Lay Out Your Red Carpet sermon 4-17-2011

One of the most amazing traits of Scripture is how you can hear and read a Bible story so many times-even from childhood-and it can still provide insights and new information!

Such is the case with the Palm Sunday story in Luke 19.  In this great picture of the humble, compassionate king, we have fulfilled prophecy, a reminder of Christ’s power over nature, and His merciful and loving desire to have a relationship with people.

In Luke 19:29-44, there are three things that stand out to me about God and Jesus; three things that make a great application to our lives.

>God’s plan WILL be realized

There are relatively small details in this story that are worked out supernaturally.  A colt that has not been broken in, and which is allowed to be taken by strangers so that Jesus can ride it is not your average chain of  events.  But even more amazing is the way in which Scripture is fulfilled by Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.  Daniel 9:24 speaks of the years required to play a part in Israel’s history to accomplish certain purposes.  Sir Robert Anderson, a Bible scholar, calculated to the day the number of years from the decree to rebuild the temple, to the day Christ rode into Jerusalem and the religious authorities plotted to kill Him.  The time matched exactly with what the angel told Daniel!  Over 475 years after the prophecy, the events foretold happened exactly as they had been predicted!  Also, Christ is sorrowful that Israel did not recognize the peace that could’ve been theirs- both inside and out.  Ezekiel 38: 15,16 is an amazing prophecy about how one day Russia and other nations will gather against Israel.  This event is not about God saying ” Israel, you didn’t recognize me and so yure gonna get what’s coming to ya!”  “Take this!”.   No, it’s God’s merciful way of backing Israel up against a wall for the express purpose of causing them to finally and fully look to the Messiah Jesus as their true King!  His plans will be realized.

>God’s glory WILL be recognized

There were three kinds of people gathered to witness the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem that day.  There were people from all over the countryside and towns of Israel who had come to celebrate the Passover feast.  There were the religious rulers who were preoccupied with image, protocol, and tradition.  And there were disciples and other followers of Jesus who had witnessed His awesome miracles and even His raising of Lazarus from the dead.  They had seen Him exercise control over the elements of nature:  Wind, waves, and even trees!  Their hearts were full of simple joy and awe, reverence for the king!  They shouted “Hosanna, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”  The religious leaders figured this was a lot of hyperherohullaballoo and they told Christ to silence the disciples.  Jesus then states that if that happened, the rocks would find a voice and cry out!  This is a great reminder of Christ’s command over nature, and a foreshadowing of what will once again be the norm when Christ returns to take His throne as the righteous King.

>God’s heart WILL always be about relationship!

Christ lamented with tears that Jerusalem didn’t recognize the peace-filled offering of Himself as their king.  This of course would be about peace inside and out.  The territory of the soul and the tangible terrors of actual war.  He lovingly desired to have a relationship with His chosen people.  Verses 43 and 44 indicate that by rejecting Him, Israel ends up choosing war. 

The people that were joyful and worshipful of Christ on that day laid down palm branches and their coats to simply show that they esteemed Him and recognized him as Someone outside the normal cast of characters with whom they were familiar.  Their gestures are not unlike the way in which we project accolades onto someone, whether movie star or mogul.  We lay down the red carpet at events, airports, and at locations where someone of import will appear.  The red carpet goes all the way back to classical literature and the Greeks; you know the guys with the robes who ate goat cheese!  It stood for an elevation above regular humanity and was the only suitable pathway for a god.  In American history, the term “lay out the red carpet” comes from 1902 and the luxurious novelty of the passenger train. 

The King approaches today and desires to be the king of our hearts and lives.  His plan at the beginning was that those who would accept Christ as Savior would then go on to be like Christ.  Philippians speaks of Christ beginning and completing a work in us until the end.  Will we consider that our plans-all of the contemplation we’ve done about where we are, where we want to be at a certain time in our lives, and what our lives will essentially be about-may not be the plans that Christ has for us?  So, in taking the metaphor of a red carpet,  will we lay down the exclusive claim that we have to the plans for our life and let Christ bring about His ultimate plan as He comes toward us desiring to be King?  We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of my time here at this church, and as I look back through all that God has done; through a motorcycle accident, major career change, and deep fears and questions about what direction my life would take, I realize that I had certain plans but that I couldn’t have seen God’s plan that brought me here to this work.  Because of His grace and strength, I have been able to recognize and live His plan for me and it is a transposing of His plans for mine!  Could we lay down our plans and allow His plan to come about for His glory?

