New Year's Resolutions

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, December 27, 2009. The text for this week's message is Colossians 3:1-17.

It’s hard to believe it, but this is the last Sunday of the year. New Year’s Day is on Friday, and we’ll have a whole new year, and a whole new decade, to look forward to. This is that time of year when people start to take stock in what they have accomplished, what they have been through and what they would have done differently. For some reason, the changing of the calendar inspires us to examine our lives and start thinking about making some changes, hopefully for the better. I think it is fair to say that it has been a good year – difficult at times, and incredible at times. I’m sure there’s not a person here that hasn’t run the gauntlet of emotions at some point over the course of the year.

One of the most popular things that will take place this week is New Year’s resolutions. You know, that special time when we make the same promises that we have made for years, only this time, we really are going to take them seriously – at least until February. Some of the most popular resolutions are to get back into shape and to eat healthier. Some will make it a priority to focus on family, or to read a couple books. Whatever those resolutions may be, I pray that you’ll be honest with yourself and make a concentrated effort to accomplish those goals. But what about your spiritual life?

What are some resolutions that you can make about your spiritual life that will really make a difference in how you see the world and how you approach your faith? What I’d like to do this morning is give each of us some time to reflect on the past year. We should examine where we have been, and start looking forward to where we are going. I want to begin this by looking through the words of Paul from today’s reading and reflect on some of the areas in all of our lives that could be better.

The passage begins with a very simple word. It’s a word that we probably don’t think a whole lot about, but how it is used in the Greek is extremely important. “If” – two little letters that make such an important statement. There are different ways to use “if” in a sentence, even in the English. The problem is that, in the English, it is ambiguous. Is the “if” presumed to be true? Is it a statement of fact, or a hypothetical? It is difficult to tell for sure, which is why, when texting and instant messaging have completely ruined the English language in 5 years, we should start training everybody in classical Greek instead. I’m starting a movement, and I need people on board with it. Seriously though, in the Greek there is no ambiguity.

Now it’s time for a little lesson in Greek grammar. In the Greek there are a handful of ways to put together an “if” clause. The way that it is put together here implies that the “if” part of the clause is assumed to be true. It’s not a hypothetical; it is a statement of fact. Another way of translating it is, “Since you have been raised in Christ, seek the things that are above….” Paul is saying that these people have indeed been raised, have found their identity, in Christ. And because of that, there is a certain way that they should be living. Okay, for those that checked out during the grammar lesson in today’s message, it’s time to see where this is important.

If you call yourself a Christian, if your life has been changed by Christ, if you believe that you will be crossing the Jordan to the Promised Land when your time on earth is finished, then there are certain things that you should be doing with your life. There are things in your life that shouldn’t be a part of your life, and there are things that aren’t in your life that should be a part of your life. That’s what Paul is talking about here. He gives us a list of things that we should and should not be doing as people who claim to be living with Christ in our lives.

Now, first of all, Scripture is often seen as a list of “do’s and don’ts” and I think this perception is inaccurate. That’s not what Scripture as a whole is about. Scripture as a whole is about the story of God. It’s about the love that God has for each person. It is about the people of Israel, who were instrumental in bringing about God’s plan of salvation for the entire world. Are there do’s and don’ts? Yes, there are. But it is because this is a new way of thinking, a new way of approaching the world, a way that goes contrary to what our sinful selves think it should be. So, yes, there is some instruction on the implications of living out this faith, but that is not what the Christian faith is all about. The Christian faith is about being in relationship with God, and nothing else. What Paul does is show us the implications of this truth.

The first of those implications is that we should be setting on minds on the things above, not on earthly things. There are higher ideals in this life than control, or a lust for power, or whatever it is that is hold us back. He gives us a list of things in verses 5-11 that we should put away for the sake of God. Paul uses some pretty severe language here. He says that we are to “put to death” these things in our lives that do not glorify God; these things that are a part of our lives without Christ. There are things in our lives before we come to Christ that do not honor God, and these things need to be removed.

How have you done in that area this year? Are there things in your life that shouldn’t be in your life? When we come to Christ, our life isn’t magically transformed and we suddenly stop sinning and are never tempted to sin. As much as I wish it worked that way, it simply doesn’t. We come to Christ when we realize that we can’t do it on our own. We come to Christ because we can do nothing to affect our own salvation. We can never accomplish in our lives what God has already done for us. The sooner we realize this, the better off we are. It is through Christ and Christ alone that our relationship with God can be restored. So, once we come to that realization and submit ourselves to God, what happens next?

This is where the second half of what Paul is saying here is so important. There are certain things that we do when our lives have been affected and changed by God. We are to focus our minds on heavenly things, things that really matter. And we don’t do it to put on a show for the people around us; we do it because God really has changed our lives. We do it because Christ is at work in our hearts. We are encouraged to put on the new self that is being renewed after the image of the Creator, and when we are being renewed in the image of the Creator, the divisions that once existed are no longer there.

Paul says that there is no Greek or Jew, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free. The distinctions that we place on people are non-existent in the kingdom of God. Most people are all right with that, as long as it doesn’t include “those people.” Who are “those people” in your life? Who in your life bothers you the most? You see, as much as we don’t want to admit it, there is always somebody in our lives that we would just rather not spend time with. In fact, if our paths never crossed, that would be all right. But these distinctions don’t exist in the kingdom of God.

It was this kind of message that got the Jewish leaders all riled up. Jesus didn’t want to be a part of the elite, he came to seek those who were lost, and the Jewish leaders didn’t like that. Jesus hung out with the tax collectors, the sinners, the non-Jews, the fringe Jews, the poor, everybody that was different because they were the ones who needed him the most. And it all starts with a new approach to life that is brought on by the change that Christ can do in our hearts, if we let him.

Starting in verse 12, Paul has a list of things that we should put on as people who have been redeemed by God. But he starts off by telling us why we should put these things on. We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. God has chosen those who put their faith in Him to be His representatives here on earth. We are the ones who set the example of what it is supposed to be like for people to live in relationship with God. We are to be holy because God has made us holy. Holiness is about being separated from the things in this life that keep us separate from God.

We are also loved. God loves us, and because of this great love, we need to respond with our lives in such a way that others see His love as well. It is because of these things that we are to act in a way that Paul lists here.

How are you doing on this list? Do you have compassionate hearts? Are you kind, humble, meek and patient? Do you bear with one another in love? Do you forgive the wrongs that have happened to you in the same way that God has forgiven your wrongs? Do you love others? And I don’t just mean that you love those who love you. I don’t just mean that you are patient with those who are patient with you, or that you only forgive those who have forgiven you. You can’t control that. All you can control is how you react in certain situations. And how you react is a representation of how God is working in your life. Focus your mind and heart on heavenly things, not on earthly things. But how? How can we do this? In verses 16-17, we start to see how we can be affected in some very practical ways. We start to see how we can position ourselves to be molded and shaped by God.

Paul begins by telling us to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.” Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly. At the beginning of the year, I laid down a challenge for everybody to spend 15 minutes every day reading his or her Bible. How did that go for you? Some days were certainly better than others, no doubt. I had, over the course of the year, a number of people tell me that they had been trying to do it, and that it was really beneficial for them. I haven’t said anything about it in a couple months, but hopefully some were able to accomplish this goal. Have you let the word of Christ dwell richly in your lives this year? Will you let the word of Christ dwell richly in your lives this coming year?

I want to lay down another challenge for 2010, since it starts later this week. I want to see what happens when we start letting the word of Christ dwell richly in our lives. I want to challenge you to read through the entire Bible this year. I know, I know, it sounds daunting. It sounds impossible. At times, it is going to seem boring or inconvenient. At least, those are the excuses that we’ll come up with this year. But they are just that – excuses. There is no reason why we can’t accomplish this goal. I’m not asking everybody to write and in-depth summary of what they read. I just want you to spend some time reading the word of God and letting it dwell in your life.

Let’s put a couple of things in perspective here. Because I can get my email on my phone, I sometimes don’t read and delete emails in my Inbox. I finally cleaned up my Inbox last week, and in a month, I got over 500 emails. That’s about 6000 emails a year. An average newspaper has, what, 15-20 pages? That’s anywhere between 5500 and 7300 pages each year. A mass-market book, one of those little ones that you can buy just about anywhere, has 300 pages, and you can read one of those in a week or two. Add it all up and you can read thousands upon thousands of pages worth of things over the course of the year.

Now, go ahead and pull out the pew Bibles that you have in front of you. The way that people approach reading the Bible would make you think there are 40,000 pages in that thing. There’s not. In fact, I looked this week, and there’s only 1085 pages in that tiny, little book. Do you know what that means? If you read three pages every day, you can read through the entire Bible in a year; that’s 21 pages a week. Yes, there is a lot of content, and sometimes it’s hard to understand, but the good news is that there are several different translations out there that make it a little easier. I read the English Standard version, but if you want to read The Message, the NRSV, the NIV, the Good News Bible, I don’t care. Just read it.

