Go Your Own Way

Sermon delivered on June 9, 2013

The essence of sin is the failure to love God.

                            -John McArthur, Grace Community Church 

In 1976, Fleetwood Mac recorded "Go Your Own Way" - a megahit about the breakup between Lindsey Buckingham and Steve Nicks (both from the band).  The song was from the Rumours album.....which went on to sell 45 million copies, making it one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.  The song itself sounds like a typical 70's era rock song.  But when the lyrics are read like poetry, the words tell a different story.  An excerpt from the song goes like this:

Loving you isn't the right thing to do, but how can I change things that I feel?

If I could, maybe I'd give you my world.

How can I when you won't take it from me?

You can go your own way!  Go your own way.

You can call it another lonely day.  Another lonely day.

You can go your own way.  Go your own way. 

The song paints a picture of someone offering their heart....only to be rejected.  And that heartbreak is coupled with the fact that the one being rejected knows the other is making a lonely choice.  If this song were a romance movie, we could imagine the scene.  A heartbroken young woman, offering to give everything to someone else.....only to be rejected as he drives off.  With a scene like that, there wouldn't be a dry eye in the theater.

But where are our tears when we consider how many times we - and all of humanity - have done the same thing to God?  The Bible is filed with stories of both individuals and His chose people, going their own way without God.  We find one such story in 1 Kings 11:4 - 13. 

The two books of Kings are focused on a time with the people of Israel insisted on having their own earthly kings.  Wanting a king in itself wasn't so bad.  In fact, In Deuteronomy 17:14 - 17 Moses is directed by God to instruct the people of Israel as to how they should go about selecting a king.  Sadly, as time progressed, the people of Israel went their own way without God and chose kings that didn't meet the standards that God had set.  Some, such as Solomon (son of David) gradually went their own way without God....despite everything He had given them. 

Solomon was the third king of Israel and over his lifetime he had over 700 wives! Wow.  Now that's a lot to keep up with!  Most of the marriages were made for political expedience and directly against what God had instructed through Moses.  Many of these wives practices pagan religions - were not Christians - and Solomon was tolerant of their practices.  However, this proved to be dangerous....a slippery slope....and Solomon himself began to honor these various gods.  Verse 4 tells us that "when Solomon was old"....a clue that lets us know the change was not immediate, but happened over time.  Perhaps with Solomon not even realizing it. 

Solomon did other things that were in direct conflict with God's plan.  He took the pharaoh’s daughter as a wife, purchased horses from Egypt  and accumulated silver.  By going his own way, Solomon helped seal the fate of the nation of Israel.  While he would not live to see it, Israel would split and would be forever weakened.....making it easy for future generations to be divided and conquered.  God's disappointment with Solomon was evident in verse nine when we learn that "the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice."  Solomon had gone his own way.....had rejected all that God was offering him. 

So what can we learn from Solomon's life?

It's not necessarily the what we do and don't do that upsets God the most, it's the going our own way that really disappoints God.  Although Solomon did many immoral things in his life....that's not what got him into trouble.  It was refusing to let God take the lead that was his demise.  In fact, many of the things Solomon did weren't necessarily “bad” or immoral things in and of themselves (buying horses, accumulating silver) but it just wasn't part of God's plan for him or the nation of Israel.....and therefore "sin".

Going our own way sometimes happens gradually.  Perhaps the scariest realization is that change can happen to us without us even realizing it.  That may be what happened to Solomon. 

Earthly success is not always an indication that God's plan is being followed.  Solomon was incredibly wealthy, a great leader and from the outside looking in.....would probably be considered "religious" or "blessed".  But it was all a mirage.  He was not following God's plan.  Mathew Henry wrote:

Those who have dominion over men are apt to forget God's dominion over them; and, while they demand obedience from their inferiors, to deny it to him who is the Supreme.

Solomon's story reminds us of the heartbreaking consequences when we reject all that God is willing to give us and we go our own way.

The Miracle of Regeneration

The first day of Spring is one thing, but the first Spring day is another.
                                                       – Henry Van Dyke


A couple of Sundays ago I added a little "show-and-tell" to my sermon....complete with "props".  I'm sure my congregation was at least a little curious as to why I had a 3-foot-long oak tree branch resting on the pulpit on that particular morning.  I actually used it to make an illustration about rebirth, regeneration and the Spring season. 

