The Park Road Pres Podcast: Recent Episodes
Park Road Presbyterian Church
Guest preacher, Rev. Nate Taylor, presents today's sermon. Nate grew up at Park Road Church and has become a pastor, missionary, and church planter in Glasgow, Scotland (Crossbridge Church) partly through the influence of the church's youth pastor in those earlier days, Rev. Brad Hunter, who, himself, planted a church in Vienna, Austria (New City Wein).
While Nate's back in the states on a brief furlough, we have the opportunity to benefit from his preaching this and next Sunday.
Sermon Text: Acts 8.26-40
The Family Story of God's Mission
https://www.crossbridgechurch.co.uk/
This writer was trying to strengthen these early Hebrew Christians. And his/her approach is really helpful as WE try to interpret the tough stuff of life and even find ourselves asking, "Why me?" So, let's get into this idea of interpreting pain in the Christian life:
1 – The Besetting Sin Facing All Believers
2 – How the Problem of Pain Aggravates This Sin
3–How Fixing Our Eyes Leads to Healing and Endurance
This chapter maybe,more than any other part of the written sermon called the Book of Hebrews; Ch. 11 is there to prove that the basis of OT spirituality or religion is God giving grace to undeserving people and people receiving that grace BY FAITH or TRUST.
The writer demonstrates this by using like 15 specific examples (we've looked at all of them); he parades these towering figures, the B.C. heroes whom every Jewish child knew and admired: the superstars of the OT… The writer shows that they were not really all that heroic. In themselves they were a lot like we are (as in James 5.17). They became known as great doers but in reality, they were FIRST… great receivers.
God poured out His grace on them and they received. This act of "active passivity," (Schaeffer), appropriating grace from God is what the Bible calls "faith". They inhaled grace "by faith" (over 20x) and that grace from God saved them, changed them, blessed them, made their lives extraordinary.
And now the writer closes his argument with this final burst of rapid-fire list of (Judges, Kings and Prophets) atop the characters he's already commemorated.
It's important for us to see because, in our time, the words faith/believe mean various things to various people. It's a Biblical word but often redefined or undefined. AND some Christians see faith as a one-time act and living "by faith" has little to do with the everyday spiritual life. So, let's look at:
This chapter maybe more than any other part of the written sermon called the Book of Hebrews; Ch. 11 is there to prove that the basis of OT spirituality or religion is God giving grace to undeserving people and people receiving that grace BY FAITH
Let's see next what it is about these acts of faith that we are supposed to notice. In all three of the situations, it was an act of trusting submission or submissive trust, that seemed contrary to sensory evidence, and that was exercised in the context of despair. Let me unpack that:
1 – Submissive trust
2 – That seemed contrary to sensory evidence
3 – Exercised in the context of despair
Those who do actually believe will often see the beginnings of their faith, in childhood … Even before childhood, in the faith of their parents. Probably a lot of people here today would be able to say, "since I've come to believe, I've rediscovered my past, my parents, God working in my life before I had any consciousness of that work. And now with the eyes of faith, I see God at work in my past… Even in the days before I knew Him or believed in Him at all. That's there, Moses receiving God's work in his past, BUT the big idea in both Joseph and Moses is not so much the past, but faith enabling a new posture toward the future.
Everyone has faith and everyone sees the world through belief in something. Faith in God's promises and His acts in history, THAT'S the faith BY WHICH the Patriarchs saw God and saw themselves and saw how to live and conduct themselves in an often-hostile world. Those are actually our three points:
- Faith is HOW to see/know God
- Faith is HOW to see/know OURSELVES
- Faith is HOW to see/know LIFE (it sets our course of action)
If you're a Bible reader, what comes to mind when you think of Abraham? What are the big events in Abraham's life? He was called out of Ur and Babel in Mesopotamia. He received God's promise to be blessed and to BE a blessing to all nations. He received the promised son and heir and then… that big moment, the watershed, crisis-experience for Abraham – the sacrifice of Isaac.
So, let's look at:
1 – the event itself – this is the third or fourth event in Abraham's life given as an example of faith – let's think about it.
2 – let's ask, "What IS it, IN the event/action, that we're meant to notice and that exemplifies faith? (What we've called "the highlighted feature".)
3 – how are WE to follow this example, how to practice this highlighted feature in our own pattern of believing?
Today, we meet the first woman on the list of people who lived, "by faith", that is Sarah. She's not the last woman on the list – more in verses 31 and 35. AND this first woman appears in tandem with her husband. What we really have here is an example of a couple believing together – marital faith/belief.
So, let's follow our regular outline and ask,
- What IS the event used to illustrate faith from this episode.
- What is it about this event or action that's important? And
- How are we to follow the overall example?
If you are not very familiar with the Bible and are hoping to get a basic grasp of it OR if you are inquiring about Christianity and are trying to learn how it all fits together into some sort of cohesive whole – THIS is a good day to be at Park Road. This passage is really, really important to the whole big picture. AND, in fact, if you DON'T get THIS part of the story, it's impossible to make sense of the rest of the Book.
SO, LET'S MOVE GENERAL-TO-SPECIFIC, from big picture to big truths that have big power to affect our own lives and how we approach life in God's world:
1 – The Meta-narrative
2 – Math and Maps
3 – The Mission of God and Your Everyday Life
If you look carefully, you'll notice three FEATS Noah accomplished "by faith":
Number ONE – he prepared an ark for the salvation of his family.
Number TWO – by which he condemned the world.
Number THREE – he became "an heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith".
Series: What It Means To Live By Faith
Scripture: Genesis 4:1-10:4; Hebrews 11:4
Preacher: T.J. Campo
Now, as we come to THIS faith chapter, we find a very short introduction, a simple definition of faith. And THEN a series of examples; as if to say, "I can generally define faith, but I'll do much better to show it in the lives and experiences of all the characters of the Old Testament." And right off the bat, that tells us something but also excites us. God loves narrative. We seem to learn better through story. And faith isn't so much a skill to be learned or memorized. It's more something we observe and catch.
Real Christianity is inescapably communal. Togetherness in worship is an essential… it's an outgrowth of our basic ethic which is LOVE. Community, togetherness is nonnegotiable for orthodox, biblical, gospel-Christianity.
The private, individualistic, DIY route isn't authentic Christian practice, isn't really beneficial. Radical togetherness in real Christian worship IS the New Testament norm. It differs from most people's ideas of organized religion and differs from YouTube spirituality.
I want to look at:
- the problem of separateness
- the gospel basis for radical togetherness and
- launching from this platform into the future.
In and around the story of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, we meet all kinds of fears. People motivated, moved, twisted, manipulating by fears.
FIRST, notice how pervasive and powerful fear is.
SECOND, some tactics people use to deal with fears.
THIRD, what the resurrection speaks to our fears.
This one short sentence captures, the whole peak experience perfectly. It puts the whole story of Jesus Christ right there. It's not like Caesar, "I came, I saw, I conquered" but "He approached the city, He saw, and He wept."
Three Grammatical Points –
- The OBJECT
- The SUBJECT and
- The VERBS
i.e., At whom/what is this aimed?
Who is acting?
What ARE the actions?
Q: What's the core content of Jesus Christ's teaching?
A: The Kingdom of God and here He helps us see it.
Let's look at:
- The Way of the Bent and Broken
- The Way of the Kingdom and
- The Way for US in the modern world.
THIS particular discussion of money and possessions was initiated by an interrupter. Jesus wasn't talking about it but this guy busts in AS IF to say, "Hey, thanks Rabbi, for talking about all this great spiritual stuff but I have a REAL-LIFE issue and when you hear it, I'm sure you'll see how urgent it is…and then we can get back to all your pretty spiritual stuff. THE ISSUE IS MONEY – tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me!" And Jesus, does, in fact, change topics and DOES deal with this guy's intrusion…NOT in the way the heckler wanted…though it does becomes thē big topic.
So, since this heckler brought it up…and since Jesus Christ was willing to talk about it, LET'S DO:
- Worrying about MONEY
- Reasons NOT to Worry
- What Jesus Christ's alternative looks like?
This encounter introduces a way perception that surpasses religion or spirituality or rules of morality. It opens up an approach to life that's un-self-conscious, joyous and fearless.
First, we'll see the Old Perception,
Second, the New Perception and
Third, How to Start and Stay Perceiving In the New Way.
This moment in the hometown synagogue becomes an occasion for US to think about OUR ideas about a Savior. What DO we hope to be saved FROM? What DO we think is good and evil; "us and them"? What's wrong with the world that needs to be fixed? How DO we think a Savior would fix it? What DOES it mean to join Him AND are you sure that YOU have? Our kind of people, "Good Country People" (as Flannery O'Connor showed) are often NOT who we think they are:
Let's look at:
- The Savior We WANT
- The Savior WE NEED (and GET)
This is the Season of Epiphany so let's have one!