As the New Year comes upon us, make some resolutions. Make the same ones that you make every year, but add something to it. Spend some time in the Bible. It won’t take long. Keep a copy in the bathroom if you need to. Take some time this year to dwell in the word of Christ. Take some time to look at your life and see where it is that you need Christ to work the most, and then let him. If you do this, I can promise you that 2010 will be a year that you will never forget.

But the Book was Soooo Much Better

The following was preached at Hillsboro UMC on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009.

As you probably know by now, tomorrow is Christmas. Christmas is probably one of the most anticipated times of the year. You can’t walk around a retail store these days without seeing Christmas decorations by the end of October. Many people make their lists, plan out their routes and get up at hours no person should see just to go Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I’m sure many who have decorated their houses for the holiday did so a few weeks ago. In the church, we get ready for Christmas with the season of Advent, which is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.

This year, we took a look at the messages of the prophets of Israel who were also gearing up for the promises of Christmas. Of course, their idea of that first Christmas was significantly different than what we think about when we think of Christmas. The people of Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah, the one who would save them from their oppressors and return Israel to its rightful place on a world stage. The last thing they expected was a little baby boy born in a livestock shed and placed in a feeding trough. Isn’t it amazing how sometimes the most expected thing can happen in the most unexpected way?

But somehow, somewhere along the way this expected, anticipated thing got confused and misunderstood, and I don’t just mean that is was misunderstood by the first century Jews; we have our fair share of misunderstanding as well. I want to tell you about one Christmas that I will always remember. Rather, about something that happened one Christmas that I’ll never forget.

One year, I got a book for Christmas. I know it doesn’t sound very exciting, but I was really pumped to get this book. It was one of those little mass market books, and it had nearly 400 gripping pages, and I didn’t want to put it down. It had to have been something because, as a 12 year old, I read it in less than 36 hours. I took it with me to Christmas at grandma’s, sat on the couch and read a good bit of it there. My parents had to tell me to put it down and go play with my cousins. I’m pretty sure I even snuck in some reading while we were opening the presents. As you can imagine, it was a fantastic book.

Earlier that year, a blockbuster movie was released. It ended up winning three Oscars, and captured the imaginations of millions. It brought in $357 million here in the United States, and another $557 million worldwide. It stands 14th on the all-time list for money brought in by a movie. I have seen it several times since it came out, played its theme song in middle school band, and I still am amazed at the amount of work that had to have gone into making the props for this movie. This blockbuster was based on that same book that captivated me later that year.

The movie was Jurassic Park. But the book was so much better. There were parts and entire characters in the book that weren’t in the movie, there were people that died in the book that don’t die in the movie. In short, apart from a few characters names, the overarching theme and the title, the book and the movie were nothing alike. I’m sure you’ve had this experience in your life as well. How many have ever read a book, and then see the movie and are totally disappointed? Sometimes, things just don’t get translated right, and the finished product is nothing like the original.

Jurassic Park is by no means the only book to fall prey to this hideous beast, though. Katie and I went to see Prince Caspian shortly after she finished reading the book by C.S. Lewis. I spent a good part of the movie listening to how outraged she was by Hollywood’s version of the classic children’s tale. Things that don’t happen in the book happen in the movie. I think we could go on and on and on, but let’s not. We have all had that experience at some point in our lives when it comes to books and movies.

But what about when it comes to books and real life? How often do our lives fail to live up to the book that we have been given? How often do we fail to be an adequate representation of the people of God? How often do we come up short in our own lives? How often do you miss the important details of the Christian faith, and use a bit of artistic license like Hollywood? If you are anything like me, it’s pretty often. More often than you’d like to admit. And perhaps there is no part in our lives where we have done it as often as when it comes to the Christmas story.

When I look around at how we celebrate Christmas as a society, I can’t help but wonder where we went wrong. And I’m not blaming American society because how can we expect non-Christians to act like Christians? But what is the emphasis on Christmas these days? If we catch people in a good mood, they might say that Christmas is about spending time with family and giving to those we love. But actions certainly speak louder than words. Christmas has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and it is an industry that only briefly acknowledges its source.

On Thursday nights, Katie and I turn our TV to NBC and watch their full line-up of sitcoms. A couple of weeks ago, we were watching them, and afterwards, Katie said something along the lines of, “There sure was a lot of Jesus bashing this week, wasn’t there?” And in reality, that is kind of what was going on. The message that was being portrayed was that we can’t talk about Jesus on Christmas because we just might offend people of other faith persuasions. Is that what we’ve come to these days? We can’t talk about Jesus on the holiday that was instituted specifically to remember him? But it’s not just television.

Take a look at the stores. Do you know how many Santa Claus junk is out there? My personal favorite is the Santa on a Harley giant blow-up thing. I’m just waiting for it to have a sidecar with Frosty the Snowman sitting in it. Did you know you can buy a pink flamingo lawn ornament with your Christmas decorations? That way, you can have a flamingo next to your polar bear, penguin and reindeer. Because nothing says Christmas like a pink flamingo.

What about the movies? I came across a couple of lists that had the top Christmas movies of all time on there. Here’s a taste of what the movies have to offer in this area: The Polar Express, Gremlins, The Santa Clause, Die Hard, Elf, Scrooged, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story. I’m not saying don’t watch these movies. I’ve seen all of them. I like to watch them. They are fun movies to watch. But do any of these movies have anything to do with Christmas, really? If we just watch these movies, then we can assume that Christmas is all about Santa Claus, and elves, and a Red Rider BB gun.

How about the Top 25 Christmas songs, as determined by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers? Surely, there is something on that list that would help remind us of the true meaning of Christmas, right? Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Little Town of Bethlehem? Nope, none of them are on the list. The only song on that list that is even remotely connected to the Christmas story is the Little Drummer Boy. And, I hate to spoil this one for you, but there’s no little drummer boy in the gospels. Do you want to tell me how I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus makes it onto a list of the most popular Christmas songs, and not a single hymn is on that list?

It happens because Christians don’t share their faith with others. It happens because Christians are more concerned with making sure Sears employees say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays,” than they are with making sure they are telling others about Jesus. It happens because Christians have grown complacent and have bought into what society says is most important about Christmas. We’ve forgotten the story.

But here’s the kicker, the book is so much better than the movie. The story of a young virgin, scared out of her mind, but willing to submit to the will of God to carry a child that will bring salvation to the entire world. The story of man whose bride-to-be is suddenly pregnant, not by anything that he did, but he takes her as his wife anyway. He takes her as his wife, even though he could have just as easily called the whole thing off. The story of shepherds tending their flocks at night, only to get interrupted by the angels of heaven and told of the birth of the Son of God.

We forget that story. It gets drowned out in all the noise that we let into our lives. And we forget about what happens next. We forget that Jesus Christ was born. We forget that Jesus Christ lived a life in full obedience to God, and that his death and resurrection made it possible for us to be in a right relationship with Him. We forget that we are charged with the task of sharing this message of hope and deliverance to all the world. And then we wonder why the world doesn’t know the message. We wonder why the world cares more about Santa Claus than Jesus.

Enjoy your Christmas. It is a time when we can enjoy fellowship with our friends and families. It is a time of giving and receiving. But it is also a time of remembrance. It’s a time for us to remember what it is that God has done in our lives. It is a time for us to remember the story of Jesus. A baby boy was born on that first Christmas, and this baby boy would bring salvation to the entire world. Remember the story and share it with those around you.

Kickin' It Old School: Advent in the OT, Part 4

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, December 20, 2009. The text for this week's message is Micah 5:2-5.

Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent, the time in which we prepare and remember the coming of the Lord on that first Christmas. We have been working through a series taking a look at the Old Testament lectionary readings for Advent this year, and we have been getting a sense of what the Israelites were expecting in the coming of their Messiah. We are also learning a bit about what it means to have faith. That’s what we learned from Jeremiah – that God is trustworthy and faithful. Even when things all around us are dark and gloomy, and it looks like there is no hope at all, God is faithful to His promises.

Malachi is about a messenger that would come to prepare the way for the Lord. That messenger, as we saw, was John the Baptist, who called the people to repentance and pointed them to Jesus. Advent is about preparing ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Lord in Jesus Christ. We have to heed the call of John the Baptist and repent from the sins that are holding us back. We must also use this time to point others to Jesus. That’s also what John did in his ministry. He saw that he wasn’t the most important thing in the world, but that Jesus was. It begins with self-examination, which leads to repentance, and then it ends with us pointing others to the source of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Zephaniah reminds us to rejoice in what the Lord is doing. Rejoicing and praising God shouldn’t be something that we do because those around us are doing it, and it shouldn’t be something we do because that’s what we are “supposed” to do. We should be rejoicing and praising God because He is faithful and He has brought us salvation in the form of His Son Jesus Christ. We should be rejoicing because this salvation is for all people, and we should be praising God with all our hearts when just one person returns to God.

