Faith

One Fish Two Fish Why Do I Do This?

April 29, 2013 By Patricia Leave a Comment

OneFishTwoFish

One Fish Two Fish Why Do I Do This?
Sycamore Creek Church
April 28/29, 2013
Matthew 14:17-25
Tom Arthur

Peace Friends!

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Evangelism.” For many of you evangelism probably brings up a lot of negative associations. It does for me too. There are certain “tribes” of Christianity that I occasionally run into that make me feel like I’m taking a test. If I don’t get the test right, that probably means I’m not a Christian and need to be converted to their tribe.

I also think Sarah’s experience with a Mormon who came to our door one day. We had a sign on the door about morning and evening prayer times, and Sarah saw the Mormon evangelist look at the sign, start to walk away, and then come back to the door and knock. Sarah went to the door and the Mormon evangelist said, “Do you know why God sent a flood on the earth?” Sarah responded, “I’m a student at Duke Divinity School and married to someone who is studying to be a pastor. Are you sure you want to get into this conversation?” He said sheepishly, “No.” And then he gave her his pamphlet and left!

I recently asked my friends on Facebook this question: What negative associations come to mind when you hear the word evangelism? What bad experiences have you had with evangelism? Either sharing your faith or someone trying to evangelize you? Here are some of the answers I got [the full answers are at the bottom]:

Two guys showed up to my dorm room unannounced and started grilling me with difficult theological questions that I had no clue how to navigate.

A single narrow minded focus on ‘Christianity’ and if you do not agree completely with their beliefs you are the enemy…

A focus on altar calls and “getting saved.”

I was always afraid of having to “do evangelism.”

I also have been in situations where I’ve somewhat hidden my faith because friends/acquaintances may feel that bringing up my faith in any way is an attempt to either make them feel inferior or change them in some way.

Young men in suits knocking on my door and trying to tell me (while kids cry, dinner burns and I try to escape) why their version of Christianity is the “right” one.

Evangelists just are too pushy and long-winded. They make me feel uncomfortable.

Caring more about my soul than my health and welfare.

The people who come to my door and preach without asking if I already am a Christian, or do ask but still preach anyway.

Walking down a crowded street a guy with a bull horn waited until I was right in front of him before he lit it up yelling about hell. He’s lucky I didn’t send him there.

Earlier in life it made me think of Tammy and Jim Bakker.

Whew! That’s quite a load of negative associations with evangelism and sharing your faith. I want you to know that we do it differently here at Sycamore Creek Church. We’re a church that is curious, creative, and compassionate. And we are told quite often that people find this a place that isn’t pushy and is very welcoming, no matter where you are in your spiritual journey and what questions you’ve got. I’d like to introduce you to someone who has been recently coming to SCC and is finding this a good place to seek answers to her spiritual questions. Meet Marian Wilson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zpVU23XL-A&feature=youtu.be

Marian may be physically blind, but the eyes of her heart are seeking God and finding SCC a good place to do that. And she even plays the keyboard for us! And if you were here a couple of weeks ago when she first joined the band, you know that Marian is a real gift to us, even as she’s still seeking answers to her God questions. That’s the spirit of evangelism that we have here at SCC.

Today we begin a new series called One Fish Two Fish How Do I Do This? It’s a series about sharing the faith. Today I’m going to answer the question: Why do I do this? Why share the faith?

There are three basic motivations that Christians have for sharing the faith, and you can find all of them in the story where Jesus calls his followers to leave their fishing nets and fish for people. Let’s explore each of these three motivations for sharing the faith.

Concern for Eternity

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:17

For many, the weight of eternity is a significant motivator for sharing the faith. They look around at the people they come in contact with and see that they’re heading away from God for eternity. They desire for all to repent, which originally was a traveling term that simply meant “to turn around”, and head toward God for eternity.

One key tool Christians have used over the last fifty years to make this point is often times called the bridge diagram. There is actually a free app you can download to your phone that walks you and someone else through this bridge diagram. Here’s a video about that tool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tNvEBnUj15k#at=67

http://www.howtoshareyourfaith.com/images/BridgeDiagram-8.jpg

The basic storyline of this diagram goes something like this:

God created us to be in relationship, but we rebelled and sin entered the world causing a big gap to form between us and God. The result of this gap of sin is death.
We sense this distance between God and us, and we try to do good works to cross over this gap. None of our good works is good enough to get us across the chasm.
God saw the predicament we were in and sent his son, Jesus, to bridge that gap. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he conquered sin and death and created a bridge between us and God.
To cross over this bridge and be in relationship with God we ask Jesus to be our forgiver (Savior) and leader (Lord). Where do you find yourself in this diagram?

There are some key motivators for those who feel the weight of eternity. At its worst, the weight of eternity can lead to a motivation of fear, especially a fear of hell, and a desire to make sure one has the right “fire insurance” to not end up there. When those who are motivated by eternity act out of fear, it is often clear to everyone else around them. Fear as a religious motivator can be powerful, but also very dangerous and off-putting.

At its best the weight of eternity motivates because we recognize that we’re all mortal. We all will die. What’s the number one cause of death? Birth! If you were born, you will die. Our culture does a lot to tell us we’re immortal, and sometimes we need a reminder that we don’t live forever. While concern for eternity has and continues to be a big motivator for many Christian to share the faith, for me personally, this is not a big motivator. I am much more motivated by the next two.

Obedience to the Truth

A second motivator for many to share their faith is obedience to the truth. As we continue reading the story of Jesus calling fishermen to join him and fish for people we read:

As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-20

“Follow me.” This is a command. And it’s a command that implies that the “me” that you’re following is worthy of being followed. Jesus tells us what this means elsewhere:

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:31-32

Here Jesus is inviting us to be obedient to the truth of his word, to be obedient to him. What is the truth of who God is and who Jesus is? If we find any book in the Bible that lays that out systematically, it is the book of Romans. St. Paul doesn’t lay it out as systematically as we might sometimes like, but his letter to the Romans is the closest thing we’ve got. Christians have recognized this and created at times what is called the Romans Road. It is a path through the book of Romans that succinctly describes the truth of Jesus. What you do is write the Romans Road in the margins of your Bible and then all you have to do is remember where the first verse begins. You look up that verse and beside it is the next verse. The content is pretty self explanatory. There are several versions of the Romans Road, but here is my take:

Romans 1:20—Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.

Romans 3:23—All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23a—For the wages of sin is death,

Romans 6:23b—But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8—But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9-10—If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

Romans 8:1—There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:16—It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Romans 8:38-39—For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:1-2—I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.

One of my favorite ways of describing what the truth of Jesus is comes from a third and fourth century church leader named St. Athanasius. In his book, On the Incarnation, he begins by describing how we were made in God’s image so that we could have a relationship and friendship with God. But sin distorted that image and broke the friendship. Jesus came to restore that image. Here’s what St. Athanasius says this about the truth of who Jesus is:

What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Saviour Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the images of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the Image.

In order to effect this re-creation, however, He had first to do away with death and corruption. Therefore He assumed a human body, in order that in it death might once for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. The Image of the Father only was sufficient for this need. Here is an illustration to prove it. ‘

You know what happens when a portrait that has been painted on a panel becomes obliterated through external stains. The artist does not throw away the panel, but the subject of the portrait has to come and sit for it again, and then the likeness is re-drawn on the same material. Even so was it with the All-holy Son of God. He, the Image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst, in order that He might renew mankind made after Himself, and seek out His lost sheep, even as He says in the Gospel: ” I came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19. 10) This also explains His saying to the Jews: “Except a man be born anew …” (John 3. 3) He was not referring to a man’s natural birth from his mother, as they thought, but to the re-birth and re-creation of the soul in the Image of God.

C.S. Lewis, influenced by St. Athanasius, summed this up even more succinctly: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” I sometimes make Lewis a little more gender inclusive by saying: In Jesus, God took on the character of flesh so that flesh might take on the character of God or In Jesus, God became friends with us so that we might become friends with God.

If all that seems too complicated, John Wesley comes to our rescue with a simple description of the truth: “Always remember the essence of Christian holiness is, simplicity and purity : one design, one desire : entire devotion to God.” Love God with everything you’ve got!

For those who desire to be obedient to the truth, there are some key motivators for sharing the faith. At the worst, this motivation can become intellectual hair-splitting. At its best one is motivated by truth, integrity, reason, honesty, and fidelity. Why share the faith? Because we are called to be obedient to the truth.

Joining an Adventure & Rescue Mission

A third reason why one might share the faith is because you’re inviting those around you to join an adventure and rescue mission.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Matthew 4:23-25

Now that’s what I’m talking about! For me this is a huge motivator to share the faith. I want to join the adventure and rescue mission of Jesus to heal and transform the world!

One recent tool that has been developed to tap into this motivation is sometimes called the Four Circles or The Big Story or the True Story. It is somewhat of a reaction to the bridge diagram. The bridge diagram is very individualistic. As you’ll see the Four Circles diagram is very community oriented. Here’s a quick video that describes the four circles:

http://vimeo.com/24231464

To see how this works if you drew it out, here’s a more home-grown video of the Four Circles being explained by it’s creator, James Choung:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVcSiUUMhY

http://openchurchnz.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/choung4circlestruestory.jpg

Here are the four circles:

Creation – Designed by God for good.
Fall – Damaged by evil and living self-centered.
Redemption – Jesus restores for better, and his life, death and resurrection show that sin, evil and death don’t have the last word.
Mission & Adventure of Following Jesus = We are sent together to heal to become an agent of mission to change the world. The goal is to transform you and send you to transform the world by bringing God’s kingdom now.

