1. Preaching Series - We are concluding our preaching series this week on living fearlessly with God as we look at how admitting our fears and giving them to God will enable us to find His peace. Next Sunday, 8/29, Pastor Debbie and I will be swapping pulpits and she will join you in worship and bring the message.
2. Gift Card Fundraiser - We are now up and running with our gift card program. There is an announcement in this week's bulletin with more information or you can contact the church office with any questions or to place an order. This is a great opportunity for our church to continue to fund the ministries we have and start a few new ones!
3. Online Newsletters – We are offering everyone in the congregation the chance to receive their monthly newsletter electronically via the pastor's blog. Please consider this. If you would like to take advantage of this, please sign up at the Connection Station or contact the church office.
4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have one member that has reached out and has began weekly visits and we have another that is in the process of beginning. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
5. Sunday School – We would like to get our Sunday School program up and running again. But to do that we need your help! We would like to start five classes soon, and we need two people per class. If you would be willing to volunteer either as a teacher or helper please sign up at the Connection Station. And the earlier you sign up the the better your chance of getting the class you want to work with.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Living Fearlessly: Telling the Truth – Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 11:28-29
Introduction
Today we are going to begin a brief two week preaching series on the idea of living fearlessly with God. Some decisions we make today can have long lasting effects or if made poorly long lasting consequences. That thought in and of itself can cause significant amounts of fear within each and every one of us. Today we are going to look at that fear and how Christ offers us a way out of that.
“Fear Made Me Do It!”
A little boy was playing ball in the house. This was strictly against the rules, and he accidentally broke a vase in the living room. "Oh, no, my mom''s gonna kill me!" he thought desperately. So he frantically tried to fix it, any way he could. But tape, glue, even Superglue wouldn't hold all the shards of broken porcelain together. So he finally left the pieces in a pile on the table and went to hide in his room. Soon his mother came home and he heard her calling him. "Johnny, do you know who broke my vase? It''s in here all in pieces!" Johnny tried to drum up his courage, but at the last minute, he found himself answering, "No, Mom, I don''t know." He cringed waiting for her answer. "That''s funny," she said, appearing at his door. "I wanted to thank whoever it was. I've hated that thing for years."
There are many different kinds of fear. There is the fear that can cause us to say and do things that we know run contrary to what God calls us to do. The fear that makes us say things we would not normally say, do things we would not normally do, act in a way that we would not normally act. There is also the fear for bad things that might happen to us, physically or emotionally. We are fearful of getting in trouble, of people losing respect for us, of our image being tainted, of losing control, or begin hurt. And I think most, if not all of us, would love to live a life completely without fear of any kind. We have all felt it, we have all experienced it, and we all felt for someone else who has experienced it.
But the kind of fear I want us to focus on today are the fears that aren’t really justified – the fears that live deep and hidden inside us – the ones that drive our behavior and keep us from saying “Yes!” to all God has in store for us. Dag Hammerskjold, a former UN Secretary General once wrote in his diary, “For all that has been – thanks. For all that shall be – Yes!”
Can you give God an unconditional yes right now – trusting him for “all that shall be”? If you can, then I invite you to tune me out for the rest of the morning. But if not, I invite you to join me on a journey towards living fearlessly. And that begins by telling the truth. What do I mean by “telling the truth?” I mean two things really – acknowledging our fears and admitting them to God. Let’s deal with us first.
Are ya Scurred?
I know a thing or two about fear. I am what you might call a recovering control freak and a perfectionist. While I am no where near as bad as I used to be, I still struggle with those tendencies from time to time. Now part of my candidacy process for the ministry involved me talking with a Christian counselor about these things. And from those conversations I learned that what underlies everyone’s desire for control and for perfection is fear. Fear is a natural human emotion, one of the most basic and primal we possess. Being in control makes us think that we are safe. But it’s never really worked or made me happy or brought me true peace. It always leaves me wanting more.
So let us look at what some of the basic fears that keep us from really living in relationship with God.
We literally work ourselves into a frenzy and create fear where there is none, where there is never going to be any, where this is no justification for fear to exist. We forget what Christ tells us from our second Scripture lesson, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” That sounds like the exact opposite of fear to me. Christ says come to me, do not run from me. Christ asks are you tired and weary? And then Christ tells us, “Come to me and I will give you rest. I will take care of you because I am gentle.” There is no malice there, no fear. Just grace, mercy, and love.