And today, we hear the words of the prophet Micah of Moresheth. Like so many of the other prophets, we don’t know a whole lot about Micah. Instead of giving us a family of origin, we are given the place where Micah was born. Moresheth was a town about 22 miles southwest of Jerusalem, so it was a part of the southern kingdom of Judah. We are told that Micah’s ministry took place during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This would put him as active during the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, when the Assyrians came in, conquered and exiled the people of Israel in 722 B.C.

Micah’s words didn’t just serve warning to the people in the northern kingdom. He also spoke of what was to come in the southern kingdom. In Jeremiah 26:18, we see the words of Micah quoted by some of the elders in Judah. The primary theme in Micah, as with a lot of the other prophets, is one of judgment and forgiveness. The people are to be scattered for their unfaithfulness, but because of God’s faithfulness, they will be gathered together once again by one who will protect and forgive them.

Today’s passage comes during a time when the restoration of the people is being accomplished. There will come one from the town of Bethlehem, who will be raised up in the strength of the Lord to shepherd the flock of God’s people. Today’s reading begins by addressing Bethlehem Ephrathah. Ephrathah is a designation of the district in which Bethlehem is located. There was apparently more than one Bethlehem in the area, and this designation narrows it down to the Bethlehem that David called home.

There are allusions to David throughout this passage, which is why is it seen as a Messianic prophecy, or a prophecy that points to the coming of the Messiah. First of all the city, Bethlehem, was also known as the City of David. Bethlehem was kind of like one of the small New England towns that have the sign “George Washington slept here.” They had a giant sign at the edge of town that said, “David was born here.” Okay, that’s probably not true, but Bethlehem was known to be the home of Israel’s greatest king. It’s not much, but it is a claim to fame.

Secondly, there is mention of one that would come from Bethlehem who would be a ruler whose coming forth is from the ancient days. There was only one ruling family from Bethlehem, and you got it, it was the line of David. It was understood that the line of David would always sit on the throne of Israel. Now, at the time that Micah was saying these words, there were descendants of David that were sitting on the throne, but they were nothing like Israel’s ideal king.

At the time, the people were warned about the exile that was to come, but it was not a reality, nor was it immanent. The promise of the line of David sitting on the throne was something that was going to mean a lot to the people in just a couple hundred years, but right now, it was something that was just normal. The people of Israel, as they lived in exile in Babylon would look back on these words and remember the promises that God had made.

Finally, the imagery of a shepherd was equally important because David was a shepherd. The shepherd imagery for God is also seen in some of the other prophets. It is an image that portrays care and concern for the people that are being governed, a trait that had become rather rare in the kings that followed David. But the Messiah, the ruler that was to come from the line of David would care for the people, and as we read about Jesus’ ministry, we do see that care and concern for the people come through loud and clear. And as we read Micah and reflect on the birth, life and death of Jesus, what we begin to understand is that sometimes, the best things come in the smallest, and most unexpected, packages.

Take for example, Bethlehem itself. “O little town of Bethlehem” is more than a beginning to a beloved Christmas hymn. It is a statement of fact. Bethlehem was a little town. Remember when Mary and Joseph come into Bethlehem, and there is no room for them at the inn? It was because there just wasn’t much in Bethlehem, which is why everybody left. But once they all had to go back to their hometown for the census, it was packed and there was nowhere to put everybody. The word in verse 2 for “little” could also be translated as “small,” or “insignificant.”

Bethlehem was an insignificant town on the world stage. Apart from being the birthplace of David, nobody cared about it. Think about it, when the wise men from the east follow the star to find Jesus, one of Herod’s people tells them of this passage, and they go in search of the king of the Jews. We’ll get into the details of that story in a couple of weeks, but they don’t go back to tell Herod where the boy is. Herod figures out that they aren’t coming back and has all the little boys in Bethlehem killed. Did you know that Matthew is the only place in history that records this act of Herod? Herod kills a bunch of little boys, and it wasn’t even a blip on the radar of history. That’s how insignificant Bethlehem was, and yet, it was the birthplace of the world’s greatest king, the Son of God.

What about Jesus’ earthly parents? Who were they? Yes, we know that Mary and Joseph raised him, but what do we know about them? Nothing, really. We know that they were betrothed, which is kind of like being engaged at the time. A betrothal was a legal contract to wed, and couples were generally betrothed for a year before officially getting married. During this time, there was no marital contact between the husband and wife-to-be. Yet, next thing we know, Mary is pregnant. Joseph knows it isn’t his baby, and he had every right to, at best, call off the marriage, and at worst, have Mary stoned to death. But he doesn’t. He takes Mary as his wife anyway. Two people that the world barely knows anything about, and they are asked to raise the Son of God.

And at Christmastime, we need to remember that the greatest gift of all came in one of the most fragile gifts of all. Our salvation, our means of being in right relationship with God came in the form of a baby boy. A baby – is there anything more fragile than a baby? Is there anything more defenseless than a baby? I don’t know what is normal in standard child development. All of my nieces and nephew were way too advanced for their age, but I do know some rough estimates. Human babies can barely walk for the first year. They can’t hold a quality conversation until later than that, and some still can’t do that after a couple of decades.

A child is defenseless, and that’s why we see crimes against children as particularly heinous. And yet, a baby made the heavenly chorus break loose. A baby was the one who fulfilled the ancient prophecies of the people of Israel. A baby would eventually bring salvation to the entire world. A baby is an awesome and incredible thing, but there’s nothing special that a baby can do besides giggle and be cute. But an ordinary town saw an ordinary couple do something that was at the same time ordinary and very extraordinary. They gave birth to the Son of God. God can do the most extraordinary things through the most ordinary people.

There is a website called, My Life is Average. It is quite entertaining sometimes. Check it out when you get a chance. According to the designers, and I’m quoting from the site here, “MyLifeIsAverage is a place to share your everyday mediocrity. It is a place to post the mundane things in your life, and read about what makes life normal for other people.” Here are a few examples of what you’ll find on the site:

• “Today I asked a French guy if he played video games. He said, ‘Wii.’”
• “Today, I walked into my living room. My grandma was on Facebook. My 15-year-old sister was knitting. I’m still confused.”
• “Last night, I had a dream I was eating a giant marshmallow. When I woke up, my pillow was gone. I screamed in fear and held my stomach. Then I saw my pillow on the floor.”
• “Today, I wasn’t prepared for a test so I had my identical twin sister go to my class and take it for me. My teacher didn’t even notice the switch. My mom is the teacher.”
• “Today, I got a paper cut opening the Band-Aid box.”

There’s some pretty funny stuff on there, but in a seriousness, let me give you some questions to think about. Is your life average? Do you think that there’s nothing interesting or important about your life, or about what you do? Do you compare yourself to others and think, “there’s no way I can be like that person”? Do you think about the things that need to be done in this community for the sake of the gospel and then stop because you don’t think that you can make a difference? Do you see or hear about other things that churches do and wish that we could do them here, but don’t think we are capable ? Do you think you are too old, or too young do any good for the sake of Christ in this world? Do you think that God doesn’t want anything to do with you because of your past? What can we learn from Micah today?

We don’t need to be spectacular. God doesn’t need us to be the most talented or gifted individuals. God needs us to be who we are. God needs us to be willing to follow after Him and seek His face. God needs us to be willing, not special. God equips those He sends. We don’t need to walk on water, we need to walk humbly before Him.

Is your life average? Good! That’s something God can work with. Because we know, and everyone around us will know that it is God doing the work, not us. There was nothing special about Bethlehem. There was nothing special about Joseph or Mary. There was nothing special about the shepherds who first came to see the newborn king. But God made them special. God took their stories and shaped them in such a way that here we are 2000 years later talking about them. They weren’t special, but they will be remembered for saying “yes” to God.

This Christmas, let’s remember the words of the prophets. Let’s remember God’s faithfulness. Let’s remember the call to repentance. Let’s remember to rejoice in what God has done in our lives and what He is doing in the lives of those around us. And let’s remember that God can use average, ordinary people and places, people like you and me, and places like Bethlehem or Veedersburg/Hillsboro, to change the course of the world.

Kickin' It Old School: Advent in the OT, Part 3

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, December 13, 2009. The text for this week's message is Zephaniah 3:14-20.

Today is the third week of our series looking at the Old Testament lectionary readings for Advent. Hopefully, as we go through this series, you are getting a sense of the expectation, excitement and preparation that surrounded the coming of the Messiah for the people of Israel. It was a time when the people of Israel had to rely on God’s promises, even though many of them never saw His promises fulfilled. God is faithful, and we have to remember that. Last week, we talked about the messenger that would prepare the way for the Lord. In the first century, that promise was fulfilled in John the Baptist, who had a twofold ministry focusing on leading people to repentance and pointing them to Jesus.

The readings today bring us to a place that many of us probably have never been before. I put out an extremely unscientific poll on Facebook this week wondering out loud how many people actually knew where Zephaniah is located in the Bible. And I don’t recall anybody being able to tell me where it was without having to look it up. Now, remember, I have fellow pastors and seminary graduates as friends on Facebook, and nobody really knew where it was without looking it up.

