tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334556052024-03-12T23:07:42.399-05:00The Other Adams ChroniclesRandom thoughts and ramblings.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-16729492486770238162021-06-05T16:24:00.001-05:002021-06-05T16:24:33.051-05:00An Economic Policy That is Neither Left Nor Right<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>In the course of researching something completely unrelated, I came across this description of the "economic philosophy" of the old Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship (AACS) from the March/April1982 issue of Perspective magazine. Knowing some folks who are interested in getting beyond the old left/right or libertarian vs. socialist arguments in economics, I wonder whether these words are helpful? Out-of-date? Refreshing? Old hat?</i></span></p><p>What is the economic philosophy of the AACS? It is based on the principle of sphere sovereignty which Abraham Kuyper developed in the battle for freedom of education. The sphere of education, Kuyper argued, must be clearly distinguished from the sphere of the state. The central task of the first sphere is learning, that of the second is justice. The authority of those who hold office in the sphere of education must thus be carefully distinguished from that of those who hold office in government. Mixing the two types of authority leads to educational collectivism.</p><p>The same principle applies to business. The business of business must be clearly distinguished from the business of government. In business we are concerned with the production of goods, either agricultural or industrial. Assigning this task to the state leads to economic collectivism or social ism. This spells disaster, as we have seen again in Poland where the economy is in ruins. Business belongs to the private sector, not the public. </p><p>The application of the principle of sphere sovereignty does not undermine the responsibility of the business community. Rather, it accentuates it. It holds that the individual entrepreneur, the farming family, the business corporation and the multinational are accountable to God and to their fellow creatures for a responsible handling of economic affairs. In other words, the freedom of the businessman——individually or corporately——is subject to guidelines and norms which can be summed up with the word “stewardship.”</p><p>The principle of stewardship involves a proper balance between “tilling” and “keeping” of which we read in the first chapter of the Bible. Too much tilling leads to exploitation of natural resources. Too much keeping or preserving leads to economic stagnation.</p><p>Businessmen, like all of us, may violate the divinely given norms of stewardship. This may lead to bankruptcy--the absence of profit. It may undermine other spheres of authority in society, such as marriage and the family, for example, by the production of faulty goods, payment of inadequate wages, or violation of earth and atmosphere. In such cases, it is the task of the government to establish public justice—to prevent the undermining of one sphere in society by another. But such intervention does not imply the absorption of business into the state, as the socialist generally suggests. Instead, it implies the restoration of the businessman’s normed responsibility in his own sphere of action.</p><p>The economic philosophy of the AACS is not “rightist” because, though it defends freedom of enterprise, it places that freedom under the norm of economic responsibility. The economic philosophy of the AACS is not “leftist” because, when confronted with violations of economic norms, it does not defend socialism but rehabilitation of business responsibility. The economic philosophy of the AACS aims at recovering the biblical guidelines for a free society in which the responsibility of the individual and the corporation are reasserted.</p><p>(Source: <a href="https://ir.icscanada.edu/bitstream/handle/10756/277622/PERS_1982_16-2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank">https://ir.icscanada.edu/bitstream/handle/10756/277622/PERS_1982_16-2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y</a>) </p>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-26386442432808612542019-06-05T14:04:00.001-05:002019-06-05T14:04:47.473-05:00In May, I gave the following prayer at a National Day of Prayer Service at Christ Community Church, a Christian Reformed congregation in Sheboygan, WI. I've been asked by several people for copies, and I have decided to publish it here as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">These
are the words of Jesus Christ from John 13:34: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Please
join me in prayer:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We
come before you broken. Broken in the knowledge that we are an unclean people
with unclean hearts. Broken in the knowledge that we have not loved others as
you have commanded us to love them. Broken in the knowledge that, as
Christians, we are often known not for reflecting your grace and love, but
rather for our failures to love and to show grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lord,
we believe. We believe that each and every human being—male and female, black
and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, believer and unbeliever—is made in
your image and likeness. We believe that that image and likeness confers a
divinely decreed dignity, worth, and God-given equality to all of us as your children—children
of the Creator of all things.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And
yet we don’t act how we believe. We treat others as “less than.” Our very
nation was built on a legacy of slavery and oppression.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
And little has changed—where we once treated people with different colored skin
as worthless tools to be exploited or discarded for our convenience, we do the
same today with the unborn. We ignore the cries of the oppressed, the pleas of
the immigrant, the needs of the poverty-stricken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And
so, dear Lord, forgive us. Forgive our nation. Forgive us where we have treated
our fellow humans as other, as less than. Forgive us where our words have
damaged the unity we have as human beings. Forgive us where our actions or lack
of actions have caused pain and oppression. Forgive us for tolerating or even
benefiting from racism, abortion, violence, gender inequity, hatred, debasing
language, and untruth.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
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<span style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">Help
us to understand even more fully that how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the
naked, the stranger, the sick, the marginalized, the unborn, and the prisoner
is how we treat Christ himself.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"> Help
us as a nation to hear your call to protect and seek justice for those who are
poor and vulnerable, for those who are “oppressed,” “strangers,” “outsiders,”
or otherwise considered “marginal.”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;" title="">[5]</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Through
the power of your Holy Spirit, help us reject the resurgence of white
nationalism and racism in our nation on many fronts, including the highest
levels of political leadership. Help us to oppose misogyny and the
mistreatment, violent abuse, sexual harassment, and assault of women that has
been further revealed in our culture and politics. Help us to reject the
language and policies of those, including our political leaders who would
debase and abandon the most vulnerable children of God, including asylum
seekers and the unborn. Help us to stand up against the oppression of any child
of God and to advocate for those being oppressed.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
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<span style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">Empower
us to stand up for the truth. Give us the wisdom and power to stand against the
practice and pattern of lying that is invading our political and civil life. In
the face of lies that bring darkness, enable us to reflect Jesus as our truth
and our light.</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;" title="">[7]</a></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-family: Century, serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Help
us to encourage civility and the ethic of public service and accountability and
reject the pursuit of personal recognition and political idolatry. And help us
as U.S. citizens and residents who share a love for our country to reject the
heresy of “America First,” and instead to serve our local communities in a way
that recognizes the global connections between all of us.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title="">[8]</a></span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn8" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Enable
us, to understand that true leadership is servanthood, not domination.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Help our nation to be a servant and an example to the rest of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Enable
us to speak up for the oppressed, whether it be the Rohingya people in Burma<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and other ethnic minorities in places around the world who are scapegoated and
treated as stateless, as worthless; help us speak up for Muslims in India<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and Christians in China<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and other religious minorities in places where they are not permitted to
worship. Help us to advocate for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and indigenous people in Brazil<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
or the millions of others who are being driven from their homelands and
livelihoods by unjust governments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lord,
take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the
walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our
struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good
time, all nations and peoples may serve you in harmony around your heavenly
throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Father,
we pray that this country will experience an infiltration of Kingdom culture
through brotherly love. The new commandment with which you left us is that we
would love one another and by this people would know we were your disciples.
