Duet. 6:1-9, Jn. 14:23-27
At Trinity Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio, the
congregation was asked to respond to some questions on a 3 x 5 card.
The first question was, 'What first attracted you to
Trinity?'
Seven-year-old Jennifer spelled out her one-word
answer in the large letters of one just learning to print: 'God.'
When the question was posed, 'What is your prayer for
Trinity?'
Eight-year-old Matthew wrote, 'That they will always
be here to help other.' Trinity's pastor then said: It seems the kids are
teaching us what it means to be church.
Prayer
We’re half way thru our
series; “Walking in the Way of Jesus… 6 values of discipleship/or followership
as I am fond of saying. These 6 values become the model of what ministry should
be about, and the model that empowers mission ministry, all of which fosters a
greater relationship with Jesus.
Over the past 2 weeks we’ve
reflected on the importance of Prayer and why it should be a value to the faith
community. Being a community of prayer is how that community discerns what God
is calling them to be about.
Last week we focused on the
value of “Worship” and the importance of worship being the element of giving
rather than getting. That worship is our complete devotion to a loving and grace-filled
God.
Today our focused Value is; “Learning” and the importance of being in God’s Word.
In our readings today, Deut. 6… Listen, Israel! The Lord our
God is the only true God! So love the Lord your God with all your
heart, soul, and strength. Memorize
his laws and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them
all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed
at night, or getting up in the morning. Write down copies and tie them to your
wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. Write these laws on the door frames of
your homes and on your town gates.
Col. 3:16… Let the message about Christ completely fill you…
John 14:26… The Spirit will teach you
Everything.
God desires us to be in His
Word and connected to Him as a life-long learner. For many this is a daunting
task… to read the Bible. How many of you have Bibles at home? How many of you
read them even a little?
I must confess… I would like to do a
better job.
- Stats: 90% of have a least 1 Bible in our homes.
- Typical families have 3 Bibles
- 35% of adults read the bible in a typical week.
- Those that read, read about 10 min. a day.
- Avg. Luth. Reads the Bible at a 7-8 Gr. Level
- Episcopalian…4-5 Gr level
- R.C….2-3 gr level
- Mormons read their bible at a 12 gr. Level
Why is it so difficult for us to get into the Bible?
For many… we’ve relied on the Pro
Clergy to tell us. Many find the Bible hard to understand and written for a
different time… Some believe it’s not relevant… Were to Busy…. And or TOO LAZY.
A few years back the ELCA was so concerned that they’ve
launched an initiative called “Book of Faith” becoming fluent in the
first language of faith in order to encourage people to get into the bible. Did
Cana participate in this? By and large the initiative did little to expand the
bible literacy.
4 reasons I believe it is so difficult to get into the Bible.
The Bible is challenging John 3:3-16, Mark 10:17-26
We’re challenged to
understand how something written long ago can be relevant for us today.
The story of Jesus & Nic… must be
born again… Nic couldn’t understand what Jesus was saying. For John… it was
mind blowing, but I believe John had some idea because after-all the Jewish
sense here is … “to bring one over to his way of life.”
Jesus and the rich man… he obeyed the
Commandments, but Jesus tells him to sell everything and give it away. He left
sad. The 2 passages shouldn’t necessarily be taken literally, but
they do challenge us to think differently.
The Bible is Confrontational Luke 13:1-3
Pilate had some people killed and Jesus
tells people, “if you think they were worse than you, you are mistaken.” He tells them to turn back to
God, if you don’t you will be killed too. This too is a metaphor for us to look
at our lives. When we read the bible it
confronts us to look at ourselves.
The Bible is Correctional Matt.16:21-28, 1Cor.
3:1-3
In Matt. 16:23… Jesus tells Peter… Get behind me Satan. Paul says in 1Cor….. “You’re like
babies…”
In the Bible… God speaks to
our sinful humanness so that we will look at our lives, and make changes…
changes that will enhance our lives…. Not take away as some may think. God
desires our lives to be full, not take things away from us. We should think of
this like a parent correcting children.
The Bible is a Connectional Book: Eph. 1:3-5, 2Tim. 3:16
The Bible connects us to something
bigger than us. The Bible helps us to
envision how life can be purposeful and bring hope. No
other book can do this. Substituting
religious books doesn’t quite work. These are only
supplements.
Learning my friends… is a life-long
endeavor. Just because you are baptized doesn’t mean we’re in, nor being
confirmed having faith, nor just coming to church. Just because these things
happen doesn’t necessarily mean your Christian nor a follower of Jesus. God
desires a connection. God desires us to be learning how to trust God.
4 Ways to be a Life-Long Learner
Be Intentional…
Make a commitment to read a section, or chapter before you go to work, at lunch, or
before bed.
Take just a few minutes out of your day to connect with God. Make a commitment… then follow through.
Read the Bible at Home & Worship…
Open your Bibles at home.
Discover what’s in them. Open the bibles
in pews here at church and read along…
maybe even be a person who reads Sunday’s readings.
When I was on Internship I visited a
Methodist church in which they handed
bibles out as you entered worship space. They were intentional in getting the
Bible into the hands of the people.
Be part of a Group…
We offer a couple of opportunities
for adults… one on Sunday morning @ 9:30am The Wired Word, and one on Tues
Morning @ 10am. Children’s learning at 9:30 as well as middle & high school. If you don’t see a group that fits…
start new one. Gather a group of people and meet at Panera… or maybe the Black
Lotus… Yes… there… the people there need
it too. You don’t need my permission… better yet… you have my permission. Start
a new group study.
Take Responsibility to be a Life-Learner…
You don’t need me…. I or
any pastors are not to be the spiritual dispenser of bible information. YES… we have some schooling and
knowledge and can be helpful, but we are here to equip and mentor you on your faith journey… to help you Learn together.
I’m fond of saying to people…
What’s more Important? The answer or
the question!
It’s not always about the
answer… but the questions!
And one thing to keep in
mind… you don’t become proficient at something by having someone give you the
answers… you have to practice. Faith is a practice. Just like a doctor
practices, or a lawyer… That’s right a doctor practices medicine.
Closing:
Learning is a life-long enterprise and
if we are serious about passing on the faith we must get into God’s Word as a
community. We must make it a priority to be a life-long learners if we are to
experience the kind of spiritual growth God
desires of us.
It’s in Grace that we can
begin again and take the step in Walking in the Way of Jesus and to value
“Learning” in this faith community.
Our challenge today in the midst of our
discomfort is to admit we have fallen short in our journey to be dwellers in
the Word, and there is no better time to restart our efforts to be life-long learners in God’s Word.
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