The Undesirables

I've been preaching through the Gospel of Luke as Jesus meets one person after another who was marginalized by their own culture (fishermen, the leper, the paralytic, and finally a tax collector).  Each of these people are given Jesus full attention and treated as if they're the most important people he knows.  The fishermen (Peter, James and John) are invited to follow Jesus and fish for men, the leper is first touched by Jesus and then in that same moment healed, the paralytic is told that his sins are forgiven and then healed, and finally the tax collector is simply told to follow Jesus who then eats dinner at his house.
In each case, there would have been some who questioned Jesus' choices, who would have wondered why he seems intent on ministering only to the downtrodden while angering those in positions of wealth and power.  There's no mistaking Jesus' approach, he's clearly choosing to side with those whom society has discounted against those whom society has elevated.
It makes me wonder with fresh eyes, who are the marginalized in our society who are not being reached?  Who are the people for whom Christ died who are currently not hearing his message of repentance and hope?  How can the Church, and this church in particular, better reach them and show them the same love that Christ has shown us?
We're in the process of developing a radical program of ecumenical cooperation with CYS (Children and Youth Services) here in Venango County with the hopes of paring up church volunteers with the most needy kids and families in our area.  Those of us in the church don't always see them, but in most cases the caseworkers do.  As such, we'll be using their knowledge of the need to give our willingness to help a specific direction one family at a time.  The potential is amazing; there were 2,000 kids that CYS caseworkers worked with in this county alone last year.  What if 100 churches reached out to 20 of those kids each, wouldn't that be a profound change for the better?
Who are the undesirables that our society has turned it's back on, and how can the churches step in and declare God's love to them?  That is a question torn right from the pages of the Gospel of Luke; hopefully, our cooperative effort will begin to help them.

Sermon Video: "Friend, your sins are forgiven" - Luke 5:17-26

As Jesus once again heals the sick while he is teaching he is faced with a paralyzed man lowered through the roof by his friends.  Upon seeing their faith (the plural is intentional), Jesus tells him, "Friend, your sins are forgiven".  The religious leaders are rightly offended by Jesus' usurpation of God's sole right to forgive sins, and wonder who he really thinks he is.  To back up his claim, Jesus does the easier task, he heals the man of his paralysis.  Only God can forgive, Jesus, declaring himself to be the Son of Man (acc. to Daniel's prophecy), has just laid claim to being God...This episode beautifully illustrates how we can help those in need find faith and forgiveness, as we ourselves did at the foot of the cross.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

The sermon I didn't preach

One of the things that fascinates me about my job of preparing a sermon each week for my congregation is the initial thought process I go through when deciding upon which passage of Scripture to use.  That decision usually takes place on Tuesday morning (I like to at least get the new week started off 1st thing), and it usually is a continuation of the previous week's text unless I'm switching to a new book of the Bible for a while. 
When I first look at a passage I'm thinking about where a proper cut-off place would be if it were going to be a sermon.  How many verses do I need to tell the whole story (context) and how many verses do I need to make it long enough (but not too long)?  Sometimes the whole message is contained in one verse, but most of the time it's several that make up the point that the text is aiming at. 
During this process of narrowing down the text, I'm also contemplating which message from the text will be the focus of the sermon.  I say that because there are usually at least two, sometimes three or four, possible sermons that can be preached from one given passage.  If my audience is going to follow the point as I make it I need to focus on just one of those ideas and let the others go (they could of course, be used in sermon on the same text at a later date that sounds very different from the first one).  The reason why this works is because the Bible, like all great literature, has more than one layer of meaning and more than one possible application of its wisdom.
I've been asked by plenty of people over the years why I would read a book more than once (for example: The Lord of the Rings; 15 times and counting).  The answer I always give is that there are new things to discover each time (and new enjoyment in the reading of old familiar things).  The Bible takes this phenomenon to a new level.  It contains a vast amount of Truth and Wisdom that we can apply in various stages and phases of life; things that we may not see until the moment we need them (thank the Holy Spirit for the assist when you do).
Let me give you an example from a recent sermon:  I preached from Luke 5:1-11 and focused upon Peter's response to the miraculous call of fish.  "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"  Why do some people push God away when confronted with their sin rather than asking for his mercy?  A second sermon could have focused upon the miracle itself; why does Jesus choose this demonstration, why does it say about him, and how was it perceived by the fishermen?  A third sermon could have spent time examining Jesus' response to Peter, the famous line, "from now on you will catch men."  It could have looked at evangelism and talked about how sharing the word of God is like fishing (without the tendency I hope to lie about the size of the catch).  A fourth sermon could have talked about the response in the end of Peter, James, and John; how they left everything behind to follow Jesus without looking back.  It could have talked about the dedication and commitment that the Gospel demands of us.
Are there other sermons in that passage than the four I just highlighted?  Yes, there are; you may have heard an excellent one at some point that spoke about something I haven't mentioned.  The Bible is like that, layer upon layer of Truth if only we put in the effort to discover it.  The next time you listen to a sermon, think about the message the preacher is sharing with you; but then go one step further and look at the text to find the sermon he didn't preach to you as well.

Sermon Video: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." - Luke 5:12-14

What would it be like to live in complete isolation, to be an oucast whom all consider to be cursed by God?  What hope would there be?  In the Gospel of Luke, a man with leprosy falls at Jesus' feet and begs for healing.  The social stigma of his disease was far worse than the physical symptoms, by asking Jesus to make him "clean" the man is in essence asking for God's forgiveness.  Jesus does the remarkable; he reaches out and touches this "untouchable" man to let him know that he is indeed willing to make him clean.  By his mercy Jesus demonstrates the path to healing and forgiveness for us all, and encourages us to offer that same healing to whomever the outcasts of our society are, we too must reach out and touch them with God's love.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video, "Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man!" - Luke 5:1-11

When Jesus chooses Simon's boat as a platform from which to teach the people, he encounters a hard-working fisherman who had no anticipation that God would that very day offer him freedom from his sins.  Following the miraculous catch of fish, Simon asks Jesus from his knees to go away from him because he considered himself unworthy of God's forgiveness.  What makes someone turn away from God's offer of grace in despair?  What do some people think they're beyond hope, and what can we do about it?  Jesus' answer to Simon provides our direction, "Don't be afraid.  From now on you'll fish for men."  Jesus answered with love and confidence because he knew the transforming power of his Father's grace, we too can offer love, acceptance, and hope to those who despair in our world.  We can share the Gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation, because all of Jesus' followers have been called to be fishers of men.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video