I have a hard time coming up with worst case motivations for this, but if I had to, I’d say that because it is a reaction to the Bridge Diagram, sometimes this motivation can be simply reactionary. But at it’s best, wanting to join the adventure and rescue mission of Jesus I am motivated by: compassion; justice; ending or reducing poverty; tearing down the walls of racism, sexism, classism, etc.; and bringing God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Now that’s what gets me up in the morning!

I like this way of thinking about evangelism and sharing the faith because it is also communal. We don’t do it alone. We are sent together to heal. We invite people to join in that adventure and rescue mission. Who doesn’t want to be involved in transforming the world for better? And a key doorway into this mission is through worship. Worship is the staging ground for this adventure and rescue mission. We attempt to make this as easy as possible for you by providing three to five Big Sundays every year. Easter was our last Big Sunday. So you know that we had almost three hundred people here on Easter? That’s amazing!

Imagine with me a community of people that were motivated to share the faith because following Jesus led to personal transformation. Addictions are broken. Marriages are healed. The lonely find community. The “worthless” find worth. The least become the greatest. The last become the first. The lost become found.

Imagine with me a community of people that were motivated to share the faith because following Jesus leads to joining an adventure and a rescue mission to the world. The homeless women and children at Maplewood find a home. Those on the edge of society find a welcoming place at Open Door. Those who are forgotten because of their age and health find friendship and love at Holt Senior Care. Those in need of basic supplies for life find them at Compassion Closet. Those who need medical assistance in Nicaragua find health and healing and hope. Do you know that these are all places where our church is already reaching out to the community and world? We do it by receiving money and giving it away. Do you know that we have over the life of our church received and given away almost $80,000 in special offerings that have gone to meet the needs of our community and world? SycamoreCreekChurch is joining the adventure of Jesus and his rescue mission to save the world. That’s why we share the faith! Will you join the adventure?

God, sometimes we’re not very motivated to share the faith. Sometimes we’re even scared and overwhelmed. Give us motivation when we don’t have any. Help us have a concern for eternity. Help us be obedient to the truth. Help us join the adventure and rescue mission of Jesus to transform the world. Amen.

Friends, I want to let you know about two things. First, there are three books that have been influential to me in working on this series. I’d like to encourage you and/or your small group to pick one up and read it. They are:

God Space by Doug Pollock

This book is a short (127 pages) easy to read book about how to get into spiritual conversations with those around you. I heard Doug speak about a year ago and was deeply moved by his approach to evangelism. His approach is really about how to listen well and ask good questions. I don’t think you can go wrong with this book. If you’re not sure about which book to pick, pick this one.

Coffee Shop Conversations: Making the Most of Spiritual Small Talk by Dale Fincher and Jonalyn Fincher
This book is a little longer (219 pages) but covers more ground than Pollock’s book. It deals with the same topic, how to start spiritual conversations, but also spends a lot more time covering what the Christian faith is and how to respond to possible “arguments” against the Christian faith. If your group wants to go deeper than just how to get into the conversations and needs some help with answers to possible questions that come up, this book would be the one to go with.

True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In by James Choung
This book is the most readable even if longest (222 pages) of the three because it is almost all a narrative (And at times is a page-turner!). It is a “fictional” conversation between a college-age Christian, a mentor professor, and his non-Christian love-interest. This book doesn’t dive at all into how to get into spiritual conversations, but shows how to talk about Christianity in a way that is compelling to our current culture. The book attempts to correct some past ways that Christians have tended to present the gospel that have caused our culture to tune out Christians.

Second, in the fourth week of this series I’m going to be doing a live Q&A with you answering the question: What about objections? I’m going to give you the opportunity to ask the kinds of questions you’re afraid will come up if you talk about your faith with others around you. I’m not preparing much for this message because I want you to see what it looks like to answer these questions unprepared and on the spot. I want to model for you how you might answer objections to the faith, and I may even have to model how to say, “I don’t know. Let me get back to you on that one.” So begin compiling your questions and bring them on week four!

Facebook Questions & Answers

Full answers from my friends on Facebook to the questions: What negative associations come to mind when you hear the word evangelism? What bad experiences have you had with evangelism? Either sharing your faith or someone trying to evangelize you? Here are all of the answers I got:

Back in college I attended a ministry on campus. Once they had my contact information, two guys showed up to my dorm room unannounced and started grilling me with difficult theological questions that I had no clue how to navigate. I was young in my faith and they knew it. After fumbling through my responses, they left. At no point did I feel they actually cared about me. They were there with an agenda. They had no intention of hearing my thoughts. It was as if they only cared about results and could care less about fostering a friendship. Needless to say, I never returned and they never wondered where I went.

A single narrow minded focus on ‘Christianity’ and if you do not agree completely with their beliefs you are the enemy…

A focus on altar calls and “getting saved.” Specifically, I think about when this big production with BMX bikes and loud music came to my high school gym one Friday night. If you didn’t attend the event, you must not have been a Christian. If you didn’t go up front at the altar call, you must not want to be saved. Shame on you! A similar pressure was present at other church events like concerts and such. It never happened at Lake Louise, Lake Michigan, or Wesley Woods… all UMC camps. I love being United Methodist!

I was always afraid of having to “do evangelism.” I saw a poster once that showed a polar bear on this empty frozen wasteland. The caption read “Now this is my kind of neighborhood for evangelism.”

What I don’t like about being evangelized to is the feeling that there is only one belief and if you don’t agree fully with every single facet then somehow you are “less than” as a person. I personally don’t like to evangelize to others because I don’t necessarily “fit” the traditional Christian mold. I also have been in situations where I’ve somewhat hidden my faith because friends/acquaintances may feel that bringing up my faith in any way is an attempt to either make them feel inferior or change them in some way. For example, I know religion is a touchy subject with most members of the LGBT community, and even though I personally feel that God is love and everyone has the right to seek personal happiness, bringing up my faith could be seen as passing judgment or even an attack.
My short answer? Evangelism is awkward for me. Religion and faith place me in a box that I personally don’t fit into.

Young men in suits knocking on my door and trying to tell my (while kids cry, dinner burns and i try to escape) why their version of Christianity is the “right” one.

When I rebelled against God I disliked Christianity, especially those who evangelized their faith. As I mature in my Christian faith I respect those that profess their faith and encourage their enthusiasm. In retrospect, I am thankful to God for those annoying evangelists who sparked contempt and fear into my heart.

Interesting you should ask that, that was the exact question my worship committee discussed this month as we gear up for a sermon series on evangelism: what is it and what it isn’t. I hope God is blessing this conversation for you and your church!

Evangelists just are too pushy and long-winded. They make me feel uncomfortable.

Caring more about my soul than my health and welfare.

The people who come to my door and preach without asking if I already am a Christian, or do ask but still preach anyway. If I believe the same thing, I shouldn’t be offended or feel uncomfortable when you talk about it. I can only imagine how much worse it is if it is a non-believer who answers the door.

Walking down a crowded street a guy with a bullhorn waited until I was right in front of him before he lit it up yelling about hell. He’s lucky I didn’t send him there.

Hmm today at sm group we watched a Nooma video called bullhorn, it’s about a bullhorn guy screaming hell fire and brimstone. I loved how he talked about how Jesus “evangelized”

I don’t think of evangelism the same way as I did when I wasn’t as far along in my faith walk. Earlier in life it made me think of Tammy and Jimmy (?) Bakker. Anyway, it was a turn off, pushy, intrusive. Now I see openly talking about faith and how I can lean on God through faith feels comforting and “looks” totally different from “The Bakers.” I don’t feel fake like the big hair and clumpy makeup or the loud pushy preaching.

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Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: adventure, eternity, evangelism, Faith, obedience

Why – Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

April 17, 2013 By Patricia Leave a Comment

Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers?
Sycamore Creek Church
April 14/15, 2013
Tom Arthur

Peace Friends!

Today we continue in our Why series dealing with the question: Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? I recently came across this prayer written by Tina Fey in her book Bossy Pants. Here’s a slightly edited version:

“The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter”

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it…

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and [making out] in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for…Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a [witch] in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that…I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

Do you think Tina Fey’s prayer will be answered? If not, why not? Well, we all have prayed prayers like this or other prayers. And whether you think God will answer Tina Fey’s prayer or not, you’ve prayed prayers that you thought God could and should have answered but didn’t. You may have even claimed Jesus’ promise in John:

I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
John 14:13-14 NRSV

It seems that God did some pretty amazing things in scripture. He made the sun stand still for Joshua. I can barely comprehend what that might mean for the laws of physics. He saved Daniel in the lion’s den (and I’m not talking about a porn shop off the side of the highway). Jesus regularly healed people, especially children who were dying or deeply suffering. If God answered these prayers, why doesn’t God answer my prayers for the same thing?

I think about the issues I wrestle with on a daily basis. Sometimes I find myself as a pastor in a paradox. I am often praying for people to be healed when I have my own health issues too. I’ve prayed for body parts to be made well all the while having a bum back that continually gives me problems with aches and pains. What’s up with that?

