COME TO THE CORNERSTONE
by Chris Benjamin
1 Peter 2:2-10
Rockwall Recollections –
As a child on the farmland in Brentwood, weekends and summers were spent building the houses and other structures on the land. I recall the genesis of the old barn from its time as nothing more than a wooden framework rich with the smell of sawdust and construction materials. We used the resources available to us on the land. For a time we even had our own sawmill and made planks from the trees on our land. Using the resources from our 400 acres meant using rocks and stones. Stonework is a common feature of the structures my family built. It is a part of every building – the well house, the garage, the chimneys of houses and the patio walls.
I remember our old rusted metal trailer wagon. We hitched it to the back of the Massey Ferguson and chugged out to a clearing in the woods or to a place near the little canyons that cut through our land. The men would fan out and begin gathering rocks of all sizes and shapes. My father told me that as he would walk along scanning for rocks he would look at all sorts of rocks – some of them moss-covered, some of them rough, some of them slick and smooth, some of them light-colored and others black as coal, some buried deep in the earth and others just standing free as if they had just tumbled off the slide of a cliff. He said that as they gathered the rocks he could begin to see the entire wall formed in his mind. After filling the trailer, they would bring the haul of stones and spread them out at the building site. Like the pieces of the puzzle the rocks are combed through to find the rock that is destined to fit. Nothing is forced to fit. There’s a rock for every part of the wall. And every rock will find its place in the wall – some rocks are . My father has a rock shaped like the state of Arkansas in his rock pile at home. One day it will be a part of a wall. Not right now. But one day he will place it into a wall, or chimney, or walkway – in his own time, in his way.
My father tells me that during the gathering of the stones and in the sorting of the stones there is a subconscious search for the stone. The builder knows it when he sees it. It has the right shape and size; just the right height and width. This stone becomes the cornerstone of the wall or chimney. Dad says that when he finds this stone he can see the whole structure projecting from it. Just by looking at that one stone he can see how every other stone fits and stacks to build the whole structure. You can search for rocks all weekend, but only when you find this one rock can the construction begin. It is the key to the whole project.
Because of God’s mercy and kindness, we have been gathered. He has a vision for us. He has a project in mind and we are the materials for that project. It’s a work of restoration – a new house built on ancient foundations.
God had the entire project in mind when he placed the cornerstone.
What is this project God visualizes? For what purpose and for what project is he gathering us and building us?
One way to express this project/purpose might be – "Making Disciples for Jesus who are Eager to Serve Others."
- Yesterday the elders of the West-Ark congregation spent time in prayer, study and conversation. Their aim was to discern how we might communicate the mission of this congregation. They affirmed the statement above.
- They also spent time discerning how we can go about making disciples for Jesus eager to serve others. What sort of values and goals ought to be at the forefront of who we are and what we do?
- The statement of goals and strategies to put the mission statement into action is ongoing – you will be hearing more about this through the next six months, but today I think we can take a look at some of the encouragement Peter gives us …
- Come to Christ … (v. 4)
Christ is the cornerstone of our fellowship and community. We are oriented and supported by him.
We are being built into a spiritual house by the master builder – God.
Every member and every ministry of West Ark must be oriented and supported by Jesus Christ. If Christ isn’t cornerstone to all that we do here, then why are we doing it?
- Crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation (v. 2)
Christ is the source of our growth and nurture as a church. We don’t just rely on ourselves or one another. We’ve tasted the Lord’s kindness and we recognize that God in Christ is the source we need for spiritual nutrition. "Making disciples" means more than just initiating people into salvation – it also means growing into and living out our salvation. We need the gospel not only at our spiritual birth, but throughout our life.
- Offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. (v. 5)
We show our appreciation and thanks by offering all that we are to the kind, merciful God whose loves endures forever. Every stone fits into the project. Every piece is important to the building of the spiritual house.
Everyone here has a gift as part of the body. That gift is for the encouragement of the body and is for serving others. We need to recognize one another’s gifts and encourage one another to use them.
- Proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (v. 9)
We have a message – not about ourselves, but about God who has done so much for us. We have a message about Christ, our Lord, God has chosen him and has done and is doing something wonderful through Christ.
We have an identity – We know who we are because we know whose we are. We are a chosen people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. We are chosen and called out – but not for our sake but for the sake of the world.
Why do we do all this? Why does God do it? Because his mercy endures forever! He’s kind and good.
1 Peter 1:3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
- Out of gratitude to God for what he has made us in Christ, make disciples for Jesus and be eager to serve others.
- If the first disciple you need to make is yourself, then come to Christ, the living stone. Don’t reject him.
Posted by Chris on February 8, 2004 under Sermons
Songs
#121 – “Come Let Us All Unite to Sing”
#122 – “The Love of God”
#123 – “The Steadfast Love of the Lord”
GOD’S GIFT TO US IN JESUS’ DEATH
A Permanent Solution
by David Chadwell
We all have pet peeves. I want to share one of mine this morning. I reallydislike having to do the same thing twice. It really bothers me to think that a situation issolved only to discover that what I thought was a solved problem was never solved.
One of the biggest disasters we could experience is this: to be convinced thatJesus solved our problems before God, and find out on the day of judgment that Jesusdid not solve those problems. Scripture repeatedly declares that because of what Goddid in Jesus, through Jesus you and I can have relationship with God. What a disasterit would be to find out in judgment that is not true.
- Some of us who are Christians do not believe we are inrelationship with Godright now.
- There are a lot of reasons for having those feelings.
- Some of us carry around this huge burden of guilt.
- Because we will not forgive self, we are certain God cannot forgive us.
- No matter what God did for us in the resurrected Jesus Christ, we live ourlives with an enormous burden of guilt that we carry around every day.
- Some of us carry around a huge sense of meaninglessness or unworthiness.
