Sermon Video: Seeing isn't Believing - Romans 10:16-21

The Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus is an easy one to share and comprehend, children are more than capable of fully believing it.  So, why did the Israelites in Jesus' generation, who saw his miracles, refuse to believe in him?  What is it about humanity that we're capable of this?

Willful and stubborn human pride is the answer.  The human heart is capable of looking at overwhelming evidence and ignoring it because we would rather not believe it.  It isn't the Gospel message that needs to change, but the hard hearts of those who won't accept God's love for them.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #17: Matthew 22:37-40

 

Matthew 22:37-40     New International Version

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In the 1984 movie, The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) tells his student Daniel (played by Ralph Macchio) who still has much to learn about karate, "Daniel-san, must talk.  Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, [makes squish gesture] get squish just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do 'yes', or karate do 'no'. You karate do 'guess so', [makes squish gesture] just like grape. Understand?"

I've never tried to learn karate, nor to compete in a tournament against others like Daniel was planning on doing.  I have finished five 50k trail races, with another one coming up very soon, and anyone who has done ultra-running can see the point Miyagi is trying to make: some things in life can't be attempted with half measures.  I can't imagine trying to run 31 miles without training, without the right gear and fuel along the way, "squish just like grape" sounds about right though.

Christianity requires an even more single-minded, all-in, nothing-held-back, level of commitment than anything else you or I may attempt to accomplish in life.  There is no room for split allegiances, no allowances for putting other goals and priorities above our devotion to God.  

The second commandment, as listed by Jesus, puts our devotion to God in its full context.  When we give God our whole heart, soul, and mind, it doesn't eliminate or even diminish our obligations to other people, it actually enables them.  God requires that we treat everyone with love because God is the maker of us all and the redeemer of humanity.  We are not allowed to put labels on individuals or groups of people and thus exempt ourselves from loving them (see the Parable of the Good Samaritan for a powerful rebuke of those who think 'neighbor' is limited).

Which brings us to 'Christian' Nationalism which runs afoul of both the greatest and the second greatest commandments.  {It isn't the only 'ism' guilty of this flaw} The greatest by diluting our devotion to God, the Gospel, and his Kingdom by putting the interests of a particular country on par with them {If you think 'Christian' Nationalism isn't elevating love of country to this level, you haven't interacted with it in its full form either historically or in America today}, and the second greatest by invariably treating our country's citizens as more worthy of love than 'them'.  "America First!", whatever else it may be, cannot be a Christian slogan, nor one which God would approve, as it inherently treats people who don't posses American citizenship as lesser than those who do. 

Go ahead and love your country, if you think it is the best country to live in your faith won't have any problem with that opinion.  But don't, if you wish to obey the commands of Jesus, act as if Jesus mentioned devotion to country when he spelled out the greatest commandment, and don't commit the sin of treating 'them', whoever you may put in that category, as anything less than your neighbor.

Sermon Video: "circumcision of the heart"? - Romans 2:25-29

Surface level participation in religion isn't good enough.  Paul demonstrates this by discussion the circumcision of Judaism, but it equally applies to the baptism of Christianity.  Religious ceremony can be negated by immoral behavior (or lack of moral behavior), it is important but limited.  In the end, hearts and minds need to be changed, obedience to God's commands needs to occur, anything less is insufficient.

Sermon Video: Where defilement comes from - Mark 7:14-23

 Where does evil come from? The answer from Jesus is simple: the human heart. Surface level things do matter, but they need to be kept in perspective. In the end, we need to recognize the root cause ("The Beast is us" as Simon says in Lord of the Flies) in order to combat it. Thankfully, Jesus is both the great physician who correctly diagnoses the disease, and the cure.

