Put Off to Put On (Sermon Oct 11. 2009)

Ephesians 4:17-32

Why do people think that they have to act differently around Christians?  Kevin asked us that question.  He shared an experience of stopping by the Dunkin Donuts (for coffee) on the way to church and having the clerk say - careful here comes the preacher!  As if we as Christians expect the world to behave better when we are around.  We have that backwards.  We are the ones who should be behaving better for others.  One of the main criticism of the church is that we act like hypocrites.  We claim to be Christians, yet we don't act any differently than rest of the population.   Kevin also shared that before he had a total surrender experience in his life - he use to want Jesus to follow him around.  Hey Jesus come help me with this.  But he now understands that to be a disciple of Christ we need to follow him.  So point #1 in his sermon was:  Lifestyle change is a MUST for followers of Jesus.   If our lives don't look any different before and after Jesus than there is something wrong.

He goes on to say that the book of Ephesians was written for the church not for the world.  It is like the coaches playbook and we, inside the church, get to see the plays.  What we see is a recipe for life transformation.  There is a theme that runs throughout this whole thing:  Verse 28 "He who has been stealing - shall steal no longer"  but then we have to do something useful with our hands we need to work and share with others.  This theme is not only that you should stop doing wrong but that you should do what is right.  And we learn these things within a family context - that family being the church.  We should live close enough to each other to influence each other in these good things.  So the pathway to spiritual maturity is to pray:  "God I need your help" and then we have to put on something and the only way to get there is to take off something.  Nature does not like a vacuum.  You can't just get rid of something - you have to put something good in.  You can't just stop eating junk food - you need to start eating healthy food.  Point #2  Spiritual maturity is a life-long process of PUTTING OFF your old natural life so that you can PUT ON a new supernatural life.  

Continuing on with the sports team analogy - Kevin said we expect too little of church members.  Football teams have approximately 52 people on the team.  They are expected to show up to practice and to play the game.  Church members should expect to go to practice and to play the game - on the field.  They should minimally tithe and serve somewhere.  Instead, as church members we get upset when someone asks us to serve.  We should be coming to the staff and saying "Where can I serve?"  And this is how we shall grow in Christ.  So how do we get on the team?  First, we say "Jesus I want to be on the team.   I want to follow you."  Then you put off the old life and put on the new life.  And you do that in community with other.  "If living for Christ is something you could do on your own, it would just be another religion."  We do it with the power of the Holy Spirit with us.  Point #3:  The process of your spiritual growth comes not from EFFORT but from COOPERATING with the Holy Spirit.  


Kevin and some of the staff went to a conference and one of the speakers said we believe in a God that is irrational. He raises people from the dead.  But do we live our lives as if we have supernatural power to tap into?  And if we want to tap into that - how do we do it?  We start with obedience.  We just obey God one step at a time.  And as we obey God shows us more and more that we need to surrender, we need to put off, and the new things we need to put on.  Live like Jesus did and live by his examples.  An example of this is that our words should build each other up - not criticize.  Imaging how differently conversations would go if all we ever spoke were words that would build each other up.  We would be living supernaturally if we started to obey even that one rule from the Bible.  We come to worship so that we look more like Christ.  We look like what we worship.  If we worship Christ we will look more like Christ. If we worship money - we will look more like greed.

We need to live differently so that the world will notice.  Think of just one thing, and pray about it, that you are trying to stop.  Pray that to God and then confess it to someone else and ask them to pray with you.  See if it makes a difference.

Enter the Mystery (Sermon - September 27, 2009)

Scripture Passage:  Ephesians 3     http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+3&version=NIV

One of our pastoral interns, Mike Weaver, preached the sermon this Sunday.  He reviewed for us some of the themes we had discussed so far in the book of Ephesians.  The first theme was about God’s grace.  This grace is free.  We can’t earn it all we need to do is receive it through faith.  The second theme is about our inheritance as the children of God.  We are co-inheritors with Christ as sons and daughters of God.  With this inheritance comes responsibility – to spread the Gospel, to help unify the church, and to show God’s glory in all we do.  “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)

The third theme in the book of Ephesians is mystery, which was the focus of Mike’s sermon. God’s revelation to us through the Bible helps the mystery to unfold.  Mike talked about three aspects of this mystery.

