagined settings. Perhaps the absence of hope and the chronic knowledge of sin and failure is too familiar. If so, I want to imagine a third reality. It comes from a sermon I did not preach. It comes from a preacher I don’t know. I don’t even know his name, but his sermon is so powerful that it was written into the Bible. You have heard some of the words of this sermon read in our worship today (Hebrews 10). I want us to journey to a hearing of these words …

I want you to hear the words of a preacher whose sermon was written into the Bible:
Christ did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. (Hebrews 9)
Do you hear what he’s saying? He is saying, “In Jesus Christ you have been forgiven.”

I want you to hear the words of a preacher whose sermon was written into the Bible:
God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10)
Do you hear what he’s saying? He is saying, “In Jesus Christ you have been forgiven.”

I want you to hear the words of a preacher whose sermon was written into the Bible:
Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:12-14)
Do you hear what he’s saying? He is saying, “In Jesus Christ you have been forgiven.”

“And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” (Hebrews 10:18). Why do we come together and before God day after day and feel that nothing changes? Why do we lose hope that our sins could be forgiven? Why do we keep dredging up our sin and letting it rule us?

We can criticize the old ways of slaughtered animals and confessing to scapegoats, but if all we’ve done is sophisticate the constant attention to our sin into a mental exercise rather than an ancient ritual, we are never going to live in the spirit of Christ’s forgiveness. “And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”

Some concerned soul might say, “But people could get lazy and careless if they are too confident in forgiveness. They may not come back to church.” Maybe, but they will never BE church if they think they are always condemned and don’t know that in Jesus Christ they are forgiven. We will never BE church if we are hopelessly burdened with guilt that hinders our righteousness. “And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”

If you’ve heard the words of this preacher today then you’ve heard an invitation to live in the spirit of forgiveness. If you have been baptized, then stop dirtying yourself with the sins that God has washed away. If you’ve been baptized, then you have new life. Quit shackling yourself to the condemnation of sin and guilt after God has already freed you.

All of us are invited to make this day a day of new covenant: “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

God is inviting us to forgiveness. Do you hear what he’s saying? He is saying, “In Jesus Christ we have been forgiven.”

Can we accept that?

The Gift of the Spirit

Posted by Chris on March 4, 2007 under Sermons

1. The Mystery of the Spirit:
   1. How does one have a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
      1. It is vitally important that the Holy Spirit be operative among us and in us if we call ourselvesGod’s children. (Romans 8, Ephesians 1)
   2. The details are mysterious
      1. Scripture does not go into detail about the particulars
   3. The effect spirit is clear
      1. Scripture tends to focus on the effect of the spirit
      2. Electricity: Unseen and not completely understood, but the effects are obvious.

2. The Spirit in the Old Testament:
   1. Three Functions:
      1. Creative –

         1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty,darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. – Genesis1:1-2
         2. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you send your Spirit, theyare created, and you renew the face of the earth. – Psalm 104:27-30
         3. The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. – Job 33:4
      2. Prophetic –

         1. I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare toJacob his transgression, to Israel his sin. – Micah 3:8
         2. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with Moses, and he took of the Spirit thatwas on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,but they did not do so again. – Numbers 11:25
      3. Empowering – God’s work to save and sustain His people

         1. The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. -Judges 3:10 (cf. Samson, Judges 14:6, 19)
         2. This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: `Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ saysthe LORD Almighty. – Zechariah 4:6
         3. Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be atMoses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them …? – Isaiah 63:12
   2. God and Spirit are the same
      1. This same Spirit of God is what the NT calls the Holy Spirit (among other names) …

3. The Spirit in the New Testament
   1. Old Functions, New Functions:
      1. Creative – Not the creation and sustaining of the present world, but of the new reality, theKingdom of God.

         1. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation wassubjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope thatthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom ofthe children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirthright up to the present time. – Romans 8:19-21
         2. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days,’ God says, `I will pour out mySpirit on all people.'” – Acts 2:16-17
         3. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured outon us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior – Titus 3:5
      2. Prophetic – Communication of the new Word of God, the Gospel of Christ.