- WHAT child IS this?
- WHY include this odd incident?
- HOW might it affect you? WHAT child?
How are relationships clarified by the Gospel? That's the focus of Peter's words in this compendium or summary of all OUR relationships… What does the Gospel say to exiled believers about our relating to God…to ourselves, to one another…and to the outside world? The UPWARD, the INWARD and the OUTWARD relationships.
This is a passage about leadership and the exercise of authority; it's about leading people and about our need to be directed and guided and how we can never really be free till we're lead and directed by a Shepherd. The points today are a little odd:
1) Many Shepherds
2) One Shepherd
3) Many Shepherds
Rev, Brad Schmidt, Guest Preacher from CityChurch Ft. Lauderdale, continues our series: In Lonely Exile Here|Mourning & Thriving in Babylon
How can believers be grieved by and distinct from the injustice and selfishness in the world AND yet also be simultaneously beneficial and involved BOTH mourning AND thriving in Babylon.
Today, we set the tone for living in this tension, this love/hate relationship. ONE text calls us to totally identify with Babylon and the OTHER is an expression of disgust and disdain for Babylon.
So let 's look at:
- The Essential Tension of Exile
- Keys for Staying at the Center of the Tension
Last week the sermon was about death (the death of a king, Josiah) today the sermon is also about death – the death of a dream, of a nation, AND … IN this brutal and final death, a very vivid expression of Hope… havoc AND hope. Once again, the story in two parts #1 Havoc and #2 Hope and #3 Four truths about God from Kings and today's finale
The Bible thinks of death as the source of all fear and the final enemy (1Cor 15.26) facing humanity (Heb 2.15). We can't stop thinking about it and dreading it. Could this very ancient text have anything to say to a modern society that doesn't know how to think about death? … Let's see!
Let's first look at a two-part-story (i.e. the tomb of the unknown prophet and the death of the well-known king) And THEN what we can take away with us: 3 Truths about death to guide us through life.
A little boy… comes to the throne… only eight years old. His name is Josiah ("Supported by Yahweh"); he is the boy king of Judah… and the Reformer. He's all that Isaiah (57.15) said a king should be, "broken and contrite… lowly and humble" and yet energetic, effective and amazingly bold.
I want to look at part of his life today and then take away what I think God wants us to learn from it…
- The Little King with Big Ideas
- Big Ideas from the Little King
I want to consider this king and also look at a shocking surprise about the man (that we only discover in another part of the Bible) AND I want to see BOTH the tremendous potential for evil when humans misuse power AND see the more tremendous power and beauty of God's dark grace:
1- The Matter of Memory
2- An Emblem of Exile
3- The Lessons for Life
Today, I want to take lessons from the life of this good king. But I want to focus on a tragic flaw in Hezekiah and one that is a very common flaw in the spiritual life. Let's see what these final scenes tell us about:
1 - The Man and His Flaw
2 - When the Believer is Unbelieving
3 - Three Truths About God That Can Fix Us
Series: Hope in Disappointing Times | 2nd Kings
Bible passage: Isaiah 57:12-21; Isaiah 66:1-4
Sermon By: Jorge Trujillo
The Fallen Tent
Amos 5.8-27; 9.9-15
The two texts we chose from Amos are typical of the Hebrew prophets – picturesque appeals to the heart of a spiritually-minded people who'd stopped trusting God and had gotten lost. The first text is an "oracle of woe" and the second, a "promise of restoration".
Let's look at 3 symptoms of Religion in Decay – synthetic, fruitless, false spirituality.
AND 3 qualities of vital spirituality,
3 aspects of that inner work God brings about in people who actually know Him
Let's get some help here on the way spirituality really is. Three scenes and three big ideas from bottom to top:
- Covenant
- Resurrection
- Foolishness
The World is, in many ways, the same as it ever was and this Letter… basically IS Christianity… the Good News presented, explained, applied, defended, celebrated. AS it changed the Ancient World, it can change and IS changing the modern world.
Let's look at:
- Life in a Hostile World and
- How the Big Themes of Christianity Speak
What happens when believers in Jesus differ on what the rules are? Following the rules NEVER worked to make us right with God (all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard – the egg is smashed on the sidewalk) but NOW that believers in the same church ARE excepted because of Jesus Christ's obeying the rules… Are there NO rules? If so What ARE they? What if we disagree on the rules?
Let's jump in and see:
- Words to Weak and Strong
- Reasons for Action
- Walking According to Love
All other regimes and administrations are invalid and of no effect – they're rivals… "BUT WAIT!" says Paul, "Not so fast". The Way of Jesus and the plan of the ages actually has a place for these authorities. This passage both explains that plan and shows believers how to live AS:
- Children of Light
- Living at Night
- With One Eye on the Clock
Today, we want to look at the connective tissue that holds us in the Body…"Slaves Freed to Love". What does
it mean to love other people in the Church – to love others as God loves US, without expectations of getting a
return on our investment. Let's look at:
- The Mechanics of True LOVE
- An Excursus on Gracious Revenge
- The Power to Love Truly
Here, the essential paradox of the NT Church (now a catholic or international church) is the paradox of "One but Many".
The Apostle sort of plays with these two apparently incongruous ideas and the image that illustrates the whole thing is that of a Body – ONE body with MANY parts or organs or limbs.
So, what does that mean, practically speaking, to be so vitally connected to other people that we can be described as a body (same DNA) AND that we're both connected to one another and, at the same time, so different that one part seems to have no resemblance to another (as different as an eye and a toe!)? That's the question!
Let's look at:
1 Why We Need the Body Metaphor
2 How It All Works Out (a THREE-Part Answer)
Today, we transition INTO the practical section of the Letter, and I hope to show that distinctively Christian morals grow in the soil of MERCY. To focus on God's mercy, the theory, the doctrine or philosophy of God's Sovereign Grace WILL LEAD US into a new kind of practical living. To bypass reflecting on God's mercy and grace and go right to the ethics is impossible. You HAVE TO muse, to contemplate, to bathe in, soak in, to dream about, sing about, ruminate on, to relish and savor the way God applies grace and forgiveness and adoption to His children. The connection between Christian theory, ideas, doctrine, Christian thought AND Christian practice – that's the topic for today:
As we come round the corner into Gospel-morals, let's look at:
- Musing on Mystery
- Mercies to Morals
- The Morals Mercy Makes
Sermon By: Rev. Dr Sansbury
Rev. Dr Sansbury is Prof. of Theology & Philosophy at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
I have found, in my own thinking and beliefs, a need to undergo such a reorientation regarding the big ideas of God's justice, mercy, His omnipotence (i.e., almightiness or sovereignty) AND His salvation of sinful, guilty people. THIS chapter may have that affect on YOU. I urge you though, not to simply skip over it because the re-orientation COULD lead you to a much deeper appreciation of these ideas and a new sense of mystery, assurance, praise and reverence toward God and of humility, diligence, and abundant comfort. (Westminster Confession of Faith, 3.8)
Let's look at this mind-expanding, heart-expanding passage under three headings:
- A Quandary Answered By Four Examples
- The Underlying Truth That Grounds Us
- Why the Disorientation is Worth It
Today, with one, great, final push, as if Paul is saying, "Not only will what I'm about to say help you to love and forgive one another… to endure difficulties WITH (and let's face it) sometimes FROM one another – but if you get what this means, there's a level of security here so compelling that it can sustain you in ANY difficulty life throws your way – the power of extravagant security!
So, let's look at this and restock the shelves of our hearts with it because we'll need it in the coming weeks (we need it NOW!) – it's the Engine for ongoing love, commitment and unique community in the Church:
- The Congregation's Deep Need
- The Counselor's Method and Message
- The Strange Invitation to Bring It On!
Romans CH 8 is a favorite chapter for many Bible-readers. It addresses a key topic, very significant in our age and all ages and that is – security.
The word comes up a lot in our time and place – security system, security guard, internet security, Homeland Security, Social Security, food security, job security…We live in a world that's INsecure and vulnerable to terrorism and viruses, change and various dangers but ALSO, philosophically, psychologically, socially and spiritually MODERN HUMANITY faces its own insecurity. Men and women and children are facing the existential dilemma …the desire for security.
I'm going to DARE to do something preachers KNOW not to do, i.e., look at the GRAMMAR used by the Apostle Paul:
- Words that RELATE (Prepositions are your friends!)
- Words that STATE (Fact vs. Command)
- Stating and Relating (Grammar Can Be Fun!)
In this next section (and we only read the start and finish) it's NOT: Satisfied in God, Loving One Another and Doing Good in the World but THE reverse (FOUR points):
- Satisfied in Self
- Judging One Another and
- Doing Harm in the World (+appendix)
- I Show You a Still More Excellent Way (1 Cor. 12.31)
Today Paul introduces the remedy. In some ways, the rest of the letter is ALL ABOUT what he says here. He says it, at first briefly and then spends the rest of his ink explaining the implications, answering the objections and unpacking the effects this solution has on our relationship to God, to the Church, to those outside the church and to ourselves.
