Scriptural passages on Sunday, for Pentecost 15, taken from Ezekiel 18:25-32 which focused on individual responsibility for sin; Philippians 2:1-13 which tells us about Christ's willingness to submit to the conditions of the law for our sake; and the Gospel reading from Matthew 21:23-32 where the question is asked which son obeyed the father ...
The message could be summarized as: Options, Choices, and Responsibilities!
Ever heard of the book title 'A Tale of Two Cities'? Well, the story told by Jesus is a tale of two brothers. One who is quick to agree (or give the appearance of cooperation), while the other resisted at first but after some thought acted appropriately. Here is the challenge for us in the church today: 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions!'
What am I getting at? I believe that the most destructive and misleading lie told by the church as doctrine is: 'once saved, always saved.' I don't think you can back that up with scripture! Yet most Christians live their lives as if that is gospel truth ... and the way they express it is through their absence from church as they follow like puppy dogs their false gods and idols.
This is most acutely felt at nearly every baptism. After going through a pre-baptism course and agreeing with the basic premise behind the gift of baptism, we hardly ever see them again, if ever. What is wrong with this picture? We are creating a horde of baptized heathens, who treat the church more like a spiritual insurance agency, and devalue the relationship they have with God onto a level of the worst kind of consumer bargain basement.
There is a reference in Matthew we need to keep in mind - it tells us of all these people who come to Jesus claiming that they have done wonderful things in his name, only to be turned away with these sobering words: 'go away, I don't know you.' Man, that would be a shock to the system.
The gift we have received from God is so clearly articulated in Philippians 2; the total identification with us in order to communicate salvation into our reality. The gift goes on to facilitate the total identification with Christ in order to be lifted up into the presence of God. Is it possible to walk away from that? You bet ya! And many so-called Christians are doing just that - walking away from their salvation and connection with God. Where does that leave them? ... well, the road to hell is fill with good intentions!
Again, Jesus says that if we deny him before our generation, then he will deny us before the Father. Is he speaking about the unbelievingly world? Nope. Guess again.
Ezekiel already sets it out: we are going to have to take responsibility for our own actions of spiritual neglect. Our own congregation consists of about 500 members, with only about a fifth in attendance on Sunday. Didn't Jesus say that if you loved him you would keep his commandments ... Ever seen the one about worship and the holiness of God? Actions speak louder than words among Christians ... and it's not looking good!
This Sunday we want to begin a concerted effort to pray for our Christian membership, Christian family members and friends who have become absorbed into the crowd happy to walk into hell. The amazing reality is that modern evangelism is now about reaching out to baptized lost souls, whereas the church should be full and strengthened by the masses of people baptized around the world to reach out to a cynical and atheistic world that cannot see the relevance and reality of God. If we cannot see it in the church, then what on earth have we got to offer an unbelievingly world?
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
23 September, 2011
21 September, 2011
Moving our Church forward
We are creating cultural change for Living Word Lutheran Church.
At our half-yearly meeting in August the VISION2022 was launched with unanimous support. This endorsement opened up the opportunity to explore our vision with actual commitments. The first workshop held in September focused on a major change in how we are going 'to do church': from now on we are engaging the home as the primary location for faith-formation. In October, the second workshop will address our understanding of membership. The year of preparation will conclude with a congregational meeting in November to elect the new leadership whose goal it will be to facilitate our move forward to implement the 10 year plan in 2012.
After the summer holidays and Christmas festivities, our Annual General Meeting in February will update the congregation and set out the path from here on. In March, workshop number three will expand on the concept of participatory worship. Workshop #4 will address discipleship and gifts discovery. After Easter, we will aim to hold one significant workshop per month: resourcing individuals in their faith exploration, families in their role to provide faith-formation conversations, and how we as Christians can relate the Gospel to our everyday experiences living in the context of our 21st century secular and atheistic Gold Coast environment.
Stay tuned for ongoing updates ...
