Sermon Video: Taking the bread and cup in a worthy manner - I Corinthians 11:27-32

The Church in Corinth had a unity problem.  In Paul’s first letter to this church, he writes disapprovingly about their approach to the communal meal that included their celebration of Communion.  As part of that discussion Paul warns against anyone who “eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner.” (I Corinthians 11:27)  What does it mean to take Communion in an “unworthy” manner?  Paul goes on to describe the judgment that will come from God against those who do this, so figuring out what he means is important to us.

            For the Church in Corinth the primary issue was unity, that lesson will apply to some churches and some Christians who struggle with the issue of placing the bond of Christ above all other distinctions.  But for others, the issue of not being “unworthy” reflects the larger principle of maintaining a proper relationship with God.  We know that anyone who approaches Communion in an irreverent or flippant way would be mocking the table of the Lord, but what of those whose fault is that they approach Communion while still walking in darkness?  Because God desires a relationship with his people, a relationship defined by his character and Law, it is unacceptable for the people of God to try to serve two masters by keeping one foot in the world of sin and one foot in the kingdom of God.  Such hypocrisy is self-destructive; it will lead to our own physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual demise.  We cannot come to the Communion table with an unrepentant heart beholden to wickedness.

            What is Paul’s solution to the danger of being “unworthy”?  Judge yourself.  Take the time to examine your own heart and mind to see if there is anything there that is causing, or could cause, damage to your relationship with your heavenly Father.  We know that it is necessary to be proactive in our marriages, necessary to put in the time and effort to keep the passion alive.  Our spouse doesn’t deserve to be ignored, neglected, and certainly not cheated upon.  Why would our relationship with God deserve any less?

            In a nation where the majority of people self-identify as Christians, there should not  be such high rates of abortion, divorce, infidelity, gambling, drug addiction, fraud, and whatever other vice you want to consider.  These problems are not simply problem outside our churches; these sins infect the body of Christ.  When the Church of Jesus Christ stars choosing righteousness over wickedness, when the Church takes its marriage vow as the bride of Christ seriously, our society will change.  It is no wonder when the Lost act according to their sin nature, but the people of God are supposed to be different.  We have been washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb; we cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with our Savior. 

            Why do we take Communion, why do we go to Church, why do we volunteer to serve?  All these and more are ways in which we can fill up our lives with righteousness and holiness.  The key to avoiding sin is not simply avoiding temptation.  Success against temptation will be found when we leave no room in our lives for sin to take root.  Let us them examine ourselves, confess our sins, and approach the table of the Lord with humility as we do what is necessary to build up our relationship with God and indeed be “worthy” of that union.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video 

Sermon Video: "Worthy is the Lamb" - Revelation 5:1-14

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus that we remember each year on Palm Sunday was a spontaneous event of enthusiasm by the people of Jerusalem for a political solution to the ongoing problem of foreign domination by the Romans that they hoped Jesus was about to bring to an end.  Their shouts for a king in David’s line were indeed accurate, Jesus was worthy to sit on that throne, but he had other intentions from the beginning.  That unexpected role reversal, from claiming a throne to suffering as a servant, is mirrored in the vision that John sees of the End Times that he recorded in Revelation.

            In chapter five of Revelation, John sees God holding a scroll that cannot be opened by any created being.  That scroll signifies the beginning of the end of history, the final judgment on creation and the culmination of the redemptive plan of God.  Who has the right to decide that such a time is at hand?  Who could be holy enough, righteous enough, to open such a scroll?  At that point the Lion of the tribe of Judah steps forth, he is worthy.  But then something remarkable happens.  In the very next verse, it is not the Lion, the mighty king, who takes the scroll from the hand of the Father, but the Lamb who was slain.

            Jesus had the right as King of kings and Lord of lords to open the scroll, the Son of God and the Son of Man has every right to do so, but he once again approaches this responsibility with the same humility and obedience that led Jesus to Calvary less than a week after the shouts of “Hosanna”.

            The Cross and the Empty Tomb are the great reversal of all of history.  There humility defeated pride, love triumphed over hatred, and a sinless and spotless life triumphed by giving itself up over death.  In our world, power, wealth, and fame are revered, sought and fought over, but not so in the kingdom of God.  The Lamb at the center of the praise and worship in John’s vision is honored because he put others before himself.  He is lifted up and glorified by ever increasing numbers until all of creation joins in the song because he was willing to kneel before the will of the Father.  Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video 

The small margin of error for the shepherd of the flock

Headlines such as this are a far too frequent occurrence: “Pastor resigns after sex scandal”, “Pastor resigns amid financial scandal”.  There was another high-profile mega-church pastor who resigned this week after admitting to at least two affairs.  This was obviously a newsworthy story, especially with the 20,000 members attending this church and the satellite campuses far and wide, not to mention the book and TV efforts this church was engaged in with this pastor as its public face.  That failures such as this are sad is evident, but something about the comments that are inevitable bothers me.  Those who belong to the church rocked by such failures of leadership often say something like, “he’s a sinner, just like all of us, we all need to be forgiven.”  On the surface of it, that statement is entirely true.  Any and every church pastor is a sinner saved by grace.  There isn’t anyone who avoided needed God’s forgiveness and grace, and there isn’t anyone entering the kingdom of Heaven on their own merit.  There is a big piece of this puzzle missing, however.  That the pastor was a sinner saved by grace, when he became a follower of Jesus Christ, is entirely true, but he cannot continue to be someone who walks in darkness if he is to shepherd the church of Jesus Christ.

