Sermon 8-14-11 forgiveness – one 1 john 1:5-10
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Is the headline of your life’s newspaper sin or forgiveness?
God’s story of sin and forgiveness
Sin is real – sin is like a dirty diaper
Sin is a great deceiver, promises what it cannot deliver
Sin is not the headline. Love is the headline.
God so loved the world.
Our story of sin and forgiveness
Why is it easier for me to feel bad about myself?
I know psalm 103 says as far as the east is from the west, but they seem to be stuck on me.
Misspelled words – loveable, judgment, forgiveness
I hope you don’t understand this, but those of you who do,
Maybe this is why forgiveness is such good news
Why does my relationship with God feel like a transaction?
Remedies
God has solved the problem of sin.
He has made the way thru Jesus
God has already done the work, nothing more is needed.
Then there is the problem of how we see ourselves
We hear forgiveness, but have trouble sensing that it is for us
Seeing – the board in your eye mt. 7
In order to see, we have to change the way we look at things
When our vision is obstructed, we see the world incorrectly
How do we see god + ourselves when there is a board in our eye?
When our judgment is obscured
God is a mean angry father
And we are unworthy, unlovable, worthless
This is an insult to God
How do you see God when we walk in the light and we see clearly?
God is a loving father, aka prodigal son
God is love
Demello story – tell him I don’t remember his sins
How do we see ourselves? Imperfect, but loved
Pastor shawn shared with me Newborn Baby
We see the sin. I lie. I cheat. I steal. etc. (and we act out of that “seeing”. Guilt/shame/anger/etc.)
God sees more than that. God sees the potential me (The me I am created to be). The grace. The love. The peace. Etc.
Here’s my illustration…..
New born babies.
They are ugly. Wrinkly. Splotchy. Covered in goop and cleaned up they don’t get much better.
But ask a parent holding their new baby and they will describe the wonder, beauty, the grace. It’s almost as if they don’t even notice their kid is a misshapen prune.
Newborns are ugly, but parents see more.
Sinners are ugly, but God sees more.
Let’s take a closer look at this passage
Does God expect us to be perfect?
How do you read it
Light and darkness, good and bad or
Light and darkness, seen or unseen. Open and honest or hidden
1 jn 1:9 if we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
Living in the light or living in darkness- if we walk in the light as he is in the light
Read it both ways
Isn’t this the characteristic of your best friend?
They know the worst about you, but they love you all the same.
Conclusion
If you are in love with God, confession is not about sin. It is about grace.
Will we hold up sin or God?
Ps 32
Prodigal son
Deep desire for the father to reconcile and walk with
What is the headline in your life, sin or grace
What is the headline on the newspaper of your life?
Showing posts with label 1 John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 John. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lent Begins 1 John 1:5-2:2
Sermon Lent begins 1 jn 1:5-2:2
1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 2:1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Lent is a time to consider the suffering of Jesus
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Lent is about the journey of self discovery
Lent asks the question
Where is god-Where are we-Where do we meet
Lent calls for self examination
Lent calls us to look at our selves
Lent is the annual reminder to remember that it is not about us
Often we think we have arrive- we can get kind of smug
When in fact we haven’t even got on board for the process yet
Let calls us to leave the areas of superficial spirituality & give ourselves to god
Lent includes struggle, moving along the road, hard choices needed for meaning
Lent asks the hard question - Are you willing to repent of your sin
12 step program = fearless moral inventory
Sermons in this series will include
Temptations, sin, prayer, repentance, and crucifixion
Time to consider the suffering of Christ, repent and identify with Christ
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Q: What is Lent?
A:Historically, Lent is the forty day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, it began on Ash Wednesday and ended on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday).
Q: Why are Sundays excluded from the reckoning of the forty days?
A: Because Sunday is the day on which Christ arose, its inappropriate day to fast and mourn our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ’s resurrection Q: Q. Why are the forty days called Lent?
A: They are called Lent because that is the Old English word for spring, the season of the year during which they fall. This is something unique to English. In almost all other languages its name is a derivative of the Latin term Quadragesima, or “the forty days.”
Q: Why is Lent forty days long?
A: Because forty days is a traditional number of discipline, devotion, and preparation in the Bible.
Moses stayed on the Mountain of God forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28),
the spies were in the land for forty days (Numbers 13:25),
Elijah traveled forty days before he reached the cave where he had his vision
Nineveh was given forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4),
Jesus spent forty days in wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2).
Q: how long has this been going on?
Since 400 ad
Q: When does Lent begin? Why do we put on ashes?
A: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is the day on which they faithful have their foreheads signed with ashes in the form of a Cross (see piece on Ash Wednesday). It is also a day of fast and abstinence.
Ash wed
So why, tonight, do we put this on
Palms are burned from palm Sunday – joy changes to sorrow.
The Bible tells us that we came from the dust and to the dust we shall return. ...
These ashes are also a sign of repentance.
Ashes are a symbol of repentance & signs that we seek to follow in God's path.
What did we experience on ash Wednesday?
Q: What are appropriate activities for ordinary days during Lent?
A: Prayer, Repentance, Mercy, [I reject this - ] Giving something up
2 extremes of repentance – those who don’t, and those who keep beating themselves up
repentance
Garrison Keillor writes about Larry, a resident of the fictional town of Lake Wobegon. Larry was saved 12 times at the Lutheran Church, an all-time record for a church that never gave altar calls. There wasn't even an organ playing "Just As I Am Without One Plea" in the background. Regardless of that, between 1953 and 1961, Larry Sorenson came forward 12 times, weeping buckets and crumpled up at the communion rail, to the shock of the minister, who had delivered a dry sermon on stewardship. But now he needed to put his arm around this person, pray with him and be certain he had a way to get home. "Even we fundamentalists got tired of him," Keillor writes. God didn't mean for you to feel guilty all your life. There comes a time when you should dry your tears and join the building committee and grapple with the problems of the church furnace and the church roof. But Larry just kept repenting and repenting.--Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home
All of us need to repent - All are guilty [1998]
At the funeral of Tsar Nicholas II, who was buried last summer 80 years after he and his family were murdered by Bolshevik zealots, Russian President Boris Yeltsin noted the necessity of national repentance for the crimes against the Romanov family. "We want to expiate the sins of our ancestors," he said. "Guilty are those who committed this heinous crime, and those who have been justifying it for decades - all of us."
We are all complicent in the death of jesus in the rejection of God
Repentance means - Explain repentance…..turning around
• I want to be a better father
• I want to be a better driver
Giving up something for lent
John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.
Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn’t take it anymore.
They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism. They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy.
They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic.”
The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved. The next year’s Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! What was going on?!
They called each other up and decided to meet over in John’s yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, “You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish.”
A conversation between a father and his 10-year-old son, reported in the newspaper, illustrates the problem in our attitude toward Lent. The father was attempting to explain to his young son the necessity for giving up something for Lent. In fact, the father went beyond the nondirective method of parenting to suggest that the lad give up candy.
Quizzed by the boy about this kind of religiosity and what it would bring, the father replied that It will improve your character. You'll be a better person on Easter Sunday if you give up candy. After all, your mother and I have given up liquor for Lent.
