Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

So, back in March, I was trying to find a YouTube clip from 30 Rock to commemorate St. Patrick's day. It was the one where Jack Donaghy goes to confession. I thought it was rather appropriate, even though that scene took place on Valentine's Day, because Jack is an Irish-Catholic who never goes to church. However, in that process, I came across a clip that I thought would be great for Halloween. Unfortunately, I have a terrible memory when it comes to things like this, and so, on March 17, 2010, I pulled together a posting for today, October 31, 2010. How's that for advanced planning!!!

Bowlin'

Tripp Crosby and Tyler Stanton are two funny dudes.  That, first and foremost, is what you need to know in order to fully appreciate this breakout hit.  You can check out their website at TrippandTyler.com for more funny videos, but here is one that they recently debuted at Catalyst '10.  Oh, and by the way, that's Chris Tomlin...

Minors Into Majors

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, October 10, 2010.  The text for this week's message comes from 2 Timothy 2:8-15.

As we continue in 2 Timothy today, we come across a concept that is very important for us as followers of Jesus Christ. I think by this point in life, every person here has had some kind of disagreement. Disagreements aren’t always a bad thing, and we need to be able to handle them in a manner that reflects the love of Christ. What we see as we approach this passage today is that there were some disagreements going on in the church where Timothy was serving. What we also see is how Paul tells Timothy to handle these disagreements, and what we walk away with is a better idea of what needs to be done in such instances.

In verse 14, where Paul really addresses this issue head-on, he writes, “Remind them of these things.” If we want to be good students of Scripture, then something we need to learn to ask is, “Why?” Why does Paul say what he says here? Remind who of what things? What is he telling Timothy to do? To get an idea of what he is talking about, we actually have to go a little further back in the letter.

In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul mentions three people. Two of them turned away from him, while a third sought him out while he was imprisoned in Rome. Apparently, some took issue with Paul being in prison, and they used as an opportunity to walk away from him. They deserted him. Certainly, they weren’t the only ones. These are people who could have supported Paul in this difficult time, but instead choose to go their own way.

This appears to have caused some dissention in the church. There were some who turned their backs on Paul, but there were also some who were there to help him in the midst of his suffering and imprisonment. Paul goes on to talk about how Timothy and other followers of Jesus should remember the example that was set by Jesus Christ.

He begins chapter 2 by telling Timothy to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ, and to continue in his task to teach the message of the gospel to others. Instead of running away when things get tough, Paul encourages Timothy to share in the sufferings as a soldier in Christ Jesus. Don’t lose focus, don’t turn away when things get difficult, but press on. Move forward knowing that what he is doing is right. Then we get to today’s reading.

Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. What he is doing here is not only reminding Timothy of the sufferings of Christ, but also of the ultimate victory that is in Christ. We know the story of Easter. Even those who never attend worship know the claims of Christians that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Unfortunately, we miss the rest of the story.

The way our calendar is set up, we have Palm Sunday, which is a celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and then the next Sunday, we have Easter, which is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Monday through Saturday of that week, we often get caught up in our typical week, and we don’t get as many opportunities to look at the story of Jesus’ suffering and death.

When Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, Timothy would remember why it is that Jesus rose from the dead. There is no resurrection without death. To remind Timothy of the resurrection is to remind him of the need for resurrection. The same is true for us.

When we talk about the risen Christ, we need to remember that to be raised necessitates a burial. We cannot forget about the sufferings of Christ. And what Paul is doing is reminding Timothy and the congregation that suffering is not new to the Christian faith. In fact, that’s how it was founded. People were abandoning Paul because of his suffering and imprisonment, and he points to the example of Jesus to remind them that, at times, suffering is a part of the faith.

Notice what he says in verses 8-9. He says that his suffering comes from preaching the gospel. It is for the sake of the gospel that Paul is in chains as though he were some kind of criminal. But in spite of his chains, Paul recognizes that the word of God is not bound.

The word of God is too powerful to be bound up by chains. As you look through the history of the Christian faith, you’ll see that often when the church is persecuted, it thrives. In the first century, the Church grew exponentially, even though there were intense periods of persecution. Paul knew that fact very well. He knew it because he was one of the first to persecute the early church, and several Roman Emperors followed him in this.

Nero was getting blamed for the great fire in Rome in 64 A.D., and as a means of deflecting the blame, he started a persecution of the Christians, blaming them for the fire. Late in the first century, Domitian heavily persecuted Christians. Persecutions happened under Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian, and many other emperors until Constantine took control of the Empire. There have been numerous persecutions since the time of Constantine as well. In fact, I have heard it said that more people were killed for their faith in Christ in the 20th century than all the other centuries combined.

Suffering and persecution are a part of the Christian story. We shouldn’t expect it to be easy to be a follower of a person who was wrongfully deemed a criminal and crucified. But it should bring us a measure of strength knowing that this same person was raised from the dead and is active in this world through the work of the Holy Spirit. So when the difficult times come, it is important that we remember the sufferings of Jesus as a way to be encouraged and strengthened for the journey ahead. This is what Paul wants Timothy to remind the people.

In verse 14, Paul tells Timothy to charge the people not to “quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.” The fact that they will have to deal with persecution is not the problem here. The problem is they are caught up in insignificant issues. We can reasonably assume that these are not significant issues because Paul does not shy away from addressing significant issues when it comes to writing his letters – just read his letters to the Corinthians. That was a church with major issues that Paul addresses very heavily. These must be insignificant issues because Paul doesn’t even take the time to address them specifically. All he says is, “Don’t quarrel over words.” They are issues that have no bearing on their faith, but can end up damaging those who are caught in the middle.

Unfortunately, churches get caught up in this type of arguing over insignificant matters even today. Issues like: what color are we going to paint the sanctuary; what type of carpet are we going to put in the education wing; what style of music are we going to use doing the worship service. Fill in the blank; there are always minors that turn into majors. So, what do we do when that time comes? What do we do when people start turning minors into majors?

We look back to Paul. We have to remember the words of Paul in this passage. And, again, what does he tell Timothy to do here? He tells him to remind them of Jesus. When we remember Jesus, we remember his teachings, his life, his death and his resurrection. We remember that there is a purpose for our call. We are reminded to come back to the important issues.

There always have been differences of opinion between individuals. That is just a simple fact of life. But as followers of Christ, we have to be willing to set the example of how to deal with those differences. By focusing on the larger, more important issues.

In his sermon “On a Catholic Spirit,” John Wesley reflects on the question that Jehu asks Jehonadab in 2 Kings 10:15, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” Where are people’s hearts in the matter? What are the bigger issues of which we need to be mindful?

In John 13, we read these words. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus is telling his disciples that the world will come to know them as his followers if they merely love one another.

When we have differences with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to intentionally decide to love that person. We do so not because we want to appear like we are above the petty things that people argue about in this world, but because the love of Christ reigns in our hearts. We can’t help but love one another when the love of Christ overflows from within us, and it is that love that helps us move past the minor things in this life that get us caught up and distracted from our more important tasks.