May we love one another despite our difference and demonstrate this love as
U.S. Americans.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title="">[16]</a></span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn16" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bless
our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us
from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every
evil way. Give the spirit of wisdom to those to whom in your Name we entrust the
authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that,
through obedience to your law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations
of the earth.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title="">[17]</a></span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn17" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lord,
in the next moments of silence, hear our prayers for America to love one
another and prick our consciences in ways that help us live out those prayers…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of
trouble, do not allow our trust in you to fail.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title="">[18]</a></span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftn18" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">All this
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Affirmation
I”</span> of “Reclaiming Jesus,” a statement by church leaders calling for
national prayer and fasting during Lent 2019, available at <a href="http://reclaimingjesus.org/">http://reclaimingjesus.org/</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Wallis, Jim: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">America’s Original Sin:
Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America</i>. Grand Rapids, MI:
Brazos Press, 2016. Print. See also “America’s Original Sin: Slavery and the
Legacy of White Supremacy,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2018. Available
at <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2017-12-12/americas-original-sin">https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2017-12-12/americas-original-sin</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Affirmation III” and “Rejection of Errors III” of “Reclaiming Jesus”
(cited above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 25:40<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Affirmation III” and “Rejection of Errors III” of “Reclaiming Jesus”
(cited above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Rejection of Errors I, II, and III” of “Reclaiming Jesus” (cited above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Affirmation IV” and “Rejection of Errors IV” of “Reclaiming Jesus” (cited
above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Affirmation V and VI” and “Rejection of Errors V and VI” of “Reclaiming
Jesus” (cited above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See “Affirmation V” of “Reclaiming Jesus” (cited above.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See <a href="https://worldrenew.net/rohingya">https://worldrenew.net/rohingya</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/mobs-killing-muslims-india-narendra-modi-bjp">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/mobs-killing-muslims-india-narendra-modi-bjp</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> See
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/china-christians-religious-persecution-translation-bible">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/china-christians-religious-persecution-translation-bible</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See, for example, <a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/persecution-of-palestinian-christians/">http://www.palestinechronicle.com/persecution-of-palestinian-christians/</a>,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://providencemag.com/2016/03/why-are-palestinian-christians-fleeing/">https://providencemag.com/2016/03/why-are-palestinian-christians-fleeing/</a>,
and <a href="https://phoenicia.org/Christians-of-Palestine.html">https://phoenicia.org/Christians-of-Palestine.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See, for example, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous/brazils-indigenous-tribes-protest-bolsonaro-assimilation-plan-idUSKCN1S22B5">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous/brazils-indigenous-tribes-protest-bolsonaro-assimilation-plan-idUSKCN1S22B5</a>,
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/world/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-president-indigenous-lands.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/world/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-president-indigenous-lands.html</a>,
and <a href="https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3540-Bolsonaro">https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3540-Bolsonaro</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Adapted from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book of Common Prayer</i>,
“Prayer for the Human Family.” Available online at <a href="https://www.bcponline.org/Misc/Prayers.html">https://www.bcponline.org/Misc/Prayers.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Prayer for the Nation, available at <a href="https://www.beliefnet.com/ilovejesus/features/prayers-for-the-nation.aspx?p=10">https://www.beliefnet.com/ilovejesus/features/prayers-for-the-nation.aspx?p=10</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn17" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Adapted from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book of Common Prayer</i>,
“Prayer for our Country.” Available online at <a href="https://www.bcponline.org/Misc/Prayers.html">https://www.bcponline.org/Misc/Prayers.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn18" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/adams/Downloads/Day%20of%20Prayer%202019%20Prayer%20for%20America%20to%20Love%20One%20Another%20(with%20citations).docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibid</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-43072491526917648342019-04-01T13:54:00.004-05:002019-04-01T13:55:44.242-05:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 24.0pt;">“Fear Not! The Fear of the Unexplainable”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">preached at Bay Evangelical Covenant Church, Green Bay, WI </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">and Christ Community Church (a Christian Reformed Church), Sheboygan, WI, </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">on March 31, 2019</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">Old Testament Reading:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"><i>Exodus 34:29-32 </i></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">New Testament Reading: <b><i>Matthew 17:1-9 </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Dear
friends in Christ—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
some ways we modern American Christians are very fortunate. We are free to
worship God without fear of persecution or death. We live in a society, that
while it can’t be considered a Christian society, reflects at least some of the
same concern that we Christians have: a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>concern for justice; a sense that there is something special, something
dignified, about human life; the idea that society should be based on laws. And
while we certainly face struggles and concerns, when we compare our lives with
those of many Christians around the world and in the past, we’ve got it made;
we have plenty to eat, good places to live, and communities where we are
welcome and respected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But
sometimes I think there is something we are missing as modern American
Christians, something that other Christians in other places have over us. And
that is a sense of mystery—the fear and wonder of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">We
see this sense of mystery and wonder in our Scripture texts today. Look at how
the Israelites reacted when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the law.
Because he had spoken with the Lord, his face was radiant. When Aaron and all
the Israelites saw Moses with this radiant face, they knew it had to be related
somehow to his being in the presence of God. And so they were afraid to come
near him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
then we read the story of the transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James, and
John up to a high mountain. In front of their very eyes he changes—he
transfigures and his face shines like the sun and his clothes become as white
as the light. And Moses and Elijah appear and begin talking to Jesus. Now, at
first, the disciples seem to take this in stride. Peter even offers to put up
three shelters—three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But, then,
before Peter can act, a bright cloud covers them, and they hear a voice: “This
is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” The
disciples know that this is the voice of God, and they fall facedown to the
ground, terrified. Jesus has to come over and touch them and tell them: “Fear
not! Don’t be afraid!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">We’ve
lost some of that sense of fear and wonder. Some of that is because of sin. Sin
makes us blind to the glory of God. And because we are blind, we live without
awe.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">But
I don’t think it is solely because of sin that we’ve lost that sense of fear
and wonder. You see, we modern Christians have a lot of answers. We have the
benefit of 20 centuries of Christians who went before us, experiencing the
Christian life, studying Scripture and God’s creation, and thinking about the
answers to many of the mysteries of the Christian faith. In some ways, that is
a good thing. Because of the people who’ve gone before us, we have a better
understand of whom God is and of what his gospel message means for us.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Some
Christians might be guiltier of this loss of fear and wonder—this sense of
mystery—than others. We in the Reformed tradition are often accused of being
the “frozen chosen,” or of being “brains on sticks” because of our focus on
academic knowledge and our tendency to create intensely detailed systems for
explaining the teachings of Scripture. We Reformed folk are not particularly
comfortable with mystery and paradox. We prefer systematic theologies and
detailed explanations and fear the unexplainable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
admit it—I resemble that remark. I recognize in myself the tendency to spend
hours reading theologians to try to tease out some particular point of
theology, without taking even just a few minutes to simply enjoy God in all his
incomprehensible nature—in fear and wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Now,
not all Christians are quite so intolerant or fearful of mystery and paradox. For
example, I’ve really come to appreciate how Lutherans embrace a level of
paradox in their theology. For them, what some might see as a contradiction is
a beautiful paradox. As another example, charismatic Christians understand that
there is a great deal that is mysterious about the Holy Spirit and how he works
in the world, and they embrace that mystery And almost all Christians recognize
that there is a level of mystery in the nature of the Trinity, or in the virgin
birth of Christ, or in Christ’s resurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
yet, we are not always particularly comfortable with mystery and paradox. We
fear the unexplainable. We try to come up with explanations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">You
see, we like explanations for what happens in our lives. Explanations give us a
sense of control, a sense that we are directing the events of our days. When
confronted with things that have no explanation, we get scared! We make up
explanations and we try to fit them into familiar categories so we don’t have
to live with the mystery.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">My
good friend, Chris Nonhof, introduced me to his favorite poet, Rainer Maria
Rilke. Rilke, who was brought up in a Christian environment, wrote in German. While
he was not a practicing Christian as an adult, he referred to God and Biblical
themes in his poetry in a way even the most orthodox Christians can appreciate.