The boy then said: That's funny Dad. I saw you and mother having a drink before dinner last night. The father replied, That was wine. We gave up hard liquor.
The lad countered, Oh, that's good. I'll give up hard candy.
We should not give up things that we should give up anyway
We should give things up because it helps us think about god
its not about no diet coke. We shouldn’t think about no diet coke
It is about this loss makes me think about God
What might you give up if you were serious?
Sports? Tv? Children’s activities
From DS cody- going into the wilderness
Lent is like being in the wilderness
You didn’t have to find your way there
You didn’t have to pretnet that you wanted to go
All you have to do is open yourself to the possibility that some chaos, some wild energy, lives within you and God will show you how to find it.
You can go kicking and screaming (my words). God will show you parts of yourself that you may not wish to see, but God also will comfort you and show you truth, and from truth you can expect new humility, energy and freedom.
Where will you find peace and strength for the days ahead? Is there a specific place, time, reading, and spiritual discipline that you are planning that will renew your soul? I have led several devotional times with leaders throughout our conference, and I am finding that the most difficult part for pastors is when I take a minute for us just to listen and be silent. Perhaps the best exercise we can take up during this season of denying, taking up, and following is holy listening.
Conclusion - suggestions for your lent
give something up
“Cut back on work.” Whatever is taking the most itme in your life, pare back on it so that you can find the quiet time
“Have a heart-to-heart with God.” Go for a walk. Spend some time in quiet
if you are not engaged in acts of mercy, this is the time to start
my radical lent question….
yet isn’t this what we should be doing all the time…
Lent…….take time to consider the suffering of Jesus and your condition
You cannot apologize or even understand your shortcomings unless you spend some time to consider them and repent of them.
There is no Easter without lent
No resurrection without death
If there were no darkness, there would be no need for light
There is no understanding without contemplation
As we begin lent, lets make time to consider the suffering of - lord Jesus Christ.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 2:1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Lent is a time to consider the suffering of Jesus
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Lent is about the journey of self discovery
Lent asks the question
Where is god-Where are we-Where do we meet
Lent calls for self examination
Lent calls us to look at our selves
Lent is the annual reminder to remember that it is not about us
Often we think we have arrive- we can get kind of smug
When in fact we haven’t even got on board for the process yet
Let calls us to leave the areas of superficial spirituality & give ourselves to god
Lent includes struggle, moving along the road, hard choices needed for meaning
Lent asks the hard question - Are you willing to repent of your sin
12 step program = fearless moral inventory
Sermons in this series will include
Temptations, sin, prayer, repentance, and crucifixion
Time to consider the suffering of Christ, repent and identify with Christ
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Q: What is Lent?
A:Historically, Lent is the forty day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, it began on Ash Wednesday and ended on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday).
Q: Why are Sundays excluded from the reckoning of the forty days?
A: Because Sunday is the day on which Christ arose, its inappropriate day to fast and mourn our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ’s resurrection Q: Q. Why are the forty days called Lent?
A: They are called Lent because that is the Old English word for spring, the season of the year during which they fall. This is something unique to English. In almost all other languages its name is a derivative of the Latin term Quadragesima, or “the forty days.”
Q: Why is Lent forty days long?
A: Because forty days is a traditional number of discipline, devotion, and preparation in the Bible.
Moses stayed on the Mountain of God forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28),
the spies were in the land for forty days (Numbers 13:25),
Elijah traveled forty days before he reached the cave where he had his vision
Nineveh was given forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4),
Jesus spent forty days in wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2).
Q: how long has this been going on?
Since 400 ad
Q: When does Lent begin? Why do we put on ashes?
A: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is the day on which they faithful have their foreheads signed with ashes in the form of a Cross (see piece on Ash Wednesday). It is also a day of fast and abstinence.
Ash wed
So why, tonight, do we put this on
Palms are burned from palm Sunday – joy changes to sorrow.
The Bible tells us that we came from the dust and to the dust we shall return. ...
These ashes are also a sign of repentance.
Ashes are a symbol of repentance & signs that we seek to follow in God's path.
What did we experience on ash Wednesday?
Q: What are appropriate activities for ordinary days during Lent?
A: Prayer, Repentance, Mercy, [I reject this - ] Giving something up
2 extremes of repentance – those who don’t, and those who keep beating themselves up
repentance
Garrison Keillor writes about Larry, a resident of the fictional town of Lake Wobegon. Larry was saved 12 times at the Lutheran Church, an all-time record for a church that never gave altar calls. There wasn't even an organ playing "Just As I Am Without One Plea" in the background. Regardless of that, between 1953 and 1961, Larry Sorenson came forward 12 times, weeping buckets and crumpled up at the communion rail, to the shock of the minister, who had delivered a dry sermon on stewardship. But now he needed to put his arm around this person, pray with him and be certain he had a way to get home. "Even we fundamentalists got tired of him," Keillor writes. God didn't mean for you to feel guilty all your life. There comes a time when you should dry your tears and join the building committee and grapple with the problems of the church furnace and the church roof. But Larry just kept repenting and repenting.--Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home
All of us need to repent - All are guilty [1998]
At the funeral of Tsar Nicholas II, who was buried last summer 80 years after he and his family were murdered by Bolshevik zealots, Russian President Boris Yeltsin noted the necessity of national repentance for the crimes against the Romanov family. "We want to expiate the sins of our ancestors," he said. "Guilty are those who committed this heinous crime, and those who have been justifying it for decades - all of us."
We are all complicent in the death of jesus in the rejection of God
Repentance means - Explain repentance…..turning around
• I want to be a better father
• I want to be a better driver
Giving up something for lent
John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.
Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn’t take it anymore.
They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism. They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy.
They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic.”
The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved. The next year’s Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! What was going on?!
They called each other up and decided to meet over in John’s yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, “You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish.”
A conversation between a father and his 10-year-old son, reported in the newspaper, illustrates the problem in our attitude toward Lent. The father was attempting to explain to his young son the necessity for giving up something for Lent. In fact, the father went beyond the nondirective method of parenting to suggest that the lad give up candy.
Quizzed by the boy about this kind of religiosity and what it would bring, the father replied that It will improve your character. You'll be a better person on Easter Sunday if you give up candy. After all, your mother and I have given up liquor for Lent.
The boy then said: That's funny Dad. I saw you and mother having a drink before dinner last night. The father replied, That was wine. We gave up hard liquor.
The lad countered, Oh, that's good. I'll give up hard candy.
We should not give up things that we should give up anyway
We should give things up because it helps us think about god
its not about no diet coke. We shouldn’t think about no diet coke
It is about this loss makes me think about God
What might you give up if you were serious?
Sports? Tv? Children’s activities
From DS cody- going into the wilderness
Lent is like being in the wilderness
You didn’t have to find your way there
You didn’t have to pretnet that you wanted to go
All you have to do is open yourself to the possibility that some chaos, some wild energy, lives within you and God will show you how to find it.
You can go kicking and screaming (my words). God will show you parts of yourself that you may not wish to see, but God also will comfort you and show you truth, and from truth you can expect new humility, energy and freedom.