His glory will be on world-wide display one day when He returns to this earth to rule over it.  All will see Him; every knee will bow.  But in the days of our lives, we are supposed to be reflecting His glory (Eph.1: 13,14), and one of the categories we should consider for laying down as a welcoming red carpet is our fear.  We all have fears about certain things like our health, relationships, the future, and whether we’ll become what we think we should become.   What will become of me if I take the step of living all-out for God?  What will my friends think, what will my personality become, and will I recognize myself?  What lies around the bend when it comes to my health, job, or the effort I am putting in to a relationship?  II Timothy 1:7 reassures us that the spirit we possess is not one of fear, but of love, power, and sef-discipline.  We can and should show forth His glory in our lives by the way our faces, words, and attitudes cause others to form an impression.

His desire for a relationship with us is a central theme of the Bible and what Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and the subsequent events of His suffering, death, and resurrection are all about!  What might we consider laying down as a red carpet of worship before Christ that will allow us to enter in to and deepen our relationship with Him?  I’m afraid I sometimes find time for a number of things during my day, but not for a few minutes in God’s Word.  We fill our lives with so many activities that we actually miss out on quiet moments with God, teachable moments with the kids, or moments when we can lay burdens down and lift praises to God in prayer.  Would we consider laying down as a red carpet some of the pleasures that we take from going certain places and from spending our time in certain ways, so that we can be at church for learning; for encouragement; to build up others?  Is there anything more important than being connected to the vine?  John 15: 4,5 speaks of Christ as the vine, us as the branches, and our inability to do anything without Him.

Like a red carpet, the theme of Jesus and His shed blood is presented at the beginning and is unrolled throughout history, leading to the cross.  This week we examine these events. Christ died to pay for your sin.  Today is the day to receive His gift of salvation and trust Him as Savior.  As the humble, compassionate King, He desires to have a relationship with us.  A relationship that will give us a life that represents the difference between being dead and living life as if we’ve been resurrected from the dead!  Now is the time to lay out your red carpet.  The King is approaching and wants to reign in your life!                pscott

You’re Here…And Not There! 3 sermon 4-10-2011

Today we’re continuing on with the final part of our three-part explanation of what makes our church unique and what the crucial elements of belief are that we subscribe to.  We’ve discovered the importance of having the Bible as the first and last word when it comes to life, love, and eternity.  We’ve also discovered that there is a specific way to read and understand the Bible.  And now we come to the concept of a unifying theme throughout the Bible and a focus which defines a Christian and forms the very essence of a Christian church.  It is Christ, and this is specifically spelled out using a phrase that is of great importance in the Bible:  The prepositional phrase In Christ.

It’s a Wonderful Narrative Story in Scripture

There is a wonderful narrative quality to the theme of Redemption in the Bible.  Christ as the future Redeemer and the One who desires to have a relationship with us is first introduced in the book of Genesis and is portrayed in Revelation as the One who wants to come in to our heart and have fellowship with us.   In Genesis 3:15, and 4: 1-5, Christ is introduced as the One who will take away the command of all creation that Satan stole when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin and as the One who would satisfy the demand that an animal be sacrificed and blood be shed to cover sin.  The narrative continues in Lev. 4:1-7, where the tabernacle system of sacrifices that God set up for the Israelites reminds us that it is shed blood that covers sin.  Then, in Isaiah 53:7,12, the humble, suffering Lamb that is portrayed and predicted is Christ.  He is poured out as a sacrifice.  Further, in Heb.9:22 we’re told that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin.  Christ in the passage is the wonderful sacrifice of shed blood.  In Rom.5: 8,9 tells us that we are justified by his blood.  And in the final book of the Bible, Christ declares that He is at the door of our heart knocking to gain entrance to fellowship with us.  This is the great narrative story of Christ our Redeemer and of Christ who wants to have a love relationship with us.  Our redemption is totally because of Christ!