Maybe you’ve prayed for a girlfriend or boyfriend but none came along, especially the hottest girl you were praying would dig you. You prayed to pass a class in school but you didn’t pass it. You prayed to be healed of a disease but weren’t. You prayed to conceive a child but didn’t. You prayed for your parents not to get divorced, but they did. You prayed for a loved one to come to know Christ, but he only got further away.

If you’re here today as a guest and are not a Christian, you may have the impression that Christians pray and ask for things and always feel like they get what they’re asking for. But that’s not true. Just because you seek to follow Jesus doesn’t mean you experience all your prayers being answered. I certainly don’t. Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you don’t ask, Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? That’s the question we’re here to deal with today. I’d like to make four suggestions of why it might be that God isn’t answering your prayers. Each one begins with the word “maybe” because it might be this or it might be something else entirely. So here are four reasons why God might not be answering your prayers.

Broken Relationships
Maybe God isn’t answering your prayers because you have a broken relationship. Our horizontal relationships with those around us matter for our vertical relationship with God. It’s not like you can compartmentalize your spiritual life from your day to day life. Your day to day life is your spiritual life! Jesus tells us that when it comes to something like forgiveness, how we forgive others will have an impact on how we experience forgiveness from God:

Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.
Mark 11:24-25 NLT

John, one of Jesus’ closest followers, reflects on how our horizontal relationships affect our vertical relationship, saying you cannot say you love God if you hate your brother:

Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters,are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sisterwhom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
1 John 4:20 NRSV

Peter, another of Jesus’ closest followers, takes this idea and runs with it in your family:

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. If you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
1 Peter 3:7 NLT

And some of us husbands may not be married to someone who is “weaker” than we are. So you better watch out on both fronts!

The book of Proverbs, a collection of wisdom sayings, takes this into the realm of our relationship with the poor:

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
Proverbs 21:13 ESV

Have you been paying attention to the new pope, Pope Francis? I really like this guy. During Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, he took the time go and wash the feet of youth who were in prison. He washed and kissed their feet! And he broke with tradition by washing the feet of young women. Now here’s a pope who has his ear to the cry of the poor. You better watch out for what Pope Francis is praying for!

Christina Rossetti, a 19th century English poet, sums this up nicely when she says:

I pray for grace; but then my sins unpray
My prayer: on holy ground I fool stand shod.

The way we treat those around us has consequences for our prayer lives. Maybe God isn’t answering your prayers because of the broken relationships you aren’t paying attention to.

Wrong Motives
Maybe God isn’t answering your prayers because you have the wrong motives when you pray. For example, a man was circling the block searching for a parking spot. Finally, after the third time around, he prays, “God, if you help me find a parking spot, I will go to church every Sunday and tithe ten percent of my income.” Immediately, a spot opens up, and the man prays, “Never mind, I found one.”

James, Jesus’ brother, says:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:3 NRSV

OK, let’s be honest. How many of you have prayed to win the lottery? Now let’s be really honest. What were your real motives? To live a life of luxury or a life of generosity? My dad still to this day plays the lotto. When we were kids he would bring home lotto tickets and give them to us to fill out. One time when my family was having some financial troubles I came within one number of winning $14,000,000! I picked the number 19 instead of 29. Instead we got $2500. Not bad. My dad was bummed at the time, but recently I asked him about it, and he says he gives thanks to God that we didn’t win the lottery. He thinks it would have torn our family apart. And he’s probably right. Most people who win the lotto don’t lead happy lives. Winning the lotto seems to have a negative effect on many who win it. Perhaps that’s because if they were praying to win the lotto, they were praying in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. I’m reminded of Garth Brooks’ song Unanswered Prayers:

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

If we turn to the book of Proverbs again we read that our motives are known by the Lord:

All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Proverbs 16:2 NRSV

Maybe God isn’t answering your prayers because your motives aren’t the best.

Unbelief
Maybe God doesn’t answer your prayers because you don’t believe God will do it. Whenever I think of belief and unbelief I think of the Grand Canyon Sky Walk.

You can say you believe that it will hold your weight, but your belief is shown by your actions of walking out on the glass, 4000 feet above the Grand Canyon floor!

A father comes to Jesus looking for his child to be healed from a spirit of seizures that throws him into water and fire. He asks Jesus to heal him if he is able. This is what Jesus says:

If you are able! — All things can be done for the one who believes.
Mark 9:23 NRSV

I’m thankful for the honesty of this guy’s response. He says, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” Then Jesus heals his son!

Your faith matters when you pray. You often hear Christians, even myself at times, say something like, “All we have left to do is pray.” No! The first thing we have to do is pray! And believe that God hears our prayers and can and will answer them.

Now this can be seriously misconstrued. I’m not teaching a name it and claim it system of belief. I’m not even saying that all the time the reason God doesn’t answer your prayers is because you don’t believe. Maybe sometimes this is the reason. God is not obligated to answer your prayers. God is not your cosmic sugar daddy. Just because you have faith, doesn’t mean God has to do it, but your faith does matter.

I think of how we’re teaching Micah to say “Please” when he asks for food. He has learned this so well that he now says please whenever he asks for food or just about anything else. Of course, he has learned to say please whether we think it’s a good idea to give it to him or not. Who gets to decide when he says please? We do. Are we obligated to give him something whenever he says please? No. Is it important that he says please? Absolutely!

Again we turn to James, Jesus’ brother:

But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
James 1:6-7 NRSV

Something Different
Maybe God doesn’t answer your prayers because God has something different in mind for you. In an opening interview with Gary Chapman in the audio book to the new edition of his Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman tells about how he and his wife wanted to be missionaries to Africa. He wanted to teach in a seminary. But the mission board turned them down because of his wife’s health. They did not think she would do well in Africa.

Fast forward many years and Chapman has now written a book that has sold over 5 million copies and has been translated into almost 30 languages. When it is translated to a new language, his publisher sends them a box of the books and he and his wife pray for the people that will read it.

One day when he received a box of books, his wife began to cry. He said, “What’s wrong?” She said, “Remember how we wanted to be missionaries and weren’t able to. Now you’re book is teaching people all around the world.” God has something different in mind for the Chapmans.

God’s will matters more than our will. Looking again to John, one of Jesus’ followers:

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.
1 John 5:14-15 NRSV

Notice the key phrase here, “according to his will.” If you ask God something that God already wants for you, you’re golden! That’s a prayer that God wants to answer. When Micah asks me for more lettuce and says “please” that’s a request I want to answer.

But sometimes we don’t get what we ask for because God has something better in mind. In those times I’m reminded of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They wouldn’t bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s God, so he threatens to throw them in a fiery furnace. Here’s how they answer the king:

If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:17-18 NRSV

In essence they say: I believe God can, I believe God will, and even if God doesn’t, I still believe. Now that’s powerful trust in the goodness of God.

Maybe God ultimately wants something to happen in us in prayer. The movie Shadowlands tells the story of C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia which have recently begun to be made into movies, and his marriage to Joy Gresham. At an early age Joy is diagnosed with a terminal cancer. Lewis has married her legally at this point just so that she can have British citizenship. But when he realizes she has cancer he decided to get married to her in the church. He prays for her healing. In one scene, a friend of Lewis’ says that God is hearing and answering his prayers. Lewis responds, “That’s not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me.” Maybe that’s the something different, the something better that God has in mind. Prayer changes me. Let’s pray.

God, show me where there might be broken relationships that are getting in the way of my prayer life with you. Give me the courage to confess those areas and to seek healing and reconciliation. God, show me where I am asking for something out of selfish motives. Help purify my intentions. God show me where I say that I trust you but my actions betray my talk. Help my unbelief. God, even when you don’t answer my prayers, let me trust that you have something different, something better in store for me. May my prayers change me. Amen.

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Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: Faith, prayer, trust, unbelief, why

Old Testament, Part II

September 4, 2012 By Patricia Leave a Comment

Bible 101 – Old Testament, Part II
Sycamore Creek Church
September 2, 2012
Tom Arthur

Peace Friends!

Today we wrap up a series that was originally supposed to be one week on the Old Testament and one week on the New Testament. But once I began working on trying to give you an overview of the Old Testament, I found that I couldn’t do it in one week. In fact, two weeks is still pushing it. So I’m putting the New Testament off for another day. And what was a Bible 101 series has become an Old Testament 101 series.

I have struggled with the Old Testament. In fact, as I was getting ready to go to seminary I was on the verge of another faith crisis around several questions I had about the Old Testament. I know it’s a little weird to hear someone talk about going to seminary to be a pastor and being on the verge of a faith crisis because of the Old Testament, but I’m just telling you how it was. I thought that my Old Testament class was going to be a serious challenge to my faith, but what I found instead was that my Old Testament professor, Ellen Davis, saved my faith. She didn’t save me (that’s Jesus’ job), but she did renew my faith and trust in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament.

I’m not the only person to struggle with the Old Testament. I hear questions all the time about how to understand the Old Testament. It seems so, well, old. Any anything that is old just smacks of old underwear, old moldy cheese, old fashion, and old technology. Who would want to spend any time with old stuff that is outdated? I’d sum up people’s concerns about the Old Testament in this way:

The Old Testament is hard to understand, scientifically inaccurate, and presents an immoral angry and vengeful God. Given all this, why would I care to spend any time at all in the Old Testament?

These are important questions, and let me speak to the guest for a moment. If you’ve joined us today and have these kinds of questions about the Bible, you’re not alone. We’ve got them too. Hey, I’m the pastor at Sycamore Creek Church, and I’ve still got questions like this. Your questions are welcome. We’re a curious church. We’re curious about God and the Bible. You don’t have to check your questions at the door when you come here. You are welcome, questions and all.

