Lent 1
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
> BUMPER-STICKER THEOLOGY: Problem is that there's never enough room on a bumper sticker for the whole truth.
--> "Christians aren't perfect just forgiven."
--> True---Christians are not perfect, "nobody's perfect," chances are we won't be perfect until we are enjoying God's presence for eternity---BUT ...
--> The problem is, we become okay with that---sinning is a natural part of life, "I'm not perfect," "God will just have to understand."
--> We may be okay with that, but God isn't. ["Be perfect," {not saying perfect scores on every test but complete obedience to God} "Be compassionate," "Be holy"]
--> Not only that, if you have trusted Jesus Christ, you are already dead to sin: [Rom. 6]: Your Christian life should be a process of becoming what you already are in Jesus Christ.
> Because you are dead to sin, because the same Spirit that empowered Jesus lives in you, you can choose NOT to sin.
--> Why then do we still choose to sin? We don't stop sin where it begins. Sin never begins with your choices; sin begins in your mind. [Anger is rehearsed in your mind long before it explodes in your actions/Sexual relationships outside of marriage happen in the mind before they happen in the body/Revenge happens in your fantasies before it happens anywhere else.]
--> [[[Like bugs in a bug-zapper, we think we can get close to it in our thoughts but not affect our actions]]]
--> "Thoughts form choices, choices form habits, habits form your character, character forms your destiny."
--> I don't know about you, but I'd like to stop sinning ... I'd like to stop sin where it begins ... Will I be perfect before Easter? Maybe not---but I can do better, and so can you.
--> Between now and Easter ... SIX STEPS TO STOP SINNING.
> COMMON PROBLEM WHEN TRYING TO STOP SINNING: Illustrate: Do not think about a Koala bear, especially not in a pink dress, especially not with a lightsaber.
--> Why was it difficult not to think about it? (1) I caused you to focus on NOT thinking about it. (2) I put temptations in front of you to cause you to think about it.
--> "I'm not going to do it again": The sin becomes your focus; whenever the sin is your focus, no matter how much you don't want to do it, you will go back to it. Why? The same reason you couldn't keep from thinking about a koala---because what you focus on, you eventually do, and because the world around us constantly places reminders of the sin in our paths.
--> A sect in Jesus' day called "the bleeding Pharisees" because, to avoid lust, they made their entire focus in life never even to let their eyes rest on a woman: "He makes as if he shut his eyes, that he may not look upon women, and so runs and dashes his head against the wall, till the blood gushes out." Yet, in their minds, nothing was changed: [Matt. 23:27].
> STEP 1 TO STOP SIN WHERE IT BEGINS: Stop trying to stop sinning ... because as long as you're focused on the sin, you will never escape the sin.
--> "Don't try? I can do that!"---there's more, but before we can get there, [PSALM 25].
TEXT
> Read Psalm 25 and pray.
> Complex poem: (1) Acrostic/(2) Chiasmus: 1st and last will be similar, 2nd and next-to-last ... what is most important to writer, very middle.
--> Vv. 2 and 21: "I trust in you"/"I hope in you."
--> Vv. 2b and 20: "Put to shame."
--> Vv. 2c-3 and 19: "Enemies."
> Center: Verse 11: "For the sake of your name, Yahweh, wipe away my sin---there are so many of them." Sometimes, David's "enemies" are people; in this case, his enemies seem to be his sins.
--> "How do I deal with my sin?"
>> V. 9: Be honest, humble---admitting the real darkness that's in our minds.
>> Vv. 16-18: See what sin does. Sin wrecks relationships. [Vv. 2, 20: Shame]
--> When you're ashamed of something, natural response is to lie about it.
--> Why shame? When we sin, we become less than we were created to be.
--> That's why God despises sin in his people's lives---wrecks our relationships, break our hearts ... WOLF: Lick blade ... no matter how small, eventually some part of your heart/life/relationships will be left broken and bleeding by it.
>> Vv. 21, 5, 3: Stop looking for a quick fix. It doesn't happen instantly---that's what we're waiting for sometimes. It happens through the slow, hard work of seeking God.
>> V. 14: Look for God's real purpose: "Secret," "counsel": What you share with a friend: "Friendship with God is for those that fear him."
--> God's goal is NOT just that you stop sinning. God wants you to stop sinning so that he can enjoy a deeper friendship with you.
--> Whenever you have a deep friendship with someone, you want to get rid of things that stand between you---the primary goal isn't the stuff between you, it's the deeper friendship that you want to share.
--> "Fear"/"Friendship" seem contradictory: With God, there is fear---all-powerful, glorious, unable to be looked upon, despises sin---but there is also friendship, because this God delights in us.
--> James 2:21-23
RESOLUTION
> First step: Stop trying to stop sinning, start focusing on being God's friend.
> Everything you do, ask, "What will this do to my friendship with God?"
APPLICATION
> Fill your mind with that thought: When turn on TV ... / Cue song on CD ... / Respond to spouse or children ... / Click mouse on website ... / Look at someone ... : "I am God's friend. How will this affect my friendship with God?"
> COBRA, E.N.T...., Ortberg: "The most dangerous moment is when you're letting it go."

Thought for a future week ... No desire is bad in and of itself; God created your desires. What can be bad is how we fulfill that desire. Every sin you commit is an attempt to fulfill some unfulfilled need in your life. Bro. Lawrence: "Our sanctification does not depend as much on changing our activities as it does on doing them for God rather than for ourselves."

Thoughts about a Lenten Series
Mood:  blue
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Inclement weather caused Epiphany 7 to get moved to Transfiguration Sunday. I want to start Lent "on time," so we skipped the Transfiguration this year. Oh, well. Maybe we can experience transfiguration twice next year.

I know that I'll need to answer the question, "What's Lent anyway? And what does it have to do with Baptists?" So, the pre-intro to Sunday's message will run something like this ...