Will You Fess Up?
I know this sweet lady, Miss Frances. And Miss Frances had a life motto that she lived by, “if you think something you might as well say it because God knows what you are thinking and if you tell him something different it’s a lie and you have to confess that too!” Folks when we hide from God, try to disguise the truth, and create fear in our lives we are only hurting ourselves. God already knows all of this. God knew it before we did.
If you hear nothing else today please hear this. God is big enough to handle our questions and fears. It doesn’t matter if we come railing in anger or pouring out our confusion on our knees in tears – God can take it.
Some people say we shouldn’t really express our questions and confusion to God – but to that I say, look at the Bible…look at David. Here we have a man who was said to be “a man after God’s own heart.” And if you read through the Psalms, you see David pouring out all of his fears and questions and confusion before God. “I'm wasting away to nothing, I'm burning up with fever. I'm a ghost of my former self, half-consumed already by terminal illness. My jaws ache from gritting my teeth; I'm nothing but skin and bones. I'm like a buzzard in the desert, a crow perched on the rubble. Insomniac, I twitter away, mournful as a sparrow in the gutter (Psalm 102:4-7, The Message). He just lays them out there. And we don’t see God condemning him for that. Rather what do we see – we see that while half of the psalms are an expression of these fears, the other half are expressions of peace, that peace which passes all understanding that we can only experience when we empty ourselves of our fears and allow ourselves to be filled up with God. “Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God: "God looked out from his high holy place; from heaven he surveyed the earth. He listened to the groans of the doomed, he opened the doors of their death cells" (Psalm 102:18-20, The Message).
Conclusion
God is not like the people we come into contact with in this world, but we don’t know anything else and so we have pasted the pain of our own experiences with other people onto God. That’s why so much fear stands between us and God – because humans relate to one another to see what they can get for themselves – but that’s not how God relates.
I wonder what God thinks of us trying to work free of our fears on our own? Must be a little like a bird that gets stuck in a birdhouse. When someone tries to help it, it plucks at their hands in terror, even though they are trying to help it – it just doesn’t understand that if it would relax and let them help it, they would have been able to free it much more easily.
Christ promises us rest, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message). Are you tired of struggling and living with fear? The first step towards living fearlessly is telling the truth – learning to acknowledge our fears and admit them to our Father, so that we can find that peace that passes all understanding, that peace the comes not from this world, but from the One that loves you more than anyone else.
Today we are going to begin a brief two week preaching series on the idea of living fearlessly with God. Some decisions we make today can have long lasting effects or if made poorly long lasting consequences. That thought in and of itself can cause significant amounts of fear within each and every one of us. Today we are going to look at that fear and how Christ offers us a way out of that.
“Fear Made Me Do It!”
A little boy was playing ball in the house. This was strictly against the rules, and he accidentally broke a vase in the living room. "Oh, no, my mom''s gonna kill me!" he thought desperately. So he frantically tried to fix it, any way he could. But tape, glue, even Superglue wouldn't hold all the shards of broken porcelain together. So he finally left the pieces in a pile on the table and went to hide in his room. Soon his mother came home and he heard her calling him. "Johnny, do you know who broke my vase? It''s in here all in pieces!" Johnny tried to drum up his courage, but at the last minute, he found himself answering, "No, Mom, I don''t know." He cringed waiting for her answer. "That''s funny," she said, appearing at his door. "I wanted to thank whoever it was. I've hated that thing for years."
There are many different kinds of fear. There is the fear that can cause us to say and do things that we know run contrary to what God calls us to do. The fear that makes us say things we would not normally say, do things we would not normally do, act in a way that we would not normally act. There is also the fear for bad things that might happen to us, physically or emotionally. We are fearful of getting in trouble, of people losing respect for us, of our image being tainted, of losing control, or begin hurt. And I think most, if not all of us, would love to live a life completely without fear of any kind. We have all felt it, we have all experienced it, and we all felt for someone else who has experienced it.