         1. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Justsay whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. – Mark 13:11
         2. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spiritenabled them. – Acts 2:4
         3. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened – Ephesians 1:18
      3. Empowering – This is a new work in Jesus Christ and his disciples.
         1. The Spirit was active in a new way in the ministry of Jesus Christ

            • Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit onhim, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. – Matt 12:18 (Isa. 42:1)
            • The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it iswritten: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release theoppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Luke 4:17-18 (Isaiah 61:1)
         2. Just as God worked by the power of the Spirit, now Christ does too (cf. The Spirit of Christ, Theother Comforter):

            • But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8
            • Ephesians 3:14-19 – Power, love, knowledge. See also 2 Timothy 1:7
            • Now Christians, filled with the spirit of Christ, continue his work …
   2. Baptism in the Spirit:
      1. A New Way of Life:
         1. Romans 8 –
         2. Hope of Eternal Life (8:11) If the spirit lives within us
            • It dwells within us – it marks us as God’s people.
      2. Seal or Deposit. Assurance of what is to come …Present experience of the eternal reality.

         1. God anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,guaranteeing what is to come. – 2 Corinthians 1:22
         2. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit,guaranteeing what is to come. – 2 Corinthians 5:5
      3. This is clear, but “indwelling Spirit” has actually been neglected/feared because of uneasiness over …
   3. Gifts of the Spirit:
      1. Abilities given by Christ through the Spirit (A. W. Tozer: “The power to do”).
      2. Understanding the Gifts:
         1. Always focused on Christ: (This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit thatacknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does notacknowledge Jesus is not from God. – 1 John 4:2. cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3)
         2. Given as the Lord sees fit: (All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives themto each one, just as he determines. – 1 Corinthians 12:11; But to each one of us grace has been given asChrist apportioned it. – Ephesians 4:7)
            • Distributed variously and not all the same
            • God’s prerogative, even in the Old Testament: Eldad and Medad in Numbers 11
         3. Always for the good of the church: (Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given forthe common good. – 1 Corinthians 12:7; … to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that thebody of Christ may be built up. – Ephesians 4:12; Each one should use whatever gift he has received toserve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10)
      3. Kinds of Gifts:
         1. Speech – apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists (Eph 4)
            • This does not mean hype. Paul had gifts of speech, but he was sometimes regarded as a “weakspeaker.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 10:10)
         2. Discernment – wisdom, prophecy
         3. Leadership –
         4. Service/Ministry – miracles, healing, giving
            • These are confirming because they display the power of God, not man.
      4. Gifts of the Spirit need not be strange, but having spiritual gifts must not be confused with having the spirit …
   4. Fruit of the Spirit:
      1. These are to be common to all Christians (These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. -Titus 3:8)
      2. Contrary to Sin

         1. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinfulnature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They arein conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, youare not under law.
         2. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry andwitchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inheritthe kingdom of God.
         3. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlenessand self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucifiedthe sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with theSpirit. – Galatians 5:16-25
         4. These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. – Jude 19-20
      3. Contrary to the World

         1. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we mayunderstand what God has freely given us … The man without the Spirit does not accept the things thatcome from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, becausethey are spiritually discerned … But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 2:12-16
      4. Christ-Like Character and Christ-Like Church

         1. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, whowith unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness withever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
         2. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyonedestroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. – 1Corinthians 3:16
            • The Corinthians were still worldly (3:3-4)
            • The “You” in verse 16 is plural. As individuals we show the fruit, but must also as a group.
            • As a group we must also show a spiritual unity …
   5. Unity of the Spirit:
      1. The Spirit holds us together as a body
         1. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they formone body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized with one Spirit into one body–whether Jews orGreeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. – 1 Corinthians 12:12-12
      2. We have a sensitivity to one another, a spiritual bond
         1. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 = The body analogy
            • Held together despite our differences (which are important!)
            • Strong and Weak are balanced, and the hurting ministered too.
         2. When we fail to show concern and sensitivity to one another as a group, it is because we aregetting out of step with the Spirit of Christ.

4. Spirit of Love:
   1. The context in which the spiritual gifts operate and have their power
      1. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. – Colossians 3:14
      2. Without love, they are meaningless. “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2
   2. A fruit of the Spirit

      1. But the fruit of the Spirit is love – Gal. 5:22
      2. The greatest of “the greater gifts.” – 1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:13
   3. The Key to Unity
      1. The best sort of unity
         1. Barton Stone spoke of Fire Union
            • It makes us uneasy, because we want unity on our terms!