> Lent has nothing to do with what you find in your navel.
--> Lent is a season, 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.
--> People with ashes on their foreheads this past Wednesday?
> The word "Lent" comes from the same root as "lengthen"---it refers to the time that the days are growing longer.
> There's a paradox in Christian faith: In these 40 days as the days grow warmer and longer---the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday---we think about our own shortcomings, become honest about the darkness that's in our hearts, remember the suffering that our sin caused on the cross. We consider the darkness while nature is growing lighter. Why? Because our new life comes not from nature but from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
> As with many of our symbols and rituals, this one gets twisted. "Since we remember our sins and repent of them during Lent, let's sin as much as we can on the day before Lent!" Mardi Gras---Fat Tuesday---is the result, which completely misses the point. It's a time that we focus on dealing with sin so that we can live in God's grace and joy throughout the entire year.

Notes for Epiphany 7
Mood:  happy
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
SEUSS 3
MOTIF: Review ... Horton Hears a Who.
> This is the longing of every human heart: ?See who I am---no matter how small or insignificant I may seem---and treat me as if I matter.?
DILEMMA: That's what Jesus did, that's why he attracted such vast crowds.
> How do we do the same? How do we care for people like Jesus did? [Some thoughts, Ortberg]
TEXT AND PRAY: 2:1: ?At home?: Which home? Simon Peter and Andrew's! (cf. 1:29-34)
> Archaeologists have excavated this house [basalt, built 50 years earlier].
> At first, I imagine Peter's pretty proud of this fact: ?Me and Messiah? Tight, man!?
> This was great for a while: Peter's mother-in-law gets healed, makes his wife happy! Jesus teaches in a new way, makes the people happy! But, then, things start to get out of hand.
2:2: The crowd, ?no room? ... living room's packed ... messy, disruptive ... Jesus is becoming highly inconvenient.
> WHENEVER YOU INVITE GOD INTO YOUR LIFE, YOU ALSO INVITE EVERYONE THAT GOD LOVES. Because, after all, a person's a person no matter how small.
> Simon: ?Jesus is great---but the rest of this riffraff??
> The same thing happens to us: ?'I'm fine with loving Jesus'---but ... loving Jesus means loving people ... and not just people that are easy to love. We find out: God needs someone to help him make better choices about who he loves. Some of the people that God loves can be real jerks.? Suddenly, loving Jesus becomes highly inconvenient.
--> God loves people with AS IS tags: Pasts: 1 Cor. 6:9-11/Still struggle in present: Heb. 12:1.
2:3: This day, someone showed up in Simon Peter's house with a huge AS IS tag (6'x3').
> ?A paralytic ... four men?: From perspective of culture, this man did not matter [no hope for surgery/no jobs for disabled/no Social Security program/lay on mat, cloak outstretched, hoping for coins/TREATED AS A NON-PERSON]. He was too small to matter, too shattered to be healed, too insignificant for most people to take the time to notice.
> From perspective of leaders, afflictions such as this always resulted from sin (cf. John 9:1-3).
> Four friends: Decided to take him to Jesus ... no way in.
--> Organizational guy: ?Brainstorm! No stupid ideas.? Youngest: ?Let's climb on roof, tear a hole above Jesus, lower him down.? ?Okay, I take it back ... at least one stupid idea.?
2:4: Roof was made of thatch, ladder going up the side ... still, this is not normal!
> At first, flecks of plaster ... Jesus needs some Head & Shoulders. Pretty soon, no one's listening to Jesus.
> Simon thought he was hosting Bible study; what he gets instead is a skylight. Everyone else is staring in awe; Simon's staring at his State Farm policy to see if this is covered. About the time mat touches floor, Simon's on his cell-phone with agent: ?Jesus is here! Doesn't that qualify as an act of God??
2:5: ?Their faith?: Not just the friends' but also the man's ... FAITH IS SOMETHING YOU SHARE ... you cannot be Christian alone anymore than you can get married alone. It requires you not only to believe in Jesus but also to believe with others. [A grit: ?Honey, they don't come by themselves.?]
> ?Son, your sins are forgiven [released]?: Friends, man, utterly disappointed! They've come for healing---and Jesus says is ... . [WHAT SINS CAN A PARALYTIC COMMIT?]
--> Why? Partly because release from sin is the man's deepest need ... another reason: To show that his sickness is not necessarily the result of sin. [He's received forgiveness---but he's still stuck to his mat.]
--> Forgiveness isn't everything's okay; forgiveness means, ?What you've done is wrong?but I will let a power greater than myself take care of it.?
--> By ?forgive? [?release?], Jesus isn't talking about the man being forgiven of something he's done to Jesus?the man's never met Jesus. He's saying, ?Your sins?--all the darkness within you is released.
2:6-7: Religious leaders don't buy this: ?If he's really been forgiven, he should be walking! Fact that he's not walking ... proves Jesus is a fake. Besides, only God can forgive [ISAIAH 43:25].?
2:8-11: ?Which is easier?? Forgiving sins is harder, but the results aren't as visible.
> ?So you know Son ... forgive??so you know I'm not only man but God??prove it outwardly.?
2:12: ?Amazed?? Existasthai: ?Standing outside themselves,? ?surprised out of their skins.?
> A man who is God, but most of all a God who loves the least ... a God who looks at all people as if, after all, a person's a person no matter how small. Peter Chrysologus: ?Carry the mat that once carried you, so that the sign of your brokenness becomes the sign that you are whole, so that the stretcher that bore your life's pain becomes proof of life's pleasure, so that the weight of your bed shouts for all to see that now, at long last, you are finally free.?
RESOLUTION: In light of Jesus' example, how do we do this?
(1)OPEN to reflection of God's presence in all people ... didn't say, ?I'm engaging in teaching session here, please go back on roof until our ten-minute break? ... ?Son.? Why? Looked for reflection of God's presence in all people. [Matt. 25] ... here, there are dozens who need someone to see ... need someone simply to notice [Ortberg, EN, 90].
(2)HONEST about real needs: ?Sins forgiven?: There are times when we have to give something different than what the person wants---not because we don't see reflection of God but because we aren't helping their real needs. ENABLE/TAKE ADVANTAGE. ?Sins are forgiven?: ?You're a sinner and you need forgiveness first.?
(3)AMAZED at the wonder of God's grace.
> How do we know when this really happens? When people show up broken and leave rejoicing.
> Are people desperate to bring their brokenness here? Why do most people not want to bring their brokenness to church? We are not in the business of polishing lives that have it all together; we are in the business of piecing together lives that have fallen apart!
APPLICATION: Everyone comes with a mat?a point at which others say, ?I don't love you quite that much.? Where's your mat? Where are others'?
> [Humane Society, Ortberg EN 88-90/Tony Campolo: Birthday party for a whore]

