boring blog- - - sermon
Here is a VERY ROUGH draft of the sermon that I preached last night during the revival. I may not have gotten anyone saved last night, but, hopefully it got them thinking about faith and life and love. If you dont want to hang in for the whole thing, that is ok, just check back next week and I will bring some fun back to the blog. AND, if you dont want a preview of the sermon I plan to preach at FBCMA on May 21st then dont read. It will not be the same sermon, but the crux of the sermon will be the same.
And if you want silly fun, visit the element and friends website. i pinch!!!
Asking the right question
Text Luke 18:18-30
We all are aware of the saying “you put your foot in your mouth.” It happens all of the time. Think about Major league Baseball player Raphael Palmerio who testified before congress that he had never once taken steroids, only to test positive several months later in a official drug test by major league baseball.
It continues with players guaranteeing victories, managers and coaches promising better performances, and especially when Owners, General Managers, or Athletic Directors give a ‘vote of confidence’ to a coach or player who is suspected to be on the way out. If you a coach in a college or professional sport and your boss says something like: “we have full confidence in our coach and we expect him to lead our program in the right direction for years to come”…get a box and a typewriter because you are going to want to write a letter of resignation and pack up your desk pictures. The Owner has just stuck his foot in his mouth.
It happens in politics too. The beloved Nixon didn’t know anything about those tape from the Watergate Hotel and the beloved Bill Clinton didn’t know anything about that girl. But, at the risk of putting my foot in my mouth any further, I will move on from politics. It is like the father in the movie and book Big Fish says, never talk about religion or politics, you might offend someone. Well, as far as politics goes, I have stopped, but here comes the religion part.
This open mouth, insert foot thing, bleeds quite far into scripture though. Peter might be our favorite, and such an easy target.
In John 13, when Jesus is ready to wash the feet of the disciples, peter wants everything washed. Jesus, simply corrects him and moves on.
then a little later in the meal, Peter says, ‘I will never deny you Jesus…” As we all know, peter is the one who denied, not once, not twice, but Three times, before the cock crowed.
Thomas, who wouldn’t believe until he could feel the scars with his own hands, probably felt put into his place.
Or, what about Martha, who says to Jesus, “if you had been here, I know my brother Lazarus would not have died. But now I will have to wait for the resurrection to see him alive again.”
We all know how that story ended.
Time and time again in scripture and in the history of the church, we have fouled things up when it comes to the things we say to and about God. But this is not for lack of interesting or lack of trying, in fact it is because we often try too hard. We want so badly to say the right words or do the right thing to impress God that we often slide off too far in the wrong direction. Peter might have passed on to heaven a long time ago, but his spirit is alive and well in the mouths of you and I.
Now one of the most interesting occurances of this foot in mouth problems is a text that causes a tremendous amount of trouble for those of us who have just a little bit of stuff. You see, many of us are not rich, like the young ruler, but we get by alright. None of us own the world, but we do ok with our little ½ acre piece of it. We come to the famous text of the rich young man or the rich young ruler. It is a problematic passage for us, mostly because the way we have always read this text leads us to believe that we must…
Well, lets read it together…
I think we all can follow along with the feeling of this young man. It seems he has gotten his moment with Jesus and he wants to make sure his eternal destiny is secure, boy was he in for an unhappy day. So he asks Jesus: What must I do. Jesus gives him an answer that he has know practically his whole life: Follow the commandments.
At this point we are breathing a sigh of relief, we can do this, and there is a system of atonement in place for us a well. The whole sacrificial lamb thing is a bit cumbersome, but it does provide eternal security and its pretty straightforward.
But, for some reason, it seems our young man keeps pushing. Lord I have done all these things, are we straight??? Jesus replies something like well, since you asked, since you like stuff so much, why don’t you go, sell everything, give it to people who are in need, and then come and follow me.
This part of the story ends with the man going away, cruched by jesus because he has lots of stuff and he really liked it.
We are troubled too. If we wanted to, we could handle the go sell everything we own and give it to the poor. we might also be able to sort out what it means to follow Jesus here, even though he does not literally walk the earth anymore like he once did and like he commanded the young man to.
But, the story does go on.
its for Hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom. Why???
Then we move on to this problematic illustration of a camel and the eye of a needle.
As a youth, I remember this passage being preached and this scenario being explained.
this is what I was told.
you see the eye is actually this gate that was on one side of the city. They feel the need to explain this passage in a way that allows for an eye to go through the eye of “the needle.”
But explaining a camel through the needle in order that you and I might be able to enter the kingdom is not at all what this passage is all about. As I read this passage, it is not about the rich being cursed, the poor being up lifted and exalted, but it is about the words we say, the questions we ask.
Questions are important.
Just this week I saw a movie that asked an interesting and important question, for the setting in the movie. The question was: What weight more, all the tree that are cut down to make money for the us in a year or all the trains that pass through Grand Central Station in a year? Immediate reaction….
JFK asked an important question once…Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?
Another example.
Seafood…Libby Hill…do you like fish?