So last week I began to unpack these questions with another question: what does Jesus think of the Old Testament? And because Christians think Jesus is God’s son, we can rephrase the question this way: What does God think of the Old Testament? We get a glimpse of an answer to that question when Jesus is arguing with some of the religious leaders of his day. He says:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
Matthew 23:23 NRSV

In this argument about tithing, giving ten percent of what you make back to God, Jesus points out that the religious leaders of the day are following the letter of the law so closely that they’re missing some weightier parts. Jesus thinks there are parts of the Old Testament (although he would have simply called it “the scriptures” because there was not yet a compiled New Testament) that carry more weight than others.

I use dumbbells in the morning to exercise. Some are light and some are heavy. They’re all dumbbells but because of their different weights they’re used for different things. Light weights are used in high repetition to build endurance. Heavy weights are used in low repetitions to build strength. They are all useful for training to get stronger, but they are not all used in the same way because some are weightier than others.

So here’s the main point of these two weeks on the Old Testament:

Main Point: All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is equal.

If that makes you a little nervous to say that, then we can say it exactly the way Jesus would have said it: all scripture is inspired (God breathed), but not all scripture is equally weighty.

The big question then is how do you know which parts are more or less weighty? I think one key to understanding the weightiness of a section is to read slowly, carefully and humbly paying special attention to genre. Genre? Yes. Genre.

You may not know the word but you know genre. Let me explain it this way. Here’s your Bible quiz for the morning. What does “Bible” literally mean? Bible means library. The Bible is a library of sixty-six books and thirty-nine of them are in the Old Testament. A library is like a bookstore, it is arranged with different topics in different sections. Those different sections are the different genres: fiction, cookbooks, biography, gardening, memoir, etc.

When I recently went on vacation I picked up two kinds of books from the library: historical fiction and some cookbooks. You read these kinds of books very differently. I read the fiction for long stretches of time in my bed before I go to sleep. I read the cookbook in short spurts in the kitchen paying very close attention to details. The difference between one teaspoon and one tablespoon can be disastrous. You would think I was weird if I took the cookbook to bed and read it for hours at a time before I went to sleep. There are different kinds of books for different kinds of situations that are read very differently.

Another kind of reading I do is magazine reading. Where do you read magazines? I prefer to read magazines while sitting on the throne in the throne room of my house, if you know what I mean. So you even read some kinds of books or reading material on the toilet. What do you read on the toilet?

So there are three big sections of the Old Testament:

1. Story of Israel (Pentateuch/Torah & History)
2. Wisdom (Emotions & Wisdom)
3. Prophets (Major & Minor)

Last week we looked at the first big section: the Story of Israel. We saw that this section is made up of books that tell the stories that define who the family of Israelis and is not (Israelliterally means “those who wrestle with God”). Today we’ll look at the other two big sections of the Old Testament: wisdom and prophets.

Wisdom
Within the wisdom books I’d suggest that there are two big sections: wisdom “proper” and emotion books. That may not be quite right, but that’s what I’m going with today. The wisdom “proper” books include Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The emotion books include Psalms, Song of Songs, and Lamentations.

Before we get much further let’s talk about a definition of wisdom. Wisdom is what is true for most people most of the time. Wisdom is practical common sense knowledge. Wisdom is not a promise. Take for example this very popular proverb about parenting:

Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.
Proverbs 22:6

Many parents get very confused and end up feeling very guilty because they take this as a promise from God. It’s as if God is saying to each parent: if you do the right things, you can rest assured that your child will grow up and do the right things.

Now of course, that is what Sarah and I are planning. We are being perfect parents so that Micah will be a perfect child and later a perfect adult. We read the Bible religiously and do all that it says in regard to parenting. We add to biblical knowledge all the contemporary parenting books. We will make no mistakes. So far in about two years of Micah’s life, we’re doing pretty good. We’re raising him in the right way, and we expect it to pay dividends. When he is an adult, we look forward to kicking back, enjoying his lucrative career and having him take care of us in our old age. All the while we expect that he will be a model Christian completely and totally holy without sin always doing exactly what God would want. Proverbs 22:6 is a promise to this end. Right? NO!

It’s not a promise because it’s wisdom literature. It tells you what happens most of the time for most people. But to think that it’s a formula for 100% success in raising children completely and totally neglects the reality of free will. God has given us the wonderful and terrible freedom of choosing or rejecting God’s love. Children are given this freedom just like the rest of us. Hey wait. We were all once children!

OK, the point of that was to say that if you’re not paying attention to the genre of wisdom, you’re going to miss something really important about how to read the proverbs. You’ll be sitting in bed with your cookbook reading it for hours. All scripture is inspired but not all scripture is equal.

Emotions
Then there’s the emotional wisdom books of the Bible: Psalms, Song of Songs, and Lamentations. Often in these books we learn more about the emotions of the person writing the book than we do about God who it is written to or about. Consider some of the psalms that we often have a difficult time with: the cursing psalms.

One of the worst cursing psalms is Psalm 137. It is written during the time of exile in Babylon. Remember from last week the big historical timeline ofIsrael? They began in Egypt as slaves and were delivered by God through Moses. They entered the promised land and were ruled first by judges and then by kings. There was civil war that split Israel in half. The Assyrian empire sacked the northern kingdom of Israel and then the Babylonian empire sacked the southern kingdom of Israel, calledJudah. It was in this sacking that the temple was destroyed. In both instances the attacking empire took the wealthy and elite away from their homeland and into exile.

Imagine with me for a moment the devastation of having your city sacked and then being carted off into exile in a foreign land. Imagine this happening today to us. Psalm 137 is written by a worship leader so let’s imagine this happening to our worship leader, Jeremy. Jeremy’s pregnant wife has been killed in the siege. The foreigners have also killed his son. Then they’ve carted him off to their homeland away from everything that is familiar to him. When they get there they rub salt in the open wounds by asking him to sing one of those praise songs that he used to sing at SycamoreCreekChurch. He says, Sure. I’ll sing you a praise song. You’ve killed my wife, my unborn child, and my two-year-old:

Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
Psalm 137:9

Now in that context, are you learning more about God or more about Jeremy? When you are reading the books of emotion, be careful to make that distinction. All scripture is inspired but not all scripture is equal.

Prophets (Major & Minor)
Last week we looked at the books that tell the story of Israel and today we’ve looked at the wisdom books. There’s only one more section: the prophets. Within the prophets there are major prophets and minor prophets. What’s the difference between a major and minor prophet? It’s not the key he sings in. (That was a joke.) It’s simply the length of the book he wrote. The major prophets were more wordy than the minor prophets.

The Major Prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel & Daniel (Apocalypse).

The Minor Prophets are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

A prophet is generally someone who speaks for God who reminds the family of God when it is living into God’s story and when it is not living into God’s story. There are several ways that the prophets go about doing this. One way is through apocalyptic literature. Apocalypse simply means “revelation.”

Large portions of Ezekiel and Daniel are apocalyptic. Here’s a taste:

In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings…As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel 1:5-12 NRSV

I think one of the most helpful ways to understand apocalypse is as an ancient political cartoon. If you saw a political cartoon today that had a donkey and an elephant in it you’d know immediately that we’re talking about the democrats and republicans. If the cartoon has the colors red, white, and blue in it, then you know we’re talking about the USA. In the same way, apocalyptic literature uses symbols that everyone in its day understood but today we’ve lost the meaning because we aren’t in that culture. So it takes some extra work to unpack the symbolism of apocalypse.

Another way that prophets speak for God is through “sign acts” or what I like to call “performance art.” In the performance art of the prophets we get a taste of what God’s emotions are like. Hosea was called by God to marry an unfaithful wife to symbolize Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. Whew! Here’s another somewhat startling performance art act by the prophet Isaiah:

At that time the LORD had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet,” and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot. Then the LORD said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia…”
Isaiah 20:2-3 NRSV

Isaiah walked around butt-naked for three years to make a point about God! Teenagers, tell your parents next week when you come to church that you’d like to go naked and barefoot to make a point about God. See what happens.

I like to think of the prophets as ancient hippies. In fact, this November we’re going to be doing a series called Ancient Hippies looking at four of the prophets: Micah, Amos, Hosea, and Jonah. Within the words and performance of these ancient hippies we see within God a deep passion and love for you that sometimes looks like the passion of a middle school girl for Justin Bieber. It makes God do some crazy stuff. Maybe that’s why we at Sycamore Creek Church talk about igniting authentic life in Christ. But we not only ignite it, we fan it into an all consuming passion for God.

A third way that the prophets remind God’s family who they are and are not is through proclamations of justice. My wife and I named our son Micah because of a famous verse in the book by the prophet Micah about justice:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 NRSV

It is our hope that he would grow up to be one who does justice, loves kindness, and walks humbly with God. That’s why we named him Micah. And now we are back full circle to what Jesus thinks of the Old Testament and what is weighty and what is not so weighty. Let’s read that argument again that Jesus was having with the religious leaders:

What are the weightier matters of the law? Justice. Mercy. Faith. If you want to know what to pay special attention to in the Old Testament look for the moments of justice, mercy, and faith. All scripture is inspired but not all scripture is equal.

