“The Outsider Who Became an Insider”

John 1:14

1. Read John 1:14-18
2. before this passage I feel like…
® Jr high art student before a Rembrandt masterpiece
® High school garage guitarist listening to U2’s The Edge
® Ranch Hills golfer playing in the Masters at Augusta
3. I can only scratch the surface of this passage this morning. I hope & pray that God will honor my scratching by grabbing your hearts minds wills & emotions.
4. prayer

Gift
1. the one thing that marks Christmas in our culture is giving. The National Retail Federation estimates that the average consumer will spend $700 on Christmas gifts this year. Have you ever carefully bought a friend a Christmas gift that they absolutely refused to accept?

2. this week a friend of mine brought a homeless man from Canby to the church so he could use our shower. He hadn’t showered since summer. The 1st thing this man asked me when he saw our shower was – do you have hot water? I said yes. He told me his feet were numb – his shoes & thin, worn-out socks were wet.

3. Ronell Warner, Executive Director of The Canby Center who has an office here, put together a large bag of socks, gloves, scarf & toiletries for him. My friend brought him some clean, dry clothes. He left freshly showered, dressed in clean clothes, with new warm socks, scarf & gloves.

4. this homeless man has a homeless friend who was invited to come for a shower & help BUT he refused to come. The gift was offered but he passed on it.
5. there is a sense in which all of us are like these 2 homeless men, spiritually speaking. In desperate straits. Hungry. Cold. Dirty. Needy. And without access to a hot shower, clean clothes, new socks & gloves. We can’t do for ourselves what we need done for us. Someone from the outside has to help.

6. and this is what Christmas is all about. NOT giving $700 of gifts to one another. BUT God giving us the invaluable gift of his Son Jesus Christ. Savior of this cold, needy, hungry, dirty world. The gift is offered – are we going to accept it or pass on it?

7. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This is the story of the outsider who became an insider.

Word
1. Word is one of God’s names. Of this Word John says –
® 1:1 - eternal (in the beginning)
® 1:1 - God (was God)
® 1:3 - maker of all things
® 1:4 - brings life & light to what he has made
® 1:10-11 - not recognized or received when he came
® 1:12 - to those who believe in him he makes them his children

2. the fact that God names himself Word tells us something very important. Words are used to communicate. Languages, paragraphs, sentences, expressions depend upon words.

3. God the Word is a communicator, a talker. God the Word has spoken to us. In the Word God speaks. We’d better listen to this Word.

Flesh
1. in the Greek language of the New Testament flesh is a salty, earthy word. Flesh here means flesh & blood, the body, a human being. Literally, God the Word became a body, a person. The outsider became an insider.

2. Scot McKnight calls this God’s absolute identity with us. God became what we are. Human in every sense of the word except without sin.

3. Jesus the Word is fully God & fully human. And that’s the mystery we ponder in this season of Advent & Christmas.

Made his dwelling among us
1. made his dwelling is the word for tabernacle or tent. In the Old Testament the presence of God was established 1st in the tent of meeting while the children of Israel were in the dessert. Then in the tabernacle. Then in the temple. Then in the flesh & blood of Jesus his Son. Now in us as the temple of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

2. In Jesus God pitched his tent among us. He tabernacled himself in a human body. I love how this is rendered in The Message – The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.

3. God is local. Among us. This is the genius of the gospel. God makes the 1st move. He comes to us, localized in the flesh & blood of Jesus.

4. high school, beginning of college was a hard time for me. Conflicts with my parents. Hating church. Slippery attempts to find my social niche. I felt like my parents just didn’t understand what it was like to be me.

5. if only my dad could have jumped into my skin & spent a day with me to…
® feel my baffling emotions
® face my alluring temptations
® encounter my raging hormones
® experience my apathy & boredom in class

2. but it was impossible for my dad to crawl inside my skin.

Good news
1. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. God has done what my dad couldn’t do. He has crawled inside our skin. He’s entered into our world & experience. NOT as a spectator BUT as a participant.

2. I remember once in Mexico talking to a taxi driver in Puerto Vallarta. He was driving us to a restaurant. He was married with 3 children. He worked 12-14 hour days. Seldom got a day off. Just to support his family at poverty level. He was exhausted. I tried to empathize with him, tried to put myself in his place. But I couldn’t. I was a spectator of his life NOT a participant in it.

3. God the Word became flesh in Jesus to participate in our lives. But why? Did God do this out of boredom, curiosity, as an experiment? He did it out of rescuing love. John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

4. believes is the operative word here. You believe in your mind & heart that Jesus is God & lived & died & rose from the dead for your sins. You confess with your lips that he is your Savior & Lord. And you follow that up with the very way you live your life 24/7, every day, all the time. You live for Jesus & not for yourself. This is called the gospel, the good news.

Three ways to live
1. according to Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, there are 3 ways to live our lives. Religion. Irreligion. Gospel.
2. Religious people strive to live a good life. God will accept me because I’m a good person.

3. The Irreligious or secular person says I can live my life however I want as long as I don’t hurt anyone.

4. Both the religious & secular person, as different as they are from each other, are their own Savior & Lord. They save themselves by how they live.

5. The Gospel is radically different from both. Jesus is Savior & Lord. He saves us. We can’t save ourselves. We are saved by grace alone, faith alone, his death alone.

6. Religion stresses truth or holiness. This is how you must live to be saved. But its truth without grace. And truth without grace is moralism. Too hard, sharp, too dogmatic, too black & white.

7. Irreligion or secularism stresses love or grace. The secular person says it’s all about love. Love includes all. Love is tolerant of all. But love without truth is relativism. Too soft, sentimental, schmaltzy.

8. what we get in the Word became flesh is the gospel. In the gospel grace & truth are united in Jesus Christ. He is full of grace and truth (14); grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).

9. grace informs us that we are treated better than we deserve to be. We don’t have to answer for our sin. God forgives us by his death on the cross & resurrection from the dead. Truth informs us that a penalty must be paid for our sin & Jesus paid it. And Jesus the Word doesn’t just point us to the truth but is the Living Truth. Truth is a person.

10. Jesus is not full of the news of grace and truth – grace & truth are full in him. He is grace & truth. Truthful grace & graceful truth.

Response
1. in the life, death & resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we are loved by God. Ours is to embrace & believe that we are. Ours is to invite Jesus to be our Savior. Ours is to give our lives to Jesus.

2. and when we do we are showered, we are washed clean, we are given new spiritual clothes, we are given new hope for the present & the future. Christmas is about turning religious & irreligious people into gospel people.

3. pray with me…..




Music I listened to while sermonizing – Eagles; Brian Doerksen; Handel; Sarah McLachlan; Over the Rhine; U2

Books I read & studied while sermonizing – The Intimate Merton by Thomas Merton; The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Living Church by John Stott; The Shack by William P. Young; The Rhythm of Life: Celtic Daily Prayer by David Adam;

Series: Waiting #3 “Waiting Not Wasted”

Luke 2:21-38

1. our Advent theme this year is waiting. Waiting is a universal human experience. What do we know about waiting…when it comes to the kitchen? Here is a picture of Josephine Sesay’s kitchen in Sierra Leone (pw. pt slides):
® outside the house in the backyard
® the floor is hard-packed dirt
® the food preparation area is a simple lean-to
® no electricity, natural gas, running water
® she cooks over an open fire
® meals take 2-3 hours to prepare from start to finish

2. compare to the kitchens in our homes. The easily available food we can purchase at from7am–11pm 7 days a week at local grocery stores. The pre-packaged food we can buy at Costco, bring home, pop in the microwave & eat within minutes. Progress & technology have shrunk the amount of time it takes to prepare meals in our culture.

3. I have a theory – as the pace of life & technology quickens, I believe our spiritual attention span diminishes. The ‘speed’ of our culture affects how we perceive the ‘speed’ of God’s work in our lives. We have come to expect:
® microwave-like spiritual transformation
® text messaging-like answers to prayer
® pre-packaged-like change to ripple through the years-in-the-making dysfunctional areas of our lives

4. and when God doesn’t act lighting quick, we ask:
® where is God?
® does prayer really matter?
® is faith all that important?
® when is God going to sign up for DSL?
5. but all throughout the Bible we find people waiting. Today we’re going to look at 2 people who waited their whole lives for something – Anna & Simeon.

Simeon (2:25-35)
1. in regards to human relationships Simeon was righteous. He was a man of integrity. In regards to God he was devout. He was a God follower & lover. Simeon fulfilled the Great Commandment to love God & love one’s neighbor.

2. Next Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel, the birth of the Messiah (25). Here’s our word ‘waiting.’ Simeon waited his whole life for this, probably 60-70 years!