First, the kingdom of God is open to everyone.   In the Old Testament God chose a people, the Israelites, to be His chosen people, to follow His laws, to show His glory and receive His blessings.  After Jesus came, God expanded His chosen people to include everyone who believes, whether Jew or Gentile.   This is part of the mystery revealed in the New Testament.  This may not be such a hard concept for us today.  But in the first days of the church this was a difficult truth to swallow.  The Jewish people were use to being the only chosen ones.  Peter struggled with this especially.  Do you ever struggle with thinking that only certainly kinds of people should become Christians?  Do you see how this could affect your desire to witness to people who are different than you?

The second mystery is that God can use anyone to accomplish His purposes.  Mike told a true story of a little girl who was shy and hated the crowded Sunday school class that she attended at church.  The pastor told her they would be building a new church school when they had enough money.  The little girl started saving her pennies.  She later died of a childhood illness but left her savings of 57 cents to the church.  This story inspired others to give and they did build a school named Temple College which later became Temple University.  God even used this child to achieve something that lasted well beyond her years.  This reminds me that God’s ways are not our ways and His perspective is much broader than ours.  I’m sure that the little girl could not see what difference her contribution could make.  She died without ever knowing.  However, she still felt compelled maybe even called to save her money and give it to the church.  We have to understand that God’s purposes cannot always be understood by us at the time.  We have to do what he asks of us regardless of whether we see the results or not.  

The third mystery that Mike discussed was that Christ lives in us.  We are reborn when this happens and we become like a new person.  That is an amazing thing to think about.  After we become believers, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us.  This gives us access to power, discernment, wisdom, etc., beyond our abilities.  Sometimes we might feel stuck and need the help of others.  God can give us that help that we need.  Wesley would say that through Christ we are saved from the guilt of sin and the power of sin.   The key to this is not to work harder or to dig deep to find the power to change within us, but to let the Holy Spirit dwell in us and give us that strength.   Through this process, Christ can give us that feeling of completeness or fullness as we mature in our faith.  

Now, there may be some people who are reading this blog who have no idea what the words in the previous paragraph mean.  They have not had an experience where God has empowered them beyond their abilities and they don’t know how to tap into that power.  I would explain it in this way:  first you have to become a believer.  What I mean by that is that you have to accept that there is more to this life than just what we see in the here and now.  There is a greater power than you – as they say in the AA world.  And in the Christian world we would say that you need to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  We are all sinners, you included, and you can’t do it on your own.   Because God loves us and wants to help us overcome that sin, He sent his son to earth as Jesus.  Jesus came to be an example of how to live.  Because God is just and can’t have wrongs go un-righted, he sent his son to be the sacrifice for our sins.  We do things wrong and Jesus takes the punishment for us.  This is the way that God shows us His unfathomable love.  All we have to do is accept this system.  We get forgiven of our past sins, we ask God to help us to do better and we submit to his way of living as an example of how not to hurt others or to get hurt ourselves. 

So the next step in being empowered by the Holy Spirit is to accept God’s rules for our lives and the authority of scripture as the best way to live.  You have to learn about the rules as written in the Bible and not substitute your own judgment for God’s judgment.  So from a practical point of view the way this works is that when you have an issue, you find out what scripture says about it.  If you study and memorize scripture sometimes the verses will just come to you.  Then you pray and consider what to do differently to align yourself with God’s ways.  If you can’t do this alone you go to your Christian friends who can help you discern what the right way is.  They also encourage you to keep trying and just love and encourage you no matter what!  So you continue to pray and then you do what you feel God is telling you to do.  You step out – hoping you are hearing the right thing.  And then things change.  And you know that God was telling you to do that all along.  And you feel more confident the next time.

A great example of this process I witnessed this week in a heart-breaking situation.  I have a friend who has been struggling with her daughter for a number of years.  You see her daughter was a recovering addict.  She had been in and out of rehab and jail during her teenage years.  Many of us have been praying for her for years.  She was doing better and then recently started to slip again.  Last week she was killed in a car accident – that was her fault.  She drove across a grass median and hit a box truck driving in the oncoming traffic.  So I went to the funeral and listened to the stories of those who loved this girl and would miss her.  And the pastor did a great job of talking about this girl’s love for Christ, but at the same time her struggles with real world temptations.  Something we all do to varying degrees.  But the part that was truly Holy Spirit filled and empowered was the parents of this girl, who despite their tears and their heart-brake stated that they were going to praise God in this storm - just as scripture tells us to do.   They thanked all of us for loving this girl unconditionally and told us that she felt that love and had commented on it many times.  They realized that most people never feel that kind of unconditional love no matter how old they are.  They chose songs for the funeral and sang them loudly – trading their sorrows for the joy of the Lord and praising God in the storm.   How does a parent get through the funeral of their beloved 21 year old daughter?  By the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of them – not by their own strength.  And by seeing God surrounding you with people to help you through.  God even sent a man, a believer, who was in the car behind their daughter, a witness at the scene, to be with their daughter as she died.  She didn’t die alone but instead was offered the prayers and the presence of a stranger, a believer, to stay with her until the end.