(note: a couple from our church asked us one sunday if we liked fish as we were talking about where to go for lunch that day. I replied NO. They were shocked because it was their regular routine to eat at Libby Hill seafood for lunch each sunday. We ended up at Ruby Tuesday. But, had the question been, do you like seafood, or will you join us at Libby Hill, or would you like to go to Libby Hill for lunch we would have offerend an emphatic yes. But they asked if I liked fish and I had to honestly reply, NO)
Well I moved away from the text for a few moments, and it is time to go back, where were we?
“Who then can be saved” Jesus replies, “ what is impossible with man, is possible with God?”
So, is god in the magic business? Does God somehow get a camel through a needle each time he needs to let someone get into heaven?
No, I think the problem was the question, not the answer.
You see this entire passage is based on the question that the young ruler asked, What must I do to inherit eternal life? This is our key. If you want to know what YOU must do if you want to inherit eternal life, here is your answer…
The problem is not the answer, but the question. Like the Libby Hill question? The question that was asked to me was not, would you mind if we go to Libby Hill, will you join us for seafood???? But, Do you like fish? The answer to do I like fish is NO, not an emphatic no, but a I prefer other things thank you? The answer to, will you join us at Libby Hill for lunch is an emphatic yes, we would be happy to.
It is the question that is wrong which makes the answer difficult. If the question were something like, what must happen for us to inherit eternal life, I imagine the answer would be believe in me, and you will believe in the one who sent me. Come to me, trust me, follow me, GO into the world and Make disciples. Become a fisher of men. Love one another as I have loved you. Love the Lord your god and love your neighbor as yourself, for this is the greatest commandment.
You see, the problem we have a people who are trying desperately, or not so desperately to follow God, is that we often don’t ask the right questions. We ask
But it is clear that we, in and of ourselves, don’t know exactly what to say and what to ask for.
So what do we ask?
Well, in scripture, Jesus taught us to say the Lord’s prayer
Our father in heaven holy is you name kingdom come, THY WILL BE DONE on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever amen.
Others had success with Have mercy on me, a sinner.
The one who came back after being healed has a pretty good reputation.
And maybe we can simply ask: God what must you do in me in order for me to be saved?
God, what must you do in my in order that I might enter into your kingdom and help your kingdom come to fruition, here and now…
God, where are you ready to work in my mind and heart and life in order that I might follow you better.
And finally, as Ephesians 2:8 says, it is a GIFT from god, not from man.
We must ask for the gift, receive the gift, give thanks for the gift that God gives us.
My friends, tonight there are a million wrong questions we can ask God, but the right one just might be God, thy will be done in my heart. Come in, work, make me to be who it is you have created me to be so that I might serve and enter your Kingdom.
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And if you want silly fun, visit the element and friends website. i pinch!!!
Asking the right question
Text Luke 18:18-30
We all are aware of the saying “you put your foot in your mouth.” It happens all of the time. Think about Major league Baseball player Raphael Palmerio who testified before congress that he had never once taken steroids, only to test positive several months later in a official drug test by major league baseball.
It continues with players guaranteeing victories, managers and coaches promising better performances, and especially when Owners, General Managers, or Athletic Directors give a ‘vote of confidence’ to a coach or player who is suspected to be on the way out. If you a coach in a college or professional sport and your boss says something like: “we have full confidence in our coach and we expect him to lead our program in the right direction for years to come”…get a box and a typewriter because you are going to want to write a letter of resignation and pack up your desk pictures. The Owner has just stuck his foot in his mouth.
It happens in politics too. The beloved Nixon didn’t know anything about those tape from the Watergate Hotel and the beloved Bill Clinton didn’t know anything about that girl. But, at the risk of putting my foot in my mouth any further, I will move on from politics. It is like the father in the movie and book Big Fish says, never talk about religion or politics, you might offend someone. Well, as far as politics goes, I have stopped, but here comes the religion part.
This open mouth, insert foot thing, bleeds quite far into scripture though. Peter might be our favorite, and such an easy target.
In John 13, when Jesus is ready to wash the feet of the disciples, peter wants everything washed. Jesus, simply corrects him and moves on.
then a little later in the meal, Peter says, ‘I will never deny you Jesus…” As we all know, peter is the one who denied, not once, not twice, but Three times, before the cock crowed.
Thomas, who wouldn’t believe until he could feel the scars with his own hands, probably felt put into his place.
Or, what about Martha, who says to Jesus, “if you had been here, I know my brother Lazarus would not have died. But now I will have to wait for the resurrection to see him alive again.”
We all know how that story ended.
Time and time again in scripture and in the history of the church, we have fouled things up when it comes to the things we say to and about God. But this is not for lack of interesting or lack of trying, in fact it is because we often try too hard. We want so badly to say the right words or do the right thing to impress God that we often slide off too far in the wrong direction. Peter might have passed on to heaven a long time ago, but his spirit is alive and well in the mouths of you and I.
