Pouring Out The Spirit

Posted by Chris on September 6, 2009 under Sermons

After baptism, then what?

Acts 2 – The 3000 baptized are part of a gathering. They are part of a community that emerges from the warped and broken world around them. They are the church – they don’t join it as if it is something that exists apart from them.

Their “organization” is based on the way they live. Luke mentions the following characteristics of this community.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

These are the signs of life of a community that shares in the life of Christ. These are not checklist items from opening up a franchise for the Church.

Apostles Teaching –

• A deep sense of awe. They have a certain enthusiasm and wonder about this teaching. They had heard the gospel in their own language.
• What’s the source of this awe? Great things are being done in the name of Christ.
• Are we in awe of the gospel? The word of God is alive. The teaching of Christ continues. Christ is not dead. That means we don’t simply learn about him, but we learn from him. If we believe that the Spirit of Christ is active among us then we should have a deep sense of awe!

Fellowship and Sharing –

• People from different backgrounds and cultures have been brought together.
• They love their neighbor as themselves. They are selling what they have and sharing it.
• They share with one another; no one suffers because of need.

Sharing …

I want to ask you to think about something: What does it mean for us to share in all things as a congregation. Not simply on an individual level, but on a congregational level. What does it mean for every ministry and every program here to be working together, sharing and pulling together for a common cause? Do you think it might look like the church in Acts 2 that had all things in common?

Now think about that and ask yourself if that’s us. I will make a couple of observations. You don’t have to agree with me. If I am wrong or if you think I’m wrong, that’s okay. I don’t have a bone to pick with anybody. I just wonder how true the following may be …

Observation 1 –

I sometimes wonder if all our wonderful ministries sometimes get competitive. Maybe we feel that an emphasis on benevolence robs from evangelism. Or we become divided over which ministry is more effective. Instead of feeling like a church family we begin to feel like networks competing for viewers.

I wonder if we get anxious in our demographic groups. Sometimes we feel that an emphasis on the needs of the elderly push aside the needs of the youth. Or we feel that emphasis on the youth ignores the importance and wisdom of the older ones.

There are a lot of combinations for this spirit of competition. I think we suffer from this spirit. I’m not surprised. It’s a function of our culture … Did you know that Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford are friends? OU fans and Texas fans have given them a hard time about it. They are not happy that these on-the-field competitors can have off-the-field unity. You see in our worldly thinking, one has to rise and the other has to fall. But that’s not the Spirit of the Lord.

This spirit of competition is something prevalent in our culture and we need to guard against it. It can creep into our church culture. But I think we can do something about this if we get in step with the spirit of the Lord. Peter preaches that when the spirit of the Lord breaks out in a group, the young men will see visions and the old men will dream dreams. And men and women both will be servants and they will all prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18, taken from Joel 2:28-32).

We need to excel at sharing all things in one spirit. I don’t just mean sharing our lawnmowers, our casserole dishes, and toys. I mean sharing our ministries because we believe they are all God’s works. That’s what one another church family looks like. When one rejoices we all rejoice, when one hurts we all hurt.

Observation 2 –

Now you don’t have to agree with me that this is a problem here. That’s fine. I could be wrong. I am more concerned if you agree with me that this is a problem and your initial thought is, “He’s right and I hope ?that person’ or ?those elders’ or ?those ministers’ would pay attention.” If this is what you are thinking then I want you to reel that in and ask yourself, “What do I need to do to share everything?” Let’s all follow that line of inquiry and reflection.

I believe that we can replace the spirit of competition with the spirit of the Lord.

Prayer – It is more than simply asking God for help. Prayer is worship. Notice that the church comes together in one place but also in homes. When they are at table enjoying hospitality, they are worshipping. When they ate their meals with joy and generosity, they are worshipping. When they are praising God and creating goodwill in their community, they are worshipping. And the result is salvation.