3. the conditions he waited in were less than perfect:
® Jewish loss of political independence to Rome
® cruel reign of King Herod
® legalistic Scribes & Pharisees who reduced devotion to God to keeping an index of rules
® the 400 year silence of God following the prophet Malachi

4. Simeon did not give up hope. He lived in prayerful expectancy.

5. going on, Simeon is described by the activity of the Holy Spirit in his life. 1st the Holy Spirit was upon him. He lived in constant communion with the Spirit.

6. 2nd the Spirit revealed something to Simeon – that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ = Messiah. The Spirit had told him he was going to see the Messiah before he died. He was given a vision of the future.

7. 3rd the Spirit directed Simeon – moved by the Spirit he went into the temple courts. Klaus Bochmuehl, Simeon receives immediate directives from the Holy Spirit, so specific that he is at the right place at the right moment to see the baby Jesus and recognize him as God’s Messiah.

8. Simeon was a Spirit-driven man. The Spirit was upon him. Revealed to him. Moved him. God pours out his Spirit upon those who are righteous & devout, those who love him & love others.

9. Simeon takes the baby Messiah Jesus in his arms & prays (The Message):
God, you can now release your servant
Release me in peace as you promised
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation
It’s now out in the open for everyone to see
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations
And of glory for your people Israel

10. a note of reality is struck – not everyone is going to accept this little baby as the Messiah. Suffering lies ahead. To Mary a sword will pierce your own soul too (35). A prophetic word about Jesus’ crucifixion & Mary’s suffering.

Anna (2:36-38)
1. the 1st thing we learn about Anna is that she as a prophetess (36). Others – Miriam (Ex 15:20); Deborah (Judges 4:4); Huldah (2 Kings 22:14); daughters of Philipp (Acts 21:9). The word of the Lord had not been heard for 400 years. Into this void steps Anna.

2. Anna was married for 7 years, then widowed, then married herself to God & the temple. She worshiped, fasted & prayed till she was 84 years old. She gave her life totally & without reservation to God. Her concern for others, the Kingdom of God, the situation of the world – she gave to God in prayer. For years on end!

3. upon seeing Simeon take Jesus in his arms & hearing what he said about him, she recognized that this baby was the object of her longing. She spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (38). Same as Simeon’s consolation of Israel, yet another way to speak of the Messiah! She became one of the 1st witnesses of Christ.

Simeon & Anna life lessons
1. I want to conclude with 3 lessons about waiting from Simeon & Anna & 1 comment about age.

2. 1st in waiting we have to have something to look forward to. Both had a vision of the future – a longing for the appearance of the Messiah. They had hope. Waiting is possible if you have something significant to hope for.

3. I just picked up a book about a priest who was sent to Dachau (concentration camp) by the Nazis during WWII. The prisoners who gave up hope died. Those who struggled fiercely to hold onto hope survived.

4. 2nd in waiting we are helped by practicing spiritual disciplines. Simeon was devout. His life was God-focused. He cultivated the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life.

5. Anna worshiped, fasted & prayed. As we would say today, they practiced spiritual disciplines or habits. They did things they kept them connected to God in their waiting.

6. 3rd in waiting we have to make sure that God is more important than the object of our waiting. Year after year after year they waited. Political & social upheaval did not deter them. Religious ritual & rigidity didn’t trip them up. Growing older didn’t take the wind out of their sails. Why? Because they kept their supreme focus on God.

7. Richard Foster writes that waiting is right at the heart of Christian spirituality. Think of Moses waiting in the desert for silent year after year. Think of Elijah, sequestered in his cave, keeping a lonely vigil over earthquake, wind, and fire. Think of Mary waiting patiently for the fulfillment of the word of the Angel Gabriel. Think of Saul – Saul who became Paul – being instructed by the Spirit in the deserts of Arabia for three solitary years.

8. we learn things in waiting that can’t be learned in any other way. Waiting is God’s attempt to deepen us spiritually. To increase our faith & trust. To wean us from instant gratification & selfish wants. Waiting acts to purify motives & increase humility.

9. and finally a comment about age.

10. Simeon & Anna remind us to highly value & respect older people in a culture that increasingly worships youthfulness. Our culture is enamored with youth. We spend billions of dollars each year to try to fool people about our age – clothes, make-up, work outs, Botox, nose jobs.

11. in the marketplace the young are promoted while the old are pushed aside.

12. even in the church. When searches are made for a new pastor the majority of churches look for a young pastor – someone in their 30s-40s. Youth & energy are valued over wisdom & experience.

13. some of you remember Dave Scrimgeour. He was our part-time pastor of senior adults for 10 years. He left in 1999. We talked on the phone a few weeks ago.

14. Dave is 91 & attends Paradise Alliance Church with Dorothy, his new wife of 4 years. He teaches a Bible class on Sunday morning. He leads a cell group in their home during the week. And this year he’s been asked to preach 4 times to this church of 500-600 people. He sent me a CD of his last sermon. I listened in amazement – the structure, his thought processes, illustrations, passion, theological depth. God is still using this 91 year old Spirit-driven Scrimgeour.

15. as we wait let’s keep our hope alive, practice our spiritual disciplines & keep our primary focus on God. And let’s learn to value & honor the older Christ-followers among us.

Music I listened to while sermonizing – Over the Rhine; Cold Play; Sarah McLachlan; Sufjan Stevens; Frank Sinatra

Books I read & studied while sermonizing – The Intimate Merton by Thomas Merton; The Road by Cormac McCarthy; Listening to the God who Speaks by Klaus Bockmuehl; Luke by Darrell Bock; The Gospel of Luke by William Hendriksen; The Living Church by John Stott

Series: Waiting #2: “Waiting Matched With Creating”

Shollenberger clan lighting the 2nd Advent Candle to honor the birth of Christ

Today's Message

Text: Isaiah 42:1-9

1. what do we know of waiting?
Þ I have to wait another year for the Ducks to get revenge against the Beavers in the Civil War (my hat goes off to the black & orange)
Þ we have to wait 1 more year to see who is going to be our next President
Þ we wait to discover what we’re going to get for Christmas
Þ we wait 6 more days to get married if we’re Amanda & Luke
Þ you wait for me to quit preaching so you can snag the best cup of coffee in town out in the Great Hall

2. the Bible is a book woven together in all of its parts by waiting. Not just for days or weeks or months or years BUT sometimes for centuries & occasionally for millenniums.

a word about history
1. God does not work in a vacuum. He works in history. Our history. He reveals himself & acts in history.

2. for example – the birth of Jesus split history in two. John 1:14: the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. God came into our world. Drank earth’s water & wine. Ate earth’s bread & fish. Slept on earth’s hard ground. Sailed on earth’s rough seas. Rubbed shoulders with earth’s children women men.

3. the story we live in begins with creation. It charts a path through God’s covenant with Abraham that Kyle touched on last week. Next follows the exodus from Egypt under Moses’ leadership. Then the kingdom led by David at its apex of power & wealth. Life was good under David’s rule. The economy was strong. Jerusalem mailed out kicker checks.
Enemies were kept at bay.

4. and then things began to unravel. Opposing parties developed. The country divided. Bad kings ruled. Prophets were raised up to summon the people to live as God’s chosen & blessed. In 722 BC Assyria slid down from the north, & defeated the northern kingdom, Israel.

5. in 586 BC the southern kingdom, Judah, fell to Babylon. City & temple destroyed. People carted off into exile. Freed 70 years later to return to ghost town-like conditions in Jerusalem.

Isaiah (740-681 BC)
1. Isaiah spoke words of warning, judgment & mercy to dull ears. Though he lived & spoke around 700 BC, the last third of his message, chapters 40-66, were fast forwarded 120 years to 586 BC & beyond.

2. the time of Babylon & Nebuchadnezzar. Fierce soldiers on muscular horses marched into Jerusalem. Wacked the people into submission & others into the grave. City walls were knocked down, homes & buildings burned. The temple, Solomon’s majestic temple, was laid down on its side in dust & ruins.

3. Eugene Peterson – (the people of God) were force-marched across 600 miles of desert to eke out a bare exilic existence in a strange land. They had nothing. They were stripped not only of their possessions but of their very identity as a people of God. They were uprooted and plunked down in a foreign and idolatrous society.

4. Isaiah spoke God’s Word into this hopelessness, this holocaust. He spoke new words of a new day and a new time for the people of God. All was not lost. It was time to dust off God’s promises & hold them high for all to see.

Waiting matched by creating – Isaiah 42:1-9 = Servant
1. Eugene Peterson – the verb ‘create’ is our Bibles is used exclusively of God. Men, women, and angels don’t create. Only God creates.

2. the most frequent use of the verb ‘create’ in the Old Testament is NOT in the creation account BUT in Isaiah’s prophetic ministry to the exiled people of God in the 6th century BC.

3. Isaiah’s message: the Spirit of God is going to create life out of nothing for the 6th century exiles in Babylon just like he had at the beginning of time. God is still creating, says Isaiah. NOT a world this time BUT a new people for a new day in a rebuilt, renewed Jerusalem.

