No Fear

In preparing for this Sunday's sermon on fear I was reminded of the famous Franklin Delano Roosevelt quote...."the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."  FDR uttered these famous words during his inaugural address on March 4, 1933....in the depths of the Great Depression and rumblings of war across the Atlantic.  With nearly 25% of Americans unemployed and great uncertainty about the country's future....surely widespread fear was rampant at that time.  I think it's easy for those of us, living in the midst of 2013, to forget that we are not the only generation that has struggled with fear and uncertainty.

On an interesting note....FDR was sworn in with his Bible open to 1 Corinthians 13....commonly known as the "love chapter".  Especially interesting given the discussion of "love vs. fear" that is part of this Sunday's discussion.

I also drew from an article I found entitled "The Physical and Mental Effects of Fear".  This article made the case, very convincingly I might add, that "fear" was the greatest threat to humanity (in our time).  It even made the bold assertion that being gripped by fear was more devastating than being a victim of nuclear fallout.  Using results from a study done by the World Health Organization, the article shared some amazing facts.  Many surviving victims of Chernobyl, Nagasaki and Hiroshima actually died of preventable cancers.  However, because those victims feared what doctors might find, many did not pursue medical treatment immediately after their radiation exposure.  Similar results have been found in groups of patients who have been found HIV Positive.  Many, who would later die of full-blown AIDS, could have been successfully treated with medical interventions early on.  But because of the fear of "what if".....

Probably the most striking paragraph in the article was:

Fear has manufactured a prison for them that is smaller than their potential boundaries.  According to a 2001 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, one of fear's sneakiest tricks is convincing us that the realm of possibility is more limited than it really is.  It causes risk-avoiding behavior.  It tells us that we are not good enough or smart enough and robs us of what could have been. 

Wow.  Pretty hard-hitting stuff.  So my question is....if fear is so debilitating to the human soul, then surely our Scripture addresses how we should deal with it, right? Fortunately, the answer is "yes". 

For this message, I chose three passages of scripture:  Psalms 122, 1 John 4:17 - 18 and Luke 8:24 - 26.  Using these passages of Scripture, three truths about fear - and freedom from it - can be fleshed out:

Focusing on others, especially through giving and sharing, frees us from fear.  (Psalm 122)
Wherever Christ is, fear is not.  (Luke 8:24 - 26)
Love is fear's worst enemy (1 John 4:17 - 18)

Our God never intended us to live a life filled with fear.  Much to the contrary.  Fortunately for us, Scripture has left us a blueprint for dealing with fear....and freeing ourselves from it. 

A little bit of fear might be healthy, but taken to extremes....only serves to separate us from God. 

Notes from sermon and audio file of message are below:

Sermon Notes - "No Fear" - January 27, 2013

Audio of Sermon - "No Fear" - January 27, 2013

Being Part of Something Bigger

Sunday, January 13th was a good day.  No....Sunday, January 13th was a great day.  On that day, two separate congregations worshiped together as a way of formally kicking off a unique partnership designed to share physical resources and put each congregation in a better position to survive and thrive.  Although both congregations are Southern Baptist in membership.....there are probably more differences...on the surface anyway....than similarities.  But with the help of a translator, a little patience and a genuine desire to be part of something bigger than each of us....we worshiped together.

Appropriately, Bro. Phillip Price - the person who took the first step in making this new partnership a reality - kicked off the service by welcoming both congregations.  As the dozen or so members from Orange Grove Baptist Church stood to be recognized, I was overcome (once again) by the faith of those church members.  Most have spent a lifetime nurturing and caring for the once thriving but now shrinking congregation of Orange Grove Baptist.  And through all of the ups and downs....persevering through hurricanes, flooding, loss of population in the community, schools closing and employers leaving.....still they stand (and remain) faithful.  In a couple of hours, this band of faithfuls will sign over the deed of the property God built for them.....the place many of them call their church home.  They were able to do this....because they truly let the Holy Spirit take the lead.  They did this because God gives us the will to put our self aside with a desire for something bigger than each of us.

And then as the congregation of Iglesia Bautista Fuente De Vida stood....much more in number than the first.....I applauded and wondered (still) how this group was able to get done all of the changes I saw before me.  When the church was flooded last Fall (compliments of Hurricane Isaac) the church had to be completely gutted.  Pastor Richardo and his congregation rolled up their sleeves and got to work.  New sheetrock, new tile throughout, a remodeled kitchen (new stove, sink, counters and tile) and fellowship hall.  Hardly a square foot was left untouched in the building that now passed the 45+ mark in age.  The bright, cheery colors throughout the Sunday School rooms matched the sounds of the nearly thirty kids and youth that had now filled the church building. 

The service began with a set of praise hymns....and the bongos, electric guitar and drums attested to the fact that there would be a little more "zip" in the service than we were accustomed to.  Pastor Richardo's wife shook a tambourine from the front row....where Heidi and I also sat .  I didn't understand much of the Spanish singing....okay, I didn't I understand any of it....and we did not have enough copies of the sheet music...but no worries....we had fun anyway.