Now, in all fairness, I knew the general location, but not the exact books that came before and after it. I think that’s the great thing about working through an Old Testament series like this, though. We get an opportunity to hear from voices that we don’t normally hear. So, who is this Zephaniah character, and what is this book about?

Not a lot is known about Zephaniah himself. He is not mentioned in any of the historical books like Kings or Chronicles, even though his ministry took place during events that happen in those books. From the first verse of the book, we see that Zephaniah was a descendant of Hezekiah, who was a king of Judah. We can read about Hezekiah in the historical books, as well as in the historical section of Isaiah, Chapters 36-39.

We also learn from the first verse that Zephaniah’s ministry took place during the reign of Josiah, who was basically the last good king of the Israelit people. This puts us in the middle to late 7th century B.C., not long before the Babylonians come into Jerusalem and start the exile. Not surprisingly, in light of where we are historically, the majority of Zephaniah is actually prophecies of judgment. If you were to look at an outline of the book, you would see section on the judgment that is coming against Judah, the coming wrath of God against all people, warnings to individual nations such as the Philistines, the Moabites, the Assyrians and even those in Jerusalem. That is just how the book flows.

The way the book is structured, you would think that it is going to be entirely about judgment against the people. What is interesting is that all of the warnings against other nations are book-ended by warnings to Judah and Jerusalem. In other words, the people of Judah ought not get too excited that God is going to judge their enemies, because God is also going to be judging them.

Now at this point, you may be wondering why this description of Zephaniah doesn’t seem to match up with today’s reading. There is not a whole lot of talk about judgment in today’s passage. Mostly it is about judgment being “taken away,” or rejoicing, or not fearing evil. In fact today’s reading doesn’t seem to match up at all with a people who have just been told that they will be facing God’s wrath. What is going on here? What really sets the stage for what is happening in today’s passage can be found just a few verses before in Zephaniah 3:9-13.

After all of this judgment and warning, something amazing happens. The people return to God. They heed the call to repent and turn back to God. Verse 9 says, “For at that time, I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech.” Before, during the time that brought on their judgment, the people’s worship of idols and false gods caused them to have impure speech. But with their speech purified, they “call upon the name of the Lord and serve Him with one accord.”

And what is important to pick up in this section is that it is not the people who brought themselves back to the Lord; it is the Lord who brings the people back to Him. God is the one who removes the shame of rebellion; who humbles us; who gives us refuge and peace. But where does this all start? In repentance, in turning back to God. Now, we talked about the importance of self-examination and repentance last week when we looked at Malachi 3 and the ministry of John the Baptist. What we come to today in the Zephaniah passage is what comes next.

There is a dramatic difference between the words of Zephaniah 1-2 and Zephaniah 3, there is the change that is brought forth in repentance and conversion. In today’s passage, the fruits of repentance are brought forth. You see, we don’t just examine our lives in the light of God’s grace and just go on with our lives as normal. We can’t do that.

If there is something that is not right in our lives; if there is something that is holding us back from being all that God has intended us to be; shouldn’t we do something about it? We know the sins in our lives. Come on, let’s be honest, there is nobody else on this earth that knows our sins as well as we do – I don’t care if we do live in a small town, nobody knows everything about another person. And when it all comes down, all we can really do is confess before God. All we can really do is turn to God with our whole hearts; and that is when we move from being impure to being pure; from being sinful to sinless. And what is our response to such a dramatic life change? That’s what we read about in today’s passage.

We are told to sing aloud, to shout, to rejoice and exult the Lord! There is a party in heaven when just one sinner repents and turns to God. In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables about things that are lost, but become found. In the first one, it is a lost sheep. A shepherd with 100 sheep rejoices more over the one that had gone astray and was found, than over the 99 that stayed where they were supposed to be. Jesus says that there is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents than over the 99 who need not. That’s not to say that the 99 aren’t important, or that they aren’t valuable, but think about it for a moment. What do you think happened to a sheep that went astray and got lost? It probably died. There were all sorts of dangers lurking in the shadows of the wild at that time. The 99 were fine. They were protected and cared for, but the one who wanders away from the flock is the one that is at the most risk.

The next parable is about a lost coin. A woman had 10 silver coins; each one was worth about 10 days’ wages. She loses one, and searches all over the house to find it. You’ve had this experience, right? You need to find something, and you are going absolutely nuts trying to find it. I used to do this all the time when I was a kid. I’d get out my G.I. Joes and start playing with them, but if I couldn’t find Snake Eyes – forget about it. I’d turn my room upside down to find him because everybody knows that Snake Eyes is hands-down the coolest of the G.I. Joes. I would flip out if I couldn’t find him, and when I did find him, I’d run and tell my mom. She didn’t care. She was wondering why I was getting so excited about playing with dice…. Get it? Snake Eyes is a G.I. Joe character, and a term for throwing two ones in dice. Okay, Katie said it was a stretch. Anyway.

What does Jesus say about this lost coin that was found? That there is joy before all the angels of heaven when just one sinner repents. Can you imagine the heavenly chorus that lets loose every time somebody comes back to God after going astray? Don’t get me wrong, I like hearing our choir and all, but give me the heavenly host any day of the week. All of heaven rejoices, do we?

Do we come to an understanding of our sinful state and wallow in self-pity, or do we rejoice in the fact that through Jesus Christ our sins are as good as gone? When we hear of others who have come to faith, do we sing aloud and shout with joy, or do we say, “that’s nice”? You see, there’s something very important for us to learn about in the third parable in Luke 15 that directly relates to what we are talking about here in Zephaniah.

The third parable is the lost son. You’ve probably heard this one in one form or another. A man’s son is lost. And this time, it’s not something that just wandered away from the group like the sheep, or something that was misplaced like the coin; it is a person who chooses to be lost. How many know somebody like that? How many know somebody that just chooses to go away from God? No matter what you say, no matter what you do, they’re gone, and they just don’t care.

At the end of the parable, we see a stark contrast between what heaven does and what we can have a tendency to do if we don’t rejoice in the lost being found, and when we don’t get involved in the process. The father, upon the return of his lost son, throws a great party. He is overjoyed, even doing things that would have made no sense in the culture. The lost son’s brother is angry. He doesn’t understand why it is such a big deal that his brother has returned. And that’s where we are left. There’s no resolution. There’s no happy ending. There’s nothing. All we are left with is an angry brother who is not interested in rejoicing over what was once lost and now found. That should serve as an important warning for all of us.

We can lose sight of what is really important. When people have that conversion experience; when they truly give their lives over to God; we should be celebrating. We should be seeking ways to make it commonplace for people that we know to come to Jesus. It’s never going to get old to see people turn away from their sins and find new life in Christ. We need to take a cue from Zephaniah here and rejoice because of what God has done, and there is no better time to do that than this time of the year, as we await the coming of His Son. God rejoices when those who are far from Him draw closer to Him, and so should we.

As we read through the Zephaniah passage, we need to remember that we have been called to rejoice in what God has done. Do we really understand the magnitude of what is going on when we come to worship? I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I think that I forget. After coming week after week after week, Sunday worship can become just a part of our routine if we let it.

We lose the joy and the excitement that we once had because it becomes something that we are “supposed” to do. Y’all that’s not right. We don’t come to church because that’s what people are supposed to do on Sunday morning. We come because we have been affected by the living God. If God, the angels and all of the heavens rejoice when just a single person returns to the Lord, then how much more should we rejoice that we have the opportunity to gather in His presence each and every week?

God has taken away our judgment. God has removed the sin that fights against us with everything it has. We no longer need to fear anything because if God is for us, who can be against us? The lame, the outcast, those who live in the shame of their sin, and, yes, that is each one of us that is gathered here today – we are all gathered together, the Lord removes our sin from our lives, and there is great rejoicing.

While the majority of the message of Zephaniah is less than pleasant, it ends on this great note of rejoicing and praise. As dark as things look, as locked up as we can get in our sin, as messed up as our lives can get, there is still rejoicing and praise. There is ultimate hope in God. We worship and praise God because of this hope.

As we continue on through this Advent season, let’s not forget the messages of the prophets who spoke to the people expecting their Messiah. Let’s not forget that God has done something so amazing that we celebrate it every single year during the Christmas season. What God has done shouldn’t be approached casually. It shouldn’t be just part of our annual routine. It should be something that we approach with great joy because the God of all creation; let that sink in for a minute – the God of all creation came down at Christmastime so that we could have salvation.

Kickin' It Old School: Advent in the OT, Part 2

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, December 6, 2001. The text for this week's message is Malachi 3:1-4.

Last week we talked about hope and the promises that God has made. Faith is all about trusting in God, even though we may not understand God. When we approach the season of Advent and spend time looking at key Scriptures that were important to the people of Israel, we need to remember God’s faithfulness in the promises that were fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. These weeks leading up to Christmas are a period of preparation. This week, we are looking at a text that is important when it comes to what it means to prepare. As the first Israelites returned to Jerusalem, the promise of restoration still hung over their heads.

