Sermon Video: If the Lord permits: Making Plans - 1 Corinthians 16:1-9

2020 has been, thus far, to say the least, a time of changed plans. First the pandemic cancelled things, rearranged things, and left us wondering when it was safe to reopen. Then, on May 25th, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis and our focus as a nation shifted abruptly from Covid-19. As the people of God, we must plan for the future and we must be ready when it surprises us. The Apostle Paul planned a collection from the Gentile Churches of Asia Minor and Greece to save Judean Christians from starvation. In doing so, he (1) used what worked in one churches in other churches, (2) encouraged each church (and each family within) to consider their resources and act accordingly, (3) prepared for success, (4) was a specific with his plans as possible, (5) retained flexibility, (6) and most importantly, remembered that the Lord holds the future. As we look ahead, as long as we are dedicated and hard working in our service to the Lord, whatever comes next, we will be ok.

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Sermon Video: We Need Love - 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:3

What is the center of Christianity?  Having explained to the church at Corinth their need for unity and gifts of ministry from the Holy Spirit, Paul chooses to remind them that these things, are necessary as they are, are not the foundation upon which Christ is building his Church, that honor belongs to Love.  How does Paul know this?  Simple, if one were to have gifts of showmanship/eloquence without Love, one would have nothing.  If one were to obtain deep knowledge and wisdom without Love, one would be nothing.  And if one were to give charitably all that one has, even being willing to surrender one's life for others or even the Gospel, but has not Love, one would gain nothing.
Without Love (and I'm using the capital L on purpose, as Paul is about to define the Love he's talking about in the next passage, and trust me, it isn't the love we toss around all the time), nothing that Christians build will matter.  Love is at the heart of God's will and God's plan, for as John reminds us in his letter, "God is love".  We all need Love.

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Where does the moral authority of the Church come from?

A comment on Facebook recently directed at me, and with me other Christians who likewise would proclaim that an objective Right and Wrong exists, can be known, and should be followed, stated that I (we) have no moral authority on any given issue of poverty or injustice unless I (we) are personally involved in helping to solve said problem.  In other words, I (we) cannot have a legitimate moral viewpoint on homelessness unless I (we) are running our own home as a homeless shelter, nor on abortion unless I (we) have adopted unwanted babies, or on the treatment of immigrants (illegal or otherwise) unless I (we) have opened up our home to house them.  The basis of this viewpoint is both dismissive and absurd, for it would limit morality to only those issues that one is personally involved with, and require silence on all others.  Since nobody can be involved in every moral crisis and issue relating to poverty and injustice in this world, for sadly there are far too many, such an assertion would, in essence, eliminate the moral authority of virtually everyone, creating a vacuum; perhaps this is the intended outcome, but it would create moral anarchy.

Before explaining where the moral authority of a pastor, such as myself, or a Christian in general, does indeed come from, let me simply assert that even on the basis of a premise designed to tell the people of God to "shut up and let immorality continue unless you're fixing it yourself" that the Church, and its leaders and people, are in a far stronger position to pass that "test" than any others.  For the past two thousand years the Church has been at the forefront of poverty relief, social justice, education, healthcare, disaster relief, and countless other efforts to better the lives of those around us, both in our own neighborhoods and countries, and around the world.  No government or institution has been as consistent, pervasive, and selfless in helping those in need as the Church of Jesus Christ.  Even as you read this, millions of Christians are volunteering their time to help those in need, not to mention giving of their resources to a vast array of causes supported by local churches, denominations, and a host of para-church organizations too numerous to count, working in virtually every country of the world.