We are not leaving worship today. We will leave this building and this assembly time will end. But don’t think for a second that we are leaving worship. Not if we believe that God is at work among us.

Undeserved Kindness

Posted by Chris on August 23, 2009 under Sermons

Who is Building for Whom?

1. David and Nathan – Did they ask God?
2. David wants to build God a house
3. God refuses

God’s Position and Promise

1. I will do the building (Psalm 127)
2. When did I ever ask for a house?
3. This is not the time

God in a Box?

1. God is wild and untamed
2. God is on David’s side, but not in his pocket!
3. We don’t take care of God, he takes care of us
4. God cannot be contained in any box, temple, church, or idea

Annie Dillard in Teaching a Stone to Talk

“Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping God may wake someday and take offense, or the waking God may draw us out to where we can never return.”

Worship and Politics

1. Worship must be central concern
2. Worship should not be an adjunct to work/politics
3. God brings Israel out of Egypt to worship Him

David’s Response

1. He sits and prays (v. 18)
2. He submits to God
3. He asks for a blessing (v. 29)
4. Kindness to others (chap 9)
5. The honor is undeserved

Mephibosheth

1. David chooses to show kindness and loyalty
2. Mephibosheth is crippled
3. He becomes a guest at the King’s table
4. The honor is undeserved

The Fate of Ammon

1. David chooses to show kindness and loyalty
2. Hanun is king after his father Nahash died
3. Hanun humiliates David’s envoy
4. David wars with Ammon, they surrender
5. The fate is deserved

Baptism: United With Christ

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

1. We are united with Christ in the water
   • Connected with Christ – the water and the river – The early church often baptized in the river, just as Jesus we baptized in the river. The thought was that Jesus met the believers in the water.
   • We are creatures who occupy space and time. We often find things and places that connect us to others – these things, places, and elements connect us
     • A little girl puts on her mother’s shoes
     • A little boy puts on his dad’s hat or jacket
     • Gettysburg – In 2001 we made a trip there and I was uncertain how my children would respond to the place. We had just been to the Hershey Chocolate factory. We had all been cooped up in an RV. Would they run around like berzerkers or would they show reverence? It was a calculated risk, and there’s just something about the place – an energy, an atmosphere – that inspires awe and reverence.
     • Leo’s chair – It connects us to his presence, for those who don’t know him, now you do to some extent.
     • If all of this is true with mundane things and our connections with one another, then how much more is it true with our connection to God the Creator, the living Christ and the Spirit in the waters of baptism?
   • Symbols connect us to things larger than ourselves. They are as real as what they represent because they are part of that reality. No, the water isn’t magic (no more than the bread is magic) but think about the meaning of water …
   • Water is life … communities and cities have always gathered by rivers. The river contains power, but the river also brings life and activity. This is why the early church preferred to baptize in living water.
   • Didache 7:1-2 – “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in running water; but if thou hast not running water, baptize in some other water …”

2. We are baptized into Christ
   • Our baptism participates in all the many, many beliefs and practices that are a part of our faith. Some of these may even seem incompatible – we are called out of the world, but we also live out Christ’s love for a lost world. We are dead to sin, but we have a new life. We are not saving ourselves, but we are submitting to his saving grace.
   • This is why it is important to note that we are baptized into Christ. We are never baptized into a church. Baptism is much more than a one-time ceremony – it is a connection with the Lord that we never leave behind.
     • Discipleship – Life in Christ
     • We are united with Christ in his death, but also with his life and his resurrection.
     • We are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18) – it is a process. We are saved from a crooked and depraved generation – even now. (Acts 2:40)