As a congregation, we have an important call that cannot be undermined by minor issues. We have a call to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. We have been entrusted to share the Word of God with a world that is in desperate need of salvation. We must do exactly what Paul says here. We must remember Jesus Christ who has been raised from the dead. In doing so, we refocus ourselves on the most important objectives that he has laid before us.

Is there someone with whom you have a disagreement concerning issues that are not central to the faith? Are there issues between you and another person that prevents the two of you from being focused on the goal of reaching others with the message of Jesus Christ? If so, are they majors or are they minors?

If they are indeed majors, then we need to approach those issues with the love of Christ and look for ways to settle them. If people are unable to experience Christ through your life because of these issues, then they need to be dealt with right away. If they are minors, then we need to address the issue, keeping in mind our call to reach others with the message of Jesus Christ.

We will never be able to agree on everything; that’s part of the human condition, but we do need to make sure we put things in the proper perspective. However, when we are focused on our purpose, when we are focused on the call that God has for us, we can do our best to avoid turning minors into majors.

The Value of Remembering

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, October 3, 2010.  The text for this week's message is 2 Timothy 1:3-7.

We are continuing our walk through 1 and 2 Timothy today with the opening of Paul’s second letter to Timothy.  Some time has passed since Paul’s last letter to Timothy, and the circumstances in which he and Timothy find themselves is drastically different.  Paul is in prison, as we see from verse 8 of the first chapter, and most likely, he is awaiting his trial and execution.  2 Timothy is the last of Paul’s letters.  In some sense, it is his last piece of advice to his spiritual son Timothy, and it stands as an encouragement for today’s Church.

For a guy that’s awaiting his execution, we may think that Paul begins this letter in a very unusual manner.  He says, “I thank God, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers.”  Even in the face of certain death, Paul is giving thanks to God.  It is odd to us because when we look at the world around us, we tend to forget to give thanks.  It seems like when even the slightest hint of trouble comes our way, we cry out to God and wonder why this is happening to us.  We start to question whether or not God even loves us.  But one thing that we learn over and over again as we read through Scripture is that there will be suffering; there will be pain in this life.  The presence of pain and suffering in this life is not proof that God doesn’t care about us.  It’s proof that we live in a fallen world.

Ever since Genesis 3, when sin entered into the world, we have been dealing with the results of a fallen creation.  Bad stuff happens.  It is a simple, yet unwelcome truth in a fallen world.  But, if we are to learn from the example of Paul, then we need to step back and give thanks in the midst of the troubling times.  We need to praise God for what He is doing all around us, even when the darkness is hiding it.

Notice what else he says here.  He thanks God “with a clear conscience” as he remembers Timothy in his prayers.  There is nothing between Paul and God as he prays.  He comes to God with a clear conscience, knowing that he is free from sin in his life.  Paul comprehends his standing before God, and it is one in which Paul has been faithful and obedient to who it is that God has called him to be – blameless because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

One question we must ask ourselves, when we come to God in prayer, is, “Do we have a clear conscience?”  Can we say that there is no sin in our lives that we haven’t already confessed before the Lord?  In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that when we come to the altar, we are to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters before offering our gift.  Because we can’t have hatred in our heart, we can’t be unreconciled people, when we come before the Lord.  Remember the line in the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  “As we forgive.”  That’s a dangerous prayer.  If we don’t forgive others, we are asking that we not be forgiven.

Paul prays with a clear conscience because he has forgiven others.  There may be some who held grudges against Paul, but his conscience was clean.  He had no animosity towards them.  Forgiveness is not about making sure we tell somebody that they have been forgiven by us.  Forgiveness is about letting go of the things that can make us bitter towards another.  Forgiveness is about a clear conscience, and we can have that because of Jesus Christ.  

In verses 4-7, Paul takes us on a little trip down memory lane.  He has already told Timothy that he has been remembering him in prayer.  And now, in verse 4, he says that he remembers Timothy’s tears.  While there is no specific reference as to what he is talking about, one thing it shows us is the depth of the relationship between the two.  

Paul spoke very highly of Timothy.  He refers to Timothy as his son, which shows level of their relationship.  It’s clear that this relationship was crucial for both of them.  Paul was a mentor and a father in the faith for Timothy, whose own father is not really mentioned, outside of Luke telling us that his father was Greek in Acts 16.

It is important for each one of us to have mentors in the faith.  It’s important that we have somebody we can look up to and learn from.  It is equally important that we mentor those whose faith is younger than ours.  I’ve talked before about faith being a journey, and that some are further along the road than others.  It’s important for us to learn from those who are ahead of us on their journey, and to help those who may not be as far along in their journey.  There is mutual joy in this type of relationship.  Paul says that he longs to see Timothy so that he would be filled with joy, and I think it’s fair to say that Timothy would like to see his mentor one more time as well.

The next remembrance to which Paul points is Timothy’s sincere faith.  Notice the adjective here, “sincere” faith.  One of the things I get to do as somebody going through the process of ordination in the United Methodist Church is psychological exams.  Let me tell you, they are a treat.  There have been three different times that I have had to do them, most recently just a couple of months ago. 

One particular test looks for psychological disorders that would require a special type of hospitalization.  In my follow-up interview, one of the things the evaluator said was, “You are either perfectly fine, or you want us to think you are.”  Apparently 85% of the people who take this particular exam answer in a similar fashion.  Now, I can guarantee you that I was not faking my way through that test.  I was sincere about my answers.

I think this is a good metaphor for our faith.  It’s hard to tell on the surface if somebody is sincere about their faith.  Are they putting on a front so people will think they are fine?  Or are they really who they appear to be?  Sometimes people seem sincere about their faith, but they really just want you to think that they are all right.

Paul knew that Timothy was sincere about his faith.  He knew about Timothy’s sincerity because he knew about his mother’s and his grandmother’s sincerity.  Faith is something that we can pass on from generation to generation.  There are no guarantees that your children will follow in your footsteps when it comes to faith, but there certainly are things that can be done to increase their chances.

Parents must be active in faith development of their children.  When I was in youth ministry, the most important message that I had to stress to parents was their role in their child’s faith development.  Because it didn’t matter how many activities a youth attended during the week, they typically came from home and went back home.  On a good week, I might see some youth for 4-5 hours.  That still left another 163 hours in the week.  Faith development begins in the home.

Timothy’s sincere faith began by listening to his mother and grandmother as they tell him about Jesus.  It continued when he saw it modeled in their lives each and every day.  We may buy into the popular sentiment that faith is personal and private, but the truth is, it’s not.  Our faith is shown to the world each and every day by how we live it out.