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
At our half-yearly meeting in August the VISION2022 was launched with unanimous support. This endorsement opened up the opportunity to explore our vision with actual commitments. The first workshop held in September focused on a major change in how we are going 'to do church': from now on we are engaging the home as the primary location for faith-formation. In October, the second workshop will address our understanding of membership. The year of preparation will conclude with a congregational meeting in November to elect the new leadership whose goal it will be to facilitate our move forward to implement the 10 year plan in 2012.
After the summer holidays and Christmas festivities, our Annual General Meeting in February will update the congregation and set out the path from here on. In March, workshop number three will expand on the concept of participatory worship. Workshop #4 will address discipleship and gifts discovery. After Easter, we will aim to hold one significant workshop per month: resourcing individuals in their faith exploration, families in their role to provide faith-formation conversations, and how we as Christians can relate the Gospel to our everyday experiences living in the context of our 21st century secular and atheistic Gold Coast environment.
Stay tuned for ongoing updates ...
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
19 September, 2011
Difficulty with Scripture
Sunday's readings for Pentecost 14 were: Jonah 3:10 - 4:11; Philippians 1:21-30; and the Gospel lesson was taken from Matthew 20:1-16.
Ever struggled with difficult passages from Scripture? I can feel for Jonah, knowing full well that God is gracious never-the-less gets sent to Nineveh to tell them off and pronounce doom - what does God do? Of course He forgives them and Jonah is seen as the fool, sits under a tree, sulks and is angry. Today is probably no different! The church is called to speak out to an unbelievingly world and is seen as a fool because, of course, God doesn't smite evil.
Then there is the parable about the kingdom of heaven where Jesus tells us about all these workers who were hired during the day, and the guy who came in at the last hour gets the same as the one hired first, having slaved all day long in the heat of the sun. Totally unfair! But Jesus concludes: 'what's it to you if God wants to be generous.'
I so often identify with the elder brother in the story of of the prodigal son. Duty, obedience, work, unrecognized labour, ... and the world (meaning, most of the so-called baptized Christians you never ever see in church, because they have walked out from their faith and run after selfish ambitions) indulges in sin and evil; who does the father embrace? Of course, the younger son who wished his father dead and demanded his inheritance only to waste it on prostitutes and booze. There is something so hugely wrong here.
Why bother? I really mean it; why bother to spread the Gospel, go to Church, do the Christian thing? God's generosity seems to favor and reward the way-ward.
The only glimmer of a reason for me in the context of these difficult passages is that of Paul's reflection: 'for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Read that passage from Philippians for yourself, because here you have the reason why I bother to carry on: 'it is for your sake so that I might help you grow and experience the joy of faith.'
If I didn't have that passage (the full counsel of God's Word), I would be stuck on the unfairness of God's grace and generosity. But thanks be to God, here is my reason to carry on ... and to hope ... and to learn to love those that God brings into His Kingdom, along with me. After all, if we didn't have a generous God, then none of us would have a hope in hell to see heaven. Working your butt off for the sake of the Gospel is not what it's all about - that just leads to self-righteousness and judgmentalism as a disguise for bitterness. But if you focus on 'growing and experiencing the joy of faith' - well then, that produces quite a different kind of person.
St.Francis of Assisi is said to have made this observation: 'at all time proclaim the Gospel, and when necessary, use words!' The challenge today is: be good news to someone - show them your joy ... and if you are not there yet, here is the prayer from the psalms: 'restore to me the joy of your salvation.'
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Ever struggled with difficult passages from Scripture? I can feel for Jonah, knowing full well that God is gracious never-the-less gets sent to Nineveh to tell them off and pronounce doom - what does God do? Of course He forgives them and Jonah is seen as the fool, sits under a tree, sulks and is angry. Today is probably no different! The church is called to speak out to an unbelievingly world and is seen as a fool because, of course, God doesn't smite evil.
Then there is the parable about the kingdom of heaven where Jesus tells us about all these workers who were hired during the day, and the guy who came in at the last hour gets the same as the one hired first, having slaved all day long in the heat of the sun. Totally unfair! But Jesus concludes: 'what's it to you if God wants to be generous.'