Practical Suggestions
So here are some really practical suggestions for how to do that:

Read together – Read with other people and don’t forget the people who have come before you. Read what other Christians have thought historically. Also, don’t forget to read with people who are different than you. Sometimes you’ll be blind to something obvious that someone from another culture or ethnicity will notice.
Pray a psalm a day – The psalms are emotion filled prayers. Pray one each morning. There are 150 of them. So it will take you roughly five months to work your way through them. Over time you will find that the psalms provide you words to pray when you don’t have your own words.
Read a proverb a day – The proverbs are full of practical wisdom for living today. Read one proverb a day. I have an app on my phone that displays one proverb each day.
Read with a good Bible dictionary – If I had to pick one book besides the Bible to help me read the Bible it would be a good Bible dictionary. My favorite is Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary. When you’re reading a book of the Bible, look that book up and read the brief entry about the context and themes of that book. When you come across the name of a place or person, look that up in the dictionary and learn more about that person or place. It will help you know whether that part of the Bible is weighty or not.
Read with a good atlas – My favorite is Baker’s Atlas of Christian History. In the Bible you’re reading about a foreign land. It is helpful to see a map and know where you’re reading about. Is it happening in the dessert, on a mountain, or on the coastlands? These will give you clues to deeper meanings.
Read with a good handbook – Lastly, pick up a Bible handbook. My favorite is How to Read the Bible Book by Book. You’ll find a chapter on each book of the Bible with helpful guides for what to look for as you’re reading it. Another helpful guidebook is Philip Yancey’s The Bible Jesus Read. Yancey unpacks much of what I’ve said in his characteristically deep and meaningful way.

Here’s the problem we’ve been wrestling with today:

The Old Testament is hard to understand, scientifically inaccurate, and presents an immoral angry and vengeful God. Given all this, why would I care to spend any time at all in the Old Testament?

Here’s one answer to that problem:

Where did Martin Luther King Jr. get his inspiration for his I Have a Dream speech? The Old Testament:

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 40:4-5 KJV

All scripture is inspired but not all scripture is equal.

Prayer
God, sometimes the Old Testament seems very difficult to read. Help us pay attention to which parts are weightier than others. Help us read slowly, carefully, and humbly while paying special attention to the kind of genre we’re reading. Help us meet you in the pages of the Old Testament so that our lives are transformed into ones that seek justice, mercy, and faith. Then use us to transform the world. Amen.

Each week we provide discussion questions for small groups that meet regularly to discuss the message for the week. Want to find a small group to join? Email Mark Aupperlee – m_aupperlee@hotmail.com.

What do you like or not like about reading the Old Testament?
What is your favorite or least favorite story from the Old Testament and why?
Read Matthew 23:23. What do you make of Jesus’ statement that some parts of the Law/Old Testament are “weightier” than others?
What resources (books, apps, websites, etc.) have you found helpful for reading the Old Testament or Bible?
How can we pray for you in your discipline of reading the Bible?

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Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: Bible, Faith, Old Testament, scripture

The Old Testament, Part I

August 28, 2012 By Patricia Leave a Comment

Bible 101 – The Old Testament Part I
Sycamore Creek Church
August 26, 2012
Tom Arthur
Matthew 23:23

Peace, Friends!

Anything called “old” must not be very good. Right? Well today we begin a Bible 101 series on the “Old” Testament. The Bible is split into two big sections: Old and New. The Old Testament happens before Jesus. The New Testament happens after Jesus.

I’ve got to admit: I’ve struggled with the Old Testament. When I went to seminary I had several unanswered questions about faith and the Bible. I even anticipated having a big faith crisis when I began to really dig down and study the Bible, especially the Old Testament. I had grown up being taught that the Bible was “inerrant.” That means that it was “without error.” I was told that if the was ever an error in any part of the Bible, then all the rest of the Bible was suspect. And it seemed to me that if you were going to find an error in the Bible, it was going to be in the Old Testament. Of course, “error” always ends up equaling someone’s very literal interpretation of some passage here or there. But the struggle with this idea and with the Old Testament almost cost me my faith.

But then I had a surprise: I expected my Old Testament class in seminary to seriously challenge and test my faith. Rather what I found was that Ellen Davis, my Old Testament professor, saved my faith. She didn’t save me (Jesus did that), but she did save my faith. Or maybe not exactly my faith but my faith and trust in the Bible.

Today I’d like to take on an almost impossible task. I’d like to give you an overview of the Old Testament, thousands of pages, in thirty minutes. Actually, I originally intended this series to be two weeks, one week on the Old Testament and one on the New Testament. But after wrestling with this task of teaching the Old Testament probably as much as I’ve wrestled with the actual Old Testament itself, I’ve decided to make it two weeks on the Old Testament and save the New Testament for some other time.

I have a fear about this message: that it will be a little too “professorial.” I’ll do my best to not get too “teachy” but bear with me and I think you’ll gain a deeper appreciation of the Old Testament when we’re done and some helpful guidance for how to make use of it in your life.

I’m not the only one who has struggled with the Old Testament. I asked my friends on Facebook about their own struggles with the Old Testament. Here’s some of what I heard:

I have a difficult time relating it directly to my life.
It’s SO negative and punitive. It depresses me to read it.
The fact that god is needy, insecure, vindictive and overly punitive.
Not understanding all the customs and circumstances of the age.
It’s longer than the New Testament.
Sometimes the repetition from one book to the next makes me less enthusiastic to continue reading. And sometimes I feel like I don’t want to read the OT because of all the repetition. Then there’s the repetition.

Here’s the problem: The Old Testament is hard to understand, scientifically inaccurate, and presents an immoral, angry and vengeful God. Given all this, why would I care to spend any time at all in the Old Testament?

If you’re a guest here today, I want you to know that these kinds of questions really are live here atSycamoreCreekChurch. We’re a curious community. We’ve got questions about God, the Bible, and especially the Old Testament. We want to invite you to be curious about God with us. Your questions are welcome right alongside our own questions.

Jesus’ View of the Old Testament

So what to do with the Old Testament? Let’s begin our exploration today with Jesus’ view of the Old Testament. What does Jesus think of the Old Testament? Since Christians believe that Jesus was not only fully human but also fully divine, we could rephrase the question this way: What does God think of the Old Testament?

I’d like to focus on one verse today to help us answer that question:

So Jesus is arguing with the religious leaders of the day and calls them out for being hypocrites. They follow to the letter the laws about tithing. They take this so seriously that they tithe their herbs and spices! Anybody here tithe? Anybody here tithe their herbs and spices?

So Jesus lays into them. What does he say, “You neglect the weightier matters of the law.” Implied in this critique of the religious leaders of the day is a view of the Old Testament: some things in it are weightier than other things. In other words, they’re not all equal. It’s like the rubber bands and dumbbells I use for exercising in the morning. They all help me exercise but some are weightier than others.

So you may wonder: “Is this just Jesus’ view in the New Testament? But what does the Old Testament think of itself?” Well, there’s actually quite a conversation within the Old Testament about what exactly is really important in the Old Testament. Consider Psalm 51 as it reflects on all the various commandments and details about offering sacrifices at the temple to God, a major part of some of the books in the Old Testament. Psalm 51 says:

For you [God] have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17 NRSV

So one part of the Old Testament tells us that God doesn’t take delight in sacrifices while another part tells us all the details of how to offer sacrifices. What’s up with that?

Here’s the main point of today’s message, the one point take-away: All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is equal. Or you might say, “All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is of equal weight.” But how do we know which parts of scripture are more weighty than others? One key to that is to read slowly, carefully, and humbly paying extra attention to genre.

Genre?

What is “genre”? You already know it. What’s your favorite mystery novel? How about romance? Fantasy? Biography? Memoir? Graphic Novel? Self-help? Politics? Cookbook? They’re all books, but they’re not all the same kind of books. If you pick up a cookbook and you’re expecting to read a romance novel, you’ll be seriously confused and disappointed. You don’t even read those books the same way. You read a romance sitting in bed over long stretches of time before you go to bed. You read a cookbook little bits at a time in your kitchen.

Here’s your Bible quiz for the day: What does “Bible” mean? “Bible” literally means library. The Bible is a library of sixty six books. I’ve got this really cool version of the Bible that shows that really well. It’s a boxed set where each book of the Bible is individually bound. There are thirty nine books of the Bible that are written by dozens of authors over thousands of years. Just like you read a cookbook differently than you read a romance novel, you can’t bring the same expectations to each book of the Bible, or even different parts within the same book. All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is equal.

There are three big parts to the Old Testament:

The Story ofIsrael
Wisdom Literature (sometimes called “The Writings”)
The Prophets.

Let’s look at each part one at a time.

1. Story of Israel

The first big part of the Old Testament is the Story of Israel. These are the family stories you tell and retell that define who your family is and is not. For example, my family likes to tell the story of my Grandpa White who was being served pie by my grandma. She served up a piece of pie and before she could turn back and dish out some ice cream, he had eaten the entire piece of pie! That tells you something about my family. It tells you something about my family especially when you compare it to a more recent story that Sarah’s family likes to tell about me and them. The first time that Sarah’s family served me s’mores, her mom put all the ingredients out on the table: marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. After her dad had roasted one marshmallow for each of us, Sarah’s mom began putting everything away. I protested: you can’t call them s’mores if you only get one! These are stories that we tell and retell over and over. What stories does your family tell and retell about themselves? How does the telling and retelling of those stories define who your family is?