For example: Our one local church, through both volunteer hours and financial support, contributes to a local multi-church food pantry (Shepherd's Green Food Pantry at St. John's Episcopal), a crisis pregnancy and motherhood support organization (ABC Life Center), a poverty relief agency (Community Services), a charity aimed locally at housing repairs, providing furniture and appliances to those with none, and giving rides to medical appointments (Mustard Seed Missions), the variety of efforts of our local Salvation Army, two local youth and teen evangelism and outreach efforts (Child Evangelism Fellowship, and Youth for Christ), a homeless shelter providing emergency housing here in Franklin and soon also in Oil City (Emmaus Haven), as well as a Central Help Fund contributed to by a dozen Franklin churches that helps dozens of families each year with their rent and utility bills.  In addition to these local efforts, 1st Baptist of Franklin supports the regional (PA/DE) efforts of ABCOPAD regarding disaster relief and economic development, the work of ABCUSA nationally and globally, and the missionary efforts of two missionary families in America, one in Papua, and one in Haiti.  Are these efforts collectively sufficient to grant the people or pastor of 1st Baptist of Franklin the moral authority to have a viewpoint on issues of poverty and justice??  If not, how much greater involvement would be required before our viewpoint on such issues is taken as sincere and not self-serving?  I could, in answer to the charge that was directed at me of not being personally involved in helping solve one particular moral dilemma, point out my own involvement in these causes and organizations, I could assert moral authority based upon my own years of work with those in need, but that too would be a fool's errand.  For indeed, my authority as a pastor does not rest primarily upon what I alone contribute to, for I am not alone in my efforts, I am a part of a far greater whole, the shepherd of a whole flock.  We as a local church are collectively making this effort, and we as a local church are but one part of the entire work of the universal Church.  We have, as individual Christians contributing to such efforts, as a local church, as a region within our denomination and our denomination as a whole, and as a universal Church around the world, a vast storehouse of moral authority based upon service to others.

And yet, I don't believe this approach to be the correct way to speak of the moral authority of the Church, of my own denomination, of my local church, or of myself.  Our authority is validated and enhanced by our service to others, but it is not where it begins.  The authority of anyone demonstrating a true commitment to being a disciple of Jesus Christ comes directly from the Word of God itself, the Bible.  Why must we care for the homeless, the widows and orphans, the aliens, refugees, outcasts, and more?  Because God has commanded it.  Not once, not with subtlety, not by allusion or inference, but repeatedly, clearly, and with grave warnings attached.  "Because the Bible says so", is not an evasion or a cop-out, it is a bedrock and fundamental principle for the people of God.  We do these things, act this way, make these sacrifices, because the God who sent his Son to shed his blood and save our lives and souls has commanded us to obey his Word.  Christians may disagree on the interpretation and application of the Bible, sometimes disastrously, but our authority rests squarely upon that which we have received from God.  Here's the thing you may not understand: The Church didn't write the Bible, it did not fashion the Word of God after its own passions, prejudices, or preferences, it received it from those who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it.  We do not obey the Bible because it is convenient or profitable to us, far from it, God's Word demands of his people sacrifice after sacrifice of self-denial and service, we obey the Word of God precisely because it is the Word of God.

If I had to defend my record, or that of my church, or the Church as a whole, against a charge of moral posturing without moral action to back it up, whether historically or in the present day, I could easily do so, the evidence is by God's grace ample.  But I don't need to, it is God who has ordained holiness, righteousness, justice, and love, and it is God who has revealed to humanity what our obligations to our Maker, our neighbor, strangers, and ourselves really are.  Complain to me if you want about the demands of Biblical morality, but in the end, I just work here, you need to take that objection up with the Boss; good luck with that.

Sermon Video: Boaz notices Ruth - Ruth 2:8-23

In this third message, of five, from Ruth, we find Boaz conversing with Ruth after he takes notice of her hard at work gleaning in his fields.  Boaz offers Ruth multiple, small, and ongoing kindnesses in response, he says, for her devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi, the widow of his kin Elimelech.  Ruth responds to these offers of help with humble gratitude, prompting even more steps taken by Boaz to help Ruth (and Naomi) in their time of need.
When Ruth returns home at the end of the day, with much more food than expected, Naomi is awakened from her depression and bitterness that had engulfed her since the death of her husband and sons by the kindness shown to Ruth and herself by a seemingly random neighbor who turns out to be Boaz, a kinsman-redeemer of Elimelech's estate.  Whether or not Boaz will be willing to fulfill his legal obligation under the laws of the kinsman-redeemer remains to be seen, but Naomi at least has begun once again to hope.
The kindnesses offered by Boaz were not, in and of themselves, all that costly to him, nor was he legally obligated to give any of them.  And yet, as a man of God, a man of character, Boaz chooses to go beyond the letter of the law to fulfill the spirit of the law; Boaz chooses to live by grace.