As we get into the later prophets of the Old Testament, we see a shift from talking about the impending exile to a focus on purity and preparing oneself for the coming of the Messiah. And here, in Malachi, we see the development of an expectation that there would be one who would come and prepare the way for the Messiah. This one is known as the messenger, but who is this messenger and what is it that he does?

What I find interesting is that the Hebrew for “Malachi” and “my messenger” are the same. This has led many to believe that the book is not named after the prophet, but after the key theme of the messenger that is to come. I think this gives us a clue as to the importance of this passage, as well as another passage later in the book that point to a messenger that is to come before the Lord.

If we were to keep reading Malachi, which is possible to do in one setting because it is only four chapters in length, we would see in Malachi 4:5 the promise of a prophet that will come before the great and awesome day of the Lord, and that prophet is named. It is Elijah. This could mean one of two things.

First, it could mean that Elijah himself would return. You may or may not know that Elijah never died, at least there is no description of his death in the Old Testament. We can read about Elijah’s ministry in the books of 1 & 2 Kings, but in 2 Kings 2:11 we read that as Elijah and his pupil Elisha were walking one day, suddenly they were separated by chariots and horses of fire, and Elijah was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, and that is the last we hear from Elijah. Because of that event, and the words of the prophet in Malachi 4, some believed that Elijah himself would return one day.

Secondly, it could mean that there would be one whose ministry would be similar to Elijah’s. Elijah’s ministry was primarily focused on turning the people away from their idolatrous ways to which they had grown so accustomed. It was about bringing people back to the Lord. The people had to examine their hearts and repent. Notice here in Malachi 3 when it says that he will be like a refiner’s fire, like one who purifies gold and silver. Elijah’s ministry was one of refining the nation of Israel. There would be another who would refine the people as they awaited the coming of their Lord.

If we read through the gospels carefully, it is clear who that prophet was. In Mark 1, he is described in a manner very similar to Elijah in terms of what he was wearing and eating. In Matthew 11, he is described as one who is greater than all the men born of women. In Matthew 17, he is described as one who has already come, but was not recognized. In John 1, he points his own disciples to Jesus, knowing that Jesus was truly the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. That man was John the Baptist.

When we read about John the Baptist in the gospels, we read about a fiery character who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and let the people know what needed to happen in order for them to be in relationship with God. We don’t see a guy who thinks his ministry is the most important thing in the world; we see a guy who knew that his ministry was to get the people to repent and then point them to Jesus.

John the Baptist had a ministry of preparation. He was preparing the way for the Lord by getting the people to closely examine their hearts, minds and souls, which inevitably will cause people to repent if they are truly honest with themselves. He called out the Jewish leaders whose hearts were not in the right place, but in their own self-importance, they did not seem to care. He was fairly harsh as well, at one point calling them a “brood of vipers.”

You see, the thing about a refiner’s fire is that it is hot. It can burn. It can destroy things within the material. In fact, refining gold and silver is an extensive and sometimes difficult process. The whole material needs to be heated up to incredibly high temperatures, and all the junk and filth can be burned out or removed. It is a messy process. It can be a very dangerous process. But it is a process that, in the end, makes that which was already valuable even more so.

In a sense, John’s ministry continues in the work of the Holy Spirit. As we go through life, there are things that we let in which will harm us. They degrade that which is valuable within all of us. The Holy Spirit works in our lives, through the grace of God, to refine us. Do you ever do something that you just know is wrong? Often, that is the Holy Spirit working in your life, convicting you of the sin that is in your life and refining you, as long as you let Him.

Maybe you had a similar experience before you came to know Christ. Or, maybe, if you don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus, you are still having this experience. Some people refer to it as your conscience, or your upbringing, or your sense of ethical duty, but I think what just might be behind all of that is the grace of God.

In our Wesleyan theological tradition, we have a term for it. It is called prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is the grace of God that precedes our salvation. In that period in our lives before we come to be in a real relationship with God, His prevenient grace will often be working in our lives, though we may not even know it or recognize it. Over time, we can ignore God. We can shut him out and stop listening. That doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us, it means that we no longer recognize His voice.

But if we stop just long enough to notice something outside of ourselves, God’s prevenient grace draws us closer to Him. We begin to see things in a new way. Life makes a little more sense. And suddenly, we are open to a whole new world that we never could have imagined, a world where we follow after God and seek His face. And that brings us to a point of repentance.

We don’t repent because of the punishment that might come on us if we fail to do so. We repent because God’s grace has led us to that point. We recognize that there is something more to this life than what we see every day with our own eyes. We realize that there are parts of our life that fail to live up to the standards that have been set – not by us, not by our friends or family, not by the society in which we live, but by God’s standards of holiness. We recognize that we do not belong in the presence of God because we are stained and ruined people. That is the refiner’s fire at work. That is God’s presence at work in our lives as we learn to submit to God.

John’s ministry was a ministry that led people to repentance. It might seem like an obvious question, but do you know why John is known as John the Baptist? It’s not a denominational affiliation. People called him John the Baptist because so many people heard his message of repentance and came to be purified through baptism. That’s what baptism is about – recognizing our own impurities and coming before God to be cleansed from our sin. It is the outward sign of the grace of God that is working inside of us.

Some of you may be thinking, “This is all nice, but I’ve been a Christian for years.” And that’s true, some of y’all have been Christians for longer than I’ve been alive. If that’s the case, it doesn’t mean that none of this talk of self-examination and refinement is applicable to your life either. You see, we don’t stop being refined simply by being baptized. There is constantly the need for purification in our lives.

Just a brief poll: how many have sinned this week? Clearly there are still parts of our lives that are in need of refinement. There are still parts of our lives that stain the holiness that is expected of us. I’ll go out on a limb and say that those who are closest to God are most aware of what it is in their lives that separates them from God. Have you ever heard the saying, “The more you know, the more you realize there is to learn”? It is like that in our spiritual lives as well. This is God’s grace at work in our lives as well.

We have a different name for it in our tradition, but it essentially does the same thing – draws us closer to God by getting rid of the junk that is holding us back. We refer to this as God’s sanctifying grace. It, too, is the refiner’s fire at work in our lives. It convicts us of what is wrong in our lives and destroys that which is in the way of our relationship with God. This also begins with self-examination. What is it in your life that is holding you back? What is it in your life that is preventing you from taking the next step with God? These are the kind of questions that lead us into the refiner’s fire. These are the types of questions that draw us closer to God.

As important as this part of John’s ministry was, the ministry of repentance, it wasn’t all that John did. There was one more important aspect of his ministry that is crucial for us to look at as we enter into this season of preparation for the birth of Christ. John’s ministry was really twofold. First, it was to get people to the point of repentance, and second, it was to point them to Jesus.

Nearly every time we come across John the Baptist in the gospels, he is pointing somebody to Jesus. In his message, he refers to one who will come whose sandals he is not worthy to tie. In the beginning of the gospel of John, he points his disciples to Jesus. That is something we should be doing as well.

Perhaps the most important thing about our faith is that it is not ours to keep. Not only should we be examining ourselves, but we should also be sharing our faith with those around us. We should be taking John’s lead and be pointing others to Jesus as well. Perhaps you may not know this, but there is very little about our faith that is intuitive. Our faith is not something that we could just come to on our own by sitting under a tree on a nice, summer day.

The reason why we are where we are this morning is because somewhere along the way, somebody shared his or her faith with us; maybe it was your parents, maybe it was a close friend, and maybe it was a pastor or Sunday school teacher. Regardless of who it was, somebody shared faith with you. You didn’t just happen upon it by accident. So, why wouldn’t we be eager to share that same faith with someone else?

Look at it this way, if you eat at a great restaurant, and it is a wonderful experience from the time you walk in the door to the time you get back to your car, you are going to tell people about it. It will come up in conversations because you are excited about it. In retail, they stress the importance of good customer service by pointing to word-of-mouth advertising. If a person has a bad experience, they are going to tell two friends, who will tell two more friends, who will tell two more friends. The inverse is true as well. Good (and bad) customer service pays back exponentially.

We know these things to be true in our own lives, and, yet, the most important thing that we could ever come across is something that we keep to ourselves. We need to learn from John the Baptist and start pointing others to Christ. Yes, it may be uncomfortable, and you may make a colossal mistake at some point. But didn’t that happen when you were learning to ride a bike?

I know I came home more than once with a few scrapes and bruises, and you probably did too. But do you remember the freedom that came with learning how to ride a bike? I used to go all over the place with my bike. There is freedom in sharing Christ with others, and it is there because we are doing something that we were meant to do.

So, this week, our second week of Advent, let’s not forget to think about the lessons that we can learn from Malachi and from John the Baptist. Take some time out this week to stop and reflect on your life. Are you living a life that is honoring to God? What is it in your life that needs to be taken out by the refiner’s fire, regardless of how much it may burn at first? How can you share the joy of your faith with the people you know?

Kickin' It Old School: Advent in the OT, Part 1

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, November 29, 2009. The text for this week's message is Jeremiah 33:14-16.