But the kind of fear I want us to focus on today are the fears that aren’t really justified – the fears that live deep and hidden inside us – the ones that drive our behavior and keep us from saying “Yes!” to all God has in store for us. Dag Hammerskjold, a former UN Secretary General once wrote in his diary, “For all that has been – thanks. For all that shall be – Yes!”
Can you give God an unconditional yes right now – trusting him for “all that shall be”? If you can, then I invite you to tune me out for the rest of the morning. But if not, I invite you to join me on a journey towards living fearlessly. And that begins by telling the truth. What do I mean by “telling the truth?” I mean two things really – acknowledging our fears and admitting them to God. Let’s deal with us first.
Are ya Scurred?
I know a thing or two about fear. I am what you might call a recovering control freak and a perfectionist. While I am no where near as bad as I used to be, I still struggle with those tendencies from time to time. Now part of my candidacy process for the ministry involved me talking with a Christian counselor about these things. And from those conversations I learned that what underlies everyone’s desire for control and for perfection is fear. Fear is a natural human emotion, one of the most basic and primal we possess. Being in control makes us think that we are safe. But it’s never really worked or made me happy or brought me true peace. It always leaves me wanting more.
So let us look at what some of the basic fears that keep us from really living in relationship with God.
1. If we say yes to God, He’ll make us do something we don’t want to do.
a. Example: being a foreign missionary
2. If we say yes to God, we’ll never get what we want or have planned.
a. We all have our own plans - What do God and control freaks have in common? They both love you and have a wonderful plan for your life.
b. But God has a plan for each one of us – Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
3. If we say yes to God, He might take away something or someone that we love.
a. We think like a child, that God snoops around to see if anyone is enjoying themselves and if so then God will try to stop it. We also think that if things are going too well God’s will throw a wrench in the works at any given moment
We literally work ourselves into a frenzy and create fear where there is none, where there is never going to be any, where this is no justification for fear to exist. We forget what Christ tells us from our second Scripture lesson, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” That sounds like the exact opposite of fear to me. Christ says come to me, do not run from me. Christ asks are you tired and weary? And then Christ tells us, “Come to me and I will give you rest. I will take care of you because I am gentle.” There is no malice there, no fear. Just grace, mercy, and love.
Will You Fess Up?
I know this sweet lady, Miss Frances. And Miss Frances had a life motto that she lived by, “if you think something you might as well say it because God knows what you are thinking and if you tell him something different it’s a lie and you have to confess that too!” Folks when we hide from God, try to disguise the truth, and create fear in our lives we are only hurting ourselves. God already knows all of this. God knew it before we did.
If you hear nothing else today please hear this. God is big enough to handle our questions and fears. It doesn’t matter if we come railing in anger or pouring out our confusion on our knees in tears – God can take it.
Some people say we shouldn’t really express our questions and confusion to God – but to that I say, look at the Bible…look at David. Here we have a man who was said to be “a man after God’s own heart.” And if you read through the Psalms, you see David pouring out all of his fears and questions and confusion before God. “I'm wasting away to nothing, I'm burning up with fever. I'm a ghost of my former self, half-consumed already by terminal illness. My jaws ache from gritting my teeth; I'm nothing but skin and bones. I'm like a buzzard in the desert, a crow perched on the rubble. Insomniac, I twitter away, mournful as a sparrow in the gutter (Psalm 102:4-7, The Message). He just lays them out there. And we don’t see God condemning him for that. Rather what do we see – we see that while half of the psalms are an expression of these fears, the other half are expressions of peace, that peace which passes all understanding that we can only experience when we empty ourselves of our fears and allow ourselves to be filled up with God. “Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God: "God looked out from his high holy place; from heaven he surveyed the earth. He listened to the groans of the doomed, he opened the doors of their death cells" (Psalm 102:18-20, The Message).
Conclusion
God is not like the people we come into contact with in this world, but we don’t know anything else and so we have pasted the pain of our own experiences with other people onto God. That’s why so much fear stands between us and God – because humans relate to one another to see what they can get for themselves – but that’s not how God relates.
I wonder what God thinks of us trying to work free of our fears on our own? Must be a little like a bird that gets stuck in a birdhouse. When someone tries to help it, it plucks at their hands in terror, even though they are trying to help it – it just doesn’t understand that if it would relax and let them help it, they would have been able to free it much more easily.