Finally, after remembering the relationship he has with Timothy and remembering Timothy’s sincere faith, Paul flips the remembering around on Timothy. Paul takes the opportunity to remind Timothy of something else in his own life.  Paul says, “For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.”  When you start a fire, it’s important that the spark gets plenty of oxygen.  It is only then that the fire really begins to catch.  When you fan a flame, you bring a small spark into something significantly larger.

Timothy had a small spark in the gift of God within him.  Paul was encouraging him to fan the flame; to bring it to full fire.  We can’t give up when it comes to our faith and our gifts in ministry.  We have to press on, and carefully fan the flames so that they can grow into something significant.  How do we fan the flame of our faith in this life?  By attending to our spiritual lives.  

I truly hope that you have been working your way through the Bible this year.  Reading Scripture is one of the best ways to fan the flame in your faith journey.  Spending time in the Word allows you to hear from God in ways that are not possible if you aren’t reading Scripture.  Fan the flame.  Nobody can do it for you; you have to make the decision to do it yourself.  When you do that, you will find that the Holy Spirit is working in some mighty ways in your life.  You don’t do it alone, but you can’t do it at all if you don’t make the decision to do something.

Paul closes out this section of the letter by addressing an issue that was probably plaguing Timothy, as well as many other Christians at this time in history; and he does so by reminding Timothy of something else that is critical to his faith.  Paul says that we haven’t been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.

During this time in the Roman Empire, Nero was leading a persecution against Christians.  It was the same persecution that claimed the life of Peter, and would soon claim the life of Paul.  There was reason to be afraid for one’s life at this time, but Paul encourages Timothy to not have a spirit of fear.  

The word that is used for “fear” was often used in reference to soldiers who fled from battle.  Paul recognizes that this is a battle of sorts.  It is not a battle against the Roman Empire.  It is not a physical war against one’s enemies.  It is a spiritual battle.  It is a battle that centers around the soul.  Perhaps the most important thing for us to realize in this instance is that it is a battle in a war that is already won.  Through his resurrection, Jesus Christ has defeated death and the forces of evil.  The battles rage on in our personal lives, but we need to realize that the war has already been decided, and it is not evil that gets the final say.

The power of the Holy Spirit dwells within us when we decide to give our lives to Christ.  In 1 John 4, John tells us that the one who dwells within us is greater than the one who is in the world.  There is no need to fear when we realize the power of God resides in us.

The love of God is another reason why we should not fear, even in difficult times.  This same love is what caused Jesus to come and die for our sins on the cross.  This same love is the reason why we have an opportunity to have a renewed relationship with God, even though we are dead in our sins without Jesus.  God does not owe us anything, and yet, He has given us everything.  It is because of His love for us.

Finally, self-control.  In some translations, the word that is used here is translated “sound mind.”  It has to do with discipline and self-control.  It has to do with how we guard our minds against the things that have no worth to our spiritual life.  We must mentally prepare ourselves in the midst of difficult times.  We get worn down and beat up by the things of this world, and in doing so, we make ourselves vulnerable to spiritual attacks.  We make ourselves vulnerable to weaknesses that can hurt our faith.

When we face things in this life that bring us fear, we need to remember exactly what Paul is reminding Timothy of in this passage.  We need to remember the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God and to lead a disciplined life.  When these three things remain the focus as we fan the flame of our faith, we can live our lives confident that the grace of God will carry us through anything.

We get the sense in the opening portion of Paul’s second letter to Timothy that something is going to happen, and it is probably going to happen soon.  Persecution is on the horizon for Timothy and the Church of the first century.  Paul is writing so that they will be encouraged and prepared for what lies ahead.  Today, as we look at this passage, it would do us some good as well to remember.  Remember the story of Jesus.  Remember how it is that you came to know him.  Remember that your faith is not just about you.  We are called to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Remember that and live it out in your own life.

Goldliness or Godliness

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, September 26, 2010.  The text for this week's message was 1 Timothy 6:6-19.

We’ve spent the majority of this month working through Paul’s first letter to Timothy.  There are several things that we can walk away knowing as we read this letter.  In 1 Timothy 1 we saw Paul give thanks to Jesus for empowering him for ministry, counting him faithful to fulfill that ministry and appointing him to ministry.  We saw that this call to ministry wasn’t reserved just for Paul, but it is for all people.  All who follow Jesus Christ are called to ministry in one form or another.  It is up to us to be faithful to that call in our own lives.

Last week, we continued on the theme of a call to ministry, and came to see, what I believe without a doubt, is our call as a congregation, and that is to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ.  I know a lot of what we talked about last week may have been hard to hear because it causes us to really examine what we are doing as a congregation.  We have to take a step back and wonder out loud what it is that we are doing, and does that help us reach others with the message of Jesus Christ.  If we are not focused on that goal, then we run the risk of creating a culture that is unwelcoming to those who aren’t already a part of the “in crowd.”

Today we move from a corporate focus to a more individual focus.  What we are looking at is pretty much the end of Paul’s first letter to Timothy.  In this section, we see a warning and a charge to Timothy as he continues to lead the people of the church at Ephesus.  Before we dive right into what he is saying in chapter 6, let’s get a better idea as to why he says it.

As I mentioned last week, one of the issues that Paul faced as he was fulfilling his ministry across the Roman Empire, was the presence of false teachers who would come in after him and teach a different doctrine than what Paul was teaching.  As we read today’s section, it seems as though Paul’s opponents are teaching that godliness is the best way to acquire wealth.  In describing some of their teaching in verse 5, Paul says that they imagine “godliness is a means of gain.”  Unfortunately, this teaching did not end with Paul’s opponents in the first century.  This teaching still exists today, and it poses a significant problem for the church.

This teaching is called many things today, but the most popular term is prosperity gospel.  The prosperity gospel teaches that God blesses his followers with material possessions.  While it is prominent in some strands of Pentecostal churches, it is not fair to say that all Pentecostals teach this type of theology.  It cuts across all denominations.  The major suggestion that comes through in most prosperity gospel teaching is that if you follow God, God will bless you, and you will be wealthy.  And it’s not spiritual wealth that they are talking about, but the bottom line in your bank account, material wealth.

I’m not going to go into detail about the different figures that represent this type of teaching.  The reason I bring it up is because that’s what Paul is talking about.  This type of theology is exactly what Paul is speaking against in the first place as he writes Timothy in today’s passage.  In the opening paragraph of today’s reading, Paul tells us that there is great gain in godliness with contentment; notice the qualifier there.  Being content with what you have is very different than saying that godliness leads to great gain.

Paul reminds us that we came into this world with nothing, and that there is nothing we can take out of it when we go.  That’s a pretty simple concept, but it’s one that we lose sight of from time to time.  I came across a story this week of a very wealthy man who had passed away.  At his funeral, one of the people leaned over to a friend and said, “How much did he leave?”  The friend looked at him and said, “How much did he leave?  He left all of it.”