Of course....to make the illustration properly, I had to do a little botanical research on the budding process for trees.  What I found out was even more amazing than I first thought.  The small, emerging buds that we see on trees in early spring - like the ones on my oak limb sample - actually develop at the end of the previous summer.  The tree forms these buds when the days are still long and there's plenty of sun.  It then covers the buds with "scales" (looks sortof like bark) and insulates the buds throughout fall and winter.....until the days start to lengthen again and there is ample sunlight.  As the sun grows warmer and the days longer (in Spring) the bud gets restless and the scales begin to drop off.  Perhaps we don't notice all of the true miracles that happen around us....all the time.

I thought about a story I once heard.  A wise king was wrestling with his Christian faith and belief.  "If I could just witness a miracle", he said to himself, then I could finally belief that God exists and moves within humanity.  Troubled....almost obsessed.....by these thoughts, he finally consulted his wisest counsel.  To the king's delight, his wise sage informed him that God had given the old wise man the ability to grant the king a miracle.  Eager to finally witness this long-awaited miracle, the king hung on every word of his trusted counsel.  The wise gentleman instructed the king to plant four acorns in separate locations around the perimeter of a small, crystal clear pool.  After planting the acorns the king was instructed to gaze into the crystal clear pool, for only a second, and then look up.  When the king did, he was gazing up at four magnificent, mature oak trees.  "Wow!" he shouted.  "That is truly a miracle!"  In just seconds, four acorns turned into four beautiful oak trees.  Amazing".  The wise man, with a slightly troubled look on his face, explained to the king that the "split second" was actually 80 years....a little trick necessary so that the king could see the miracle unfold.  Sure enough, the king gazed back down into the crystal-clear pond and his reflection revealed a wrinkled face and stringy gray/white hair.  Although the king's condition was temporary....he had learned a valuable lesson.  Just because it took over 80 years for an acorn to become a mature oak tree....the process in no less a miracle. 

At some point in your lives, I think we've all been like that king.  When things are falling apart around us....we find ourselves almost shouting...."where is God in all of this?"  "Does God even care about this little drama called 'my life'"?  And then....God shows up.  If it's still a little hard to believe, just spend some time outside during the next two months.  God...is....here.

Springtime is all about rebirth, regeneration....resurrection.  It reminds all Christians that regeneration is the way God begins His work in us, and it explains why each Christian is a new creation in Christ. 

The New Testament is full of imagery of rebirth.  In John 3:3, Jesus tells Nichodemus that unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Then in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul reminds us (as he does several times) that in Christ, we are new creations.  And then in 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter shares with readers a "new birth into a living hope".  Even though Peter wrote this letter during a time of intense Christian persecution - at the hands of Nero - his words brought hope, promise and optimism to his fledgling Christian readers.  We get a sense that Peter knew the persecution would spread and continue....and so his letters encouraged Christians to remain strong. 

Peter's letter is clear that it is the Holy Spirit who grants us a new birth (1 Peter 1:3) and that the miracle of rebirth is nothing we can do for ourselves.  Peter also explains that, as Christians, our "living hope" and outpouring of brotherly love is a directly result from the "seed of God" planted within our hearts as part of the regeneration process. 

While preparing for this sermon on rebirth and regeneration, I ran into an article, written by columnist Beverly Beckham, that originally ran in the April 24, 2011 edition of the Boston Globe.  Beverly's article is a powerful and moving reminder of the miracle of rebirth.  A link to the article is below.  Enjoy!

Article: "With spring, a rebirth of hope"

Audio Sermon: The Miracle of Regeneration

Sermon Notes: The Miracle of Regeneration

Focus on the Family

A few weeks ago, I was flying to New Orleans - from Nashville - coming back from a consulting engagement in Tennessee.  I brought the latest copy of USA Today on board to help pass the time on the relatively short, but crowded, Southwest flight.  A glance at the Opinion page and I saw a headline that read "Debate over preschool obscures the core problem".  A subtitle read "Fragile families harm children".    Any reader would have had a hard time missing the alarming chart in the middle of the page which showed that in 1960 5.3% of children were born out-of-wedlock....but by 2010 that percentage had grown to 40.8%.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Today, two out of every five children are born to single mothers.  As a man and a father, I just can't imagine turning my back on the fundamental responsibility of holding one's family together.