4. 1 note of interpretation. This is a Servant song. It is primarily about the Messiah, Jesus. Over time it came to be interpreted as being about the people of God as well. 1st Israel & then the followers of Jesus, the church.

42:5
1. Genesis 1-2 is recounted. Heavens, earth, people & the breath that fires them ALL created by God the Lord. The very life we live & walk is given to us by God. The Creator God is speaking again, creating again.

42:6a
1. this is a word of restoration. God will take hold of the hand of his people in Babylon. They will be called in righteousness once again. He is going to keep them & make them. Covenant is back on the menu.


42:6b-7
1. God has a purpose for these restored, renewed people. A missional purpose. They are blessed in order to be a blessing.

5. 1300 years earlier God said to Abraham, I will make you into a great nation and you will be a blessing.,,and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:1,3).

6. Isaiah the prophet sheds more light on God’s word to Abraham. You – the people of God – are going to bless all peoples in the following manner. A mission statement in 4 parts –
Þ be a light to the Gentiles
Þ open eyes that are blind
Þ free captives from prison
Þ release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness

7. 1st be a light to the Gentiles. Tell the nations about God the Creator. The One revealed in Jesus the Messiah. Ragna did this at the Advent Dessert when she shared her story.

8. 2nd open eyes that are blind. Blind to perceive spiritual truth. They need to be opened to the God who created them. The God who has revealed himself in Jesus.

9. 3rd & 4th free captives from prison & release those who sit in dungeon darkness. Literally & historically, liberation from Babylon’s dungeons & prisons which occurred in 586 BC. But there is much more here. Spiritual liberation is in mind – freedom from spiritual blindness, strongholds & darkness.

10. think Jesus, think Luke 4:18-19 which he read from Isaiah 61 & applied to himself:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

11. we as a people are poor, imprisoned, blind & oppressed. We need good news. We need a word of freedom. We need recovery of eye sight. We need release.

12. literally for SOME of us in our historical circumstances BUT spiritually for ALL of us in our relationships with God, each other & ourselves.

13. some of us have things in our lives that imprison us. They keep our lights from shining:
® fear anxiety worry
® over-eating spending hoarding
® addictions to drugs (prescription or illegal) pornography, alcohol
® bitterness anger pride
® past abuse is a big one in our day

14. we desperately need God to touch us. And then we can touch others. Blessed to be a blessing.

15. the way Abraham’s people (2000 BC) will be a blessing to all peoples is revealed in Isaiah’s word (700 BC), demonstrated in the life & ministry of Jesus (30 AD), and carried on by us, the Body of Christ (2007).

16. this passage end on a note of hope.

42:8
1. God is the sovereign Lord of the universe. He is a jealous God who will not share his glory with another. This is a big God. God of God. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. And he’s on our side.

42:9
1. he is going to create new things for the exiled people of God. Literally, historically they will be freed from Babylon & march home to Jerusalem to take up their life as the people of God. But there’s more…

2. what God did historically & literally for Israel he does spiritually, emotionally & relationally for us. He shines light into our darkness. Opens our blinded eyes. Frees us from prisons that capture our time, money & energy. Releases us from people or objects that are dungeon-like in their power to render us less than human, less than creative, less than what God intends for us to be.

3. prayer






Music I listened to while sermonizing – Over the Rhine, U2, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Bruce Springsteen

Books I read & studied while sermonizing – The Intimate Merton by Thomas Merton; Intuitive Leadership by Tim Keel; A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight; Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson; The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“What Next?”

Luke 12:48

1. I want to let you in what has been going on inside me. Maybe you’ll be able to relate – maybe not.

1st this week I have felt empty inside.
2. last Sunday’s dedication service was the culmination of a 29 month process that began with the fire & ended with Brendan Beck, Kylie Myers & Joanna Crumley leading us in a prayer of dedication.

3. something inside of me let down last Sunday afternoon. And I’ve felt empty. Mission accomplished. Cross that off my ‘to do’ list.

2nd this week I’ve also felt joy inside.
1. joy for all that God accomplished over the past 29 months – guidance, protection, provision, unity, hope & a new future.

2. and this beautiful, wonderful, amazing facility that we now call home. Lots of joy.

3rd I’ve been asking myself the question, “what next?”
1. I’ve been asking myself this question for several months. What will the future look like? What is God calling us to? What does it mean to be a steward of this fabulous facility?

4th I believe God has given me 3 pointers into our future
1. the 1st came in the form of a quote from Stu Weber of Good Shepherd Community Church out in Boring. He wrote it after returning to Good Shepherd following a sabbatical. I want to help Good Shepherd become more assertive in the community…I want to help the church blossom to a new level of responsibility and impact as a truly mature church.
2. when I read that something erupted inside of me. My heart said Yes Yes Yes. I believe the same thing about CAC – its time to blossom, reach a new level of responsibility & impact, become a truly mature church.

3. next I came across more words from another pastor. This time Tim Keel, pastor of Jacob’s Well in Kansas City, in his new book, Intuitive Leadership.

4. after seminary, in the midst of receiving a call to plant a church in Kansas City, he experienced what he called a life-changing moment while reflecting upon a time in his life when he was in college & involved in student ministries at the University of Kansas – a time of growth, excitement, spiritual formation, kingdom fruitfulness. I cannot believe that you intend the best years of my life as a disciple of Jesus Christ to be experienced between the ages of 19 & 21. I cannot accept that I have peaked in my experience of you & the church & that I am to spend the rest of my life going through the motions. I cannot accept this!

5. again, as I read these words something rose up inside of me. I said Yes Yes Yes!

6. I cannot believe that the best years of CAC are behind us. I cannot accept that we have peaked in our experience of Christ & his church. I believe that our best years as a church are still ahead of us.

7. personally, I want the next 20 years of my life to be my best years for the kingdom of God. I want them to be my most fruitful, impactful & influential years. I want to lead & love & preach & pastor & exhort & vision cast better than I ever have before!

8. next, 3rdly something happened to me last week while writing the dedication prayer we used in our dedication service. As I was wrapping it up the phrase – to whom much is given, much is expected – was given to me. It comes from Luke 12.

Luke 12:48
1. 12:35-48 has a dual theme – the return of Christ & a call to faithful service. We honor Christ by being ready for his return – you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (40).

2. 12:41-48 – unfaithful & faithful servants (read)
Þ master is looking for faithful & wise manager – 42
Þ active faithfulness is rewarded – 43
Þ unfaithfulness receives judgment – 46-48

3. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. The gifts of God are to be used in a faithful, wise & responsible manner…until Christ returns. And we have been given so much!

4. we’ve been given much in the way of people – we have a children’s wing full of children, healthy active strong impressionable. They are the future. We have junior & senior high students settling into their new youth center. We won’t have them for much longer. They are the future.

5. we’ve been given much in the way of resources – take our adult population. Education, backgrounds, experiences, abilities, passions, financial resources. There’s a ton of resources at our fingertips. We will be held accountable for how we employ them in kingdom work.

6. we’ve been given much in the way of facilities – what a gift we’ve been given! I still walk in here everyday & wonder if I’m dreaming. We are called to be a faithful & wise manager of this wonderful facility.

7. what next? I don’t have all the answers right now. I do know 3 parts of the answer that I want to conclude with.

God is calling us…
1. 1st God is calling us to a new level of responsibility maturity fruitfulness. It’s time to step it up. Its time to grow. Its time to get serious.

2. Fridays Sports Tribune carried an article on Jacoby Ellsbury – he grew up in Madras, played college baseball at Oregon State & played in the World Series this fall with the Boston Red Sox who won it all. He attributes part of his success to Pat Casey at Oregon State & what he was taught about the work behind becoming a champion. Before the 2005 when the Beavers were picked to finish next-to-last in the Pac-10 Casey told them – You want to be Pac-10 champions? You have to practice like ones. He learned to practice harder, do the little things that add up.

3. if we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always be what we’ve always been. It’s time to do some new things in order to become a new, mature, fruitful people.

4. 2nd God is calling us to a time of reflection & self-examination. I’m talking individually & corporately. What does God want to see happen in & through us? What do we long to see God do? Where does he want us to take risks? Step out in faith? Move out of our comfort zones?

5. greater gifts mean greater responsibilities!

6. God is calling us to a time of confession repentance & consecration.

7. confession of our sin selfishness disobedience secrets. Confession of all those things holding us back from pleasing God. Stopping us from new growth.

8. repentance from those same things. In confession we tell them to God & ask for his forgiveness. In repentance we stop doing or being them.

9. I talked to one of you several months ago about all the weight you had lost. I asked you how you did it. You simply said I made up my mind to eat less. I haven’t changed my diet. I’ve just changed the size of the portions I eat.

That is repentance. And what can be done in our diet, God longs for us to do in our relationship to him & others. What behaviors attitudes practices values are in need of change?