First thoughts on Epiphany 7
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Sermon Staging Area

Primary text for this weekend is Mark 2:1-12, the account of the paralyzed man whose friends dug a hole in the roof. I'll be drawing heavily from John Ortberg's sermon "Fellowship of the Mat." I always struggle with what I should do when I am drawing material from someone else's message. On the one hand, I want to be honest, letting people know that I'm using thoughts from someone else. On the other hand, aren't all thoughts in sermons "from someone else"? Plus, it's distracting when a preacher says every few moments, "As ____ says in _____ ... ." What's worse, there are people in the pews who---if you state that you're drawing ideas from someone else---respond by assuming that, as a result, the pastor isn't doing anything. What they don't see is that, even if I draw some thoughts and illustrations from someone else, the sermon was no less difficult to create---adapting each part for my specific audience, creating the PowerPoint, etc. Additionally, even if I draw ideas from someone else, I still always read every commentary I own on the text and, usually, translate the text from Greek to English, looking up each significant word. The dilemma is basically this, "How do I footnote a sermon?" I've thought about putting small "footnotes" at the bottom of PowerPoint slides, but I'm afraid that that too would be a distraction. If anyone else has any ideas on this, please email me or post a comment.

First thoughts on the text ...

This was Simon Peter's house. When Jesus first moved in, he was probably a bit proud of the fact that Jesus had chosen his home. ("Oh yeah, me and the Messiah? We're tight, man, tight. In fact, he's staying at my place right now.") But WHENEVER YOU INVITE GOD, YOU ALSO INVITE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT GOD LOVES. When you invite God in, you may get more than you expected.

How do I know if Jesus is inside? When people show up broken and leave dancing.

Do people tear off the roof to bring their brokenness here? If not, why not?

At first, the paralytic must have been disappointed: He comes for a healing and Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven"---then it looks like a theological fist-fight is going to break out! But all of this occurs to show that it is indeed the power of God at work in Jesus Christ.

This house seems to have been found in excavations of the area. "The house was built at the very end of the Hellenistic period (first century B.C.). In the second half of the first century A.D. some peculiar features set apart this building from all the others so far excavated in Capernaum. Here, in fact, the pavements received floors of lime several times. Interesting enough, many pieces of broken lamps were found in the thin layers of lime."

"When Jesus saw their faith": This does not imply---as this is often interpreted---that it was strictly the friends' faith that led to the man's healing. It includes the friends' faith and the man's faith! It took faith for the paralytic to come to Jesus, to give in to this crazy plan. Faith is a shared event.

Close exegesis: 2:1: en oiko = "in home" or "at home"---presumably, Simon and Andrew's home, in light of Mark 1:29-34.

2:4: apostegazo: "unroofed"
krabbatos: "mat," rather than "bed" or "stretcher"

2:5: "Son" in its vocative usage always refers in Mark to persons that trust in Jesus with childlike trust (cf. 9:36-37, 42; 10:13-16, 24).

2:7: Release from sins is domain of divine: Exodus 34:6ff; Isa. 43:25; 44:22. Cf. Isa. 33:22, 24: "Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver. ... No one living in Zion will say, 'I am ill,' and the sins of those living in Zion will be released." Priests could pronounce forgiveness, but only when there was repentance, restitution, and sacrifice. A thought ... God always heals those that trust in him, because sickness is something less than God's creative intention for the cosmos: Sometimes it's miraculously (as here), sometimes it's through medical treatment (as in the man beaten by robbers in the Good Samaritan parable), sometimes it's by God giving the grace to endure it to the end (as in Paul's thorn in the flesh). In every case, God can heal it or share it because---on the cross---he already bore it. The same God works in medical healing as in miraculous healing. In truth, isn't even medical healing a miracle?

2:11: Church father Peter Chrysologus said in a sermon on this text, "Carry the bed that once carried you so that the proof of your sickness becomes the proof of your soundness, your bed of life's pain a signpost of life's pleasure, the weight of the mat a sign that you are now free."

2:12: existasthai: "Standing-beside-themselves," perhaps---colloquially, in English---"surprised-out-of-their-skin."

Paraphrased from Ortberg: This man had an "AS IS" tag that was three feet wide and six feet long, a mat.

Everybody comes with a mat.

The management guy in the group---the one with the MBA---holds a brainstorming session: "Remember there are no dumb ideas." Then, one of the younger guys in the group says, "Dude! Why don't we dig a hole in the roof!" At which point the management guy says, "Okay, there is at least one dumb idea."

Peter thinks he's just hosting a Bible study---what he gets is a skylight. The rest of the people are staring in awe; Peter's checking his State Farm policy.

"Jesus is here! Does that qualify on insurance as an 'act of God'?"

What sins can a paralytic commit anyway? Jesus knows that the deadliest sins---anger, judgmentalism, resentment, lust, arrogance---can occur without the body doing anything.