The first big part of the Old Testament is the Story of Israel. Within the Story of Israel are two more big parts: the first part is the Pentateuch often called the Torah and the second part is the History. Pentateuch means “five books” and Torah means “teaching.” The five books of the Torah are Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Genesis has two big parts: the pre-history and the story of the matriarchs and patriarchs. The pre-history sometimes reads like it was taken out of the Lord of the Rings. For example:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
Genesis 6:4 NRSV

Did everything written in the pre-history happen exactly as it is written? Some of it I think should be read metaphorically like the story of creation in six days. Other parts of it, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But nonetheless, these stories define who the family ofIsraelis, and consequently who we are.

Exodus is the story of the, well, Exodus. Numbers is the story of the number of people who traveled through the wilderness fromEgyptto the Promised Land. Numbers is one of those books we love to hate because it just has one list of people after another. We don’t know how to pronounce their names and we really don’t care. But here’s a trick, just read the names with authority. Nobody else knows how to pronounce them either. Let’s practice:

From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur. From Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab. From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar. From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon. From the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni. From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran. From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel. From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
Numbers 1:5-15 NRSV

I used to not get these lists of names. But then I went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Mall inWashingtonDC. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I cried as I read through the list of one name after another on this amazing memorial. I cried at a list of names! Do I want to stand at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial every day and read all those names every day? Probably not. But I did gain an appreciation for the power of writing down and reading names. Or take the one-year anniversary of 9-11. Do you remember what they did at ground zero? They read each of the three thousand names who died. It took a very long time. But it was powerful to listen to and remember all those names of people. That’s what the book of Numbers is about.

Another book we love to hate is Leviticus. Countless jokes are made about Leviticus. It is a book of law, many of which seem completely irrelevant to us. But not all laws are made equally. There are ceremonial laws, ethical laws, and civil laws. Buried within this book are amazing gems. Do you know what the second greatest commandment is according to Jesus? Do you know where Jesus got that from? The book of Leviticus:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18 NRSV

“Deuteronomy” literally means “second law.” Once again we’re in the law. Irrelevant? Do you know what the greatest commandment is according to Jesus? Do you know where Jesus got that commandment from? Deuteronomy.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:5 NRSV

That’s the Pentateuch or Torah. That’s the first part of the Story of Israel. The second part of the Story of Israel is the history. Here’s how the history of Israel works:

There are several books that describe what life was like before there were kings that ruledIsrael: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel

There is much in these books that is disturbing. But when we read books of history, we need to remember that often times what we’re reading is simply reporting what happened without a lot of commentary on whether it was wrong or right. But one big piece of commentary we get from the book of Judges is this:

In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.
Judges 17:6 NRSV

One of the big stories that rubs people the wrong way is Lot offering his daughters to be gang raped by a mob. When you read this story, you must keep in mind that there is nothing in the story that says that God toldLotto do this. What you read is simply a report of what happened.

But that doesn’t totally get us off the hook in these difficult moments. We read in Samuel:

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”
1 Samuel 15:2-3 NRSV

YIKES! If you’ve got questions about stuff like this, well, you’re in good company. I’ve got questions too. When I come to sections like this it is helpful to remember that there are other parts of the Old Testament that tell a very different story. Consider this passage from Micah:

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Micah 4:3 NRSV

The Old Testament can be very bloody, but it also almost always points to, even longs for, a day when war will be a thing of the past. All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is equal.

Moving on in the books of history there are several books that describe what life was like after kings took power in Israel: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles. Here’s where much of the repetition comes from. The books of Kings was written by one group of people. The books of Chronicles tells the exact same story by another group of people. Some parts of these books are identical.

So during the king part of the Story of Israel there is a civil war and Israel is split into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah. This civil war weakened Israel and Judah and soon the empires of Assyria and Babylon came and sacked these two kingdoms and took the people of Israel off to Exile. One book that tells what it was like to live in Exile is Esther.

Soon another even bigger Empire,Persia, takes down Assyria andBabylonand allowsIsraelto return to their land. Two books tell this story – Ezra & Nehemiah.

So we’ve covered the first big part of the Old Testament: the Story of Israel. There are two big parts left to go, but you’re going to have to come back next week to learn about those.

All scripture is inspired, but not all scripture is equal. When we really take this point into account we will read slowly, carefully, and humbly with special attention to genre of what we’re reading. I think that this kind of reading takes a lot of work. It doesn’t come easily. Next week we’re going to look at some practical strategies for how to do this kind of work.

When we read the Old Testament in this way it transforms our life and the lives of those around us. Lately I’ve been on a community learning tour. I’ve been visiting various places in our community and this past week I met our county sheriff, Sherriff Wrigglesworth. One of his deputies, Steve Martin (not the comedian) gave me a tour of the jail. Steve retires in about two weeks. He’s a seasoned policeman. As Steve walked me around showing me all the ins and outs (it was serious maze!), he told me about how he treats the prisoners: with respect. He said that he doesn’t yell at them or curse at them. If he has to speak words of discipline to an inmate, he takes him aside away from his buddies so as not to shame him in front of others. He told me how some of the younger deputies don’t treat the prisoners in this way and how they often end up having to resolve issues physically. After Steve told me this, I said to him, “I don’t know your faith history, but I’d say you’re treating the prisoners with a basic biblical dignity.” He went on to tell me that he was a Christian and that while many of these inmates have done some pretty heinous stuff, they are worthy of being treated with respect as humans because they each bear the image of God. Where do you think he got that idea from? The Old Testament.

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Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: Bible, Faith, Old Testament, scripture

Bathroom With a Drop

April 30, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Sometimes I have to indulge in a little bathroom humor. Now this would be quite an experience!

Source…

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Big Bang Faith

April 10, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Science and faith are contradictory. Are they? God is just a psychological crutch. Sure about that? Evolution proves God isn’t necessary. Does it? Miracles don’t really happen. Never? Join us for a four week exploration of modern science and faith. Along the way we’ll meet scientists who are also people of faith. In the end you’ll have a better understanding of how faith and science complement one another. Or do they?

April 15 – The Who Banged It Theory (Faith and the Beginning of the Universe)
April 22 – The Reverse Projection Theory (Freud and Faith)
April 29 –The Evolution of Faith and Evolution (Darwin and God)
May 6 – The Faith and Medicine Algorithm (Healing and Faith)

May 6 – Special Film Screening: Test of Faith (Details TBA)

Meeting at Lansing Christian School
3405 Belle Chase Way
Lansing, MI 48911

www.sycamorecreekchurch.org
517-394-6100

Sunday Worship & Nursery – 9:30 AM & 11:15 AM
Kid’s Creek and StuREV – 11:15AM”

Map

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The Languages of Easter

April 10, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

The Languages of Easter
Sycamore Creek Church
April 8, 2012
Tom Arthur
John 20:1-29

Jesus is risen, Friends! Happy Easter!

Today I’d like to explore the way that God talks to us at Easter. Are you familiar with the idea of love languages? Gary Chapman, a psychologist and marriage counselor, wrote a very influential book several years ago called The Five Love Languages. The basic idea of this book is that each of us speaks one of five love languages. It’s our natural way of showing and hearing love. They are:

Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

If you try to speak love in a language they don’t speak, then they won’t hear it, and your relationship love tank will be depleted over time. If you learn what love language your loved one speaks and speak it, then you will fill up their love tank and your relationship will be full of warmth and joy. That’s the basic idea of The Five Love Languages.

As I was reading the Easter story this year, I began to notice a similar thing going on with each of the characters in the story: John, Mary, the Disciples, and Thomas. Each one seemed to believe in a different way. Could each one of them have a different “faith language”? As I studied and reflected more, I began to see that not only do each of them have a different faith language, but amazingly, God spoke to each person in language that they could understand. While I didn’t find five faith languages, I did find four. I’d like to look at them one by one this morning and see how God gives to each person exactly what they need to have faith that Jesus really was resurrected from the dead. So let’s dive into the story and hear how God speaks different languages at Easter.

Simple Faith – The Beloved Disciple (John)

John 20:1-10 NLT
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side. Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed — for until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. Then they went home.

We see three different characters in this story and they all experience the same thing: an empty tomb. Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb and thinks that his body has been stolen. We don’t really get what Peter thinks when he sees the empty tomb. But “the other disciple” which is John’s way of talking about himself has a very distinct response. We read:

Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw [the empty tomb] and believed.
John 20:8 NLT

What? John sees an empty tomb and believes? Why not have Mary’s response: they’ve stolen the body? Why not ask a million questions about what could have happened? Why does he simply believe? The answer is: because John speaks the language of simple faith. He doesn’t need a lot of explanation. He simply believes.

We all know people like this. We may even be a person like this. The person who speaks simple faith simply believes. Questions about this or that don’t get under their skin. They’re content trusting that God knows the answer even if they don’t. The person who speaks the language of simple faith is often said to have the faith of a child. In this moment, God speaks a language in the empty tomb that some of us with simple faith can clearly hear.

Simple Faith – Today

Two examples come to mind of people more recently who have this kind of faith. One is Corrie and Betsy ten Boom. OK, the ten Booms aren’t exactly alive today, but they lived during the Nazi invasion of Netherlands. They were Dutch Christians, and they hid Jews in their home. Eventually they were raided and the two sisters were carted off to a concentration camp. Betsy died in the camp, but Corrie lived and ended up traveling the world telling their story and sharing their faith.