10. consecration of our total selves to God both individually & corporately. This is to make a new start, a fresh beginning. Here I am God, I’m all yours, all that I am, all that I have, all that I aspire to be. Take me use me fill me bless me send me into your kingdom service.

11. God is calling us to new levels of responsibility maturity fruitfulness. God is calling us to reflection & self-examination. God is calling us to confession repentance consecration.

………

Music I listened to while sermonizing…Prayer of the Children by the American Boys Choir; Christ, We Do All Adore Thee & Steal Away by the Gingerich Family Singers; O Magnum Mysterium by Grex Vocals; Brother Sun, Sister Moon by John Rutter & The Cambridge Singers; Bob Dylan; Delirious?

Books I read while sermonizing…Luke by Darrell Bock; The Gospel of Luke by William Hendriksen; Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament by Fritz Rienecker & Cleon Rogers; Intuitive Leadership by Tim Keel; For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn; The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

John & Marie Champ shared what has been going on in their lives of late.
We miss seeing our missionary friends and it was good listening in on their adventures.
The Champs work for Wycliffe Bible Translators.


Tim at it again. Nice message, though he was thrown for a loop a couple of times. A cell phone distracted him (but gave the rest of us a chuckle), and for some reason he had trouble saying: "If we always do what we have always done, we will always be what we have always been." Poor fellow... And he practiced the line before hand!

PrayerSeries: Prayer “Praying With the Early Church”

Acts 1,2,3,4,6,7

1. last week I spoke on prayer. We pray & God answers with a Yes, No, or Wait.

2. today I want us to pray with the early church. We are gong to look at 5-6 vignettes, pictures, of prayer from the book of Acts.

3. 1st Mike Higgs on prayer @ CAC…

Prayer story: Rogelio Dubrico
1. Rogelio Dubrico is a Filipino pastor. I met him in 1976-77 when I was a college student on a short-term mission in the Philippines. We’ve maintained a friendship since then. I saw him again 3 years ago when John Abraham & I went to the Philippines.

2. when Rogelio was 16-17 years old he had a string of boils around his stomach, sides & back. He was sick & getting sicker. Losing weight. Told by doctors that there was nothing they could do for him. His mother began to fast & pray for his healing. He was near death & made a bargain with God – if you heal me. I will serve you with my life!

3. God healed him. I’ve seen the scars that circle his stomach & back. Rogelio has been a pastor, church planter, bible college founder, D.S. & now is the National Director for Church Planting in the Philippines. He’s one of the most amazing Christ-followers I’ve known.

4. his whole ministry has been birthed, guided, driven & empowered by prayer. When I saw him 3 years ago, after some probing, he told me that he often spends 2 hours praying in the middle of the night.

Acts 1:14 + 2:42 + 6:4 – persistence in prayer
1. there is one word that Luke uses to describe the prayer practice of the beginning church – proskartereo:
Þ 1:14: constantly – they all joined together constantly in prayer
Þ 2:42: devoted – they devoted themselves to…prayer
Þ 6:4: give our attention: we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word

2. the root of proskartereo is to be strong, steadfast. This is a word of action & discipline. Action fueled by commitment & discipline. Persistence. Staying with something. Holding on.

3. this word is not about feelings – do I feel like praying? No, this word is about the will. Willing oneself to pray in spite of feelings or circumstances.

1:14
1. the 11 disciples, the women, Jesus’ mother, his brothers are waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:5). This is after Christ’s death, resurrection, return to heaven.

2. they joined together to pray. Another important word – with one mind or passion. They agreed together. They were unified. Physically, they met together. Spiritually, they were one in what they prayed for.
3. in the 1st days after Christ’s ascension, what do we find his followers doing? NOT preaching or teaching or healing or giving witness of Christ BUT praying.

Acts 2:42
1. devoted – those 1st followers of Christ gave themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread & prayer.

2. prayer was part of what defined them. This is the rank of file. The Petes Marys Bills Daves Rachels of the church. Ordinary people. Devoted to prayer. Think daily discipline.

Acts 6:4
1. there was a problem in the food panty of the early church. Grecian Jewish widows were being overlooked by the Hebraic Jews in the daily distribution of food. Conflict.

2. don’t miss this – what do we find those 1st followers of Christ up to? Running a food panty, feeding widows, taking care of the poor.

3. 7 men were chosen to oversee the food panty. The 12 were freed up to give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. Give our attention is our word – constantly & devoted.

4. the people in 2:42 & the leaders in 6:4 were defined by their prayer lives.

Acts 3:1 – fixed hour prayer
1. Peter & John – 2 of the 12 disciples, 2 of the leaders of the beginning church.

2. were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at 3 in the afternoon. Going clear back to the time of David, 1000 years before this, the Jewish people prayed 3xs a day – morning, afternoon, evening. This prayer was usually offered in the temple.
Þ Psalm 55:16-17
Þ Daniel 6:10 – prayed 3xs day

3. Peter & John, as followers of Christ, continued this Jewish custom of prayer.

4. eventually this became the church’s practice of prayer – the daily offices of prayer. These offices were kept alive in the monastic movement. Are being rediscovered today across the church: Praying With The Church by Scot McKnight.

5. prayer was woven into the very structure of the day.

4:23-31 – prayer meeting
1. Peter & John were thrown in jail for preaching that Jesus was resurrected from the dead (2-3). They were questioned by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Then released.

2. they went back to “the church” and gave them a report. A prayer meeting broke out:
Þ Sovereign Lord – in control of all
Þ you made the heaven earth sea everything – God of creation
Þ you spoke by the Holy Spirit... – God of revelation
Þ Herod and Pontius Pilate… - God of history
Þ speak with boldness – prayer request
Þ heal signs wonders – prayer request

3. what happened? God showed up. Place shook. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They spoke the word of God boldly!

Acts 7:59-60 – prayer at death’s door
1. the 1st martyr of the church was Stephen – stoned to death.

2. Stephen prayed while he was being stoned. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit – a prayer of surrender & relinquishment. Stephen’s faith remained strong till the end.

3. Lord, do not hold this sin against them – a prayer of forgiveness. Stephen forgave those who were killing him.

4. who has killed something in you by stoning you with their words, actions, behavior, indifference? I think the order here is important. We 1st surrender our lives to Jesus – we are his. And then we can forgive those who sin against us.

5. who do you need to forgive this morning?

What lessons can we learn from these vignettes?
1. prayer deserves our best efforts & strictest discipline. These are bound up in the word proskartereo. Constantly, devoted, give attention. These are the bench marks we should aim for in our church.

2. corporate prayer should be a high value. The first 4 vignettes are pictures of the beginning church at prayer together. Part of what we should do when we gather together is pray – in worship, in our bible studies, small groups, classes, ministry teams, leadership meetings. NOT prayer as an agenda item BUT prayer as the very essence of who we are as the church.

3. leaders are called to live lives of prayer. A word to those of us in leadership. The 12 said we are called to give ourselves to pray & Scripture. One thing I’ve learned about leadership from Bobby Clinton at Fuller Seminary is this – if God calls you to lead a ministry then you are called to pray for that ministry.

4. all of us who lead various parts of the ministry here at CAC – how are we doing? Do we pray? Are we committed to pray? Do we set aside time to pray?

5. leaders are called to live lives of prayer. Corporate prayer should be a high value. Prayer deserves our best effort & strictest discipline.

Prayer story: Sam Sesay
1. Sam & Josephine moved to Lungi several years ago (Muslim village of 20,000, no infrastructure – power, lights, sewer). Rented a house near the ocean. Were told it was a ‘bad’ house – tree in the backyard had been used for witchcraft, offerings, sacrifices for years.

2. began to have nightmares, couldn’t sleep. Hear noises in the house at night, in the dark. Felt oppression. Affecting them physically, spiritually, emotionally.

3. fasted & prayed for 3 days for the power of God to come down upon that house & free them.

4. at the end of 3 days a huge wind came up & blew the tree over into the ocean. 10-15 minutes later people started arriving at the house from the surrounding area – where’s the fire? They told Sam & Josephine they saw fire fall down from the sky in the area of their house!

5. power encounter between God & the powers of darkness. God established his presence in the village & in Sam & Josephine’s ministry. God answered prayer!

………

Music I listened to while sermonizing –Coldplay

Books I was reading & studied while sermonizing – The Spirit, The Church & The World by John Stott; Acts by Simon Kistenmaker; Acts by Ajith Fernando; Consuming Jesus by Paul Louis Metzger; A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight

Prayer “How God Answers our Prayers”

Series: Prayer
Today: “How God Answers our Prayers”
Text: Old & New Testament


we are going to spend the next 2 weeks on prayer.

then November 18 is our Dedication Sunday, 1 service @ 9am, no children, youth or adult classes. Reps from Arbuckle Costic & Triplet Wellman will join us. Special morning of celebrating what God has done & dedicating this facility to his kingdom work

worker open house, Saturday, November 17, @ 7pm.
General public open house Sunday from 2-4pm.

then November 25, 13th annual Miracle Sunday Offering.

then December 2, 9, 16, 23 Advent & Christmas preaching. 2 services on 12/23 @ 9 & 10:30am, no classes.

then December 30 year-ending communion celebration in 1 service @ 10:30am

then starting new series in 2008 on the New Testament – will preach through the New Testament in 27 weeks, covering 1 book per Sunday. Overview of the New Testament flying at 35,000 feet.