Apparently, being a father is just not as fashionable these days. 

The article cited a number of research studies that have concluded that children raised in one-parent homes typically face an uphill battle - socially, physically, financially and emotionally.  Now...to be fair....there are plenty of single parent success stories - most of those being single moms.  The article was simply pointing out that raising children with only one parent makes child raising harder than it has to be.   Reading through the article, you can almost feel the arms of the author being cast skyward in desperation....as the article begs the questions...."where did we go wrong?" and "what do we do now?".  The article ends with a bone-jarring claim: "the primary engine of social advancement has always been the family, and it is breaking down."

Of course....a secular article in USA Today is not going to refer to the Biblical model of the family.  But if we truly ask ourselves....if all parents were following the Biblical model of the family....would there even be a need to write the article I found myself reading?  The answer, of course, is "no". 

God's plan for the family was not an afterthought.  We read of God's plan all the way back to Deuteronomy 6:4 - 9.  This is a well-known passage where we experience Moses communicating with the people of Israel.  This passage is also where we first learn of the Greatest Commandment (Jesus himself would later reference this passage during his ministry on earth)....and the fact that instructions regarding the family were mentioned alongside of the most revered of Jewish teachings....reminds us that the family is important. 

Within these five verses in Deuteronomy 6 we learn that God should be part of all daily activities - waking, working, going to bed.  Family activities that have remained unchanged over the course of several thousand years.  Moses also instructed God's people to protect their house with the Word of God.  Many took this literally...and some still do.  Phylacteries are small containers of scripture that some orthodox Jews wear on their forehead and arm.  And some adorn the doorways  in their houses with "mezuzahs" (containers with scriptures) that can be touched when traveling from room-to-room.

Scripture is "crystal clear" that "family comes first" - to borrow a phrase that seems overused at times.  It is in the context of the home - not the Church - where families learn and grow in faith.

In a modern society where the breakdown of the family is so alarming and profound, it would be tempting for us, as Christians, to just shake our heads, wonder where it all went wrong....and resign ourselves to the fact that things just aren't like they were in the "good ol' days.  But that is not how Jesus Christ would respond.  Our congregations should approach the problem of the family with prayer, love and compassion....not condemnation, shame and embarrassment for those who find themselves in the midst of family turmoil.  After all, if Jesus Christ did not come to condemn the world (John 3:17) then how can we justify doing so? 

Audio Sermon of "Focus on the Family"

Notes from "Focus on the Family" Sermon

Spread the Word

During a sermon a couple of weeks ago....I got on the "anti-Facebook" bandwagon.....warning my congregation that there is evidence that social media has a tendency to make some unsuspecting users a tad more self-centered and narcissistic.  My wife and 12-year-old daughter, both Facebook junkies, were not amused.  They both would be surprised to hear me, just two weeks later, exclaiming the amazing ability of Facebook and other social media sites to spread the news about Christ's grace. 

I recently stumbled on a FoxNews.com story about a Facebook page called Jesus Daily....a site that now has over 15 million regular followers.  The site was started by a physician in Virginia who, from what I can tell, was just following the command of Jesus himself....to embark on the Great Commission.  Here's  quick YouTube video on Jesus Daily.

Amazing what one person can do when moved by God.  My faith in social media is renewed!  Sortof.  ;-)

About that same time I was pondering the good works of Jesus Daily, I received the latest issue of Christianity Today and the cover story was called "The New Radicals"....an article about David Platt, Francis Chan and others who are challenging comfortable Christians to extreme discipleship. 

And then finally I found myself reading up on some history, as I often do, and got on the subject of the Jewish Diaspora and how that spread of Jews helped the spread the Christianity by introducing cultures to a monotheistic God and establishing synagogues that would later be used by early Christian church congregations. 

Perhaps God was nudging me to put together a sermon on "spreading the word"?  You think?

Sure...a sermon on Matthew 28:16 - 20 would not be very original or groundbreaking, but with Easter right around the corner....maybe its time we reminded ourselves of that powerful piece of scripture.

Matthew packs a lot in to these five verses.  In these verses we find Jesus:

....assuring disciples of His power.
....giving them instructions on the Great Commission.
....promising the disciples his continued presence.

