The Lord's Supper

This morning we celebrated the Lord's Supper.  First time we've done that at Orange Grove since I've been there.  Today, I wanted to deliver a sermon that focused on helping us better understand the significance of the Lord's Supper.  I think it would be fair criticism to say that Protestants - and probably more-so Baptists - often don't pay near enough attention to what the Lord's Supper means.  Given that the practice dates back to the very earliest of churches....and we're expressly commanded to observe it (Luke 22:19b)...it seems appropriate that we know as much as we can about its history, meaning, purpose and context.  Is there something more to the Lord's Supper than simply "do this in remembrance of me"? 

In preparing a sermon, I always start out with a summary to expand from.  For this week's sermon, the summary was.....

The Lord’s Supper is a time and place when a sharing, unified community of believers, in the course of their ordinary lives,  fellowship with Jesus Christ.  

I used 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 26 as support for the first part of the summary and Luke 24:13 - 35 for the second part of the summary.  While the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) give us much in the way of historical narrative of the Last Supper, it is these two passages of scripture in 1 Corinthians and Luke that offer deeper meaning to the Lord's Supper that we celebrate today.  Below are the notes from Sunday's message....and if you're interested in listening to the audio track, I've provided that as well.

Sermon Notes from Sunday, December 30th

Audio Recording of The Lord's Supper Sermon - December 30, 2012

I'm encouraged by the fact that there is a movement, among Baptist circles, toward a greater understanding of what the Lord's Supper means.  In Re-Envisioning Baptist Identity: A Manifesto for Baptist Communities in North America, The Lord's Supper is addressed as one of the areas of "reform" within the Church.  Check out Affirmation IV in the document by clicking on this link:

Re-Envisioning Baptist Identity Document

Days in Haiti

Yesterday, I read a news article reporting that the U.S. State Department had just issued an updated travel warning for U.S. travelers going to Haiti.  Seems the number of kidnappings....even murder of U.S. citizens....had increased over the past year.  Very troubling to hear....given how much Haiti seems to have benefited from the influx of American travelers....many of them faith-based groups seeking to help rebuild the island after the devastating earthquake.  I've personally been to Haiti on two short-term mission trips and the news report got me thinking about those memorable events.  I remembered that, for the June 2012 trip, I committed to keeping a daily journal...and actually did it!  If you are interested in learning about what a short-term mission trip to Haiti looks like....at least from one person's perspective....follow the link and read on.

Days in Haiti Journal - June 2012

Doing Church Differently

In a few short weeks, Orange Grove Baptist Church will do something quite radical.  Partly to help revitalize its own congregation....and partly to help a sister church that is multiplying rapidly, Orange Grove will turn over the ownership and responsibility (a deed transfer is being prepared as we speak) of its facilities to Iglesia Bautista Fuente De Vida - a new Hispanic congregation of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Here's the twist....Orange Grove Baptist Church isn't going away.  Far from it.  The idea is to leverage the physical resources that God has blessed us with so that two congregations can further His mission on Earth.  Iglesia Bautista De Vida has nearly 100 members but no place to call home.  Orange Grove has a home but lacks the people that bring so much life and energy to a church.  The two congregations have found a way to share a common physical plant...putting both congregations in a better position for success.  And by "success"....I mean impacting the world and changing lives....inside and outside the church building...in an authentic, God-lead way.  Perhaps our efforts will inspire others to look for other creative ways of "doing church".

While ours might be a creative approach, what these two congregations are doing is actually nothing new.  The Winter 2013 issue of ONMISSION highlight a number of church revitalization efforts and many of those projects involved congregations sharing physical resources.  There's a link to that ONMISSION issue on the main page of this blog. 

A couple of weeks ago, there was an article on al.com about two Mobile, Alabama congregations - one Methodist and the other Presbyterian - that have decided to share a building.  Here's the link to that article:

Two Churches, One Building

I'm reminded of a passage I read in David Platt's Radical on the topic of church assets.  On page 118 he wrote:

In that moment I realized the extent to which we, as churches and Christians across America, are in some cases explicitly and in other cases implicitly exporting a theology that equates faith in Christ with prosperity in this world.  This is fundamentally not the radical picture of Christianity we see in the New Testament.  Further when we pool our resources in our churches, what are our priorities?  Every year in the United States, we spend more than $10 billion on church buildings.  In America alone, the amount of real estate owned by institutional churches is worth over $230 billion.  We have money and possessions, and we are building temples everywhere.  Empires, really.  Kingdoms.  We call them houses of worship.  But at the core, aren't they too often outdated models of religion that wrongfully define worship according to a place and wastefully consume our time and money when God has called us to be a people who spend our lives for the sake of his glory among the needy outside our gates?  [Italics are my emphasis] 

Through this blog, I'll provide regular updates on this new journey our two congregations are about to undertake.  Stay tuned!  And since this is a new journey....."Godspeed" to both our congregations!

God breaks through.

Sunday's sermon.....just two days before Christmas....was kicked off by showing a clip from a very familiar cartoon that many of us....especially those in the "over 40" set....have grown up on.