I know I haven’t done a whole lot of funerals in my three years as a pastor, so maybe Tom/Halsey can help me with this, but I’ve never seen a moving truck as part of a funeral procession.  Have you?  We say it all the time, “You can’t it with you,” but sometimes I think we forget.  If we are never content with what we have, then that is the first sign that maybe we are being driven by something besides the will of God for our lives.

Paul says in verse 9, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”  First off, the word that is translated as “desire” refers to a deliberate determination.  In other words, it is something that is plotted, planned out; something that becomes the focus.  I want you to do something real quick: hold out your hand in front of your face.  Focus on your palm.  While you are focusing on your palm, what else can you see?  You can’t really see anything else.  You’ve got a vague idea of what is going on around you, but you don’t really know.

If your desire to be rich causes all of your focus to be put into the pursuit of worldly possessions, then you’re missing out on a whole lot.  And that’s what Paul is saying here.  Those who desire to be rich fall into a trap.  You can’t see a trap if you aren’t paying attention to where you are going.  Paul says that those who desire to be rich fall into senseless and harmful desires.  What is really ironic about what Paul is saying here is that the word for “senseless” can also mean “foolish,” and it carries with it the idea of one who does not apply his/her mind to what is happening.  So what he is saying here is that if you have a deliberate determination to pursue wealth in your life, you are not truly applying your mind to what is happening around you.

Paul warns Timothy that the love of money is the root of all evil.  Hear that again: the love of money is the root of all evil.  Too many times people will take this verse and chop it up to say that money is the root of all evil.  But money itself is about as evil as the pew that you are sitting in right now.  Money is an inanimate object.  It neither has positive nor negative value apart from our motives.  But our desire, our deliberate determination to acquire money, can cause us to do all sorts of evil things.

Think about all the financial scandals we have seen over the past several years: Lehman Brothers, Bernie Madoff, Enron, and the list goes on.  These are individuals and companies whose pursuit and love of money lead them into traps.  Unfortunately, there have been several churches that have been hit by these kinds of illegal pursuits of money as well.  And here is Paul, warning Timothy of what will happen if the love of money gets in the way of more important things in life.  So what is Paul’s advice to Timothy in this instance?  Flee.

Paul tells Timothy to run away; to avoid these things.  He gives Timothy the charge to flee from the dangers and snares of this world; to not be caught up in pursuing things that will not last.  He tells Timothy to flee from these things, and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  He tells Timothy to flee from the things of this world, and pursue the eternal things of God.

We can’t just run away from things in this life.  We are always chasing something.  The key to chase something that is worthwhile.  Paul tells Timothy to pursue six things.  And these six things are not going to make you wealthy, in a financial sense.  But in a much more important way, these things will bring you a spiritual wealth that can never be taken, not even by death.  When you look at your life, are you rich in the things of this world, but poor in the things of God?  Or are you content with what God has given you, and do you pursue the things of God?

Paul’s charge extends beyond Timothy in the final paragraph, and what he tells Timothy applies to us in our lives as well.  He tells Timothy to instruct those who are rich in this present age to not be arrogant about it.  Do not be filled with pride because of your material possessions.  Don’t set your hopes on the things that you have been able to acquire in this world.  You don’t hear people talking about the salvation they received from their bank accounts.  Our material possessions have absolutely no bearing on our eternal life.  So why have pride in them?  Rather, place your hope in God.

God is the one who provides us with what we need.  We don’t have to worry about our well being because God will give us what we need.  We just have to remember that God’s view of what we need may not always match up with our view.  And this is where contentment comes back into the picture.  Contentment comes when we put all of our faith in God, knowing that He will provide.  When we have that kind of faith, we are no longer concerned with what we have, but our focus becomes what can we do for the glory of God.

As we wrap up this morning, I do want to make something clear.  I’m not standing up here today telling everybody that they need to give more to the church.  That’s not the point, so don’t go away thinking that this morning.  The point is: God provides.  Our society teaches us to rely on our personal wealth and to pursue stuff in this life.  Paul is teaching us to rely on the one who gives us everything we have in the first place.

Your giving to the church is a matter of personal discipleship.  What I’m trying to do today, by reading what Paul is saying to Timothy, is challenge you to rethink what it means to be wealthy, and what it means to be content with what God has given you in this life.  There are more important things than the bottom line.  Pursue them.  Pursue godliness in your life and flee from the temptation to believe the saying, “He who has the most toys wins.”  Because there is no victory in that.  Our only victory is in Jesus Christ.

That All May Know

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, September 19, 2010.  The text for this week's message is 1 Timothy 2:1-7.

Last week, we looked at Paul’s understanding of ministry.  Ministry is for all people.  All who have decided to follow Jesus are called to be in ministry.  Ministry is not just for an elite few.  Ministry is not just for those who have gone to school for it.  Ministry is not just for the “professionals.”  In the Scripture we looked at last week, Paul gives thanks for three things: that Jesus has empowered him for ministry, judged him faithful and appointed him to service.  As people who are called to ministry, we should all be intentional about giving ourselves fully to the tasks that God has entrusted to us.

This week, we really get to the heart of what ministry is all about.  Paul moves into it by beginning with what may be perceived as a controversial statement.  He begins by saying that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be made for all people.  He lists several different types of prayer here.  These are very general categories of prayer focusing on our personal needs, on God’s ability to meet those needs, on others and on giving thanks.  Paul says that we need to be praying for all people.

And just so we don’t think that Paul is telling us that we only have to pray for certain people, he writes that we need to pray for “kings and all who are in high positions.”  Now, I don’t know what your political persuasion is, and really, it doesn’t matter to me, but are you praying for those in office?  Are you praying for those who are in high positions?

So much of our political rhetoric today has to do with where this person is falling short, or where that person is messing things up.  It’s very divisive.  But do you pray for the Obama Administration?  And I don’t mean that you pray they get voted out of office soon.  On the flip side, did you pray for the Bush Administration?  And I don’t mean that you thanked God when it was over.  Paul tells us to pray for kings and all who are in high positions, not just the ones that we like, and not just the ones that we agree with.  Let’s put this in perspective here.

Do you know who the people in high positions were when Paul was writing this letter?  The Romans.  Do you know who the Roman emperor was when Paul was writing this letter?  Nero.  Now, maybe you aren’t familiar with Roman history, and that’s all right, but for some reason you may think that you’ve heard that name before.  And it is because Nero was one of the worst men to have ever been emperor of Rome.

In 64 A.D. a great fire destroyed much of Rome, and it was rumored that Nero set the first in order to make room for expansion of his palace.  It was said that Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned.  Not very many surviving sources have a lot of good things to say about Nero.  He was known for persecuting the early church.  It was during Nero’s reign as emperor that both Peter and Paul were killed for their faith.

And yet, Paul tells Timothy to pray for him.  Pray for those for whom you have no desire to pray, and you’ll start to understand what Paul is talking about here.  Because it doesn’t matter that they seem too far-gone.  It doesn’t matter what they have done to you, or what you think they have done, pray for those who are in high positions.  I know that is a lot easier said than done, but as you pray, you may find that God is working in your heart in ways that you didn’t know He needed to.  Lift up all people to the Lord, and in doing so, your heart will be molded into one that chases after God’s will in your life.