What I find comforting, in a weird way, is just how much the disciples doubted Jesus.  We see this same theme over and over again in the New Testament.  The disciples weren't always brimming with confidence.  They doubted Jesus' ability to save them when the seas turned rough.  They had to touch the wounds of Jesus to belief his resurrection.  And few believed that Jesus could somehow feed the 5,000 on a particular busy day during his earthly ministry.  Basically, the disciples were much like you and I.  Always doubting....always questioning our faith.  So in the first part of our scripture passage, Jesus reassures the disciples yet again.

We then hear Jesus offer up details on the Great Commission.  That it is universal...for ALL nations and people.  That it is all about "teaching" or "making disciples". 

Jesus commanded us to "go" and "teach" and know that we are not alone.  What strikes me.....is that if this was the LAST recorded thing (in Matthew) that Jesus said to his disciples....the very last thing he would say to them before departing....then this must have been some important, groundbreaking, earth-shattering stuff.

I'm reminded that I need to have faith that is it possible for all of us to make disciples.  Every-now-and-then we need to also be reminded that the greatest faith movement that the world has ever seen....started with, at most, a handful of ill-prepared, doubting followers. 

As Margaret Mead famously said:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Audio Sermon - Spread the Word

Sermon Notes - Spread the Word

Easily Distracted

On Sunday, February 17th, I started off my sermon by talking about how I get easily distracted while driving.  I just can't help myself.....I like to check out everything around me!  And for some reason, I seem to get most distracted when Heidi is sitting in the passenger seat next to me.  Those times have lead to some interesting comments from her over the years.  LOL.  Of course, in recognizing this affliction, I've come to the conclusion that my iPhone belongs tucked away in the glove box or center console away from view.  Now THAT would truly be a dangerous distraction.

But there is a not-so-funny story in the Bible about distraction.  The Old Testament book of Haggai, though very short, tells of an important tale of the people of Israel after the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586 BC.  Taken into exile by the rulers of Babylon, the Israelites were finally set free years later by Cyrus the Great (after Cyrus - from Persia - overthrew the Babylonian empire).  The chosen people of God were now free to restore the splendor of their once mighty temple.  Woohoo!  Well....the Israelites may have been excited in the beginning....but the giddiness soon faded.  The temple project was fraught with delays and after many years only a weed-infested foundation lay as a testament to their lack of follow-through.  Of course....the question is.....what happened?

Well...in short....they got distracted.  In Haggai 1:4 we find the prophet Haggai delivering a message from God.....warning the Israelites that they should not be living in "paneled houses" while the temple sits unfinished.  This reference to "paneled houses" indicates that many of the Israelites were "movin' on up" (just like The Jeffersons) to fancier and fancier subdivisions.  God's chosen people had become so concerned with their own personal wealth and prosperity that they neglected to finish the temple so that God could live and fellowship with them. The nation of Israel had become distracted by material wealth.

I recently found an article called Standards of Living and Modern Economic Growth by John Nye (professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis).  The focus of the article was articulating just how much our modern standard of living has increased around the globe - especially in the past 300 years.  The data was astounding.  Never has there been a time when average people, world-wide, have enjoyed such economic prosperity.  As the article stated, "in the most successful countries, the average citizen now enjoys a material standard of living that would have made the greatest king of two hundred years ago turn green with envy."

So here's the big question:

If the distraction of material wealth was a problem for the people of Israel back then, how much more is it a problem today?

There are a number of lessons to be learned from Haggai 1:2 - 11:

• Without the Holy Spirit we are selfish.
• Materialism separates us from God.
• Even after we are delivered from hard times, we tend to get complacent.
• God wants to be our top priority.
• Chasing after anything but God only leaves us wanting.

As C.S. Lewis wrote:

And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

Audio Recording of "Easily Distracted"

Sermon Notes for "Easily Distracted"

Orange Grove in the Press

Associated Baptist Press ran an online article regarding Orange Grove's recent journey with our sister Hispanic congregation.  This link should take you straight to the article.