Where will you find peace and strength for the days ahead? Is there a specific place, time, reading, and spiritual discipline that you are planning that will renew your soul? I have led several devotional times with leaders throughout our conference, and I am finding that the most difficult part for pastors is when I take a minute for us just to listen and be silent. Perhaps the best exercise we can take up during this season of denying, taking up, and following is holy listening.
Conclusion - suggestions for your lent
give something up
“Cut back on work.” Whatever is taking the most itme in your life, pare back on it so that you can find the quiet time
“Have a heart-to-heart with God.” Go for a walk. Spend some time in quiet
if you are not engaged in acts of mercy, this is the time to start
my radical lent question….
yet isn’t this what we should be doing all the time…
Lent…….take time to consider the suffering of Jesus and your condition
You cannot apologize or even understand your shortcomings unless you spend some time to consider them and repent of them.
There is no Easter without lent
No resurrection without death
If there were no darkness, there would be no need for light
There is no understanding without contemplation
As we begin lent, lets make time to consider the suffering of - lord Jesus Christ.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Reach Out...Helping Others 1John 3:16-20 7-12-09
Sermon 7-12-09 reach out- helping others scripture 1 jn 3:16-20
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
What is the Christian faith?
A relationship with God thru Jesus Christ
that translates into a life that gives itself away in the name of and spirit of christ.
We have been taught that there is a danger in works righteousness.
And there is.
What we have not been taught is that there is a danger in knowledge only spirituality.
We were taught to believe in Jesus, go to church, read the bible, and have daily devotions. No one ever told me that if we stopped there, we run the risk in living a life of faith that is still self centered.
My money, my car, my house, my blessings, my stuff, my time, my God at my convenience
While avoiding works righteousness, I fear that we have created a culture of Christians in America
That excuse not helping the poor
That have forgotten about the hungry in Africa and KC
That drive by the homeless, the very ones that exemplify “the least of these”
Many American Christians dismiss the notion of stewardship
We choose to use our resources as we see fit
We See others as we choose instead of seeing them as God sees them
We have driven away an entire generation of Americans by trying to tell them the gospel story without the accompanying actions of love.
There is no witness with out action.
Maslow’s higherarchy of needs
Physiological Needs
the most basic needs - water, air, food, and sleep- all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. friendships, romance, families -involvement in social, community or religious groups.
Esteem Needs
things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-actualizing Needs
Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential
Where does the verbal message of the gospel fit?
It hits the three top levels, but not level one…..
We cant speak to them if we don’t feed them
What is the evidence of scripture
What do we see in the life of jesus?
Jn 13 - Washing feet
They were talking about who was great…jesus washed feet
Mt. 14 story of Loaves and fishes- feeding the 5,000
Jesus healed many. Dinner time came. The disciples wanted to send them away
Jesus said, no, we are going to feed them
Mark 9 -a cup of cold water 33-37 and 41
33They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." 36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." ………41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Luke 10- Good Samaritan- the religious people pass by
Show the video - Good sam version for 2009
Mt 25- I was in prison and you visited me. I was hungry and you fed me
doesn’t ask how they got hungry or in prison….just that you fed me.
Mt 25 version for 2009
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For you saw me hungry on the corner with a sign but kept your window rolled up., I was thirsty under the bridge and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a strange new neighbor and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and your closets were full of things that you did not wear, but you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison at the Jackson County detention center, 1300 Cherry, KCMO and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty on a corner or a stranger in our neighborhood or needing clothes or sick or in prison in Kansas City, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
James = faith w/o works
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
There is no witness without action
quotes
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Quotes on Sacrifice
Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
St francis………- Preach the gospel. Use words if needed.
Conclusion - We have forgotten who we are/ who we were
story reported in the New York Times about a female commuter who suffered a seizure during the New York rush hour. While hundreds of commuters streamed by, it was only the homeless, living in the city's bus terminal, who showed concern and compassion. It was the homeless who put their hats, scarves and gloves under the woman's head. It was the homeless who wiped her face. It was the homeless who watched over her while one of them got a police officer to radio for help. The title of this newspaper report? None But the Homeless Stopped: None But the Homeless Helped.-New York Times, 3 January 1990,
Do you remember a time in your life when you didn’t have money for food.
When you couldn’t go anywhere because you needed your gas to go to work
reaching out begins with a commitment to help those less fortunate
prayer of st francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy. grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
What is the Christian faith?
A relationship with God thru Jesus Christ
that translates into a life that gives itself away in the name of and spirit of christ.
We have been taught that there is a danger in works righteousness.
And there is.
What we have not been taught is that there is a danger in knowledge only spirituality.
We were taught to believe in Jesus, go to church, read the bible, and have daily devotions. No one ever told me that if we stopped there, we run the risk in living a life of faith that is still self centered.
My money, my car, my house, my blessings, my stuff, my time, my God at my convenience
While avoiding works righteousness, I fear that we have created a culture of Christians in America
That excuse not helping the poor
That have forgotten about the hungry in Africa and KC
That drive by the homeless, the very ones that exemplify “the least of these”
Many American Christians dismiss the notion of stewardship
We choose to use our resources as we see fit
We See others as we choose instead of seeing them as God sees them
We have driven away an entire generation of Americans by trying to tell them the gospel story without the accompanying actions of love.
There is no witness with out action.
Maslow’s higherarchy of needs
Physiological Needs
the most basic needs - water, air, food, and sleep- all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. friendships, romance, families -involvement in social, community or religious groups.
Esteem Needs
things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-actualizing Needs
Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential
Where does the verbal message of the gospel fit?
It hits the three top levels, but not level one…..
We cant speak to them if we don’t feed them
What is the evidence of scripture
What do we see in the life of jesus?
Jn 13 - Washing feet
They were talking about who was great…jesus washed feet
Mt. 14 story of Loaves and fishes- feeding the 5,000
Jesus healed many. Dinner time came. The disciples wanted to send them away
Jesus said, no, we are going to feed them
Mark 9 -a cup of cold water 33-37 and 41
33They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." 36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." ………41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Luke 10- Good Samaritan- the religious people pass by
Show the video - Good sam version for 2009
Mt 25- I was in prison and you visited me. I was hungry and you fed me
doesn’t ask how they got hungry or in prison….just that you fed me.
Mt 25 version for 2009
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For you saw me hungry on the corner with a sign but kept your window rolled up., I was thirsty under the bridge and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a strange new neighbor and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and your closets were full of things that you did not wear, but you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison at the Jackson County detention center, 1300 Cherry, KCMO and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty on a corner or a stranger in our neighborhood or needing clothes or sick or in prison in Kansas City, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
James = faith w/o works
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
There is no witness without action
quotes
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Quotes on Sacrifice
Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
St francis………- Preach the gospel. Use words if needed.
Conclusion - We have forgotten who we are/ who we were
story reported in the New York Times about a female commuter who suffered a seizure during the New York rush hour. While hundreds of commuters streamed by, it was only the homeless, living in the city's bus terminal, who showed concern and compassion. It was the homeless who put their hats, scarves and gloves under the woman's head. It was the homeless who wiped her face. It was the homeless who watched over her while one of them got a police officer to radio for help. The title of this newspaper report? None But the Homeless Stopped: None But the Homeless Helped.-New York Times, 3 January 1990,
Do you remember a time in your life when you didn’t have money for food.