Paul goes on to talk about why we should pray for them.  We pray so that we may lead a “peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”  There’s really a twofold purpose here.  First, a peaceful and quiet life.  A peaceful and quiet life is a life that is unaffected by the turmoil that surrounds it.  To have a peaceful and quiet life, means that we are not ruled by our circumstances.  It means that we have peace within, and we are at peace with the world around us.  Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness.

Second, we pray for others so that our lives may be godly and dignified in every way.  What does that mean?  I wish I could remember who said it, but someone much wiser than me once said, “For some people, you may be the only Bible they read.”  When our outward lives are shaped by our inward prayer life, then we are setting an example worthy of the name we carry as Christ followers.  We must always set an example of what it means to be godly and dignified.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t let loose and have a good time.  It means we live our lives in the joy of the Lord.  We don’t seek out things that are contrary to God.  We don’t seek out things that go against who God has made us to be.  We live our lives to the fullest, and we do so for the glory of God.

In this section, Paul is building up to something huge.  He tells us to pray for all people, even those who we would least like to pray for.  He tells us to set an example in our lives, and example that would give people reason to look at our lives and see something significant within them.  And then he tells us some of the most important information that we could ever hear: that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  He gives us our call here.  He gives us our purpose here.  He lets us know who we are supposed to be.

We are called to ministry so that others may come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  How that looks for every individual is different; however, we are called into ministry so that all may know the truth.  The truth is very simple.  It is the core message of Scripture.  One place it is found is in verses 5-6 of today’s passage: there is one mediator, one go-between, one intermediary between God and humanity, and that one is Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

It’s said in different ways as we read through the New Testament.  Acts 4:12 says it this way, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  In a culture that says, “I’m okay, you’re okay,” this will be an unpopular message, but the simple truth of the gospel is that the only way that we are to enter into a saving relationship with the Almighty God is by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Paul saw that, and his ministry was to share that message with people who the Jews tried to avoid at all costs.

One of the problems that Paul constantly encountered on his missionary journeys, and it was one of the reasons why he wrote this letter to Timothy in the first place, was a group of people who taught that the Gentiles had to first convert to Judaism before they could follow Christ.  Part of the reason why Paul is emphasizing the role of Jesus as the one mediator between God and humanity was because it wasn’t necessary to be Jewish to be saved.  If that were the case, then the Jewish people would be the mediators, not Jesus.  There is nothing about a single group of people that makes them the gatekeepers to God.  Jesus is the sole go-between.  Let’s bring this into our current surroundings now.

You may need to brace yourself for this, but hear me out.  This is not your church.  I know that I’ve just secretly made half of you angry, but let’s think about this for a minute.  Paul’s ministry was about bringing the message of the gospel to the Gentiles.  The Jewish people were not fond of Paul doing this, but they were not the ones who decided who was allowed to be saved by God’s grace.  This is not your church because you are not the divinely appointed gatekeeper.  This is not your church; this is not my church; this is God’s church.  God is the one who decides who is saved by His grace, and if we listen to what Paul has to say here, then God desires that all be saved.

The more I thought about this passage, and the more I prayed about where it is that God is leading us as a congregation, the more I saw that this is it.  We are not called to be an inwardly focused gathering of believers, but we are called to reach people with the message of Jesus Christ.  It sounds a little too simple, doesn’t it?  There’s nothing complicated about that call.  There’s no grand mission statement, or core values, or catchphrase that we can put on a cool bumper sticker, when we look at that purpose.  It’s a simple, matter-of-fact statement: we exist so that all may know the truth of Jesus Christ.  We exist so that those who are far from him may hear the truth, the message of salvation; that they may draw close to him; and that they may enter into a saving relationship with him.

If we aren’t doing that as a congregation, if we aren’t bringing people to know Jesus Christ and we barely know him ourselves, then we might as well just close the doors and go out for pizza once a week.  A church is not a social club.  A church is not an outlet for community service.  A church is a gathering of believers who come to praise God and who exist to bring others to Jesus Christ.  Everything we do as a church should be done so that others may come to know Jesus.

Fellowship is great.  But are we welcoming “outsiders” into our fellowship?  Service to the community is fantastic.  But are we reaching others with the good news of Jesus Christ in the midst of our service?  Sunday school is crucial.  But are we incorporating what we have learned into our daily lives?  Worship helps us to hear from God.  But are we really listening to what He is saying?

As a congregation, we have to make the conscious decision to share the gospel with those around us.  Because, if we don’t, we will not continue to exist as a congregation.  I’m sorry to say that but it’s true.  It may not be for 20 years; it may not be for another 50 years, but if we don’t decide to reach out to others with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are making the decision to close the doors… eventually.

I believe that churches go through cycles.  At some point in that cycle, there comes a decision that is going to effect whether that church goes up for the next cycle, or spirals downward for the next cycle.  A church that decides not to reach out to those who don’t know Jesus makes the decision to spiral downward.  If that church makes the same decision long enough, then it has created a culture that continues to spiral downward until there’s nothing left.

I’m not a big numbers person.  I know that there are always reasons behind the numbers, but those sitting here this morning know that these pews weren’t as roomy twenty-five years ago.  There are always reasons.  People pass away.  People move out of the area.  We can come up with all kinds of reasons, but the bottom line is that there are still a lot of people in this community that don’t go to church anywhere.  I haven’t seen the statistics, but I’d be willing to say that easily half the people in this town don’t go to church at all, and don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We have to decide to reach these people, or we are deciding that there’s still not enough elbowroom in the pews.

Learning From Paul

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, September 12, 2010.  The text for this week's message is 1 Timothy 1:12-17.

Today we are beginning with the first of three weeks that we will be spending in Paul’s first letter to Timothy.  During these messages, we are going to walk away with some advice from Paul.  Paul was a mentor to Timothy, and what we are reading is a personal letter to Timothy.  We get an idea of who Paul is, and we begin to see what ministry is all about.  Today’s passage in particular is about Paul’s approach to ministry in the first place.  We are going to get some of his thoughts on the subject and see how we can apply it to our lives right here, right now. To begin, though, let’s get an important question out of the way - who is Timothy?

Timothy is first introduced in Acts 16.  Paul is traveling throughout the Mediterranean, and meets Timothy in Lystra.  Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a believer in Jesus Christ, and his father was Greek.  Immediately, we see Timothy traveling with Paul, strengthening the faith of the churches throughout Greece.  As we continue through Acts, we see that Timothy is entrusted with a lot of responsibility.  He is often left or sent places to continue Paul’s ministry in that place.  He was a young man, but his faith was strong and Paul entrusted him with a great deal of spiritual leadership.