5. Challenge: The Spirit of the Age, or the Spirit of Christ:
   1. All: Walk in the Spirit
   2. Church: May we live as God’s temple!
   3. Acts 2: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivenessof your sins; and you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.” … “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”

Dedication of Elders

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

An Ebenezer Moment: Witnessing to God’s Help and Guidance
      “Thus far with your help, O Lord, we have come!” It seems we have been building to this moment for quite some time. I can recall meetings and gatherings over a year ago that were preparing us for today. Perhaps it is right to say that God was guiding us to this day.We began the year by studying God’s word and immersing this congregation in the spirit of God’s teaching about leaders, elders, overseers, and shepherds. We have paid careful attention to the example of Christ Jesus; and even as we affirm additional leaders we also affirm that Christ is the only Lord of this congregation and ultimately it is Christ who bestows upon all leaders the privilege of serving.
      Our process of identifying and naming new leaders began on Jan. 28. This congregation was asked to serve as God’s instrument for recognizing men who could lead as shepherds. I am a witness to the fact that our elders gave serious consideration to your input. With much prayer and discussion they continued the process of discerning what God intends. On Feb. 18 the elders offered the names of four men whom you named and who were willing and able to accept this sacred trust: Ron Belote, Russ McConnell, Larry Todd, and Jim Wilson. The elders again invited us to be a part of this process of discernment and the pledge of support for these four men was a resounding yes.
      We believe that God has been our guide and help in this process. We believe that he has graciously spoken through the church to identify leaders full of the Holy Spirit and Wisdom. We affirm this mystery: that this was done through the church, but it is all by God. God worked through the church openly, through members and elders, to lift up new leaders. This has been his way with his people and we are blessed in that way when we humbly submit ourselves to it.

A Pledge of Servant Leadership: Commitment of the Elder Candidates
[Benjamin will ask the four candidates to step up on the lower stage and face the congregation]

God has spoken graciously through his church calling you to tend his sheep. You are being asked to assume the responsibilities of shepherd, overseer, and elder.

• Will you serve Jesus Christ as your Lord?
• Will you teach and model the gospel of Christ?
• Will you ensure the healthy teaching that strengthens the Lord’s people?
• Will you guide us patiently and prayerfully?
• Will you lean on the Spirit of God as you equip the church for acts of faithfulness?
• Will you mentor and shepherd the other leaders God gives to the church?
• Will you lead us rather than appease us, resolving to keep us focused on God’s purposes?
• Will you pray for us when we are sick, minister to us when we are hurting, and rejoice with us when we are blessed?
• Will you work in harmony with your fellow shepherds and with the church?
• Will you be great among us by serving as Christ did?

Response: With God’s help we will.

Read aloud John 13:1-17

[The current elders will now join them and present them with the “servant towels”]

As a reminder of the Lord’s example of servant leadership, we offer you this small symbolic token of this day for your encouragement. This is a towel embroidered with the words of Jesus. We hope it serves as a reminder of Christ’s grace to you, your commitment before God and our support of your oversight.

A current elder will lead a Prayer of Blessing and offering additional comments (something that affirms that they are indeed shepherds, elders, and overseers for this congregation)

[After the prayer, the men assembled on the lower stage may return to their seats.]

A Pledge of Support: The Commitment of the Congregation

Church, our worship today confesses our belief that God has called these men to shepherd our congregation. Our actions from this point forward ought to reflect that belief and it requires commitment on our part.
So, I will remind all of us of these instructions from the preacher to the Hebrews (13:7, 17) – “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith … Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy and not a burden – for that would be of no benefit to you.”

Brothers and sisters …

• Will you follow these men in service for the sake of Christ?
• Will you be respectful of their leadership and imitate their faith?
• Will you support them in prayer and serve them in peace?
• Will you “lift up their arms” even as they care for our souls?
• Will you do all of this knowing that it pleases the Lord and shows the world the perfection of His ways?

If you so agree and pledge, then I ask you to affirm by saying “With God’s help we will!”

Prayer of blessing for the church:
[A representative of the congregation will ask God to help the church live up to this commitment.]

