Your congregation has been in significant decline for years. Members acknowledge that something must be done to reverse the decline. Plans are discussed and official votes are taken to make church growth a top priority, but with few results. Nothing seems to gain traction. When growth is a priority but nothing happens, low-grade depression and lethargy inevitably follow. Click link to continue.
Ministry Matters™ | Articles | Incentives to Decline: Why Some Churches Really Don't Want to Grow
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Series: “Jesus the Bread of Life” Part 1
Sunday Sermon Aug 12, 2012
John 6: 35, 41-51
Hold the loaf of bread: Doesn’t this loaf of bread smell great? Mmmmmmm…
it looks yummy!!! There’s something inviting about a freshly baked loaf of
bread. It’s irresistible…. Slather on some real butter and…. Well a guy could
eat the whole loaf… In all likelihood… want even more… maybe even demanding
more.
The context of our story is similar to Exodus wondering and of wanting more bread. Jesus has finished feeding 5000+ people of which they were astonished. Even Jesus’ friends were amazed because they were wondering how it was all going to happen in the first place. Jesus then takes a short detour to get away from the crowds, then, as John writes, casually walks on water. But, the people find Jesus on the other side of the lake and they come wanting more bread… in many ways demanding it. You can understand…. Fresh baked bread…
You see… they are remembering the Exodus story of their ancestors when God thru Moses gave them Manna… bread from heaven. They wanted more just as the people Jesus is confronting want more.
Jesus tells them…
Vs 32…”My father is the one who gives the
true bread from heaven. And the bread that God gives is the one who comes down
from heaven to give life to the world.”
Vs 34… The people
say YES!!!! This is the bread we want, “Give us this bread and don’t stop.” What
this Vs is saying is; give us all we want… we demand it!!
Then Jesus says
something that totally baffles them… in fact, it becomes a big problem for
Jesus.
Vs 35… Jesus says, “I AM” the bread of life.”
Think about that for
a moment… You know what it’s like to speak before you understand. Jesus says
something that is very disturbing to the Jews because the Jews start grumbling
in Vs 41… it is reminiscent of what happened with Moses. What Jesus is
describing is not the bread they had in mind… (Hold Bread) think about it… BREAD... nourishment for the
body or the body of JESUS… a person…
The people begin to remember where Jesus comes from… They remember Jesus’ parents; Joseph & Mary… his family… can anything good come from Nazareth? Jesus become a bit agitated or at the very least frustrated with everyone then says,
Vs 43… “Stop you’re
complaining”, “No one can come to me, unless the father
who sent me makes them come.”
This presents a
problem for us.who sent me makes them come.”
Let’s look at these 2 problems in our story.
The 1st problem for Jesus is; “I AM” the bread that gives life.
Jesus says, “I AM”… that is the problem. In Exodus 3 God comes to Moses to tell him that he is to go to Egypt and lead God’s people out. Moses is terrified and wants to know what God’s name is. Moses asks, “Who should I say is telling me?” God tells Moses, “Tell them “I AM” sent you.” “I AM” is one of the names the Hebrew people had for God and the people Jesus is speaking to know that one of the names God uses is “I AM”… thus the problem for Jesus. When Jesus says, “I AM” the bread of life it is a direct insult/blasphemy if you will against God. For the people… Jesus is not God’s son. They know where Jesus has come from… and from their perspective Jesus is no Messiah.
The people Jesus is
addressing including his closest friends have difficulties seeing beyond what
they know to be true. We have the same difficulties.
Theologian Brian Peterson states, “We suffer from the same difficulty of seeing beyond what we “know” to be true, about the poor, about ourselves, about the line separating the “saved” from everyone else, so that we might see the divine truth among us.”
In fact, it’s much easier to profess knowledge of Jesus than to have faith in a divine Jesus as a connection to God. Knowledge can be proven or backed up. Divineness is invisible and takes faith to believe in.
Which prompts the other problem in this story for us?
“Ultimately It’s Up to God”
Vs 44… Jesus says, “No one can come to me, unless the father makes them come.”
Think about this… perhaps this statement is a bit disturbing… What Jesus is saying is… you have no part in having faith in Jesus.
Luther… Small Cat…
Explanation of the Apostles Creed:
I believe that by
my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to
him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with
his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith.Jesus is saying, faith is not simply a human choice. This is a Lutheran distinction over against other faith traditions, namely from the Evangelical/Baptist traditions for example.
While… I’ve always had a believing knowledge of Jesus and God… Faith in God and Jesus has not been an easy trip. In many ways I’ve been dragged into faith sort-or-speak. If you recall our previous understanding of the word “Faith”… to that of being “Trust”. Do we trust? Often times we need proof to trust. Dragged… that might be another matter! The same language used in Vs 44 is the same language used to describe fishing nets being hauled into a boat.
“We must be “Dragged” into faith, there is no other way to come to Jesus,” according to Peterson.
This idea does pose some questions… of which there are no easy answers.
What
does this say about the grumblers in our story, or about those among us?
What
does this say about those around us, who by all appearances, have not been
drawn to Jesus?
What
does this say about us?
There is only paradoxical tension… Luther’s colleague Melancthen, may have been right on this… he advocated for a both/and to coming to faith. That both God and us play a part in having faith in Jesus.