We are going to start a series this week that will run through the season of Advent in which we will look at the Old Testament readings from the lectionary. I think there is so much that we can learn from the Old Testament if we just take the time to sit down and read it. So much of it informs what is going on in the New Testament; and so much of it is overlooked. Before we get to today’s passage, I want to talk a little bit about what Advent is, and then we’ll see what we can learn from Jeremiah 33.

First off, Advent is officially the beginning of the Christian calendar year. So, let me be the first to say it, “Happy New Year!” Okay, it sounds a little weird to be saying that when we still have a couple of days until December, doesn’t it? Regardless, Advent is the beginning of a new year on the Christian calendar. Advent is the time when we prepare and look forward to the birth of Jesus. And I think one of the neat things about spending Advent in the Old Testament readings is that, as we immerse ourselves in these Scriptures, we get a small taste of the eager anticipation of the people of Israel as they, too, waited for their Messiah.

We start today’s passage with a very small, but significant phrase. “Behold, the days are coming….” It doesn’t seem like much on the surface. In fact, if we were reading this passage, we might just skip right over those words and not really think about what they mean, or what was going on when they were said. In fact, we may have read those words a hundred times and never really thought about what they mean, but that would be a mistake, especially as we read the book of Jeremiah. “Why is that?” Well, I’m so glad you asked.

The phrase “the days are coming” is actually a relatively rare phrase in Scripture. It only appears 24 times from Genesis to Revelation. However, fifteen of those occurrences are right here in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a book that has its eye on the future. In fact, Jeremiah seems to have more awareness of what will happen than just about any other book in all of Scripture. And, believe it or not, this is a little different than most of the other prophets.

In the prophets, we often read about what will happen if the people stay on their current path. That’s what most of the prophets are about. It’s more the idea that “if you don’t repent, and if you continue down this path that you are going down, then this is what will happen.” However, Jeremiah is a little different. It is beyond the point of no return. No longer is it about what might happen if the people don’t repent, but what is going to happen because they didn’t repent. Jeremiah is sometimes referred to as the “Prophet of Doom” because he often had bad things to say to the people.

We know by reading through Jeremiah, though, that he was not crazy about this task. It was a difficult task that cost him everything – he didn’t exactly have a great life. When we read about Jeremiah, we see a guy who struggled with his task. It seemed like everyone was out to get him because of his message. At one point, he was even thrown in the bottom of a well. Whenever you have a bad day at work, just remember Jeremiah, and it’ll make you feel a little bit better. Whenever Jeremiah says, “the days are coming,” it is not a warning of what might happen, but a forewarning of what is going to happen. So, what is going on during this time that would make Jeremiah say something like what we see here in chapter 33?

After repeated warnings from other prophets were ignored, and after continuing to fall deeper and deeper into apostasy, the nation was going to be punished. It began in the 8th century B.C. when the northern kingdom, called Israel and consisting of 10 tribes of Israel, was conquered by the Assyrians. About 140 years later, the Babylonians conquered Judah, the southern kingdom. Jeremiah’s ministry took place just before the Babylonians came into Jerusalem and shipped the leadership of the nation to Babylon. In fact, the Babylonians were sitting on the front porch, on the verge of inviting themselves in.

So, when Jeremiah writes these words, the worst hasn’t happened, but everyone knew that it was coming soon. I’ve heard it said that Jeremiah wasn’t saying anything that surprised the people any longer. He was just saying what everyone already knew was going to happen. However, this is where we get into a different side of Jeremiah. Up to this point, he has constantly been earning his reputation as the prophet of doom, but beginning in Jeremiah 30, there is a positive tone to what he is saying. No longer is the message one of “here’s all the bad stuff that is going to happen,” but now, Jeremiah was preaching a message of hope. It’s not about the coming exile, but the restoration that God will bring about after this period of punishment.

There are promises of hope and restoration in these chapters of Jeremiah. The prophet buys a field, even though he knows the land is about to be conquered. He relays God’s promises of a day when the people will come back to the land and both the nation and the land will be restored. Not only will day-to-day life come back to some sense of normal, but the line of David will also be restored. The descendants of David will once again reign on the throne of the nation. So, while everything around them was bleak, Jeremiah gives a message of hope.

Let’s pause here for a minute and think about today’s culture. Where are we today in American society? Are we any better off than the people of Judah were at the time? What message of hope could we use at this point in our history?

There is a relatively new academic discipline, known as Cultural Studies, which is making some headway in the academic world. I’m not going to pretend to be some kind of expert in it, but I did do some reading on it this week. Cultural Studies basically tries to look at the big picture of a culture. It takes into account all sorts of different bits of information, such as pop culture, philosophy, art, political and economic climates, and uses these bits of information to look at the broader picture of a given culture. Now, I know that it sounds unbearably complicated, but realistically, we do this all the time without even thinking about it. We just don’t realize that we are doing it. So, let’s think about it for a minute. What is the state of American culture today?

Let’s start with contemporary pop culture. Compare today’s music with the music of 30 years ago. What’s different? And I don’t mean just the musical styling, but the content of the music. I think it is fair to say that today’s music gets away with a lot more than the music of 30 years ago. I am amazed at the lyrics of some of the songs that play on the radio, especially the music by individuals and groups that are popular with the younger crowd.

How about the movies? Now, I like going to the movies. I’ll see just about anything that has a lot of action and a lot of explosions. But, again, compare them to the movies of 30 years ago. Language is significantly worse than it used to be. For example, M.A.S.H. made waves in 1970 for being the first movie to include a certain curse word. Today, it’s permissible for this same word to be heard in a movie with a PG-13 rating. Trust me, I took a youth group to see a PG-13 movie that used it, with the senior pastor sitting in front of me, and the preschool director sitting right next to me.

At one point a couple months ago, Katie and I were talking about going to see a movie, and when we looked at the listings, there wasn’t a single movie that we wanted to see because most of them could be called “slasher flicks,” which we just don’t like to watch. But I can guarantee you one thing, in spite of the content, or perhaps because of it, those movies sold millions of dollars in tickets that weekend. I don’t think it is unfair to say that movies and music today are more permissible than they were even 20 years ago.

What about our television shows? So many of them not only openly discuss relations outside of marriage, but glorify it. I’m not saying that we should totally shun contemporary culture, but that we need to at least be discerning. We need to know what is going on in the world around us. In fact, we all need to be Cultural Studies scholars to some degree. Because the same people who love the stuff that contemporary culture is producing are the ones who we need to be reaching with the message of the gospel. By being scholars of contemporary culture, we at least have some common ground from which to start the discussion.

What about the world around us? How is it similar to the situation that Jeremiah was facing? Sure, we aren’t in any imminent danger of being conquered and exiled by a neighboring nation, but that doesn’t mean that things are going great. It seems like every time we turn around, we are hearing about a new problem with the economy. How many major industries have turned to the government for a bailout in the last two years? Whether you agree with the bailouts or not, they are reflective of a difficult economic climate in America.

We went from 4.8% unemployment in April 2008 to 9.5% last month. That’s nearly double the number of people who are out of a job in just 18 months. The numbers for the state of Indiana are fairly similar. Let’s bring it closer to home. Right here in Fountain County, we had around 5% unemployment in April 2008, and it was an astounding 11.6% in September, which is actually down from the 15.6% in July. I talked with Yessi Girdler at the Church of God last week, and she said that the food pantry serviced 150 families in just the first two weeks of this month.

Things are looking fairly bleak right now, and it’s not just “out there,” it’s right here in our own community. All of this tells me that we aren’t exactly living in the golden age of American culture, if there really can be such a thing. We may not have an invading army at our capital, but things are not exactly easy in America these days. However, there is hope.

In Jeremiah’s time, it was the promise of the Messiah. In our time, it is the same promise, but seen in a new way. For the people of Jeremiah’s time, they looked forward to the coming Messiah, the offspring of David who would restore the nation of Israel. In our time, we look forward to the return of Jesus. It is a promise that we can read about time and time again in Scripture, and God doesn’t make promises that He doesn’t keep. Every year, at Advent, we remember the fulfillment of God’s first promises of the coming Messiah. In doing so, we also need to remember His promises of the redemption that awaits all creation when Jesus returns and there is a new heaven and a new earth.

One of the realities of living in a world that has been torn down from sin is that promises can sometimes lose their meaning. We have learned that people will let us down. It is inevitable. Whether we mean it or not, we let people down, and they let us down. However, one thing we learn time and time again from reading Scripture is that God doesn’t let us down. God does not fail to uphold His promises. Perhaps that is a new concept for us. We may not understand why God does what He does, or why things happen the way they do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t trust in God. And really, that’s what faith is about. It’s not about understanding God; it’s about trusting in God.

So, in this Advent season, as we get caught up in all the different places we need to be to gather with friends and family and all the running back and forth, as we are standing in the ridiculously long lines at the stores or sitting in the traffic that seems crazier than normal, let’s remember that God has made us a promise of redemption. Let us remember that there is a reason behind all the craziness of the season. Let us remember God’s promises and trust in Him.