Now, we Americans have this stereotype of Germans as being very practical and
very blunt—probably even less open to mystery and paradox than American
Christians. But Rilke very much appreciated mystery—his poetry is often
described as inherently mystical.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Rilke
understood the fear of the unexplainable. He wrote a series of letters that was
later published as “Letters to a Young Poet.” There he wrote that “[t]he
tendency of people to be fearful of those experiences they…assign to the ‘spirit
world,’ including death, has done infinite harm to life… Fear of the
unexplainable has not only impoverished our inner lives, but also diminished
relations between people.”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Later,
in another letter he wrote later in life, Rilke notes that, to him, any
understanding of God must include an acceptance of the unexplainable, even when
that causes us discomfort or fear.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But
it is not just poets who embrace the unexplainable. Article 1 of the Belgic Confession describes God not only
as a single and simple spiritual being, but also incomprehensible. And if God
is incomprehensible, that means he remains a mystery to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">There
is a reason this idea of God being incomprehensible is at the very beginning of
the Belgic Confession. You see, incomprehensibility is related to a key tenet
of the Protestant Reformation. That tenet—that teaching—is that the finite
cannot contain the infinite—the finite cannot grasp the infinite.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Human
beings are finite creatures. We have a beginning and an end. And so our minds
always work from a finite perspective. We live finite lives and move on a
finite plane. Our very being is finite. But God lives, moves, and has His being
in infinity. Our finite understanding cannot contain an infinite subject; thus,
God is incomprehensible.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Now,
this doesn’t mean we can’t understand God at all. Incomprehensibility doesn’t
mean God is completely unknowable. Rather, it means that no one can ever
understand everything about God. There will always be things about God that
will remain a mystery to us as humans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">So,
I’ve spent half a sermon trying to persuade you that we shouldn’t fear the
unexplainable, that it is a good thing for there to be some mystery in our
relationship with and our understanding of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But
of course, it is not good enough to rely on mere human poets, or even on human
theologians, to make that case. After all, even though poets gain a level of
insight on the world because of the understanding God gives all humans—his
common grace, they are still merely human. And even though theologians may be
interpreting Scripture, they, too, are merely human. As much as we can learn
about from God from his creation, from his general revelation to us, we still
need Scripture as lenses to help us focus on and understand the truths of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">If
we look at Scripture, though, we can see that the Bible is no stranger to
mystery. In the Old Testament we read texts like Job 11, where Job’s friend
asks him: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Can you fathom the mysteries
of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the
heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can
you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Later,
the prophet Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the
mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals
mysteries.</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
the New Testament, the focus on mystery moves from a general understanding of
God’s incomprehensibility to mere humans, and focuses on a very specific
mystery: the mystery of God’s purpose to save his people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
most common meaning of the word “mystery” in the New Testament is one that Paul
uses: a Divine truth that was once hidden, but is now revealed in the gospels.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> In
other words, “mystery” refers to God’s secrets, His counsels and purposes which
are not known to humans apart from Scripture or direct revelation from God
through his prophets and apostles.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
the very last words of his letter to the Romans, Paul lays out exactly what he
means by “mystery.” There, he signs off his letter by saying “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now to him who is able to establish you in
accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in
keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now
revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the
eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes
from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
mystery of God’s will is His plan to redeem His people through the death and
resurrection of His Son, the way of salvation that we cannot discern from
nature but receive by faith alone as the Word of God is proclaimed to us.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
that brings us back to the Transfiguration. If you still have your Bibles open,
turn back to the end of Matthew 16, right before the account we read in Matthew
17, and follow along. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Immediately
before the account of the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals the mystery of God’s
will. He explains the Father’s plan to redeem His people through the death and
resurrection of Jesus. It says starting in Matthew 16:21 that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jesus began to explain to his disciples that
he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the
chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on
the third day be raised to life.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Peter
didn’t like what he was hearing. He had given up his fishing business to follow
Jesus, and he expected that Jesus would act like any other human. He thought
Jesus was going to find a way to take political power, to boot the Romans and
their collaborators out of Judea, and restore the Jews to power. So “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke
him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">Peter
didn’t yet understand the mystery. He didn’t yet even partially understand the
incomprehensible—that a powerful God who created all things and rules over
them, had, through Christ, condescended to take on human form, to live among us
for a while. And that Christ, the eternal King of the universe, had come not as
a conquering hero, but as a suffering servant, destined to die a horrible death
so that all of God’s people, Jew and Gentile, might “</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">come to the obedience that comes by faith</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">”</span><a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[14]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">
and thereby be redeemed, having their sins erased, and their relationship as
God’s children fully restored.”</span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
so “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get
behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the
concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’</i>” Peter didn’t understand and
embrace the mystery of the Gospel, and so he became a stumbling block.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
then Jesus explains the mystery further: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jesus
said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life
will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will
it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can
anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in
his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person
according to what they have done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
then comes the famous account of the Transfiguration. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of
James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured
before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as
the light.</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">This
is a special place, up on a high mountain. In the Bible, when a story takes us
up to a mountaintop, it’s a fair bet that something dramatic and important is
going to happen.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
it does! Jesus is transfigured. “Transfigured” is kind of a weird word. We
purposely use the word “transfigured” instead of “transformed.” Jesus was
transfigured; he was not transformed. “Transfigured” implies a revealing of
one’s true nature, whereas “transformation” implies a changing—a remaking—of the
nature of the thing being transformed. Jesus was transfigured—his true nature
was revealed. His disciples were granted a vision of who he really is: truly
divine, the true Son of God whom the Father sees and loves. The disciples were
finally able to see through the husk of his body to the soul of his being and
power.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
yet, Peter still doesn’t totally understand the mystery of the Gospel. He sees that
Christ is truly divine. Peter sees the humanity of Jesus suffused with the
eternal glory of God, and in that instant Peter glimpses the incomprehensible mystery
of our faith: that God became human so that humanity might become like God.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> He
is amazed by what he sees, and while he doesn’t really understand this mystery,
he understands that this is something worth preserving. So “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for
us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah.’</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
actual Greek word for shelters also means tabernacles. It is also the same base
word used in the Gospel of John when John tells us that the Word made flesh made
his dwelling among us—he “tabernacled” among us. Peter wants to build
tabernacles.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
Tabernacle in ancient Israel, of course, had been the temporary home of God
before the building of the Temple in Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a sense, Peter wanted to capture the glory of God in a kind of
latter-day tabernacle right there on that mountaintop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they could move those glory-filled
tabernacles, just like the Israelites used to pack up and move the original
Tabernacle to a new place—maybe even all the way to the Temple in Jerusalem.
And maybe when they did that, the temple would be filled with Christ’s glory,
ushering in the kingdom of God once and for all.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But
that isn’t what happens. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">While [Peter]
was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud
said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
“Listen to him!” Not “look at him!” Not “remember the glory you’ve seen today!”