- We feel “good for nothing.”
- We are certain we are “good for nothing.”
- We have such contempt and disrespect for self that we are absolutelyconvinced God could not love us.
- Some of us carry around this huge sense of failure.
- We know the truth about ourselves.
- We know the horrible mistakes we made in our past.
- We are convinced that God saves only good people, and we are sure weare not one of those–we are just a sorry excuse of a person.
- Read with me Roman 8:31-35.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who isagainst us? He who didnot spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Himfreely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the onewho justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, ratherwho was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who willseparate us from the love of Christ?
- Let me share with you my understanding of this statement that was written toChristians who were really suffering through hard times.
- Paul said there are three reasons that Jesus Christ is our permanentsolution.
- First, we represent the greatest investment God ever made.
- Second, God’s use of Jesus Christ to justify us means Satan cannotaccuse us.
- Third, the resurrected Jesus is right next to God interceding for us.
- The result: nothing external of ourselves can separate us from Christ’s love.
- What does that mean?
- It means nothing is bigger than God, and God will protect his investment.
- It means Satan cannot do to us what he did to Job–God will not listen toSatan’s accusations against us because in Christ God Himself justifies us.
- It means that no matter what we endure or go through, Jesus Christconstantly represents us to God–there is absolutely no way that we canbe misunderstood.
- It means that the only person who can remove me from Christ’s love is me.
- There are all kinds of things in life that can make our lives miserable.
- But if my heart belongs to the resurrected Jesus, not one of those thingscan remove me from his love.
- Think about these words in Hebrews 10:11-14.
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after timethe same sacrifices,which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for alltime, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemiesbe made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time thosewho are sanctified.
- The priests’ work was never over because the solution of animal sacrifices wasatemporary solution.
- The resurrected Jesus sat down at God’s right hand because his solution waspermanent.
- By God’s sacrifice of Jesus on the cross there are two things given to everyonein Christ:
- Sanctification
- A permanent solution.
- What God did in Jesus’ death and resurrection is a permanent solution.
Communion
Thanksgiving for Bread
[Bread served.]
Thanksgiving for Cup
[Fruit of the vine served.]
David Chadwell
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 8 February 2004
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Our Response
Song
#68 – “Give Thanks”
Offering
Songs
#691 – “Make Me New”
#429 – “Oh, To Be Like Thee”
YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN!
by Chris Benjamin
Sanctification –
Read Mark 2:1-12
Jesus has a curious response to the man’s condition: He doesn’t spend much time diagnosing the illness.
- Perhaps the need of this man is obvious as he lowered on his mattress with his withered limbs tucked in closely. It should be obvious, but that makes Jesus’ response all the more curious. He forgives the man’s sins.
Forgiveness of sins? Did the man even want to be healed? Or did he want to be saved? Why does Jesus offer forgiveness of sins right off the start? Usually we offer benevolence or healing then proceed to deal with other’s sin problems.
- What’s being said here about sin? It’s crippling. Condemnation paralyzes and numbs. Unable to walk righteously. Unable to speak to others truthfully and lovingly. Unable to move, to worship, to serve.
But, the Scribes have a point don’t though? Isn’t it God’s prerogative to forgive sins? We do not want to be too presumptuous. If we start handing out forgiveness like candy, no one will want to be holy. Let’s not talk forgiveness to the point that we forget responsibility. Maybe it’s best we leave forgiveness to God – and so that means we will just have to hope for the best in the judgment, right?
"Wait!" says Jesus to the scribes, "Why all this discussion? Why are you thinking these things? Why do you doubt my authority to forgive?"
There are two different views of forgiveness in conflict: We see it in the way the scribes question Jesus’ bold proclamation of forgiveness. We know it in the way Jesus bold proclamation of forgiveness is too often doubted by our own condemning hearts.
I John 3:19-20.
- The way our condemning hearts view forgiveness: God’s work of forgiveness is much more active and transforming than simply passing a sentence. We cannot equate God’s forgiveness with the pardon given by presidents and governors. Presidents issue pardons upon leaving office and they are usually the stuff of scandals. Why? Perhaps it is because we sense that nothing has changed. The label has changed, but the contents are the same – and they are spoiled. Yet, God’s forgiveness works much deeper than that. It has to! "Our forgiveness is not some judicial fiction, but a reality being worked out in our lives by the Holy Spirit."
- Jesus and the Apostles’ view: a transforming reality within and without, sanctification! Assurance of God’s grace and the power to change our hearts. [John – "So that you may know!"] – God’s forgiveness is good news for us when we feel the burden of condemnation and guilt because it allows us to be defined by God’s righteousness and not our guilt. We may even accept the fact that God forgives us, but we remain so guilt-ridden that we are spiritually paralyzed.
- Even if we do not assume that death is the only outcome, our guilt may condemn us to a spiritual paralysis. Rather than risk the possibility of doing anything wrong we do nothing. As long as Jesus forgives us, we should just sit down, shut up and be still. We quietly accept the forgiveness and keep our head bowed low. However, Jesus did not become sin so that we might become mediocre. We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). We were not created to stay out of the way and be unobtrusive.
- Jesus: "Which is easier to say?" Either way the result is the same – a soul with the ability to walk! And Jesus wants us to walk – spiritually. This man who may have never walked in his life – Jesus instructs him not only to walk home, but to carry his bed with him too. Jesus did not forgive us so we would stay out of the way. [2 Corinthians 5:21 – "God made him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."] Christ became sin – why? So that we might become righteousness! God’s forgiveness is not just a change in verdict – it contains the power to actually enable us to live differently! And that can be just as astounding as a paralyzed man walking!
We may think that without God’s forgiveness we will die, but the fact is that without God’s transforming forgiveness we will never truly live!