Expectations and Reality

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, November 22, 2009. The text for this week's message is John 18:33-37.

It may seem like an odd time of the year to be looking at today’s passage. After all, it’s not Good Friday, and we aren’t in the middle of the season of Lent, which is when you would expect to hear this particular passage. Really, on the surface, there is no reason why we should be looking at John 18 in the middle of November. We would assume that the lectionary would give us some kind of passage on how important it is for us to give thanks. Thanksgiving is this week, so surely there is something related to giving that would be more appropriate this time of the year. It defies our expectations of what we should be reading in mid-November. But sometimes, our expectations need a little recalibration. Sometimes our expectations and our assumptions do not line up with the reality that surrounds us.

What I want to do this morning is walk through the passage one step at a time and look at some of the expectations that were blown out of the water. Then I want to take a few minutes to talk about some of the expectations that we might have, and see if we need to do a bit of self-calibration as well.

First off, let’s get the full picture in view. These few verses are found in the larger section of John’s gospel where we begin to look at Jesus’ final day on earth. At the beginning of John 18, Jesus goes out to the garden with his disciples. He knows what is going to happen, but he goes anyway. We all have at least a very vague sense of what happens there. The gist of it is that Judas shows up with a handful of Jewish officers, and Jesus is arrested.

The soldiers take Jesus to see the father-in-law of the high priest, Annas, who himself was the high priest a decade or so before this takes place. Then he is taken to Caiaphas, who is the high priest at the time. John skips most of the details of what happens at this trial, if it can be called that. But we know from the other gospels that Jesus is accused of blasphemy and, according to Jewish law, this is a crime punishable by death.

However, what’s the political situation at the time? The Romans are the ones that are in control, and as such, they are the only ones who can sentence somebody to death. In order for the Jewish law to be carried out, Jesus needs to be given capital punishment by the Romans. So, the Jewish leaders take Jesus to Ponitus Pilate, the governor of the region.

Because it is on the eve of the Passover, the Jewish leaders refuse to enter into Pilate’s residence. Doing so would make them ritually unclean and, consequently, unable to take part in the Passover meal. Now, first of all, I find this to be quite ironic. These Jewish leaders have no problem wrongfully trying Jesus in the middle of the night; trumping up bogus charges, gathering false witnesses, and falsely accusing him of a crime that is punishable by death. However, they don’t want to go into the house of a Gentile because it will make them unclean. Makes you wonder a bit about priorities, doesn’t it?

Secondly, I image that it is pretty early in the morning. Remember, they arrested Jesus in the garden after he and his disciples had their last meal together. The trial went on through the night. I cannot see any way in which Pilate would have been in a welcoming, receptive mood, which, of course, may have been exactly what they wanted in the first place. Can you imagine somebody waking you up in the morning wanting you to settle a case that you don’t even really care about? I think Pilate’s first words may have been unrepeatable, and his second words would have been somewhere along the lines of, “What do you want?”

Right before today’s passage, we are told that Pilate does ask why they brought Jesus to him. He wants to know what accusation they have against him. And notice how vague their response is, verse 30, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” Another reason why I think this was really early in the morning – that kind of logic only works in the morning. Seriously though, Pilate tells them to judge him themselves, to which they reply, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

Now, this would have done one of two things. First, it would have made Pilate wonder what was so bad that they would want to execute this Jesus-guy, and second, it probably would have made him even grumpier. He’s just trying to pass it off so that he can go back to sleep, but they just won’t let it go. And this is the state that Pilate is in when we come to today’s passage – tired, grumpy and pretty annoyed.

So, Pilate walks back into the headquarters where Jesus is sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with a giant interrogation spotlight shining down on him. And tired, grumpy, annoyed Pilate gets straight to the point, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Now, this is a very politically focused question. Pilate’s major role as governor was to ensure that people paid taxes to Rome and that they didn’t rebel. There were a handful of rebellions during Pilate’s reign in Jerusalem, and they were typically dealt with swiftly and decisively. Pilate wants to know whether or not Jesus poses some kind of political threat to the Roman establishment.

Pilate knew that members of the Herodian family were officially kings throughout Judea, and had been for some time. Perhaps you remember the story of Jesus’ birth when Herod the Great was king. His sons were now the ones who were put in place as kings by the Roman Emperor. Pilate wants to make sure that Jesus isn’t making some kind of claim to the kingship of Judea. By doing that, Jesus would be committing treason against the Roman Empire, an offense punishable by death.

But Jesus does something unexpected. He turns the questioning around on Pilate. This is totally unheard of. Pilate, already in a grumpy mood, would not like to be questioned by this Galilean, because, according to one resource I read this week, Galileans were like the hillbillies of Judea. He is totally destroying any sense of social order. It would have totally thrown off Pilate.

Jesus’ question here is very piercing for us as well. He says to Pilate, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” In other words, do we declare Jesus to be our Lord and Savior simply because everyone else around us is doing so, or do we make that confession of our own accord? Is our faith a product of socialization? Do we believe because everyone around us does, or is it because we have been affected by the living God?

That is a crucial question that we all need to ask ourselves from time to time, and we have to be honest about the answer as well. If our faith is just a matter of socialization, or “that’s the way we were raised,” then it is a shallow faith. Our faith needs to be a dynamic relationship with the living God, not just something that we do for a couple hours each week. The church is not a social club. It is a gathering of people seeking after God, trying to make sense of the world around them. Do we say that Jesus is our Lord and Savior of our own accord, or do we say it because that’s what others are saying?

We have a choice when we start asking ourselves these questions. We can honestly look at ourselves and evaluate where we are in our faith, or we can get frustrated with the questions and ignore them. When Jesus asks Pilate this question, he does a little bit of both. You get the sense that he is a little more annoyed, especially given that the roles have been reversed – Jesus was the one asking the questions, not Pilate. But Pilate also begins to understand that there is maybe something more going on behind the scenes.

Pilate’s response in verse 35 shows signs of empathy. Pilate is trying to show that he is really impartial. All Pilate really cares about is whether or not Jesus is committing treason against the Roman Empire. Does he pose a threat to the Roman order in Judea? Pilate points out that it was the Jews and the chief priests that brought Jesus to be questioned and executed. And now, he wants to know what it was that Jesus did to get them so riled up.

I think, in Jesus’ response, we see Jesus framing his understanding of what is going on. When Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world, which he says twice in verse 36, he is alluding to the book of Daniel, which, of course, Pilate probably doesn’t know anything about. But in Daniel, chapters 2 and 7, there is talk of God establishing a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Jesus is basically saying that he has a kingdom that is different than anything else Pilate has ever seen or heard of, a heavenly kingdom. It doesn’t pose a threat to the Roman Empire. It is not that type of kingdom. It is a kingdom not of this world.

Pilate latches onto Jesus’ talk of kingdom and asks him if he is indeed a king. It is almost as if Pilate still doesn’t quite understand what Jesus is talking about, but he knows there is something different going on than what he expected. Finally, Pilate is open to hear what it is that Jesus has to say.

And Jesus tells Pilate what his purpose is. Jesus lets Pilate know why he was born – to bear witness to the truth. Pilate was expecting a day just like any other. Pilate was expecting to talk with some guy who was planning treason against the occupying Roman forces. Pilate was expecting to address a potential threat. The reality is that Pilate had a profound encounter with the truth, in the form of Jesus Christ. This Jewish hillbilly was far beyond anything that Pilate expected. The reality is that Jesus is far beyond anything that we expect as well.

What is interesting about the lectionary reading is that it too is not what we would expect. It is not a story about giving or being thankful. It doesn’t even give us the full story of what happens afterwards. If we just look at today’s reading, we don’t know that Pilate could find no fault with Jesus and was willing to let him go.

According to the Christian calendar, today is Christ the King Sunday. It is a time when we celebrate the kingship of Jesus before we enter into the time of preparation known as Advent. When we hear about a king, we expect all the bells and whistles that come with royalty, but in Jesus, we don’t get what we expect.

We get a king whose kingdom is not of this world. We get a king who gently breaks down our barriers and opens us up to seeing that there is far more to this life around us than we realize. We get a king who wants us to know him in a very real way; a king unlike any other king that we have ever seen before. We also get a king who challenges us to hear his voice; to seek after the truth, and that is our challenge this week. Can we look at our lives and truly say that Jesus Christ is king?

Changing the Systems

The following was preached at Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, November 15, 2009. The text for this week's passage is Hebrews 10:11-25.

We are looking at the book of Hebrews today. It’s one of those books that sometimes gets overlooked when we think about books of the Bible. Not a whole lot is known about the history of the book, or more accurately, letter. It is an odd bit of literature in the New Testament because it is not addressed to anyone in particular, nor is the author ever explicitly identified. It was traditionally labeled as “to the Hebrews” reflecting the assumption that the original recipients were Jewish Christians. We have also traditionally attributed Hebrews to Paul, but this is far from certain in the circles of people who talk about such things. Perhaps more important than either the author or the audience, though, is the theme of the letter.