So today, an introduction to the answer:
- The Predicament Facing Everyone
- The Path to Repair
- The Pertinence to Worship
This is the clearest teaching on homosexuality in the Bible… So what IS the teaching and how are we to apply it in the modern world? Those are two difficulties in this passage (so early in the book!). Today, we attempt to interpret this daunting section. I hope to do it in FOUR POINTS:
- As Plain as the Nose on Your Face
- Be Careful What You Wish For
- Give Me Liberty AND Give Me Death
- "L'chaim" (That's the Jewish toast meaning, To Life!)
In today's introduction, Paul offers this elaborate greeting, and shares with these Roman Christians his desire to visit them. He hadn't started the church in the capital city; he's apparently never been to the church, but he evidently KNOWS a lot of their members (See CH 16!) and wants to see them. I want to look at this desire. Why? What does this desire in Paul say about Christianity and its impact on people who believe it… not only in the ancient world … but in the lives of the modern people here today?
Let's look at Gospel Desire:
- Big Ideas
- Big Desires
- Big Picture
I want to try to put us into the scene to help us see what's happening and come away with what God has for us. IF you are already believing in Jesus and have thrown in with His organization, the church, I hope this will strengthen your belief. IF, on the other hand, you are NOT YET believing and have NOT joined with some local church that teaches the Good News, I hope you'll be at least intrigued and maybe even COME to believe or begin an earnest life-inquiry into this Man who was executed and then rose from the dead as He had promised to do. It's the shortest account, but I hope you find it direct and compelling.
Let's look at:
- A Whole Mess of Trouble
- Trouble As a Portal
- The Other Side of Trouble: Faith or Fear?
Physical thirst is a big deal. If we don't drink, we die. If we drink the wrong liquids, it's harmful or even toxic. Today, the Son of God who made the waters thirsts FOR water. Let's look at:
- Universal Thirst
- Cosmic Thirst
- Satisfying YOUR Thirst
How IS it, for instance, that this One, whom Christians call "God incarnate" now complains TO God in this moment? Is God complaining against Himself? AND the Victim uses foreign language… WHY? AND There are apparently miraculous happenings… in nature… in the Temple and even in the tombs around Jerusalem. AND, at the end, the soldiers carrying out this execution regret what they'd done – "He was innocent…"
That's what I want to look at today – NOT a cold analysis of tragedy that should make us weep – but a way to move beyond being appalled and saddened and instead to get the true meaning of the scene as what it is: the watershed or dividing-line or breakthrough in God's plan, THĒ Crisis Moment in all of history. Let's look at:
- The Method of Scripture
- The Meaning of the Symbols
- Metabolizing the Significance
Leading to this Word of Relationship we find this sort of behind the scenes bargaining between the religious leaders and the Roman Governor, the notorious Pontius Pilate. These frenzied negotiations (if we could call them that) stand in stark contrast with the apparent tenderness and composure of The Third Word. There's an unholy alliance between the Church and the State at the start and… at the finish, a sweet and caring HOLY alliance, that's familial and generous.
I want to look at this juxtaposition of blindness and kindness, of tenderness and treachery and some deeper things we might easily miss but that show the profound significance of this moment and this Third Word:
1)The Way of the World
2)The Way of the King
3)The New and Living Way of Relationship (Heb 10.19-22)
The two transgressors (Mark 15.28) are called simply "bad workers" in Luke's version while Mathew and Mark call them "thieves" (λῃστής) not likely petty thieves but likely repeat offenders, armed robbers or even revolutionaries against Rome who had stolen to support their cause. This morning, I want to look especially at ONE of these thieves and even though we only have very few words describing him we actually get quite a bit of information.
So, let's look at:
- What the thief knew
- What he wanted
- How he got it and
- What ever happened to those thieves?
Today I want to look at this oft-quoted prayer of Jesus Christ, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing" IN its wider context. I hope this look will get us into the series AND help us to think WITH God about the meaning, the reception and the practice of forgiveness.
Let's look at:
- The Wider View
- The Word of Forgiveness and
- The Worry of Your Heart
What happens when YOU get it…and the people around you DON'T? What happens when the real core meaning of Jesus Christ's coming DAWNS on you and you see, feel, and embrace it…WHEN IT EMBRACES YOU…and the people around you don't? This scene is a gripping case-study in THAT. It's enthralling.
Let's look at:
- The Combustible Moment
- It Only Takes a Spark
- Pouring Oil On the Fire
And now we meet a character, also included in Matthew's and Luke's accounts, a very interesting and also rather tragic figure. By harmonizing Matthew, Mark and Luke, we know him to be The Rich Young Ruler. He occasions this amazingly vivid contrast, a study on how the kingdom of God and the gospel, the basic message of Christianity, how the gospel provides a unique alternative to one of humanity's basic pursuits that is the quest for security.
That's our topic for today:
- Sources of Security
- The One Impossible Alternative Christianity Offers
YOU may wish YOU had faith… you may think that your educated, scientific mind is getting in the way of faith. OR you may think that IF you had proof THEN you could believe (and have faith) … So what IS faith and how does it come about…how do we get it/grow it?
Let's see what Jesus Christ does:
- Faith Planted
- Faith Cultivated and
- Faith FRUITFUL
The passage presents a side of Jesus Christ we try to ignore because it doesn't always fit our categories. And yet to face this part of the portrait is both painful and liberating.
So, let's look at
- The PORTRAIT of Jesus
- The METHOD of Jesus
Today, we meet a group of friends who won't take "no" for an answer. They have a need; they see Jesus Christ as the answer to their need and they must get TO Him …and WILL get to Him at any cost. And Jesus Christ not only honors their persistence (really more like desperation!) but He also uses the whole crisis moment to reveal something about Himself that leaves the whole crowd looking to God in a new way, joyful – "we have NEVER seen anything like THIS!"
Let's look at four markers of a time of revelation and growth and see if these may exist in our own present experience: This was a time of:
- Controversy
- Companionship
- Commotion and
- Captivating Conclusion.
This morning I'd like to look at this "prologue" of Mark. …from this concise introduction, FOUR FACTS or four spiritual truths that have to be known mentally AND ALSO believed, trusted, felt, experienced. And without these realities in place, the spiritual life gets sidetracked and grinds to a halt. Here they are:
1.We Are Driven Out
2. The Heavens Are Rent
3. The New Adam Is Driven Out
4. The Good News of God Has Come
I want to look at this Jehu (he gets a lot of ink…two CHs)
Jehu is a "Mashiach" i.e. anointed, a messiah-figure.
So, let's look at that:
1 st - Jehu: a Different Kind of Messiah
2 nd - We Need This Kind of Messiah (sort of!)
3 rd - How the True Messiah Changes Judgment
Let's look at:
- This Puzzling Episode – a weeping truth-teller who promotes lying and a loyal, trusted aide who betrays his king and usurps the throne!
- This Puzzling Book – Evaluating Kings
- The Puzzling Tie to Advent
The Bible demonstrates here, in a variety of ways, God's opinion and response to human weakness. And what eventually emerges fully (in the NT) is an understanding of weakness opposite and counter-intuitive to everything we're taught in society (in the secular world) AND even contrary to what we learn in spirituality, religion and morality as well.
Let's just look at the story and then look at what the Bible is teaching about weakness:
- Retelling the story AND
- What this odd story contributes to the Bible's unique understanding of weakness
We've been looking at the life of the Old Testament prophet, Elisha. And today we come to a story about… Perception. It's about how people see the world, how we interpret reality. It's a story about awakenings… about eye-openings …and seeing beyond the concrete and obvious.
Let's look at:
- The decisive action or turning point in the story.
- The key result of that decisive action
- The FINAL outcome foreshadowing of the Ultimate outcome.
Today's sermon-title says it all, three words, each one a point in the sermon:
1 Power
2 Weakness
3 Healing
I want to use three points to guide us through this story today- and see how we can be life-giving people:
- The Open Door of Hospitality
- The Commitment of Faith
- The Guarantee of Life
The Two Main Points I want to use as our guide today are simply this…
I want us to see
- A Culture of Death, and
- The Giver of Life.
This Fall we are taking extra time to explore a theological theme together. The Fall Theological Focus will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
The Hebrew Church is calling for nonsense and they are finding that it comes. Things are murky and foggy and odd and wicked. God is exceedingly patient with His beloved bride, but nonsense is afoot. Don't fool around with holy things – take God's patience to heart: repent and believe.
Two points –
- The Story's Explained
- The Explanation Applied
This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship and will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
ast week we saw the transfer from one prophet to the next. EliJah becomes a kind of father to his protégé, EliSHa, and gives Him the mantle of authority. The follower becomes the leader (a pattern often repeated in Scripture.)