Closing:
These two problems…
the one that Jesus has and the one we have don’t seem to have many answers. Or
lat least answers that we can understand. But… here’s where I see the promise
and hope of our reflection.
Vs 28… the people ask Jesus what God wants.
Jesus says, “God wants you to have faith in
the one he sent.”
The promise of God
is for us to attempt faith, and the Hope is, to let Him do the untangling.
I’d like to close with a short story from Muhammed Ali… who was talking to a young man who was contemplating dropping out of college. Ali said to the young man, “Stay in College, get the knowledge, and stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can surely make something out of you.
See You Out on the
Road
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Series: “Loving Jesus”.... "Spiritual Joy"
Sunday Sermon Aug 5, 2012
John 21:15-17
We conclude our series “Loving Jesus” today. We started this
series by asking that all important question Jesus asks… “DO YOU LOVE ME?” and
we’ll end by asking the same question… Do You Love Jesus? We’ve also learned
that this question has some important aspects to it. That Loving Jesus helps us
have greater Spiritual Understanding. That Loving Jesus empowers us to be
Spiritually Authentic. And that Loving Jesus helps us be Spiritually Hopeful.
Today we’ll see that
Loving Jesus will bring Spiritual Joy.
PRAYER:
We often think of Joy as being happy. Joy and happiness are
really two different realities
o
Happiness is stimulated by things.
o
Joy is an experience of the heart.
o
Happiness is short-lived… temporary… forgettable.
o
Joy is long-lasting… sustaining… unforgettable
o
Happiness is fleeting
o
Joy comes from the deep connections of our
relationships.
John 16:20… Jesus
says, “Truly, I tell you, you will weep & mourn, but the world will
rejoice, you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.”
Jesus then uses an illustration of a woman giving birth. There
is extreme pain involved. At least that’s my observation because I’ve not
experienced anything like child birth, yet after the child is born the pain is
forgotten or at least it’s tolerated. The pain doesn’t produce happiness… However,
Joy does comes because of the deep connection between mother and child.
Let’s look at some
ways we can experience Joy.
Having lunch with a colleague he shared a story where he
grumbled at his daughter because he had to change his schedule so he could pick
up her & a friend from school. As they rode in the car his daughters friend
ask, “Mr. Hendricks, what is your favorite food?” He said, “It depends on
whether it’s a main course or desert. “My favorite desert is Choc-Chip cookies
w/ Ice Cream. The kind of choc-chip cookies that are homemade, the soft and chewy
kind & vanilla ice cream.”…. 2 days later his daughter told him there was
something in the freezer for him… it was a plate of homemade soft & chewy
choc-chip cookies & ice cream.
One way to experience
Joy is to “Be thankful for the little things.”
The story of
Zacchaeus where Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, I must stay at your house today.
Zacchaeus hurries down from the tree and was joyful to welcome him.”
It’s the little things in life that often bring the most
joy. The simplicity of a child taking its first steps… or speaking their first
words.
At the door of Debs office is a post-it-note from her gr.
Son that says, “DEBS ALLFIS” …. (Spell
the word) Or the spur-of-the-moment visit to someone you haven’t seen or
spoken to in a while. I wonder how many
of us really take the time to be thankful for the little things in life.
Another way is “Being
Generous”
Paul says, “Although
they were going through hard times and were very poor, they (Macedonians) were
glad to give generously.”
When we give of self we are opening our hearts to the heart
of God from which brings purpose and joy. I know that some of the most joyous
moments in my life have been when I’ve been generous with my time and my money.
I remember helping a mother out one day as she struggled to hang on to one kid
and corral the other as she was told how much her grocery bill was, then
discovering she didn’t have enough money. I gave her the extra $10 she was
short even though I could really part with it. Doing these kinds of generous acts has
deepened my sense of joy and life fulfillment.
Finally… “Deepen your
Love of Jesus”
Jesus says, “I give
you a new command. You must love each other just as I have loved you.” John
13:34
This is why Jesus asks Peter 3 times… “DO YOU LOVE ME?” Jesus
wants Peter to love him as much as Jesus loves him.
Author Gail O’Day says, “The joyous story of John 21 provides the
backdrop for the call to discipleship… Peter receives the gift of his life –
The Love of Jesus – now Peter must share that gift… and Love Jesus in return.”
(New Interp. Bible Commentary Vol. IV Pg. 864)
DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
Mother Theresa went
about her work in Calcutta, India when she was asked from a news reporter, Why
do you do this work? She responded, “I Love Jesus… how about you?”
DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
Do you want to experience real Spiritual Understanding?...
LOVE JESUS
Do you want to experience a Spiritually Authentic life?...
LOVE JESUS
Do you want to experience Spiritual Hope?... LOVE JESUS
Do you want to experience real Spiritual Joy?... LOVE JESUS
DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
Closing:
At camp a couple years ago was a camp councilor named
Maggie. She was so excited, so passionate, so geeked about what she was doing.
I caught up with her one day and commented to her about her enthusiasm. She
responded, “I love the kids and I love being out in creation, and more than
anything I Love Jesus.” When I left camp that year I was inspired by this
persons love of Jesus that it brought back the memory of my ordination of what
my mentor said… in fact I can hear him right now saying, “Dennis Do You Love
Jesus?
My friends… Our question is…. Do
You Love Jesus?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)