When you couldn’t go anywhere because you needed your gas to go to work
reaching out begins with a commitment to help those less fortunate
prayer of st francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy. grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Friendship With God John11:41-43 08-24-08
Friendship with God - John11:41-43 08-24-08
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, hi shands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and cloth around his face.
"Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Set up the story-Friendship with God.....modeled by Jesus in this scripture
Jesus relationship with the father - a connection
I know you hear me
confident-relaxed-knowing
communication
places in this relationship with God
3. I made a decision
I have heard of Dave Harris
I met Dave Harris
I bought a Dave Harris t-shirt
I wear his logo, sign, necklace
I go to the place where they remember him every week
But I an not doing anything more with that
Sometimes Christians quit here
4. friendship with God - Let's contrast 3 and 4
Friendship with God is not a point in time
I believe/time of decision
many people stop here....never grow up
There is a difference between becoming a Christian and have a friendship with God
Thief of the cross
Knowing about God vs knowing him
head vs heart
more than knowledge, more than a feeling, real connection, submission
without submission it is all talk
submission means to listen, to care, to be open to be engaged
We want learning to be enough
We want a formula
But we should be growing in grace
being a Christian is not arriving somewhere
It is arriving at humility=understanding that we do not know
it means giving all of you know of yourself, to all that you know of God
that changes as we change
some people want the hard boundaries.
just think this and you are ok
then you can act like a Christian diva
you can become self-righteous
old saying: those who say don't know, those who know, don't have to say
The elephant and the dog-The elephant went in to town. The elephant goes right along without so much as bothering to observe what people are thinking and doing. Whereas the little dog barks ar every other dog it meets and at people who come in the opposite direction
Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble
The Christian faith is not about normal people pretending to be holy
It is about normal people having a relationship with God
Jesus had nothing to prove, he just was who he was....
Handles on having a relationship with God, being his friend
I cannot give you 3 steps or 4 spiritual laws
But I can paint a picture, hold up some thoughts give you some handles
Handle 1 - A relationship with God is natural
no pretense - just like you were talking with your best friend
Handle 2 - Relationship with God is helped by spiritual disciples
what are they? - prayer, fasting, bible study, retreat, journaling, reflection, personal worship, confession and solitude
spiritual disciplines should help, can help but don't always
spiritual disciplines without submission leads to spiritual arrogance
spiritual disciplines plus submission equals relationship
Handle 3 - Relationship with God involves listening
Christians should talk less and listen more
learning to hear the voice of the spirit-my sheep hear my voice
John10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
Handle 4 - Relationship friendship with God flavors us
let us go on to perfection - Wesley - to be make perfect in love in this life
replacing selfishness, pride, the self - with love, joy, peace, patience
trusting God
faith in God in the midst of difficulty
eyes on God not circumstances
Handle 5 - Relationship with God involves mystery
Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble.
questions related to life that are tough
we find wholeness when we are in a relationship with God
Why an I here - what is my purpose - am I ok?
Relaxing with mystery makes us peaceful
That trust eventually gives us...dying grace
it has been a good ride. I am ready to go
we don't arrive overnight
journey of Peter
call of disciples...put down nets
walking on water - slipping beneath the waves
serving faithfully then the 3 denials
identifying Jesus the Messiah, then hearing "get thee behind me"
much to do before he is ready to give his life in mission and give life for the mission
Conclusion
where are you in your relationship with God
Pope John Paul said:
Christ "walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every generation, alongside every person. he walks alongside each person as a friend. An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count."--Pope John Paul II
you can choose to believe
you can choose to grow
it takes time
for this we were created
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, hi shands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and cloth around his face.
"Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Set up the story-Friendship with God.....modeled by Jesus in this scripture
Jesus relationship with the father - a connection
I know you hear me
confident-relaxed-knowing
communication
places in this relationship with God
- don't know of him, don't know him
- know and believe, I am an American that makes me a Christian
3. I made a decision
I have heard of Dave Harris
I met Dave Harris
I bought a Dave Harris t-shirt
I wear his logo, sign, necklace
I go to the place where they remember him every week
But I an not doing anything more with that
Sometimes Christians quit here
4. friendship with God - Let's contrast 3 and 4
Friendship with God is not a point in time
I believe/time of decision
many people stop here....never grow up
There is a difference between becoming a Christian and have a friendship with God
Thief of the cross
Knowing about God vs knowing him
head vs heart
more than knowledge, more than a feeling, real connection, submission
without submission it is all talk
submission means to listen, to care, to be open to be engaged
We want learning to be enough
We want a formula
But we should be growing in grace
being a Christian is not arriving somewhere
It is arriving at humility=understanding that we do not know
it means giving all of you know of yourself, to all that you know of God
that changes as we change
some people want the hard boundaries.
just think this and you are ok
then you can act like a Christian diva
you can become self-righteous
old saying: those who say don't know, those who know, don't have to say
The elephant and the dog-The elephant went in to town. The elephant goes right along without so much as bothering to observe what people are thinking and doing. Whereas the little dog barks ar every other dog it meets and at people who come in the opposite direction
Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble
The Christian faith is not about normal people pretending to be holy
It is about normal people having a relationship with God
Jesus had nothing to prove, he just was who he was....
Handles on having a relationship with God, being his friend
I cannot give you 3 steps or 4 spiritual laws
But I can paint a picture, hold up some thoughts give you some handles
Handle 1 - A relationship with God is natural
no pretense - just like you were talking with your best friend
Handle 2 - Relationship with God is helped by spiritual disciples
what are they? - prayer, fasting, bible study, retreat, journaling, reflection, personal worship, confession and solitude
spiritual disciplines should help, can help but don't always
spiritual disciplines without submission leads to spiritual arrogance
spiritual disciplines plus submission equals relationship
Handle 3 - Relationship with God involves listening
Christians should talk less and listen more
learning to hear the voice of the spirit-my sheep hear my voice
John10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
Handle 4 - Relationship friendship with God flavors us
let us go on to perfection - Wesley - to be make perfect in love in this life
replacing selfishness, pride, the self - with love, joy, peace, patience
trusting God
faith in God in the midst of difficulty
eyes on God not circumstances
Handle 5 - Relationship with God involves mystery
Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble.
questions related to life that are tough
we find wholeness when we are in a relationship with God
Why an I here - what is my purpose - am I ok?
Relaxing with mystery makes us peaceful
That trust eventually gives us...dying grace
it has been a good ride. I am ready to go
we don't arrive overnight
journey of Peter
call of disciples...put down nets
walking on water - slipping beneath the waves
serving faithfully then the 3 denials
identifying Jesus the Messiah, then hearing "get thee behind me"
much to do before he is ready to give his life in mission and give life for the mission
Conclusion
where are you in your relationship with God
Pope John Paul said:
Christ "walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every generation, alongside every person. he walks alongside each person as a friend. An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count."--Pope John Paul II
you can choose to believe
you can choose to grow
it takes time
for this we were created
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ouch 1 John 3:16-21 June 28, 1998
Olga, our Russian pastor visited last week.......ouch!!!!!!