No, “listen to him!” Listen to the mystery he is revealing to you! Listen to
his plan for salvation. Listen to what he is actually saying when he preaches
to the crowds or when he talks to you about what must happen in the coming
days. As you remember the glory that amazed you, listen to Christ’s
instructions to you his apostles, to who are being given the job to proclaim to
the world this mystery of the Word made flesh who tabernacled among us, the
mystery of God’s plan of salvation, the mystery of the Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When the disciples heard this, they fell
facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,”
he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell
anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’</i>”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Fear
not! Don’t be afraid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;">Peter
did not get to build his little tents to hold in the glory of it all. But as John
understood years later when composing his own gospel account, Peter didn’t need
to build that tent. The real tabernacle containing the glory of God was still
right in front of him. Jesus himself, in his human form, contained the glory of
God. And from the overflow of that humble tent of glory, the whole earth really
would eventually become filled with the knowledge of the glory of God!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
so the disciples have no need to fear! And neither do we. The transfiguration
reminds us that while we may never fully understand God’s plan for salvation—that
it will always remain at some level a mystery—we can rely on it. God’s glory
came to earth, and it will come again as well. And when it comes again, mystery
upon mystery, we too will reflect the glory and brightness of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
there is yet another mystery, something else that is unexplainable. Our bodies,
which today are perishable, dishonorable, and weak due to sin, will be
glorified, made imperishable, honorable, and powerful.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We won’t simply be transfigured, but we will be transformed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
so, while death remains a mystery, we can look at it differently, without fear.
Martin Luther put it this way: “This appearance [of Christ’s glorified body at
the Transfiguration] teaches us also that we should despise death, and look
upon it merely as an emigration or a sleep. In short, this appearance proves
that this life is nothing at all in comparison with the future life.<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“What
do we have to fear in death when Jesus shines like the sun for you and is white
as light to enlighten you to what He has done on your behalf?... There is
nothing to fear in life or death when you compare it to the future life our
Father has in store for you through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Fear
not! The Gospel mystery shines out in the Transfiguration. It previews Jesus’
resurrection, which guarantees that His death truly did atone for the sin of
the world. And it previews our glorification in the new heavens and the new
earth. Praise the Lord--he overcame death and sin, and He did it for you! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Paul Tripp, “The Problem of Living Without Awe” <a href="https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/spiritual-growth/the-problem-of-life-without-wonder.html">https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/spiritual-growth/the-problem-of-life-without-wonder.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Karl McDonald, <a href="http://www.kenmawrchurch.org/docs/TheFearoftheUnexplainable.pdf">http://www.kenmawrchurch.org/docs/TheFearoftheUnexplainable.pdf</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Quoted by Maria Popova at <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/27/a-year-with-rilke-unexplainable/">https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/27/a-year-with-rilke-unexplainable/</a>,
frin a review of <u>A Year with Rilke: Daily Readings from the Best of Rainer Maria
Rilke</u>, by Joanna Macy.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <u>Ibid.</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
R.C. Sproul, <a href="https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/divine-incomprehensibility/">https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/divine-incomprehensibility/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <u>Ibid.</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Daniel 2:27-28<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, found at <a href="https://biblehub.com/topical/m/mystery.htm">https://biblehub.com/topical/m/mystery.htm</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See <a href="https://bible.org/article/mystery-truths-scripture">https://bible.org/article/mystery-truths-scripture</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Romans 16:25-27<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> 1
Corinthians 1:18-25<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 16:22<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Romans 16:26<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 17:1-2<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn16" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Scott Hoezee, <a href="https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/last-epiphany-c-2/">https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/last-epiphany-c-2/</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.ststephensofoakharbor.com/stay-updated/whats-happening-/understanding-the-transfiguration-and-our-own-mountaintop-experiences">https://www.ststephensofoakharbor.com/stay-updated/whats-happening-/understanding-the-transfiguration-and-our-own-mountaintop-experiences</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jason Micheli, <a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/what-preachers-get-wrong-and-peter-gets-right-about-transfiguration">https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/what-preachers-get-wrong-and-peter-gets-right-about-transfiguration</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn19" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 17:4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn20" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Scott Hoezee, <a href="https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/epiphany-6b-2/">https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/epiphany-6b-2/</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn21" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <u>Ibid</u>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn22" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 17:5<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn23" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Matthew 17:6-9<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn24" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> 1
Corinthians 15:42-44<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn25" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Luther’s Explanatoruy Notes on the Gospels, 101, quoted at <a href="https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/luther-on-the-transfiguration/">https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/luther-on-the-transfiguration/</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/Chuck/Documents/Sermons/Fear%20Not!%20The%20Fear%20of%20the%20Unexplainable--Christ%20Community.docx#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Rev. Stephen K. Preus, at <a href="https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/luther-on-the-transfiguration/">https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/luther-on-the-transfiguration/</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-53309034879051609722019-02-01T09:47:00.000-06:002019-02-01T09:47:07.969-06:00Sorry that I have not been posting. By request from some of my favorite people, who hang out over at the "Leftover Lefties, Persisting Progressive, and Lingering Liberals" group in the American Solidarity Party, I am posting a curriculum I modified for studying a few books on how we can best help people in poverty. The curriculum is largely based on an old curriculum put out by the Chalmers Center at Covenant College. (https://chalmers.org/). Some of the links are likely out of date, and the dates reflect 2011 or 2012.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When Helping Hurts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One possible way to follow/modify the
Chalmers Center’s recommended curriculum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One
chapter per week plus optional readings in italics.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session One (September 21)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read pp. 11-31 of <u>When Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Do the Opening Exercise on Page 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could revolve primarily on the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Reflect on how your church answers the question: “What is
the primary task of the church?” Your church’s answer to this question might
not be explicit. Hence, you might have to discern your church’s implicit answer
to this question by thinking about the messages from the pulpit, the types of
ministries pursued, and the way those ministries are conducted. How might your
church more fully reflect a Christ-centered, kingdom theology in its
ministries? Be specific.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Two (October 5)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 1 of <u>When Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 1 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Churches That Make a Difference, pages 35-44, looks at
patterns of holistic ministry seen in churches in the US.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Which one of the 6 patterns does your church (or the churches with whom you work) focus on the most? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Which one does your church (or the churches with whom you work) focus on the least? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Think about your church (or the churches with whom you work) in 3-5 years from now. How would you want it to look the same?
How would you want it to look different in terms of its patterns of holistic
ministry?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Three
(October 19)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 2 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapters 2 & 3 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Think back to a situation in which you have tried to minister
to others. In what ways did your approach help both you and them to overcome a
poverty of spiritual intimacy, a poverty of being, a poverty of community, and
a poverty of stewardship? In what ways did your approach actually contribute to
greater “poverty” for both you and for them? Now answer this question for your
church by reflecting on the type of ministries that your church pursues and the
manner in which it pursues them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In what ways might you find this “relational framework”
helpful in your own organization, church, or ministry? How might this framework
affect program design in a ministry initiative?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Four (November 2)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 3 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 4 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “Guidelines for Benevolence”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(<u>www.diaconalministries.com/documents/guidelinesforbenevolence.pdf</u>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Think about your church’s ministries and mission efforts.