This is about 850 BC and immediately following the transfer of office and authority is a kind of challenge to the new prophet. The chorus of prophets and the people and even the opposition demand proof. How do we know this new guy is the real thing?
Today's reading is comprised of three episodes. So, let's look at:
1 Basic Facts
2 Common Objections
3 Big Ideas (concerning these strange episodes teaching and how should we respond?)
This Fall we are taking extra time to explore a theological theme together. The Fall Theological Focus will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
Today, we learn a huge lesson from The Follower, a key, maybe THĒ key to the spiritual life i.e. the reality of what someone has called The Magnificent Obsession, that the believer is fixated, in what may appear to some as an unhealthy preoccupation, he or she is obsessed with God's word of grace and truth.
Let's look, then, at this passage for:
- Patterns
- Paradox
- Power
This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship and will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
The two themes that loom large here are fate and truth/deception and these will serve as our two points. Two big issues:
- Fate
- Truth/Deception.
(Boring points but a very exciting story – let's jump in.)
This Fall we are taking extra time to explore a theological theme together. The Fall Theological Focus will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
This Fall we are taking extra time to explore a theological theme together. The Fall Theological Focus will provide content for you to access whenever, and wherever you like during the week through video, podcast, and blog forms. For six weeks a video session will be released accompanied a few days later by a blog article on the same theme. So much of our time throughout the week is spent in traffic, or in a gym, or doing small tasks around the house. In these moments, we hope these new bits of theological content will be encouraging to you. This Fall’s Theological Focus is centered on Generosity and Stewardship. We hope you’ll join us for the journey!
Today, we're going to look at the opposite of justice which is not mercy but injustice; how injustice is the outgrowth of something we all tolerate in ourselves and that is, idolatry and arrogance. Idolatry, arrogance and injustice walk together in this fallen world… Let's look at:
- An Anatomy of Arrogance
- When Arrogance Goes Unchecked
- The Answer to Arrogance and Injustice
In the Christian Faith, justice and mercy are central (Ps 85.10). We traffic in mercy and justice a lot more than we think.
As with most of the passages in Kings, today's strikes us as odd…and difficult to apply but it offers a crucial and often-misunderstood vision of mercy and justice so let's jump in:
- The Powerful, Partying, Proud Alliance
- The Puzzling Parable Acted
- The Pouty Ahab (or Personal Application)
So…is work truly good (even being a dishwasher or a rickshaw driver or a deodorant tester)? And where in the Bible is that stated? Let's look at the END of work by which I mean, the purpose, aim or goal of work as depicted in these final chapters of the Bible. Let's look at:
- Believers Will Work in the Afterlife
- Work Will Be Redeemed
- Work Is a Gift From God
Today we consider the passing of time and the rhythm of work and rest in the various increments and cycles – days, weeks, months, years, decades and lifetimes: "Work and the REST of the Story!"
Just two points today:
- Principles for the Rest of the Story
- Promises to Sustain the Practice of Rhythm
The NT writers address these roles repeatedly in order to say, "These roles/functions are important – the way you carry out your daily tasks as believers in Jesus will be different from the ways your non-Christian neighbors do it… here's how, here's why and here's the ultimate purpose…"
So, let's look at this enormous thrust and theme in the NT and see what we may have missed in our own assessment of Christianity and our own approach to life:
- The Lord's Strategy
- The Required Energy
- The Church's Synergy
When you think of the generosity mandates in the Bible – there are a lot of them and they're heavy! So, think about those each command as a burden loaded into a big wagon (charity, hospitality, kindness, tithing, diligence, good works) – they're all piled high in a cart you have to pull! BUT there's a horse available to pull that wagon AND there's tack, a harness and reins and a bridle) a way to hitch the cart of obligation TO the power of the horse. Those are our three points:
1) The Cart
2) The Horse
3) The Hitch
Jeremiah's experience informs our idea of the Christian life and instructs us how to think creatively about our daily employment as promoting the good of our neighbors even as we live in a strange land.
Let's look at:
- A Letter from Beyond
- Living In Tents Is Always Intense
- The Exile Lifestyle
There are two points I want to use to lead us this morning- from Paul's instruction to the Colossians.
1. The Work of Union with Christ….
2. Working in Union with Christ.
Today, we begin to look at some of the practical ways in which this view of Work plays itself out in our own work and callings… In particular, how are we to think about the "KIND" of work we do? The Quality of work we do? What are we to think about Excellence…. And Productivity… and being fruitful in our work? And finally, if our work is to be of quality and excellence and productive? Where do we get the strength and resources to accomplish that? What is the foundation of this kind of work?
Do you ever think of your job, how you occupy your time and what work you do on a daily basis, do you think of it as a calling… from God?
That's our topic today in these apparently disjointed or unrelated passages. What must a person do to get a calling from God? What's the difference between a calling and a job? What if you DON'T have a calling? How do you find your calling? What difference does it make on a daily basis?
Let's consider work, job, calling today:
- The Great Divide
- The Great Provide
- The Great Decide
Why are we here? What does it mean to have a full and satisfying life – to realize our purpose? How do relationships figure into that big picture …relationship with God? with family? AND What about my daily routine …where we spend the bulk of our time…not in church or on vacation but at work (my occupation or job)? That is really what most directly concerns us today.
What does God intend for our "regular life"? And how will God's purposes and His original design for labor and creativity and what occupies most of our time how will knowing what God originally intended help me today …but especially tomorrow… Monday-Saturday?
Let's look at:
1 Distinct Design
2 East of Eden
3 Preacher's Promise
Today, after all these chapters of poetic speeches, the charges and accusations of Job's little satans and Job's desperate attempts to answer the charges… AND most important, after Job's meeting with God, when Job is interviewed by God and comes away changed: "I've heard of You with the ear but NOW my eye sees You" (42.5) – as if what Job knew as facts, as information is now become sensation, feeling, a sense and experience of God's presence – THEN/today the restoration, the aim or end toward which the whole book is moving.
Let's look at:
- Concluding Restorations
- Lingering Questions
- Ongoing Applications
The Presbyterians have answered the question of human purpose – "Man's chief end (or purpose) is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever" (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:1) But, what about God's chief end/goal – what is God up to on this often tragic, confusing, wonderful, wounded and wounding world? And what is God's purpose for YOU as you travel through this beautiful but badly battered biosphere. What is God's doing in YOU?
Today, the climax of the book. We'll look at it using three phrases you might've heard in our culture:
1) I Want to Speak to the Manager
2) Let's Get Ready to Rumble
3) I Can See Clearly Now
What Elihu says about God's providence or complete control is mainly in keeping with the rest of the Bible but there are some bugs in his presentation. He's kind of a comic figure… he makes us wonder if telling a man in extreme pain and suffering unimaginable loss, we wonder if telling that person that God is in control of everything – including this misery – IS that approach going to help a suffering person? Should YOU, for instance, use this approach in counseling or comforting people in deep agony or pain, "Hey, God's in control!"
Today, the doctrine of providence in the poems of Elihu:
- Providence
- Benevolent Providence
- Benevolent, Mysterious Providence
There are THREE rounds of this – each rival friend speaks and then Job replies THREE times… A LOT of words and at this point, there's an incursion, a hymn about wisdom. Job may be starting to "get it" though he'll waver in the coming section… He's saying, "Only God knows what's happening. I don't and you guys sure don't and I'm not sure we're ever going to find out WHY…we need wisdom!"
Today, we'll look at WISDOM in this wisdom book for adults and see what is the big deal about wisdom? Why should we want it… where do we get it…what do we do with it? Let's look at:
- The Struggle for Wisdom
- The Song and Source of Wisdom
- The Secret, the Seeing, the Service of Wisdom
oday, in the Second Cycle of arguments, Job reflects on one aspect of his suffering that's been of great interest to 20th C writers, philosophers, social scientists and artists and we ought to recognize this feature of life and suffering as being more painful and perplexing than we sometimes understand. The feature I have in mind is ALIENATION.
It's the sense that I'm out of touch or disconnected or separated from others, from myself, from my purpose, from nature and from God. An alienated person feels like he/she doesn't belong, is out of place and strange for reasons he can't diagnose or change.
I'd like to explore this condition from Job Ch 19 and see, in the passage, in perhaps the most beloved and famous words in the book, the remedy to this trauma. Let's look at:
1) The Pain of Alienation
2) The Hope of Redemption
3) The Space Between Alienation and Redemption
I need someone to listen to me and check my ideology, my core assumptions about life that I may not even know I have and hold… AND THAT is what we have here in the Book of Jōb. It's a long-form discussion and from it emerge the beliefs, the intellectual commitments and ideologies of the participants.
