Where are the fathers?

When special Sundays roll around it's always an option to take a break in whatever sermon series I'm doing and write something appropriate to that day.  With Christmas and Easter, it isn't an option, the message always reflect the holiday (they are after all, holy days).  With Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Thanksgiving, the option is always there when I decide to take it.

This year for Mother's Day I didn't break from the messages I've been preaching in Philippians.  This upcoming Sunday is Father's Day.  Having preached eight messages in a row out of Philippians (from 1:1 to 2:11), I thought it was time for a break.  So where do I turn for a message that will speak to God's people on Father's Day?

If it had been Mother's Day, there would be no shortage of stellar mothers whose stories I could use to illustrate a moral or theme.  I could have used Jochebed, Hannah, Naomi, or Mary (to name some of the easiest choices).  But what fathers can I use who distinguished themselves in the Bible as a father?  Suddenly, the list seems short.  Let's see, how about Abraham?  Ishmael votes no.  How about Isaac?  Esau says try again.  How about Jacob?  Joseph isn't too keen on that one.  What about Eli?  Yikes, both of his sons were notorious sinners.  Then certainly we could use Samuel, his mother was on the list for ideal mothers; nope, both of his sons "did not walk in his ways".  I'm getting worried here; this doesn't look promising.  Then certainly we could use David, isn't he a man chosen by God?  Sadly, Absalom thinks we ought to avoid talking about his relationship with his father.  We could use Joseph, after all he was a man of character in the birth narrative, but we don't know anything about his relationship with Jesus.

Do you see the pattern?  To find a good mother one need simply look around in the Bible, there's plenty of them.  To find a good father, you need the scour the Scriptures or avoid the unpleasant sides of the stories of men like David.

Are you surprised?  If you've spent any time looking at and analyzing our society you shouldn't be.  The single greatest flaw in modern American culture and society is a lack of fathers.  We have plenty of boys willing to create children, but precious few men willing to be fathers.  Men, this indictment falls squarely on our shoulders.  You or I may have fulfilled our obligations, but literally millions of men have miserably failed their children.  Single moms raising their children may be awesome, but they're not meant to carry that burden alone.  Some kids may turn out OK without a father, but the education, social welfare, and criminal justice systems are full to the brim of kids who haven't been so lucky.  We, as American men, have failed.  It doesn't matter which statistic of social ills you look at, they're all made worse by absent or lackluster fathers.  Can anybody honestly not see the connection between teen pregnancy/abortion and absent fathers?  Is it hard at all to see the connection that gang activity, gun violence, and drugs have with fathers who are MIA?

Father's Day is a tough one.  I'm just glad that I can preach about our Heavenly Father; at least then I'll know that everyone in the congregation has a good one.

Sermon Video: Be like Jesus - Philippians 2:5-11

As Paul continues to encourage the church at Philippi about how to live as Christians he offers them this straightforward, yet tremendously serious, command: be like Jesus.  The focus of Paul's message is that we need to emulate the attitude displayed by Jesus.  The Gospels are full of examples of the words and actions of Jesus that Jesus himself tells us to copy, but here in Philippians Paul focuses on the attitude (i.e. worldview, mindset) that made those words and actions in the Gospels possible.
The first step in adopting a Christ-like attitude is humility.  As God, Jesus didn't seek to hold onto the rights and privileges that were justly his, rather he set them aside in order to be a servant.  If we are going to make a difference in this world, we too must serve.
Secondly, Jesus took upon himself the very form of humanity, including all of our limitations except the sin nature, in order to truly offer humanity a once and for all salvation.  How could any of us fail to stoop to help others when God himself embraced human frailty, became "God with us", in order to save us?
Lastly, and most importantly, Jesus was obedient.  This isn't a case of being obedient because it is convenient or expedient, the obedience of Jesus to the will of the Father led to his gruesome and humiliating death upon a cross.  Why would Jesus do such a thing?  It was the only way.  Therefore, we too must take up our cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  The only way to truly be like Jesus is to also be obedient to the Word of God.

Thankfully, Paul also includes a vision of Jesus' future glory to encourage us to follow him.  On that last day, everyone and everything that has speech will bow the knee to Jesus and proclaim that he is Lord.  There is no question that we will be there and participate in the honor that is due to Jesus.  The question to you is: Do you want to join willingly in the celebration of Jesus' glory?

What does it mean to "be like Jesus"?  Humility.  Obedience.  Glory.