- We may choose to respond to God’s forgiveness like the scribes – with doubt and hesitation. We are our own worse scribes. Our hearts condemn us. And then we may, if it gets really bad, condemn others. So we need to hear and see an amazing authority. We need to confront a reality that is much greater than even our own hearts
- This greater reality is God. In the face of this greater reality, there can be no flippant forgiveness. We confront this reality through the cross of Jesus. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper participate in the crucifixion and resurrection – When we are baptized, when we share the common meal with Jesus we see how Christ becomes sin so that we might become righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s forgiveness creates a new reality. The word sometimes used to describe it is sanctification. God forgives in such a way that sinners might become holy and righteous.
- We may choose to respond to God’s forgiveness like the paralyzed man and his friends who brought him to Jesus – with faith and trust. Trusting in God’s transforming forgiveness is not oppressive, but liberating. In fact, we can only experience true freedom as we rely on the spirit of God.
- In 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Paul describes the ongoing work of salvation as moment to moment God is transforming us into his likeness. We are never set free just to do anything we want! Removing sin is meant to heal, to empower, to free – to convert! Crippled with sin, we are empowered to walk in righteousness …
So who has the authority? Our condemning hearts? Our guilt? Our scribal tendency to doubt and deliberate while we lie paralyzed on our mattress? Or does the Lord have the final authority? Jesus is greater than our condemning hearts. His view of what’s real and right and greater than the wisest scribe or the most cynical, self-hating critic. How ridiculous then that some of us would still allow our own heart to rule over the word of God …
- Some of us cannot worship because we doubt the authority and grace of God.
- Some of us have wounds that will not heal because we continue to pick at the scab.
- Some of us listen to "the inner-scribe" that keeps condemning us and has fooled us into thinking that it is God!
Once the scribes stopped dissecting the authority of Christ, the people praised God. We can too if we will let go and trust in his power to save. We are paralyzed so long as the focus is on us. But that changes when we focus on Jesus’ authority to heal and forgive. He’s greater than our condemning heart.
- And we ought also to glorify God when we see his amazing grace. When the sick are made well, they want to return to life. Likewise the forgiven need to return to life.
- Can you imagine if the paralytic had allowed his friends to carry him home after he was forgiven and healed? "No thanks Lord, I don’t doubt your power and authority to forgive, but I’m just not sure about myself. You see, I’m no good at the walking thing and to walk and carry my mattress, well, that’s a lot too soon. I probably need a few months in transitionary care to make sure this is for real. Thanks for the forgiveness and healing, but I had better go at this slow."
- But Jesus’ gives a command – without any doubt he said – "Your sins are forgiven!" And without any qualification he said, "Get up! Take up your bed and walk home!"
- Christ forgives us so that we may walk in righteousness. If Christ has forgiven you then why would you let yourself be carried home on your mattress?
Posted by Chris on February 1, 2004 under Sermons
Songs
#162 – “All Hail The Power of Jesus Name”
#250 – “The Great Redeemer”
GOD’S GIFT TO US IN JESUS’ DEATH
Freedom (Redemption)
by David Chadwell
What is the greatest gift you ever received? It may be a thing given to you; it maybe an act that benefitted you; it may be an experience you were allowed to participate into your benefit. In everything you have received, whether it is a thing, a beneficial act, ora beneficial experience, what is the greatest gift you have ever received?
Whether you know it or not, whether you yet understand it or not, the greatest giftever given to you whether a thing, an act, or an experience was given by God Himself.
- For you to understand the greatness of God’s gift, we must go back to the firstcentury world.
- When you hear the word “redemption,” what first comes to your mind?
- In your thinking, is it a “religious word” or an “every day life word”?
- To most of us, it is a religious word.
- But that was not the situation in the first century world.
- It was a very real, very practical, everyday life word.
- In a very specific way, the equivalent of our English word “redemption”meant “freedom.”
- In their language, this word was directly associated with the payment of aransom.
- One of the harsh realities of the first century world [and before] was the status ofpeople who were prisoners of war.
- To be a prisoner of war you might have been living in a city that was captured.
- You might have been a soldier in a defeated army.
- Whatever happened, you were a captive, and captives were sold into slavery.
- Slavery did not follow racial lines, or social lines, or economic lines.
- Any prisoner of war likely would be sold into slavery.
- You may have been free before capture, but after capture you became aslave.
- As a slave, you no longer owned your life or yourself.
- You existed to do as you were told.
- Typically you were not asked if you liked being a slave.
- Typically you were not asked about what you liked and what you felt.
- Typically what you liked and how you felt were of no concern to thosewho owned you.
- The common way to escape the slavery occurring when you were captured wasthe payment of a ransom.
- If someone ransomed you, you could be freed from slavery.
- There are actually a few records of a few prisoners of war who committedsuicide because they knew no one who would ransom them.
- I want you to feel a situation.
- First, think about your circumstances.
- There was a war that involved your city, and you were captured.
- You did not know one single person nor a group of persons who could payyour ransom.
- So you were sold into slavery, and you fully expected to be a slave for yearsand years.
- Everyday you did as you were told with no hope of every being rescued fromyour slavery.
- It was just a dreary, “get up and do what you are told” existence for you everysingle day.
- Then one day, when your hopelessness had almost reached the point of totaldespair, you were informed someone you did not know, someone you owednothing to, someone you could never repay, had paid your ransom in full, and youwere to be freed that day.
- What emotions would you feel?
- How would you express your joy?
- Can you imagine going from hopeless despair to jubilant freedom in one day?
- What would you feel toward the person who made your freedom possible?
- If you are in Jesus Christ, that is what God did for you–He gave you your freedomby paying the ransom that liberated you from evil’s slavery.
- Listen and read with me:
Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and togive His life a ransom for many.”
Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purifyfor Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
1 Peter 1:17-19 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according toeach one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from yourfutile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lambunblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7,8 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of ourtrespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.
