What I'm Reading: Same Kind of Different As Me - Ron Hall & Denver Moore

With the busyness of the Lenten and soon-to-be Easter season upon us, my reading is going a little slower than usual so I am dipping into my recently read bag to a book I thoroughly enjoyed when I read it. The book is called "Same Kind of Different As Me." It is a wonderful inspirational story of unlikely people who find each other and end up learning and growing more together than they probably ever could have imagined. The book chronicles the lives of international art dealer Ron Hall and homeless wanderer Denver Moore. Like I said, the two are an unlikely pairing.

The book traces their early lives prior to their meeting before going into their encounters with one another. It is Hall's wife Deborah who ultimately serves as the connection point for the two when she hears the call of God to serve in an inner city homeless shelter in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Ron is very unsure about the proposition as he is very tied up in his "important" lifestyle and not sure how he feels about interacting with homeless people. Eventually, Ron relents and goes and begins to serve. Denver is an occasional attendee at the homeless shelter who is very withdrawn. Ron's wife again hears from God that Denver is the person that Ron is to meet and get to know. Ron, understandably, is even more unsure of this. After some back and forth and feeling of each other out, the two gradually form a relationship partly because of each one of their love of Deborah (husbandly love of Ron and the friendly love of Denver). It is only when a tragedy strikes though that Ron and Denver draw even closer together. This is the basic layout of the book. I don't want to go into great detail because you truly need to read it for yourself.

This book succeeds on so many levels in part because of the honesty with which it is written. It does not sugarcoat things or apply overly spiritual language to them. It is simply a memoir of two men and the way they approached God and one another to form a great spiritual friendship. Not only that, the book does well to focus early on what the reservations were of each person when it came to ministry in the shelter. This is wonderful to read and shows the very human side of things. In a way, it serves to show us that others do indeed have theses concerns and how they work through them as opposed to an overly "spiritual" way of thinking that says these things are wrong to think.

The wonderful insights that come throughout this book, especially in the latter parts, display the importance of ministry to "the least of these." We can see this through the way God works in and through Denver's life to bless him and others. Sometimes, we are tempted to think people in that category are unimportant to God. This book crushes that notion with a thunderous blow. I don't want to say much more because the storyline of the book and how it presents its wonderful message is part of its draw. There will be some points in the book where you find yourself questioning some of the things that they report and that is okay. It is good to question things if you aren't sure. Don't let those questions or concerns about things get in the way of the larger message of "Same Kind of Different As Me" though. Read it for what it is. A wonderful story that all Christians can learn from and see God in every step of the way. Pick it up and read it. It will be worth your time.

John

Sermon Tidbits 2/21

Returning to God: Confess - Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:  9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

When we think of confession in today's world, I imagine there are three things that come to mind depending on where your interest lies. The first is that little booth at all Catholic churches where the priest sits on the other side of the screen and takes a person's confession. The second is the ever popular celebrity confession after someone in the public eye has been a part of wrongdoing or offended someone. The third that leans more towards those in the literary and theology fields is the book "Confessions" by St. Augustine. I think it would be fairly easy to say we have a lot of different views or understanding of the word.

This word "confession" though is  an extremely important yet not terribly complicated idea in Christianity. It is the first step towards returning back to God. Paul tells us in this passage today that those "who confess with your mouth...and believe in your heart...will be saved." That part should underline the importance of confession in the Christian faith. Confession is not just a simple utterance of words though. Paul emphasizes the condition of the heart in it as well as we can see in the excerpt I quoted. Paul ties the condition of belief in Jesus in the heart to the spoken words of confession in both verses 9 and 10 in this passage. It is important because this belief in the heart is what spurs on the spoken confession. The biblical scholar Douglas Moo in his commentary on Romans in the New International Commentary looks at it like this when it comes to the role of the belief in the heart in confession, he says, "confession is an outward manifestation of this critical inner response."

Also, it is no mistake that the reference to the Word shows up in this passage as well. It is through the Word that we hear the good news of Jesus. The role of the Word is drawing us into the presence of Jesus that we might experience Jesus and come to believe in Him. It is when we come to believe in Jesus that we answer the call to confess our belief. It is where we confess to God our need and shortcomings and ask for help and forgiveness.

Confession is our first step back towards God. We all have things we know we need to talk to God about whether it is for the first time or the hundredth time. It is through confession that we lays these out and God responds to us in the way God knows that we need. Can we stop today and make our confession to God, each and every one of us, and begin our return to God here today?

John

Sermon Tidbits 2/17 - Ash Wednesday

Make Your Return - Joel 2:1-2, 13-17
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand--  2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. 
12 'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'  13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.  14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing-- grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.  15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.  16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.  17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, 'Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'' 

I love the season of Lent because it is a season of preparation. It is not just that though. It is a sober time to sit back and take a look at who we are and who we belong to. It is a time where we are called to make our return to God and sit at his feet once more through Scripture reading, prayer and fasting. It was a crucial time as well in the early church. Lent was a time when new converts were prepared for baptism in the Lord. It also served as a time of repentance for Christians leading up to the Easter celebration of the resurrection of the Lord.