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

Sermon Video "make my joy complete" Philippians 2:1-4

Just prior to his memorable homage to Christ in vs. 5-11, Paul begins by asking the people of the church of Philippi if they have had any encouragement, comfort, fellowship, compassion, or tenderness because of their faith.  The question is rhetorical as any believer will quickly understand, these qualities are the hallmark of God's efforts to restore humanity to a relationship with him through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Because the answer is "yes", the believers then is asked to respond to God's grace by being "like-minded", which Paul explains to mean that we must have the same love, be of one spirit, and be of one purpose.  In other words, we need to take our faith seriously and start living by it.  In addition, we need to start viewing others as God does, seeing their inherent worth, so that we can humbly help those in need through acts of service.

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

Do we love the world or hate the world?

There is a tension that exists within the Christian mindset concerning our view of the world that we live in.  On the one hand, we believe that God is an awesome creator, that our world and this universe is marvelous in its wonder and beauty, and that his creation of humanity in his own image is a crowning achievement which gives each person on the planet a worth beyond reckoning.  On the other hand, we believe that our world is fallen, in slavery to sin and subject to a curse because of human rebellion against God.  Are we supposed to love the world, because God created it, or hate the world, because humanity ruined it?  The answer is not the either/or that some sadly choose and thus warp their understanding, but the more delicate to hold, both/and.  We must both love the world and everyone in it, and hate the sinfulness and depravity with which our eyes are bombarded each day.
In his book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote, "what we need is not the cold acceptance of the world as a compromise, but some way in which we can heartily hate and heartily love it...We have to feel the universe at once as an ogre's castle, to be stormed, and yet as our own cottage, to which we can return at evening." (p. 63)
If you don't love the world, and each person living within in it, you will never understand the mind of God.  If God did not love this world, he would not have sent his one and only Son to die in order to redeem it (John 3:16).
If you don't hate this world, and each act of violence, lust, and selfishness, you will never understand the mind of God.  If God did not hate this world, he would not have flooded it in the days of Noah, nor would he have sent his Law to be a guide or his prophets to warn of the coming judgment.
God loves this world, and hopes to see each and every one of us return home in repentance to his loving embrace.  At the same time, God hates this world, as any parent would hate to see his own children hurting each other.
The tension that exists within the Christian mind about loving and hating the world is supposed to be there.  It isn't a fluke, or a mistake to be corrected, rather it is a reflection of the mind of God who loved this world so much that he was unable to sit idly by and ignore its injustice any longer.

A vote in favor of monogamy

Who is it that understands the value of sex?  Is it the man or woman, committed in the bonds of marriage to only each other, or is it the modern sex addict, indulging anywhere with anyone or anything?
In his book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton explains the simple reason why the murmurs against monogamy from a hundred years ago had no appeal to him, "I could never mix in the common murmur of that rising generation against monogamy, because no restriction on sex seemed so odd and unexpected as sex itself...Keeping to one woman is a small price for so much as seeing one woman.  To complain that I could only be married once was like complaining that I had only been born once  It was incommensurate with the terrible excitement of which one is talking.  It showed, not an exaggerated sensibility to sex, but a curious insensibility to it." (p. 48)
There is no way that Chesterton could have envisioned the wholesale swallowing up of modern culture to sexuality, but his observation that it is the monogamist that truly understands and values sex is all the more true in our culture which so very much devalues it.  What value is there in something that is not worth holding on to?  How can anyone say that a one night stand has any real meaning or purpose when the very name of the person with whom such intimacy has been shared is quickly forgotten?
There may be some who are reading this who think that I just don't understand the pleasure to be had in having sex with many women.  They're right, I don't understand it, nor do I want that type of "knowledge".  What I do know is the absolute value of the sexuality expressed between a husband and his wife.  I don't need to experience any lesser imitations to know the treasure that I already have in being bound by sacred oath to my wife.  I value sex far too highly to ever desecrate this gift by sharing it with another.  I only have two parents, they are amazing, what need have I for more?  I only have one nation, America is my home, what need have I for another?  I only have one faith, Jesus Christ is my salvation, what need have I to be saved by any other?  I only have one wife, what could possibly be gained by desiring sex with any other?
All such bargains that promise joy and pleasure beyond that which we have a right are hollow lies.  Those who partake of them will only learn, to their regret, when it is too late.
Sex is a Siren's Song in America.  It promises a veritable buffet of pleasure, only to dash us upon the rocks of venereal disease, unwanted pregnancies, broken hearts, exploitation, and violence.  Men, do yourself a tremendous service, find one woman, marry her, and learn what the real value of sex is.