The Collection

As one who has had a difficult time preaching on giving I was unusually excited to preach this specific message. During the past year I have been so impressed with our elders and other leaders. The recurring theme has been: discerning where God is leading, obeying his direction, and trusting him to provide what we need to do his work. The way God usually provides is through his people. As we grow in our faith we also grow in our giving. Part of the fruit of the spirit is "self-discipline". As we mature in self-discipline we refuse to let money control our lives by living on less than we make. This enables us to give generously and often. Although the lesson today certainly had application for everyone I was specifically targeting those who do not have a consistent, planned approach for their church contribution. I am especially interested in our children and teenagers who are perhaps earning their first paychecks. Now is the time to develop the habit of giving that will be one significant part of laying up treasures in heaven instead of on earth.

The Issue

As I visited with people immediately after the sermon today there were a couple of common themes. Some wanted to talk about their relatives that have left the Church of Christ because of the church's inflexibility. Some of these reflections went back many decades. Others wanted to talk about how the culture has dramatically and rapidly changed in regards to the role of women. However, the church does not reflect that change. A few days ago I turned 48. When I was younger the culture was in transition but there were still cultural norms restricting women from fully participating in a number of areas. Remember on Petticoat Junction when a woman doctor came to town? The men were aghast! No way in this world would they let a woman treat them. (If you're younger than me I don't want any comments like, "What's a Petticoat Junction?".) Women could be nurses, secretaries, or teachers. Other than that, they should be homemakers. How quickly our culture changed. My children (all in their 20's now) see the world I grew up in as a strange place in regards to restrictions women faced. Today the only place in the U.S. that still restricts women is the church. How weird is that to our contemporary culture?

The Warning

The sermon today left me feeling kind of depressed. It's not really the type of message I enjoy presenting but felt that the text left me little choice. It is interesting that Paul doesn't just set everybody straight at the beginning of the discussion on "meat offered to idols" (8:1) by simply stating in a few bullets:

• Stop going to the idol temples
• Your are free to eat idol meat sold in the market unless someone makes a reference to it being sacrificed to idols

I get the feeling that for Paul it was more important that they learn to love one another and take care of each other than it was for them to get all their moral I's dotted and T's crossed. In other words, he was not trying to form a society that was simply "moral" but one that was Christ like.

Someone did tell me I should work on my illustrations. If I45 runs from Houston to Galveston, and the illustration for avoiding temptation is to take the exits provided, then .... does that mean Galveston is Hell? I'll leave that for you to decide.

The Freedom

How much fun was it watching me scramble to fill time while Alan worked on the DVD player? I can be scary when I get away from my script. All in all I communicated what I felt I needed too even if you all missed out on the excellent Rocky II clips. Paul argues for preachers to be financially supported in 1 Cor. 9 but then says that while he was among the Corinthians he waved his rights for the sake of the Gospel. I then take his words and make a major point about how we all need to be involved in supporting the ministers we've asked to devote a substantial part of their time to minister among us (a point I don't believe Paul was specifically making). I felt I was taking Paul's original point (giving up one's rights for the sake of the weak) and expanded upon his arguments to apply his words to our situation (which I think he would agree with). Is that what Paul did when he made an argument for supporting preachers because in the Law we are required to not muzzle our oxen? Oh well, my primary point, which I hope all will remember, is to keep our eyes on the prize so that we will freely deny ourselves of certain freedoms and rights so that we can win as many as possible.

The Attitude

There are so many good things one can say about knowledge. It opens doors of opportunity. It empowers one to make good decisions. It enables one to be able to teach others. It is also impressive to be known as a knowledgeable person. Within Christianity one with a deep knowledge of the Bible is given great respect. It comes as something of a surprise to read the words of perhaps the most educated and knowledgeable Christian of the first century when he wrote, "knowledge puffs up." A puffer fish is a fitting example of one who may have knowledge but does not have love. Working with people who are weak in faith due to their lack of knowledge, is difficult at times. The puffer fish illustrates us when we are proud of our knowledge and the enlightenment such knowledge provides. What would we look like if we had genuine love for the weak, "for whom Christ died"?

I put a counter on this page to see how many "hits" I get each week: it is somewhere around 30-40. I'd love to read your comments about the sermon, my reading list, or anything else related. It's really easy. At the bottom of this post click the link marked "comments". On your left you'll see what others have written and on your right is a form for you to fill out. You don't have to have a blog or a web page to leave a comment. You can even be anonymous if you like (but at least put your first name in your comments!). Click "publish your comment" and you're done.