3. Our baptism is a transition
   • Friday I attended a preview for a movie called the River Within. A young filmmaker from Paragould, AR, Zac Heath, made this film on a budget of about $40,000. One of the themes of the movie is a river that flows through a small town in Arkansas. Like the river, God is flowing through the lives of the people in that small town and in that church.
   • One of the scenes I especially appreciated in the movie was a portrayal of a baptism in the river. The minister made mention of the group that gathers around the banks of the water and welcomes the new Christian.
   • As the church we are people who live close to this river of God.
     • We are forever bringing people down into the water. We are always bringing people to Christ – they are growing into their baptism.
     • We are also forever living alongside the river. All of us who have come up out of the water are learning what it means to live this new life – we are growing out of our baptism.
   • Baptism is a transition. It is the anchor point that we can go back to – but it carries us forward as God’s spirit flows through our lives and our lives are changed. – not just then, but even now.
   • So, our lives have purpose in Christ.

Building the City of David

Posted by Chris on August 16, 2009 under Sermons

Click here to watch or download the PowerPoint presentation.

Baptism: Entering Into the Life of Christ

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

There’s a story about these two ministers who were great friends. One was a Baptist and the other a Methodist. They used to spar back and forth about who was more correct in their understanding of spiritual things. Now one of their favorite arguments concerned the form of baptism. The Methodist minister favored baptism by pouring water on the head and the Baptist minister insisted on full immersion. … (The earliest and best version of this story that I have found comes from Grady Nutt.)

Did you hear about the church bulletin that announced … “Baptismal ceremonies will be held today at the end of early service and at the end of late service. Children will be baptized at both ends.”

The humor just shows that there has been a lot of debate about baptism, especially when it comes to the form of baptism. But what can we say about the meaning of baptism? What can we say about its significance? On both form and meaning, I think the best place to start is with the baptism of Jesus.

The early church believed that baptism was a participation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That perspective is important to answering some questions that I believe are critical to our current understandings (and misunderstandings) about baptism …

1. Is baptism entrance into the kingdom or a ticket out of hell?
   1. Baptisms after hours. Getting people to share their baptism stories. They speak more about getting out of hell or not wanting to go to hell – and that’s all? (I mean of course no one wants to go to hell – but is there more to it than that? Do we ever think about what the option to hell is?)
   2. Most of us are willing to be saved from hell, but are we willing to be saved from this evil age, a crooked and depraved generation now. (Acts 2:40) We may not be so willing; we want to sample the pleasures of this world before we die. We want to live in the empire.
   3. Lunnenberg Letter. — It is the image of Christ the Christian looks for and loves; and this does not consist in being exact in a few items, but in general devotion to the whole truth as far as known. (A. Campbell) – Baptism connects us to Christ. At Christ’s baptism, the heavens were opened, the spirit descended and the voice of God proclaimed Jesus as his son. God spoke his favor over Christ at his baptism. Can we not imagine how our baptism is also the entry into the kingdom of heaven and God shouts his favor into our hearts? We rise up from the water with more than fire insurance – we rise with a new life under the rule of our Heavenly Father.

2. Is baptism the final step or the first step?
   1. We have come to understand baptism as the final step of a five step process. (Critique of the five-step exercise.) Final step thinking leaves us without a connection between baptism and discipleship. Baptism is the First step in a new life.
   2. Final step causes us to ask questions like: What do you have to know? How old do you have to be? – These are the sort of questions that we have concerned ourselves with. They are good questions. But finding answers to these questions doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about baptism. On the other hand, understanding more about baptism can help us answer those questions.
      • For instance, how might we answer questions like these if we stop and think about baptism as “total submission to God” rather than just checking off something God told us to do? Sort of makes the implications of baptism much deeper, eh?
   3. Final Step thinking can lead us to think that as long as I got baptized, I am good — right? But there’s so much more to it than that.
   4. Baptism is the first step into a life in Christ. It is a birth.
   5. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
   6. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. – Romans 6:1-4