As we read through some of Paul’s other letters, Timothy is mentioned several times.  He is referred to as Paul’s “fellow worker.”  Paul calls him “my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.”  He spreads the gospel of Christ, strengthening and encouraging the churches that have been founded throughout modern-day Greece and Turkey.  Timothy is not just some random person that just so happens to be mentioned one time in the New Testament.  Timothy is a central figure in missionary endeavors throughout the Mediterranean.

Paul is writing to Timothy, his co-worker and successor in ministry, because he has left Timothy in charge of the church in Ephesus, where there were false teachers who were teaching doctrine contrary to the gospel.  We can learn from Paul’s interaction with Timothy.  While this is certainly a personal letter, there are some principles that apply in our lives as well.  

At the beginning of today’s section, Paul gives thanks for three things.  First, that Jesus has given him strength.  Second, that Jesus has judged him faithful.  Third, that Jesus has appointed him to service.  Let’s take a look at those three things.

First, Paul gives thanks because Jesus has strengthened him.  What does he mean by that?  The word translated “to strengthen” can also mean “to enable.”  So, what Paul is saying is that Jesus has enabled, or has empowered, him to be in ministry.  We talked a couple weeks ago that God has called all people to ministry.  If you have decided to follow Jesus, then you are responding to a call to ministry.  And if you’re thinking, “Well, there’s no way that God has called me to ministry, look at the things that I’ve done in my life,” then you need to pay extra attention to today’s message.  We’ll talk about that in more detail in a bit, but here’s the thing that we want to focus on for now: Paul is empowered for this ministry.

Paul was a very well educated man.  He basically had his PhD in Judaism.  However, that was all put aside when he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.  The path that Paul’s life was on was dramatically altered.  He was no longer a zealous Jew who persecuted the early Church.  He was a follower of Jesus Christ, who was set apart for a particular ministry – a ministry to the Gentiles.

He didn’t go to school to learn how to fulfill this ministry.  Realistically, nobody had done this before.  Jewish people didn’t actively seek out Gentiles with whom to share the message of God’s grace.  Jewish people tried as hard as they could to not associate with Gentiles at all.  There was nobody to teach him how to do this type of ministry, and he didn’t need there to be.  Paul was filled by the Holy Spirit, called to ministry by God, and empowered by God to do that ministry.  

Do you know what you need to do in order to fulfill the ministry to which God is calling you?  You need to draw close to Him.  A relationship is worth nothing if we don’t do our part in it.  We need to spend time reading the Word and praying.  We need to listen to what it is that God is trying to say to us throughout the day.  God never speaks to us in one way.  God’s call comes in a variety of ways, just so we don’t miss it.  Listen for that call in your life.  Like Paul, we are empowered to do ministry.  The ministry to which God calls us will not look like Paul’s.  It will be tailored to who God has designed us to be.  Like Paul, we need to remember to give thanks that God has empowered us for ministry.

Second, Paul gives thanks because Jesus judged him faithful.  Again, the Greek carries a lot more weight than our translation.  Jesus didn’t just look at Paul and say, “Okay, you’ll do.”  The word implies a carefully considered course of action that takes into account all of the various issues that are at stake.  In other words, when Paul was called to ministry, it wasn’t just a flippant, off-hand act.  God intentionally called Paul into ministry.

In spite of Paul’s persecution of the church, one thing could never be called into question: his faithfulness.  Now, I know that may sound like a strange thing to say about a man who was the equivalent of a bull in a china shop for the early Church.  Paul refers to himself as a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent, so how can he possibly say that Jesus has judged him faithful?  Paul recognized that there was something at work within him, in spite of the evil deeds that he was doing.  That something was God’s grace.

God’s grace and the love of Jesus Christ were so powerful in Paul’s life that he had a complete turn around.  He is no longer a persecutor of the Christian faith, but he is its biggest evangelist and the most prolific writer in the New Testament, and it is only by God’s grace that this is the case.  Paul was judged faithful because of his response to the mercy, grace and love that were injected into his life when he experienced the risen Christ.

For those who think that God can’t possibly use you in ministry, take a look at Paul’s story - from persecutor to proponent, from enemy to evangelist, from wretch to redeemed.  That’s Paul’s story, and there might be something in it that resonates with your story.  Do you feel like God can’t use you?  You are wrong.  God used Paul in some unbelievable ways – so much so that we are still talking about it, nearly two thousand years after Paul was martyred for his faith.

How do we respond to the grace of God at work in our lives?  By giving thanks.  By devoting our lives to draw closer and closer to Him.  By going out of our way if we have to in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  Above all, we are called to be faithful.  That means not turning away after pursuits that do not fall in line with the kingdom of God.  We read over and over again throughout Scripture of the need to turn away from the things that pull us away from God.  Being judged faithful is about putting away the old self and embracing the new life that we have in Jesus Christ.  Like Paul, we need to remember to give thanks that Jesus has judged us faithful.

Third, Paul gives thanks because Jesus has appointed him to service.  How’s that for a different perspective?  Typically, when we think about doing things for the church, I imagine that more than a handful of people start to get a little anxious.  They are worried about what God is going to call them to which will force them out of their comfort zone.  Being appointed to the service of Jesus Christ is not something that should make us anxious.  We should be excited because we will finally have an opportunity to do what it is that we have been called to do.  We finally have the opportunity to be who we are supposed to be.  That’s not nerve-wracking.  That’s exciting.

There’s an old saying, “Find what you love to do.  Find somebody to pay you for it, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”  If we love what we are doing, then there’s a good chance that God can use us in ministry in that area.  If you aren’t good at something, then that’s probably not where God is calling you to ministry.  I listen to a lot of podcasts on my iPod, and one of the podcasts I have to come back to from time to time talks about the myth of the well-rounded individual.  There’s this idea in our society that we have to be balanced individuals; that we should work on our weaknesses in order to get stronger.  But is this really true?  Should we avoid honing our strengths in order to beef up our weaknesses?

Think about it this way: if Randy Johnson spent more time working on his hitting, do you think he would have been a 10-time All Star with over 300 career wins, nearly 5,000 strikeouts and 5 Cy Young Awards?  Absolutely not.  Hitting wasn’t his strength, and he didn’t need it to be because he was a phenomenal pitcher.  I can guarantee you that Albert Pujols doesn’t practice his pitching.  He works on his hitting and defense.  As a result, he’s won 3 MVP’s and a Gold Glove.  They hone their strengths so that they can become the best at what they do.  The same should be said for those of us in the church.

If you get so worked up about public speaking that you can’t stand even the thought of doing it, then maybe God hasn’t called you to preach, and that’s all right.  If you love to cook, then maybe God is calling you to use those talents to further His kingdom.  Where are your strengths in ministry?  What do you get excited about, and what are you good at when it comes to serving others?  Instead of fretting over where God has called us to ministry, we should take a cue from Paul and rejoice in the fact that Jesus has appointed us to his service.  God is going to call us to be who we are, where we are and to serve those He has placed in our lives.  Like Paul, we should give thanks to God because He has appointed us to His service.  So, how does this all come together?

