Finding Our Way
March 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Who’s your favorite person in the Bible? And you can’t answer Jesus, because everyone knows that’s who you’re supposed to answer. Who is your favorite non-Messianic man or woman from scripture?
Far and away, my favorite is Jacob. No contest. I like Jacob, because he’s so imperfect. If you were to paint a picture of Jacob, there’s no way he would deserve a halo. He’s a schemer and a scoundrel. He’s so flawed. He buys his older brother Esau’s birthright with a bowl of stew. With his mother’s help he steals Esau’s inheritance by deceiving his old, blind father. After running away and living with his uncle Laban, he manages to leave with all of Laban’s best livestock. And in spite of all of this, Jacob, prospers. Scripture is very clear to say that the LORD blessed Jacob.
But of course, the blessing is never quite what we expect, right? Like they say, “Be careful what you wish for.” Jacob prospers. He has numerous servants, wives, children, and livestock. He is rich. But he is also deceived by his family. He must run from the anger of his brother and of his uncle. And on the night before he is reunited with his brother, he spends an entire night wrestling with God. Finally, toward morning, Jacob asks for a blessing from God. He gets it, but he also walks away with a limp that he carries for the rest of his life.
In Jacob Beuchner’s Son of Laughter, a fictional retelling of the story, Jacob compares the blessings of the LORD to a runaway camel. Eventually all he can do is hold on for dear life.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Jacob’s runaway blessings lately, and the warning about “being careful what you wish for.” This morning I want us to start talking about how Jesus changes lives. If that’s are theme for the year and our mission as a church, we would do well to think about what it means to ask Jesus to change our lives. And the best place to start seems to me to be this question: Do we really want Jesus to change our lives? Do we dare ask Jesus to change our lives? And if we do, will we get a runaway blessing?
It reminds me of a quote from Ben Witherington’s blog in which he’s talking about the place where Jesus is born. He concludes it this way:
The old medieval Christmas poem said ‘though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if he’s not born in you, your heart is still forlorn.’ Let me just tell you however, if you let that Guest into your inner sanctum, even if you put him in the very back, he will surely take over and become the center of attention in due course. (benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html)
Jesus will change our lives. Are we prepared for the changes he’ll make?
Spare Some Change?
March 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This Sunday I’m beginning a series on our theme/mission: “Changing Lives Through Jesus.” And, once again, I find myself frustrated with the concept of preaching. Every once in a while I think about it and it strikes me as bizarre that I stand in front of you for twenty or so minutes and tell you what I think. Refresh my memory, why do we care what I think again?
I’m especially feeling it with this theme. It just seems like, in my life, this idea of “Changing lives” is in real danger of being little more than a slogan. Every advertiser in the world says that their product is life-changing. Certainly Jesus changes lives on a deeper level than, say, shampoo or floor cleaner or power tools. So help me think about this. Here are some questions I want you to think about and answer.
- How has Jesus changed your life? Really, how has knowing Jesus made a difference to you? What are you today that you would not have been had you not come to know Jesus?
- How is Jesus changing your life today? Where are you feeling the call to “higher ground” in your life? What aspects do you feel Jesus challenging you to change?
- How do you resist this change? This one is for the courageous of heart. How do you dig in your heels with Jesus? How do you resist making your life different? Why?
- What gives you the courage to let Jesus change your life? What is it that finally brings you around?
- How do you feel God calling this church to change? Is there some place you feel that he’s leading us?
- What ways can we be sharing this with each other? What forums can we be using? This blog has great potential, but what other media could we be using?
I just want to have an authentic conversation about what we really mean when we talk about “Changing Lives Through Jesus.” So help me out! I talk to myself enough as it is. Throw in your 2 bits. Actually, it’s most important that you ask the questions for yourself. Then if you choose to share what you come up with that would be even better. I hope to hear from a lot of you. You can post a comment here. You can send an email to robert.lee@norfolkcoc.org. You can just tell me about it. As always, anything you email me or tell me will not be used in a public arena unless I get your permission first.
On a totally unrelated subject: I’ve been telling some of you about “Carrier,” a documentary airing on PBS at the end of the month. Basically a film crew embeds on the USS Nimitz for a full deployment, and we get to follow various people and hear their stories. The reason I’m talking it up is because I want to hear from those of you who have first hand experience. How close are they? Where do they miss it?
If you have some free time next week, there will be two free screenings of it here in Hampton Roads. The producers will be there. You can go here for more information on the screenings. For a preview of the show, click here.