Notes for Epiphany 6
Mood:  happy
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
MOTIF
> The Sneetches: We're all caught up in same dilemma.
--> We know things aren't quite right, we see brokenness in our world, in ourselves.
--> We know we need change---but the CHANGES that the world around us offers ... don't satisfy our deepest needs, cannot heal our deepest hurts.
--> Yet the awareness remains: There are things in my life that need to change---the question is WHAT and HOW.
[[[VIDEO ON CHANGES]]]
> Sale rack: "AS IS," "SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR." [pocket won't hold, zipper won't zip, button won't butt]
--> We're all slightly irregular---none of us is normal, NORMAL is a setting on your dryer. We all have things that need to change.
--> "Totally normal women who stalk their ex-boyfriends."
--> AS IS tags: Fear, pain, temper, lust, illness, haunting memory, regret
> One thing I love about the Bible is God doesn't try to hide fact that God's people need to be changed: Adam blames Eve, Cain murders Abel, Abraham plays favorites with sons---still enemies to this day, Isaac does the same, so does Jacob whose sons throw Joseph in well ... and these are the heroes!
--> These people are not the Waltons or Cleavers---need a therapist, Dr. Phil/Laura/Ruth/Spock/Seuss!
--> What do we learn from this?
--> The babies in the nursery aren't the only ones that need to be changed: Isa. 53:6.
DILEMMA
> What do I need to change? What am I supposed to change into? God's goal for you: PEACE. ALL OF OUR CHANGES ARE ATTEMPTS TO FIND THE PEACE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED US. [SHALOM: Harmony with God and with others] [[[SHALOM]]]
> What takes away my peace? Your AS IS tag ... pain from past/Frustration with present/Fear for future
> Col. 1:19-22; John 14:27: How do I live in the peace that's already mine in Jesus Christ?
TEXT: 2 Kings 5:1-19 and pray
5:1: NAAMAN: Name means "pleasant one"---but his life wasn't. "Great man," "valiant soldier" ... BUT something in his life that needed to change, something that's struck every semblance of peace from his life: "He had leprosy"---this was his AS IS tag.
> Small spot at this point [5:11], but ...
> "Leprosy" included not only "Hansen's Disease" [from listening to Hanson] but also other skin diseases: If this was Hansen's Disease ...
> Soon, leprosy spread until ... repulsive, he couldn't lead battles, reduced to rotting remnant of man, separated from all he's ever achieved or loved. As he looks at his life, huge AS IS tag---no peace, needs change.
5:2-3: [Show Aram on map] Arameans were Israel's enemies; in fact, Arameans had just defeated Israel at Ramoth-Gilead.
> Not only that, thieves and kidnappers ...
> Little girl, unnamed, as his wife watches her husband wither away day by day: "If only my master ..."
5:4-6: Believes only way he can find peace is through what he can do ... he may not have health but has money ... 10 talents [750 pounds], 6,000 shekels [150 pounds].
5:7-10: Goes to king's court > "Am I God? King is trying to pick a fight with me!"
> Elisha: "Send him to me, he will see, there is a prophet in Israel"---hope!
> Elisha sends secretary/"Seven times ... Jordan"/When it's calm enough to dip in, the Jordan is a nasty, muddy river.
> Change you need isn't something you can achieve; it's something you simply receive---but the path to receiving it isn't always the pathway you expected.
> Naaman can't see past his "AS IS" tag---he sees his leprosy, his power, his way, and nothing more.
5:11-14: "If it had been something you had to achieve---win battle, give money---you would have done it. Why not try this way?"
> Each time, looks at skin ... finally.
5:15-19: Rushes to Elisha's, "No God except in Israel!"
> "Can I give you ... ?" No! "Can I have ... ?": Irony, dirt of Israel had been precisely what he didn't want just a few moments earlier! Now, he wants two truckloads!
--> Why? He believes God of Israel can only be worshiped on Israelite soil ... Elisha smiles and says, "Okay, take dirt"---Elisha knows what Naaman doesn't, God who reigns in Israel also reigns in Aram.
--> "What about when I go into temple?" [Thunder, high god of Aram]---recognizes, if Israel's God is supreme, Rimmon is false.
--> Elisha sees that it isn't only Naaman's body that's been changed; it's his soul: "Go in peace."
RESOLUTION
> How do I change so that I can experience peace? Stop living AS IS and start living AS IF.
> Naaman: "AS IS": Leprosy ... money and power can change/"AS IF": However absurd it may seem, I will step into this water as if this God can change me.
APPLICATION
> How does this work, practically?
--> AS IS: Anger ... root: "My agenda is most important" ... AS IF: "God is in control, greater agenda than my own, I will live as if he knows what he's doing."
--> AS IS: Lust ... root: "I want more/different than what God has provided." AS IF: "I will live as if God provides me what I need."
--> AS IS: Struggles with money ... "I just need to make more" ... AS IF: "I will live as if God will provide what I need/change my habits/give God what belongs to him."
--> AS IS: Relationships that stand in way of God ... "God doesn't provide all I need" ... AS IF: Every need I have, Jesus can fulfill.
--> AS IS: Bitterness ... "What that person did wasn't covered at the cross" ... AS IF: "I will live as if that wrong was nailed to the cross with Jesus, Jesus suffered punishment for it, God can take care of it."
> "I can't!": Naaman, standing before muddy water ... it's in risk of radical obedience that we learn to live AS IF.
> Each AS IS is something that blocks our peace.