Christ promises us rest, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message). Are you tired of struggling and living with fear? The first step towards living fearlessly is telling the truth – learning to acknowledge our fears and admit them to our Father, so that we can find that peace that passes all understanding, that peace the comes not from this world, but from the One that loves you more than anyone else.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Bible Challenge
Hello All!
Since I will be away next week, here are the next two weeks worth of readings.
8/8, Sunday - Psalm 139-142
8/9, Monday - Psalm 143-146
8/10, Tuesday - Psalm 147-150
8/11, Wednesday - Proverbs 1-4
8/12, Thursday - Proverbs 5-8
8/13, Friday - Proverbs 9-12
8/14, Saturday - Proverbs 13-16
8/15, Sunday - Proverbs 17-20
8/16, Monday - Proverbs 21-24
8/17, Tuesday - Proverbs 25-28
8/18, Wednesday - Proverbs 29 - Ecclesiastes 1
8/19, Thursday - Ecclesiastes 2-5
8/20, Friday - Ecclesiastes 6-9
8/21, Saturday - Ecclesiastes 10 - Song of Solomon 1
Stay faithful and be blessed!
Since I will be away next week, here are the next two weeks worth of readings.
8/8, Sunday - Psalm 139-142
8/9, Monday - Psalm 143-146
8/10, Tuesday - Psalm 147-150
8/11, Wednesday - Proverbs 1-4
8/12, Thursday - Proverbs 5-8
8/13, Friday - Proverbs 9-12
8/14, Saturday - Proverbs 13-16
8/15, Sunday - Proverbs 17-20
8/16, Monday - Proverbs 21-24
8/17, Tuesday - Proverbs 25-28
8/18, Wednesday - Proverbs 29 - Ecclesiastes 1
8/19, Thursday - Ecclesiastes 2-5
8/20, Friday - Ecclesiastes 6-9
8/21, Saturday - Ecclesiastes 10 - Song of Solomon 1
Stay faithful and be blessed!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Friday Fives
1. Guest Preacher - We are very blessed to have Dr. Edwards with us this Sunday to share the Word. He is a tremendous speaker and I know you will enjoy him. I will be back among you on the 15th.
2. Gift Card Fundraiser - We are now up and running with our gift card program. There is an announcement in this week's bulletin with more information or you can contact the church office with any questions or to place an order. This is a great opportunity for our church to continue to fund the ministries we have and start a few new ones!
3. Online Newsletters – We are offering everyone in the congregation the chance to receive their monthly newsletter electronically via the pastor's blog. Please consider this. If you would like to take advantage of this, please sign up at the Connection Station or contact the church office.
4. Vacation - I will be on vacation this week. Should you need pastoral care the Stephen Ministers from Belleview UMC are available. Just call the church office and arrangements will be made.
5. Sunday School – We would like to get our Sunday School program up and running again. But to do that we need your help! We would like to start five classes, about the time school begins again in the fall, and we need two people per class. If you would be willing to volunteer either as a teacher or helper please sign up at the Connection Station. And the earlier you sign up the the better your chance of getting the class you want to work with.
2. Gift Card Fundraiser - We are now up and running with our gift card program. There is an announcement in this week's bulletin with more information or you can contact the church office with any questions or to place an order. This is a great opportunity for our church to continue to fund the ministries we have and start a few new ones!
3. Online Newsletters – We are offering everyone in the congregation the chance to receive their monthly newsletter electronically via the pastor's blog. Please consider this. If you would like to take advantage of this, please sign up at the Connection Station or contact the church office.
4. Vacation - I will be on vacation this week. Should you need pastoral care the Stephen Ministers from Belleview UMC are available. Just call the church office and arrangements will be made.
5. Sunday School – We would like to get our Sunday School program up and running again. But to do that we need your help! We would like to start five classes, about the time school begins again in the fall, and we need two people per class. If you would be willing to volunteer either as a teacher or helper please sign up at the Connection Station. And the earlier you sign up the the better your chance of getting the class you want to work with.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
What is Prayer?