Another example of this kind of faith today is Bethany Hamilton. Bethany has become known through the book and movie Soul Surfer. Let’s let her speak for herself:

[This video can’t be embedded so go check it out and come back to the message.]

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/bethany-hamilton/

Personal Faith – Mary

John 20:11-18 NLT
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

Mary initially sees the empty tomb and thinks that Jesus’ body has been stolen. Unlike John, she does not simply believe. Then as the story unfolds, she runs into some angels and still doesn’t believe. Next she runs into “the gardener”, or that’s who she thinks she’s talking to. She is completely confused about what’s going on until Jesus says her name:

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”
John 20:16 NLT

Mary speaks the language of personal faith. Personal faith needs a personal encounter with Jesus to believe. Mary needs to hear her very own name spoken. It is not enough to know that God knows the name of every star in the universe, the one who speaks the language of personal faith needs to hear their name spoken personally to them by the God of that universe. In the Easter story, we see that God speaks this language to Mary.

Personal Faith – Today

Two people who jump out at me today that have this kind of faith are Louis Zamporini and Brian Welch. Zamporini has become well known lately by the book titled Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand also wrote Seabiscuit. In Unbroken, Hillenbrand tells of how Zamporini was an Olympic runner ready for the 1938 Olympics when WWII broke out. Instead of going to the Olympics, he joins the United States Air Force, ends up going down in the Pacific Ocean, sets a new record for surviving in the ocean, is picked up by the Japanese Navy, is tortured in a POW camp, eventually is set free when the Allies win the war, comes back to the states, becomes an alcoholic, attends a Billy Graham crusade, and encounters Jesus. Following this personal encounter, he throws out all his alcohol and his life is completely transformed. Like Corrie ten Boom, he begins traveling to tell his story and share his faith in Jesus.

A similar story to Zamporini’s is Brian Welch, the former lead guitarist for the nu metal band, Korn. After an exceptionally successful run with Korn, Welch finds his life hitting rock bottom. Let’s hear how he tells the story:

[This video can’t be embedded so go check it out and come back to the message.]

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/brian-welch/

Communal Faith – Upper Room

John 20:19-23 NLT
That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! He spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

So after all this craziness the disciples, the closest followers of Jesus, are out proclaiming Jesus, right? No. They’ve locked themselves in a room because they’re scared. They are circling the wagons. All of a sudden as they are gathered together in community, Jesus shows up among them:

Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
John 20:19 NLT

It isn’t until they are together that Jesus shows up and they believe. Some of us hear God most fully in the voice of others in small groups or as we gather together in worship. Something about the community gathered attunes the person who speaks the language of communal faith to hear God’s voice clearly.

Communal Faith – Today

One example of this kind of faith today is Enuma Okoro. Enuma is a friend of Sarah and me and has recently written a book titled Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert’s Search for Spiritual Community. Listen to her and some others speak about their experience with God:

Did you hear how she choked up talking about experiencing God in the Eucharist or communion? These moments of worship with others “confirms that God is real.” Some of you really get that. You experience God in that way too, communally. In another telling of the Easter story, Luke shares how some disciples are walking on the road to the village, Emmaus. Jesus shows up and walks with them, but like Mary, they don’t recognize him. They only recognize him when they sit down for a meal, for the breaking of bread:

As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
Luke 24:30-31 NLT

Another modern-day person who has aspects of this kind of faith is Anne Rice. She is best known for her Vampire Chronicles. Rice grew up in the Catholic Church but became an atheist later in life. After many decades as an atheist, Rice began an intellectual exploration of ancient Judiasm that eventually led her to ask some questions about Jesus. She began attending mass again, but not taking the Eucharist. In her spiritual autobiography, Called Out of Darkness, she tells the story of how in the midst of celebrating the Mass, she felt “united to God again” (pg. 198). Rice has since wrestled with this community of Christians, but the experience remains, she heard God again through the community gathered for worship.

Reasoned Faith – Thomas

John 20:24-29 NLT
One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”

Thomas is my favorite character in this story. Probably because we speak the same faith language. Thomas is a skeptic. He isn’t going to go for any of this wishy-washy simple, personal, or communal faith. He wants evidence that he can see and touch. He won’t believe until Jesus shows up and lets him put his fingers in his wounds and poke around a little to make sure he really was dead and really is alive. While you’re at it, let’s hook him up to an EKG, run him through an MRI, and get some blood samples for DNA testing. Let’s make sure this guy really is alive and really is the same guy.

So one day when the disciples were gathered again, Thomas was with them and Jesus shows up:

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
John 20:27-28 NLT

Thomas needs reasons to believe, and here in the moment, Jesus gives him real reasons to believe. Thomas speaks the language of reasoned faith.

Reasoned Faith – Today

If you’re this kind of person, like me, I’d like to recommend a couple of people to you. The first is C.S. Lewis and especially his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis was an Oxford Don and an atheist. Through the reasoned encouragement of his friends, including J.R.R. Tolkien, he eventually came to believe that Jesus was who he claimed to be: the Son of God. Mere Christianity provides a step by step argument for the basics of Christianity that all Christians hold. Lewis’ children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia, were instrumental in my own faith journey during a time of crisis when I let of go of my faith and was wandering around in the darkness of life without God.

Another person today who follows in the footsteps of Lewis is Francis Collins. Collins was the director of the Human Genome Project and is now the director of the National Institutes of Health. In his book, The Language of God, he describes how science and scientific exploration uncover a kind of language that God speaks to us about himself and who we are.

Now we’re to the rub for the person of reason. Aren’t faith and science contradictory? Isn’t faith built on blind trust and science built on hard evidence? You can’t be a scientist and a Christian. Or can you?

If you are a person who speaks the language of reasoned faith, you need reasons and evidence to believe, I want to encourage you to come back and join us for our next series: Big Bang Faith. We’re going to be exploring how faith and science intersect in many different ways. I’m going to interview different scientists each week throughout this series who are also members of our church. We’ll see what they have to say about God and science. On the final week of the series, we’ll be showing a video after worship called Test of Faith and inviting these scientists and you to respond to the video. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

The Most Important Questions

So which language do you speak? Simple, personal, communal, or reasoned faith? There’s one more answer to this question: some of us simply aren’t even listening for God. Some of us have our ears plugged up. No matter what language God speaks, you won’t hear it if you’re not listening. There are two basic questions that are the most important questions in all of our lives:

Is there a God?
Does God love us?

God speaks different languages at Easter, but gives one answer to these questions. It is Easter’s answer. Paul, one of the writers of the Bible, answered those two questions this way:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 KJV

Are your ears open? Are you listening for God’s voice, for Easter’s answer to the most important questions of life? If you listen the Easter story shows us that God will speak in a language that you can hear and have faith. Have you heard your faith language spoken today?

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Questions – How Do I Know?

April 4, 2010 By Tom

Questions – How Do I Know?
John 20:19-21
Sycamore Creek Church
Tom Arthur
April 4, 2010 – Easter

Note to reader: This is a manuscript and not a transcript. While I prepare a manuscript, I don’t preach from it. All the major points are here, but there are bound to be some small differences from the sermon as it was preached live. Also, expect some “bonus” material that wasn’t in the live sermon.

Christ is risen, Friends!

That is crazy! Does anybody wake up from time to time and ask yourself, “Do I really believe that Jesus raised from the dead?” I’ve been to a lot of funerals, and I’ve seen a lot of people buried in the ground, and once the coffin shuts, they don’t come back up, but here we are on Easter claiming that Jesus did just that: raise from the dead.

Today we begin a series called Questions. The idea for this series was born out of a conversation I had with the youth of our church. On the first day that Sarah and I were introduced to SCC, we visited StuRev, the youth meeting at SCC. I asked the students that day, “What questions do you have about Christianity?” I didn’t have time that day to answer them, but I wanted to hear what kinds of things they were thinking about. It was a pretty incredible conversation. In fact, Sarah and I left our first visit of SCC super excited about the church, but even more so about the youth of the church!

So that day we kept track of the questions, and I’ve chosen three of those questions to answer over the next several weeks. They are: How do I know? What’s up with heaven and hell? And why do I keep sinning? On the fourth Sunday of the series, I’ll be answering questions that you all submit over the next three weeks.

To begin each message, I’ve asked a teenager to make a video asking the question. They aren’t necessarily the teenager who originally asked the question, but I think they’re broad enough questions that most of us probably have asked them at one point or are asking them now.

So how do you know that Jesus was who the Bible says he was? Great question. One I ask myself quite often. I suspect many of you are asking the very same question this morning. Maybe you’ve been coming to SCC for many years or maybe you’re here this morning because your mom likes you to come to church on Easter, but if you’re asking this question about how you know, then you’re in good company. You’re in good company because I, myself, ask this question almost every day, and you’re in good company because just about every person in the story we’ll hear this morning wasn’t so certain about this resurrection thing. So let’s get to the story.

John 20:19-29 (NLT)

¹⁹ That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁰ As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! ²¹ He spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

²⁴ One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin ), was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

²⁶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”

This is God’s story for us today. Thank you, God!

The last line of that story always gets under my skin. It almost always irritates me. Jesus tells Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” Come on Jesus, is this a joke?! I wonder if it’s a joke because pretty much all of Jesus’ followers had to see him to believe that he was raised from the dead. And we’re expected to do something that even they couldn’t do!? You’re blessing those of us who haven’t seen you and have believed when none of your closest followers could do that? Come on Jesus, you’ve got to be kidding. Can we get a different blessing?