Notes for Epiphany 5
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Motif
> "How the Grinch Stole Christmas": Will they still celebrate Christmas when all the gifts are gone?
Dilemma
> You've struggled with this question too. No, the Grinch has never slipped into your house, but ...
> ... Will I still trust in God when I'm not getting anything good out of it?
---> There will come a time in every person's life when, as far as you can tell, you're not getting anything good out of your faith in God.
---> PROBLEM: Often, when we advertise Christian faith to the world, we tell about all the wonderful things you'll get out of it.
-----> The world is smart enough to see that not everything is positive and perfect---not even for Christians.
-----> Christians experience tragedy, pain, and sickness in the same amounts as the rest of the world. And the death rate of Christians? So far, every person who has become a Christian has eventually died!
> Recently, asked some people on the street about this: "Why do even people who believe in God experience tragedy?" [[[VIDEO]]]
---> Caused by karma/caused by sin/caused by chance [[[KARMA: Doesn't see that there is more good than evil/CHOICES: {Job} Partly true; none is sinless---but why isn't it proportionate? Assumes God directly causes/CHANCE: Partly true; but, if chance is the final word, life is a series of random events, with no guaranteed outcome]]]
---> God has set up the world so sin and stupid choices have consequences: SO, sometimes, it's sin/God has created a world in which nature operates freely: SO, sometimes, things happen and God doesn't intervene./In such a world, you'll eventually face the question: "Will I still trust God even when I get nothing good out of it?"
> That's how Israelites felt in Isaiah 40.
TEXT
> Read Isaiah 40:12-31 and pray.
> Israel: Nation that God chose so that he could show his power to the world ... turned them from slaves to a mighty nation ... called him, "Yahweh"/"I AM."
> This passage is written from the perspective of the exile---the time when the country of Babylon removed the Israelites from their land.
---> Some scholars believe that Isaiah wrote it, looking FORWARD to the exile (around 700 BC); others believe that one of Isaiah's followers wrote it DURING the exile (550 BC).
---> Ultimately, doesn't matter: It is part of the record of God's dealings with humanity, and it is true.
> [Israelites in Babylon/assumed it was because of sin/Many of them admitted, turned/"Now what?"]
> "If God doesn't come through for us, why trust him? If we don't get anything good out of following God, why follow?" Like what Grinch envisioned in Whoville: If we don't receive the gifts we expected, why celebrate?
> The prophet says the same sort of things that God said to Job: [Verses 12-13]
---> These people are homesick in Babylon, considering turning again to idols---and God wants to talk about the size of the oceans, the width of the sky, and the weight of the earth!
---> Why, when people are wondering ... , does God consistently direct their attention to nature? YOUR STRUGGLES ARE NOT THE FINAL WORD. [[[The earth was here long before you ever set foot on it, and it will most likely continue long after its dust and your body have mingled together in the sleep of death. The universe is vast and ancient, and we are ever so small. READ VV. 12-13.]]]
---> One of the great losses of spending so much time in cars, homes, buildings, enfolded in TVs and headphones is that we lost sight of how small we are.
---> Plus, if you look at universe honestly, you cannot deny that there is, here, imprint of power greater than eyes can see. [PSALM 19:1-2]
[[[THE LORD OF THE RINGS: "There are greater powers at work."]]]
> When we wonder, "Why serve God when I'm getting nothing good out of it?" ... we are assuming that the powers we see working are the only ones/when we look honestly at creation, we see that there are powers at work far greater than anything we can imagine. [[[Vv. 14-17]]]
> V. 18: "To whom can we compare?" Dangerous! For these people, there is another option besides Yahweh---Marduk, god of Babylon.
---> So ... Vv. 21-22, 25-26: "I'm the one beyond it all!"
> Vv. 27-29: "How can you say that I'm not seeing your struggles? ... you're following me for nothing? I'm offering you power and strength!" >> "Yes! This is what we've been waiting for! Defeat our enemies!"
> V. 31: "I will give you power and strength to keep going."
---> Begins with "soaring," then running, then walking, then waiting: If God only gives us strength for the times that we're soaring and running, he wouldn't be giving us much---what he offers is the strength when all that we can do is to plod and to wait.
---> Maybe your entire Christian life is all soaring and running---if so, good for you ... go home. [You don't need what we have to offer here; this church is a place for people who struggle.]
---> If your life is anything like mine, your spirit spends far more time plodding and waiting than soaring and running.
---> This God gives us strength for the waiting, power for the plodding, and grace for those few moments when we find the wings to fly.
RESOLUTION
> So, what do you do when you're following God and you're getting nothing good out of it? CHECK YOUR DEFINITION OF "GOOD."
---> Our definition of "good": "What works according to my standards---what makes my life easier"---the soaring and the running.
---> That's not necessarily God's definition of "good" ... God offers a greater goodness ... in every circumstance, at the very least, he gives the capacity to keep walking and waiting ... any run-of-the-mill God can be there for you when you're soaring---it takes a truly great God to be there when all you can do is plod.
> Will you still trust God when you're getting nothing good out of it? That time will never come---because he always, at least, gives what you need to wait on his power.
> Why can God always give the ability to keep going? Because there was a time that God himself could do nothing more than just keep going. [["If there is any other way..."/Up Calvary, he wasn't soaring or skipping---it was all that he could do simply to keep going/There was a time when, from human perspective, God in human flesh was getting nothing good from his own plan/But he kept going.]]
APPLICATION
> Why are you serving God?
---> If it's only to get more things in this present life, you probably won't.
---> If it's just to skip Hell in the next life, you probably won't either.
---> God longs for you to serve him not for what you may get out of it but because you truly trust that---whatever you get, good or bad, in this life or the next---his way is best ... because you love his way.
> What will you do when it feels like you're getting nothing good out of God's plan?
---> He will always give you the strength to wait ... so don't give up, keep trusting that your wings are on their way.
> [[[BOWLERS OR TRAPEZE ARTISTS]]]
> Prayer of Merton

Fifth Sunday of the Epiphany
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Okay, after one week of emphasizing the church's future and one week in which the associate pastor preached, it's back to series again ...