"Prayer is leading every sorrow to the source of all healing; it is letting the warmth of Jesus' love melt the cold anger of resentment; it is opening a space where joy replaces sadness, mercy supplants bitterness, love displaces fear, gentleness and care overcome hatred and indifference. But most of all, prayer is the way to become and remain part of Jesus' mission to draw all people to the intimacy of God's love."
What does this say to you? How does this make you feel?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
We are living amongst celebrities!
Our very own Lucy and Bob met up with Stephen Michaels of Big Rig Travels. This gentleman is a truck driver that has a camera in his rig and allows people to watch as he drives around our great country. Lucy and Bob have developed a friendship with Mr. Michaels and this week he drove through Ocala so they caught up with him and had him take this picture. If you want to know more about Mr. Michaels you can visit him at BigRigTravels.com.
Now you all can say you know someone famous!
Now you all can say you know someone famous!
 |
| Recognize these two? |
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Spiritual Disciplines: Our Job Together – Isiah 59:1-9;21 and Psalm 100
Introduction
Today we are going to conclude our preaching series on the importance and purpose of Spiritual Disciplines. The first week we looked at the importance of adopting and implementing the disciplines of prayer, meditation, and study into our lives to enhance and strengthen our bond with the Triune God. Last week we looked at the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, and submission, and how those can help put us in a position to be transformed by God. Today we going to look to the corporate disciplines of confession and worship to see how we can work together to support each other.
Wood or Fiberglass?
Max Lucado tells the story about two men that are having a discussion. Some time ago a man came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible. "Are you a believer?" I asked him. "Yes," he said excitedly. I've learned you can't be too careful. "Virgin birth?" I asked. "I accept it." "Deity of Jesus?" "No doubt." "Death of Christ on the cross?" "He died for all people." Could it be that I was face to face with a Christian? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist. "Status of man." "Sinner in need of grace." "Definition of grace." "God doing for man what man can't do." "Return of Christ?" "Imminent." "Bible?" "Inspired." "The Church?" "The body of Christ." I started getting excited. "Conservative or liberal?" He was getting interested too. "Conservative." My heart began to beat faster. "Heritage?" "Southern Congregationalist Holy Son of God Dispensationalist Triune Convention." That was mine! "Branch?" "Pre-millennial, post-trib, non-charismatic, King James, one-cup communion." My eyes misted. I had only one other question. "Is your pulpit wooden or fiberglass?" "Fiberglass," he responded. I withdrew my hand and stiffened my neck. "Heretic!" I said and walked away.
Sometimes we get so caught up in divisions, groups, and differences, that we get sidetracked. We forget that we all serve the same God. We forget that we are all seeking to bring about the same Kingdom. We forget that we are are all working to show all people the love of Jesus Christ. We are a corporate body, one body, the same body. And in that body there is great power, great responsibility, great joy. Today we are going to discuss a couple of disciplines that we can adopt to help us experience that power, understand the responsibility, and reveal in the joy.
Speak Up!
One discipline we can use to understand that power, corporately, is through confession. Confession is a great liberator! Personally, spiritually, emotionally, confession can provide a great release.
We serve a living God that desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with each and every one of us. And a benefit of that is we can go directly to God to confess our sin. We do not have to have a mediator of any kind to help. But sometimes, that just does not feel like it is enough. I am sure all of us at some point have gone before God to ask forgiveness. We are sincere, we are in the right spirit, we have poured ourselves out, genuinely sorry for what we have done. We pray, we struggle, and we grieve. But when we are done, we do not feel any better. We cannot let go of the guilt and remorse. Intellectually we know God forgave us. Remember Psalm 103, a beautiful ballad from David about God's love for us. David recounts for us that God does not treat us as we deserve but removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. But emotionally, inwardly, we start to have our doubts. We still feel bad, we still feel alone, we still feel unforgiven. That is where corporate confession comes in. Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a tremendous theologian once wrote, “Our brother...has been given to us to help us. He hears the confession of our sins in Christ's stead and he forgives our sins in Christ's name. He keeps the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I go to my brother to confess, I am going to God.”1 Each of us have a vitally important responsibility to each other. Richard Foster writes, “The followers of Jesus Christ have been given the authority of receive the confession of sin and to forgive it in His name. What a wonderful privilege! Why do we shy away from such a life-giving ministry? If we, not out of merit but sheer grace, have been given the authority to set others free, how dare we withhold this great gift!”2 Confession is a gift! Did you know that? Did you realize that? We each have the power to forgive and release people from the bondage of sin. When your brother or sister come to you, be willing, be open, be trustworthy, be God-like. Do not be like the people described in our first Scripture lesson. Listen with compassion, forgive with ease, take seriously the responsibility of confidant, and bathe them with the love that God gives you. The love that knows no bounds, the love that knows no limits, the love that never ends.