So how is this working out in your life?  Have you been in situations that you thought you could not do on your own but God empowered you to do?    If so, please comment and share your experiences with all of us. 

Entering into Your New Life (Sermon Sept 13, 2009)

Scripture Passages: Ephesians 2:1-13 
     http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2&version=NIV

This weeks sermon has really stuck with me all week.  Kevin emphasized that good works do not get us into heaven. And of course, the bad things that we do, don't keep us out of heaven.  For those of us who grew up in the church and have always thought of ourselves as relatively good and therefore not in need of a savior or God's grace, then we need to think again.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  I remember being in a bible study years ago and having someone reply to a comment that I made saying "God does not grade on a bell curve."  I don't remember now what I said to elicit that comment, but it really struck me that I do think that way.  I think that way about many things in life.  As long as I am not going any faster than the other people on the road, I won't get a speeding ticket.  As long as I do as much or am as smart as the other people in my class, then I will get a good enough grade.  And for those of you who know me well - you will probably have heard me say that in some situations I feel like I am holding up the bottom of the bell curve for others to look better than I.  Like with my housecleaning or my lawn - I make everyone else feel like at least they are doing better than I am! Has your husband been complaining about how you keep your house?  Send him over to my house and he will appreciate you more!  (But don't send the kids over - they always appreciate not having to worry about making a mess at my house and will complain about how you always make them clean up.)

In last week's sermon blog, I talked about being a son or a daughter of the King and the inheritance and responsibility that goes along with that.  I talked about preparing for our royal position by doing spiritual disciplines.  And I do those things, at least as well as everyone else.  (There I go again!)  But this week we focused on the fact that our good works don't get us into heaven but should be a response to all that our Father in heaven has done for us.  And I understand this concept.  I am so aware of all the blessings God has given to me.  I have a very generous earthly father and it makes it easy to understand how our heavenly Father just showers blessings on us!.  In fact, I usually feel guilty that I have received so much when there is such suffering in the world.  I often think "Why Me?" - why do I get the comfortable life in the suburbs and a great family and great kids when others have so little.  And I try to pass on the blessings to others in order to balance out things.  I figure God fills my cup to overflowing so that I can pass it on.

So after the sermon, Kevin comes up to me and a friend of mine, puts his arms around us and says "Ladies you don't have to do good works to get into heaven!"  This is something I hear often from Kevin and it always bugs me.  I know he is just trying to tell me to RELAX and appreciate that God loves me no matter what I do or don't do.  But somehow I always feel like it is a judgement of my life and my motives.  Like I am not giving with the right heart or the right spirit.  And it makes me question myself.  I can see that by reading the preceding paragraph, you could conclude that I only do good works out of guilt.  And maybe there is some of that.  My brother, who tends to be very cynical, says that we all do good things just to make ourselves feel like we are good people and ultimately no matter what we do for others we are always motivated by selfishness.  I can see that there is some truth to that.  I often go and do something for someone else when I am feeling down.  It helps distract me from what I am worried about and, yes, it does give me positive feedback.  When I am working on project, whether at church or elsewhere in the world - I am kind of all or nothing.  So my pastor sees me putting in overtime at church and says go home!  And I think - I must be doing something wrong.  I am currently involved in running the Alpha class at my church (http://www.alphausa.org - for those of you who don't know what Alpha is.)   I realized over the summer that I have a need to have someone tell me "good job."  I was asked by my counselor (yes, I go to counseling!) why do you need anyone's approval?   Isn't it just human to want some positive feedback?  Do I need that more than the average person?  (There I go again with the bell curve.)   Does this just speak to insecurity and a lack of confidence?    Which I guess brings us full circle to Kevin's words to me "Relax and appreciate that God loves you no matter what!"  Well, this was a very personal, and maybe even too self centered a post.  So tell me do you all struggle with the "good works" problem?   Are you trying to earn your way into heaven?  As I write that last sentence it clarifies for me one more thought.  (I know here I go again - as if this is all about me.)  I don't doubt my salvation, I know the way to receive a "ticket" to heaven.  It is to believe and receive the gift that God has given us in Christ.  No work on my part, just an acknowledgment of the gift and that I am a sinner and need this salvation.  I think what I worry about is God's approval or how I could possible give back enough to show God my gratefulness.  To show Him and others how much I love Him back.  How can my life possibly glorify God when his glory is so ..... I don't even know what word to use  - awesome, amazing, glorious, holy, - so far beyond us that we can't possibly reach it.    Am I the only one who struggles with this?  Love to hear your comments and anything else that you heard in the sermon that really struck you.