Our Standing is Awesome in Christ

Next we come to our standing.  We have the great privilege of being seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. I’m reminded of the lore that surrounds safe rooms.  Safe rooms were built to help runaway slaves escape from the south.  You can still see and experience the secret rooms passageways, and tunnels of large homes in places like Massachusetts.  They were sometimes built to be a go-to safe place when a tornado or other natural disaster threatened.  The rich build safe rooms or panic rooms to protect themselves and their belongings from home invasion.  Jodie Foster portrayed a person fighting to survive a home invasion in a popular movie a few years ago.  Safe rooms perhaps have their most poignant place in history as spaces where sought-after Jews tried to escape detection by Nazi troops during WWII.   Eph. 2:6  speaks of possessing the wonderful joy, security, peace, identity, and hope that we have in Christ.  Isaiah 61:10 speaks of our righteous standing in Christ.  We are wearing white robes of righteousness because of His wonderful sacrifice.  This is a category that we are placed in, but it is also a circumstance that we have the ability to influence.  Rev.19 speaks of the bride becoming ready to join Christ in the marriage supper of the Lamb.  She becomes ready by serving Christ out of love and a pure heart, thus producing Christian service built of precious stones, gold, and silver.  At the judgment seat of Christ, the work that Christians have done will have to stand a purifying fire.  What survives will translate into white linen clothes which we will don to meet the Groom one day.  Romans 8:15 further shows us a special standing that we have through Christ.  Because of Him, we have been adopted into God’s family and we can address Him as “Dad”.

The Cycle of Life in Christ

Another great aspect of the “in Christ” quality of our Christian lives is found in the way we live the daily cycle of Christian experience.  We are told in I John 1:7 to walk in the light.  That simply means that as we go through our day, we are aware of the Holy Spirit’s work in convicting us of sin and we are aware of how Christ wants to effect in our lives a good work!   So, when we sin, we simply confess it to the Lord and go on living in His light.  We read His Word, learn from it, and grow in grace and knowledge.  Paul expresses an integration with Christ in Phil. 1:21, when He says that his very life is Christ.  Christ is to be our everything.  Our purpose for living, our joy in good and bad, our peace in deep waters, and our strength in times of trouble.  Finally, I Peter 2:9 speaks further of a commitment  that we should make as Christians; that of showing Him to all, this One who has called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light!

Are you located securely in the safe room that is Christ?  The illustration serves well in many aspects except the idea that we can somehow “step out of” Christ in our lives.  Scripture clearly shows that we are saved to one day enjoy eternal life.  And that starts from the moment of salvation!  But, it is true that if one decides to go outside the safe room characterized by walking with Christ in the light, that harm can come.  Damage may ensue and we might get messed up.  I believe that it is wise to consider that outside the safe room, all bets are off.  We might really find ourselves in a depressed, regretable, unsatisfying situation.  And we surely won’t be living the life that our Creator intended for us.  Is Christ your everything?   I challenge you to locate yourself in the safe house that is Christ!                            pscott

You’re Here…And Not There 2 sermon 4-3-2011

We’ve established that the rallying point around which we would impact our generation and make a difference for Christ in our community is the Bible.  It is the first and last stop for guidance and truth about life, love, and eternity.  We established that culture, our traditions, and even the denomination we find ourselves in are lenses through which we view Scripture, but that they must not be the ultimate influence as we seek to live by the Bible. 

We come now to how we actually read the Bible.  And there are three things I want to point out about how we must read Scripture.  The first is that we read it literally, the second is that we interpret it in context, and third, we must compare Scripture with Scripture. 

What if I give you this news headline:  50,000 Manhattan Residents Affected by Oil-Based Paint.  Now, let me elaborate by saying that the Manhattan people were strolling through an art gallery.  They weren’t walking by a massive demolition project every day on their way to work.  Further, let me reveal that the way in which these folks were affected was emotional and not physical.  They weren’t made sick or nauseated.  They were awed and  wowed by a 4 by7 -foot mural.  And how about a time-frame for the headline?  It was 1851, and at the time Niagra Falls was the premiere American landscape scene.  Photography hadn’t yet fully given the public El Capitan and Yosemite.  And lastly, what if the oil-based paint was simply oil paint?  Frederic Edwin Church blew away Manhattan gallery goers with his The Great Falls, Niagra  oil painting and he became the creator of what Europeans realized was America’s new preeminence in the art world.  And so context means a great deal in deciphering the meaning of things.