That being said, Lent is a time where we are called to take a close look at ourselves. We have all drifted away from complete and total obedience to God in one way or another. Sin has crept up on us and we have slipped down into it sometimes not even realizing it. We know this. God knows this and the beauty is God is still calling us to make our return to Him. God wants us to flee the wrath to come and simply come back home. Just like the prodigal son, God will welcome us home with open arms.

How do we return to God though? What is it God desires? There are many things and we will explore some of those throughout Lent in my upcoming sermons. Simply put though, God desires our heart. The heart is referenced twice in the passage in Joel in verses 12 and 13 as the key. Lent is all about asking the question of can we return our heart to God. Can we come to grips with ourselves and our own mortality and trust the God who created us and longs for us enough to follow Him and give our heart to Him? The season of Lent draws us back to this. We have to make the decision. Can we acknowledge that it is from dust we came and to dust we will return? Will we return to God and lay our hearts before Him and Him? We are being called back to God. Will we answer now and follow God?

John

Sermon Tidbits 2/14

Luke 9:28-36 - A Glimpse of Glory

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.  30 Two men, Moses and Elijah,  31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.  32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.  33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)  34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."  36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen. 

In our passage today, we get an affirmation once again of who Jesus is. We witness the change in appearance of Jesus from His human nature into his divine nature on the mountain. In a sense this is a glimpse of glory for the disciples who made the trek up the mountain with Jesus. Not only that, Jesus is seen speaking with two of the Old Testaments greatest people, Moses and Elijah during this time (more on them later). God chimes in at the very end of all this in one of God's rare speaking roles in the New Testament. God speaks directly to Peter, James and John in the cloud affirming to them who Jesus is just as God had done for Jesus in Luke 3 at Jesus' baptism. Luke is certainly driving the point home of who Jesus is and how important it is for us to realize.

There is more than just the affirmation of Jesus here for us though. One form of this comes in the company Jesus has on the mountain, namely Moses and Elijah. The similar appearance of these two also conveys a similar role. Just like Moses, Jesus comes as a liberator of the people to set them free from their current situation. Just like Elijah, Jesus comes as a prophet to call the people to repentance and into right relationship with God. Even though Jesus carries a similar quality to each, Jesus is greater than both because he fulfills that which each represents. Jesus fulfills the law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah) showing once again the great continuity between the Old and New Testaments and giving us a picture of His role in the great story of God playing out on this earth. 

We also have here a look at the role of prayer. The role of prayer in divine revelation comes through here. Notice that it is in prayer that Jesus is transformed into his divine state. Prayer is for us a primary form of divine revelation. God speaks to us in prayer and we speak to God. It is the primary mode of communication between us and God. Prayer is an act in which God listens to us and us to God. Prayer is an act where God teaches us and reveals God's truths to us. This scene gives us a glimpse into the importance of prayer in our communication with God.

To bring this all together, we get a glimpse of glory here when we see Jesus in His transfigured divine state. All the while, God is teaching us. God is showing us how Jesus is fulfilling the law and prophets of old. God is showing us Jesus' role in the great story of God. God is teaching us the importance of prayer in drawing close to Him. God is teaching and affirming in us who Jesus is through his words to Peter, James and John. All this in a simple glimpse of glory. Will we respond and seek out divine revelation from God in prayer to find our place in God's great story and call all people to His name as God has called us to do?

John

What I'm Reading: Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

The first book I am posting about here falls into the category of "wanted to read but never had time." Thankfully, I was finally able to make the time to read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz now that seminary is behind me and I can do my own reading, kind of. The book carries a subtitle of "Non-religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality." Don't let that word non-religious drive you away though because this is a book Christians need to read.

It may be the most unconventional Christian book you have read but it carries heavy weight for Christians and how they are to live and interact not just together but also with people outside the faith. Miller's wrestling with questions within Christian spirituality will no doubt resonate with many a reader as questions they have often asked themselves or are currently asking themselves. He also writes extensively on his interaction with non-Christians and how we as Christians sometimes forget about these people. The decision to love everybody despite what others may say about them (specifically in the church) gives us a bird's eye view into the importance as well as the difficulty of this. We also see how Miller ends up learning things from the people and occasionally either draws them to faith or deeper in their faith.

This book is written from the heart so at times it is brutally honest about what the author was thinking at that moment. Miller goes some places and does some things we would never expect Christians to do but here him out. He often has good reasons and willing admits his error in thinking if there was one there. This book is certainly not for traditional mainline thinking about the way church is. The reader has to come at it from a very open minded perspective. Miller is not forcing the issue but rather asking in a sense that any Christian asks himself/herself what it means to be a Christian and what God is calling us to.