Why 2 messages on prayer right now?
1st God is big on prayer. We can’t go wrong talking about prayer. We can’t go wrong praying. Other than Christ, prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God.

2nd I believe that God wants to build a stronger culture of prayer at CAC. So do our elders. So do others. We have to be intentional about this. These 2 messages are designed to increase our intentionality.

3rd I have a growing passion to see prayer permeate all that we are & all that we do as a church. So do our elders. So do others. The elders have asked Mike Higgs to be our Prayer Champion. Next week we will hear from Mike.

today – the 3 ways God answers our prayers. (This is ‘hot off the printer.’ I just finished it. I had a different sermon ready to go. But all that changed yesterday while I was in the Canby pool swimming a quick ½ mile)

God answers all of our prayers in 3 ways. ALL OF THEM! He says Yes, No or Wait.

Yes
Moses and God’s presence (Exodus 33:1-23)
Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai to find the Israelites worshipping & sacrificing to an idol they made – the golden calf.

33:3, 14 – God says enough is enough. Moses take these people with in into the promised land but I am not going with you

33:15-16 – Moses asks God to go with them

33:17 – God says ‘yes,’ I will go with you

God answered Moses’ prayer with a YES!


Nehemiah sent to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-9)
in 586 BC the people of Israel were carried into exile in Babylon for 70 years. God released them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, the city wall & their way of life.

1:3 – Nehemiah discovers the plight of his country men & women

1:4-11 – Nehemiah prays. We can learn from this prayer:
Þ Appeals to God’s greatness & character (5)
Þ Confesses the sins of his people (6-7)
Þ Holds God to his promises (8-9)
Þ Asks for God’s favor, success (11)

2:8 – God answered Nehemiah’s prayer with a YES!

No
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44)
the end for which the Word became flesh is near. Jesus was born to die. His sacrificial death for the sins of the world was imminent.
Jesus prepared for his death by praying – Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (22:42).

Jesus asks his Father for a way out. Isn’t there another way to redeem humanity from their sin? Take the cross away from me.

Jesus sweats drops of blood. He’s full of anguish.

and his Father says NO. There is no other way.

Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
12:1-6 – Paul experienced paradise (12:4) – heaven. He heard inexpressible things, things that a man is not permitted to tell.

12:7 – to keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

12:8 – Paul prayed 3xs & asked God to take it away.

12:9 – God said NO. The thorn stays. I want you to learn to depend upon my grace & power.

Wait
Return of the Babylonian captives (Lamentations 3:19-26)
586 BC the Babylonians routed Jerusalem, destroyed it, carried away people into exile. Lamentations records the overwhelming sense of loss that accompanied the destruction of the city, temple & ritual.

in the middle of the book is a section that focuses on the goodness of God. He is a God of hope, love, faithfulness & salvation. As if to say, this is not the end.

3:19-22
Þ 21 I have hope
Þ 22 because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed – his compassions never fail
Þ 23 great is your faithfulness
Þ 24 the Lord is my portion – I will wait for him
Þ 25 – the Lord is good to those whose hope is in him
Þ 26 – it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord

SALVATION – this is a prayer for deliverance, restoration. The people had to wait 70 years for God’s YES. 70 years!

we pray & sometimes God says wait. And in the waiting ours is to grow stronger in the Lord. Stronger in patience, faith & trust. God does some of his best work in ‘the waiting.’

Yes No Wait
every time we pray God answers. There’s no such thing as an unanswered prayer. Yes No Wait. All 3 reveal God’s perfect will for us.

my experience has been that some of God’s best & deepest work in our lives, our church, come in the midst of his No & Wait. If he gave us everything we asked for we would be spoiled superficial Christ-followers.

the Paris train story
I have a friend who put me onto this story. Comes from Brian Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Josephs, Missouri.

Oct 2004 Brian & his wife were in Paris. 1 evening he went alone to Notre Dame Cathedral for a historical presentation. He arrived early. Went to famous English bookstore across the Seine from NDC, Shakespeare and Company – haunt of Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Elliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce & other writers in the 1930s.

he brought a copy of Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. Attended the event at NDC. Before leaving he sat by himself in this massive cathedral & prayed that God would use him for his purposes while he was in Paris.

caught the train back to his hotel – it was after 10pm. Began reading The Idiot. At the 2nd stop a young Asian man got on & sat down opposite Brian even thought the train was empty.

the Asian man began a conversation with Brian. He, too, was reading The Idiot. They began talking books, philosophy, world views. Yu asked Brian if it was true that Dostoevsky was a Christian. Yes he was – Brian shared Dostoevsky’s story. 5 years hard labor in Siberia. Peasant woman gave him copy of Gospels as he entered the camp. Only reading material D had for 5 years. Became a Christ-follower.

Yu asked Brian what he did – I am a pastor. Yu – I am an atheist. Yesterday I went to NDC to see Gothic architecture. Felt myself wanting to pray while I was there. I tried. Told God I wanted to know him. I don’t think he heard my prayer.

Brian – God did hear your prayer. Less than 1 hour ago I was in NDC & prayed that God would use me in Paris. I got on board this train & you sat opposite me. God heard both our prayers & arranged for our paths to cross 2nite.

Yu had a Bible. Brian told him to read John’s gospel. Brian had to get off the train.

when I got off the train I felt like an angel. I have an assurance deep in my heart that my friend Yu has read the Gospel of John & made the Great Discovery that I & Dostoevsky & so many millions of others have made – Jesus is the Answer.

Music I listened to while sermonizing – Sting, Delirious, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Johnny Cash, Coldplay

Books I was reading & studied while sermonizing – The Living Psalms by Claus Westermann; Christ in the Psalms by Patrick Henry Reardon; Consuming Jesus by Paul Louis Metzger; Conversations with Wendell Berry edi by M.A. Grubbs; A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight; Psalms 1-50 by Peter Craige; Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer;

What is the Gospel?

2 Timothy 1:8-12

1. yesterday afternoon I was over at the coast, near Rockaway. The radio reception was bad. I couldn’t pick up the Oregon – USC game. I wanted to hear some good news. I wanted to hear that Oregon was winning.

2. last night I was at Canby Grove’s benefit dessert. They weren’t giving World Series updates throughout the evening. I wanted to hear some good news. I wanted to hear that Boston was winning.

3. in ancient Greece or Rome I would have said – I want to hear some gospel.

4. turn to 2 Timothy 1:8-12. Paul, at the end of his life, confined to prison in Rome for his faith in Christ, writes these words to his protégé Timothy. According to William Barclay, few passages in the New Testament have in them & behind them such a sense of the sheer grandeur of the gospel.

5. I want to talk today about the gospel. and I’ll tell you why at the end of my message.

this word ‘gospel’
1. the word gospel is an old word. It can be found in Homer, the Greek poet, who wrote the Iliad & Odyssey. Some date him as far back as 1200 BC.

2. The noun form of gospel means messenger. The verb form means announce. The word came to describe the message of victory over defeated foes. Or the message of personal or political news that brings joy & gladness.
3. I finally heard the ‘gospel’ of Oregon’s victory over USC listening to the post-game report. I read the ‘gospel’ of Boston’s victory over the Rockies on the internet after I came home from the dessert (Jacoby Ellsbury of Oregon State was one of the game’s heroes!).

4. gospel came to describe the good news of the life, death & resurrection of Jesus & his victory over sin, death & Satan. The good news that brings gladness & joy.

5. in 2 Timothy 1:8-12 the gospel unfolds in 5 stages

1st the gospel begins as grace before time (9)
1. the grace of God’s saving gospel was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. If we trace the river of the gospel to its source, we must look back beyond time to the eternal past. Literally, before eternal times.

2. think of this. We were given grace in Christ before…
Þ the world was created
Þ history unfolded
Þ we were born
Þ we did any good works

3. this is called election, predestination. God’s choosing of us for salvation before time began. Election is difficult to wrap our finite minds around. How does God’s sovereign choosing dovetail with human choice & responsibility? God chooses us in the eternal past & we choose him in the eternal present. Our choice is fueled by his grace.

4. John Stott writes that election should 1) engender deep humility & gratitude on our part & 2) bring us a sense of peace & assurance.
2nd the gospel enters time in the historical appearing of Jesus Christ (life, death, resurrection)
1. Paul links God’s electing, saving grace to a person – Christ Jesus. How? Through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus (10).