Are you Ready?
Another discipline that we can use, corporately, to understand responsibility and joy is worship. It is our responsibility to use the discipline of worship correctly. It is our responsibility to make sure worship does not become degraded, transformed into an idol, or done without understanding its true purpose. Worship is, “to experience reality...to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community...the human response to the divine initiative...our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.”3 Worship is not a duty it is a moment. There is no correct way, just a needed posture. “When we are truly gathered into worship, things occur that could never occur alone.” 4 We come together to be with Christ, to listen to God, and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Worship is a sacred time, a holy time, a joyous time! This is not meant to be drudgery. It is not meant to be a hassle. This is meant to be a highlight of the week. A time you cannot wait to experience and be a part of. It is not to be watched but lived. Worship is not a spectator sport. Do not come here hoping to find God. Come here expecting to be changed. Come confident that you will have an experience with our Heavenly Father. Worship is doing, worship is giving thanks, worship is being open to things and feelings never before thought possible. Our second Scripture lesson this morning talks about how we should enter these gates. It helps us understand the mindset that can help us get the most out of worship. Worship is the foundation for all we do. It sets the stage for our decisions, our treatment of others, and our relationship with God. Worship is alive!
Conclusion
These past three weeks we have talked about many practices that we can adopt. I have posted all these sermons on my blog and I have recorded audio versions of them that you can get to listen to them again. Use these to go back and re-read. Do not lose sight of how beneficial these disciplines can be. How important they are for us as individuals and as the one body of Christ to practice. But remember, the practice of these disciplines are not meant to become idols, driving forces for getting out of bed each day. They are meant as tools for you to use, alter, and cater so you can enter a greater relationship with God. God is crazy about you. God became like you, spoke like you, and is eager to be in relationship with you. Use these disciplines for cohesion, use them to experience God like never before, use these disciplines to be changed. But most importantly, use them so God can fully express God's love for you!
[1]Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. p 112.
[2]Foster, Richard J. The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. p 146.
[3]Ibid, p 158.
[4]Ibid, p 164.
Today we are going to conclude our preaching series on the importance and purpose of Spiritual Disciplines. The first week we looked at the importance of adopting and implementing the disciplines of prayer, meditation, and study into our lives to enhance and strengthen our bond with the Triune God. Last week we looked at the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, and submission, and how those can help put us in a position to be transformed by God. Today we going to look to the corporate disciplines of confession and worship to see how we can work together to support each other.
Wood or Fiberglass?
Max Lucado tells the story about two men that are having a discussion. Some time ago a man came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible. "Are you a believer?" I asked him. "Yes," he said excitedly. I've learned you can't be too careful. "Virgin birth?" I asked. "I accept it." "Deity of Jesus?" "No doubt." "Death of Christ on the cross?" "He died for all people." Could it be that I was face to face with a Christian? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist. "Status of man." "Sinner in need of grace." "Definition of grace." "God doing for man what man can't do." "Return of Christ?" "Imminent." "Bible?" "Inspired." "The Church?" "The body of Christ." I started getting excited. "Conservative or liberal?" He was getting interested too. "Conservative." My heart began to beat faster. "Heritage?" "Southern Congregationalist Holy Son of God Dispensationalist Triune Convention." That was mine! "Branch?" "Pre-millennial, post-trib, non-charismatic, King James, one-cup communion." My eyes misted. I had only one other question. "Is your pulpit wooden or fiberglass?" "Fiberglass," he responded. I withdrew my hand and stiffened my neck. "Heretic!" I said and walked away.