Communion
Would you pray with me as we give thanks for the gift of Jesus’ body?
[Bread served.]
Would you pray with me as we give thanks for the gift of Jesus’ blood?
[Fruit of the vine served.]
David Chadwell
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 1 February 2004
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Our Response
Song
#147 – “I Stand Amazed”
Offering
Songs
#781 – “Thank You, Lord!”
#718 – “We Shall Assemble”
THE RANSOM DEMAND
by Chris Benjamin
Baghdad, Iraq – April 9, 2003 –
The cost of the rope –$18
The cost of the M88 Hercules tank –$2 million
The benefits of Freedom in Iraq –priceless |
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The toppling of Hussein’s statue in Baghdad represented freedom from decades of tyranny for Iraq. Even thought conflicts remain, all must agree that Iraq has been freed from oppression and now they have hope and a chance for a new kind of life. That is remarkably true in the case of Jawad Amir …
  20 years ago, Jawad Amir supported a religious leader who opposed Saddam Hussein. Hussein responded by placing an execution order on Amir. Amir went into hiding – not in another country, but in a space in the wall of his parent’s house. Amir lived in this space for 20 years listening to the news on his radio. When he heard that Hussein’s statue was toppled he finally emerged from hiding.
After 20 years hiding for his life, Amir has a new life because of the freedom achieved by others. What he will do now that he has his freedom? Just having freedom isn’t the end of the story, after all. Amir’s story is symbolic of the nation of Iraq – now that they have freedom from the tyrant, how shall they use that freedom? There is real concern that a leadership or government could form even more oppressive than Saddam Hussein. Before he was pulled out of his own hidey-hole, there were those who expressed a desire to return to the rule of Hussein …
- “We feel like we’ve been let out of prison,” Arsalan Adnan says. “We can talk about anything.” But Waffi Mahmoud Aswan, 42, an accountant “At least with Saddam, there was order in the city.”
- About 50 men and boys, mostly from the Tikrit area, piled into pickups and drove around, firing guns into the air to celebrate Hussein’s birthday. The men, mostly farmers, carried an array of modern weapons, including heavy machine guns and assault rifles. “Saddam is all we have known,” Ahmed, 21, said between celebratory bursts of his Kalashnikov. “We will not be apart from Saddam for the rest of our lives, I tell you.”
Second chances are delicate and profound moments. Why? Because something has been paid to redeem a people from destruction. To waste freedom and redemption is incredibly disappointing and anguishing.
- We grieve when we see people around the world trade in their freedom for false security or idle pleasures.
- We are disappointed by those in our country who have opportunities to escape their circumstances but their own foolishness returns them to a life of misery.
- It is tragic when someone is given a new lease on life through costly surgery or treatment but they die soon after only because they refuse to change their habits.
- How often do we consider our freedom in Christ as a precious second chance? The ransom of Christ’s blood on the cross has given us more than just an exemption from condemnation – it has set us free to live a life that demands to be lived well!
Ransomed by Christ – Galatians 5:1 – "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."
The death of Jesus on the cross is not a payoff to an angry God, nor is it simply payment for a hefty fine. The appearance of the Son of God threatened the powers of darkness and evil.
Christ’s suffering and death was not meaningless nor an accident; it was necessary and inevitable given the conflict that exists in our world between good and evil, between the powers that would enslave us and the God who created us to live free.
But the resurrection changes everything – death is not victorious in this conflict. Christ is exalted over all the living and the dead. Sin’s statue has been toppled. There is a regime change in the world that brings about new freedom because there is now a new, redeemed, free humanity in Christ.
Two Abuses of Christian Freedom
We have been set free! But what do we do with our freedom? There are two extremes, two abuses of freedom in Christ: We’ll call these extremes "lawlessness and legalism." And since both of these extremes ignore the relationship between grace and works, freedom and responsibility, or spirituality and behavior we can characterize them as follows:
- Lawlessness – Trying to Be Spiritual Without Worrying About Behavior
- Legalism – Worrying About Behavior Without Trying to be Spiritual
Lawlessness: Trying to be spiritual without worrying about our behavior.
We are free – but that doesn’t deny that there is a call to purity. Purity and holiness are benefits of freedom. If we lose these we abandon our freedom. How can we strive for the joy of Christ if we are chasing after things that fill our lives with more pain? We cannot serve two masters.
- "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." – 1 Peter 2:16
- "For you have been called to live in freedom–not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love." – Galatians 5:13
Legalism: worrying about our behavior without trying to be spiritual.
The message of grace and freedom is threatening to some. And they, like the Iraqis who would rather have the security of law rather than the responsibility of freedom, will put their faith in a religious system, tradition or church institution.
Talking about freedom can be challenging and some get alarmed that there will be abuses. But when we focus on behavior and neglect the spiritual there are other abuses that are just as bad: We may keep all the rules and avoid any sort of conflict or slippery slope, but inwardly we have not changed and we justify rudeness, unkindness, and discord in the name of defending the faith.
Jesus taught us that good behavior is not just about what we do – it also involves who we are.
- "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." – Colossians 2:8
[Systems and rules are deceptively secure because we find it easier to control doctrines and rules than to control ourselves.]
- [If we accept legalism as righteousness, then we throw away the cross and, with it, Christian freedom] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Lawlessness –
Trying to be Spiritual without Worrying about Behavior
Legalism –
Worrying about Behavior without Trying to be Spiritual
Liberation –
Living Free by Behaving Spiritually |
A Better Way: [Liberation – Living Free by Behaving Spiritually]. Jesus taught us that righteousness isn’t just what we do – it is who we are. It is not just outward, it is inward. We have been set free – God has done this while we were still sinners. He acted, and we can only respond. But we do have a response – ability.