3. Is baptism a work of righteousness?
   1. If we are saved by grace, then why does baptism matter? How can we say baptism is necessary and essential to salvation if we are saved by grace?
   2. Some have accused us of being “water regenerationists.”
      1. I don’t know of anyone who makes that claim. I mean really, is there someone who actually claims that water is more important than Christ?
      2. I don’t know too many who can pronounce water regenerationist and when I searched it I found information about water purification systems!
      3. I think that this is a charge that comes out of debates and it is meant to be our “Achilles’ Heel.” If we want salvation by grace then we can’t have necessity of baptism. We have to transcend the question – not just to win a debate, but so that we really understand what baptism and grace and righteousness is all about …
   3. Is baptism a work we do or a work God does to us?
      1. Colossians 1:6-15 – Paul connects grace, submission, righteousness, and baptism.
      2. In vv. 6-10, he’s speaking all about grace. He’s slammed anyone who asserts or believes that righteousness is about checking off a list of requirements or manipulating the system.
      3. So, if baptism were a “work of righteousness” (i.e., something on a checklist) then how could he describe baptism as he does in vv. 11-15? Because Paul sees baptism as the work of God. God is really present and active in our baptism, just as we believe he is present and active in the Communion and in the Word.
      4. So, don’t accept it when someone claims that baptism is a work of righteousness – but more importantly, let’s not reduce it to that ourselves! Think about what God did when you were baptized. Think about how he operated on you! What changes he made in you!

         • Heart Surgery … How arrogant it would be to claim we had any part in repairing our heart except to show up.
      5. So, wait! At what point are we saved? Are we already saved and baptism just confirms it? Are we saved right at the end of the baptism? What if you die right when you are placed in the water? How do you call that one? Maybe we are missing the point …

         • Wedding Ceremony … At what point are the couple married? “I do”? “I pronounce you …”? Signing the marriage license? Registering it at the court house? Let’s get rid of all the useless stuff and just process marriages, okay?
         • We can peel away all the layers of the artichoke and find out that the layers are the meat! Those ceremonies mean something …

Learning to Live in a world of meaningful symbols – Meeting Christ in the water …

How the Mighty Hath Fallen

Posted by Chris on August 9, 2009 under Sermons

Who Killed Saul?

1 Samuel 31 Saul falls on his own sword His armor-bearer refused to kill him

2 Samuel 1 Amalekite Kills the wounded Saul Brings David emblems of royalty

Options

1. Both accounts are true – two different perspectives (Saul attempted suicide, Amalekite finished the job)
2. Amalekite is lying
3. Two stories with different intents

Understanding David’s Response

1. Amalek is the ancient enemy
2. Saul’s death could be David’s opportunity to rise
   • Saul was all that held David back
   • There is no king at this time
3. Amalekite is securing a favor

4. Bloodguilt –
   • Ancient concept (Cain and Abel)
   • David will not assume any guilt for Saul’s death
   • He will rule only if it is God’s will
   • David curses Mount Gilboa

Public Grief

1. David is a poetic leader
2. He chose poetry over politics
3. “Where loss is not grieved there are barriers to newness” – W. Brueggemann

David, King of Judah

1. David moves according to God’s will.
2. David is king in the south.
3. David makes allies with Jabesh-Gilead.
4. Saul’s tribes are in the north.

Civil War

1. Seven and a half years
2. Joab leads David’s forces
3. Abner leads Saul’s forces
4. Contest of champions ends in a draw
5. Risk of annihilation

School Supplies Blessing

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Comments for School Supply Blessing

I remember my first set of school supplies. I remember that I had a box of crayons – they were huge crayons and only half round. The idea was that these would be easier for little kids to handle. What really made an impression on me was that this box of crayons only had eight colors. Just eight! Now don’t tell anyone, but at home I was already up to 16 and had even experimented with a box of 64 with the built in sharpener!

Every year that we bought school supplies I was eager to see what box of crayons I was authorized to use. I was disappointed when crayons were no longer on the list. And then there was no glue, no scissors. All the fun went away. After that it was just textbooks and paper.
But for a time, even though I didn’t long for school start and summer to be over, there was some consolation in receiving a brand new set of crayons, glue, scissors, etc. and wondering what neat things we would get to make that year.

