Religion or Relationship?

 As I began working on the sermon for this week I was fascinated by reading online quotes concerning religion; almost all of which were negative.  One definition of religion is: "a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects."   It is not this definition that causes such a negative reaction from people, but the arrogance, hypocrisy, smugness, and hatred that is so often characteristic of those who hold deeply to their religion. 

Jesus answered the religious leader's question concerning what is most important by going straight to the heart of the matter.  As important as "beliefs and practices" are; they are no where near what Jesus defined as most important.  How would people describe us if we took Jesus seriously?  What if our first objective was to "love our neighbor" rather than convince our neighbor of the truth of our positions?  What if we were more aware of how far we fall short of the command to love God with all of our being than we are of the failings of others?  What if love for God and love for neighbor became the first priority of our lives above every other command of God?  These were some of the questions I think of as I reflect on today's sermon.

The Intersection of Hope and Fear

Daniel's baptism was the perfect exclamation point for the sermon this morning!  As Daniel stood in the baptistry with his arm extended to heaven, I was reminded of Jesus' baptism, his prayer, the dove, and the proclamation, "This is my son".  Baptism places us in solidarity with Jesus and everyone who has ever followed him.  It is an awesome expression of faith as we put aside our puny efforts at making life work and surrender to the one who promises to partner with us to move mountains. 

I think I said something in the sermon about hope and fear being emotions.  Upon reflection I would reclassify them as beliefs.  Both are very real (and inescapable by the way).  Both have the power to control our lives in ways that can be good and bad.  When dreams fail and fear takes hold of a person bad things are almost always the result.  The solution, Jesus said, is to put our faith in God. 

May God teach us how to hope again and may God keep us from obeying our fears.  Baptism is a perfect picture of this: we die to old life (the old dreams) and accept Jesus' resurrection life.  We pledge our lives to follow him come what may.  May we follow him all the way to the cross, trusting God for resurrection.  As the old song says, "Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.  His grace has brought me safe thus far; and grace will lead me home."  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!

Knowing Christ in 2011

I love it when the Bible authors reduce godliness into something compact and easy to grasp like the ten commandments, the beatitudes, and the Christian graces (2 Peter 1:5-7 for those not familiar with this one).  Jesus summarized the entire law of God by saying we should love God and love people.  There is certainly a need to examine and follow the entire word of the Lord.  It's just that we so often get overwhelmed and need a focal point.  That was the purpose of today's sermon; to give us focus for the coming year. 

What God desires most is being in relationship with his people  Being in any relationship involves certain standards of behavior and proper treatment of one another.  However, thinking that one will grow closer to another simply by following a list of do's and dont's is bound to fail.  To be a better husband I must focus on knowing my wife better and allowing that knowledge to dictate my speech and actions.  To be a better father I must focus on knowing my children.  To be a better neighbor I must focus on truly knowing my neighbors.

Coming to know God is a daunting task.  He is so . . . well, BIG!  Thankfully, he took the initiative and allowed himself to be known in the person of Jesus.  Growing in our relationship to Jesus moves us from performance based religion to developing a deeper love and appreciation for our Lord.  As our love for him grows we become what the law, in itself, was powerless to create.  By focusing our attention on knowing Christ our Lord we become the reflection of our affection.

Jesus Comes to a World of Trouble

Getting to hear my son Ben preach the day after Christmas was like putting the angel on the tree after all the decorations were complete.  It's always a joy when my children come home and we can spend a few days together.  It is especially joyful at Christmas time.  Ben's sermon this morning was a welcome reminder that in spite of the happiness and good cheer that many of us experience this time of year we still live in a world of trouble. 

I couldn't help but think about those whose holidays were not so jolly because of death, disease, financial reversal, or other problems.  Matthew's gospel is a wake up call that even though the kingdom of God has come with the arrival of Christ, the kingdom will not be here in it's fullness until he comes again.  And so we live with hope in the midst of trouble. 