But first, Let’s ask how one would know, for example, that the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit is not just a metaphor for the physical body and the sexual instinct?  Having lived in Brazil, I can tell you that the way in which people act during the Brazilian Mardi Gras called Carnaval, comes from a Catholic theological teaching that the apple was a metaphor for sexual appetite and it was, of course…forbidden.  So, while God is looking the other way, Latin Americans tend to feel justified in looking for sexual partners with whom to share the party spirit of Carnaval.  One way to know that the story is not a metaphor is by reading the story thoroughly and noting that when the story appears in other books of the Bible-like Romans-the explanation and reiteration is that of the story’s true meaning.  That Adam and Eve disobeyed God and that through Adam sin came upon all of mankind.  Similarly, how might one conclude that the Old and New Testaments were written for more than just the cultures and people of that time?  A couple of key OT passages will suffice to dispel the idea that the Scriptures are just some ancient bunch of moral writings for people of antiquity.  Genesis 12 is the wonderful story of Abram and how God told him to leave his land and go to a land that God would show him.  And God also informs Abram that through his ancestry, all of the families of the earth would be blessed.  That of course is because Christ would eventually come through the Jewish race and bless ALL people of earth by His life, death, and resurrection.  Also, in Exodus 19; 5,6, we read that Israel is to be a chosen people to proclaim God’s wonders throughout all the earth.  Of course, by extension, this proclaiming would be done by the generations to come after the time of Moses!  And so, the writings of Scripture are for all people of all time.  Turning to the NT, we can recognize an authority that resides in the Bible from 2 Tim. 3:16, which states that ALL Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for correcting one’s way, and instruction in righteousness.

Second, we come to context, and how the Bible’s verses are to be interpreted in the context in which they’re found.  Sometimes, even students of the Word are surprised when the meaning they’d always attributed to a verse is amplified or even changed when the context in which it appears is examined thoroughly.  An example is in James 2, where it seems that there is verse that claims that man is justified by his works as well as his faith.  Upon examination of the context of the whole chapter, one discovers that James wants to make the point that faith can be just short of real when a person says that he has faith, yet does nothing to show that a transformation has taken place in his life.  And so the discussion is about a dead or alive faith, and not about how true faith in Christ is not enough.  A comparison of this passage with a multitude of others both in the OT and NT will also clarify that it is faith alone which justifies and saves us.  And that brings us to the importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture.

Sometimes we come upon a difficult-to-understand verse, or an instruction that is surely important, but may not be repeated in other passages.  Sometimes an instruction like that is centered around a cultural tendency of the day and the writer desires to give Christians guidance as to how to honor God in the midst of the circumstance.   Take for example Paul’s instruction in   1 Tim.2: 8,9 to men and women.  Men are told to pray with hands uplifted.  Women are told to refrain from wearing gold, pearls, and expensive clothes.  A person could get wrapped up in carrying these instructions to an extreme point, or misunderstand the real principles behind such verses.  Elsewhere, men are told to pray, but not to lift their hands; women are urged to concentrate not on the outward appearance, but to make sure their inside beauty shines through.  By comparing these verses to James 5: 16 and 1 Peter 3: 3,4, the right perspective and true Godly principle shines through.   Paul speaks of the Bereans in Acts 17:11 as being more nobleminded (critical thinkers?) than other people because they eagerly received the Word, and searched it out to see if what they were hearing was true.  We need to have the same passion when we read and interpret God’s Word!                      – Pastor Scott

do yourself a favor and dip into the world of art to appreciate the exceptional talent of Church.  You will be awed by his skill!

You are Here….And Not There sermon 3-27-2011

Often in the regular way in which we go to church and fulfill our roles as members of a church family, we forget the special purpose a group of Christian people should fulfill, and how the distinctive features of such a church must propel us to ask a question:  How may God want me make a difference in the lives of my friends and neighbors; how might I impact my generation as I am here in this church and not in another?