I share that memory, because I have been thinking about the 400 or so students in our community who won’t be able to go to the store with their families for one reason or another and get their supplies. Our school systems will provide their supplies. Sure, there are government funds for such resources and I guess we don’t really need to go to all this effort just to buy crayons and glue. Maybe so, but can we grasp what is represented in all of this?

Going to the store with parents to buy school supplies is sort of a basic minimum. If that isn’t able to happen, then it’s probably an indicator of much greater problems. Problems of many types: homelessness, job loss, poverty, parents who don’t care, parents who are addicts … the list is numerous and government solutions cannot take into account each individual situation.

But God is not the government. He knows each and every child that will attend our schools. He knows their families. He knows their whole story. He is working through all of us to show his love for the children. Something as simple as a box of crayons freely given might make a difference in ways we can never record, but God knows.

So we are going to bring these gifts and give them to God first. Then we are going to trust that God can work through us, through teachers and parents in the school system and his purposes shall be accomplished. This isn’t about us. This is about God’s people willing to give something as simple as cup of cold water and ask that the Lord bless the effort. (Matthew 10:42)

(Elder prays for the School Supply Donations)

Comments for Back to School Blessing

David, Hero of Gath

Posted by Chris on August 2, 2009 under Sermons

David: Free Agent (27)

1. David resides in Philistia
   • Protection from Saul
   • Goes to Achish, King of Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-15)
   • Ziklag – becomes a royal city
2. David becomes a raider
   • Amalekites (v. 8)

David: Double Agent

The Bible mentions the Kenites as living in or around Canaan as early as the time of Abraham. (Genesis 15:18-21.) At the Exodus the tribe inhabited the vicinity of Mount Sinai and Horeb. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses was a Kenite, (Judges 1:16) as was his wife, Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. (Exodus 2:21.) Elsewhere, however, Jethro is said to have been “priest of Midian” (Exodus 3:1) and a Midianite (Numbers 10:29), leading many scholars to believe that the terms are intended (at least in parts of the Bible) to be used interchangeably, or that the Kenites formed a part of the Midianite tribal grouping. The Kenites journeyed with the Israelites to Canaan (Judges 1:16); and their encampment, apart from the latter’s, was noticed by Balaam. (Numbers 24:21-22.)
Amalekites – Exodus 17, 1 Samuel 15.

Israel vs Philistia (28)

1. David is dismissed
   • Achish’s commanders do not trust David
2. Saul seeks spiritual help
   • God is silent
   • Consults a medium to conjure up Samuel

Leaders in Crisis

1. Saul: Turns to a medium (28)
2. David: Turns to the ephod (30)
3. David vs. Amalekites – Victory and Rescue
4. Saul vs. Philistines – Humiliation and Defeat

Who is King in Israel?

• Saul and his sons are dead
• Israelite Army is scattered
• Israel is occupied by the enemy
• The pagan gods are honored, Saul is humiliated
• David is away in Ziklag
• Who leads Israel now?

Psalm 22

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

We believe that God’s mission has a church. We believe that this congregation, this church is part of God’s mission. That mission unfolds here in many ways, but if we had to name four ways that it is being worked out on a large scale then I would say, as we’ve said before, it is Campus, Kids, Healing, and Hope.

It is this last one that I want to call your attention to: Hope. What does hope look like among a people who strive to live out God’s mission in this world? What is hope? What does it do, what does it feel like? Is hope something more than a political slogan or campaign buzzword (like change)? Is hope anything more than wishful thinking?

To appreciate what hope means, we need a word of wisdom about our human condition that is more ancient than our American culture in the 21st century. We need a word of wisdom that is much deeper than our reductionist reading of Bible. We need a word that truly speaks what we feel rather than what we think we should feel.