Aging Pushes Congregations to Fiscal Brink

The Destructive Power of Self

"The Destructive Power of Self".....fairly ominous and dark title for my sermon on Sunday, February 17th.  Now that I examine that title a little more....it's doesn't sound like me at all....as I'm normally upbeat and positive.  But earlier in the week I had been reading through a flurry of studies that have just come out.....pointing to the dangers that social media can pose for some users.  Made me start thinking about the "self" and how seductive and deceptive it can really be. 

Researchers are now finding that excessive dependence on social media can lead to narcissism and self-absorption....which can then lead to feelings of depression, inadequacy, loneliness and despair.  Perhaps each of us can have too much....."us".  In these articles it was interesting to read how some social media users are creating their own "15 minutes of fame"....concerned not with simply connecting with others but more concerned with building up some type of concocted stage on which to impress others.  In those cases, surely "self" has gotten a little out of control.

But mainly, I had been impacted more by my own preoccupation with self.  Earlier in the week....prior to my sermon, I had struggled through a difficult morning in which I was obsessing and wringing my hands over the direction for my career.  Having left Singing River Health System in November 2012, my attention has turned toward trying to figure out "what now?".  And that wonderment has, at times, been a bumpy ride.  Sometimes I've thought...."am I on the right track?"....."have I made a mistake?"....."what does the future hold?".  Natural thoughts....but when these same thought become a pre-occupation, the "self" grows bigger and more unwieldy.  And on this Valentine's Day morning, "self" had definitely raised its ugly head.  By about 10 a.m. that morning I had had enough and  I prayed that God would but the genie (self) back in the bottle......helping me to look outward....as opposed to inward.  I picked up my iPhone and called each of the ladies in my congregation and wished them a Happy Valentine's Day.  During one phone call I prayed with a member who was struggling with an illness in the family and a number of big decisions in her life.  During another call, I found out a member had a relative in the hospital....and being near the hospital I proceeded to meet with that person.  And then I remembered that one of our members has a brother who is permanently in a nursing home due to a disability.  I swung by Walmart, picked up a Valentine's Card and paid "Don" a visit.  I had visited and prayed with Don before and knew that he had good days and bad days....and this was a fairly rough day for him....legs swollen with fluid....along with the regular list of ailments that continually plagued him.  His sister (our church member) was with him...and so she was able to help interpret Don's speech which was often garbled due to his condition.  I visited....gave him his card....and prayed with him as I usually did.  After we prayed, he said something that I didn't quite understand.  Turning to his sister....I saw her smiling....and she told me he said "I pray for my pastor (me) every day".  In the gentlest, kindest way possible, God had completely chopped me off at the knees.  Through His grace, I was able to turn an inward, self-absorbed, pre-occupation with self into an outward concern for others....at least it was a tiny step in that direction on this particular day.  An in so doing, I experienced the beautiful irony of encountering some else who had been touched by that same grace and was pouring out their own heart on someone else. 

There is no shortage of scripture that warns us about the danger of self.  Solomon tried to caution us in Ecclesiastes 2:10.  And the Apostle Paul really went out of his way to do so in at least three of his letters - Ephesians 4:22 - 24, Romans 7:6 and Colossians 3:1 - 15.  For this sermon, I focused on the passage in Colossians.  There are three "biggies" that we learn from this Scripture:

• Dying to the old self and rising with Christ in the new self is a continual process and not a one-time event.

• According to Paul, we are not to refrain from living in the world and our body, "but to live a life of heavenly-inspired thanksgiving and praise here and now, in the body and the world."

• The unhealthy desire to have more and more things for oneself - the pre-occupation with self - is idolatry.

In this passage in Colossians, Paul uses some great imagery that his ancient Greco-Roman audience would have appreciated.  The vision of baptism as a "watery grave"....where we're buried (hidden) and then raised from the dead....buried with Christ...and then re-emerging with Christ in the resurrection.  And then the "putting on" of the new self....a crisp, white baptismal robe covering the dirty rags (after baptism) that candidates often wore as they entered the baptismal pool.  

Even though we, as Christians, die and rise with Christ...taking off our old self and putting on the new self.....at that point of salvation.....we soon realize that making Christ our life (as Paul says) is a lifelong journey.  A process.  We struggle...but we keep trying. 

Below are the sermon notes and audio recording of the sermon:

Sermon Notes from February 17, 2013

Audio Recording of Sermon on February 17, 2013