Are they intentional about “people and processes” or is the focus primarily on
the “projects and products”? List some specific things that you could do to
improve these initiatives. Answer this question for any parachurch ministries
with which you are involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
Consider your community, city, or region. How might the economic, social,
religious, and political systems be unjust and oppressive to some people? If
you are able, ask several materially poor people or people who are ethnic
minorities (e.g. Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics in the
southwestern part of the U.S.) to share their perspective on this with you.
Spend some time really listening to them and considering what they have to say.
Then ask yourself: is there anything you or your church could do to make these
systems more just?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Five (November 16)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 4 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 5 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “Ten Common Myths of
Disaster Relief.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(<u>www.chalmers.org/course_materials/ss_usc_c1/assets/top_10_myths_of_disaster_relief.pdf</u>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “Oxfam: Making the Case for
Cash: Humanitarian Food Aid Under Scrutiny.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> (
<u>www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/SODA-6GA9RR/$FILE/bn_cash.pdf</u>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Think about the materially poor people in North America
whom your church or ministry is trying to help. Do these people need relief,
rehabilitation, or development? Is your church or ministry pursuing the right
strategy for these people? If not, what harm might you be doing to these people
and to yourselves? What changes could you make to improve your approach?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In Churches That Make a Difference, pages 104-109, five
basic ways of incorporating a spiritual (including evangelistic) component into
social service ministry are presented. Which of these positions does or would
your church/organization tend to practice the most. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Are you, your church, or your ministry being paternalistic
in any of your poverty alleviation efforts? If so, what could you do to change
this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After reading “Guidelines for Benevolence,” evaluate your
church's/ministry's benevolence policies. What elements of the policy should be
maintained, what elements added and/or adapted?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Six (November 30)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 5 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapters 6 & 7 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “From Clients to
Citizens”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> (<u>http://www.mystfx.ca/institutes/coady/text/about_publications_occasional_citizens.html</u>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Review your answer to the question in the “Initial
Thoughts” at the start of this chapter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Whom did you ask for advice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Whom did you not ask for advice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> W</span>hat, if anything, does this reveal about your views of the poor and of yourself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Seven (December 14)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 6 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 12 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “Empowering Communities,”
Sessions 2-4.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> (<u>pcs.aed.org/empowering.htm</u>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Take a few moments to consider questions 1-6 in the
Extended Exercise: Indonesia Reconsidered in <u>When Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next, respond to question 7 from the Extended Exercise:
Indonesia Reconsidered in <u>When Helping Hurts</u> (p. 50).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Eight (January 11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 7 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 8 & 9 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapters 3-5 of <u>Serving
With Eyes Wide Open</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read “How Short-Term Missions Can
Go Wrong”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> (</i><i>www.chalmers.org/course_materials/ss_usc_c1/assets/how_short-term_missions_can_go_wrong.pdf)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Reflect on your answers to the questions in the “Initial
Thoughts” section pg 132 of “When Helping Hurts”. Have your views changed at
all? If so, how? Be specific.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Nine (January 25)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 8 of <u>When
Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 10 & 11 of <u>Churches
that Make a Difference</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapters 6-8 of <u>Serving
With Eyes Wide Open</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In thinking about ideas such as poverty as more than
deficit, the marred identity of the poor and god-complex of the non-poor,
asset-based approaches and the central role of participation in development:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->How might you structure a short-team trip in order to minimize its harm and maximize its benefit? List three or four
specific things you would do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>How might you accomplish these changes in your church or organization?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Can you think of any alternative things you could do with
your missions or ministry budgets that might have greater impact than STMs?
What are some specific action steps you will take to investigate those alternatives?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Could you see your church or organization engaging in any
of the economic development strategies introduced in “When Helping Hurts”
Chapter 8? If so, what might that be and why. Consider additional training by
exploring the training resources and opportunities that are available from the<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Session Ten (February 8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapter 9 and
Concluding Remarks of <u>When Helping Hurts</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Read Chapter 13, 14,
and Conclusion of <u>Churches that Make a Difference</u>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Read Chapters 1, 2,
9, and 10 of <u>Serving With Eyes Wide Open</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Confirm what you already believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-54717448299720908722017-12-11T00:42:00.001-06:002017-12-11T00:56:31.317-06:00A Shout Rings Out<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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Advent is about waiting. We wait for Christmas. We wait to celebrate the incarnation—Jesus Christ breaking into our world of sin and pain and sorrow and giving us the gift of God’s very presence among us. As Titus 2:13 puts it “we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”</div>
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The last few days our family has been waiting, as well. But it has been a different kind of waiting, a waiting tinted with grief and sorrow. Kim’s grandfather, Garrett Lems, has been in his last days on this Earth. The family members living back in Iowa were called to his bedside on Saturday--called to wait for the inevitable, for a death that was coming. We didn’t know exactly when it was coming, but it was coming soon. Here in Wisconsin, we were left to wait for news from afar. This was not a waiting filled with the light of excitement and hope. No, we were waiting in the dusk of sadness and grief. At least in Advent we wait for life; we wait to celebrate God coming into the world as a man. But now our family was waiting for a death, for a man we dearly loved to leave the world he’d lived in for nearly 96 years.</div>
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It has been a tough year for us. My father died in February, my grandmother in July. And now, we were waiting for Kim’s grandfather to die as well. All three were Godly people in their own way, servants who had lived exemplary lives of service to their King. We know all three were in some sense waiting for death, ready to escape the ravages of age and disability. But even as our heads told us to rejoice for three saints whose certain destination is eternal life with their Savior, our hearts still grieve. We grieve because we’ve lost three people who have had an immeasurable influence on our lives, who shaped us into who we are today. </div>
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Tonight, I was working on the details of an Advent service for this coming Sunday. Throughout the evening, the strains of the Advent hymns planned for that service played in my mind. I could hear them all: “Savior of the Nations Come,” “Of The Father’s Love Begotten,” “O Come, O Come Immanuel.” By 10:00, Kim went to bed, tired out from waiting. But I stayed downstairs for a little while to do some reading and get things ready for the upcoming week. I wasn’t quite ready for bed--those Advent hymns were still playing in my head.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I was winding things down, I suddenly heard a new song playing in my mind, one that didn’t make much sense. It’s a Dutch Easter hymn that we sang a few times at my church growing up—“A Shout Rings Out,” or in Dutch, “Daar Juicht een Toon.” </div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A shout rings out, a joyful voice: </div>
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"Jerusalem, arise, rejoice!" </div>
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A glorious morning breaks the night; </div>
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the Son of God is risen with might.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have to admit I was a little perplexed about why this song popped into my head at just this moment. I’d been humming Advent hymns. How did an Easter song get into my mind’s playlist? And somehow it got put on repeat—it played over several times.</div>
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About fifteen minutes later, Kim came downstairs. She had awakened to a text from her mother. Grandpa had passed away. Fifteen minutes ago. Almost exactly at the time that Easter hymn popped into my head.</div>
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It took a few minutes for the impact to hit me. Advent songs are about waiting for our hoped-for Savior. Easter songs are about celebrating the victory of that Savior. And just as the song in my mind changed from Advent to Easter, Grandpa’s waiting had come to an end. He was now celebrating with his Savior. </div>
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Even after death, there is a sense in which we are waiting—awaiting Christ’s triumphant return, awaiting the day when he restores the heavens and the earth, when the Kingdom comes in full. But because of Easter, we can be absolutely certain that that day is coming. The long night of waiting is over; we can already see the light in the East—that glorious morning that breaks the night. Grandpa Lems is there, rejoicing with a joyful shout, along with my Dad and Grandma and all the saints who have gone before us. </div>
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Since Christ the Lord is risen with might,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
new life begins in glorious light:</div>
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a life that triumphs over death,</div>
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eternal life with Christ, our Head.</div>
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Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-79542508405922813252017-08-21T15:47:00.001-05:002017-08-25T17:40:46.697-05:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt;"> “Solidarity