Like it or not, the standard by which a pastor is judged is not the same as that for his congregation.  Not everyone is capable of being a church pastor; not everyone has the gifts or talents necessary, and not everyone has the temperament needed to do the job.  Lastly, but just as importantly, not everyone is capable of the high moral standard that must be followed by someone willing to take on both the privilege and the burden of leading a church.  A church pastor is not allowed to continue in his position if he cannot keep his marriage vows (or his celibacy if he is single).  A church pastor is not allowed to continue in his position if he uses drugs, abuses alcohol, is violent, greedy, power hungry, or unforgiving.  The list is a long one, and could go on, but the point is clear.  To be called to the ministry as a shepherd is no small thing.  It has higher entrance requirements, and a high standard to continue.

Is a pastor who breaks his promise to God capable of being forgiven?  Of course he is; we all are capable of being forgiven.  Should he be allowed to continue in his ministry if he confesses his sins and shows contrition?  No, that ship has sailed.  As I said, it’s no small thing to serve the Church of God.  This is, according to the Word of God, a business where no major mistakes, and let’s call them what they are, sins, are allowed.  It is one thing for your senator to cheat on his wife, its far worse for your pastor to do so.

Does it worry me to write such things, knowing that my wife and I are dependent upon this job to provide for our needs?  No, it doesn’t, because I wouldn’t have sought ordination if I didn’t know my own heart.  I wouldn’t have accepted a call to shepherd this church if I was tempted to cheat on my wife, use drugs, or steal from the collection plate.  The Marines call themselves, “the few, the proud”; the Church needs to have similar high standards about those we allow to lead us.  That may not sound like an attitude devoid of second chances, but in the case of betraying the sacred trust of administering the Word of God, there really isn’t one.

Sermon Video: "my righteous servant will justify many" - Isaiah 53:7-12

In this second message on Isaiah 53, the suffering and death of the servant of God is given further detail and explanation.  Isaiah reveals that the servant of God will be “assigned a grave with the wicked” but be “with the rich in his death”.  This odd combination will be fulfilled by Jesus when he is wrongly convicted of being a blasphemer and a revolutionary and yet still placed in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea.  Such fulfillment of O.T. prophecies occurs throughout the Gospel account of the death of Jesus because the entire life of Jesus is part of the grand plan of redemption set forth by the Father before the creation of the world. 

            In the end, it was the will of God and love for mankind that held Jesus to the cross, it was our sins upon his shoulders that caused his Father to look away until it was finished, and it was his blameless life that kept death from being able to hold him.  Isaiah also speaks of the “descendants” of this servant, cut off from the living, yet prospering and rewarded.  This seeming contradiction is fulfilled when Jesus rises from the dead, no longer scorned, he now is due honor and glory from the Father.  No longer bereft of those to carry on his name, he now his spiritual descendants who have joined the family of God in his name.

            As the journey to the cross through Isaiah comes to a close the question of why has been clearly seen.  Why the cross?  The ultimate answer is this: there was no other way.  Sin had to be paid for, rebellion had a cost, and only the Son of God, sinless in life, was capable of dying in our place.  

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video 

 

Things I've written you might enjoy.

Well, if you already read at least some of my blog it stands to reason that you might be interested in some of the longer pieces I've had occassion to write.  They're all already contained in individual blogs posts, but I figured it was time to make things easier and put all the links here on one post for any new readers.  Enjoy, use, cite if you're writing a paper for a high school or college class (which would be real cool, let me know if you do), think about what I've written, and then feel free to comment so I get some feedback.  Thanks.

A brief Theology derived from the Nicene Creed

This is just a short version of what a systematic Christian theology might look like when the Nicene Creed, the Church's oldest, most generally accepted creed, was used as the format.

 Christianity's Big Tent: The Ecumenism of I John

Christianity's Big Tent: Bibliography

This is an unpublished book that I wrote, 150 pages, about how we can define the Church through an analysis of I John.  The question of who is, and who is not, a Christian is answered on the basis of the teaching of I John.  The second link is the works cited page.

The Historicity of Asimov's Foundation Series

Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series is one of the best selling and most influential Science Fiction stories of all time.  It also has an interesting viewpoint on human nature and history.  That topic is explored in this paper that examines those aspects of the series from a Christian perspective.

The U.S.S. Platonic

The Platonic is a play that my wife Nicole and I wrote, directed, and starred in while she was working as a teacher at Saranac High School.  We began writing the play as friends and ended it as much more, it actually mirros the problems of the two primary characters whose friendship grows into something more.  A bit of art imitating life.  Feel free to enjoy its wacky humor, if you're thinking of directing a play, feel free to us it and let us know.

Relational Intimacy: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption

This is a paper I wrote about how intimacy between people was intended to be in God's original creation, how it was changed by the Fall, and how our redemption begins the process remedying it.

Young Goodman Brown: Analysis

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown is a fascinating short story that is an allegory of the destruction of one man's faith.  This paper is an analysis of that story from a Christian viewpoint.  I recieved an "A" for it in college, and its the most viewed page on this blog, so I know that some of you may be tempted to cut/paste portions of it, or simply change the name, and pass it off as your own.  Rather than do that, simply use what I've written if it works for you and cite me as the source.  I was afterall, an English teacher for ten years.