Invitation to Life in Christ
[Followed by Song for Responses]

Jesus Christ: Son of God, Savior

Posted by Chris on February 25, 2007 under Sermons

1. Jesus Christ the Son of God
   1. James Cameron’s Press Conference scheduled for February 26th to announce the discovery of the tomb and body of Jesus and his wife
   2. Ichthus – Ancient Christian symbol – Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior
   3. Father, Son, Holy Spirit — The significance of “Son of God” is to fill out the trinity
   4. But Scripture means much more when the term Son of God is used

2. Jesus Christ
   1. Jesus – Yeshua (He Saves)
      1. Jesus of Nazareth
   2. Christ – The Anointed One
      1. Messiah and Savior

3. The Gospel of the Son:
   1. John 3:16 – Too bad it has been connected with fanatics, sports fans, and wrestling
   2. Reading John 3:12-21 — I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

4. The Son SHOWS us God – No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man. (John 3:13)

   1. The Unseen Glory of God:
      1. Exodus 33:15-20: Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
      2. God is pleased with Moses, yet Moses never saw the Face of God.

   2. God has revealed himself to us in his son:
      1. John 1:14, 18: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth … No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
      2. Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
      3. Colossians 1:15: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

   3. More than a messenger or representative:
      1. The Son is God: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14)
         1. Recognized by his enemies — John 5:18: For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
         2. Philippians 2:6-7: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
      2. His teachings and actions are in synch with the Father:
         1. John 8:38: I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.
         2. John 5:19: I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

5. The Son is SENT from God – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16)

   1. God loves us, so he sends the one who can best express that love:
      1. John 14:23-24: If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
      2. John 15:9: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

   2. Jesus is obedient and trustworthy:
      1. He is sent to do God’s will
         1. John 8:29: The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.
         2. John 12:49-50: For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.
      2. He is sent to do God’s work
         1. John 4:34 — My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
         2. Philippians 2:8 — And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!
         3. He was sent to save the world

6. The Son SAVES the World – God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)
   1. The Son Has Life and Authority:
      1. John 5:21, 26-27: For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
      2. Who is the Son of Man?
         1. Daniel 7:13-14: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
      3. Life or Judgment?
         1. John 3:18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
         2. John 12:47-50: As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
         3. The Son, as judge, has come to “sentence us to life” through the grace of God. He would judge in our favor. But if we reject the Son sent by God to save the world, we condemn ourselves.
         4. 1 John 5:11-13: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

7. Savior:
   1. Savior – Children of God:
      1. The Son of God has invited us into the family, set the slaves free!
         1. John 1:12-13: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
         2. Galatians 4:4-7: But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
      2. Why don’t we realize we are his children?
         1. The girl in Nicaragua:
            • Setting: the meeting. We talked about her hopes.
            • Then she mentioned her Father who owns all the land and wealth …
            • My first reaction was “Why doesn’t he pay for it?”
            • Then I realized she was talking about God!
         2. Why are we so reluctant to live dependently upon God – like little children!
         3. 1 John 3:1: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
         4. This should give us …
   2. Confidence:
      1. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. – 1 John 4:15-17
   3. When you answered “Yes” to the confession question [“Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?”] … Do you rely on the love of God? Do you depend upon the life in the Son of God? The only other option is self-dependence, which is self-condemnation.

Welcome to the Table of the Lord

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Review: We worship God because he created us to worship him. He equips us to worship him. In the everyday realities of time and matter, God gives us ways to worship him. The rituals and rhythms of worship have been passed on to us, but each generation must claim them and make them their own.
Throughout the ages God’s people have gathered together to praise him in song and petition him in prayer. Why? Because he made us to worship him.
They have gathered by the waters to be baptized. Why? Because he made us to worship him.
And so also, God’s people have gathered around a table. Just because God made us to worship him. There has always been some sort of Lord’s Table. Eating and drinking in the presence of God has roots that extend back through all the festivals of Israel to that simple meal of bread and wine between Abraham and Melchizedek. We shouldn’t dismiss these festivals as mere ceremony of symbolism. As I hope we can understand today, ceremony and symbolism are critical to being human and being God’s people. Worshipping God is more than a mental exercise. It is a living activity. And the symbols and practices of our worship are alive. Done rightly, they are part of our worship to God – and after all God created us to worship him.