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Lately, I have had conversations with people and picked up sentiments through interactions that have caused me to want to passionately lay out three distinct areas in which a church of Believers is singular.  I foolishly thought that all the strong impulses I felt to lay these three things out would unfold in one sermon.  Now I realize that I’ll likely need three!

First, a church of Believers must be centered on the Bible.  It’s the guidebook for our lives, loves, and eternity.

Second, a church of Believers must recognize that the Bible is a book to be interpreted literally.  If it is regarded only as a book of wide-ranging moral lessons delivered by fable and epic, we are ignoring its claim.

Third, a church of Believers is in Christ.  This incredible prepositional phrase is found a lot in Ephesians but makes appearances in other NT books as well.  This is the amazing status of Believers who occupy a church!

So, this first part is about the Bible and its central role in our lives.  It has an authoritative and merciful way of giving us guidance about the way we should live.  What should our career be?  What about the amount of work we do versus the amount of time we commit to family?  What about the overall trajectory of our social status, personal worth, financial standing, and indulgence in the pleasures of this life?  Do we wish for a marriage that retains the dynamic of being in love?  Do we desperately wish that someone would come along who we can love?  Do we wonder what could have gone so wrong in the relationship that we believed in?  The Word of God has a lot to say about eternity as well.  Not just giving details about what it will be like.  But it lays out a philosophy of living that reminds us that this life is not all there is.  We are to live with the mentality that we are preparing and being prepared to live for eternity! 

John 17:17 contains a great statement of Jesus as He prays to the Father for His disciples, who will now live on in the world without Him because He will go to the Father.  He says “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth”. (nasb) Jesus wants His followers to be set apart in this world and the whole catalyst for that will be the Word of God!  Truth in this world is an elusive and very subjective proposition for many, but for the Christian it is tangible, flawless, and accessible.  Isaiah 59:21 adds dimension to our regard for Scripture as the Truth by reminding us that it is the Old Testament and the New that is included.  One day last summer, a gentleman dropped by the church as I was preparing the sign for the next week.  He commented in the course of our conversation that the church stuff was all good because we’re all basically saying the same thing.  Not an uncommon sentiment out there in the world.  But it is only all good if we’re all saying the same thing as it’s put forth in the Bible.  All churches aren’t doing that!

One specific way in which we must be willing to regard the Bible as our sole guidebook has to do with the way we do things in church.  I believe that a fresh commitment to examine the way we do things in church-our traditions and even denominational practices-in the light of God’s Word is healthy and harmless.  Though practices and traditions were- or are thought to have been- principled at the start, political correctness, cultural winds of change, or lack of reexamination after a century or more of practice have rendered the status quo less than spot on.  When I was studying another culture, a teacher used the example of someone inquiring about why we set the table in the way we do.  Why do we have the fork on the left, and the knife and spoon on the right?  The answer is going to be, “I don’t know, that’s the way we’ve always done it”.  An actual answer exists, of course, but it is known only to a very few knowledgeable people.  Is there an infallible book of dining etiquette?

Culture and tradition are fine.  They are a part of our lives and our way of doing church.  But even something like our culture is to be rendered subservient when it comes to the critical questions of how do I do life, whom do I love, and what’s after this life.  We see the truths of Scripture through the lens of our culture and that is a natural part of living, but sometimes the Word would dictate something that doesn’t fit that mold and that’s where we must dare to look outside our culture.  Take as a final example, Paul’s instructions about the dispute that came up when some Christians took home the meat that was left over from idol offerings.  They figured they would save a little on their grocery bill and have the meats that were offered earlier in the day or week for dinner.  Other Christians saw that as an unconscionable act of participation with idols.   Paul, starting in I Cor.8:4, explains that God is far above idols which are of no account and are powerless.  He points out that the whole exercise of idol worship is a case of wrong behavior which has no actual power to challenge the power of Christ in us!  He goes on to show that even though this is the case, Christians should be sensitive in love toward those for whom that truth has not fully come home.  So, when it comes to culture-and both sides in this example were living it or reacting to it-culture is challenged by the principles of Scripture, in this case love.

So, why are you here in this church and not there in another?  God wants this body of Believers to reach out to our generation and make a difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors.  And that is a goal and comes about because of our dedication to the Word as our supreme guidebook.  For everything in life, love, and eternity!