I so often identify with the elder brother in the story of of the prodigal son. Duty, obedience, work, unrecognized labour, ... and the world (meaning, most of the so-called baptized Christians you never ever see in church, because they have walked out from their faith and run after selfish ambitions) indulges in sin and evil; who does the father embrace? Of course, the younger son who wished his father dead and demanded his inheritance only to waste it on prostitutes and booze. There is something so hugely wrong here.
Why bother? I really mean it; why bother to spread the Gospel, go to Church, do the Christian thing? God's generosity seems to favor and reward the way-ward.
The only glimmer of a reason for me in the context of these difficult passages is that of Paul's reflection: 'for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Read that passage from Philippians for yourself, because here you have the reason why I bother to carry on: 'it is for your sake so that I might help you grow and experience the joy of faith.'
If I didn't have that passage (the full counsel of God's Word), I would be stuck on the unfairness of God's grace and generosity. But thanks be to God, here is my reason to carry on ... and to hope ... and to learn to love those that God brings into His Kingdom, along with me. After all, if we didn't have a generous God, then none of us would have a hope in hell to see heaven. Working your butt off for the sake of the Gospel is not what it's all about - that just leads to self-righteousness and judgmentalism as a disguise for bitterness. But if you focus on 'growing and experiencing the joy of faith' - well then, that produces quite a different kind of person.
St.Francis of Assisi is said to have made this observation: 'at all time proclaim the Gospel, and when necessary, use words!' The challenge today is: be good news to someone - show them your joy ... and if you are not there yet, here is the prayer from the psalms: 'restore to me the joy of your salvation.'
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
12 September, 2011
The hard issue of forgiveness
The readings for this Sunday (Pentecost 13) - Gen. 50:15-21; Rom.14:1-12; Matt. 18:21-35 were all so relevant for 9/11!
We have in the first reading the hard issue of forgiveness in a long standing family feud; with good reason, Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him. In the second reading we see the judgmentalism expressed by some enforcing their preference in an accusatory manner over others. In the Gospel reading we have Jesus' own view on how many times we should forgive.
Put all of that together on the very day around the world when we remember 9/11 and reflect on our actions since that day - revenge for an entire decade. It has been reported recently that the war on terror has cost $3000 Billion! What a colossal investment in hate disguised under political self justification. Now what would our world look like if we had practiced repentance and forgiveness? The middle east is a war zone of brothers fighting each other, just as Europe was for most of the last century.
Perhaps forgiveness starts at home - as it has always been. If it doesn't start there then it can have global ramifications. Think about the prayer that Jesus taught us ... 'forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.'
One definition of forgiveness that I have heard is this: when you have every right to hold something against someone else, but choose not to act on it. The pain of wrongs, injustice, destruction is very real. On the cross Jesus chose to take the pain, and not act on the justifiable judgment on our sin. Thanks be to God! That is grace ... How gracious are we with our actions?
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We have in the first reading the hard issue of forgiveness in a long standing family feud; with good reason, Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him. In the second reading we see the judgmentalism expressed by some enforcing their preference in an accusatory manner over others. In the Gospel reading we have Jesus' own view on how many times we should forgive.
Put all of that together on the very day around the world when we remember 9/11 and reflect on our actions since that day - revenge for an entire decade. It has been reported recently that the war on terror has cost $3000 Billion! What a colossal investment in hate disguised under political self justification. Now what would our world look like if we had practiced repentance and forgiveness? The middle east is a war zone of brothers fighting each other, just as Europe was for most of the last century.
Perhaps forgiveness starts at home - as it has always been. If it doesn't start there then it can have global ramifications. Think about the prayer that Jesus taught us ... 'forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.'
One definition of forgiveness that I have heard is this: when you have every right to hold something against someone else, but choose not to act on it. The pain of wrongs, injustice, destruction is very real. On the cross Jesus chose to take the pain, and not act on the justifiable judgment on our sin. Thanks be to God! That is grace ... How gracious are we with our actions?
Rev.'D
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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