During the month of February, the messages will be outward-focused, asking the question, "What will it take for the world around us to believe?" The visual-cultural motifs will be drawn from Dr. Seuss.

On this, the first Sunday of the series, the answer will be, "When they see that, for the people of God, every moment matters." The primary text will be Isaiah 40:21-31.

Whether this chapter was written by Isaiah or by one of his immediate disciples during the exile, I am not concerned. Chapters 40-66 do not directly claim Isaianic authorship, so---even as a staunch inerrantist---I have no problem with the hypothesized authorship of Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah. At the same time, the style and content of chapters 40-66 are clearly drawn from the same well as chapters 1-39, whether or not they were penned by the same individual. And, in any case, the perspective of this chapter is exilic, whether it was written prophetically before the exile or existentially in the exile.

I'll probably use Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

Thoughts on the text ...

From Fred Gaiser: “Who is my equal?” asks God, in our text. It’s kind of a macho question. Picture Clint Eastwood challenging any and all comers to “make my day.” “Who is my equal?” A big God on his high horse staking his claim, drawing the line in the sand, daring any to cross over it. “To whom will you compare me?” Well, nobody, I suppose, now that you put it that way. But is that the right tone of voice to put in the mouth of the God of this text, the God of the Bible? One of the most surprising things in this part of the book of Isaiah is that God invites the comparison at all, lets himself be put on trial, in fact. Who is God? Have at the question. God not only allows it, God invites it. It’s a surprising and dangerous move, because then and now there are real and obvious alternative answers. Safely seated in Sunday school, we may have no trouble naming God as God, but outside in the real world, the answers are not so clear. Then or now. When our text was written over 2500 years ago, Israel sat in captivity in Babylon, having been sorely defeated by that superpower of its day, and every observer would have said not only that Nebuchadnezzar had won, but also that Marduk had won. Who is my equal? Well, Marduk! No question. Who won? Not only your equal, but your better. Jerusalem is a burning ruin, and your people are confined to the Babylonian ghetto. “Who is my equal?” Think twice before you ask, God, there is another possibility.

Verses 27-28: "My way is hidden": There are areas of my life that I can hide from God, there are moments in my life that don't ultimately matter to God---moments when I can do what I want, times that belong to me. There are none. Every moment matters to God. There is no time when God becomes too tired or too distracted to look at your life. God does not tire, and those that wait expectantly for him to look into their lives---for the time when he will examine their lives, believing that one day he will---will find themselves sharing in this unending strength.

Initial thoughts and exegesis of Jonah 3
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: P.O.D. "Boom" Satellite
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Initial Thoughts
> We will pay the fare to take us so many places---but we won't pay the fare to take us into the heart of God's will. We'll pay our cable bill, our Internet bill, our bills for our boat, our bills for eating out---and still claim that we don't make enough to tithe. We miss the same thing that Jonah missed ... the blessing that comes from recognizing that nothing belongs to us. Jonah thought that God's plan for Jonah's life was Jonah's property and Jonah's business.
> Jonah---probably still a bit henotheistic in his theology---thought he could escape his God's power by escaping his God's territory.
> Jonah's central problem was that his vision wasn't as large as God's vision. Jonah's vision was limited to the past---of a God who cared for Israel. God was leading him into a future that was larger, more glorious---and a bit frightening ... a future in which God's love would reach beyond the borders of Israel to embrace not only Jews but also Gentiles.
> God doesn't change his plan or his message; he simply changes the route that his messenger takes.
> You can't truly desire God without also desiring what God desires.
> "Keep your fork": Believe that the future God has planned for this church is even greater than the past.

Exegesis
3:1-2: An exact repetition of the book's opening words ... God is offering a second chance to Jonah, the same opportunity that Jonah rejected before. God hasn't changed his desire.
3:3: The city is literally "great to God" (l'elohim gadolah), because this is the place where God longs for his presence to be proclaimed. "A three-day-trip city" seems to be a term from commerce, indicating a city that would take one day to do business in the outer suburbs, a day to do business, and a day to leave the city (see Wiseman, "Nineveh," IBD). The emphasis here is not on size but on significance.
3:4: Another translation might be, "three days and Nineveh will be turned up side down"---in other words, one way or the other, Nineveh will be changed, either by repentance or destruction.
3:8: Who got the job of dressing the animals in sack-cloth? "Cry mightily to God" ... "insistently ask for God's mercy."
3:10: They "turned" (shuv) from their evil ways.

