Sermon Video: A Firm Foundation - Luke 6:43-49

In the final portion of his sermon, Jesus draws two conclusions to his message of high moral standards.  The first is that the things that people do in life are a reflection of the person they are.  As he says, "good" people produce "good fruit" and "bad" people produce "bad fruit".  The lack of a middle ground, a grey area, is on purpose.  Jesus is not interested in making people feel better about themselves if they are falling short of the standard of God's holiness.  Remember, Jesus said we must love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, give to those who will not give anything back, be merciful, and do not judge.  Such things are far beyond the normal definition of "good", does anyone really think they would be declared a good person when standing before God?
The second conclusion is that anyone who hopes to live a life pleasing to God must do so by building upon a firm foundation.  The building metaphor works both ways: those who build upon the solid rock (the teachings of Jesus and the person of Jesus) will not only build a structure with inhabiting, they will also withstand the inevitable storms in life.  Conversely, those who try to build with Christ as their foundation will ultimately find that whatever they manage to build falls apart and eventually collapses.
We must product good fruit if we claim to follow Jesus, to simply talk a good game is not good enough; we must be like Christ.  The only way we can possibly hope for such moral purity is to place our trust, hope, and faith upon the power that we have been offered through the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth.

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The workings of the Holy Spirit

In the mid-fourteenth century the Eastern Orthodox Church was convulsed by a dispute about the whether or not a style of mystical prayer known as Hesychasm was valid.  The prime advocate of this type of prayer, Gregory Palamas "maintained that in such practice of prayer, it is possible to reach a vision of divine light which reveals God's uncreated energy, which is the Holy Spirit." (Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch, p. 487)  What the mystics of the Orthodox Church were trying to achieve through repetition of the "Jesus Prayer" (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me.") was a connection with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus made it clear to his disciples that when he left them the Spirit of God would take his place to teach (John 16:12-15) them, and throughout Acts the Spirit is seen guiding and directing the early Church through men like Peter and Paul.  We know from Paul's letter to the Romans that the Holy Spirit is also instrumental in our prayer as well (Romans 8:26-27). 
In the past two thousand years the Church has come up with a variety of answers to the practical questions of what our interaction with the Holy Spirit could/should look like for individuals, local churches, and Christendom as a whole.  For some people, that answer is a subtle one, a "still small voice" that speaks quietly when we're willing to listen.  For others, the answer has been much more vocal, whether it be speaking in tongues, visions, dreams, or other kinds of communication.
Depending upon the church tradition you're familiar with, it may seem odd, even weird, to experience the other end of the spectrum.  To step into a Pentecostal Church if you were raised Roman Catholic would be quite a shock, likewise to step into a Lutheran Church if you were raised Southern Baptist might be equally surprising.  That same divergent response to the Holy Spirit is mirrored in individuals as well.  For some people, to talk about being moved or spoken to by the Holy Spirit is only natural, for others it seems a foreign concept.  Those of us who are naturally outgoing might find such expression easy, and those who tend to be more reserved might find it uncomfortable.
So who is right?  Which expression of the work of the Holy Spirit is the right one?  They all are.  That isn't avoiding the issue, it's the truth.  The Spirit of God works throughout the Church of Christ.  If we are all followers of Jesus Christ, all of us have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  That includes the jumping up and down "Hallelujah" shouter and the man sitting in the back praying silently.
Here's a suggestion that might open your eyes, take some time and visit a church that is unlike the kind you're used to; find out the ways in which other Christians are living out their faith, you just might find something that speaks to you.

Sermon Video: "Do not judge" Luke 6:37-42

As Jesus' sermon continues, the ideas of "do to others" and "be merciful" are further developed by adding to them "do not judge", "do not condemn", and "forgive".  The call continues for followers of Jesus Christ to live a higher moral standard.  Why must we not judge, because we ourselves do not want to be judged?  Why must we not condemn, because God is merciful and so must we be.  Forgiveness offers the path to doing away with judgmental and condemnatory attitudes, when we learn to forgive as God forgives we no longer feel the need to elevate ourselves by bring others down. 
Jesus continues by explaining that the blind cannot lead the blind, we must follow the example of our teacher (himself) and learn from those who have become like him.  The final analogy, of the man with a plank in his eye trying to remove the speck in the eye of another shows the absurdity of those who have their own moral failings trying to correct those same failings in others.  Yes, we must help others in their efforts to be Christ-like, but we should do so by first examining ourselves that we may offer help from a position of victory over sin.

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To Judge or not to Judge, that is the question.

Please don't judge me for borrowing Shakespeare's phraseology from Hamlet, that would make the rest of this post difficult to read.  The text that I'm going to be preaching this Sunday is Luke 6:37-42; it begins with the phrase, "Do not judge".  In the passage Jesus is warning us that the same way in which we judge, condemn, and/or forgive others will be the measure with which we ourselves are evaluated by God.  That certainly is consistent with the teaching back in vs. 31 "do to others as you would have them do to you".  Later in the passage Jesus explains that if we are trying to help others by pointing out to them the flaws in their own character (clearly something that needs to be done in humility) we must first remove the flaws in our own if we have any hope of seeing clearly.
As I write the sermon, I can't help but think about all of the judgments that I need to make each week to do my job.  As a committee member for Mustard Seed Missions, we evaluate need/resources each week as new people are brought to our attention.  How do we decide who we help and who we do not?  As the pastor of this church I need to evaluate calls for assistance that we get every week, how do I decide who to help and who to not, and to what extent?  I certainly also have to watch over this flock, to keep an eye out for troublesome behavior in this congregation and try to stamp it out for the benefit of the whole.  Along those same lines, I need to be on the look-out for false doctrines and harmful ideas lest they take root amongst us and do harm to God's people.
It seems as if my job requires me to be a judge over a great many things and people, yet Jesus' words have to apply to me just like everyone else.  In the end it all comes down to attitudes and the intentions behind our actions.  Do I have the best interest of others and the needs of the community to heart?  Are my decisions self-sacrificial or self-aggrandizing?  The same questions apply to us all in the myriad of decisions (judgements) we must make each day as spouses, parents, consumers, voters, and members of the organizations we belong to.  To remove ourselves from the equation (to not judge at all) would simply hand the decision over to those who have selfish goals in mind.  To sit in judgment gleefully would be an affront to God and the speedy road to our own destruction.
Do you and I have to judge things in life?  Of course, but we have no reason to be judgmental.  Do we have to condemn evil and work towards its destruction?  Certainly, but we have no reason to not hope for sinners to repent.  Do we have forgive others?  That is the most crucial question of all; if we fail to forgive, what hope have we when our own mistakes are brought into the light of day?  Forgive, be merciful, and remember the embrace of your Heavenly Father when you finally returned home.

Sermon Video: "Be merciful" - Luke 6:32-36

As Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount continues, Jesus further explains the command to "love your enemies" and "do to others" that proceeded this passage by raising the bar of ethical conduct far beyond a simple return of love for love and good for good.  As followers of Jesus, we must love those who do not love us, do good to those who have done no good thing for us, and give to those from whom we expect nothing in return.  Why the drastic moral upgrade beyond basic human tribal behavior?  Because our Heavenly Father has demonstrated that same level of love through his mercy to the world, us in particular.  As we take up our own cross to follow Jesus, we imitate the mercy of Christ and accept the risk that our efforts will be spurned or taken advantage of; the reward is great, to be known, here and now as a child of God.

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Sermon Video