2. what was decided about grace in eternity past, makes its way into history in the person of Christ. The Word became flesh. God become a man. Jesus, God’s Son, was born to Mary.

3. God’s eternal purposes become rooted in history, in space & time, in Jesus.

4. Jesus destroyed death. We know of 3 kinds of death. All 3 are due to sin. And Christ in his life, death & resurrection has destroyed them all (10):
Þ physical death – separation of the soul from body
Þ spiritual death – separation of the soul from God
Þ eternal death – separation of body & soul from God forever

5. all 3 forms of death have been destroyed in Christ’s death & resurrection, in part now & in whole later.

3rd the gospel comes to us as God’s personal call through preaching & teaching
1. and of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher (11).

2. apostles formulated the gospel; heralds proclaimed, preached the gospel – Christ died & risen from the dead with a summons to repent & believe; and teachers instructed people in its doctrines & ethical implications.

3. notice, what is to be preached & taught is the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.
4. the gospel is our defining characteristic as a church. This is what we have to offer people. This is our specialty. NOT a new building. NOT a bunch of programs. NOT a great pastoral staff. NOT you-fill-in-the-blank. But the gospel as we attempt to get its message out however we can through word & deed.

4th the gospel calls us to live a holy life
1. what happens after you respond to the gospel & say “yes” to Jesus as your Savior & Lord? Is it all over? Do you just sit back & wait to die & go to heaven? No, no way! The journey has just begun.

2. the gospel calls us to a holy life (9). Salvation is far more than forgiveness of sin. Salvation is to be progressively transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ.

3. 4 of our high school students ran on the Canby High cross country team this fall – Lindsay VanAcker, Hannah Bennett, Molly Minson & Liz Barton. All 4 joined the team. That was just the start. Mr. Millbrooke’s mission was to RUN them into shape. They were called to a running life.

4. saying ‘yes’ to Jesus is just the start. Living a holy life, becoming like Jesus, follows, till the day we die.

5th the gospel promises us life now & life to come
1. brought life & immortality to light through the gospel (10). Jesus brings life. Life now & eternal life to come. Immortality. We’ll never die. We’ll live forever in the presence of God himself.

2. this is what makes the gospel so important. The stakes are sky high. It’s not just about now – it’s about now & then. It’s about forever. It’s about heaven & hell. It’s about where you’re going to spend eternity.

a mature church
1. what is the gospel? It is the good news that brings gladness & joy. The news of Jesus Christ. His life death & resurrection that saves us when we say ‘yes’ to him.

2. gospel begins as grace before time + enters history in the person of Jesus Christ + comes to us through preaching & teaching + calls us to live a holy life, becoming like Jesus + ushers us into eternal life! The gospel stretches from eternity past to eternity present to eternity future. It transcends time.

3. Thursday night our elders met together – me Norm Beck Mike Higgs Mel Yamase Marlin Myers. The main agenda item was the annual review of my job performance. I was asked to share some elements of my vision for the future.

4. I referenced Stu Weber, pastor of Good Shepherd Community Church out in Boring. After his sabbatical he wrote in Leadership Journal, I want to help Good Shepherd become more assertive in the community. I want to help the church blossom to a new level of responsibility and impact as a truly mature church.

5. I told the elders that part of my vision for the future is this – I want CAC to collectively grow to the next level of maturity. And I defined that maturity, in part, as sacrificial service for our community, even globally.

6. I heard Bono say at their U2 concert in Portland, we attempt to live life as large as we can. To live our Christ-following lives as large as we can means to live Christ-following lives for others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the church is the church only when it exists for others.

7. We are beginning to do this more & more. We’re off to a good start. I wonder & I pray what God has in store for us next. Maturity for us will mean, in part, a fuller understanding & practice of the gospel:
Þ election – we participate in something far bigger than we are; ours is to live lives of gratitude; ours is to make ourselves available to God’s work to touch others called by God
Þ Jesus Christ – ours is to make Jesus the Center of all we are & all we do. Jesus is our vision. NOT Jesus + my job, my bank account, my dreams BUT Jesus period
Þ witness – the apostolic preaching teaching part. Getting the gospel out. Spreading the word. Living the life. Making the main thing the main thing. We exist by the gospel & we exist for the gospel.
Þ holiness – we’d better be different for having confessed Christ. If our lives don’t match our words the game is over. Is there anything different about us?
Þ life – spiritual life, eternal life, life everlasting THAT impacts today.

8. it’s time to grow up. To take this gospel thing seriously. To reach the next level of maturity. To not only grow deeper in Christ but to grow further outward because of Christ.

Music I listened to while sermonizing this week – Coldplay, U2, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens

Books I read & studied this week while sermonizing – Scot McKnight, A Community Called Atonement; John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals; William Barclay, the Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; John Stott, The Message of 2 Timothy; Gordon Fee, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus

Series: This is Why! “Community”

2 Timothy 4:9-22

1. we’re in!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ø thanks for help yesterday
Ø have to get used to living here, iron out the wrinkles
Ø no food or drinks in the sanctuary please
2. flowers from Bethany Church – Larry Parks
3. thanks to Jeff Reister for cross
4. good news – the rental house sold this week!

Prayer

1. as we move into our new facility today I want to speak about community, the importance of relationships. For we would not have survived the fire & this building would not have been built if we didn’t have a strong sense of community in this church.

2. community is 1 of our 5 church values – worship, prayer, transformation, community & mission.

2 Timothy 4:9-22
1. last written words of Paul that we have in our Bibles. He is languishing in a prison cell in Rome. At the end of his life. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (4:7). Write that down. Determine in your heart that when you grow up you will finish well just like Paul. Less than 30% of the leaders in the Bible do so.

2. tradition tells us that Paul was beheaded just outside the city limits of Rome.

3. 19+ people named. Paul lived his life & did ministry in community with others. Relationships were everything to Paul His last words ooze wfith community.

4. I want to share 3 things: those who deserted & opposed Paul + Paul’s needs as a human being + Paul’s team

1st Desertion & Opposition
1. Demas – because he loved this world he has deserted me & gone to Thessalonica (4:9)
… His desertion painful to Paul
… Previously close associate, fellow worker
… Fallen in love with the world – drifted away, pursuing things other than Christ & his kingdom

2. Alexander the metalworker (4:14-15)
… Did Paul a great deal of harm – what?
… Strongly opposed the message of the gospel
… Warns Timothy about him
… The Lord will repay him for what he has done

3. everyone at his first defense (4:16-17)
… under arrest at Rome for the gospel & put on trial
… among all his ministry & travel companions & all the Christ-followers in Rome NONE stood by him!
… Christ-followers accused of: atheism (against idolatry & emperor worship) & cannibalism (spoke of eating the body & drinking the blood of Christ)

4. community is not perfect. Flawed Christ-followers compose community. Community can bring pain. It did for Paul. It might for us.

2nd Paul’s needs
1. for people to keep him company – called for Timothy (4:9) & Mark (4:11)

2. Timothy – 1 of Paul’s inner circle
Ø 4:9: do your best to come to me quickly (while Paul was still alive)
Ø 4:21: do your best to get here before winter (before navigation would be impossible)
Ø 1:4: I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy
Ø Paul needs community; needs people; needs support & companionship

3. Mark – get Mark & bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry (4:11)
Ø Deserted Paul on 1st missionary journey
Ø He & Barnabas argued over Mark for 2nd journey & parted company (Barnabas took Mark; Paul took Silas)
Ø Later reconciled with Mark (Col 4:10; Phm 24)
Ø Now wants Mark by his side!
Ø Beautiful picture of reconciliation WHICH must mark our relationships

4. a coat to keep him warm – asked Timothy to bring his cloak (4:13). Roman prisons were not heated & clothes were not issued

5. reading material to keep him occupied (4:13) – bring my scrolls, especially the parchments. Roman prisons did not have a library or magazine subscriptions or internet hook-up
Ø most likely Paul’s version of the Greek Old Testament
Ø life-long learner up till the end!

6. a reconciled team mate. A warm coat. A bag full of books. This is community. In Christ we become to others what they need & they to us.

CAC thanksgiving
1. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed after the fire. We faced a mountain of challenges, questions, needs. For days on end I lived out of a notebook full of my “to do” lists that were unending. There were days were I felt like if I have to make one more decision my brain is going to crash.