Sermon notes for Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
SUPERHERO 6 of 6
REVIEW [superhero/morph/encounter/every power/takes time/gift that makes a difference]
MOTIF
> Difference between superheroes and us: Your secret identity cannot be kept secret. [Kent/Parker/Wayne]
—> ... can’t live with two identities. [MARK 8:38]
> First act of obedience: MAKE IT PUBLIC—not only in what you say but in how you live: Baptism, immersed in water, in front of other people.
> Baptism is done publicly—in front of others. Baptism is a sign that says, “I cannot keep the power that is in me a secret.” [[Baptists ... deficient theology of baptism ... Roman Catholic: Sacrament ... overreacted ... lost sight of fact that it is uniquely holy.]]
DILEMMA
> Why can’t I keep it a secret? Why can’t I have two identities?
TEXT: Mark 1:4-11
> Following Jesus is weird.
—> When you join a human organization, you pay your dues, get your membership card, go on with life.
—> When you join with the followers of Jesus—with this trail of humanity that stretches all the way back to the cross ... with all these men and women who have been crazy enough to join their lives with the life of Jesus—we half-drown you with water, give you a towel, and let you know that God wants your whole life nothing less ... and, in fact, God’s pretty stubborn about this and refuses to accept anything less.
> Following Jesus is weird. What’s more, the God who’s revealed himself in Jesus Christ refuses to embrace the notion that there might be other gods, “I, I alone am God.” This God is so not with the times.
—> You’d think that, if you’re part of an organization this weird, you’d keep it a secret, like other movements in the ancient world ...
——> ... among the Jews, there were “Essenes.” They baptized, obedience, ate locusts [in Damascus Rule, recommendations ... cooked alive in fire or water]—but they had the sense to go out in the desert, north edge of Dead Sea so they didn’t annoy the rest of the world.
——> ... among the Gentiles, there were “mystery cults,” worshiped one god and practiced strange rituals—but they had the sense to do it all secretly and not open their membership to just anyone.
—> But God—this crazy, unpredictable God who spins a world out of his very words, who shows up in burning shrubberies, and plants his feet on this planet in the flesh of a peasant’s baby—doesn’t have the common sense to keep his craziness a secret. It’s as if God wants everyone to know!
> John the Baptist tried—he started in desert at southern end of Jordan, but word spread and soon everyone (1:5) was headed into desert. He just couldn’t keep it a secret.
—> Granted, John may not have been completely sane, what with his camel’s hair and leather [reminded people of Elijah, 2Kgs1:8/Mal4:5-6] and eating locusts [IMAGINE JtheB OPENING RESTAURANT/HIS HOUSE] [FDA regulations for food contamination].
FDA Standards: Apple Butter: Less than four rodent hairs per 100 grams, fewer than five whole insects per 100 grams./Coffee beans: No more than one live insect in two immediate containers/Mushrooms: Fewer than 20 maggots per 15 grams/Fig preserve: 12 or fewer insect heads per 100 grams in two consecutive batches/Hot dogs: You don’t really want to know.
> But his baptism? This was far crazier to people then than to us.
—> Baptism wasn’t a new idea. TWO HEBREW WORDS: [In Jewish tradition ... mikveh, immersion in water [immersion following confession] ... practiced among the Essenes along edge of Dead Sea]
—> Here’s what was weird: Among Jews, only two types of people went through mikveh—Jews who were defiled and, especially, Gentiles that wanted to become Jews.
—> To experience mikveh was to turn away from one way of life to another, to go a new direction.
—> There’s a Hebrew word ... [shuv] meant “to turn around.”
—> John is implying that all of humanity needs to turn around—many leaders didn’t think they needed to.
—> “Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”: repentance is for forgiveness.
> What John was saying: “The kingdom of God is here—but you can’t see it, none of you, because you’re all defiled! You’re looking the wrong way! Shuv! Turn around!”
—> [[[1]]] Baptism is a vow—a solemn covenant-promise before God—to live a life of shuv. [Saying to God: “Take my life and shuv it.”]
> If you have been baptized, your life becomes a life of shuv—that’s the essence of the Christian life: I have turned my life away from myself, away from the world, toward God. [Partly ... when I see something that can cause me to sin, turn away. Also, whenever I see something that’s a reminder of the goodness and beauty of God ... sunset, someone in church serving, pure laughter of a child, wife, daughter.]
—> Keillor: “God speaks in ordinary things like cooking and small talk, through storytelling, fishing, and caring gently for animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music, books, raising kids—all the places where the gravy soaks in and the grace shines though.”
—> Most of all, I turn my life toward the cross, utmost love and sacrifice.]
> For Jesus, he was turning from the life of a carpenter to the road that will lead to the cross.
—> This sort of life is not easy: [Calvin and Hobbes ... “I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution” ... so do we.]
—> We think it’s disgusting to fill our bodies with a few bugs—which, as John demonstrated, really won’t hurt you—and yet we will fill our minds and bodies with things far more corrupting than a few locusts ... things that tear at our souls ... rather than simply turning away.
—> Whenever I do not turn, I am breaking a vow that I made at my baptism.
> But baptism implies something more than a life of shuv.
> [[[2]]] When you are baptized, you confess that you believe something greater is coming.
—> 1:7: “After me ... someone greater ... not even worthy to untie sandals” [Rabbis could require follower to do anything but deal with his sandals—only slaves.].
—> Throughout Scripture, whenever God’s people pass through the water, it’s because they believe something greater is coming. [RED SEA/JORDAN RIVER/HERE, JOHN/THEN, GREATEST PERSON OF ALL SHOWS UP.]
—> Something greater is coming—not greater than Jesus but greater because of what we learn about Jesus. [Heaven ripped! Schizo—something that’s opened can be closed, something that’s ripped can't be easily put back together.]
——> The point? At the baptism of Jesus, the kingdom of God—the revealed presence and power of God on the earth—has tumbled through the sky and is falling upon the earth and nothing can hold it back!
——> Jewish peoples expected that, when this happened, God would come through that gaping gash in the eastern sky, sword drawn. The release of God’s Spirit would be like a burning fire, erupting from the sky.
——> But imagine their surprise when what falls from the sky is not the blinding glory of God’s presence, but a gentle shimmering that flutters to the earth like a dove, gently falls upon shoulders of this carpenter from Galilee. Here, in human flesh dripping with the water of Jordan, is the kingdom of God.
> Why a dove? Gentleness, peace ... A pigeon, a trash bird best known for dropping its goods on statues. It was used as an offering by people who couldn’t afford a lamb—people that the world viewed as “trash.” It is a sign that God’s deepest desire is to take our trash and turn it into his treasure—a sign that, regardless of circumstances, something better is coming.
[[[3]]] Baptism shows that God can turn ordinary in extraordinary, trash cans into treasure chests.
—> Baptism: Jordan, dirty river ... yet it becomes the place where God reveals his presence. Here: Same water goes in toilets.
—> At Jordan, to a carpenter—someone the rest of world might have viewed as trash: “You are my beloved Son. I delight in you.”
—> YOU: When you receive Jesus, baptized in Holy Spirit [1Cor12:13] ... saturated with God, because you are his child and he delights in you. [NOUWEN QUOTE]
—> In this sense, baptism is like a security blanket [reminds child of mother’s warmth, closeness, presence until mother returns/blanket is not mother] ... [reminds us of this: “Even if I cannot feel it, Holy Spirit surrounds me and saturates me. Despite times I feel like trash, I am God’s beloved child. He delights in me”--until Jesus returns].
—> God longs to take the trash that’s in your life and turn it into treasure. [Sins: In turning away, you allow God to meet needs/Pain: Tool to love others/Disappointment: Trust] ... Baptism is a reminder of God’s longing.
> At every crucial point in history of God’s people—before he takes them to a better place, the place of his treasure—he takes them through water: Before placing Adam and Eve in Eden {Gn1:1-2} ... / Red Sea / Jordan into Promised Land / Jesus, Jordan / Before throne of God, river {Rv22:1}]. In baptism, we say, “Though my eyes cannot see it, I live already in the Land of God’s Promise.” [ISA 43:2]
RESOLUTION
> Why can’t I keep it a secret?
> (1) Your superpower isn’t one that you can hold in—it consumes your whole life ... shuv [if it isn’t transforming your whole life, it isn’t real/”superhero life” versus the real person.] Some of you have “secret identity”--one way at church, another at school or work/perhaps simply silent/worst of all: They know you’ve claimed to follow, see you living no different. God is jealous.
> (2) All of this is too good to be kept a secret. You will want to share it.
> Personally witness to one person [dry mouth/sweaty palms] [simply share what God has done for you] ... “I don’t know how!”
APPLICATION
> Baptism isn’t a ritual you do; it is a life that you live.
> Each time someone is baptized, they join with [Red Sea/Jordan/Jesus/millions of saints], believing that one day they will cross the final river, the one that flows before the throne of God.
> Martin Luther: “I have been baptized”—he knew God had entered into a covenant with him, God would hunt him down, kept him coming back to God.