In the course of this poetic conversation, stretching over some 40 chapters, the assumptions of the speakers and listeners emerge. I'd like to look at ONE such assumption I'm going to call the "Standard Formula". Let's look at:
1) The Standard Stated
2) The Standard Fulfilled
3) The Standard Re-Stated
Today, some reinforcements show up – three friends from afar – and come to "sit shiva" with Job (that Jewish tradition actually COMES from this passage!) – come to mourn with him … and… eventually, after Job says how he's feeling, they offer him some advice. That's our topic today: mourning our losses and how friends can help in the process (or not). Let's look at:
1) Friends, Fiends and Foreshadowing
2) Breaking the Silence
3) Deepest Regrets and Truest Friends
This year in the first part of the "Season of the Spirit," we look at how God's Spirit took an ancient man (and his friends!) on a journey into depth and maturity, growth, sanctification, and wisdom (all the work of the Spirit!)
This will be our approach to The Book of Job. For the next nine weeks we plan to take a journey into our own motives to discover what kind of wisdom governs our own lives.
Today we want to set up the book… so important that we get the original story that will be dissected and mused on and analyzed ad nauseum through-out the book by "the commentariat," the pundits, the "friends" of the suffering man.
So, let's set it up:
1. Set-Up for Wisdom
2. Set-Up of the Book
3. Set-Up for Our Own Journey
As Christians, we naturally want to follow Christ. Yet, who is He whom we claim to follow? Join us for the next two weeks as we observe Paul's letter to Colossians and see what the Apostle Paul says about our Savior. Through this deeper understanding of the identity of the Son of God, we'll have a clearer picture of who we are and who He made us to be.
As Christians, we naturally want to follow Christ. Yet, who is He whom we claim to follow? Join us for the next two weeks as we observe Paul's letter to Colossians and see what the Apostle Paul says about our Savior. Through this deeper understanding of the identity of the Son of God, we'll have a clearer picture of who we are and who He made us to be.
As John wrote in v. 6 of this passage, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand the things which He had been saying to them." Well, I DO understand (mainly) what Jesus is saying… though, there are a few bumps in the road… So, let's look more closely at this topic of spiritual teaching, leadership or "spiritual authority – it's use and misuse". Let's look at:
1) The Bad Background
2) The Shepherd We Need
3) Engaging the Good Shepherd
As John wrote in v. 6 of this passage, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand the things which He had been saying to them." Well, I DO understand (mainly) what Jesus is saying… though, there are a few bumps in the road… So, let's look more closely at this topic of spiritual teaching, leadership or "spiritual authority – it's use and misuse". Let's look at:
1) The Bad Background
2) The Shepherd We Need
3) Engaging the Good Shepherd
What IF that glaring problem facing our culture AND facing you personally were NOT really "where it's at"? What if the deepest, most important, urgent need in our society and in our families and personal lives is something you thought was low on the list or didn't make the list at all? Would you want to know about it?
The title of the sermon IS the outline of the sermon:
1st – The Appalling Jesus
2nd – What It Means to Be Free
Today we look more closely at one key word in this famous dialogue: faith (noun) or believe (verb) -- same root in Greek.
"That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." What does it mean to believe, to have faith? How do you know if you HAVE faith? When Jesus says that being born from above is THĒ necessary condition for entrance into God's Kingdom AND that believing is THĒ indicator that one IS born from above, what IS it that we're believing? We use that word A LOT, but do we know what we're saying? We take for granted that we know what faith IS and that we've believed but… what IS faith?
This passage points to three motions or directions as the source, the sense and the result of believing:
1) The DOWN and Up that God Does Alone
2) The GIVE and Take that God and We Do Together
3) The OUT and In that We Do With One Another
This famous dialogue aims to change the locus or the source of spiritual confidence i.e. what's the reason that you feel ok about yourself?… And we may find that we're looking for peace in all the wrong places! So, let's look at:
1) Man on a Mission
2) Interview
3) Four Big Ideas +
Another important part of the Christian/Biblical celebration of Christmas is the fulfillment of Scripture. And our passage today, in these ten verses or so, has three different references to Scripture being fulfilled. 3 times in ten verses, we are presented with how the birth of Jesus Christ, and the events that happen afterward fulfill God's purposes. So, what I want to do today is use those three OT references here as our guide for how we look at the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' flight to Egypt… the slaughtering of children in Bethlehem, and Jesus' return to Nazareth.
I want us to see:
1) Purpose in Exile,
2) Life Out of Death, and
3) Humility and the Messiah.
Today, we encounter the Magi—these mysterious, foreign, "wise men" that come searching for the Christ child… Who were they? Why is this part of the story? What were they really looking for?
I want us to look at three themes of the Magi-
1. The Gentile Theme,
2. The Contrast Theme, and
3. The Astronomical Theme…. And then I want to end with a couple of ideas for the New Year for you and me.
There are TWO IMPERATIVES or commands in the Psalm – one positive command (repeated in vv. 1 & 10) and one negative – something to DO and something to AVOID. The negative – the thing to avoid – seems, at first, to be out of place… I want to show that it's NOT out of place, but it is, in fact, the main theme of the Psalm. And WHEN we see the relationship between these two dissimilar commands it unlocks some things in the spiritual life that lead to real happiness… So, this is a happiness sermon; my Christmas gift to you!
Let's look at:
1) TWO STRUGGLES in understanding this Psalm
2) TWO SOURCES of confidence in the Psalm
3) TWO SERVICES this Psalm provides
We'll find this poem from the Hebrew Bible conforms to the form of government in Ancient Israel (and most of the Ancient Near East) and THAT was NOT Capitalism NOR Socialism nor Communism but Monarchy, the REIGN of a monarch, a king or queen.
In unpacking this poem about the ideal government we'll see:
1) SIGNS We NEED This Reign
2) A Gently FALLING Reign
3) Responding to the RIGHT Reign
This is one of the 15 "Psalms of Ascent" – most people hold them to be pilgrim psalms, sung or chanted as pilgrims went up (ascended) to Jerusalem for the three feasts prescribed in the Law (Deut 16.16). It's been noted that there were 15 steps up to the entrance of the Temple in Jerusalem and that some pilgrims would memorize Psalms 120-134 and chant one of these short psalms on each step as they ascended. So, what can we learn from these Psalms of Ascent? Let's look at:
1) A Pilgrim ELATED
2) A Pilgrim FRUSTRATED
3) A Pilgrim ANIMATED
If you've ever suffered real devastation and worried about HOW your Non-Christian relatives will now be reinforced in their unbelief – "Wow! What good is it to be a Christian if THIS is what happens!?" If you've even wondered whether YOUR life is a good endorsement for Christianity because you've NOT had an easy go of it… THIS is a Psalm for YOU!
I want to look at:
1) The Disorientation of Decline and Devastation
2) The Reasonable Request for Restoration
3) The Firm Feel of Freedom
We have been looking at the life of Elijah in the Book of Kings, events that occurred around 900 BC. And today, also, another episode that took place about 900 years later in the life of Jesus Christ. You may have noticed that the two passages have some similarities: there's actually a profound connection.
And believe it or not that connection is a key, maybe thē key to living a life of spiritual greatness. And, I know, that's a really big claim – "today's sermon is the secret to becoming a spiritual superhero!" – and you may be a little suspicious… But… Give me a chance and I think it will emerge out of these two stories. Let's look at:
1) The SUBSTANCE of the First Story (just the facts)
2) The SETTING of the Second Story
3) The SIGNIFICANCE In Combining the Stories
Elijah is now a national hero… at the top of his game. And then… the mighty man of God experiences a steep dive into deep dread, depression and discouragement.
Right after this soaring High Point, we get one of the most vivid pictures of emotional breakdown AND how God deals with it. That's what we want to explore today:
1) a description of depression, burn-out and despair
2) how God treats this condition in his children
Today, I'd like to show that this ancient passage offers real help to modern people as we try to navigate life in this environment. It IS possible to "speak truth in love" to sometimes see and say that there are only two ways to look at a certain issue and I'm convinced only ONE is true. It's possible to get in "good trouble" (John Lewis of Rosa Parks). Let's look at three approaches to truth and truth-telling:
1) The Way of Syncretism
2) The Way of Imperialism
3) The Way of the Gospel
I wonder how YOU feel about your weaknesses, your disadvantages, your disabilities, flaws, failures, mistakes, limitations, shortcomings, your needs. There's nothing holy or good about NEED or POVERTY or FAILURE in themselves but when our need is brought to God, it can become a portal – a doorway into our souls – through which God enters and does amazing things.
Let's look today at:
1) The Quest for Power
2) Weakness in God's Economy
3) Weakness in YOUR Life and Mine
We need more than just sort-of-mindless slogans or optimism (e.g., "Ya just gotta believe" "Everything always works out in the end"). Hope is not simply closing your eyes to the evil and the facts of our lives and world. Hope is not just crossing your fingers or wishing on a star. Hope is a kind of certainty regarding the future; it requires a basis, a rationale.