Freedom’s Cost and Freedom’s Response – Ability [The Ransom Demand]
- The ransom demand is not placed on the one who set us free. The demand of the ransom is placed on you and me.
- 1 Peter 1: 13-19
Freedom comes at the cost of spilled blood. To have political freedom is an important and priceless reality, but to have spiritual freedom, release from the tyranny of sin, is greater still. For, one can be a free American citizen but remain an enslaved sinner. Only when one lives as a freeborn child of God is one truly free indeed.
You’ve been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ – How then shall you live? The invitation is to come to Christ. The invitation is to live out your freedom and share its benefits.
Posted by Chris on January 25, 2004 under Sermons
If we really want to know Jesus, then we will want to know the end of his story. However, Jesus’ story never ends …
- Read Mark 16:1-8
- Debate over the longer ending.
- Mark and the Story – He is intentionally leaving it hanging. Why does Mark do this?
- Resurrection is not the end of the story – Jesus is raised and his life and story continue to this very moment.
- What will these women do? What about those sad and disappointed disciples who are going back to fishing?
- The story does not end – it has just begun!
- Going ahead of us to meet us in Galilee
- Galilee – (Jesus is already there)
- For the disciples, Galilee is worse than death. They are returning to their old life with broken dreams and dashed hopes. They are going back to mark time until the final ends comes.
- They are ending it, Jesus is just beginning it
- They’ve gone back to the past, Jesus meets them with a new future
- What about these disciples who suddenly find that the end is just a new beginning? (Luke continues their story in Acts and the message of the resurrected Jesus fills every sermon and mighty act).
- What about us?
Death is certain, but Not Final …
- The question is not “will we die?”, the question is “will death be the end?” (Not just for eternity, but even the metaphorical "deaths" and losses we experience even now)
- When death (loss) is the end then it will lock us into the past with no hope for the future
- That may lead to bitterness,
- That may lead to a 3-D view of reality: depression, despair, and denial.
- That may lead to nostalgia (a very subtle trap of the past).
- When the disciples lost hope, they returned to their past (Galilee). They are in survival mode. They return to the life they know – even if that life is just the end awaiting death …
- We see a very picture in Paul’s words in Galatians. For Paul death is not the end, but a door to a new beginning. He let’s go of self and the world he thought secure to gain a new life. Dying to self is living with Christ (Galatians 2:20) –
- Paul realizes that he has already died – to self. His life is now a new life in Christ that is filled with a hopeful future.
- Paul is expressing a theme that becomes real when we know Jesus – that resurrection follows death, and before resurrection there must be a death.
Before there is a resurrection there is first a death …
- The caterpillars, the gray husks, the cecropia moths. This is a theme God has woven into the fabric of the universe.
Thursday’s Resurrection
by Chris Benjamin
Thursday, April 13, 2000
Ten days before Easter Sunday
This morning I witnessed a miracle. I stepped out into the gray morning to see how my plants and bushes were doing and I noticed the faintest, quietest motion inside one of the bushes. Two large fiery colored Cecropia moths were stretching their wings. Their wings had a velvety cat’s eye pattern and their scarlet, feathery antennae were stroked back on their heads majestically. Their bodies were colored with beautiful, white and fire-red furry stripes. My first thought was not, "Where did these come from?"; rather it was "They’re here! They’re finally here!" I rushed back into the house to tell Karen and the boys that the caterpillars had hatched.
Last spring, we were visited by two unusual guests. They didn’t ask if they could stay. They just showed up one day – two funny-looking little fat green caterpillars. The red and blue knobs gave them the appearance of having a face – a clown face. They showed up on our red-tip bushes and just began eating. I wasn’t very fond of those bushes and had thought about pulling them up, so I gave the caterpillars permission to eat all they wanted. They took me up on my offer and they swelled to four times their original size. They did contribute to the entertainment of my family. Wyatt, my son, thought they looked just like Heimlich the caterpillar in the movie A Bug’s Life – and I must admit they did! So almost everyday we came to see what they were doing, how they were growing, and just wondering if the bushes were still there and if any of their friends had moved in.
Then came the day they made their cocoons. We really didn’t know what to suspect, but we noticed that they were getting less active. Then they started spinning their silk for the cocoon and pulled the leaves up around them. It was fascinating to watch them form the cocoon until they were finally encased in a brownish grayish shell that perfectly matched the color of the tree bark. From that time on, we began to wonder how long they would remain in the cocoon. As the months rolled on, we were certain it be through the winter. We slowly began to forget about the caterpillars. Every once in awhile when I was trimming a bush or mowing, I would look to see if perhaps the cocoon was split or if something was moving. No change. Never. We just got used to the two cocoons being in the bushes.
Then yesterday, Wyatt brought home a reading book about Gus. Gus is a caterpillar and he becomes a butterfly. Of course this made us think about the Heimlich’s. Wyatt asked about them and Karen glanced at me. I told her in parental semaphore that they were likely "d-e-a-d." After all, those gray husks had gotten weathered and who knows how much pesticide they had been exposed to as I was killing chinch bugs, fire-ants, mosquitoes and every other pest. I would expect that if they were alive there would be some sort of sign, at least maintenance of good color. Karen said, "Let’s give them a while longer and then we can cut down the branches." I really didn’t care one way or another. After all, I had gotten used to the gray husks.
This morning [April 13, 2000] was a symbol of God’s power to make life. The gray dead-looking husks that we had almost given up on were now the center of vibrant beautiful life. We had waited and grew impatient rather quickly. We just expect things so soon. The lovely creature stretching its wings was a reminder of God’s power and promises. Some may think it only coincidence or romanticism on our part to believe that the metamorphosis of a caterpillar has any sort of connection with the Resurrection. The cynic may say that the Resurrection of Christ is just a myth inspired by the scientific processes of nature. It seems more likely to me that God, the cosmic Artist, has inserted an important theme, a motif, into all of His creation.