There is such a word in the Psalms. We find it buried beneath the sweet and comforting glow of Psalm 23. We find it on the lips of Jesus as he suffers on the cross. It is a word familiar to God’s children, but unfortunately we haven’t always felt comfortable discussing it. It’s like on of those family secrets that everyone knows, but no one can ever verbalize it.

But this Psalm was written down for all generations. It was set to music and arranged to be sung in worship. It became the earliest Christians’ scripture for understanding Jesus. Unfortunately we have given this Psalm to Jesus, applied it to Jesus, but never owned it ourselves. If we are going to take up our cross and follow him, then we need to open this Psalm up. For as raw, ugly, and seemingly irreverent as this Psalm may seem, it is a key that unlocks the meaning of hope.

Read Psalm 22.

1. Crying Out for Help: What do you say when God seems Silent?
   • There are times when our rote prayers just don’t seem to have any meaning. Sometimes it is easy or even comforting to shout praises – to declare God is Great, God is Good. We should and ought to give thanks. We should and ought to pray, “Our Father in Heaven, Holy is your Name!”
   • But sometimes, we cannot because we feel like we are shouting into an empty darkness. Let’s be honest, there are times that we want to say, “God, where are you?”
   • This Psalm (and many others) gives us permission to ask the questions that may seem inappropriate or irreverent. After all, God doesn’t want a relationship with people who don’t have any expectations of him (Do you want that sort of relationship?).
   • On the cross, Jesus doesn’t pray “Our Father who art heaven hallowed be thy name.” Rather he is verbalizing a question that he dare not ignore – a question from deep within his soul – “God, why are you so far from me?”
   • Jesus takes this whole thing very personally, because Jesus isn’t a Pharisee. He’s not a hypocrite. With the Pharisees, God is all business. When something goes wrong, well God didn’t mean anything by it. It’s not personal. But for Jesus, this is Father and Son. And if it is for Jesus, then it is for us.
   • We have expectations for God – we remember how he has helped other people in times of trouble. We can read stories about the mighty things he has done. And rather than give God an excuse not to help in case God doesn’t want to (or can’t? [gasp?]), the Psalmist holds God’s feet to the fire.
   • This is more than just a prayer – something religious to say so that we can remind ourselves and others that we are believers – this is a plea.
   • If it seems irreverent or sacrilegious to make such a plea and accuse God of being away from his post, then let me explain why this matters: 1) We are going to feel like this no matter how often we lie to ourselves and others. 2) If we dress up our prayers and lie to God, then what have we lost? We have lost our expectation that God will do anything. We are essentially numbing ourselves to the pain and suffering and all of our prayers are saying – “Whatever.” There’s no hope there.
   • Psalm 22 is a deeply reverent prayer – It affirms that God should be God. It remembers how God helps those need it. It has high expectations of God and calls God out. High expectations lead to hope. It’s not enough to accept that God can do what he has done before – we must hope that he will. Expect it and call out for it!
2. God is Near:
   • The Psalmist reflects on God’s presence. God was there when he was born. God was there when he was just a nursing child. God is present in the little things. In the smallest, most common efforts at survival. God is there not removing it from us, but working in it.
   • Now all the more since this Psalm is spoken by Jesus on the cross, the experience of pain and suffering in this world is changed. It isn’t that pain and suffering are really different, but there is new perspective. God doesn’t run away from our suffering. He doesn’t abandon us.
   • Pain and suffering may come about because of our poor choices, but God doesn’t abandon us. It isn’t always divine retribution. How can we say that?
     1. The cross and the words of Jesus show that God identifies with the weak and suffering. He participates in it. It is radical to suggest that God suffers.
     2. Suffering is not a sign of misfortune. Nor is God trying to teach us a lesson. Remember that Jesus made this personal. God isn’t a dispassionate divine despot experimenting on us poor humans. He is in the trenches with us. He has risked something in order to make a difference.
   • Hope feels like the experience of v. 24. God doesn’t ignore or abandon those who suffer. (v. 24)
3. Celebration and Suffering: Hope promises to praise God.
   • The Psalmist fixes Hope on the anticipation of telling the story of God’s help. – There is an expectation in the goodness of God. Somehow, someway when this is over the story of God’s help will be told. It will be sung.
   • Notice the setting for the praise – the assembly! Others will hear it. Generations later will tell it and sing it. (v. 25-31). Like evangelism it is going to be told everywhere.
   • But I have to ask: Do we give a place in our assemblies for people to bear witness? Do we permit ourselves the opportunity to praise God for his help. Not just in general, but the real stories. Can we name the pain and suffering that we feel? Not just the surgeries and sicknesses, but the depression, the fear, the pain and sickness of heart. Dare we name our brokenness like the Psalmist – like Christ?
   • In our culture we spend a lot of time and effort on ignoring suffering and pain. It is good that we have treatments and therapies that have been unheard of in ages past, but our attitude of secrecy and our advertising of solutions has implied that if you are hurting or suffering, then something about you must be abnormal. Furthermore, we get the idea that if life isn’t always glamorous, exciting, perfect, and snappy, then something is really wrong. If boring and sad are problems for our culture, then how much more is suffering and pain a problem. Our efforts to ignore pain and suffering are stressing us out.
   • When I say culture, I mean us in the church too. Can we be different enough to allow our Psalmist to tell what God has done? Is our assembly a time and place that allows the afflicted to fulfill their vows to praise God (v. 25)?