Let's look at:
1) The Dark Cloud (of HOPELESSNESS)
2) The Bright Lamp (SOURCE of HOPE)
3) The Life of Hope (CONTAGIOUS CONFIDENCE)
You may be surprised to know that in the earliest period of American History, about 17 percent of colonial citizens were active in churches. Between 1776 and 1850 church participation jumped from 17 percent to 34 percent and Church attendance peaked in the early 1960s. (Martin Marty, "Church Attendance Wasn't Always Robust in Past"; Nov 7, 2012; Sighting, Univ of Chicago).
So, things have been much worse BUT what's especially troubling in our moment is the precipitous drop. The numbers in our society were falling before the pandemic but now we have to talk about the unchurched AND the dechurched – people who have left the Christian Church during the pandemic and have not returned.
So, let's talk about the elephant NOT in the room:
1) Unchurched and Dechurched
2) Peccatus Interruptus
3) Authentic Simplicity
Today, I want to talk about legacy and counsel… Two subjects that are present all over this passage today, but two timeless subjects that have historic consequences… but also take shape in our own lives today… How are we as Christians to think about legacy and the shadows it leaves in our lives, and how do we to take and consider counsel? When we hear counsel from others whether it is sought, or just given. How do we receive it and put it to use?
We're going to see this today from the wake left from Solomon's life that his legacy unfortunately, leads to disunity. For us, the legacy of the gospel is one of unity in the body of Christ.
So, let's look at three points today –
1. The shadows of Legacy,
2. The confusion of Counsel, and
3. The gift of Unity.
Today we look once more at Solomon – this time a case-study on the topic of success, prosperity and affluence to the point that his heart is torn. Solomon, the divided.
I want to look at
the Bright Side of Success,
the Dark Side of Success and
the Prospects of Success FOR YOU.
Today, Solomon receives a mysterious visitor from some 1,500 miles away (like from here to New York), a queen from the South, from what is today called Yemen and in the Bible is called the "Land of Cush", the Queen of Sheba. She's a fascinating figure. She shows up in the Quran (as Belquis) and even in the lore and legends behind Rastafarianism (for our Jamaican brothers and sisters).
What could motivate her to come so long a distance? Why would she "drag" this great caravan all the way from Yemen/Ethiopia through the desert to Jerusalem? And, in fact, what motivates people to do stuff like that? Birds migrate great distances and we chalk up their motivation to instinct. Why can't I pray for 30 mins a day or kick a nasty habit or be more generous or worry less or stop being so self-conscious – where can I find that motivation? That's our interest today – the Mysterious Queen of Sheba and the Mystery of Motivation. Let's look at:
1) The Mystery of Motivation
2) The Allure of Glory
3) The Mysterious, Surpassing Glory of Self-Sacrificing Love
1 Kings 8:10, 27-30, 54-61; Isaiah 57:15
...thinkers have arrived at some categories to describe the Divine Presence – God's transcendence and God's immanence. That God is above us, transcends us, other than we are. Some of God's attributes we DON'T share; He's infinite, eternal and unchangeable and we're NOT. The other category is God's immanence, God's nearness, with-ness, relatability; the qualities in God we are capable of sharing to some degree: being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.
So, let's use these categories to look at Solomon's main building project – the Temple as God's dwelling:
1 – God ABOVE Us – Transcendence
2 – God NEAR Us – Immanence
3 – God IN Us – God's Humility
1 Kings 3:16-28; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
The writings of Solomon himself – many of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon extol the value, cost and desirability of wisdom. AND while Solomon was unrivaled in wisdom, somehow wisdom wasn't enough, and Solomon's life ends in both remarkable achievement AND disappointment.
Let's re-enter this period of history looking at:
1) Succession – the age of ALMOST
2) The Wisdom of Solomon
3) How to Approach Wisdom in Our Age
In the late '60's, (the Quaker scholar) Elton Trueblood wrote a book called, The Incendiary Fellowship i.e. the community of believers that's on fire. And these personal greetings and final wishes demonstrate that the early Christian Church was a dynamic, living, growing community of real flesh-and-blood people … regular folks but somehow inhabited by God and therefore pulsating with life and purpose and progress. Let's look at:
1) The Incendiary Fellowship – How's it Described? 2) The Incendiary Fellowship – What's Implied? and 3) How to Become the Incendiary Fellowship AND why we should want to?
Who are you? What makes you, you? Today, identity is a do-it-yourself project: ours is a day of identity angst. This class will survey the biblical theme of being known by God as His children, a truth that meets our deepest and lifelong need for recognition, and the key for both cheering comfort and moral direction.
"What's more important: to do the right thing with a bad attitude or not to do the right thing but with a good attitude?" (Uninvolved but sweet or engaged but with a sour attitude?) Which one would you prefer in a friend…in yourself?
Who are you? What makes you, you? Today, identity is a do-it-yourself project: ours is a day of identity angst. This class will survey the biblical theme of being known by God as His children, a truth that meets our deepest and lifelong need for recognition, and the key for both cheering comfort and moral direction.
Who are you? What makes you, you? Today, identity is a do-it-yourself project: ours is a day of identity angst. This class will survey the biblical theme of being known by God as His children, a truth that meets our deepest and lifelong need for recognition, and the key for both cheering comfort and moral direction. By Dr. Phil Letizia
Not only is Philemon a firsthand look at personal communications and letter-writing from the First Century … BUT ALSO, Philemon provides a look at slavery in the ancient world AND, practically speaking, it’s a book about relationships and how the Gospel (the core message of Christianity) changes how we relate…There are implications in this letter for parenting, for friendship, dealings with neighbors co-workers, roommates, etc.
How do you view your own death? Is it something that scares you? Does it make you angry or confused? Or perhaps, like many of us here, you’ve gone a whole week, month, or year without considering the reality that this life is not forever. Wherever you are on that spectrum, it’s worth acknowledging that today it’s challenging to face this subject. As Christians, we must realize that a lack of reflection on our earthly death is robbing us of the hope and comfort of our promised eternal life in Christ. Using Paul’s words to the Corinthians, I want us to see one truth: And that’s because God is who He says He is, in Christ, you’re going to outlive death and that changes everything.
Children have so much to teach us as adults…. why? Well, they're usually more sensitive to the things of God than we are as adults… Their attitudes of trust are and simplicity are so easy to see… They don't parade around their own achievements… They live in constant dependence… Trust. Simplicity. Humility.
In the view of the Bible, listening is more than important. The very creed of the Jewish Church is called "The Listen" (The Shema: "Listen, O Israel, the LORD is One" Dt 6.4) Christianity is actually VERY focused on this activity of listening well. AND those who believe the central message of Christianity (the gospel), they see the significance of listening and eventually they become skilled listeners.
Today, we consider that the spiritually/emotionally mature person makes Jesus Christ the model for loving well. The truth and reality that God came down; He incarnated into our humanity, entered our place, and identified (became like) us in every way except sin – that becomes the pattern for love to which the spiritually/emotionally healthy person aspires.
Listen in as Winston Lages discusses Philippians 4, joy, and what it really means to be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
3 callings we have as followers of Jesus: 1. We are called to live in the Father's presence 2. We are called to be present in the life of our children 3. We are called to be present in the lives of others
And you may notice that not everyone who suffers a lot of grief and loss actually grows from it… In fact, most people get damaged by it and may get bitter or cynical or withdrawn… Loss is not an automatic path to growth and maturity.
Today, a fourth quality: the spiritually/emotionally healthy person RECEIVES THE GIFT OF LIMITS. He or she knows when to say "no" both to bad things…and even to good things. She understands some basic truths about who she is and about how the world is and about what it means to be redeemed and what that doesn't mean. Spiritually and emotionally healthy people have had those truths seep into their motives and aren't easily pressed into a mold of someone else's expectations or someone else's goals or convictions. He's comfortable in his own skin and secure in his identity and calling under God.
A third quality in the kind of emotional wellbeing that always accompanies true spiritual maturity i.e., 3) Live in Brokenness and Vulnerability. In the spiritually and emotionally healthy person, there's a freedom from that natural defensiveness, from aversion to criticism, insecurity and hypersensitivity that most often accompanies our human, fallen condition.
We'll see that the Apostle Paul enjoyed that kind of inner liberty AND he also saw its absence in some of the young Christians he loved and served as Christianity was being established in the ancient world. Let's look at:
1 – A Dead Mindset Facing a Weak Apostle
2 – A New Rationale to Redirect Boasting
3 – The Practice of Upside-down Boasting
What influences both positive and negative, good and bad has our upbringing, our past, memories, regrets, successes and traumas, sources of satisfaction – how does our history influence the way we think, speak and act, ways we think about God, ways we treat others and ourselves.