2. 28 months later, almost to the day – June 16, 2005-October 14, 2007 – here we are. Our mountain of needs matched by a mountain of help & volunteers that I simply never forget! Community in action under the power & inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God!
… God Father Son Spirit – faithfulness, provision, turning a tragedy into an opportunity

… CAC congregation – ideas, dreams, vision, financial support (almost $738,625!), patience, work

… Elders & Governing Board (Norm Beck, Jim Brands, Mike Higgs, Marlin Myers, Mel Yamase + Lynne Applegate, Doug Beck, David Bennett, Harry Lee Kwai, Nancy Pickett, Cam Quinlan, Paul Knopp, Jim Trigg, Brad Wilson) – ldshp, vision, perseverance

… Jennifer Brands, Kim Lee Kwai, Erika Scott, Julene Trigg (interior design team) – colors, floor coverings, decorating

… Dennis Trussell – computer networking

… Paul Knopp & Norm Beck – landscaping

… Harry & Kim LeeKwai – buying & picking up furnishings

… John VanAcker – sound, lights, media

… Lee Gellinger & Dick Colenso – in-house project managers
Paul’s team
4:9-13

1. Luke – he alone is with Paul in his imprisonment; the physician; unflinching loyalty

2. Tychicus – I sent Tychicus to Ephesus (4:12)
… Elsewhere described as a brother & faithful minister in the Lord
… Carried Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, Titus

4:19-22
1. Priscilla & Aquila -
… More ministry team members – fellow workers in Christ Jesus (Romans 16:30
… Stayed at their house while in Corinth

2. household of Onesiphorus – 1:16-18
… Paul chained in prison in Rome
… One found Paul, refreshed him

3. Trophimus – I left…sick in Miletus
… Companion of Paul on 3rd missionary journey
… Left sick = God heals but not everyone

5. the Lord (4:17-18, 22) – Paul’s strength & power are derived from Christ in the face of desertion, opposition & coming death
… stood at Paul’s side & gave strength
… delivered from the lion’s mouth
… will rescue me
… will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom
… to him be glory
… be with you

CAC Community
1. We would not have survived the fire & this building would not have been built if we didn’t have a strong sense of community in this church.

2. a church is not a building or a piece of land or an address for phone number or website. Church is people.

3. I remember being interviewed by someone from KGW the night of the fire. All I remember saying in that interview is something like – we lost our building but we didn’t lose our church. The church is people. The church will go on.

4. God has turned a tragedy into a new opportunity – a facility that is more than we’ve ever had or dreamed of. The ways of God are beyond understanding.

5. Will, Brenda, Jeremiah, Issac I hardly know what to say to you. This whole process has been a source of great pain & suffering in your lives. I can’t tell you how much all of us love you. I pray for God to reach deep into your souls with his healing touch. To turn sorrow to joy, questions to faith & guilt to forgiveness.

6. one of Will’s blogger buddies says it best (Judas Hate) – whether by Jeremiah’s hands the church burned down is not the question. It is however, why. Could be he needed to touch someone in the community and needed the new building to assist in welcoming this person to his house. Could be the old building was unsafe and through Jeremiah he made the necessary changes. Could be you weren’t yet adorned with enough armor to protect you from what was yet to come & this was his way of preparing you. Whatever the case, it is done & you have forgiven him. God has forgiven him. Now you just need to forgive you.

7. community has brought us this far. And community will bring us into the future & whatever comes next. We are family. God has bought each of us together in this place. Not just to love each other & live in this new home. BUT to love him, love others & to advance his kingdom here & wherever he leads us.



Music I listened to while studying for and writing this sermon – Coldplay, Brian Doerksen, David Crowder Band; the American Boys Choir

Books I was reading and studying when writing this sermon – Praying With The Church by Scot McKnight, The Message of 2 Timothy by John Stott, Through the Bible Through the Year by John Stott,

Series: This is Why! “Worship”

(Hebrews 1:1-4; 10:31; 12:28-29; 13:15-16)


**1 year ago today Harry & I worshiped at Sam Sesay’s church in Lungi, Sierra Leone…..I write to say hello to you all. We are doing fine in Lungi . Everyone is busy doing something for the Lord and the family. Please pray for Joseph he is going t o take his public exam on monday for the second year in college. It is very difficult for them but with hard studise and prayers he will do well. Pray also for the pre-school teachers and the clinic staff for commitment. Pray for the new primary school we have started in Samuya village for Government to approve so we can pay the teachers. Pray for me. I am suffering from sharp pain on my left leg. I am planing to go to Guinea to see a doctor for examination God willing the frist week in November. Sam.

1 Our mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God & love others. This is Why we exist.

2 We’ve identified 5 values to guide our disciple-making – worship, prayer, transformation, community & mission. As we continue our series on This is Why I want to tackle our worship value today.

3 on August 12 Mike Higgs preached one of the best messages on worship I have every heard. You can access it on our sermon blog @ canbyalliance.blogspot.com.

4 what I want to do today is pull together a few verses from the book of Hebrews that address our worship of God.

the letter to the Hebrews
1 The letter was written by an unknown author to a local church of Jewish Christians, perhaps in or near Jerusalem. They were in danger of going apostate, were being persecuted & were theologically confused.

2 the book is about Jesus. New wine has burst the old wineskins. Christ’s priesthood, sacrifice & covenant supercede anything found in the Old Testament. Jesus is greater than any other Old Testament prophet, priest, king or holy man.

Jesus – 1:1-4
1 this letter strikes fire immediately with a magnificent Christological statement – 7 realities defining Jesus’ superiority:

2 1st Jesus is the heir of creation – but in these last days (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things. All things are Christ’s.

3 2nd Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory (1:3). Just like the radiance of the sun is inseparable from the sun itself, so Jesus’ radiance is inseparable from God’s. Why? Because he himself is God!

4 3rd Jesus is the agent of creation – through whom he made the universe (1:2).

5 4th Jesus is the exact representation of his (God’s) being (1:3). He is not merely a reflection of God. He is the absolutely authentic demonstration of God himself.

6 5th Jesus is the sustainer of the universe – sustaining all things by his powerful word (1:3). Jesus dynamically holds together everything he has made.

7 6th Jesus provided purification for sins (1:3). He died on the cross in our place to take care of our sin problem.

8 7th sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (1:3). His work of salvation is complete. He now actively rules with God as Lord over all.

9 this description of Christ hits like a bombshell. Who can compare to Jesus? This is the Jesus we worship.

Hebrews 10:31
1 context – in light of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin we are told to persevere in the midst of persecution. We are also instructed to fear the judgment of God if we disobey him (10:29-30).

2 The judgment of God. God is just. His justice makes his judgment a reality.

3 the author’s point – It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Our worship of God must include our fear of God as the judge of his people.

Hebrews 12:28-29
1 context – This letter is written to a people who are in danger of apostasy. They know the truth about Christ & have lived it out. Now they are in danger of leaving the faith. And if they do, the price they pay will be great – the judgment & wrath of God.

2 God is a consuming fire (Deut 4:24 – warning against idolatry). Since God is a consuming fire our worship had better reflect this. Gratitude, reverence & awe are called for. The fear of God.

3 As we worship we need reminded that:
§ God is God & we’re not
§ God is infinite & we’re finite
§ God is eternal & we’re temporal
§ God is our Creator & we’re his creature
§ God is pure holiness & we are sinful
§ God is all wise & we can be embarrassingly foolish
§ God is untouchable & we’re blessed beyond measure to have been touched by him

4 God is a consuming fire. And this calls for worship marked with reverence & awe.

Hebrews 13:15-16
1 Context – the author is wrapping things up. Do this. Do that. Don’t forget this. Remember.

2 13:15 – a call to offer up to God through Christ a sacrifice of praise with our lips.

3 the background for this phrase is the Old Testament sacrificial system. God gave meticulous instructions for sacrifices. One thing they were to be – the 1st & best that one had to offer. The 1st & the best.

4 When we gather to worship God is your sacrifice of praise your 1st & best effort? Or do we offer him leftovers – whatever is leftover from our worship preferences or finances or energy or focus or time?

5 Do we want to experience God’s favor in our worship? All we have to do is use our lips to offer him our 1st & best sacrifices of praise!

6 13:16. But worship is more than just confessing & singing with our lips & lungs. There’s another kind of sacrifice that pleases God, that counts as our 1st & best – do not forget to do good & to share with others. Worship is action as well as words. Doing good to others. Sharing with others are acts of worship.

7 I hope our Food Panty team worshiped yesterday as they gave out food to the needy in the name of Jesus.

8 This week all of us have a grand opportunity to worship God by doing good & sharing our time to clean our new building, put shelves & bookcases together, move tables, chairs, office & sound equipment.

two examples
1 I want to close by sharing 2 examples of doing good & sharing with others. 1 ancient & 1 contemporary.

2 The early church was known throughout the Roman Empire for its radical acts of kindness toward the needy. City dwellers lived in tiny cubicles in multistoried tenements. Meals were cooked over open fires in 1 of the rooms. Sewage systems consisted of chamber pots that people dumped into the streets at night. There was no such thing as soap. Sickness was rampant. Life expectancy was less than 30 years. Half of all children died at birth. It was very common to see widows & orphans living in the streets & begging for food. Corpses were often abandoned in the street.