The one caution I would give to anybody considering reading this book is to read it for what it is, non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality. These are not ideas the mainline church normally broaches. It is also not a critique on Christianity so much as it is a look at the spirituality of Christianity. Don't come to this book looking for solid Christian theology or doctrine. It is not there nor is it intended to be.

In light of all that, here is what I will say about Blue Like Jazz. This is a book Christians need to read. We need to ask the questions Miller is bringing to light in this book. We can learn from Donald Miller's story. It won't give you everything you are looking for, but it will force you to evaluate where you are and consider the way your live our your life as a Christian. We must hold strong to the truth but also live a life of love towards all. This book is a step in the right direction to getting us there.

John

Sermon Tidbits 2/7

The Call: Feeling Available? - Isaiah 6:1-13
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9 He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." 11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

We all probably know what it feels like to be caught in a situation where you know you are in trouble. Maybe it was something like stealing from a store or getting caught sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar when we were kids. Regardless, I like to think this is kind of what Isaiah is feeling like in this passage today. He is sitting in the temple when all of sudden God shows up.

We get a wonderful picture of the scene as described by Isaiah as you can tell he is caught in a great deal of fear. Before we get to the call of Isaiah, there is something important that we need to note. It lies in the original response of Isaiah to the situation. Isaiah recognizes his condition as a sinful person before God and confesses. It can be very easy for us to overlook our condition when we come before God whether in prayer or some other way, but it is immense importance. Just like Isaiah, we are called to confess our sins before God that God in His infinite grace may forgive us. In our case, just as we see here when God shows up, God has not come to destroy but rather to redeem. God hears the confession and responds with redemption. This is how God looks toward us, with love and redemption in the face of our recognition and confession. We should also note the coal that does the cleansing here that is taken from the altar, which is where sacrifices were made for the atonement of sin in the Old Testament. The coal is taken from the place the blood was spilled for the forgiveness of sins just as for us forgiveness comes from the altar (the cross) where blood was spilled. God forgives us by the sacrifice of Jesus through the blood shed on the cross.

The call of God then comes. This is a call of availability that is not much different from what God is asking of us. God is looking for an available person for the ministry of His kingdom. The call does not come directly to Isaiah but seems intended for all. Isaiah is simply the one that answers. God is calling like this all the time to us as well. It is not always a specific call but rather a call to the available person seeking to serve God. God then tells Isaiah what to do. What confidence this should give us as available believers for the cause of God. If we are willing to answer the call of God, God will direct our path. We must be willing to answer the call freely though. Notice, there are no conditions given, just unconditional acceptance. Why would we not accept unconditionally? God has saved us and freed us from the bondage of sin and death unconditionally. Can we not reciprocate knowing that God has accomplished God's will through each and every person who answered the call in the Bible. From Abraham through the apostles God has accomplished exactly what God wanted to accomplish through His willing servants. Their secret? They followed God and kept God at the center of all they did. It is as easy as that.

God is calling today, just like every day. God is looking for available people to serve the kingdom. Can you be that available person for God today? The person that will trust God and follow God. The person who will keep God at the center of your life and go unconditionally for the One who has saved you unconditionally? Amen.

John

Sermon Tidbits 1/31

The Call: Feeling Inadequate? - Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." 6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." 7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

When we talk about the idea of inadequacy, I think it is all something we can relate to in one way or another. We have all felt inadequate at one point or another whether at work, at home, or on the field of play in sports. It often follows that the more important the person or thing to us the more inadequate we are likely to feel. This makes the call of God on our lives probably the thing we can feel most inadequate about.

There are numerous examples in the Bible of people who felt inadequate when God called them. Jeremiah (as displayed in our passage) is one of those people. God calls on him to be prophet to the nations but he immediately comes up with an excuse (no doubt feeling inadequate) that he is only a boy and cannot possibly be ready or able. We see a similar reaction from Moses in Exodus when calls on him. Moses goes with a somewhat different excuse sighting his inability to speak well among other shortcomings. Moses also had an "inadequacy" in the fact that he was probably around 80 years of age when God called him. Jeremiah and Moses both show us that the call of God can come at any age and that no matter who you are or how old you are you are still needed and called by God for His kingdom work.

That being said, God has placed a call on all of our lives. Some of us know that call and others don't. Sometimes God gives it straight to us and sometimes we have to seek God to find it. Rest assured though, when the call of God comes, it is something we cannot deny. Jeremiah and Moses learned this and we will too. God works with us through our inadequacies to show us and give us confidence in the work God has called us to. We can take confidence in the stories of Jeremiah and Moses and know that God will equip us for the call He has placed on our lives and lead us. So remember this as you go out this week, God overcomes our inadequacies and calls us to His kingdom work. Will we answer?