Next week, we are going to take a few minutes during worship to fill out a leadership inquiry.  We are coming up on a time when we are going to start taking a look at the leadership for this congregation for the upcoming year.  This is going to be your opportunity to think about the areas where you have served in this congregation, and the areas where you might like to serve.  

I won’t make any promises that just because you put down that you’d like to be on a particular committee that you will end up on that committee.  We have a nominations committee that will be getting together to help make those decisions, and that’s why the spiritual gifts inventories were so important.  We want to be able to match your gifts with an outlet for ministry that you will be excited about and that will see you thrive in what God is calling you to do.

Jesus counts us faithful to fulfill the ministries that he has entrusted to us.  We discern this in the midst of community.  If and when you are approached about taking part in the ministries of this church in a specific way, I hope that you will take the time to pray about it.  I hope that you realize we don’t need to just fill slots in our leadership roster, we need people to step up and fulfill the call to ministry that God has in their lives.  Nominations time is not a dreadful time; it’s a joyful time in which we can respond to God’s call right here, right now.

There is so much more that we can learn from today’s passage, but I think that is enough for this morning.  If we learn nothing else from Paul, we should walk away this morning knowing that God has called us to serve in His kingdom.  This isn’t a scary call.  Responding to this call means that we are fulfilling our purpose in life.  God is the one who created us.  Who better for us to listen to when it comes to the great question in life – why am I here?

As we read again and again what Paul has to say to Timothy in this passage, we would do well to realize that this isn’t just a private conversation between two guys.  It is a call to ministry.  It is a call to respond to what God has in store for each one of us.  It is full of lessons that are important for each one of us as we move forward in our journey of faith.

Fantasy Football 2010, Weeks 2 & 3

As rosters are being set in anticipation of tomorrow's match-up with a fellow UM clergy member, I thought I'd go ahead and catch y'all up on the last two weeks of fantasy football.... because you care...

Week 2
Starting Lineup
QB: Brees
RB: Rice, Jackson, Brandon Jackson
WR: Hines Ward, Gaffney
TE: Finley
D/ST: Chiefs
K: empty

High scorer: Brees, 22 points
Low scorer: tie, Hines Ward, K spot, 0 points
Result: Steel Curtain Reborn 91, Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys 77

Three things really stand out to me in this game.

1) I forgot that Hines Ward is bi-polar when it comes to fantasy football scoring.  He either has a 10+ point week, or a 1 point week.  He played well in Week 1 while he was on the bench, and then threw up a stinker in Week 2 when he was in my lineup.  I have nobody to blame but myself, after all, I know that he's worthless after a good week.

2) Making a last minute move to get a new kicker is only beneficial if I remember to install that new kicker into the lineup.

3) I needed to make some changes at WR.  Gaffney is no longer on the team after putting up a 1 point performance.  Ward is sitting until further notice.  My WR position combined for 1 point this week, while the three I had sitting on the bench averaged 9 points... each.  Another loss chalked up to poor managerial choices.

Week 3
Starting Lineup
QB: Brees
RB: Rice, Matt Forte, Jackson
WR: Knox, Mike Williams (TB)
TE: Finley
D/ST: Chiefs
K: Ryan Succop

High scorer: Brees, 28 points
Low scorer: tie, Forte, Williams, 3 points
Result: Team Kermeen 94, Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys 91

This one came down to the Monday night game, where I had Forte, Knox and Finley going.  When it was all said and done, a holding penalty is what killed me.  Finley scored a TD that was negated by a holding call, and there went 7 points that I wasn't going to get back.  In spite of great night from Knox & Finley, I still came up short.  Ironically, because of two guys that I had sitting on the bench in Weeks 1 & 2, who would have won my games if I played them in those weeks.  Forte had an off night, and Williams had a so-so game. Meanwhile, Hines Ward (who was on the bench in favor of Williams)... you guessed it... managed 9 points.

Starting off 0-3 isn't promising, but I do remembering being 3-3 last season, then running the table and winning the championship.  Perhaps the most damaging part of this week was the fact that both Ray Rice and Steven Jackson went down to injury, and are still listed as questionable for Week 4.  Chances are, both are going to be sitting... then they are going to go off and post huge numbers.

A Broken Exchange

Let me begin by saying that I am aware how far behind I have fallen in posting my sermons.  For that reason, you're about to be hit with a binge of sermon posts over the next few days.  I have really let this blog fall to the wayside for a while, but with the baseball season winding down, I won't be working on BLB as much, so I'll be able to focus a little more attention here over the next several months.  That being said, let the blogging binge begin (how's that for alliteration!).

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, August 29, 2010.  The text for this week's message is Jeremiah 2:4-13.



As an avid baseball fan, I tend to pay close attention to what is going on in the baseball world right around July 31st each year.  July 31st is the last day that a team can trade a player without having to go through a difficult-to-understand waiver process.  There is usually a lot of rumors and action in the weeks leading up to that date.  But one thing that is never guaranteed in a trade is success.  There is rarely just one reason why a trade takes place, but typically, one team is looking to improve its roster and does so by giving up something in order to improve as a team.  However, this doesn’t always work out in the sports world.  I looked up some of the worst trades of all time this week.  So stay with me for a few minutes, and you’ll start to see how this applies to today’s reading.


Perhaps the first one that you would expect me to bring up came in 1964 when the Chicago Cubs traded a young outfielder by the name of Lou Brock and two others to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio and two other players.  Broglio ended up winning just 10 games in his 2.5 seasons with the Cubs while the trade kick-started Lou Brock’s Hall of Fame Career.
Now, to be fair to the Cub fans (see, I’m not completely unreasonable), how about 1992?  The White Sox traded Sammy Sosa and Ken Patterson to the Cubs for George Bell.  Bell, acquired for his power, only hit 38 home runs in two seasons for the White Sox, while Sosa went on to hit 545 of his career home runs with the Cubs.


Or, how about 1971?  The New York Mets traded pitcher Nolan Ryan and three other players to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi.  Nolan Ryan only had 5 of his 22 seasons under his belt at the time, and would go on to win 138 games for the Angels and become the all time strikeout leader.  Fregosi, a six-time All Star when the trade happened, never did anything worth noting for the rest of his career and only played 146 games for the Mets.


Finally, in what is widely considered to be the worse trade of all time, in 1920, a year after he set the single season home run mark at 29, the Boston Red Sox didn’t want to pay a man by the name of George Herman Ruth $20,000 for the 1921 season, so they traded him to the New York Yankees for $125,000.  George Ruth, better known as Babe, simply went on to establish himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.  Now, to the question that you’ve been pondering in your mind for the last couple of minutes – what in the world does this have to do with Jeremiah 2?