Forever”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Ephesians 2:11-22</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span class="text Eph-2-11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">11 </span>Therefore, remember that formerly<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29241A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29241A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29241B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29241B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>—</span> <span class="text Eph-2-12" id="en-NIV-29242" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">12 </span>remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29242C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29242C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to the covenants of the promise,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29242D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29242D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> without hope <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29242E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29242E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>and without God in the world.</span> <span class="text Eph-2-13" id="en-NIV-29243" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">13 </span>But now in Christ Jesus you who once<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29243F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29243F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> were far away have been brought near<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29243G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29243G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> by the blood of Christ.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29243H" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29243H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></i></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<i><span class="text Eph-2-14" id="en-NIV-29244" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">14 </span>For he himself is our peace,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29244I" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29244I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> who has made the two groups one<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29244J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29244J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,</span> <span class="text Eph-2-15" id="en-NIV-29245" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">15 </span>by setting aside in his flesh<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29245K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29245K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> the law with its commands and regulations.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29245L" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29245L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> His purpose was to create in himself one<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29245M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29245M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,</span> <span class="text Eph-2-16" id="en-NIV-29246" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">16 </span>and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29246N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29246N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> by which he put to death their hostility.</span><span class="text Eph-2-17" id="en-NIV-29247" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">17 </span>He came and preached peace<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29247O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29247O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29247P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29247P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span> <span class="text Eph-2-18" id="en-NIV-29248" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">18 </span>For through him we both have access<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29248Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29248Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to the Father<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29248R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29248R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> by one Spirit.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29248S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29248S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="text Eph-2-19" id="en-NIV-29249" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">19 </span>Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29249T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29249T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>but fellow citizens<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29249U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29249U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> with God’s people and also members of his household,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29249V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29249V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span> <span class="text Eph-2-20" id="en-NIV-29250" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">20 </span>built<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29250W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29250W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> on the foundation<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29250X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29250X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of the apostles and prophets,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29250Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29250Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> with Christ Jesus himself<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29250Z" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29250Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> as the chief cornerstone.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29250AA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29250AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><span class="text Eph-2-21" id="en-NIV-29251" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">21 </span>In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29251AB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29251AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> in the Lord.</span> <span class="text Eph-2-22" id="en-NIV-29252" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">22 </span>And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">I. Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">What do you think of when you
hear the word “Solidarity?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">I’ve asked a few people this
question over the past couple of weeks, and I’ve received some different
answers. Some think of labor unions—you know, workers standing in solidarity
with each other, refusing to cross picket lines. “Solidarity Forever,” is the
title of a common union song, sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the
Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Some took that labor union
theme in a different direction, remembering the anti-communist labor union in
Poland called Solidarity. It grew so quickly that in the early ‘80s, the Polish
government imposed martial law, and in 1982, made the union illegal. Both Pope John
Paul II and the U.S. government helped keep it going through the rest of the
‘80s, and when the Iron Curtain was rolled back in 1989, Solidarity helped lead
the government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Others took a different
approach, talking about “standing together.” To them, solidarity described how
people “stand together” with other people—for example after the terrorist
bombing in France, many people stood together with France, even if standing
together just meant putting a French flag in the background of their picture on
Facebook. Others spoke of standing together with persecuted Christians in the
Middle East.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Finally, some took that idea
of “standing together” a little further. They spoke of the Christian concept of
solidarity, whether that means Christ’s solidarity with us by taking on human
flesh and dying in our place, or human solidarity—the idea that as image
bearers of God, we humans are all a part of the same family. That Christian
concept of solidarity is clearly visible in our text this morning—in fact I
think it is intertwined throughout Scripture. And so it is that Christian concept
of solidarity that I want to focus on today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">I became especially
interested in the Christian concept of solidarity, because I have been spending
some of my time reading up on the parallels between Calvinist social theories
and Catholic social teaching. It’s amazing—Calvinists and Catholics may differ
on some important theological issues, but we really have a lot in common when
it comes to political and social theory. We often use completely different
terminology, which sometimes leads us to walk down slightly different paths. But
on social issues, anyway, those paths don’t really deviate very far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Pope John Paul II, who worked
with the U.S. government to secretly keep the Solidarity movement going in
Poland, once declared that the foundation of Christian social thought—Catholic
or otherwise, rests on three cornerstones. One of those cornerstones is
solidarity. So today, let’s focus on the Christian concept of solidarity. To do
that, we’ll first look briefly at our solidarity with Adam and then Christ’s
solidarity with us. Then, we’ll focus on our solidarity with each other as
humans beings, made in God’s image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">II. Our
Solidarity with Adam<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">First, and very briefly, I
want to touch on a very important part of the Christian idea of solidarity—our
solidarity with Adam. Some people call this “corporate solidarity.” To
understand the real meaning of what Christ did for us, we have to understand corporate
solidarity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Corporate solidarity means
that a group of people is so identified with a single person that what is said
of the individual can also be said of the group as a whole. This idea of
corporate solidarity is made plain in Romans 5. In verse 12, Paul writes that “<i>just as sin entered the world through one
man, and death through sin… in this way death came to all people, because all
sinned</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">R. C. Sproul explains this
well. He says that “Adam was chosen to represent his descendants; so, when he
fell, all people fell.” The old New England primer put even more simply: “In
Adam’s fall, we sinned all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Because of the sin of the
first Adam, all of humanity fell into sin. Because all humans are identified
with Adam, we corporately share in that fall into sin. True, we all sin as
individuals, but the core of our fallenness as sinful human beings comes about because
of our solidarity with Adam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">III. Christ’s
Solidarity with Us<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Thankfully, there is much
more to the story of solidarity than our solidarity with Adam. Jesus, as the
second Adam, also represents His people. As Christians, we bear the name of Christ,
and we are so identified with Him that what is said of Him can also be said of Christians
as a whole. This means that Christ’s perfect obedience to God allows Christians
to be counted as having also kept the Law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">I can’t imagine any more
perfect picture of solidarity than Christ’s incarnation—his taking on human
flesh and living among us and living a perfect life on our behalf. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Ed Knudson is a former pastor
who now leads the Center for Public Theology. Knudson points out that the incarnation
wasn’t about Jesus becoming “a human being in order to demonstrate how capable
God is.” After all, God didn't have to prove anything to anybody. Instead,
Jesus became a human being because “God wanted to create solidarity with us as
human beings. God in Jesus entered into our lives. God did not just stand over
and above us and away from us, but entered into the reality of human life so
that God could be with us, close to us, part of us, so that God could know
directly what it means to be one of us. … This is solidarity.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">And Christ’s solidarity went
even farther than simply his taking on flesh. It extended to his blood as
well—his blood shed for us. No one can have greater love than to lay down his
life for his friends. Christ’s solidarity with us—his standing together with
us—led to his crucifixion, a terrible death, but a death we share in because he
stood with us and for us. And as a result, our sins are forgiven.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">We are reconciled with God—no
longer far off from him. And we are set free to live lives of service to God
and solidarity with out neighbors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">IV. Our
Solidarity with Each Other</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">And that brings us to the key
point of our text from Ephesians this morning—our solidarity with each other.