Jose was a superb interpreter (going back and forth between English and Spanish almost effortlessly) so the service moved along with ease.  I was honored to deliver the sermon on this special occasion.  Actually "special occasion" sounds so trite.  Sunday was the kind of day one always remembers. 

With Jose as my interpreter, the sermon flowed.  I was further put at ease knowing that the baptismal sitting directly behind me was full of warm water...awaiting our candidates for baptism...one of which was my youngest daughter Anna.

No one can remember the last time the baptismal had been used....and judging from the amount of dust, cobwebs, leaves and dead bugs I cleaned out of it on the Thursday before....it had been a long while.  Just two days before the service, we didn't know if the heater worked.....or whether it would even hold water.  There were a couple of times when I thought....surely....we'll need to postpone these basptisms.  "This just is not going to work".....I thought.  How shallow is my faith sometimes.  Not only did the baptismal hold water....but, miraculously, the heater worked.  Pastor Richardo borrowed some baptismal robes from another church...and we were in business.  Inch-by-inch and step-by-step.....God challenges our lack of faith...at least he does mine.  I'm reminded of Mark 9:24 - "I do believe.   Help me overcome my unbelief."  Needless to day, it was another unforgettable experience when Pastor Richardo and I each baptized new members of our respective congregations....one of them being Sister Anna....my 8-year old daughter.

I delivered a sermon on Paul's teachings on unity and love.  Appropriate....I think....since those are the things that put all of us together on that particular Sunday.  You can follow this link for the complete notes from the sermon.  I've also pasted the closing comments from the sermon below.

Sermon - 1/13/13 - Paul's Idea of Church

Today, I believe Paul is looking down on us from Heaven…and smiling. In an age when we hear of so many divisions in the Church….churches splitting up…..congregations at odds….churches closing….today represents a step in the right direction. Today, our congregations are an example of what Paul’s vision of love and unity can do.

I don’t know why God uses frail, imperfect human beings like us to work out his plan…..I just know that he does. Paul…just like us….was one of those frail, imperfect people.

Over the past six months, we have prayed and sought God’s will for both our congregations. We have been faithful….and patient….and God has blessed us with folks like Brother Phillip (and many others) who have been with us every step of the way. If we continue seeking God’s will as we have done these past months, both our congregations will reach this community for Christ.

Fresh New Start

Today was the first Sunday of 2013 so the whole "new year, new start, new you" theme (made popular by Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, etc.) was on my mind this week. I'm also looking forward to next Sunday when I'll get to baptize my youngest daughter (Anna).  So with all that swirling around, it was easy to gravitate toward the first part of Romans...specifically Romans 6:4-10. In the last part of verse four, Paul writes about a "new life" that comes about through baptism....at least that's how it is worded in the NIV. 

I started the sermon by describing some of the baptismal rituals of the first and second centuries.  I had fun scaring Anna....saying that many candidates for baptism were immersed in their "birthday suit", in cold water...and in something that looked like this:

That picture, of course, is of an excavated ancient baptismal.  Shaped like a cross...which was not uncommon.  Anna felt better when it became clear that the baptismal directly behind me would be full of warm water next week...so that she could be "baptized with the Holy Spirit" in relative comfort!  Haha.

As with most of my sermons, there was a measure of historical backdrop...even some information about Jewish baptismal customs.  During my research for the sermon, I learned that Jewish rabbis often referred to a man's "first-born" child as the first child born after his baptism.....even if the man had previous children!  That's how serious Jews and early Christians were about the idea of a totally "new you".

The Apostle Paul was also very serious about baptism.  For him, it was more than just an "event"....or a ritual....or symbol.  It was real.  Participatory.  In union with Christ.  In baptism, according to Paul, we take part in the death and resurrection of Christ. Not simply transformed....or changed.....or altered.  New.  Our old self dies and a new self emerges. 

Now to be clear, it's understood that the physical act of baptism is not synonymous as salvation.  But Paul's words are certainly to be understood as what takes place in our hearts when we accept the gift of salvation.

I closed my sermon with a excerpt from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity:

The Christian way is different:  harder and easier.  Christ says:  "Give me All.  I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work:  I want you.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.  No half-measures are any good.  I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down.  I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out.  Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked -- the whole outfit.  I will give you a new self instead.  In fact, I will give you Myself:  my own will shall become yours." 

Methinks C.S. must have been reading Romans 6:4 - 10 when he penned those words!

Links to notes and audio recording of sermon are below.  Later this week, I'll have another post on "standing still" which was a part of this Sunday's sermon as well.  I'll also provide some information on next Sunday's joint worship service with Iglesia Bautista Fuente De Vida.  Will be a great day!  Stay tuned and have a great week!

Sermon notes from "Fresh New Start" - January 6, 2013

Audio Recording of "Fresh New Start" - January 6, 2013

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.