He Lives
March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m not much for creeds. The Churches of Christ have not traditionally given them much attention. Like I’ve said before, they seem to divide more than unify. They’re as liable to confuse as to clarify. One exception is the Apostle’s Creed. Even though it’s not without its problems, it gives a pretty basic and historical summary of what it means to be a Christian. Here are some excerpts:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the creator of heaven and earth.
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit…
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
Let me stop here. If this was all that could be said of Jesus—that he was crucified, died, and was buried, his life would hardly be noteworthy. Granted, there are the claims to divine birth and sonship of God. But neither of these things was without precedent. As we’ve talked about before, the rulers of Jesus’ day (Egyptian, Roman, Persian, etc.) commonly made claims of divine birth.
And his crucifixion certainly wasn’t unique. Crucifixion was a favorite method of execution for the Roman Empire. Largely reserved for slaves and citizens of other nations, it was a shameful death that reinforced Rome’s claims to power. Rome frequently made this very public statement in order to maintain control. At the end of the slave revolt led by Spartacus in 71 B.C., 6,000 surviving rebels were crucified along the road between Rome and Capua. So what sets Jesus apart? Let’s go back to the creed:
…On the third day, He rose again from the dead.
It’s the resurrection that sets Jesus apart. Of the many thousands of people crucified by the Romans, Jesus of Nazareth is the only one to have been raised from the dead. The gospels and the writings of Paul testify that he appeared to his followers—one time as many as 500 of them (1 Cor. 15). Many of those witnesses went to their executions testifying that “Jesus is risen.”
It is why we are here today. We are followers because both facts are true. Jesus died and was raised by God. The resurrection makes a universe of difference. The question for us this morning is what does the resurrection mean to us right now? How is our day to day life different because of it? I hope it gives you hope and teaches you how to live. Happy Easter. Christ is risen.
Mulch Madness 08!
March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We had a great time working together improving the church grounds. But even more so, the fellowship was outstanding! Take a look at some of the pictures from Mulch Madness 08!
Contemplation and Good Friday
March 21, 2008 | 2 Comments
I’ve been wanting to dwell on art that depicts Christ lately. There’s something about it that helps me focus. It helps me leave wherever I am sitting, usually at a desk in front of a computer, and place myself somewhere else. It allows me to stand before Jesus in a new way. For the most part, the only way I’ve ever been taught to come into Jesus’ presence is through prayer—a certain type of prayer, the kind of prayer that is dominated by words. I encounter Christ by going through everything like a list: “Lord, help me with this;” “Jesus, forgive me for that;” “Lord, please be with ________.” And that kind of prayer does have an important place.
But if I think about my relationship with my wife, some of the most important moments in our relationship have been beyond words. They have taken place in silence. They have happened with glances, with held hands, with smiles, and sometimes through tears. Whatever they were, those moments defied words. And in those moments Rachel became more real to me.
I guess I’m seeking out some of those moments in my relationship with Jesus. I want him to become more real to me just by sitting with him. I think John would call that “abiding” in him (see John 15:4 in the King James Version). I also think (though I’m not sure) that this is partly what is meant by “contemplation.”
Likewise I’ve found that I can, if I’m not careful, go too long without noticing Rachel. Life becomes all about accomplishing tasks. We move from one chore to another–getting kids ready for school, figuring out what to do for dinner, scheduling events. And before long I have failed to pay much attention to her.
I think I’ve done this even more with Jesus. My relationship with Him has become (has always been, really) so task-oriented. But to work beside someone is just one way of getting to know them. The other way is to sit with them and look them in the eyes.
So today I would challenge you to sit with these images from Good Friday. Click here. Click here. Click here. Finally, click here. Just a warning, though–they are not very comforting. Especially the last one. I find them challenging because they remind me of the severe ramifications of the cross. Like I said last Sunday, we move too quickly from Jesus’ crucifixion to his resurrection. But isn’t it possible that, in doing so, we somehow temper the joy of Easter? I’ll let you react to them in your way. But to me they are reminders of the death, the very real death, of the Son of God. May we have the courage to face the awful consequences of our sin, and then celebrate all the more God’s immeasurable grace.
Categories
Articles
Robert's Blog
Recent Comments
- Tom Hubert on GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY
- Lisa on Silent Monks Sing the Hallelujah Chorus
- Kara on Silent Monks Sing the Hallelujah Chorus