In verses 13 and 14 we read that “<i>now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed
the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Paul is referring here to the
split between Jews and Gentiles. Christ, by standing in as the second Adam,
didn’t just establish solidarity with the Jews, but with all of his people, Jew
and Gentle alike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Healing the split between
Jews and Gentiles was an important part of the ministry of the early church.
Jewish Christians had a tendency to look down at Gentile Christians, believing
that they were somehow better because they came from the line of Abraham. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">While the division between
Jew and Gentile is not a big part of the Christian church today, there have
come to be many other divisions among Christians—differences over style,
differences between rich and poor, differences over politics, differences over
race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Thirty years ago, I heard a
sermon by Rev. John Perkins, an African-American pastor and civil rights leader
who grew up in an impoverished family of sharecroppers in Mississippi. Perkins
noted that the most segregated hour of the week comes on Sunday, when
Christians get together to worship. His statement is probably still correct today.
There are still divisions among Christians, and our text should encourage us to
work to end those divisions.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">But there is a level of
solidarity that goes beyond simply healing divisions between Christians, as
important as that is. After all, God created ALL humans in his own image and
likeness. Despite our different appearance, our different abilities, our
different cultures—even our different beliefs—we are all reflections of God’s
image. Put another way, we</span> <span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">are one human
family, whatever our differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers,
wherever they may be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Our text teaches us that
Christ’s purpose in atonement is to create in himself one humanity. He came and
preached peace to all—those who were far away and those who are near. And as a
result, we are no longer foreigners and strangers. Instead we stand together as
fellow citizens with all of God’s people. We stand in solidarity with all
humanity as we seek to be built together to become a dwelling in which God
lives by his Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">But how do we do that? How
can we live in solidarity and peace with each other?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Note that word peace in verse
17: “</span><i style="font-size: 18pt;">He came and preached peace to you
who were far away and peace to those who were near.</i><span style="font-size: 18pt;">”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The Greek word we translate
as peace here comes up 92 different times in the New Testament. Jesus taught
that the peacemakers will be blessed. When Jesus healed, he often told people
to go in peace and be healed. In John, Jesus comforted his disciples by telling
them “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” And throughout the
epistles we read of the peace of Christ, and the command to pursue peace with
all humans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The very core of
solidarity—of standing together with our fellow human beings, is pursuit of
justice and peace. The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our
sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by
violence and conflict. And like the old bumper sticker says, “if you want
peace, work for justice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">But how do we do that? How do
we work for justice? After all, the problems of the world are so big, so
seemingly unsolveable. How do we make peace in a world where blustering despots
and politicians with their fingers on nuclear arsenals ratchet up hatred and
spew threats? How do we make peace in a world where racists march with torches
through a town that still bears the scars of Jim Crow? How do we make peace in
a world where more than 90% of the wealth is held by less than 10% of the
people—and by the way we are in that 10%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Well, first, note that
solidarity doesn’t mean that we need find immediate solutions to all the
world’s problems. As Jesus himself notes, we will always have the poor with us.
Instead solidarity means standing together with the widow and the orphan, with
the poor and the marginalized.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">And standing together
actually means “together.” Solidarity is more than a feeling of vague
compassion for the misfortune of people. It is more than just a feeling of
sadness or distress about the bad things our fellow humans often bear. And it
is even more than just posting a picture to our Facebook accounts or writing
letters or signing petitions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Rather, it is what Pope John
Paul called “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the
common good…for the good of all and each individual.” Paul Bailie, a pastor who
serves a church in a desperately poor part of Texas, puts it another way. He
says that “solidarity isn’t just to agree with somebody. Solidarity isn’t just
to help somebody. Rather, solidarity is the process of laying aside your own
opportunity and privilege in order to live in equality and mutuality with
others.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">“Laying aside your own
opportunity and privilege in order to live in equality and mutuality with
others.” Kind of sounds like “Sell all you own, give it to the poor, and follow
me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">R.C. Sproul was once asked if
this instruction from Jesus to the rich young ruler was true for all? Sproul’s
answer was yes—it is true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">He pointed out that we often
comfort ourselves by thinking that Jesus’s words were just some kind of test.
We argue that Jesus was simply calling out the young ruler for not really
obeying all the commandments. After all, he put money ahead of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">But when we do this we
deceive ourselves. Sproul puts it this way: “When we sign on with Jesus we give
up our wealth.” In fact “we give up every gift that He had already given us,
and every gift He will give us from that moment forward. When we become a part
of the bride of Christ our pre-nuptial agreement reads, ‘All that I am and all
that I have is yours O Lord, from this day forth and evermore.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">And so, while the Master may
still allow us to continue to steward the money and reputation and gifts we
have, we must give it up and give it to those who need it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">How might we do that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Well, first, note that while
Jesus said that the poor will always be with us, the context shows us that he
was urging us on to generosity and action, not encouraging apathy. Craig
Greenfield, a former missionary who now writes on poverty issues points out
that Jesus is using a catch-phrase from a larger context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">You know how some
catch-phrases are just so well known, that everyone knows the ending—you don’t
even really need to say it? “Sticks and stones.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Everyone already knows the
ending, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Just saying “sticks and stones” is enough for you to catch my drift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">It just so happens that in
saying “The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus was quoting another well-known
Biblical phrase—from Deuteronomy 15. Everyone hearing him back then would have
caught his drift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Here’s the full original
quote from Deuteronomy 15:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">“<i>If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your
towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not
harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall
open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be
… For the poor you will always have with you in the land. Therefore I command
you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the
poor, in your land.’</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">So, reading Jesus’ words in
their original context you can see that His words were meant to encourage
generosity towards the poor. “Open wide your hand!” The command to be
open-handed towards the poor comes directly from God himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">But standing in solidarity
goes beyond simply issues of wealth and poverty. A Reformed Presbyterian seminary
professor, Michael Lefebvre, has been on the forefront of racial reconciliation
issues. He encourages white Christians to spend more time humbly listening to
the voices of minority communities. And that includes not picking at some of
the areas where we may find some disagreement or concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">He agrees that there may occasionally
be reasons to be concerned about things that a few members of organizations
such as Black Live Matter say. But he notes that it is more important to listen
to what he calls “the genuine voices of appeal.” “Have the charity to look past
what is theologically troubling and turn your ear to hear the cry of the
oppressed,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">He also points out that
cross-cultural friendships are important, but not enough. Racism in our society
goes far beyond interpersonal issues, but pervades the structures of our
society. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">When white folks like most of
us think about racism, we’re usually thinking about the interpersonal issues,
and not about this systemic racism. There is a reason for that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Michael Emerson and Christian
Smith wrote an excellent book a few years back called “Divided By Faith:
Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America.” Several of my friends
and I are reading through and discussing this book together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Emerson and Smith point out
that the racial practices that cause and create racial division today in the United