I Corinthians 11:23-26
²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Paul was passing on a living participation in a real event that held significance for the past, present and future. At the time he writes this to the Corinthians, the Lord’s Supper communion was already quite established in the practice of the Christian community. In fact, Paul is writing this because the Corinthians participation in the Lord’s Supper had become something of a disgrace. They weren’t paying proper attention to the symbols …

When it comes to the table of the Lord and the Lord’s supper there is much historical debate about the meaning of the elements: bread and wine. It won’t do us much good to get into all of that now. Besides, it really misses the point to try and dissect how symbols work. Why can’t we just understand how we engage and respond to symbols and the realities in which they (and we) participate …

• The flag – The fabric and dye and that makes up this flag isn’t sacred, but we show reverence. We stand when it is presented. We salute and sing our anthems. And what about flag burning? The ire of multitudes is raised when the U.S. flag is burned. But when an old tattered flag is taken out of service it is burned. What’s the difference? Attitude, reverence, the way in which people regard this banner. The flag becomes an embodiment of concepts and beliefs that are particularly real and meaningful.
• Wedding rings/ceremony – A lot of energy and investment goes into the wedding rings. There is a good amount of ceremony and special words that go along with the exchange of rings at a wedding ceremony. There’s nothing necessarily biblical about it, but we regard these rings as special. We even regard the ceremony as meaningful. Why? Because the ceremony and the rings embody something that we deem meaningful and important. The very fact that we show up is a witness to and participation in something we regard as more than real. At every wedding, done rightly, we are saying to everyone that marriage is a reality much larger than just this couple, but we invite them to participate in this special covenant. And the way we communicate and experience this is through ceremony and rings.
• Can you see how the tangible symbols of our faith engage us in a reality much greater than us? The water of baptism becomes an embodied participation in the gospel. Songs and hymns become embodied experience of the spirit of God.
• Think of the Cross. This is one of the most incredible symbols of our faith. What is it? What does it mean? The people of God did not invent this symbol. We co-opted it and changed it through and through – thanks to the work of God. It belonged to the Roman Empire. For them it was a symbol of fear and domination. But when Christ surrendered himself to the cross he exposed the corruption and depravity of human ambition and our need to be in power and in control. His sacrifice exposed our illusions and deceptions about ourselves. One of those illusions was the illusion of the cross – that it equaled punishment and power. God transformed it into a symbol of atonement. It became God’s embodied participation in reconciliation (Col. 1:20). Through Christ’s sacrifice there is peace between us and God.

Which brings us to the Table of the Lord: In the worship festivals that God’s people have participated in throughout the ages there is often a rhythm of sacrifice and thanksgiving. Through sacrificial love God provides reconciliation and redemption. A new hope is made real and the opportunity of new relationship between Creator God and his creation is established. And that relationship is important to worship.

When we come to the Table of the Lord and eat the Lord’s Supper of bread and wine we need to understand that this is a thanksgiving meal. This is a supper of peace and reconciliation. The war has been fought. This is the table of peace. (Just as it was with Abraham and Melchizedek). God has defeated the enemy at the cross. Sin has been atoned for. Because of that, we are welcomed to God’s dinner table.

Consider what this means as we participate in these symbols that embody this very great and life-transforming reality:

• The Lord’s Supper is not a funeral. It was never intended to make us suffer for our sins. The brutality of sin and shame was left at the cross. This supper is God’s way of embodying the reconciliation he so dearly desires.
• So, when we exclude ourselves from the Lord’s Supper, we are rejecting God’s invitation to come and eat with him. “But doesn’t 1 Corinthians 11 say we ought to examine ourselves and not partake if are unworthy?” No, it doesn’t. It cautions us not to eat and drink in a way that is unworthy of this very special supper. [Recall that the Corinthians were turning the Supper into a drunken glut-fest]. None of us are ever worthy of coming to the table! That’s why the cross precedes the table. But to eat the bread and wine in a worthy manner is to eat with thanksgiving and gladness and in loving fellowship with one another. The cross accomplishes that – the Lord’s Supper celebrates it!

Read Luke 24:28-36.

So, welcome to the table of the Lord …

Focus on the Bread:
When those disciples at Emmaus sat down for a humble meal of bread, they recognized Christ when he broke the bread and gave it to them. God is located very near us. He is as close as the food we need to survive. The bread is the body of Christ broken for us. It embodies a reality that we hold dear and sacred. Receive this spiritual food with thanksgiving and in response to God’s desires that you share this meal with him and with one another. He is here in the breaking of the bread.