Using these classic passages, let's look at our history:
1) An UNDERestimated Influence
2) An OVERestimated Influence
3) A Usable Influence
Today, one of the skills necessary for the exercise of emotional health is the ability to look below the surface. We have to be able to see that, "what you see isn't always what you get." People may do the right things but be motivationally disconnected, going through the visible motions but without the right emotions. Something else is going on below the surface. Let's look at:
1) Our Preoccupation with Surface Appearance
2) Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Today, we address again this sanctification gap – how we're declared righteous but don't always act, speak, think or feel righteously. When we think about sanctification or progress in the spiritual life – how do we go about it i.e., how to make spiritual/moral improvements to our character? How do we turn what God says about us in Christ (i.e., that we're NOT guilty and that we're righteous in God's sight – "saints") how do we turn God's declaration of righteousness into actual, practical character change?
In these sections written by St Paul, we see:
1) The "Common-Sense", Acceptable Way of Progress
2) The Counterintuitive, AcceptING Way of Progress
People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.
– Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), A Series of Unfortunate Events #11: The Grim Grotto (2004)
How about an example? John uses God to validate his strong opinions on issues ranging from the appropriate length of women's skirts in church to political candidates to gender roles to his inability to negotiate issues with fellow non-Christian managers at work. He does not listen to or check out the innumerable assumptions he makes about others. He quickly jumps to conclusions. His friends, family, & coworkers find him unsafe & condescending.
John then goes on to convince himself he is doing God's work by misapplying selected verses of scripture. "Of course that person hates me," he says to himself. "All those who desire to be godly will suffer persecution." Ultimately, however, he is using God to run from God.
– Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (2014; pp.23-24)
Listen in as Associate Pastor, Dr. Phil Letizia, takes us through 1 Peter 1:17-23 discussing what it means to live as "Resurrection People."
Listen in as Dr. Phil Letizia talks about the Lavish Implications of Easter through a sermon that goes through 1 Peter 1:3-9.
Today, we look at this fascinating person named Mary Magdalene.
In all four Gospels she's credited with being the first person to see Jesus Christ alive after the resurrection.
IF, as some have tried to maintain, since the start of Christianity, IF the disciples of Jesus concocted the story of Jesus Christ's resurrection – if they thought they would get famous or wealthy or considered to be super-spiritual heroes and THAT'S why they invented this story of the resurrection, IF the story was fabricated, Mary Magdalene would have been the worst possible choice to be the first witness because she was a woman with a shady reputation.
People who rejected Christianity may have concluded that she'd been insane… "so why would we possibly trust her testimony? She's mentally ill!" That TO ME, is an indicator of the story's authenticity.
I want to look at her today and what she might tell us about WHAT Christianity IS and what IS its basic message to the world:
1) Who was Mary Magdalene?
2) Who was the Gardener she met?
The Kingdom is come in Jesus Christ AND the Kingdom is coming. The task of the Apostles and the Church is to call people to believe through the Apostles message. Did the disciples know what was ahead for THEM and for the Jesus-Movement? Not yet… BUT…they will.
I want to look at the inferences in this prayer:
1) The Multitude Anticipated
2) The Prayer's Ambition/Aim
3) The Means of Advance
The Teacher prays the longest recorded prayer we have – much longer than what we call The Lord's Prayer but very similar, really an expansion of that best-known of Jesus Christ's prayers. He prays so that the eleven disciples can hear the words and learn some dense, mystifying, deep truths that they will remember forever but don't yet understand as they're being prayed. Every word is weighty. The finish-line is in sight. The Light of the World is about to be snuffed out… for "a little while" (16.16, 17, 18, 19). Jesus prays for Himself and for His students and for what lies ahead for them.
Back in the last century (1999), I preached SIX sermons in a row on this one prayer (only two this year), but I could see why it took six…could be more! It's DENSE!
Today I want to look at this heavy prayer in three ways:
1) The View from the Top
2) The View from the Trenches
3) The View of the Race Before US
These words are meant to sustain the disciples in their hour of deepest need. They'll focus on the idea of
God's will and ability to transform evil into good in the lives of His people. What Joseph told his brothers at the end of Genesis, what some have considered the summary of the entire Bible, "What YOU meant for EVIL, God has turned to good!" (Gen 50.20) – those words are now epitomized and embodied in Jesus Christ. The idea that God will turn trials to gold, turn evil to good… that theme isn't especially important to the eleven disciples now – but soon that truth will be more necessary to them than food, water or oxygen. God is able to transform evil into good.
1) Appalling Ignorance into Knowledge
2) Excruciating Pain into Joy
2) Cosmic Defeat into Victory
Here, Jesus Christ, addresses this preoccupation in the young men God gave Him to train and teach AND the fixation WE ALL HAVE: anxiety about the future. In this passage we find:
1) Concern for My Future
2) Concern of the Spirit
3) Concern for the Kingdom
The question I want to ask today is: Are Christians hated today as they were at the start? AND if they are hated, what causes of that opposition? And is there any upside to this whole issue – are there reasons to expect help in our conflict with world and how might that expectation of help change the way we go about dealing with hate?
Let's look at: 1) The Fact of Hatred 2) The Causes of Hatred3) Reasons for JOY Even in the Face of Hatred
Have you disappointed people, yourself, GOD? Will your life MATTER and will you leave a mark… NOT that you have to be famous but that your life was well-invested and that God Himself will consider your life significant? Based on John 15:1-16. By T.J. Campo
Listen in as Pastor Phil Letizia discusses these 3 points from John 14:25-31:
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The Gift of a Teacher
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The Legacy of Peace
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The Gift of a Greater Future
Today, this Spirit of Truth is introduced as the One who will make all the difference. Because He is with them and IN them, they'll be somehow different from the world… AND, this Spirit is given to every believer in Jesus Christ since the Day of Pentecost and HE makes all the difference for modern-day believers too.
By TJ Campo
Is there power in the gospel (basic message of Christianity) to sustain you in the midst of a setback so devastating that it leaves you feeling that the bottom has fallen out of your whole life? And how do you USE the gospel to get the will to go on?
The strange and striking act that starts the dialog forever establishes the credibility of the Speaker – the ETHOS. But at first, it's NOT understood at all! "If you will be My disciple and a leader in My movement then you must know three paradoxical truths":
1) An Example of WHAT God Requires of You2) An Emblem of WHAT GOD Does for You3) An Engine to DO what God Requires
Sermon by Senior Pastor TJ Campo
This bit of John's Gospel is packed with pathos (emotion) and it's a watershed (peak of a roof) ... the line is crossed and Jesus Christ is now marked for death (v.54). There's a lot going on here... a number of different characters ...very intriguing storytelling ... BUT IN the drama and IN the unfolding plot, some really important things are being communicated about the spiritual life.
By Pastor TJ Campo
Listen in as Phil Letizia unpacks Matthew 11:1-19, 25-30. He dives into these three points:
- Promises Fulfilled
- The Unimpressed and Uncommitted
- The Claim and the Invitation
Listen in as we consider what it means to live out Psalm 27. What does it mean to "dwell in the House of the Lord" and to "gaze upon his beauty?"
A seemingly tedious and unimportant list AND the most captivating invitation ever issued: the paragraphs beginning and ending the NT… and BOTH include this flawed king – who "didn't always obey God but always dealt with God" (Eugene Peterson). So, let's look at the origin and destiny of the Son of David:
- The Covenant Made and Fulfilled2. The Covenant's Meaning for Daily Life
...the path to greatness will be a route that none of the Israelites expected. And there's a PATTERN here: that same road is the path anyone takes if he or she will live a significant life…not simply a life of fame or success or popularity (Hebrews 11.37-39) but true significance in the sight of God.
On the way to restoration and greatness, there must be a purge in the city – a cleansing. Cities are rarely famous for cleanliness but to be great, this city will have to be… decontaminated and will then become a SOURCE of purity and beauty to others. Let's see this pattern and path to greatness and how anyone who becomes great follows it.
And the question for US is… do we need shepherds today? Is the organized church and leaders in the church, and clergy, ministry leaders, counselors, elders and deacons… ARE they necessary today? Aren't we passed that and why not just trust every believer to follow God as he or she sees fit?
When Christians talk about "free grace" what does that mean? Is it a free entrance into God's favor…but then…you know…when we get on our feet, you have to… you know…shape up and do our part? It's a gift but you have to pay for it. Because anything else is…too good to be true…no such thing as a free lunch…right? Let's look at:
1) No Such Thing As A Free Lunch 2) Someone Always Pays 3) Let's Go To Lunch
Today (and next week) we'll look at the Prophet Isaiah (700BC) and what he says about this mysterious Figure. In today's passages we'll look at the situation facing this great prophet (Isaiah) and how that situation can only be remedied by thē King we welcome (once again) into our lives as we observe His Advent: 1) Surface Solutions for Deep Problems 2) Deep Solutions for Deep Problems 3) Using the Deep Solution on OUR Deep Problems
Listen in as Pastor TJ Campo explains The Parable of the Dishonest Manager in Luke 15/16. We will consider these three points:
- The difficulty deciphering
- The elusive analogy
- The elusive difficulty in the takeaway
Let's dive in and look at David's death…and let's use the occasion to THINK about death. Let's think about how people often relate and respond to death. Then we'll look at the Bible's understanding of death is (IS there a cohesive teaching on death in the Bible?) Last, let's consider how WE deal with death, the death of loved ones… how we'll face our own deaths.