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The lust of humanity for gold that glitters

There's a line in The Lord of the Rings that reads, "all that is gold does not glitter" which is Tolkien's rearranging of the well known proverb from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, "all that glitters is not gold".  Tolkien was trying to emphasize that not all things of value shine on the outside, whereas Shakespeare's point is that not everything that looks good on the outside is worth it on the inside, but both metaphors utilize the fact that gold has a hold on the imagination of humanity.  It has been sought after, fought after, killed and died for, for as far back as we have records.  I just finished watching "Klondike" on the History Channel last night, a mini-series based on the actual experiences of miners who went to Dawson City in the Yukon during the gold rush that lasted from 1896 to 1899.  In those few years, an estimated 100,000 people headed for the Yukon with only about 30-40,000 surviving the journey and only about 4,000 of them finding any gold.  After Dawson City the gold craze moved on, just as it had before from California and before that North Dakota; the list goes on and on back into history.  The craze for gold continues to this day, it actually has intrinsic value now in the electronics industry beyond its age-old use for currency and jewellery.  The show "Gold Rush" on the Discovery Channel chronicles the lives of would-be gold miners, some of whom work like professionals and some of whom appear to be still amateurs.  The human stories behind the quest for gold are interesting, but the question of why man has been so fascinated with this substance remains.
Gold isn't the only rare thing that has caused empires to rise and fall in history, but it does seem to rise above more practical commodities and has certainly been a part of some of the worst crimes of humanity against itself from the horrid working conditions of the South American mines of the Spanish Empire to the gold extracted from the teeth of Jews killed by the Nazis.  The insatiable quest for gold over thousands of years has yielded roughly 377 million pounds of gold; surprisingly, that amount would only be a cube of 68 ft. on each side.  All that risk, all that killing and death, for a pool sized cube of metal?
If gold didn't exist, humanity would be fixated on something else.  Gold isn't the cause of the sickness that is associated with it, simply the window through which the human soul is illuminated.  The same attributes and potential terrors can be ascribed to the pieces of colored paper that replaced gold as the currency of humanity, or even the electronic money that doesn't even exist apart from the computers that keep track of it.
Which topic does the Bible spend the most time talking about?  Which human vice fills more pages of God's Word than any other?  To hear many preachers and Christian lay people talk, you think it would be sexual sin, whether that be pre-marital or extra-marital sex, pornography, homosexuality, or abortion.  We certainly have great troubles in society connected to our misuse of God's gift of sex, but it isn't the number one vice discussed in the Bible.  The Bible spends more time talking about the proper use of, and abuse of, money than anything else (over 800 times) except love.  So why are we so reluctant to talk about money?  Perhaps it is because we as Americans have so much of it.  Perhaps it is because we do such a lousy job of utilizing our money for the good of the kingdom of God and such a great job spending it on ourselves. 
How often do I preach about money?  I haven't analyzed each of my sermons over last seven years to have stats, but since I normally preach verse by verse through a book on the Bible once I start, I'm guessing that its pretty often.  Do yourself a favor, don't skip over the next part of the Bible you read about money, actually take some time and figure out if you're doing what the Bible says you should be doing with the money that you've earned through the blessings of work, life, and health that God has given you. 