Now one of the most interesting occurances of this foot in mouth problems is a text that causes a tremendous amount of trouble for those of us who have just a little bit of stuff. You see, many of us are not rich, like the young ruler, but we get by alright. None of us own the world, but we do ok with our little ½ acre piece of it. We come to the famous text of the rich young man or the rich young ruler. It is a problematic passage for us, mostly because the way we have always read this text leads us to believe that we must…
Well, lets read it together…
I think we all can follow along with the feeling of this young man. It seems he has gotten his moment with Jesus and he wants to make sure his eternal destiny is secure, boy was he in for an unhappy day. So he asks Jesus: What must I do. Jesus gives him an answer that he has know practically his whole life: Follow the commandments.
At this point we are breathing a sigh of relief, we can do this, and there is a system of atonement in place for us a well. The whole sacrificial lamb thing is a bit cumbersome, but it does provide eternal security and its pretty straightforward.
But, for some reason, it seems our young man keeps pushing. Lord I have done all these things, are we straight??? Jesus replies something like well, since you asked, since you like stuff so much, why don’t you go, sell everything, give it to people who are in need, and then come and follow me.
This part of the story ends with the man going away, cruched by jesus because he has lots of stuff and he really liked it.
We are troubled too. If we wanted to, we could handle the go sell everything we own and give it to the poor. we might also be able to sort out what it means to follow Jesus here, even though he does not literally walk the earth anymore like he once did and like he commanded the young man to.
But, the story does go on.
its for Hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom. Why???
Then we move on to this problematic illustration of a camel and the eye of a needle.
As a youth, I remember this passage being preached and this scenario being explained.
this is what I was told.
you see the eye is actually this gate that was on one side of the city. They feel the need to explain this passage in a way that allows for an eye to go through the eye of “the needle.”
But explaining a camel through the needle in order that you and I might be able to enter the kingdom is not at all what this passage is all about. As I read this passage, it is not about the rich being cursed, the poor being up lifted and exalted, but it is about the words we say, the questions we ask.
Questions are important.
Just this week I saw a movie that asked an interesting and important question, for the setting in the movie. The question was: What weight more, all the tree that are cut down to make money for the us in a year or all the trains that pass through Grand Central Station in a year? Immediate reaction….
JFK asked an important question once…Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?
Another example.
Seafood…Libby Hill…do you like fish?
(note: a couple from our church asked us one sunday if we liked fish as we were talking about where to go for lunch that day. I replied NO. They were shocked because it was their regular routine to eat at Libby Hill seafood for lunch each sunday. We ended up at Ruby Tuesday. But, had the question been, do you like seafood, or will you join us at Libby Hill, or would you like to go to Libby Hill for lunch we would have offerend an emphatic yes. But they asked if I liked fish and I had to honestly reply, NO)
Well I moved away from the text for a few moments, and it is time to go back, where were we?
“Who then can be saved” Jesus replies, “ what is impossible with man, is possible with God?”
So, is god in the magic business? Does God somehow get a camel through a needle each time he needs to let someone get into heaven?
No, I think the problem was the question, not the answer.
You see this entire passage is based on the question that the young ruler asked, What must I do to inherit eternal life? This is our key. If you want to know what YOU must do if you want to inherit eternal life, here is your answer…
The problem is not the answer, but the question. Like the Libby Hill question? The question that was asked to me was not, would you mind if we go to Libby Hill, will you join us for seafood???? But, Do you like fish? The answer to do I like fish is NO, not an emphatic no, but a I prefer other things thank you? The answer to, will you join us at Libby Hill for lunch is an emphatic yes, we would be happy to.
It is the question that is wrong which makes the answer difficult. If the question were something like, what must happen for us to inherit eternal life, I imagine the answer would be believe in me, and you will believe in the one who sent me. Come to me, trust me, follow me, GO into the world and Make disciples. Become a fisher of men. Love one another as I have loved you. Love the Lord your god and love your neighbor as yourself, for this is the greatest commandment.
You see, the problem we have a people who are trying desperately, or not so desperately to follow God, is that we often don’t ask the right questions. We ask
But it is clear that we, in and of ourselves, don’t know exactly what to say and what to ask for.
So what do we ask?
Well, in scripture, Jesus taught us to say the Lord’s prayer
Our father in heaven holy is you name kingdom come, THY WILL BE DONE on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever amen.
Others had success with Have mercy on me, a sinner.
The one who came back after being healed has a pretty good reputation.
And maybe we can simply ask: God what must you do in me in order for me to be saved?
God, what must you do in my in order that I might enter into your kingdom and help your kingdom come to fruition, here and now…
God, where are you ready to work in my mind and heart and life in order that I might follow you better.
And finally, as Ephesians 2:8 says, it is a GIFT from god, not from man.
We must ask for the gift, receive the gift, give thanks for the gift that God gives us.
My friends, tonight there are a million wrong questions we can ask God, but the right one just might be God, thy will be done in my heart. Come in, work, make me to be who it is you have created me to be so that I might serve and enter your Kingdom.