-Smart Americans through they could train Russian pastors to run a church
-Leading pastors were assigned to teach them how to be pastors
-gifts of love and support were to be exchanged
Results???
-Olga trained in raising money, evangelism, church growth strategy
it was all irrelevant
-Olga was listened to by this pastor, and I struggled with how to help
-gifts were exchanged
we paid for half of her plane fare.... sent $1,000 to help start new Russian churches
hats, shirts, pen & pencil set, other misc items given
she....told some of us her story ......... one small bell
Story.... never seen a golf course before...
never seen a personal lawnmower.... people grow food if they have land
trouble with paying for epidurals on medicare? not available there
trouble with deciding on which car to buy...she has no car
2 hours to her appointment
sister a biologist w PHD. makes $250/month
most people share in order to afford a place to live.
church struggle vs the government, corruption and the Russian Orthodox Church
Read Scripture 1 John 3:16-21
My heart condemns me.....what to do?
Mobilize the church for mission this time? why? why not?
So many chances to do good in the name of the Lord
Can we do them all.....no. Can we do more than we are......
I am struggling here....struggle....the answers are not easy....pat answers only go so far
I challenge you to see the world not as a place to play
but as a place where God's people hurt
I challenge you to see your resources not as earned or owned by you
but as gifts of God to be used for his bidding
I've named the bell.....it;'s the thinking bell
as I consider the gifts shared last weekend, I wonder if it isn't time for us to think
when I consider the blessings God has given us, I wonder if it isn't time to think
when I consider the words of this scripture, I know it is time to think
Table of the Lord is a place where God speaks
Where we hear his voice, and move from point a to point b
-Smart Americans through they could train Russian pastors to run a church
-Leading pastors were assigned to teach them how to be pastors
-gifts of love and support were to be exchanged
Results???
-Olga trained in raising money, evangelism, church growth strategy
it was all irrelevant
-Olga was listened to by this pastor, and I struggled with how to help
-gifts were exchanged
we paid for half of her plane fare.... sent $1,000 to help start new Russian churches
hats, shirts, pen & pencil set, other misc items given
she....told some of us her story ......... one small bell
Story.... never seen a golf course before...
never seen a personal lawnmower.... people grow food if they have land
trouble with paying for epidurals on medicare? not available there
trouble with deciding on which car to buy...she has no car
2 hours to her appointment
sister a biologist w PHD. makes $250/month
most people share in order to afford a place to live.
church struggle vs the government, corruption and the Russian Orthodox Church
Read Scripture 1 John 3:16-21
My heart condemns me.....what to do?
Mobilize the church for mission this time? why? why not?
So many chances to do good in the name of the Lord
Can we do them all.....no. Can we do more than we are......
I am struggling here....struggle....the answers are not easy....pat answers only go so far
I challenge you to see the world not as a place to play
but as a place where God's people hurt
I challenge you to see your resources not as earned or owned by you
but as gifts of God to be used for his bidding
I've named the bell.....it;'s the thinking bell
as I consider the gifts shared last weekend, I wonder if it isn't time for us to think
when I consider the blessings God has given us, I wonder if it isn't time to think
when I consider the words of this scripture, I know it is time to think
Table of the Lord is a place where God speaks
Where we hear his voice, and move from point a to point b
Monday, February 23, 2009
Soul to Soul John3 9-12-99
Sermon 9-12-99 Soul to Soul John3
While some think the soul can be in constant communion with God
Those who live in the real world, know there is a gap between where we live and feeling connected with God.
Opening scene of 2001 space odyssey...
monkeys beating bones, throws bone in to dai
return a call, not even an answering machine...
I'm trying, but its not working
Hammering, screwing, cleaning house...hey wait a minute
We as God's people feel a deep need to be closer to him
Nicodemus, a pharisee, goes to see Jesus
Comes at night so as to not bee seen
You are from God, it is clear...saw something real
You must be born again
I found it...I lost it...I never lost it
Don't be lost by the work
UMC is lower key...Don't confuse low key with lack of purpose
Jesus meaning is clear
Jesus means that those who find true faith in God, trust him
Follow him
They are not stuck in the ruts of their preconceived notions
Somehow their soul has reconnected to God
Story of the snakes Numbers2:1-9
Relating to Ni cod emus' world
They had to look up to be delivered from the serpents
Poster, list up thine eyes
Albert Einstein, nothing is a miracle
When we look up, we transcend the struggle of this world
We are born again
Our hearts, mind and souls are free
Does you soul seek to be connected to God? Look up, look to the cross
Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
My job here is not primarily to hand sheet rock or build fences
If I can help you in your journey, please call me...
Do you yearn for more of Him?
then see more of him
While some think the soul can be in constant communion with God
Those who live in the real world, know there is a gap between where we live and feeling connected with God.
Opening scene of 2001 space odyssey...
monkeys beating bones, throws bone in to dai
return a call, not even an answering machine...
I'm trying, but its not working
Hammering, screwing, cleaning house...hey wait a minute
We as God's people feel a deep need to be closer to him
Nicodemus, a pharisee, goes to see Jesus
Comes at night so as to not bee seen
You are from God, it is clear...saw something real
You must be born again
I found it...I lost it...I never lost it
Don't be lost by the work
UMC is lower key...Don't confuse low key with lack of purpose
Jesus meaning is clear
Jesus means that those who find true faith in God, trust him
Follow him
They are not stuck in the ruts of their preconceived notions
Somehow their soul has reconnected to God
Story of the snakes Numbers2:1-9
Relating to Ni cod emus' world
They had to look up to be delivered from the serpents
Poster, list up thine eyes
Albert Einstein, nothing is a miracle
When we look up, we transcend the struggle of this world
We are born again
Our hearts, mind and souls are free
Does you soul seek to be connected to God? Look up, look to the cross
Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
My job here is not primarily to hand sheet rock or build fences
If I can help you in your journey, please call me...
Do you yearn for more of Him?
then see more of him
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Why go to Church? 1 John 1:3 1-4-04
Hebrew 10 1-4-04
Why go to church? there are churches I don't want to go to either
Common complaints
Too much guild
Organized religion is less that perfect/Churches have hurt many people
The pastor isn't perfect
The church is full of hypocrites
The church can be a problem
What they had to say had nothing to do with the real world."
"The used weird talk, lots of words I never heard before."
"They didn't really use the Bible, and I didn't learn anything new."
"They seemed more interested in my money than anything else."
"The music was pretty bad."
"They asked the new folds to stand up and introduce themselves."
"Frankly, the people I met there seemed a little odd.
The obvious result: few new people return for more.
Actually, church should be:
Practical and relevant to today's world.
Use normal language.
Follow the Bible
Have good music
Allow people to visit the church without putting them "under a spotlight" or have them do some
thing they would not normally do in public.
Portray the Delicate balance of reality with spirituality
Reasons to attend church
God asks us/we made a commitment...Worst reason
When you become a Christian, you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9) But 1 John 1:3 makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other Christians.
Faith is a personal, but not a private matter...