My prayer for all of us this week (and I guess especially me) is from the 3rd Chapter of Ephesians:


¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Amen.    

The New Reality for Living (Sermon - Sept 6, 2009)

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1

Chosen . . . Adopted . . . and “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13)

Our pastor, Kevin, started off his sermon with a clip from The Princess Diaries. Amelia who has never known her dad and lived with her Mom in San Francisco her whole life, is told that her dad, who has recently died, was really a crown prince and now she is a princess of royal blood with all the inheritance and the responsibilities that go with that position. She is overwhelmed by such a thoughts and runs away.

The book of Ephesians, written by the Apostle Paul, tells us a similar story. Just like Amelia, we too are sons and daughters of royalty – the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. What does that mean for our lives? It means that we share in a great inheritance and it also means that we have responsibilities that go along with that position in the kingdom of God. Throughout Ephesians, Paul also opens our eyes to the spiritual world and the battles that are going on in the heavens.

God has a plan and a purpose to unite everyone and everything in Christ, through Christ, and under Christ, who is the head of the Church. We all have a role to play in this uniting process. So what exactly are our responsibilities? What is our role and how are we doing with living up to what God has given us to do? Just like Amelia in the Princess Diaries - we have to prepare for this new role. Are we doing that? For me, I think this means that we need to work on our spiritual disciplines, reading the bible, praying and being in community with other Christians. I also think that we need to think about our role in the Kingdom in our everyday lives, not just on Sundays. If God has a plan and a purpose for us, that was ordained for us, then he knows who we will meet during our day and gives us opportunities to share His love. Are we taking those opportunities? Think about what you do during your day at work, or if you work at home, at home. Who do you encounter during your day? I have a good friend who likes to quote St. Francis of Assissi "Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words." Our lives should reflect who we are - sons and daughters of the King.

I think my greatest challenge is living and serving outside of the church. It is so easy for us to stick with other Christians and live an insulated life. For me, much of my service is done at church and not necessarily in the community. Recently, I have gone back to work as an attorney. I stayed home with my kids for 12 years and I have grown a lot as a Christian during that time. It feels so different to be back in the courtroom environment and really be committed to living for Christ. God has blessed me with a great mentor who is very respectful and supportive of my faith. (Thank you Jamie!). I also encounter other Christian attorneys - one of whom had a Bible on his desk when I stopped by to see him one day. And he sent me an email quoting a scripture after we had worked out a settlement for a case which was hard for both our clients. I appreciated God's reminder that he goes before us and prepares the way. His strength is our strength if we rely on Him and trust Him. So how is everyone else doing with serving God in your everyday life?

Thanks for reading this blog. I hope you will take the time to comment. And I thank God for all who have joined this blog group and pray for you all this week, just like the Apostle Paul prays for the church, that you be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know God better and that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance and his incomparable great power in us and for us who believe. You have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. May God's glory shine through all of us this week! Amen.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. I am a member of a great church in Olney, Maryland called Oakdale Emory United Methodist Church. Our pastor is preaching a twelve week series on the book of Ephesians. He has asked all of us to join a small group to discuss this sermon series and to learn how to apply these biblical passages to our everyday lives. I have started this blog as an alternative to getting together in someone's home. Instead, I thought we could get together in Cyberspace to discuss these sermons and ideas when we have time to read the blog and comment. I will write comments on the sermons each week. Some of you attend our church and will hear the sermons that I am writing about each week. But for those of you who don't you can hear them online at OEUMC.org. So please write your own thoughts and comments and let's get to know each other. I look forward to hearing from you over the next 12 weeks!