"I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will satisfy all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, in Jesus Christ I am your brother, through the Holy Spirit I am your friend. Wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."

May the Spirit of Baptism give you life, may the faith of your baptism give you strength, may the community of the baptized give you support, and may Jesus Christ---the baptized one---keep you in his Father's love, now and forever, Amen.

Reflections on Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Here, heaven is "ripped"---schizo in Greek!---which differs radically from "opened." Something that's opened can be closed again; something that's ripped cannot be easily closed. Heaven has come to earth! And how? What is the sign? A carpenter's son, a passage through a muddy river, and a pigeon.

The dove ... the kingdom in which the test of citizenship is baptism is a kingdom of gentleness and peace ... what Jews expected to happen when heaven was ripped was a powerful king, riding down on a white horse slaughtering his enemies. What they got was a shimmering white bird, fluttering downward and resting upon the shoulders of the least likely of people.

The Israelites left Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea and entered the Promised Land through the waters of Jordan. Jesus enters the new Promised Land---the kingdom of heaven---through the waters of Jordan and leaves the world through the baptism of suffering. We enter this same Promised Land through the waters of baptism, believing that one day we will leave this world and cross the river that flows from the throne of God.

The Dead Sea Scrolls give recommendations on the best way to eat locusts.

John's garb evoked Elijah (1 Kings 17:4-9), who was expected to return before the kingdom arrived (Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6).

Only Gentile converts and defiled Jews went through mikveh, ritual cleansing. By calling all people to a baptism of repentance, John implied that everyone was defiled!

"My beloved son" alludes to Genesis 22:3-18 where Isaac is offered without actually being sacrificed. God will choose to do what he did not expect Abraham to do---to offer his only Son.

How is John the Baptist like Winnie the Pooh? They both have the same middle name.

May the Spirit of Baptism give you life, may the faith of your baptism give you strength, may the community of the baptized give you support, and may Jesus Christ---the baptized one---keep you in his Father's love, now and forever, Amen.

These words from Henri Nouwen describe well the meaning of baptism: "I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will satisfy all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, your spouse. Yes, even your child. Wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."

We bathe ourselves because we believe that something better is coming---a party, a date. A bath is way of expressing hope. Baptism is, in a sense, a way of saying, "I'm keeping my fork because the best is yet to come."

A bath is also done for the sake of community. You bathe not as much for your own sake as for the sake of others. Baptism is no different.

"We're like very young children, alone in a strange place, trying in vain to find some hint of our mother's presence. But that's why a baby creates a security blanket for herself. Child psychologists call the blanket a transitional object, something soft and warm that speaks to the child of the mother's gentleness and love. My three children each had some form of transitional object: a tattered quilt; a well-worn cloth doll; a small, sleep-stained pillow. They used these objects to bring themselves the same sense of comfort and security they drew from me; these inanimate things allowed my children to withstand being physically alone until they could internalize their own sense of safety and well-being. Of course, the quilt or doll or pillow only had meaning because my child gave it meaning; from a literal perspective, a piece of fabric isn't much like a mother. And yet a security blanket isn't a lie. The mother does exist, and she does love her child. The blanket simply allows the child to carry that love with her in a way she can touch and smell and feel. The blanket allows the baby to put skin on something that's intangible." (Ellyn Sanna, Touching God (New York: Paulist, 2002) xii-xiii) In one sense, baptism is like a security blanket; it isn't really the Spirit of God or our salvation and it means nothing apart from the Spirit. But it does serve as a reminder of the Spirit's persistent presence all around us, enfolding us in the love of God.

Repentance (metanoia): The point of this term for turning around was this: "The Kingdom of God is here---but you can't see it because you're looking the wrong direction. Turn around!" (Leslie Newbingen, Mission in Christ's Way).

Repentance: The Calvin and Hobbes strip in which Calvin says to Hobbes, "I really hurt Susie's feelings, and I'm sorry I did it. Now, what do I do?" Hobbes replies, "You could try apologizing to her," to which Calvin says, "I keep hoping there's a less obvious solution." So do we.