Community Benefits
Institutions keep us from error
It provides fellowship with other Christians.
A safe refuge/A place of refuge?encouragement
To build one up/To help one another
A classroom for spiritual development
At church, we learn to celebrate life
Mission
3 strands make a strong cord, many can do what one cannot
(1) Church tell the world about Jesus
(2) Our children need the values based education/or raise them as in Russia
(3) Help others
Personal Purpose
It reminds us that our life is not about us
Mark Stanton....me and God have our own things
It's illogical to say that you are merely part of the worldwide, universal church, yet refuse to gather with the segment of that universal church that exists in your geographical area. It would be like claiming you have a car, when the right fender is in Phoenix, the engine is in Tucson, and the wheels are in Paradise Valley! You don't have a car; you have the beginning of the inventory for a junkyard. It just won't function until the pieces are put together
It is is great to be alive to the best in life. To be alive only to material possessions and goals is to live in the shallows. Launch out into the deep of each human soul in Church where the treasures are! Enter God's palace.
Helps provide purpose
It is great to stand for something. Men of principle are the principal men,
Character is the bedrock of true greatness. Stand and be counted!
Spirituality
We worship
helps our spiritual well being
It brings a special visitation of the Lord's Presence.
We are connected to the mysterious God
Communion
Why go to church? there are churches I don't want to go to either
Common complaints
Too much guild
Organized religion is less that perfect/Churches have hurt many people
The pastor isn't perfect
The church is full of hypocrites
The church can be a problem
What they had to say had nothing to do with the real world."
"The used weird talk, lots of words I never heard before."
"They didn't really use the Bible, and I didn't learn anything new."
"They seemed more interested in my money than anything else."
"The music was pretty bad."
"They asked the new folds to stand up and introduce themselves."
"Frankly, the people I met there seemed a little odd.
The obvious result: few new people return for more.
Actually, church should be:
Practical and relevant to today's world.
Use normal language.
Follow the Bible
Have good music
Allow people to visit the church without putting them "under a spotlight" or have them do some
thing they would not normally do in public.
Portray the Delicate balance of reality with spirituality
Reasons to attend church
God asks us/we made a commitment...Worst reason
When you become a Christian, you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9) But 1 John 1:3 makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other Christians.
Faith is a personal, but not a private matter...
Community Benefits
Institutions keep us from error
It provides fellowship with other Christians.
A safe refuge/A place of refuge?encouragement
To build one up/To help one another
A classroom for spiritual development
At church, we learn to celebrate life
Mission
3 strands make a strong cord, many can do what one cannot
(1) Church tell the world about Jesus
(2) Our children need the values based education/or raise them as in Russia
(3) Help others
Personal Purpose
It reminds us that our life is not about us
Mark Stanton....me and God have our own things
It's illogical to say that you are merely part of the worldwide, universal church, yet refuse to gather with the segment of that universal church that exists in your geographical area. It would be like claiming you have a car, when the right fender is in Phoenix, the engine is in Tucson, and the wheels are in Paradise Valley! You don't have a car; you have the beginning of the inventory for a junkyard. It just won't function until the pieces are put together
It is is great to be alive to the best in life. To be alive only to material possessions and goals is to live in the shallows. Launch out into the deep of each human soul in Church where the treasures are! Enter God's palace.
Helps provide purpose
It is great to stand for something. Men of principle are the principal men,
Character is the bedrock of true greatness. Stand and be counted!
Spirituality
We worship
helps our spiritual well being
It brings a special visitation of the Lord's Presence.
We are connected to the mysterious God
Communion
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Thanksgiving Part 1 One in Four 1 John 4:13-18 11-4-07
Sermon 11-4-07 1 jn 4 Scripture 1 John 4:13-18
13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Thankful series
The importance of a christian to be thankful………
When we can see the good. Something good, anything good, life turns a cnr
Today, part 1
Thankful for the gospel, the good news.
We need good news
Not the gospel of childhood, this little idea that if you believe you will be saved….not that that is bad, but I need more
I need a good news with teeth. I need something more than an idea.
Something real that gives me peace in the face of my fears.
Fear vs faith
Halloween- Iused to scare little kids
Onezie….coveralls…..mask, hay, gloves……
Real scary things, real ghosts, real haunts
Our ghosts- we all have them
Phone call…….lunch….I want to tell you my story…..
We all have one don’t we?
The music of our culture echoes our inability to answer life’s questions
Bob Dylan………..how many roads…….the answer is blowin
Crash test dummies……1991
The ghosts that haunt me
Snow patrol……Chasing cars-2006
I don’t know where, confused about how, as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all
If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world
Past
The man I used to be
.58 440
5’10” 150 lbs
The man I used to be that I don’t want back
Present challenges
Grab ahold of my world
Appreciate everyone
Struggle with my failures
Future concerns
Will I lose my job
What if my friends don’t like me anymore
Will I live to see my children married, grandchildren
When it is all over, what will be the result
Fear that My life is Routine.
Fear that my life will End before it begins.
I don’t understand myself…….Consumed by disfunction.
Some want the Christian faith to solve every pain, to answer every question.
It doesn’t
It is hard work to be right all the time
Paths of life are littered with fine Christians who knew it all, and fell apart.
Each of us struggle with the dark parts of humanity,
But there is good news.
There is another ghost. The holy ghost
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit
He is the great heartbeat that sustains us
The music of the faith reminds us of this truth
“he brought me out of the miry clay”
“what a friend we have in jesus”
“the haven of rest”
“amazing grace”
As a teenager
As a young adult, young parent
Now as someone who keeps telling himself, I am still young
What ever stage of life you are in, you can call upon him
13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Thankful series
The importance of a christian to be thankful………
When we can see the good. Something good, anything good, life turns a cnr
Today, part 1
Thankful for the gospel, the good news.
We need good news
Not the gospel of childhood, this little idea that if you believe you will be saved….not that that is bad, but I need more
I need a good news with teeth. I need something more than an idea.
Something real that gives me peace in the face of my fears.
Fear vs faith
Halloween- Iused to scare little kids
Onezie….coveralls…..mask, hay, gloves……
Real scary things, real ghosts, real haunts
Our ghosts- we all have them
Phone call…….lunch….I want to tell you my story…..
We all have one don’t we?
The music of our culture echoes our inability to answer life’s questions
Bob Dylan………..how many roads…….the answer is blowin
Crash test dummies……1991
The ghosts that haunt me
Snow patrol……Chasing cars-2006
I don’t know where, confused about how, as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all
If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world
Past
The man I used to be
.58 440
5’10” 150 lbs
The man I used to be that I don’t want back
Present challenges
Grab ahold of my world
Appreciate everyone
Struggle with my failures
Future concerns
Will I lose my job
What if my friends don’t like me anymore
Will I live to see my children married, grandchildren
When it is all over, what will be the result
Fear that My life is Routine.
Fear that my life will End before it begins.
I don’t understand myself…….Consumed by disfunction.
Some want the Christian faith to solve every pain, to answer every question.
It doesn’t
It is hard work to be right all the time
Paths of life are littered with fine Christians who knew it all, and fell apart.