Focus on the Cup:
When those disciples at Emmaus knew that they had been in the presence of the Lord, they were moved from being downcast to being excited. This cup is a cup of thanksgiving. It is a festive celebration that our brokenness cannot keep us apart from God’s love. Receive this spiritual drink with thanksgiving and in response to God’s desire to share in this festive drink and look forward to the day that we will drink a new cup with him in the kingdom to come.

God the Father

Posted by Chris on February 18, 2007 under Sermons

Psalm 68:5
Malachi 2:10
John 5:17-18

1. God the Father:
   1. Jesus came to give us the proper view of God.
   2. His message: GOD IS GOOD.
      1. To the rich ruler (Luke 18, Matthew 19, Mark 10): “Why do you call me good? There is one who is good!”
      2. Parables: The caller at night, the persistent widow. God will do right.
      3. Lessons from Fathers: (Luke 11:11-13)
         1. If we can be good fathers, then God is much better!

   

2. The Parable of the Good Father (Luke 15):
   1. Jesus is teaching about the love of this good God – his concern for the lost.
      1. He tells of a shepherd looking for a lost sheep.
      2. He tells of a woman looking for a lost coin.
      3. But the best illustration of God is that of a loving father waiting for a wayward child.
   2. Tell the Story:
      1. A man had two sons, the younger insults the father demanding his inheritance.
      2. The son squanders his wealth so shamefully!
      3. He finally ends up feeding unclean animals.
      4. He was hungry and craved the slop. No one had compassion on this young fool!
      5. He decides to confess his sin, and submit himself to his father as a slave.
         

         “The Forgiving Father” by Frank Wesley (1923-2002)

      6. The father notices the son far off.
         1. He has compassion.
         2. He runs to his son!
         3. He kisses him!
         4. He has a banquet for his son!
      7. The elder brother is so disgusted with his father’s reaction.
         1. He never got a party!
         2. But that sinful wretch gets treated like a prince!
         3. Remember: He had sex with prostitutes! He disgraced himself! He is unclean! He has polluted his body! He wasted the money!
      8. The Father to the elder son:
         1. “You are always with me, and all I have is yours!”
         2. He is saying, “I would be just as good to you. Even if you had done what he did, I would be good to you.”
      9. But the elder son doesn’t look for goodness in his father! He wants DISCIPLINE and JUSTICE!
         1. Looking for these, the elder son missed out on his Father’s goodness.

      10. What do we expect from our Heavenly Father?
   3. Jesus says look at this father and you understand something about God:
      1. The son asks for his inheritance. An insult! But the father gives the son what he asks for. [God is gracious when he has every right to punish.]
      2. The son squanders the money and comes to his senses. He realizes how good his father was to him [God has blessed us richly.]
      3. The son humbly returns to his father. He finds his father waiting. [God is patient.]
      4. His father, disregarding the indignity, lifts the folds of his robe and runs to his son. [God has suffered shame for us.]
      5. He receives the boy back before formal apology can be given. [God is forgiving.]
      6. The father accepts the boy back graciously. [God is love.]
   4. This view of God is a challenge!
      1. What about Justice! What about Punishment! What about Trust!
         1. We can’t get soft on this foolish kid!
      2. God is Just, Holy, Disciplining, but …
         1. Discipline without love is cruel.
         2. Holiness without goodness is vanity.
         3. Justice without mercy is compassionless.
      3. God is High, Holy, Awesome, Mighty, Exalted, Unique, Powerful …
         1. but we are comforted by the fact that he is good!
3. THE GOOD FATHER:
   1. Because God is good:
      1. He doesn’t play games with people.
         1. He doesn’t cause tragedies (fire?)
         2. He doesn’t torture and punish vengefully (angered)
      2. He can work in tragedies to bring about good. (Romans 8:28)
   2. Because God is good:
      1. You can go out this week knowing that God is on your side!
      2. God is good. He is for us. Are we for him?

Shall We Gather at the River?

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Most of the key civilizations in human history formed around rivers. The Middle Eastern nations formed between the Tigris and Euphrates – two rivers that supplied the Garden of Eden. The ancient and modern Egyptian culture is centered on the Nile River. The city of London is formed around the Thames. Midwestern civilization in our own country formed along the banks of the mighty Mississippi.