Hebrews is all about the supremacy of Christ. The author talks about Christ in comparison with the angels, the priests, and the old covenantal system. And in each case, Christ far surpasses what came before. There is an idea throughout the letter that something new has happened; that the Old Testament promises that God is going to do a new thing have finally come to fruition. In some sense, this letter is a celebration of the dawning of a new era. It’s exciting, it’s uncomfortable and it’s a little scary, as change always is, especially for those who are a part of the system that needs change. But often, as scary and uncomfortable as change can be, it is necessary in order to fulfill the purposes that God has set forth.

Today’s passage takes place in the section where Christ is compared to the priesthood, and, by extension and more specific to this part of the text, the whole sacrificial system. The sacrifices of the priest are compared to the sacrifice of Christ, and they are significantly different in two key ways.

First off, the sacrifices of the priest are offered daily. Day after day, the priest would offer sacrifices to take away the sins of the people. That’s what the sacrificial system was all about. Sin was committed and to atone for that sin, blood was shed. Often times, the priest might lay his hands on the sacrificial animal to symbolize the transference of guilt from the sinner to the animal. Every year, around the time of the Passover was the Day of Atonement. This is where a sacrificial lamb, a lamb without defect, was inspected by the high priest, and then slaughtered for the sins of the nation. It was an annual event, or at least it was until there came a time for a change.

When you read through the story of the Passion Week in the Gospel of John, you are reading about the Day of Atonement re-imagined. John writes the story in such a way that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb during one particular Passover. Jesus is the one that was inspected – by the high priest, by Pontius Pilate, by the Sanhedrin; Jesus was examined, he was without defect, and he was slaughtered.

In contrast with the priest’s sacrifice, Jesus was a one-time sacrifice. Jesus was a sacrifice that did not have to be offered day after day after day. We may need to come to Jesus and submit to Jesus each and every day, but the sacrifice was made, once and for all, on the cross. They system was changed.

The second major difference is implied in the first, but let’s get it out there. Why was it that the priests had to offer the sacrifice time and time again? Because it wasn’t enough. Verse 11 says that the priest repeatedly offers the same sacrifice, “which can never take away sins.” The sacrificial system wasn’t designed to take away sin; it was designed to temporarily atone for sin and to show us the seriousness of sin.

The reason why sacrifices had to be offered over and over again is because they never took away the sin. But Jesus does. Jesus was a one-time, single sacrifice for sin that was good for all time. There’s a reason why Jesus doesn’t come back and offer himself for each and every generation. His one-time sacrifice did what all the other sacrifices combined couldn’t do – it took away sin. It gave us the new possibility of living life without sin. But here’s the catch. It doesn’t happen all at once.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Wouldn’t it be great if we could just keep living our lives as though nothing really changes once we put our trust in Jesus? But the truth is, that doesn’t happen. You know it. You’ve seen it. You may be experiencing that right now in your life. We become more mature as Christians over time. It is a process in which the Holy Spirit is working within us and conforming us to the image of Christ.

Verse 14 says, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Are being sanctified. Notice, it doesn’t say, “those who are perfect,” or “those who are fully sanctified.” The Greek tense is very intentional here. It reveals a process that is taking place, not an immediate change. This is what our faith is: it’s a process by which we gradually change from within. If a person hasn’t been changed after giving his/her life to God, then something isn’t right. And what is true for individuals is true for the larger group as well.

A community of faith needs to change over time because God is at work, and God doesn’t leave us where we are as individuals. So, shouldn’t we expect God to be working in a new way in the community of faith? Remember the vision in Revelation 21? God doesn’t need our help to make vision a reality. Now, I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of it. I would be happy to play even the slightest, tiniest, supporting role possible. Because it is exciting to be a part of what God is doing. And sometimes, the systems that we relied on in the past aren’t enough to get us to the place we want to be in the future.

The writer of Hebrews saw this. He is basically saying that the priesthood, as it was understood in Judaism at the time, is past its prime. No longer was it necessary for the priests to offer daily sacrifices because God did something new. In Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice was made for all time. Verse 16 is a quote from Jeremiah 31:33. Let me read it again, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.” And verse 17 comes from the same passage, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Sin is wiped away because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is something that no priest could ever do.

Then, starting in verse 19, we get the “therefore.” Up to this point in the passage, it has been “because of that,” and now, we get the “therefore, do this.” The writer isn’t just going to tell the reader what has happened, but he calls them to action. And he does so with three “let us” phrases.

The first one, verse 22, “let us draw near.” We have confidence in Christ. We trust in Christ. Through Christ, we can have a clean conscience and enter into the presence of God. We can draw near to God because of the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s where we get a spiritual high; from being faithful and drawing near to the presence of God.

I’ve heard about something called a “runner’s high.” I don’t know exactly what that is, because I only run if there is a ball in play. But I do know what a spiritual high is. A spiritual high is when there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is present and active in your midst. I remember one particular time when I was in high school. We were on a mission trip and had some great devotions one night. We circled up to pray, and I started shaking. It was Alabama in the middle of the summer; I wasn’t cold. We were praying, and I had my eyes closed, head down, and I didn’t dare look up. Because I knew, I knew without a doubt, that the Holy Spirit was right there with us.

I don’t tell you this so that you’ll be impressed with any kind of spiritual experience that I’ve had. Or to brag about what has happened in my life. I tell you this because that is what I want for this congregation. When we gather together, I want there to be no doubt that the Holy Spirit is present among us. I want people to walk into this church and say, “Wow. God is moving there.”

And I don’t want this because it makes me look good as the pastor, or because it makes us look good as a congregation; it’s not about how we appear to those around us. It’s about whether or not we are being faithful to the calling that God has placed on us. It is a process, a journey, and you don’t go through a process, or on a journey without moving somewhere. And in order to get somewhere, things need to change and adapt to new ways of doing things. Einstein is attributed with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We cannot expect to do things the same way time and time again, because the world around us is changing.

The second “let us” phrase is, “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,” found in verse 23. Do you trust in God? Do you believe that God can put the right people in the right place at the right time? Do you believe that God cares for the world? I do. I believe that God can use us to do amazing things if we are willing. It’s a decision that we have to make, and if we are willing, then we need to be ready to get pushed out of our comfort zone from time to time. And in those times, we have to hold fast to the hope we have in heaven.

God is faithful. God has promised to be with us, even through the difficult times in our lives. Be don’t think that means that things are always going to be easy and comfortable. God was with Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery. God was with Joseph when he was wrongfully thrown into prison in Egypt. God was with Joseph when all others forgot about him. Things get difficult sometimes, but God is with us. And we have to hold fast to that hope.

Finally, the third one, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” verse 24. What should be our response to the sacrifice of Christ? Love and good works. And not just love and good works, but considering ways to encourage others to love and good works. This is why the community of faith is so important. Have you ever heard somebody say, “I can be a Christian without going to church”? In some sense, yes, you can, but in another, no, you can’t. The community of faith is crucial when it comes to developing as a Christian. We have accountability to grow together in the faith. We have encouragement when times are tough. We have people from whom we learn.

We have a decision to make when we read this passage. We can decide to be a church that is about moving forward and chasing after God, or we can decide to do the same things over and over again. We can shut ourselves off from the world around us, or we can reach out to the lost. As much as I was kidding around about District Conference last week, I’m glad I went because I heard something very powerful, and I want to share it with you. It’s is another decision that we have to make, and it is quite possibly the biggest decision that must be made.

We can decide to be preference-driven or purpose-centered. If we are purpose-centered, then we are focused on a given purpose. And I think that purpose is so clear when it comes to Scripture. Our purpose as disciples of Jesus Christ is to make disciples by reaching out and growing mature in the faith.

If we are preference-driven, then we are more concerned with making sure everything fits into either what we are used to, so that it is familiar and comfortable, or what we like, so that to be a part of our community, people have to conform to who we think they should be. Ultimately, whether we realize it or not, the systems that we set up end up being preference-driven by default. Unless we make the intentional decision to be purpose-centered, we will be preference-driven. And there’s nothing wrong with preferences, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the mission of the church. These preferences should not drive what we do; that is what the purpose does.

The purpose is something larger than ourselves. The purpose is larger than any single person, than the preferences of a few people, than the church as a whole. The purpose is what causes us to get up in the morning and strive to be all that God would have us be. If we are purpose-centered, we make the intentional decision to listen for the call that God has placed on us. We are flexible enough to know that what worked 20 years ago isn’t necessarily going to work in today’s world.

When Jesus came, he dismantled all the systems that were in place. He challenged and changed the systems because, over time, systems need to be changed. There are some growing pains from time to time, just like when you were young and your legs would hurt from time to time as your muscles were growing. But, in the end, we can look back and be amazed at what God has done. But we have some decisions to make. Do we stick with the systems that got us to this point, or do we step out of our comfort zone just a little bit and see what God can do when we are willing? It is a decision that we all have to make.