The Perspective

Translating the message of God from one culture to another is no small task. I found the material in 1 Corinthians 7 to be especially difficult to present. What was happening in that 1st century Corinthian church that would cause Paul to write such things? And then, how does that apply to our 21st century, Houston church? As I came to grips with the message that needed to be preached I then had to ponder all the implications of such a message. Would this message make people feel condemned for past choices they had made? How could I present such a message with grace so that people would have hope and not despair? These were the thoughts and questions that burdened me during my preparation last week.

Now that the sermon is over I wonder what message was heard by those who listened. Did they hear the voice of judgment or the voice of love? And more importantly, will we all be more inclined to seek God's eternal perspective in the important decisions of life? Maranatha.

The Life

This is a picture I found in the prayer notebook I mentioned this morning. This is my cousin James after God extended his life. It was taken at Thanksgiving, 2001 at my brother's house. After having a long period of relatively good health he was on the decline at this point and this was the last family gathering he was able to attend.

During the prayer time this morning Maedell came to pray with me simply to thank God that she had been able to meet James and spend a little time with him. I felt that even though James is dead God is still working through his life ("And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." Heb. 11:4). When we choose to live a sanctified life God works in wonderful ways for his glory. What greater goal can a person have for their life than to be used by God for his glory?

The Loaf

Application of the biblical text is not always as easy one might think. I wonder what the full story was on the man who was sleeping with his father's wife. Surely it was not his mother or else Paul would have said so. But what was the story and what had Paul's previous attempts been to restore the man? And how do we apply the command to not even eat with such persons when it appears that the kind of meal Paul was referring to does not even exist in our church culture? Such questions trouble me but I think we can still glean the point Paul is making and there is certainly plenty of relevant application to be made to our lives. The sermon this morning was an attempt to do that. Imagine how much fun we'll have when we get to women wearing veils, men not cutting their hair, and women remaining silent! If only we had someone from Chloe's household to fill in the details for us.

The Irony

One definition of irony is, "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected." Talking about the cross in 21st Century North America is vastly different from talking about the cross in 1st Century Corinth. To think that God would allow his son to suffer the indignity, humiliation, and shame of death on a cross was almost unthinkable to a person familiar with the use of crosses for public execution. For Jesus to say that one who would follow him must take up their cross daily is laughable until we realize that he is serious. To view the slide show of methods of execution I referenced in the sermon this morning click here. (You many need to click the link "Continue Gallery" to get past the ads.) I find these images disturbing but they do put into context why "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Cor. 1:18).

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