This now-famous two-minute clip comes at a point in the A Charlie Brown Christmas special when Charlie Brown is completely frustrated in his search for the meaning of Christmas.  After throwing his hands in the air, Linus calmly explains the meaning of Christmas by quoting Luke 2:8 - 14 (KJV).

A Charlie Brown Christmas is now the longest-running cartoon in history.  After debuting in 1965 it has been enjoyed by countless millions every year since then.  It is encouraging and heartening to know that God is "breaking through".....inside and outside of the Church. 

In fact, that's what this week's sermon was all about.....God breaking through.  And the ultimate way He became part of humanity's condition was through the birth of His Son....100% God and at the same time....100% human....a mystery I can't begin to fully understand or explain.  He came to be with us....in all our spiritual poverty....in all our weakness....in all our hopelessness.  It is much like the king who when warned by his closest advisers that it was not safe to walk among his subjects replied:  "I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live".

God broke through.

Here are the notes for this week's sermon:

Sermon notes from December 23, 2012

After showing the Charlie Brown "trailer", I walked through the scripture passage (Luke 2:8 - 14) and its key messages.  The universal nature of Christ's birth.  The irony that such strength came from infantile weakness and vulnerability.  The official announcement of the Savior, Lord and Christ.  In Luke 2:8 - 14 God bursts into human history in an amazing, miraculous, almost incomprehensible way.  God "breaking through" is what Christmas is all about.

In pursuit of my master's degree in theology at Spring Hill College, I took a class called Christianity and the Arts.  The purpose of the class was to help students perceive the Christian message in what we usually call the "secular" arts.  What an encouraging eye-opener to see that God is breaking through in all sorts of ways.  Take Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol for example.  Dickens wrote his timeless novel in 1843....during a dawning industrial revolution in England.....a time that was accompanied by crushing poverty, worker exploitation, disease and runaway infant/childhood mortality.  Urbanization, anonymity and a decisive break with rural family traditions was turning London into a soul-less society.  No surprise that the celebration of Christmas had almost disappeared.  For many, it wasn't even considered a day off from work.

Many historians look back and credit the resurgence of Christmas "spirit" almost entirely to Dickens' Christmas Carol.  Although he was only nominally religious and often rebelled against the Church establishment of the day, Dickens wrote a novel rich with Christian symbolism and reflection.  To this day, Dickens' faith is debated.  Some have even called his Christianity into question.  I can't personally know his heart.....but I believe God can (and does) "break through" even the most arduous, hopeless circumstances and touch people in ways the rest of us can't fully grasp....so I like to think that God broke through Mr. Dickens.  

Dickens would go on to be called the "greatest English novelist" and...over the last 170 years....the message of Christmas Carol has touched millions upon millions of people around the globe through books, television, movies and stage production.  Its message of redemption, salvation and concern for those less fortunate jump off the pages...and remind us that Charles Dickens' heart was surely broken by the things that break the heart of God.

God broke through.....again.

God....Live and in Person

This day...two Sundays before Christmas....I had planned on delivering a straightforward Christmas sermon.  The one we always hear around Christmas...about Joseph, Mary, the manger and such.  But Thursday's unspeakable tragedy changed all that.  Today I struggled to come to terms with what happened....along with everyone else.

Today's sermon was a meager attempt to both understand how such a tragedy could happen....as well as appreciate the miracle of the birth of Jesus.  The only way I knew how to approach it was through the Gospel of John.  If you don't have time to read the notes or listen to the audio recording of the sermon, here is the message in a nutshell:


While the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) give us an historical account of Jesus’ birth, it is the Gospel of John that most accurately tells us the reason for Christ’s birth.  The Son and Word became a creature on earth.  The light became life.  There is no other gospel which so stresses the humanity and diety of Jesus.  
 

As a human, I can’t fully understand or know why suffering happens, why God allows it or what the purpose might be.  Furthermore, as a human, I can’t fully understand how God can be born into humanity.  The only way I can begin to process the reality of suffering…..the only way I can begin to appreciate the birth of Jesus….is knowing that God himself suffered in our humanity.  He became one of us….in all our frailty.  He met us where we are. 

Here are notes from today's message:

Sermon Notes from "God....Live and in Person" - Sunday, December 16

You can also listen to a audiocast of today's sermon.  Just open the file (below) in any mp3 player:

Audio Recording of Sermon

Faith and Works Part 2: Faith and Deeds

Below is the sermon notes from Sunday, December 2, 2012.  This sermon was the 2nd part in a three-part series on faith and works. 

Sermon: Faith and Works Part 2 - December 2, 2012

Faith and Works Part 3: Paul's Letters

Below is a link to the notes from the December 9, 2012 sermon.  This was the the third part in a three-part series on faith and works.  



Sermon Notes: Faith and Works Part 3 - December 9, 2012

Faith and Works Part 1: Ministry of Jesus

Immediately following Thanksgiving, I delivered a three-part sermon series on faith and works.   The series will look at the subject of faith and works from three different perspectives:  ministry of Jesus, Pauline letters and James.  The aim of the series is to debunk the myth that there is such a thing as faith "versus" works.  Rather, our goal will be better understand how faith and works compliment each other so that there is not a "hole in the gospel".  Below are the notes from the first part of the series:

Sermon Notes: Faith and Works Part 1 - Sunday, November 25, 2012