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- In Jesus we see that theme in a person … and by knowing him we can display that theme in our life and church …
- Some ministries end, only to begin new ones – that’s resurrection hope and power at work
- LJCC – I had to leave so that a new ministry can begin there and so a new ministry can begin here. In Christ, endings are never just the end, they are the beginning.
- Lions For Christ – they leave behind the youth group but this isn’t the end, it is just a new beginning
Tired, worn out servants can be filled with new life and power (Ezekiel 37)
- Marriage – broken, dead marriages can be revived. [So the classes we teach are an extension of this principle that God can bring life and hope where we only see death and hopelessness.] Don’t pronounce the time of death until you pray! But even then, there can still be a resurrection.
- Knowing Jesus we can experience resurrection in Personal Life – Career, finance, purpose …
- But we have to submit to death (dying to self) so that there can be new life (baptism) – Romans 6. We need to let go of that which we are going to lose anyway (our mortal life) to receive the life that God gives as an eternal gift – now and forever
New Creation even Now – Eternal Life begins now! 2 Corinthians 5:17 – I Corinthians 15:57-58 (the connection between the resurrection and discipleship) – Jesus after his resurrection did not just float up to heaven like a ghost. In fact he had a hefty agenda and was quite busy for over a month …
Invitation: Before there is a resurrection there is first a death.
Philippians 3:10 – I want to Know Christ and the power of his RISING share in his suffering and conform to his DEATH
Will your death be the final end, or will dying to self be a new beginning? Would you like to know the power of resurrection that can change the gray husk of suffering, pain, and loss into new creation even now (not just in that great getting up morning)? Then meet Jesus. Know him!
Posted by Chris on January 18, 2004 under Sermons
Introduction:
- Getting to know people means getting to know what they do (work, hobby, or cause).
- It’s inevitable that someone will ask "So what do you do?"
- Getting to know people means getting to know what they do …
- Knowing Jesus means knowing what he does …
- Luke wants us to know Jesus. He recalls Jesus telling people what he does – and there is a reaction!
- Home in Nazareth to preach in the synagogue Jesus is going to use Scripture to answer the question everyone wants to ask the young man who’s come back home: "So what are you doing now Jesus?"
- This is his mission statement – If you want to know Jesus and what he does, then this is it …
Read Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Soon he became well known throughout the surrounding country. 15He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.16When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place where it says:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.
20He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. 21Then he said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!”
The Heart of Jesus – Jesus has opened his heart to us. Shown us his passion …
- The Spirit of the Lord Upon Him
- Preaching and Proclaiming – Word and Action are one & same – He speaks with authority – What he says is what he does.
- The Kingdom Conquering a Broken World – Jesus’ ministry is all gospel and it involves …
- Casting out evil (Luke 4:31-37) – The end of evil’s power is being proclaimed
- Healing (Luke 4:38-41) – The curse upon humanity is being lifted
- Preaching (Luke 4:42-44) – The love of God and the call to a new way of life
- The Gospel is not just saying and hearing – it is also being and doing
- Ministry is not just bait on the gospel hook – it is the visible sign of the good news of the rule of God
- We have wonderful ministries at West-Ark that demonstrate how the proclamation of the gospel is both word and action …
- Guyana Medical Missions – the treatment of broken bodies and souls are both works of gospel proclamation. The gospel is not a hook we have to bait with free medicine. That sort of approach leads to an evangelistic bait and switch. Jesus demonstrates to us that every healing touch can be a proclamation of the good news.
Community Outreach Day
Tell those in need about it.
Everyone welcome!
West-Ark Church of Christ Family Life Center
Saturday, January 31, 2004, 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
MEAL PROVIDED
All clothing and household items are FREE!! |
- Community Outreach Day – Why do we do this? To "lure" people in? No, because we are transformed by the good news of the kingdom breaking in. We use our resources in a "gospel-ed" way. We believe the kingdom establishes a new order and rule over the way we do things and over the way we own things. The Spirit of our Lord is upon us and we use our resources for kingdom purposes …
- The Gospel transforms reality because the Kingdom is breaking in …
- Jesus is more than just the Master teacher, he is the living embodiment of the truth he proclaims
- And he calls on his disciples to be the same thing …
If you want to really know Jesus and do what he does then our belief and action are one in the same; they are turned inside out …
Turning Inside Out – Read Luke 4:22-30
22All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, `Physician, heal yourself’–meaning, `Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’ 24But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. 25“Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah’s time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a widow of Zarephath–a foreigner in the land of Sidon. 27Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help.” 28When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30but he slipped away through the crowd and left them.
The Heart of Jesus in Us –
- We cannot hoard the blessings of the gospel or limit access to them.
- Where do you find Jesus? Among the people we sometimes want to forget about.
- Knowing Jesus means doing what he does and caring about the things he cares about.
- The Weightier Matters of the Law (Matthew 23)
- The things that really matter to Jesus, are not just his pet projects – they must shape what we do, even when it is difficult or risky. …
- The theme of the 1960 ACU lectures was “Christian Faith in the Modern World.” One of the speakers was a professor of Bible at ACU, Dr. Carl Spain. Spain was a soft-spoken and humble man. His lecture had the rather innocuous title, “MODERN CHALLENGES TO CHRISTIAN MORALS.”
- Spain noted how philosophies such as naturalism and the origin of species informed the politics of Nazism and Communism, but then he brought the message home and pointed out that segregationist attitudes in the church are no better …
- And then Spain challenged ACU to change it’s official policy of not admitting African-American students …
- " … I feel certain Jesus would say: ?Ye hypocrites! You say you are the only true Christians, and make up the only true church, and have the only Christian schools. Yet, you drive out one of your own preachers [from your school] because the color of his skin is dark!" "We fear the mythical character named Jim Crow more than we reverence Jesus Christ."