Living waters, rivers, are critical to forming a people. The river supplies many needs: it gives life, it nourishes the land, it is needed for cleansing and health, and it connects people all along the river.

The people of God are a civilization of sorts who gather around a river. There is a common river, an artery of life, which flows through our community. Did you notice it in the songs we have been singing? These are songs we often sing around baptisms, yes? Did you notice our common river flowing through the stories of the men we have recognized this morning as possible shepherds? It stretches from Encardio, California, all the way out to Carrolton, Kentucky. Along the way it winds through Fayetteville and Judsonia, Arkansas. Here are four men with different stories and from different places but united with each other and all of us through a common river – the waters of baptism.

There were all sorts of people gathered around the banks of the River Jordan that special day long ago. Sinful people were there trying to find hope and forgiveness. The poor were there because they heard that God was doing something wonderful. Tax collectors and soldiers who made their living by extorting others had gathered there – perhaps to find a way out of the life that made them victims as much as the people they victimized. Wealthy and respected religious leaders had gathered after hearing the news about a prophet claiming to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God. Of course there were probably ordinary people there just going about their business scrubbing out pots and jars and doing the laundry. Then Jesus came and submitted himself to baptism. The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world submitted himself to the washing away of sins – and yet he was without sin. Even the baptizer, John, protested and declared that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus insisted. Why?

Jesus knew that God’s work to save all humanity was culminating in that river. He knew that God was working in him so that all people everywhere and in all ages might gather at the river of baptism and be baptized into Christ. But how could any of us unite with Christ in baptism if he himself didn’t gather at the river with us?

When Christ is lifted out of the water, heaven breaks open. The voice of God affirms that Jesus is his son. The spirit of God descends upon Jesus. The unity of Father, Son, and Spirit is visible to all the earth at the baptism of Christ. There’s the source of the mighty river that forms our church civilization. The ancients said that when one is baptized, Christ meets them in the water. Perhaps they were building on an idea that Paul expressed in Romans 6:5 – If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

We believe that those who are baptized are baptized into Christ. We participate in his death, burial, and resurrection. We believe that sins are washed away and the rule of death and sin in our lives is broken. We believe that Christ gives his spirit and a new humanity is formed in the believer.

We do not believe that those who are baptized are baptized into the church, but we believe that God adds them to his church. It makes sense because if we are all united with Christ in baptism then we are also united with one another, right? “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6)

Consider what this means for us. Some of us are very much alike. We have a lot in common. We share cultural values, we know the same people, we have the same interests, we have similar experiences and we have the same needs. Some of us are very different. We come from very different backgrounds. We have different opinions. We have been through experiences that we may not even understand. But all of this similarity and difference is submerged and engulfed in the great river that flows over us and makes us one – the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord graciously allows us to extend the invitation to all to gather at this river of life. We believe that those who are baptized into Christ are his disciples. This claim is exclusive insofar as we believe this is the way to be united with Christ. But it isn’t exclusive in the sense that we forbid any from being immersed into the baptism of Jesus. All are invited to gather at the river.

The river of baptism is branch of the river of life that flows from the throne of God. As we follow the flow of our baptismal river, we will one day find ourselves on the shores of the river of life.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who’ve come to be cleansed of their sins
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with those who’ve heard what God is doing
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are anxious for justice and hope
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are burden by the oppression of false gods and corrupt rulers.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are changing their ways and have come to share what they have with those who have nothing.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all the other saints who have met followed Christ into the river and found peace by the throne of God.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with Christ.

God Is

Posted by Chris on February 11, 2007 under Sermons

1. How do you explain God?

   1. A nine-year-old perspective
   2. Yet some would say that God is just a myth for little children
   3. And the Psalmist says that those are the words of a fool – Psalm 14:1
   4. Anselm: An 11th Century monk, wrote a book called the Proslogium [Ontological Argument]
      1. “Even the fool is convinced that something exists, in the understanding at least, than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
      2. “That, than which nothing greater can be conceived, cannot exist in the understanding alone. For … then it can be conceived to exist in reality; which is greater.”
      3. In the late 20th century, there seems to be a growing interest in the existence of God, in the understanding at least …
   5. Aquinas: Cosmological argument
      1. Unmoved mover
      2. Uncaused casuse

2. Signs of the Times:
   1. An increasing interest in religion and faith
      1. Many claim belief in God
      2. Our nation still holds on to its Judeo-Christian traditions
   2. A declining importance in God
      1. But that belief seems to make no difference
      2. God has become inconsequential
         1. This is not to say that God is inconsequential.

