Sunday September 9, 2012 Matt. 16:21-28
Two boys were
walking home from church and sharing their reflection on the lesson. They had
been studying the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Little Peter said to
his friend John, “Do you believe that stuff about the devil? Do you think there
really is a devil?”
PRAYER:
Today we start a new series titled “Walking in the Way of Jesus… 6
Values of Discipleship.”
The reason for this series is today we begin a discernment period that will help us over the next 3-4 months determine Cross Lutheran’s Core Values. I invite all of you to participate in our 1st of 2 conversations and reflections following the 11am worship….
THERE WILL BE FOOD!!!!!
o
Some values are spoken and we know what they are
§ Like… “we
have weekly communion”
o
Some are unspoken that a few people know or that
are assumed until someone violates them.
§ Like… Children can only commune after age 6
This is why it is important to discover what the faith communities
values are… that they written down for all to see… that they are agreed upon
and lived out, and so your values can be matched with that of a new pastoral
leader. A faith community can no longer assume a pastor comes with the same
understanding of Lutheran values that you have. So… for the next 6 weeks we
will reflect on what I believe the 6 fundamental values every faith community
should be about.
If fact… these 6 values should be the “modus operandi”
of every church community.
They are: PRAYER….
WORSHIP… LEARNING… SERVING…
RELASHIONSHIP BUILDING…
GENEROSITY
To understand these 6 values of discipleship or as I understand them as
“followership” we must walk a spiritual journey, and this may be a challenge
for some.
So we begin this
journey today with the theme “Walk On”
The musical group U2 has a song titled “Walk On”. If you’re not familiar
with this group, they are among the world’s most successful groups to date. They
began as a garage band in Dublin, Ireland, and playing in their church and
church start-ups. Though they no longer play in churches, many of their songs
carry spiritual themes and connections…. This
song, “Walk On” does not have any
spiritual connections per say, however, it does have some word images that have
spiritual understanding.
Song Lyrics: “You’re
Packing a suitcase for a place none of us have been, a place that has to be
believed to be seen… Walk On”
Packing
a suitcase… A place none have been… a place that has to be believed to be seen.
Do
you see the spiritual connections?
Song Continues… “The only baggage you can bring
is all that you can’t leave behind… Walk On… we can’t buy it, we try to sell
it, it hurts, there is pain, we deny it, Just Walk On… Walk On.”
What
this song is talking about are values… and this is really where our journey
begins. It
begins by letting go of the baggage we think we need, and embracing the cross
that Jesus says we need to carry.
So… let’s “WALK ON”
Our bible story
today has Jesus telling his friends that he is going to walk a journey towards
death. Peter didn’t like hearing that… he says “Stop talking like that Jesus.” This
can never happen… Jesus says, “Get Behind Me Satan.” Jesus then tells them Vs
24, “If you want to follow me you must
forget about yourselves, take up your cross and follow me.” Jesus
challenges Peter & friends to change their focus.
Walking in the way of
Jesus means letting go of self interest, and walking towards Jesus’ interests. 6 days later, Jesus takes Peter, James
and John up the mountain from which they have this God moment from which begins
to open up their understanding… like most mountain top experiences… they don’t
last. However, at the core… Jesus
uses these two experiences to move his friends from where they currently are to
a place where God wants them to be. And…
God wants us to move too… to be followers of his son… to have the same values
& focus… and to place these values at the core of our being.
What does it mean to be a disciple/follower
in the way of Jesus?
Why is it important for the faith community?
What does it mean?
The church has often
confused being a disciple/follower with being a member. For many of us
membership is about Voting… Marriages… Baptisms… Funerals… Friendships… a
safety-net for the after-life. Essentially… “Privileges” remember the Am Express commercial?
Lutheran Pr. Mike Foss in his book, “Power
Surge” says about membership,
“Membership is about getting, Being a
Follower about Giving, Membership…Dues, Follower…Generosity, Member… belonging
to a select group, Follower… about changing & shaping a life by the Grace
of God”.
Being a follower of
Jesus means we must focus on Jesus. Vs 24… take up you cross… forget about
self. For you to be willing to give up your materialized and commercialized
life for a new life. Jesus did not have a membership list. Thousands followed,
but few took following seriously. Had Peter & friends not tried to keep
Jesus for themselves, Jesus would never have invoked Satan.
Why is this important?
3 reasons
First… Followers Orient Life Towards Jesus.
I’m not saying being
a member of a church is a bad thing. Belonging to a place that brings some
sort-of comfort can be a good thing, but it’s not what Jesus had in mind. Belonging
doesn’t get you closer to God. Satan belonged. What I’m saying, is the church
has primarily focused on making members rather than followers. I’m suggesting
that being intentional in walking in the way of Jesus will being greater
spiritual fulfillment than being a member. That by orienting your life &
community towards Jesus will grow not only your faith, but also grow the
community of faith.
Second…Followers Embody the Kingdom of God.
Acts 10 the story of
Peter & Cornelious is a great example of how God challenged Peter to
greater kingdom understanding. Peter had a set of cultural and familial values
that were limiting and God wanted to open his eyes to the greater values &
mission of God. Peter had been raised to be a good Jew. You couldn't touch that... you couldn't be with them... you couldn't go there and so on. When God tells Peter to go to Cornelious... well Peter's perspective... it was out of the question. Peter needed to adopt new and different values… God’s values. By
embodying God’s values we grow closer to kingdom experiences and seeing what
God see’s. I’m challenging you to do the same… to open your eyes to see what
God sees.
Third… Followers Empower Mission Ministry.
Jesus wants Peter
& friends to be empowered to carry on his mission. But… Peter is saying NO…
Jesus you can’t leave us. You’re our leader… what Peter is really saying,
“Jesus you do it and we’ll follow along.” Jesus you do the hard work… you carry
the cross… Jesus is saying Satan Get Behind Me!!! What I believe Jesus is
telling us is… ministry is a full participation sport if you will. Fully
participating in the mission of God… and all of us have the gifts and passions
to carry-out the mission of God.
Closing:
The journey of
walking in the way of Jesus begins today. We do this by reflecting and talking
about what we value.
In the next 6 weeks we will reflect on
Prayer… Worship… Learning… Serving… Relationships… Generosity
Let’s
Walk On…
Let’s
stay focused on our task…
More
importantly… Let’s stay focused on Jesus…
Let’s
Walk in the Way of Jesus…
As Vs 27 states… “The Father will come with
his angels to reward all people for what they have done.”
See You Out on the
Road
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