Imagine our assembly and our community as a place of Hope. Like God we do not hide our face from those who suffer. Like God we do not despise or abandon those who feel forsaken. The praises of those who have received help, strengthen those who cry out for it.

Lessons From a Toolbag

Posted by Chris on July 26, 2009 under Sermons

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement that made it possible for me to join the group that went to Mexico to work on a church building for the congregation in Santa Monica, just outside Monterrey.

• These lessons grow out of my mission trip in Mexico – (I packed my yellow tool bag and got busy with the work, not quite knowing exactly what we would be doing, but knowing that there was a mission).
• However, the application of these lessons is larger than just Mexico Missions or an particular missions.
• It is about THE mission and the church at West-Ark which is part of that mission.

1. Tools are not the mission. They serve the mission.
   • I took the tools I thought might be useful for the sort of work I anticipated. But then I packed some other items. At first I wasn’t sure why, but most all of them served the mission.
   • Some became immediately useful – wire cutters and pliers
   • Some became useful in unexpected ways – Wonder Bar (why would it be useful when we had all those crowbars and hammers? It is the best tool for prying a board when more is needed than brute strength.); the combination pliers. Without a socket wrench and a socket, we had no other way to remove the spark plug from a faulty compacter.
   • Some were not useful at all expect for one moment: Why did I bring my headlamp? It was sunny all day. Why would I ever need this? At the very end of the trip, when we got home and it was 1:30 in the morning. I had searched for my keys. I then took out the headlamp and could see where they were hidden in my suitcase!
   • Our mission was not determined by the type of tools in this bag, rather the tools in this bag were made to serve the mission.

2. The tool bag is defined by its contents – not the other way around!
   • This dirty old tool bag was slung around all week. It got filthy and beat up. It got wet. It wasn’t that attractive to begin with — a rather sickly day-glow yellow and it has my initials scrawled on it. But this dirty tool bag performed its task well, it contained something that was needed to accomplish the mission.
   • It is a vessel. If it carried medical supplies, it would not have been a tool bag. I had another black bag for those useful items. It was defined by its contents.
   • We are containers; what we contain makes us worthy.