Let's look at: 1) Reactions to Death 2) Understanding Death and 3) Facing Death
Today we note the character change in David (a Pattern for us to follow) and the symbols pointing to a bigger Story (a Picture for us to trace) and lastly the motivation we find when we do trace the picture back to the King represented (a Persuasion to us to live a new life).
Let's look at part two of last week's scene – let's find in this sequel: 1) A Pattern 2) A Pointer 3) A Persuasion
Last week, David had a craving (for HOME) and this week David has an idea for establishing his house and legacy…and guaranteeing the security of the nation. But David's idea is a bad one…for reasons that may not be obvious to us… So, let's look at this quest for security: 1) David's Sin 2) David's Dreadful Decision 3) The Hand of the Lord (the security we need)
The writer takes us back to David's early days when he'd been anointed king, but Saul was the reigning king. And while on the run from Saul, David learns that his own hometown was occupied by his arch enemies, the Philistines. David is hiding from Saul, the mad king, in an enormous cave and he expresses homesickness for the place where he was born, the little town of Bethlehem.
That's what I want to explore together today – the craving or longing for home, why we really can't go back and cultivating a holy homesickness for the home where we've never been. So that's it – 1) Homesickness, 2) No Going Back and 3) The Home Where We've Never Been.
We've seen both regret and grief in David's life; today's text addresses the opposite of regret i.e., satisfaction. How to look forward to looking back – how to cultivate future satisfaction? Let's look at three themes: 1) Trouble 2) Self 3) God
...it's the return of the King! it's a moment to celebrate victory. And, for US, a parallel: it reminds us and informs us of something very important to the Christian and that is the impending return of thĒ King and how to live in this interim period… when the king seems to be away.
Today, something a little different: I want to isolate two features in this decisive and dangerous moment of tragic victory. And I want to show how these two features mirror our own experience of living, while anticipating the return of a King. 1) Lost In Love 2) Rebels' Response
A few weeks ago we looked at regret. Today we look at a subset of regret, namely GRIEF, our emotional response to loss and death.
How does the basic truth of Christianity, the Gospel, inspire a different approach to grief? Let's look at: 1) A Context FOR Grief 2) A Concentration ON Grief 3) A Confidence IN Grief
Today we look at the arena or workshop where God often performs His divine alchemy and changes the lead of our failings into the gold of Christ-likeness. That workshop is the WILDERNESS. David is in retreat and along with many of his supporters, he's fleeing from Absalom into a place where no one cares to go – a place of pain and deprivation…where the believer sees his or her desperate need for God.
Today, the believer in Jesus Christ and the "wilderness experience": 1) How'd it happened for David? 2) How it happens for us and what to do about it.
So, today, we look into this deeply troubled family and see in them some of the dynamics that continue to plague broken families (and ALL families are somewhat broken). Modern families, here in South Florida, still face issues of parent-child hostility, poor communication, sexual sin, distance, tension, coldness in relationships and lack of forgiveness, warmth and affection. These stories are relevant!
What, are the resources found in the basic idea behind Christianity – what do we find in the Gospel that we can draw upon to help us – to save us – from these issues that are so destructive? Is the message of Jesus and His great achievement… is there help in it for US and for people struggling with family brokenness?
Let's look at: 1. A Homecoming Contrived 2. A Homecoming Complete 3. A Homecoming Current (Complex, Complicated)
Today: the Gospel and the desire to see people pay for their crimes: 1) Anger in a Vacuum 2) Apathy and Vigilantism 3) Assurance of Ultimate Vengeance
Please note that today's topic may contain content that may be sensitive for certain viewers.
This week we kicked off a new sermon series. Listen in as Pastor TJ Campo teaches from 2 Samuel 12:13-27. What do we do with our regret? How does the Gospel redeem our past?
If you're a Christian, you may know that the Bible tells us that He is, but as you look at the distractions or discouragements in your life you may be asking the question: Why is God worthy of praise? Listen in as Director of Park Road Youth Ministry, Jonathan Lacy, dives into what Psalm 145 has to say about this very question.
Pastor Phil continues our mini series on praise by taking a deeper look into the book of Jude. This week, Phil discusses the following two considerations:
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Praise in a perilous life
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Praise in an Eternal Life
Listen in to Pastor Phil Letizia dive into Psalm 150 and discuss the topic of praise. He addresses questions of the point of praise, the outcome of praise, and God's view of our praise. Does God need us to praise him? Listen in!
The question today is how to defeat evil with good as the very last words in our passage charge us to do. "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good". It's something we ALL want – we don't want to live in an evil, corrupt society and we want the Church to be "salt and light" having a positive impact on its members and on our surroundings. How can the Church promote good and resist evil? (sounds like a job for crime-fighters and superheroes!)
I want to jump right IN today and look at: 1. A Good Life (easier said than done!) 2. An Empathetic Life (linking to Power and to people) 3. An Intriguing Life (what's YOUR story?)
Today, we look at the role the Spirit plays in the Church as a Body made up of PERSONS. How are believers in Jesus Christ supposed to think about themselves in relation to other persons, to the Church as a whole and to the Leader or Head of the Church, Jesus Christ? How do YOU think about yourself? The whole idea of self-esteem, self-image, self-concept, personality: that's our inquiry for today.There are issues with self-image and I plan to look at some of the difficulties in defining or understanding ourselves and the self…AND there are resources IN the gospel (basic message of Christianity) for settling questions of self-concept. Finally what would it look like to take advantage of those resources – how would using those benefits help us?Let's look at:1) Self-Concept Quandary2) Power of Paradox3) Morphing to Morons
I want to ask you to join me… to recommit ourselves as a whole family to the institution of the Church. Today and in this whole series, I hope God will stir us up to see the Church as His agent, God's Embassy, God's Diplomat, His Ambassador sent to the world to make the Good News of Jesus tangible and UN-ignorable to a the not-yet-believing world.
Mainly, we're asking questions about distinctively Christian or Gospel morals: IF we're given righteousness as a gift, if believers are declared justified in the sight of God because of what Jesus Christ DID which we receive by resting and receiving (i.e. passively and freely) THEN why should we be good? Why should we change? HOW should we go about changing and what would that change look like in the lives of real people?As we come into this chapter on Gospel-morals, let's look at: 1) Musing on Mystery2) Mercies to Morals3) The Morals Mercy Makes
To LIVE as this unique community, the church, is NOT something we can just sort of decide to do but requires power from outside ourselves. That power IS the Spirit of God given to all the adopted sons and daughters of God.Today, we come to the end of this "Engine Chapter" with one, great, final push, as if Paul is saying, "Not only will what I'm about to say help you to love and forgive one another… to endure difficulties WITH (and let's face it) sometimes FROM one another – but if you get what this means, there's a level of security here so compelling that it can sustain you in ANY difficulty life throws your way – the power of outlandish security!So let's look at this and restock the shelves of our hearts with it because we're going to need it in the coming weeks – it's the engine for ongoing love and commitment and unique community in the Church:1. The Congregation's Deep Need2. The Pastor's Method and Message
Adoption: God embraces rebellious, excluded, enemies to His own family in an act of free grace, through which we're received into the family, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.This declaration by God – that "you are no longer an outsider but now included", this doctrine and this experience can change the nature of our good works AND can lead to a kind of freedom, spontaneity and joy not found in typical spiritual/religious approaches. So lets look at :1) The SLAVE Way2) The BIG SHIFT3) The SON Way
Romans CH 8 is a favorite chapter for many Bible-readers. It addresses a key subject, very significant in our age and that is – security.The word comes up a lot in our time and place – security system, security guard, internet security, Homeland Security, Social Security… And not ONLY is there a kind of "post 9-11" and "post-COVID" obsession with that word in a world that's INsecure and vulnerable to terrorism and viruses and various dangers but ALSO, philosophically and psychologically, MODERN HUMANITY faces its own insecurity. Men and women and children are facing the existential dilemma…the desire for security.I have two GRAMMAR-QUESTION points today in this dense passage and then one final answer:1) Grammar Q1: Isn't that SPATIAL?!2) Grammar Q2: Whodunit?3) The Answer of Agency
Listen in as Phil Letizia teaches a study in Practical Theology, exploring themes and topics related to various experiences in life that are present in our current culture. This episode specifically tackles the question, "What do I do when war breaks out?"