Each of us struggle with the dark parts of humanity,
But there is good news.
There is another ghost. The holy ghost
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit
He is the great heartbeat that sustains us
The music of the faith reminds us of this truth
“he brought me out of the miry clay”
“what a friend we have in jesus”
“the haven of rest”
“amazing grace”
As a teenager
As a young adult, young parent
Now as someone who keeps telling himself, I am still young
What ever stage of life you are in, you can call upon him
God is- Part 6 God is Greater than our Hearts 1 John 3:16-20 7-15-07
Korlova 1215
Vbs this week
Chat w pastor
Back to School
Need hospitality
Biggs receptionSermon 7-15-07 1 Jn 3:16-20
God is part 6. God is greater than our hearts
1 jn 3:16-20
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And
we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material
possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Feelings, o-o-o feelingsFeelings, nothing more than feelings,trying to forget my feelings of love.Teardrops rolling down on my face,
trying to forget my feelings of love. Feelings, woooo feelings
In the scripture today, God says, hello, I am here
I am bigger than your heart
Feelings. This is how we set our hearts at rest……
1. we do what we know we must do
2. we remember that God is bigger than our hearts
Feelings are powerful things.
The sad ones seem to be more powerful.
Anyone here felt sad this week?
Maybe You hurt someone’s feelings.
Maybe You disappointed your mother.
Maybe You remember something that you did a long time ago.
Maybe You don’t like yourself.
Maybe You just feel bad.
If I didn’t feel sad, I might feel better about my relationship with God.
But I don’t, I have done a very human thing
I have transferred my feelings about myself and the world onto him.
Transference
Your wife leaves to go somewhere without saying goodbye.
Ohhh, she must be mad at me.
You call her on her cell phone. Why are you mad at me?
What are you talking about?
You didn’t say goodbye to me……
I am trying to check out….lets talk when I get home…
She comes home. You go thru the same thing again…….
What really happened?
I imposed my world view onto her. My feelings were imposed on her.
We do the same thing to God.
I am sad: God must be mad at me.
I have sinned: God must be angry with me.
I am afraid: God has forgotten about me.
Not only is this not true, this is not fair.
It is not right to impose my opinion of someone else on them.
They are not defined by my opinion of them.
Its not fair and its not true.
My feelings about someone does not say who they are.
Ray P is Ray P., regardless of how I feel about him.
God is God not matter how I feel about him.
We do not worship a heart-sized God. Our God is greater than our hearts.
We cannot conform God to our image
If God is a square but you think that God is a triangle, he does not become a triangle to accommodate your way of thinking.
God is bigger than our hearts.
Is 55: 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
He is steady. He is sure. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
There is only one reliable standard of reality, and that is the God who is greater than our hearts.
So when you feel bad, God still loves you.
He waits for you to finish the pity party. Hello, I am here
· Are you fearful, filled with anxiety? – God is greater than our hearts.
· Are you in grief over the loss of a loved one? –
God is greater than our hearts
· Is your heart sick because of a broken relationship,–
God is greater than our hearts. Are you in despair over kidnappings, war and illness – God is greater than our hearts.Our hearts worry. But they are not the whole story, they are not the last word.
The last word is this: God is greater than our hearts. God is the ground of all reality and all possibility.
Conclusion
Prayer
God we are sorry that we tried to force you into your human box. We are glad that you are greater than us. God we trust you.
Martin Luther once wrote, “Conscience is one drop; the reconciling God is an ocean of comfort.” There is so much more to reality than what our hearts can know. We are this one little drop, and God is so much greater. Everything else – our self-condemnation, our anger, our anxiety, our despair, our grief – everything else is small too, in the face of so much greatness and love.I think Luther might’ve liked this story. There was this wave way out in the ocean. He was just gliding along being a wave, splashing and spraying in the sunlight, until one day he saw wave after wave in front of him crashing on the beach and he got scared. He was sad, and he was anxious, as he watched all those waves exploding on the shore. But then this older wave in front of him said, “I know exactly what your problem is. You’ve been so fixated on being a wave that you forgot - you’re really just a part of the ocean.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Why Do Bad Things Happen? John 9 2-29-04
Sermon 2-29-04 John 9……..
Sermon Series on tough questions……Why do bad things happen…..
What is your pain
What is your bad news….sick child, parents died, brain tumor
Problems are not just for people with problems but for everyone who wants to believe in a good and loving God
Human responses to bad things in the world
I challenge you to think differently
Ego is involved….why did this happen to me?
In Russia they would never say this……
These are ideas to defend our image of God
Job’s Friends
This is punishment for something you did or did not do
Assume that we are responsible we skipped church last week
It is a punishment
See Hebrews 11…it goes both ways
Be righteous and you will flourish….it doesn’t work in Russia
This was gods will
God must have his reasons
Everything happens for a purpose
All things work together for good
Life is a tapestry …we cant see it but from the other side it is beautiful
Harding…it was his time
Not even a sparrow falls to the ground
Liberates us from this world and takes us to a better place….
Doesn’t work for 5 year old kids
God wont give yo more than you can handle
[if only I were a weaker person, my son would be alive]
We can learn from suffering
A child falls into a pool and drowns, what is the lesson there?
Ideas above assume god is the cause of our suffering
There is a truth that we must know
Randomness in universe…if not, your choices do not matter
Free will matters, you have a chance to glorify God
There are some things in the world that God has chosen to let happen….laws of nature
Pg 72 god leaves room for us to be human
He cant take away the opportunity for us to choose evil
A murder does God cause it/No we choose
Transition
I am done…none of my human explanations work I am ready to call upon the lord I am broken
God is not primarily concerned with your comfort but with your salvation
There is no justice, only Love
Conclusion
Page 45
When we come to believe that god does not control everything, we begin to see him as a place of help…psalm 121
0. Stop hurting yourself………..Self fulfilling prophecies
1. There is more good in gods world than bad
2. He inspires people to help each other to be his vessels
We are not promised a life free from pain, we are promised that we will not be alone in our pain
3. God gives us the ability to overcome
The flood of 93 was not caused by God
The determination to overcome is given by him
??????????
See closing chapter
Page 30
Pg 85 closing
There is a purpose to our suffering………No
P 136 138
The sole surviving son does not go into combat….why, we cannot trust circumstances to be just
Sermon Series on tough questions……Why do bad things happen…..
What is your pain
What is your bad news….sick child, parents died, brain tumor
Problems are not just for people with problems but for everyone who wants to believe in a good and loving God
Human responses to bad things in the world
I challenge you to think differently
Ego is involved….why did this happen to me?
In Russia they would never say this……
These are ideas to defend our image of God
Job’s Friends
This is punishment for something you did or did not do
Assume that we are responsible we skipped church last week
It is a punishment
See Hebrews 11…it goes both ways
Be righteous and you will flourish….it doesn’t work in Russia
This was gods will
God must have his reasons
Everything happens for a purpose
All things work together for good
Life is a tapestry …we cant see it but from the other side it is beautiful
Harding…it was his time
Not even a sparrow falls to the ground
Liberates us from this world and takes us to a better place….