3. Sometimes you have to hit the board to pull the nail.
   • Our nail pulling crew learned this lesson. There were moments that they would work on a particularly tight, twisted nail. Even though their hammer had a tight grip on it and even though two of them would be pulling on the hammer it just wouldn’t come loose. But then, they would take another hammer and hit the board. Pop! It came right out.
   • Working together; learning from one another. Seeking wisdom from those who were working ahead of us.
   • Don’t worry about what isn’t in the tool bag; just focus on what is in the tool bag. I was fortunate to have just what was needed – sometimes it took creativity – but we had what we needed. (But I did think on occasion that I would give my back teeth for a good reciprocating saw).
   • The mission always requires us to be creative and wise.

1. Tools are not the mission. They serve the mission.
   • We turn our tools into the mission. I could have sat in a shady corner all day cleaning the tools, oiling them, refusing to use them because I didn’t want them to get worn. Fussing with everyone over the proper way to use the tools (instead of the creative uses we often had to employ). I could have been very selective about who used them and maybe even checked them out and hovered over the folks who used them. I could have brought back a shiny bag with clean tools. How would that have served the mission? Would that have served the mission? Of course not.
   • Too often we make tools the mission. We focus and worry so much on buildings, programs, and resources. Now hear me correctly – I am not against these resources. They are all useful and all worthy of the time and expense as they serve the mission of God. But when our purpose is to keep and maintain these things, we cease to serve the mission (not the tools, but we cease to serve the mission).
     1. It can be the physical resources – buildings, vans, property, family life center, and auditorium. Even smaller tools count: computers, software, carpet and pews.
     2. It can also be more subtle things: bank accounts, committee structures, the type of printed or unprinted music we use in worship, the type of bread and juice we use in communion, the format of the bulletin. Even things like curriculum, the format of worship, the sermon and how it is preached (I struggle with this).
     3. Yes, it is appropriate to think about these things as we pack our tool bag for the mission. It is good and worthwhile to think about their best use, but tools must never become the mission.
     4. When Christ returns he isn’t going to be impressed with how clean our vans are, rather how we used that van in the mission. When Christ returns he isn’t going to be impressed with our musical arrangements of songs and whether we all hit the right note in the proper key, but he is pleased with the heart, passion, and gratitude that swells up in our praise of his glory. When Christ returns he isn’t going to be impressed with my preaching eloquence – or lack thereof – but he will be concerned with the truth and good news of the message shared.

   • Our mission is not determined by our tools; rather all of our tools must serve the mission.

   

2. The tool bag is defined by its contents – not the other way around!
   • We are containers; what we contain makes us worthy.
   • Think of how much attention we give to our outward appearance and our outward well-being. Are we truly as balanced as we need to be?
   • 2 Corinthians 4:1-15 … We can spend so much time trying to make ourselves and our congregation attractive, when we are simply the clay jars. Our weaknesses and imperfections do not become a discouragement or something to cover up; rather we plainly show that the power to save is from God – not us.
   • The container is defined by its contents – not the other way around!

3. Sometimes we should hit the board, not the nail.

   • The mission always requires us to be creative and wise.
   • Creativity and Wisdom – Luke 16. Jesus nudges the church for not being as creative as the people of the world. After all, if the people of this world are so intent on achieving their goals, shouldn’t God’s church be all the more intent on fulfilling his mission.
   • Why aren’t we as creative and wise as we can be? Usually because we are afraid. Specifically we submit to the “Fear of Criticism.”
   • We reveal it in our comments such as “Somebody’s going to say something.”
   • Let’s take “Somebody’s going say something” out of our language. Notice how non-specific the statement is. What is the something that somebody is going to say? Maybe something good? Maybe something praiseworthy? Maybe something that helps? And who is somebody? Usually Somebody is Nobody.
     1. Let’s be creative and wise and remove from our thinking the attitude of “Can’t Do That.”
   • The spirit (or leaven) of the Pharisees is too often still among us waiting to spread and grow. We have to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees. It is that tendency in us to focus on our resources to hoard them. To be satisfied in our rules, our policies, our abilities, our knowledge, and stop trusting in God. The leaven of the Pharisees kills the passion and creativity that God’s mission requires.