If we go back to the beginning of the chapter we find that Mary Magdalene had to see Jesus to believe him. When she shows up at the tomb the day of his resurrection she finds it empty.

We read that “She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, ‘They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!’” (John 20:2, NLT). Mary thought that Jesus’ enemies had stolen his body. She had to see Jesus before she would believe, and blessed are those who have not seen and have believed? Come on, Jesus!

Then there’s Peter and John. They show up at the tomb at about the same time. We read first about Peter, “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there…for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20:6 & 9, NRSV). Peter saw that the tomb was empty, saw Jesus’ burial linens laying on the ground, and he didn’t believe. Peter had to see in order to believe, and blessed are those who have not seen and have believed? Come on, Jesus!

John fares a little better in this story. He shows up with Peter at the tomb and we read that “the other disciple [John] also went in, and he saw and believed” (John 20:8, NLT). This is sounding pretty good. Maybe at least some of us can believe without seeing, but John’s believing goes downhill from here. He too is gathered with the disciples locked in a room for fear of the Jewish leaders. So much for his belief, and blessed are those who have not seen and have believed? Come on, Jesus!

Lastly, there’s Thomas. You know Thomas is always called “Doubting Thomas,” but did you notice that the story never actually used the word “doubt”? He simply stated what he would need in order to believe. Doesn’t Thomas simply say what everyone else is thinking? I need to see in order to believe. He says, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side” (John 20:25, NLT). Thomas wants to see for himself before he will believe.

We read Thomas wasn’t there with the rest of Jesus’ followers when Jesus first shows up. Why not? Why wasn’t Thomas there? John doesn’t tell us what Thomas’ motivations were, but I like to imagine why Thomas might not have been there. I imagine that Thomas probably figured the game was up. Jesus had been crucified, and his bluff was shown for what it really was: a bluff. Jesus was no more a revolutionary than any of the rest of us. He was just an average human being who wasn’t able to save anyone, let alone the entire nation of Israel from the oppression of the Roman Empire. Thomas figured he had seen Jesus for who he really was, and that meant the whole thing was done. I wonder if Thomas didn’t just go back to his day job. Forget the other followers of Jesus. Bills need to be paid. Family needs have built up. Time for the real world.

So when the disciples tell Thomas that they have seen Jesus, Thomas naturally wants some proof. Wow! Proof he got! A spark of curiosity in Thomas brought him back to see for himself, and boy did he see. His uncertainty about the whole thing diminishes when he sees Jesus and gets the proof that he is looking for.

In one sense I am comforted by Jesus’ response to Thomas. Jesus shows Thomas mercy. He doesn’t berate him for wanting to see. He gives him what he needs. I wonder if Jesus’ blessing to us who have not seen isn’t also a kind of mercy that Jesus shows us. Surely he recognizes the problem or he wouldn’t have offered the blessing in the first place. Surely Jesus sees the problem that each of us are in who have not seen and yet have believed or he would not have blessed us too. Surely Jesus knows the uncertainty we feel and meets that uncertainty with mercy.

In my own spiritual journey I have come to recognize a distinction between uncertainty and doubt that I think is helpful here. Uncertainty is the state of being human. To be human is to have finite knowledge. To be human is to have uncertain knowledge. If you are human uncertainty never goes away because your knowledge is always limited. None of us is omniscient, knowing everything.

I used to wrestle more with this state of uncertainty because I would look at science and think, “Now there’s certainty in knowledge.” But as I reflected further upon scientific knowledge and learned more, I recognized that even science is uncertain. You can see this just in the development of scientific theory. First, we began with Newtonian physics. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. But then Albert Einstein came along and introduced the theory of relativity. The speed of light is always constant and time is relative. Time is relative? That always blows my mind. Our ideas about cause and effect just got a lot messier. Einstein’s theory of relativity is pretty cool but recently quantum mechanics has been taking the stage. Interestingly enough there’s a principle in quantum mechanics called “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.” What we’ve come to notice is that in the subatomic field, we can know either a particle’s speed or direction but not both. The more we know about one, the less we know about the other. Einstein was so disturbed by this idea that he felt like it was claiming that God rolls dice with the universe.

So here’s my point. Scientific knowledge is always finite knowledge. Our theories of how the universe works are always being updated. They’re always not quite right. As we seek to describe reality, we are always reforming our ideas and our language about how to describe it. Not even scientific knowledge is 100% certain.

So what do we do with this uncertainty? My own experience with uncertainty is that sometimes I experience it more, and sometimes I experience it less, but it is always at least in the background. Here’s where doubt comes in. Doubt is one possible response to uncertainty. The other is faith. In the face of uncertainty, we can choose not to act or commit and that’s called doubt, or we can choose to act and commit and that’s called faith. Doubt is one of two options each of us has in the face of uncertainty. Unlike uncertainty, doubt can go away as our faith strengthens and grows.

“So you’re telling me that I’ll never be 100% certain about Jesus?” Yes. But that doesn’t mean you will always doubt. Your faith can grow and in the face of uncertainty, you can and will respond more and more in faith rather than doubt.

John Wesley spoke of this very same thing in a sermon he wrote over 200 years ago. He says:

But how can unbelief be in a believer?” That word has two meanings. It means either no faith, or little faith; either the absence of faith or the weakness of it. In the former sense, unbelief is not in a believer; in the latter, it is in all babes. Their faith is commonly mixed with doubt or fear; that is, in the latter sense, with unbelief. “Why are ye fearful,” says our Lord, “O ye of little faith?” Again: “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” You see here was unbelief in believers; little faith and much unbelief (On Sin in Believers).

Basically what Wesley is saying is that when you are a new Christian, a “babe in Christ,” you will have belief (faith) and unbelief (doubt) mixed together, but as you grow in Christ, you will have less unbelief (doubt) and more belief (faith).

So let’s look further at this idea of faith. All knowledge requires faith. Have you ever thought of science as requiring faith? If scientific knowledge is finite, then it too must require faith. What about atheism? Does atheism require faith? Anne Rice, the vampire novelist, recently came back to the Christian faith of her youth. She wrote about this journey in her spiritual autobiography, Called Out of Darkness. As she reflects on her atheism she says, “My faith in atheism was cracking.” Faith in atheism? Yes, it takes just as much faith to not believe as it does to believe because knowledge is always uncertain. Knowledge is just as uncertain for an unbeliever as it is for a believer.

Lesslie Newbigin, a favorite author of mine who was also a missionary to India, writes about this phenomena of human knowing. He says, “The idea of certainty which relieves us of the need for personal commitment is an illusion…There can be no knowing without personal commitment. We must believe in order to know” (Proper Confidence, 46 & 50). In other words, there is no knowing without faith.

This faith-way of knowing is not a “blind faith.” There are many good reasons to believe, but if you’re looking for 100% certainty about anything, there will never be enough evidence to produce that kind of knowing. Knowing always requires the personal risk of commitment, faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor during Hitler’s reign who was executed for resisting the Nazis, said, “Faith alone is certainty. Everything but faith is subject to doubt. Jesus Christ alone is the certainty of faith.”

With this distinction between uncertainty and doubt and the role that faith plays in all knowing, let’s go back and look at this story again. I wonder if we don’t get a clue about Jesus’ blessing in verses nineteen and twenty-six. Did you notice the day of the week that Jesus shows up? First, we’re told that it was the first day of the week, Sunday (John 20:19). Then we read that he showed up “eight days later” (John 20:26). Jews count days differently than we do. They include the current day in their count. So eight days later is exactly a week later on the same day of the week. Jesus shows up on Sunday and then Jesus shows up one week later on Sunday again. Jesus has a habit of showing up on the same day of the week! I wonder if Jesus isn’t showing us a pattern by which we can see him? I wonder if Jesus isn’t showing us himself when the community of those who follow Jesus gather for worship on this first day of the week, Sunday? Yes, in the gathered community we experience Jesus’ presence, we enter into this same story, God’s salvation story. Newbigin again says, “The business of the church is to tell and embody a story” (Proper Confidence, 76). When we gather together we enter into the same story that Thomas finds himself in. We see Jesus and we know Jesus not by 100% certainty, but by faith.

And I wonder if in the same way that Thomas saw Jesus’ wounds and knew that Jesus really had raised from the dead, we don’t know and see Jesus when we share our wounds with one another, our pains, our insecurities, our uncertainties, our fears, and even our doubts. We see Jesus when we, the Body of Christ, gather together not just in our strength but in our weakness.

Alex, how do you know that Jesus was who he said he was? The answer to that question is: you can’t ever know (anything) with 100% certainty, but we grasp glimpses in our life together as the church seeking to know more fully through faith.

Perhaps you’re still struggling with this whole thing. You can pray and ask God for faith. You can pray and ask God to give you the faith to respond to uncertainty not with doubt but with faithfulness. Do you need to pray for that kind of faith this morning? If so, here’s the prayer of St. Thomas that I offer to you to pray right now:

Everliving God, I believe, help my unbelief. You strengthened your follower Thomas with a firm and proper confidence in your Son’s resurrection: Grant me so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that my faith and our faith as a church may never be found wanting in your sight. Give us all this strength through Jesus Christ by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Note: Share your questions for Tom to answer on week four in the comments section below.

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Filed Under: Sermons, Video Tagged With: Doubt, Faith, Questions, Uncertainty

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