- The cynical or critical might say that this is so much political correctness by a liberal college professor. Recall however that this is 1960, in Texas. This is three years before Martin Luther King’s march on Washington and four years before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law.
- Could it be that disciples of Jesus who share his heart’s passion for the kingdom of God do in fact believe as he does in the weightier matters of the law – and they will do what he does to proclaim and live out kingdom justice, mercy and righteousness – And could it be that this in fact might make a difference?
- [One year after Spain’s speech. ACU changed its policy and admitted African-American students]
- If you want to really know Jesus and do what he does then inside turns out …
- Come into my heart Lord Jesus! Jesus will turn us inside out by asking, do you have room for my little ones?
- It is better to turn inside out with the heart of spirit of Jesus filling us, than to decay from the inside out like the hypocritical Pharisees. The good news of the kingdom proclaims help and healing from the Lord to those who will turn to him.
Posted by Chris on January 11, 2004 under Sermons
Introduction: Standing in the place of a famous person. Long ago that person was there.
Baptism – Jesus was Here!
Text: Luke 3:15-22
Paul, like the Gospel writers, affirms that there is a connection between Christ’s baptism and our baptism …
- Galatians 3:26-27
– We are baptized into Christ. We take on the character of Christ. We assume his status as a son. One area of unfinished business is to articulate better what it means to be baptized into Christ.
Colossians 2:11-14 – We are unified with Christ in death and resurrection. It is described as a circumcision done by Christ. He has initiated a new covenant with us. When God makes us alive with Christ (again note the unity with Christ) he forgives us of all sins and cancels the written code that testifies against us. This is a new order of life. Paul describes it earlier by saying that we are rescued from the dominion of darkness and placed into the kingdom of the Son. (Colossians 1:13). The implication for ethics has to do with the rule exercised over us.
Romans 6:5
He became what we are that He might make us what He is. – Athanasius
In His Baptism, Jesus identifies with us …
- In our humanity
What is so appealing about baptism in an age where nothing seems important?
First, baptism is holistic and experiential and this appeals to our age as something authentic. The post-modern culture may be more receptive to this than the modern rational culture was. God wants to baptize minds, but he demands more than that. Furthermore, God is interested in baptizing more than just feelings. Baptism is a total experience.
Our culture is desperate for real and total experience. Why the rise of tattoos and piercing? Perhaps because it is real, bodily, and symbolic. It is event based – a marker of something significant. Why the popularity of extreme sports? Extreme sports may be so popular because in an age of meaninglessness it is assumed that the only way one can truly feel alive is to risk death.
We live in an age where nothing seems to matter very much. And that which does matter doesn’t matter for a very long time. Nothing seems permanent. This includes human life. So many question the meaning of their existence. They are confused about their worth, their value, and their identity. My generation (Gen X) has not witnessed the global turmoil that previous generations have. We did not live through wars and depressions. We are not the greatest generation, and therein lie our problem. We were not faced with monumental decisions or titanic struggles that demanded great sacrifice. Our greatest struggle is the question of our existence. Our greatest dilemmas are infused into our being born. We are the first generation to know that our parents could have legally chosen to abort us. We are the first generation commonly raised by institutions as much as families. We are the first generation to be born without God as a significant part of the culture. How this generation longs for a new birth and a tangible spirituality – a faith that has flesh! We find that in Christ and in baptism (a very tangible event!)
- In our sinfulness
German composer Felix Mendelssohn’s grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was not a handsome man. In addition to his short stature, he also had a hunched back. When he met a young lady named Frumtje, Moses fell madly in love, but Frumtje was repulsed by his appearance.
Finally getting the courage to talk to her, Moses asked, “Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?”
When she said yes, Moses said, “In heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord said, ‘But your wife will be humpbacked.’ Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'”
Frumtje reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand, and later became his devoted wife.
He became sin that we might become righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- Our hope for a new beginning
A few years ago I met a member of my generation whose thirty-something years of life had not been as blessed as mine. Her name was Grace. She had come to our church building to pray. She felt the urge many times to come in and pray. She was obviously longing for God. I sat down to talk with her. I listened to how she was unloved by her parents and men. She had had many relationships but they had been mostly bad. Yet, she wasn’t bitter or angry, she was afraid. She was afraid that she would never be a success in life and that her life would be meaningless. She was going to school, turning her life around and doing all the things that would give her applause and admiration. She was doing everything that she thought she ought to do. But the fear and confusion, the lack of purpose, future, and identity was still there.
After much discussion and coming back to this theme in her life again and again I finally asked her "How would you like a new life?" We discussed baptism, but not in terms of what she must do to be saved, but in terms of who she could be by the grace of God. I told her what God’s grace could do with Grace – how He would bury her sins and the past then recreate her as new as a newborn child. All of her fears and confusion would be gone, because she would have a life that was a gift from the Creator.
She asked how it felt to be baptized. The Scripture I shared with her to answer her question was Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."
Only the language of new birth, a new beginning, and the promise of a new identity in Christ and a baptism that was the work of God, a symbol of the gospel could have spoken to Grace. All of that is pictured in Jesus’ baptism as he shares with us the event that marks a new beginning – a moment in time when heaven breaks open and the future of all the earth is blessed.
In Our Baptism, We identify with Christ …
- In his divinity
(sharing in the divine nature) – 2 Peter 1:3-4 – We’ve been equipped! We have new value!
 There is a Baseball card called “Baltimore Orioles Future Stars” and it is valued at $100. There are three players on this card: The first is Jeff Schneider. Schneider played 1 year of professional baseball, pitched in 11 games. The second player is Bobby Bonner, who played 4 years of baseball but only appeared in 61 games and 0 home runs.