What we read today is one of the first messages that the Lord has for the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah.  The language that is used in this passage suggests that God is putting the people of Israel on trial.  It begins by recounting how the Lord has been faithful to the people of Israel, but then turns into an accusation with the heavens serving as a witness against the Israelites.


The oracle begins by the Lord speaking to the ancestors of the people.  He says, “What fault did your ancestors find with me that caused them to go far from me and seek after worthless things?”  The problem for the Israelites really began long before the current audience was ever even born.  The people of Israel sought after the idols of foreign nations.  These idols, or “worthless things,” drew their attention away from the Lord, who brought them out of centuries of slavery in Egypt and kept them safe during their 40-year journey in the wilderness.  The Lord reminds the people that their ancestors would have died in the wilderness without His provision, and that He was the one who brought them into a land of plenty.


And, yet, in spite of the safety and provision that they received from the Lord, the people of Israel defiled the land that was given to them.  How did they do that?  By chasing after these “worthless things.”  The Hebrew word translated as “worthless” here can also be used to signify a breath or vapor.  In other words, it is something with no substance whatsoever.  What is worse in all of this is that their desire to chase after these things that had no substance caused them to become worthless as well.


There are things in our lives that we chase after, but if we stop and really look at them, they are of no value whatsoever.  You hear about people who are so obsessed with consumption, but they are never satisfied.  They are always looking for the next best thing.  They are never happy with what they have.  We are those people at times in our lives.  We chase after things that don’t have any meaning, and wonder why we are not satisfied with our lives.  If we allow our lives to become an endless pursuit of worthless things, then our lives have indeed become worthless in comparison to the greater purposes that God has for us.


Do you ever stop to reflect on what it is that God has done in your life?  Do you ever stop to give thanks for what it is that He is doing?  Perhaps the best deterrent to leading a worthless life is to remember what it is that the Lord has done.  The people of Israel were supposed to celebrate the Passover on an annual basis.  The Passover was a festival to remind the people what God had done in bringing them up out of slavery in Egypt.  


It is entirely possible that the people of Israel failed to remember the Passover annually, as there is no real mention of it as we go through the historical books in the Old Testament.  We do know that during the reign of Josiah, the Book of the Law was found in the Temple, which can only mean that at some point it was lost.  The people simply forgot their purpose.  They forgot what it was that God had done for them, and as a result, they chased after things that had absolutely no chance to fulfill their spiritual needs.


The blame for this falling away from the Lord certainly falls on the leadership because they were the ones who were charged to lead the people in the ways of the Lord.  We certainly see that in verse 8.  The priests, the rulers, and even some of the self-proclaimed prophets failed in their task to lead the people in the worship of the one true God.  In fact, they led the people in the opposite direction, and here is where we come back to the worst trades of all time.


As a part of the accusation against the people of Israel, in verse 11, the Lords says, “Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods?”  The very notion that the people of this time would exchange their gods for the gods of another country was simply ridiculous.  The Babylonians never decided to abandon their gods in favor of the gods of the Assyrians.  No nation would ever trade their gods for the gods of their neighbors.  


Now, in a polytheistic society, a society that worships multiple gods, adding to the gods that you already prayed to would not be unheard of, but to totally abandon your gods in favor of the gods of a neighboring nation would have been ridiculous.  But that is exactly what the people of Israel did.


I wish I could remember where I heard this, but a while back, I heard a report that claimed the Israelites were not really monotheists – that is, people who only worshipped one God.  And I couldn’t help but think about how ridiculous this report was.  Because isn’t that what the entire Old Testament is about?  The struggle of the people to remain faithful to the Lord?  Every time we read the prophets, we see the same message – put away your false idols and return to the Lord.  Stop worshipping the worthless images of your neighbors and turn your focus to Yahweh.  


Anybody that has taken the time to read the Old Testament knows that the people of Israel struggled in their attempts to focus all of their worship on the Lord, and not worship the idols of their neighbors.  The question is not “Were they polytheists?” but “How long will they continue to worship false idols?”  How long will they continue to chase after things that have no real purpose in this life?


In verse 11, God says that the people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.  The word for “glory” is the Hebrew word kabod.  In the Bible, kabod refers to the glory of God, an aura associated with God’s appearance that reveals His majesty to humanity.  The kabod of God is described as a “consuming fire.”  It is something that man cannot bear see and still live; it is too overwhelming for humanity.  It can be compared to a high-voltage electrical line.  When we come into contact with it, it is too much for our bodies to handle.


Yet, the people of Israel have exchanged the kabod of the Lord for something that does not profit.  In keeping with the electrical analogy, it would be like us exchanging a power grid for a dead battery.  It is inconceivable that we would give up something so incredible, and yet, we do it all the time.  In response to this, God speaks to the heavens and tells them to be appalled, be shocked by the actions of the people.


Why would the people of Israel give up something so magnificent for something so fleeting and empty?  Why do we?  Why do we enter into this journey of faith that we call the Christian life, only to turn our backs on it when we fail to open our eyes to what God is doing?  


When we stop reflecting on what God has done in our lives, we run the risk of doing exactly what the Israelites are accused of doing here in Jeremiah 2 – giving up on glory of God for the passing interests of this world.  It’s a bad trade, and here’s the difference between this trade and the baseball trades that I mentioned at the beginning of this morning’s message: in baseball, you don’t always know when something is a bad trade.  You don’t know what players have yet to peak in their careers.  You don’t know what players are past their prime and have nothing left to give.  But when it comes to the glory of God versus the vapors that this world has to offer, you know that it’s a bad trade.


At the end of the passage, God says that the people have committed two evils.  One, they’ve forsaken the living water, and two, they dug cisterns for themselves.  Now, that imagery may not mean as much to many of us in this day and age, but when you look at it in its original context, it is very significant.


In agricultural society of the day, water came from three sources.  First, it came from stream or some other source where the water was moving.  This was the best source of water.  The second option was a well where you could get ground water.  The final source would have been a cistern, which was a pit cut into rock and plastered to prevent seepage.  A cistern is the worst of all possible options.  You had to continually patch up the cracks, or the water would seep out and all you would have left is sludge and mosquito larvae that looked like dancing rice.


What God is saying is that the people have turned their backs on the living water, on the Lord, and have opted for sludge-filled cisterns.  It is a horrible trade.  The Red Sox losing Babe Ruth has nothing on this type of trade.  So, how do we live the Christian life?  One day at a time.  Always pushing forward towards the best that God has to offer.  Never turning away for the vapors, for the things that don’t last, for the things that will never satisfy.


There are pursuits in today’s world that pull us away from the Lord.  Pursuits of wealth, power, fame, pleasure.  These are cracked cisterns compared to what we have in Jesus Christ.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”  Jesus is the living water.  To follow him means that we will never thirst again.  We give him our faults, our failures and our emptiness and in return, we receive life eternal in the presence of the Almighty God.  Now, that is a good trade.