3 1/3 of the population of the Roman Empire perished in the great plague of AD 165. The philosopher Seneca thought that drowning babies at birth was a reasonable form of population control. Both Plato & Aristotle recommended infanticide as a state policy. Mercy was seen as a weakness.

4 How did Christ-followers respond? They showed mercy & compassion –
à Collected money for the poor
à Supported widows & orphans, sick, infirm, the poor, disabled
à Cared for prisoners
à Buried the dead when a family couldn’t afford to
à Cared for slaves
à Gave jobs to the unemployed

5 In short, they worshiped God by doing good & sharing with others & turned the Roman Empire upside down by love.

6 Today, when it comes to homosexuality, the evangelical church in America relies primarily upon 2 avenues of response – preaching & politics. Preaching against homosexuality & attempting to champion & pass legislation directed against same-sex marriage.

7 Research shows that only 10% of Christians are engaged in any form of non-political action on this issue. And only 1% prays for the homosexual community.

8 There’s a 3rd way to respond. I know of a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan who decided to do good and to share with others in the homosexual community of that city. They refused to take part in petition signings or public demonstrations against the gay community.

9 Instead, they welcomed gay people into their church. They clearly stated their belief that Scripture limits a sexual relationship between one man & one woman in a marriage. They began volunteering their time at hospices where gays were dying of AIDS. They got involved in HIV/AIDS causes in their city.

10 And they became known within the gay community of Grand Rapids as the church with compassion & love. They saw people in the gay community become Christ-followers. They saw people healed & reconciled. And they were criticized & ridiculed by fellow churches & Christ-followers for being ‘soft’ on homosexuality.

11 They worshiped God by doing good & sharing with those in need. And God honored them.

12 How can you do good to others? What can you share with them? Put hands & feet to your singing, praising, confessing worship:
§ Volunteer at a hospice for AIDS patients
§ Pound nails at a Habitat for Humanity house
§ Counsel pregnant girls & women at the Pregnancy Care Center
§ Give your time to an after school program for needy kids in our community
§ Show compassion & concern for those struggling with addiction to pornography – we hope to start a support & accountability for those struggling with pornography

13 Let’s bring reverence & the fear of God into our worship. And let’s learn to do better at worshiping God in our community through doing good & sharing with others.

Series: This is Why! : “Change and Jesus”

(Romans 8:28-29; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19)

1. our fall series entitled This is Why. This is why we exist. This is why we do what we do. We’re talking about our mission & values.

2. 2 weeks ago I covered our mission statement – we exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love others.

3. we have 5 values: worship, prayer (Kyle last week), transformation, community & prayer. This week I want to focus our attention upon our transformation value.

4. pray

change
1. how many of you like change? Most of us are creatures of habit & are slow to embrace change. But have you ever thought about this – our Christian faith is all about change. To be a follower of Christ requires, even demands, that we embrace change.

2. when we say Yes to Jesus as our Savior & Lord, a life-time of change begins. Change with regards to our –
§ sinful nature
§ life purpose & destiny
§ perspectives on greatness ambition success
§ relationship to money sex power
§ understanding of politics
§ use of time
§ marriage & family
§ the poor & disenfranchised of our world
3. transformation means change. God is in the process of changing us. That’s what I want to talk about today.

4. a few of us went to the Oregon-Cal game at Autzen yesterday. We took along an avid Beaver fan. Even though the Ducks lost (beat themselves) our Beaver Nation friend changed colors & became a Duck follower – that’s transformation!

the big picture
1. 1st I want to give you the ‘big picture’ view of the Bible & human history. I give you 1 name & 4 words.

2. Triune God of grace – everything begins with God, Father Son Spirit. God has existed forever in a community of love, unity & joy.

3. creation – God creates the world. He populates it with people. Why? So that he could bring us into the circle of his love. He creates the human race in his image & likeness. All is good.

4. fall – Genesis 3 begins Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. There’s been a rebellion among a group of angels in heaven. Some have chosen to go off on their own following Satan.

5. Satan tempts Eve. Both Adam & Eve disobey God & eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. At that split second everything changes. God’s perfect creation is spoiled. Sin contaminates every part of creation. The world fragments.

6. salvation – God sends his Son Jesus to fix things. Read I Timothy 2:3-6 tell us how. This is the good news:
à God is our Savior NOT just our Creator
à Jesus is God = one God
à Jesus is man = the man Christ Jesus
à Jesus is our ransom = we were born in bondage to sin & judgment, unable to save ourselves, unable to reverse the affects of the fall. Jesus paid the price for our deliverance on the cross
à Jesus is the one mediator between God & men = implied resurrection, Jesus lives on as our exalted, heavenly, mediator Savior
Jesus alone reverses the affects of the fall.

7. restoration – but Jesus doesn’t stop at redemption. He is going to restore all things to its Eden-like existence. A new heaven & a new earth. Salvation & restoration touch everything, absolutely everything in creation, from sub-atomic atoms to Adam’s race.

8. Triune God Creation Fall Salvation Restoration. Transformation occurs within this bigger picture. After coming to Jesus we participate in the life of the church. We learn & apply Scripture to our lives. We build relationships with others. We pray. We serve. We sacrifice. We love. We worship with all that we have & all that we are. We tell others about Jesus. In Jesus we participate in salvation & restoration.

9. clay salmon mounted on a heavy piece of wire in the flower bed at our front door. I broke it one day trimming the shrubs. Heather took it & super-glued it back together:
à creator – Diane Wright
à creation – she shaped, painted, fired the fish
à fall – I broke it
à salvation – Heather glued it
à restoration – put back in the flower bed
Once we say “yes” to Jesus & enter into his life, we spend the rest of our lives between being glued back together & placed in the flower bed. This is transformation (sanctification).

Transformation
1. I have 4 New Testament texts that I want to cover.

2. Romans 8:28-29: what does God want for us? To be conformed to the likeness of his Son. This is not a superficial conformity. This is inward, deep & thorough.

3. there’s some expansive theological concepts here that I don’t have time to unpack – calling, foreknowledge, predestination. What I want you to get is this – the end result of God’s work in our life is transformation into the likeness of Jesus. God wants to shape & form us to be like his Son.

4. and because of our sin nature, our selfishness, our stubbornness this is a life-time change. We never arrive.

5. Romans 12:1-2: 12:1 has to do with our bodies – offer them to God as living sacrifices. 12:2 has to do with our minds – be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Again, this speaks of a deep inward change.

6. here’s how the process works: 1st we apply our minds to the reading & study of God’s Word by the Spirit’s leading. 2nd we find ourselves increasingly able to discern & desire God’s will. 3rd as a result we are transformed, changed in our character & conduct. We choose Christ. We become more like Christ.

7. 2 Corinthians 3:18: the background for this is Moses coming down from Mt Sinai after spending time in God’s presence. He face was shining & radiant with God’s glory. He had to veil himself.

8. Paul picks up on this & applies it to our transformation. Again, we are being transformed into his likeness. The Lord who is the Spirit is doing the transforming.

9. by the Holy Spirit’s power at work in our lives we progressively experience more & more freedom to obey God. This results in our being changed into the likeness of Christ. This is a deep, inward change that we are powerless to produce on our own. It must come from God as we surrender to the work of his Spirit in our lives.

10. Galatians 4:19: here is Paul’s heart for Christ-followers. Until Christ is formed in you. Until you take the shape of Christ. Paul goes into labor for those in the church NOT just that Christ would dwell in them BUT that Christ would be seen & formed in them.

The goal
1. the goal of transformation is to become like Jesus.

2. C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity the Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. To become new men means losing what we now call ‘ourselves.’ Out of our selves, into Christ, we must go. The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become. Lewis calls this process Transformation.

3. of our 5 values transformation is our foundational value. Unless we are inwardly & deeply changed into the image of Christ we will fail to worship, pray, build community & engage in mission in a Christ-honoring & kingdom-spreading manner.

4. we are entering a new threshold in the life of our church. Over the past few years we have been through the fire – the fire of some internal conflict & the fire of our church building.

5. fire is a metaphor for cleansing & refining in Scripture. God wants us to rise from the ashes. Into new life. Into new pathways of transformation. Into new avenues of change.

6. God wants to create a CAC church culture of revolution, renovation, change, transformation, sanctification, growth & metamorphosis. We’ve been targeted by God. And ours is to surrender.

7. transformation is the key to our future. The key to becoming a praying church. A worshipping church. A community-minded church. A missional church. No transformation – no difference-making for the kingdom of God.

8. I love apples which is part of the reason I love the fall. Liken your life in Christ to producing apples. Some of us have produced blossoms for years & that’s all. Some of us have produced walnut-sized apples but little else. Others of us have produced green apples ready to ripen. How many of us have produced a ripe, crisp, sweet honey crisp apple?

9. Christ is waiting within us to produce apples of his kingdom work in & through out lives.

10. this morning I challenge you to pursue transformation is Christ. Move on. Move ahead!