The third “Future Star” played 21 years for the Baltimore Orioles and appeared in 3,001 games. He came to bat 11,551 times, collected 3,184 hits and 431 home runs, and batted in 1,695 runs. His name is Cal Ripken, Jr. Bobby Bonner and Jeff Schneider’s baseball card is worth $100, not because of their statistics, but because of what someone else has done. They get to share in the value of Cal Ripken, Jr.
- In his righteousness (Matthew 3:15)
Baptism is God making a statement. He claims the baptized one. His historical work of reversing the Eden disaster is evident: he buries another sinful Adam and gives birth to a new child of God. God justifies and sanctifies. Yet, despite this profound revelation from God we are still riddled with doubts as though we are spiritual orphans or God’s foster children.
I never believed that I would have to perform "last rites" as a minister in a church of Christ, but I did just that. A man came to me whose wife was dying. He wanted to be assured of her eternal destiny; but her baptism, her submission to God’s saving grace, was not enough to ease his troubled mind. I agreed to go to her deathbed and give her the chance to confess any unresolved sins. I was relieved when I got there and she had nothing to tell me. The man loved his wife, that was obvious, but his concern was that the law might have been broken. In contrast, her confidence was in the one in whom she believed and I think she was persuaded that he was able to keep his commitment to her.
Now I was able to turn to her husband and say, "She was baptized. She belongs to God. Christ is her Lord. Whatever we may think, he’s already spoken." Her husband was truly comforted by the certainty of the Lord’s approval. It wasn’t all about her righteousness – it was finally about his!
Jesus was baptized not simply to follow orders or to set an example. He baptized so that we might meet him through baptism and take up his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was baptized so that all righteousness might be fulfilled! Furthermore, as we perceive baptism as God’s covenant and declaration of love and relationship, then the natural attitude and approach to baptism will be one of joy and gladness.
- In his resurrection (now and to come) – Romans 6
- Buried in Baptism – We die with Jesus. We put off the body of flesh.
- This is graphic language: The change is so drastic; it is not the cutting away of a small amount of flesh. It is death.
- Baptism looks back to Jesus, who dies and leaves behind his mortal existence before being raised in a spiritual body and an immortal existence. Christ in his resurrection was living a new type of life and existence. Our life after baptism anticipates this.
- Raised in Faith – We are raised by faith in the power of God to give new life
- Our life after baptism is described as a rebirth. It is more than just erasing a mistake or working on a few faults. It is total renewal. Not a new leaf, but a new life!
- The break from the old life is severe. This is not a new resolution, a new habit, a new phase, or new idea. It is a new life, a new creation.
- How can we change so drastically?
- If we have become united with Christ in his death, we will be united with him in his resurrection (v. 5)
- Our baptism points us to the future – to the Second Coming of Christ. This we believe:
- If we have died with Christ, then we will live with him! [This ought to mark our lives with such joy, confidence, and hope! These are the marks of distinction that the lost are looking for!]
- Why do we believe this? Because we know that Christ was raised (v.9) and no longer dies. Death does not rule Christ!
Conclusion: Submerged in Christ – God’s plan to sum up everything in Christ! (Ephesians 1)
Our baptism binds us together. We are so different. We make distinctions. We judge. But the rebirth of baptism is God’s gracious way of giving us a new birthright. We are sons of God. We are born into his house. That makes us brothers and sisters. The one baptism that we were all baptized into makes unity. No more distinctions, no more political, racial and religious tension.
Think about it! What if all the warring factions in Iraq were baptized into Christ? What if the Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East were baptized in to Christ? The things that they base their identity on would have to change! This is the solution for hatred and enmity in America. When we put on Christ, the things we base our identity on change. There is no longer black or white. There is no longer Hispanic and Anglo. Your income doesn’t matter, your education doesn’t matter, your past history of sins doesn’t even matter! By the grace of God you are given a new life – the life of God’s son Jesus Christ.
Because of this, we don’t get to make excuses. You can tell me about your past and I will listen because that explains who you are. But once you’ve been born again, you don’t have to make excuses. In fact have something much better – a new identity (newness of life) that brings joy and hope and peace that passes understanding. We ought to be bold and adventurous in doing good. We can experience a foretaste of resurrection if we are submerged in Christ …
"But I was born on the wrong side of the tracks." No, you were baptized and born in God’s house!
"But I have led a horrible life!" That life is gone. You have a new life – you were baptized.
"But I was born with this bad temper!" No, you were born again with his spirit!
"Nobody cares about me." You were baptized! God adopted you!
"My family has turned against me." You were baptized into the body. You are never alone.
You see baptism doesn’t put a claim on God. It puts a claim on us!
We should know that our baptism was the place we encountered him. Baptism – Jesus is there!
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This question is asked by one of the thieves who will be crucified beside Jesus.
“Well, let’s take what people think is a dignified death. Christ, was that a dignified death? Do you think it’s dignified to hang from wood with nails through your hands and feet bleeding, hang for three or four days slowly dying, with people jabbing spears into your side, and people jeering you? Do you think that’s dignified? Not by a long shot. Had Christ died in my van with people around Him who loved Him, the way it was, it would be far more dignified. In my rusty van.” – Jack Kevorkian – National Press Club – July 29, 1996
Though we know very little about Simon from Cyrene in the gospels, his role in the event is a powerful symbol. Here is a man who is forced to carry the cross of Jesus. The portrayal of Simon in the movie is comment on the church and our culture. At first Simon wants nothing to do with the cross. He wants to deny it and refuse to accept it. But he is forced to carry it by the brutish Romans who insist on the way of violence. Simon is changed as he finds that Jesus even cares for him. Jesus could have let Simon carry the cross – his own cross – alone, but Jesus steps in and the image of Simon and Jesus bearing a cross side by side is an image for the church. Jesus and us bearing one another’s burdens!
Scene from the Passion of the Christ – Whose son are you?
In 
