Follow Me

Today's sermon was an experiment with narrative preaching or preaching in the first person. It seemed appropriate to try this type of sermon since Mark was written in a style that invites the reader to join in the journey. After living in Palestine for awhile, watching Jesus at work and listening to his teaching; it's time to come back to the 21st century and live in our world again. The real question is not what DID it mean to follow Jesus; but what DOES it mean today?

One thing we learn from studying Mark's Gospel is that NOBODY follows Jesus without experiencing changes. Following Jesus requires changes in thinking, changes in attitudes, changes in what's valued, and changes in actions. In other words, when someone follows Jesus they experience, not just a make-over, but a complete do-over!

As we study Mark's portrayal of Jesus, it is encouraging to me that EVERYONE is in the process of discovery. We, as readers, are invited to join in as learners, students, and disciples. Nobody has Jesus all figured out (and the people who think they do are the most scary). We are always to be following and to continue learning.

I'm looking forward to our continued journeys together with Jesus. So, grab your walking stick and let's keep following him wherever he leads. And when you go to your 21st century workplace tomorrow - remember who you are and keep following your leader.

What Did You Expect?

Expectations are normal in every walk of life. They create problems for us, however, when they fail to be fulfilled. Especially are they problematic when they are unspoken or even unacknowledged. One way you can discover your expectations is when you become angry, depressed, frustrated, etc.... ask yourself, "What did I expect?" Answer the question in writing (I journal a lot for this reason) and be honest. The answers might surprise you.

When we get angry, frustrated, or disillusioned with God it probably goes back to our unmet expectations. As you write out answers you may discover something like the following:

• I expect God to allow me to maintain my standard of living.
• I expect God to keep me and my loved ones free from sickness, especially terminal illnesses.
• I expect God to keep my marriage happy.
• I expect God to make my children obey me.

On and on we could go. The list is endless. By acknowledging our expectations we can get honest with God about our disappointments. We can also invite him to help us develop expectations based on His Word (not what we assume he's said but what he's actually promised us.)

Living in the kingdom of God may be quite different from what we've thought it was. However, when we truly follow Jesus we can be assured that everything he has truly promised us will come to pass. The kingdom of God is indeed GOOD NEWS! Let Jesus teach you what that Good news actually is.

On a related note, I am excited to have so many join our weekly reading of Mark's Gospel. Send me your email address if you want to be included in reading this "short" Gospel each week for the duration of the sermon series.

The Beginning of the Gospel

The best comment I heard today about the sermon was from a visitor. He identified himself as an evangelist and said that the sermon made him want to do more study in the Gospel According to Mark. I say that was the best comment I heard because that was exactly the effect I wanted today's sermon to have. I want us all to have such a desire to know Jesus better that we dig deeply into Mark's Gospel and let him teach us what it means to follow Jesus.

Several people told me that they would read the Gospel of of Mark but no one yet has accepted the challenge I gave this morning of reading the Gospel each week for the duration of the sermon series. I have done this in the past when preaching through Mark and look forward to doing it again. Won't you join me? Let me know if you want to do this and we can keep each other accountable.

Finally, I want to express my sorrow over losing David Layman as my co-minister. David has truly been God's gift to me for the past nine years and his leaving saddens my heart. However, I am confident that he made his decision prayerfully and am thankful that he will still be an active member of the congregation even if I don't get to work beside him every day. May God's blessing be on his family in this transition and may God give us eyes to see the direction and opportunities He has in store for our church in the future.

The Message in One Verse

This photo was taken during our sanctuary dedication service a few weeks back. I like how small it makes me look compared to the cross. What better way to preach than for the message of the cross to completely overshadow the giftedness (or lack thereof) of the preacher! That was what I attempted to do today - to tell the "old, old story" in such a way that the love of God was magnified.

I loved being able to interview Cimi, the native Albanian preacher. My hope was that by having him speak briefly God might stir our hearts (especially our children, teens, and young adults) of the need around the world for the message of Jesus. The Gospel really is good news! May we never forget how much our God loves us and how much he wants to work through us so that others might know his love.

Raising Your Ebenezer

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up . . . . He named it Ebenezer, saying 'Thus far the LORD has helped us.'" (1 Samuel 7:12) Preparing to speak on this passage this morning brought a flood of memories. How many times has God helped me and my family over my 50 years of life? In the sermon time I showed some of the objects I keep in my office that have special meaning. How important it is that we keep reminders around us of significant events in our lives.

In addition to this being a special Sunday for our High School graduates, it is also a special day for Liz and I as we celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. I am thankful to have one day each year to recognize the treasure that God has given me in Liz. She is a living memorial, a constant reminder that God has shown me great favor.

Unlimited Forgiveness

I don't think it's a coincidence that when Peter asked if he should forgive seven times that Jesus responded, "not seven times, but seventy-seven times" (Matthew 18:22). As I pointed out in the sermon those are the exact numbers that Lamech used in his vengeful boast (Genesis 4:23-24). It's as if Jesus is saying -- "We're going to change the world!" We've tired the revenge approach and as Ghandi said, if we keep requiring eye for eye "the whole world will go blind."

What does the new approach look like? Unfortunately, it has been so rarely practiced (even by God's people) that the world is still waiting to see. The remarkable thing about Debbie Morris' testimony in her book, Dead Man Walking, is not that she could forgive her rapists; rather it's remarkable that her story is remarkable. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Christians were known for their outrageous forgiveness? What if Debbie's story wasn't an isolated incident of remarkable faith, but simply another example of how God's people allow his forgiveness to flow through them, even in the worst of circumstances. That is our challenge.

On another note, I always approach using math or science in my sermons at Clear Lake Church of Christ with fear and trembling. It has reached the point that I no longer even wonder IF I will make a mistake, now I simply do not want to make a grievous error. Today I said that Lamech considered himself ten times better (or in the vernacular "badder") than God. It was gently pointed out to me after the sermon that actually 77 is 11 times the number seven. That means that Lamech considered himself 11 times better than God. I will grant the mathematical accuracy of that statement; but still think that "ten times" simply has a better verbal ring to it than "11 times".

And Melissa, (hopefully you've read this far), I will be looking forward to reading your blog comments.

Solomon's Temple Dedication

Someone asked me who planned today's service. The answer is a bit complicated. The Administration Team planned the major structure of the service. Individually, they each played a role in leading a prayer, reading scripture, and/or making various comments. Brian Carnes picked out the songs and I was responsible for my part in the service. The baptism was a total surprise so we will credit the Holy Spirit for that part in the planning.

What I really enjoyed about today's worship assembly was the focus. Everything that was done kept God, rather than us humans, in the center. Even the many "thank you's" that were reserved for the end of the service brought glory to God for the gifts he had given to various individuals. The prayer of dedication that I lead was a modified form of a sanctuary dedication service from the Book of Common Prayer. And, of course I built my comments around Solomon's prayer of dedication for the Temple so we will acknowledge his contribution to our assembly.

I left with a very real awareness that we had been in the presence of God; he was there and was honored through everything that was done or said. Truly, we have a sanctuary where every week God will meet with us. And may those meetings sanctify us for his service.