The twin accounts of the birth of Jesus serve as a wonderful contrast to what we experience in life.  Through Jesus we can sing hallelujahs with the angels as Luke's account compels us to do.  At the same time we can live in the midst of trouble without being overwhelmed because God is with us as Matthew's text reminds us. 

Thank you Ben, for bring us the word this morning.  My prayer is that no matter what situation those in attendance found themselves when they walked in the sanctuary, they went home with the hope of the Christ in their hearts.  “'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')." (Matthew 1:22)

Celebrate Jesus' Birth

The sermon this morning was first preached in December, 1999 shortly after we had moved to Houston to begin working with the church.  Much has changed since that first Christmas message.  After many of us in the Church of Christ had grown up (myself included) keeping Christmas and Jesus' birth separate, the purpose of the 1999 sermon was to communicate that it really is a good thing to keep the two united and celebrate God sending his son into the world. 

 Our church building is now decorated with beautiful trees, ribbons, and ornaments.  Our annual candlelight service is our best attended event of the year.  As always tonight we will have a great amount of singing: congregational, choir performances, a soloist, and even two of our teenagers singing a special song for us.  Our children will be dressed in nativity costumes with "Mary" bringing in the candle from which all others will be lit.  I will preach a message in keeping with our theme, "Seeking the King" and three of our members will give video taped testimonies of what they found when they found Jesus. 

The purpose of the sermon this morning was slightly different than when I preached it 11 years ago.  This morning I wasn't so much trying to convince people it was o.k. to celebrate; I wanted to encourage us to do so!  May we join with the Apostle Paul in proclaiming, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Joseph's 15 Minutes

Of all the highlighted characters in the Bible, one would think that the legal father of Jesus would get a little more press than his "fifteen minutes of fame!"  There is so much that I want to know about this man.  How did he develop such strong, obedient faith?  Who influenced him in the forming of his understanding of God?  What other stories from his life involved trusting God?  Alas, we must be content to know only what is contained in the 18 verses where he plays the dominant role. 

I mentioned in the sermon a foreign student who, without my knowing it, watched my actions for some time to determine if my faith was for real or if I was just acting.  It was simple things he was watching.  As I sat in chapel every day he would watch me to see if was singing or sleeping, praying or playing, being attentive or being oblivious.  He was watching others as well.  As a non-believer he was watching those who claimed to be believers to see if it made any difference in their lives. 

Even though that was almost 30 years ago I think about it from time to time.  I want to be the kind of person who lives the same whether anyone is watching or not.  I want to be a person of character and integrity who makes decisions based on principles.  That way, if the spotlights ever turn on and the whole world becomes interested in me for a brief period of time, people will see Christ living in me.  And when the world quits watching, I'd still be the same and God would continue to be glorified in my life. 

The Mary We Never Knew

Where did I develop my ideas about Mary being a quiet, meek, gentle soul?  For years now I've believed the myth that she we a frightened little teenager who bravely and quietly, endured shame, ridicule and embarrassment for  conceiving a child out of wedlock.  This morning's sermon presented a very different view of Jesus' mother. 
June Cleaver may have been a wonderful t.v. wife and mother of the 50's, but she is a far cry from the outspoken, determined voice of Mary as recorded by Luke in his Gospel. 

I think my former image of Mary came from looking at her through the eyes of a comfortable, suburban Christian.   How terrible it must have been, so this line of thinking goes, to be a chaste, godly women and be required by God to forever more be the subject of rumors and whispers.  Looking at Mary though the story of the prophet Deborah gives a far different image.  Mary never says a word about how terrible her situation is; rather, she is full of joy that God has chosen her to deliver his people from their oppression.

My prayer this morning was that the sermon on Mary might inspire our young ladies to be women of conviction, courage, and determination.  Women who would, not simply be willing to endure suffering for the sake of Christ, but would actually rejoice to "be counted as worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" as later followers of Jesus were described (Acts 5:41); and as Mary voiced in her song:

 “My soul glorifies the Lord
 ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
   of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
 ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
   but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
   but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   just as he promised our ancestors.”  (Luke 1:46-55)