Sometimes we get so caught up in divisions, groups, and differences, that we get sidetracked. We forget that we all serve the same God. We forget that we are all seeking to bring about the same Kingdom. We forget that we are are all working to show all people the love of Jesus Christ. We are a corporate body, one body, the same body. And in that body there is great power, great responsibility, great joy. Today we are going to discuss a couple of disciplines that we can adopt to help us experience that power, understand the responsibility, and reveal in the joy.
Speak Up!
One discipline we can use to understand that power, corporately, is through confession. Confession is a great liberator! Personally, spiritually, emotionally, confession can provide a great release.
We serve a living God that desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with each and every one of us. And a benefit of that is we can go directly to God to confess our sin. We do not have to have a mediator of any kind to help. But sometimes, that just does not feel like it is enough. I am sure all of us at some point have gone before God to ask forgiveness. We are sincere, we are in the right spirit, we have poured ourselves out, genuinely sorry for what we have done. We pray, we struggle, and we grieve. But when we are done, we do not feel any better. We cannot let go of the guilt and remorse. Intellectually we know God forgave us. Remember Psalm 103, a beautiful ballad from David about God's love for us. David recounts for us that God does not treat us as we deserve but removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. But emotionally, inwardly, we start to have our doubts. We still feel bad, we still feel alone, we still feel unforgiven. That is where corporate confession comes in. Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a tremendous theologian once wrote, “Our brother...has been given to us to help us. He hears the confession of our sins in Christ's stead and he forgives our sins in Christ's name. He keeps the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I go to my brother to confess, I am going to God.”1 Each of us have a vitally important responsibility to each other. Richard Foster writes, “The followers of Jesus Christ have been given the authority of receive the confession of sin and to forgive it in His name. What a wonderful privilege! Why do we shy away from such a life-giving ministry? If we, not out of merit but sheer grace, have been given the authority to set others free, how dare we withhold this great gift!”2 Confession is a gift! Did you know that? Did you realize that? We each have the power to forgive and release people from the bondage of sin. When your brother or sister come to you, be willing, be open, be trustworthy, be God-like. Do not be like the people described in our first Scripture lesson. Listen with compassion, forgive with ease, take seriously the responsibility of confidant, and bathe them with the love that God gives you. The love that knows no bounds, the love that knows no limits, the love that never ends.
Are you Ready?
Another discipline that we can use, corporately, to understand responsibility and joy is worship. It is our responsibility to use the discipline of worship correctly. It is our responsibility to make sure worship does not become degraded, transformed into an idol, or done without understanding its true purpose. Worship is, “to experience reality...to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community...the human response to the divine initiative...our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.”3 Worship is not a duty it is a moment. There is no correct way, just a needed posture. “When we are truly gathered into worship, things occur that could never occur alone.” 4 We come together to be with Christ, to listen to God, and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Worship is a sacred time, a holy time, a joyous time! This is not meant to be drudgery. It is not meant to be a hassle. This is meant to be a highlight of the week. A time you cannot wait to experience and be a part of. It is not to be watched but lived. Worship is not a spectator sport. Do not come here hoping to find God. Come here expecting to be changed. Come confident that you will have an experience with our Heavenly Father. Worship is doing, worship is giving thanks, worship is being open to things and feelings never before thought possible. Our second Scripture lesson this morning talks about how we should enter these gates. It helps us understand the mindset that can help us get the most out of worship. Worship is the foundation for all we do. It sets the stage for our decisions, our treatment of others, and our relationship with God. Worship is alive!
Conclusion
These past three weeks we have talked about many practices that we can adopt. I have posted all these sermons on my blog and I have recorded audio versions of them that you can get to listen to them again. Use these to go back and re-read. Do not lose sight of how beneficial these disciplines can be. How important they are for us as individuals and as the one body of Christ to practice. But remember, the practice of these disciplines are not meant to become idols, driving forces for getting out of bed each day. They are meant as tools for you to use, alter, and cater so you can enter a greater relationship with God. God is crazy about you. God became like you, spoke like you, and is eager to be in relationship with you. Use these disciplines for cohesion, use them to experience God like never before, use these disciplines to be changed. But most importantly, use them so God can fully express God's love for you!
[1]Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. p 112.
[2]Foster, Richard J. The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. p 146.
[3]Ibid, p 158.
[4]Ibid, p 164.
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