A Mary vs. Martha kind of day

In Luke 10:38-42, Martha invites Jesus to her home and then becomes swamped with the preparation that had to be made.  Martha's sister, Mary, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to what he had to say.  When Martha grumbles to Jesus that Mary is helping her with the work, Jesus replies, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only on thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
This passage is often interpreted as a reminder to focus upon the important things and not get bogged down in the details; it can be applied to the functioning of a business, a family, or a church.  We must be aware of what is critical and not let what is important get in its way.
When you're a pastor, these sort of questions can pop up every day.  This past Friday I still had a lot of work to do on my sermon for Sunday, because of prior meetings earlier in the week I was a lot less done than usual for a Friday.  The meetings earlier in the week were important in their own right, they were about expanding the work of Mustard Seed Missions; worth doing, necessary, but time consuming.
Thus as Friday began, I was hoping for a relatively quite day to get my work done.  If there is one thing that most pastors don't like, it's being unprepared for the Sunday sermon as the end of the week approaches.  God had other plans in store for me that day.  Late on Thursday I heard of a local grandmother who had been kicked out of her apartment by a new owner and found herself, and her two grand kids living with her, living with virtually no furniture.  After a couple of phone calls, one bed and a table was located; the woman herself had obtained a fridge and range, it seemed that a couple of hours of delivery were in order. 
I was able to find a helper for moving the stuff, Cheryl's husband John, and we set to work on it.  Several hours, and a sore back later, the furniture was moved and a person in need was helped (a start on it anyway, this project, like so many MSM projects is ongoing).
At that moment, I was eager to get back to my office, sit and my desk and finish that sermon.  Mere moments after I sat down, however, the phone rang, it was a man who hadn't eaten or slept in days; someone in need of emergency help.  After looking for the man for an hour (he had given me the wrong street number in his sleep deprived state), I was able to take him to a local group, Heart to Heart, who were able to meet with him and get him some food.
By this time it was nearly 3 PM and I had a Christmas party to go to; yikes.  When did I finish the sermon?  Saturday morning, my day off.  Was there any help for it?  Not really, that message is one of my most important responsibilities each week, but if I can't set it aside to help those in real need, who am I being Mary or Martha?  By the way, the sermon went fine on Sunday morning; God knows what he's doing.

Hello God? Are you listening?

You ever have that feeling that maybe nobody is listening to you?  You've been working hard and doing your best, but it doesn't seem to make a difference? 
I've been there before, I've spun my wheels and wondered.  God was there with me, it wasn't easy, but we made it through (having a loving wife at your side helps too by the way).

Then there are other times, when things are all falling into place, when answers to prayer seem to come even before you get the chance to ask them.  It feels like you're coasting downhill, no need to pedal that hard even.  God is there too, even when it is easy, and he keeps me humble through it (having a wife who knows you better than anyone helps with the humility too, by the way).

A few recent things to highlight the point:
The Church has been looking into fixing the balcony of Miller Auditorium by adding a railing.  The cost would be several thousand dollars at least.  Yesterday, we hear that a local businessman has most of the materials already lying around and is willing to do the installation for free.  The correct response here is "wow!"  By the way, my secretary/office manager/church clerk was dancing in the office; always knew she had a little Pentecostal in her.

I've also been inundated of late with requests for aid; families in danger of being evicted or having their utilities shut off.  Each is a tough situation; layoffs and job losses are common these days.  After having several in one week (we can't always help resolve them too; it makes it hard, we do what we can), a young man walked into my office and told me the emotional tale of his recent troubles.  Needless to say, it was a tough situation, I didn't know how to help because the troubles seemed beyond our resources (even with the collective church fund we contribute to through Community Services).  I told him to come back the next day while I made a few phone calls.  When he returned it was clear that the weight on his shoulders had dropped overnight.  I hadn't done anything much of yet, but a kindly landlord was willing to be patient about rent and a crisis was averted.  He didn't need my help after all.

Yesterday I saw on Facebook that Mother Holly (St. John's Episcopal in Franklin) needed some extra help to unload a Second Harvest food truck.  I ended up helping a dozen or so people put food into carts and load it into their cars.  Not something terribly demanding, but very rewarding.  It was a chance to talk with each person as they went around the line getting their food, to find out about their troubles, and offer them hope for the future.

By the way, that was just some of this week's news; God, it seems, is busy these days.

Sermon Video: "What I have I give you" - Acts 3:1-10

On his way to the temple to pray, Peter is stopped by a crippled man asking for money.  Rather than simply give what is expected (and needed, the man had to live too), Peter offers healing in the name of Jesus Christ.  Peter then helps him to his feet and moments later his is jumping for joy.  This episode illustrates for us the need to take action when we see suffering in our world and not simply turn a blind eye.  Moreover, we need to offer help in the name of Jesus because only the Gospel can take a glass of water and turn it into Living Water.  As Christians, we have no excuse for not being active (as individuals and as churches) in helping to alleviate and solve suffering.  Whatever you have, you can give.

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Sermon Video