Doesn’t work for 5 year old kids
God wont give yo more than you can handle
[if only I were a weaker person, my son would be alive]
We can learn from suffering
A child falls into a pool and drowns, what is the lesson there?
Ideas above assume god is the cause of our suffering
There is a truth that we must know
Randomness in universe…if not, your choices do not matter
Free will matters, you have a chance to glorify God
There are some things in the world that God has chosen to let happen….laws of nature
Pg 72 god leaves room for us to be human
He cant take away the opportunity for us to choose evil
A murder does God cause it/No we choose
Transition
I am done…none of my human explanations work I am ready to call upon the lord I am broken
God is not primarily concerned with your comfort but with your salvation
There is no justice, only Love
Conclusion
Page 45
When we come to believe that god does not control everything, we begin to see him as a place of help…psalm 121
0. Stop hurting yourself………..Self fulfilling prophecies
1. There is more good in gods world than bad
2. He inspires people to help each other to be his vessels
We are not promised a life free from pain, we are promised that we will not be alone in our pain
3. God gives us the ability to overcome
The flood of 93 was not caused by God
The determination to overcome is given by him
??????????
See closing chapter
Page 30
Pg 85 closing
There is a purpose to our suffering………No
P 136 138
The sole surviving son does not go into combat….why, we cannot trust circumstances to be just
Is There A Heaven? How Do I Get There 1 Corinthians 2:9 John 14, Hebrew 9:27 1-18-04
Sermon 1-18-04 Is there a heaven? How do I get there?
Someone is going along with their life. They die. Opps surprise, there is a heaven
If there is no heaven, then:
· God allows us to live then die and its over
· There is no God its all just by chance
· The Christian faith is untrue
Jesus words show he believed
If there is no heaven, then the entire witness of Christianity is false
Why I believe in heaven
· The witness of scripture
1 Cor 2:9 [quoting Isaiah] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Jn 14… 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[1] ; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Heb 9:27 It is given unto men, once to die, then the judgment
· The nature of human life….2 cor 4:6-7 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[1] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
· Near death experiences/my mom
· Because I am a Christian
Christianity is the largest religion in the world
Tim Mowgeza….traveled the world….Holy spirit still touches
How do you get there?
Global world….. Nice people
Struggle with the unique claims of Christ
How do you get there
Can I get there by being a good moral person?
Can I get there by following any old religion?
Speeding laws and the laws of gravity……..
All men are without excuse Ro 1 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
So, how do I get to heaven?
1. believe in Jesus
2. ask for your sins to be forgiven
3. accept his sacrificial death on the cross for you
thief on the cross….Luke 23…today you will be with me in paradise
4. and you will Receive the holy spirit to guide you daily
there is one who was raised from the dead
Acts 4:12 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
John 14:6 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 1 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God-
there is one who was raised from the dead some will Trust in Jesus others will not. You must choose which you will be
pray--
Someone is going along with their life. They die. Opps surprise, there is a heaven
If there is no heaven, then:
· God allows us to live then die and its over
· There is no God its all just by chance
· The Christian faith is untrue
Jesus words show he believed
If there is no heaven, then the entire witness of Christianity is false
Why I believe in heaven
· The witness of scripture
1 Cor 2:9 [quoting Isaiah] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Jn 14… 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[1] ; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Heb 9:27 It is given unto men, once to die, then the judgment
· The nature of human life….2 cor 4:6-7 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[1] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
· Near death experiences/my mom
· Because I am a Christian
Christianity is the largest religion in the world
Tim Mowgeza….traveled the world….Holy spirit still touches
How do you get there?
Global world….. Nice people
Struggle with the unique claims of Christ
How do you get there
Can I get there by being a good moral person?
Can I get there by following any old religion?
Speeding laws and the laws of gravity……..
All men are without excuse Ro 1 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
So, how do I get to heaven?
1. believe in Jesus
2. ask for your sins to be forgiven
3. accept his sacrificial death on the cross for you
thief on the cross….Luke 23…today you will be with me in paradise
4. and you will Receive the holy spirit to guide you daily
there is one who was raised from the dead
Acts 4:12 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
John 14:6 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 1 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God-
there is one who was raised from the dead some will Trust in Jesus others will not. You must choose which you will be
pray--
Meeting Jesus..The Waters Are Troubled John 5:1-11 1-26-03
Sermon John 5:1-11 meeting jesus…the waters are troubled
Where to begin?????Is our life alive
He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead A Einstein
Anyone who is not lost on the rapturous awe at the power and glory of the mind behind the universe is as good as a burnt out candle
Today is the story of a man who is stuck
Man is sitting by the pool
Legend of the pool… Bethesda….the house of mercy
Of unclear value…first one in……..God doesn’t work like that
Regardless, person was stuck
We can be stuck
We have every manner of illness and trouble
Look to the wrong things to save us…..Think we are living when we are not
Questions for us
1. Do you want to get well ? Or just lay in your pitiful state
2. Do we want to get healed, or do we want Jesus
The man did not know Jesus
Doesn’t really believe….still waiting for the pool
Usually healing connected to faith, but in this case, Jesus just acts
Interesting piece here……Rise take up your mat
Its not magic…we must do what we can
Lets talk about the experience….There is an experience
Stirring the water
Trouble the waters
Stir the waters in my life
A breaking in, an invasion
Awakening………..quickening
You cant make them happen
This is a spiritual thing
Some may doubt your experience
But I know Jesus
I know the traditions I know the rules, Jesus still stirs the waters
Do you know Jesus?
How tall was he, was he a democrat or a republican?
Did he have a beard what color was his skin
jI know that I know him
he stirred the water of my life
one year ago I was unhappy and lost
now I am helaed
Many ways that God stirs the water
Worship, creation, scripture, prayer
When the water is troubled in your life….Get in
Where to begin?????Is our life alive
He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead A Einstein
Anyone who is not lost on the rapturous awe at the power and glory of the mind behind the universe is as good as a burnt out candle
Today is the story of a man who is stuck
Man is sitting by the pool
Legend of the pool… Bethesda….the house of mercy
Of unclear value…first one in……..God doesn’t work like that
Regardless, person was stuck
We can be stuck
We have every manner of illness and trouble
Look to the wrong things to save us…..Think we are living when we are not
Questions for us
1. Do you want to get well ? Or just lay in your pitiful state
2. Do we want to get healed, or do we want Jesus
The man did not know Jesus
Doesn’t really believe….still waiting for the pool
Usually healing connected to faith, but in this case, Jesus just acts
Interesting piece here……Rise take up your mat
Its not magic…we must do what we can
Lets talk about the experience….There is an experience
Stirring the water
Trouble the waters
Stir the waters in my life
A breaking in, an invasion
Awakening………..quickening
You cant make them happen
This is a spiritual thing
Some may doubt your experience
But I know Jesus
I know the traditions I know the rules, Jesus still stirs the waters
Do you know Jesus?
How tall was he, was he a democrat or a republican?
Did he have a beard what color was his skin
jI know that I know him
he stirred the water of my life
one year ago I was unhappy and lost
now I am helaed
Many ways that God stirs the water
Worship, creation, scripture, prayer
When the water is troubled in your life….Get in
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