Sermon Video: Trying to persuade people about Jesus - Acts 28:17-31

In the finale to the book of Acts, Luke shares the story of Paul's attempt upon his arrival in Rome to share the Gospel with the leaders of the Jewish community there.  It was not their first encounter with Jesus, they had been a divided community regarding the question of whether or not Jesus was the Messiah since at least AD 49 when Claudius expelled the riotous Jewish community from Rome about twelve years prior to Paul's arrival.  After a whole day of explaining the Gospel on the basic of the Law and the Prophets, Paul is able to persuade some, but only some, of the group.  Why is that?
Paul's explanation for the failure to see the Truth of the Gospel echoes that of the prophet Isaiah and of Jesus himself who also quotes Isaiah 6:9-10.  The problem is a hardened human heart.  It is not a matter of the eyes or ears (i.e. an intellectual problem) but of the heart (i.e. a spiritual problem) which has become calloused.  That frustration, of Paul, which echoes God's frustration, results in a decision that is relevant to the Church to this day.  If the Gospel will not be accepted by those privileged enough to receive it, it will be sent to others who are willing to believe.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Set your hearts on things above - Colossians 3:1-4

Having refuted legalism and asceticism as being illegitimate paths to piety for disciples of Jesus Christ, Paul turns his focus upon the appropriate direction for God's people, that is, their need to set their hearts and minds on "things above".  Instead of spelling individual things out, Paul focuses upon the direction and focus of the passions and thought processes of those who know that they will one day appear, with Christ, when he returns in glory.

What does it mean to have your heart or mind set upon things above? For the Christian, this means living here and now as a citizen of heaven.  Having the perspective of someone who knows the future and lives today in light of it.  It means having a spiritual perspective as well, one that sees beyond the material and one that invests in eternity (though self-sacrifice today).

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Hezekiah's Revival, Part 2 (of 4) - 2 Chronicles 30

Having cleaned and re-dedicated the temple, and reconsecrated the priests and Levites, Hezekiah and the leadership of the people of Judah next turn to reinstituting the Passover feast.  Along the way, they face a variety of potential set-backs, each of which could have derailed the opportunity to bring the people of God together in order to praise God, but each of which were dealt with by compromise.  Hezekiah chooses to pursue the spirit of the Law, not the letter, making exceptions to the rules in order to bring about a truly national revival of repentance.  When the people show that they have a willing heart, Hezekiah doesn't let their past violations of the Law keep them from returning to the worship of the LORD.  It is for us an important reminder that the heart is more important than the outward appearance, and also that the people of God ought to be willing to stretch themselves in order to welcome lost sinners when they turn to God in repentance.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

"worship God acceptably" - Hebrews 12:28

It is amazing how much one word can change what you take from a verse.  If instead, Hebrews 12:28 read, "worship God with reverence and awe" it would certainly make a point worth noting.  God's mercy and love deserve reverence and his power inspires awe, as such the verse makes total sense.  However, when the word "acceptably" is added to the mix (same in NIV, NKJV, the NASB has "an acceptable service"), an added requirement is spelled out for the people of God.  If there is a way to worship God "acceptably" then there must be an unacceptable way to worship God.

Do you mean that I could direct my love and devotion to the right place (that is God) and still be short of what God wants from me?  That's exactly what the verse is saying.  We don't have to go far in Scripture to find examples of people who failed in their worship of God because they did it in the wrong way.  Cain springs to mind, whose sacrifice was inferior to that of his brother Abel.  King Saul learned the hard way that to offer a sacrifice to God that was unauthorized would cost him the right to rule Israel.  Throughout the prophets God warns his people that their hollow sacrifices would mean nothing without obedience.  As Jesus teaches the people he repeatedly demolishes the Pharisees for having the letter of the Law but being far from the Spirit of the Law; they may have perfected the form of worship, but are nowhere near the heart.

Is an acceptable form of worship the serious approach of many Catholics and Orthodox who treat the Mass with great solemnity?  Or does God prefer the utter exubrance of the Pentecostals who celebrate like no other?  The answer is not to be found in the form of worship (each end of the spectrum has something to offer, and many places in between as well), but the heart of the matter.  If we appreciate the seriousness of what Jesus has done for us and find the joy that being forgiven should bring, we're on the right path.  The question is not so much how you worship, as it is why.  If you feel connected to God through Latin chants, go right ahead.  If shouting out during the praise band's modern anthems brings you closer to God, knock yourself out.  Why do we worship?  To bring glory and praise to God.  In the end, it is your heart that determines if your worship is "acceptable" in the sight of God.