   3. Aren’t these two trends contradictory?

3. The Weightlessness of God:

   1. “Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God’s existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, …
   2. … his commands less authoritative than their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgment no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, …
   3. … and his truth less compelling than the advertisers’ sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness.” — David Wells, God in the Wasteland
   4. We live in Athens:
      1. “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. – Acts 17:22-23
   5. Our Pantheon of Gods
      1. Not of gods, but God-perspectives
      2. The Atheist God – the God who isn’t (faith is still involved here)
      3. Generic God – All-purpose, inoffensive
      4. God of Convenience – There when needed, not there when not needed
      5. Rational God – Predictable and manageable. Complicated, but understandable with study.
      6. The Personal God (yet this is all of the above), and all are idolatry — which is self-centeredness)
   6. It can get confusing and overlapping when you have a pantheon

4. `Eyeh asher `Eyeh
   1. Exodus 3:
      1. Moses investigates the burning bush and is caught up into the will of God.
      2. Moses wants to know more about God
      3. God gives him a name that reveals, but also demonstrates the mystery of God
         1. He cannot be defined by any mere name or concept
   2. The Name of God:
      1. YHWH – An awesome name (unlike nouns, Lord or God, etc.)
         1. Likely derived from the verb meaning “to be”
         2. Not spoken by readers of Torah (Instead they read “adonai”)
         3. Written with a fresh pen by Scribes
   3. The Names of God:
      1. Adonai = My Lord
      2. El or Elohim = God
      3. Jehovah is not a Hebrew Word (Not known until 1520. The result of reading YHWH with Adonai vowels)
   4. What the name means
      1. I am who I will be/I will be who I am
      2. When God speaks his name (I am YHWH) it is assurance of his
         1. Power: God is above all else, under no authority, unique
         2. Promises: God can be trusted. He is the God of A, I, and J.
      3. Yet no name is sufficient
         1. No one names God
         2. He is not rendered by a mathematical formula or title
      4. If the name is awesome, then how much more the God!

5. God Is …
   1. High:
      1. Sovereign, Holy, Transcendent, Above all else
   2. Near:
      1. Compassionate, Moved with concern for his creation, Love (initiates relationship)
   3. One:
      1. Unique, Almighty, Worthy (nothing else, no one else is like God)

6. God is High
   1. Exodus 3: Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
      1. What Moses was curious to investigate now strikes him with awe.
   2. Isaiah 6: I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs … and they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
      1. Because the Lord is so high and holy, those who encounter him are struck with awe and fear.
      2. God is transcendent, yet he graciously approaches us …

7. God is Near
   1. Exodus 3: The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians.”
      1. The Lord is moved by concern for his people.
   2. Genesis 28: He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
      1. The stairway: God has stepped in to our world to do business. He cares about what happens.
      2. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
      3. “God is in it with us.”

8. God is One
   1. Exodus 3: 20 – So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them.
      1. The Lord is moved by concern for his people. So he does the impossible …
      2. He is always doing the impossible!
   2. Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, `Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
   3. Exodus 20: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol.
      1. Because of his power and one-ness, he is worthy of obedience.
      2. Yet God’s people have always wavered between obedience to God and the idols.
   4. 1 Kings 18: Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

9. Who Am I?
   1. Exodus 3:11 – But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
   2. In God’s Presence we cannot remain unaffected
      1. Moses was changed in appearance – his face shone!
      2. Moses’ life was also changed.
      3. We too are transformed by encountering the Living God!
         1. We remain unchanged because we withdraw.
   3. When we encounter God we respond with:
      1. reverence
      2. awe
      3. humility
      4. worship
      5. and love
   4. The Greatest Commandment

      1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
      2. It begins with a word about God, a call to know God!

         2. Hear, O Israel, The LORD is our God, The Lord is One!
         3. I learned about the presence of God when I changed the focus from me to God. When I considered those words: “The “I AM” is our God. The “I AM” is one.
      3. This is what Christianity is ultimately all about!
         1. not the church
         2. not evangelism
         3. not salvation
         4. not even Christ!
         5. but ultimately it is about GOD! (This is the pre-requisite for all else)