States are more and more hidden, they are embedded in the everyday operations
of institutions, they avoid direct racial terminology, and they are invisible
to most Whites. We can’t see them” But they are still there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Cecil Murray, senior pastor
at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, has a solution to
the fact that white folks too often fail to recognize systemic racism. He says
“white evangelicals need an at-risk gospel… Calling sinners to repentance means
also calling societies and structures to repentance—economic, social,
educational, corporate, political, religious structures… The gospel at once
works with [the] individual and the individual’s society: to change one, we of
necessity must change the other.” An at-risk gospel means we may be giving up
our easy lives or our reputations or our wealth, but we are called to these
risks in order to root out the effects of sin on the very structures of our
society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">But still, it may seem
difficult and impractical for us as individuals to take on institutions,
corporations, and political structures.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Paul Bailie, that pastor from
Texas, gives a few ideas for living in solidarity with the poor and taking on
the structures of our society, ideas that have come out of his experience in ministry
with the poor. He encourages Christians to work together in food cooperatives
and community gardens, rather than just creating food banks. He suggests that Christians
who have particular skills—crafts and sewing, for example, to put together
workshops teaching these skills rather than just giving away old clothes. He
encourages Christians to go on different kinds of mission trips—instead of just
going and painting and fixing things, he encourages us to get immersed in the
culture, and learn and worship together in the communities we visit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">And perhaps most importantly,
we can stand in solidarity with our neighbors by making sure that our homes and
congregations are places of hospitality for all—places where the poor and
marginalized in society feel comfortable and cared for, even when some of their
problems seem to us to be preventable or self-inflicted or the result of sin. Solidarity
is about standing with people, recognizing their humanity and worth, regardless
of the situation.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Over the years we’ve begun to
understand that standing in solidarity with the unborn means more than just
marching around abortion clinics yelling “murder.” Instead, it means welcoming
unwed mothers with open arms, caring for them and their children in love and
compassion rather than judgment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">You see, while solidarity is
never about attacking or denouncing our fellow human, solidarity also doesn’t
have to mean tolerance, or even acceptance, of things we can’t condone. But
solidarity does mean standing with people where they are, loving them,
supporting them. After all God demonstrated his own love for and solidarity
with us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And so we
Christians should stand in solidarity with all sorts of people, even when those
people don’t match up our personal description of the ideal Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">V. Conclusion</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Solidarity
forever. If we’re talking about real solidarity—Christian solidarity—we are
talking about much more than just some old union ditty. We’re talking about
God’s command to us to love our neighbors as ourselves—to do justice, love
mercy, and walk humbly before our God—to be instruments of peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In
solidarity with the people he loved, Christ took on flesh and lived a life
focused solely on our good. And now we are also called to solidarity with all
of God’s people. We are called to stand together in solidarity with our fellow
humans in self-sacrificial love—a love modeled on Christ’s love for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<br /></div>
Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-15414788510801391422013-03-05T17:31:00.001-06:002013-03-05T17:33:23.054-06:00Brainstorm<div style="text-align: justify;">
I sent the email below to Corey Navis, outgoing head of schools at Sheboygan Christian School (SCS) and Sheboygan County Christian High School (SCCHS) this morning. He didn't laugh me off, so I am posting it (with some minor edits just to protect some confidences) here. His not laughing me off should not be seen as him agreeing to my suggestions for his participation in my harebrained (or not-so-harebrained) scheme. Anyone think I'm not crazy? If so, is it time to seize the day?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First, some explanation for non-locals: Washington School is a large public K-5 elementary school in Sheboygan, just seven blocks down the street from Sheboygan Christian, a K-8 school. Washington's building is old. The school was technically converted from a neighborhood school to a charter school by the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD), although it realistically functions as a neighborhood school with some uniqueness in curriculum due to the fact that they serve a highly diverse student population where over 80% of the kids live in poverty. It seems likely that SASD will close the school after this year, citing concerns about the kids' performance on standardized tests and the need for renovations at the school.</div>
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Next, Y&J refers to a location for a proposed new SCS location out in the 'burbs, accessible only by motor vehicle. SCS owns the property, although there are some contingencies.</div>
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Finally, some level of school choice involving vouchers that would include students in the SASD has been proposed in the governor's budget. While it is not guaranteed that the program will pass, Republicans hold the governor's office and both chambers of the legislature and seem to be ready to ram all sorts of things through while they can. SCS and SCCHS are studying the potential impact of school choice/vouchers and how the schools ought to respond.</div>
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I am on the board at SCCHS. None of this should be taken in any way as the position of SCCHS or its board. Even though they should immediately endorse it. <grin></grin></div>
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Here is the email, please respond on the blog, on facebook, on twitter, by email, by calling me, face-to-face. I really want to know--am I a pie-in-the-sky liberal or is it time to carpe diem...</div>
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Brainstorm! </div>
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8:57 AM (8 hours ago)</div>
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I have a great idea! SCS should buy Washington School from SASD. We'd need to raise $5 million to renovate plus the purchase price. Maybe we could get some conservative foundations to fund that by saying we'll be a choice school that intentionally serves kids from all income levels, including a high percentage of kids in poverty. But we have a few years to do that--even SASD says there are few years of life yet in the building.</div>
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While we're thinking big, a few years down the line, we merge SCS and SCCHS and turn SCCHS into a 7-12 school doing the same. Maybe we sell Y&J and the current SCCHS and find a campus in town--maybe some factory or other large empty building.</div>
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I propose we start a foundation to do just that. You can be CEO. I'll be on the board. Get SCS and SCCHS to each appoint a board member as members of the foundation, and then get some big guns on the board to help raise funds. We won't be able to pay you much at first, but hey, we all make sacrifices. :-) :-)</div>
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I can't take full credit for this idea. A teacher at Washington gets most of the credit--she, another mutual friend, and I had breakfast this morning, and I was expressing deep concern for a Washington student I have come to know over the years, for whom Washington School has been the one constant in his life. He has made significant progress socially and academically, but he's probably going to end up at another school where he'll have difficulty adjusting for all sorts of reasons. And rumors are many of the Washington kids could end up at Pigeon River School, and that is going to be a problem for all sorts of reasons.</div>
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OK, now let's be realistic--if school choice happens, SCS needs to target the Washington School attendance area, and maybe we really can do something with funding by purposely making it part of SCS's strategic plan to serve kids from all economic classes by specifically targeting kids in poverty within a mile or so of our current campus. I assume you'll be working with SCS's board for the next few months on school choice just as you are with SCCHS. Are there people on the SCS board who could buy into such a vision? Might some kind of local foundation promoting Christian education for kids in poverty be able to work alongside SCS and SCCHS by taking on some of the legwork required to welcome kids in poverty to our schools and provide them and their families with what they need academically, socially, and spiritually? As someone who could buy into such a vision, is there any chance you'll still be around the area to try to help with this? Even if you're not, is this a vision with a chance, or am I simply a liberal with big dreams and no understanding of practicalities? Is this the time where we are called to seize the day and really do something big for the kingdom?</div>
Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-56174365206569072992011-06-02T17:28:00.000-05:002011-06-02T17:28:39.854-05:00Ascension DayAscension Day Sunday sermon--preached at Covenant CRC in Appleton, WI in 2010.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Ascended King</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Acts 1:1-11</div><br />
Turn with me in your Bibles to the first chapter of Acts. Acts is the first book after the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In just a few moments, I’ll be reading from verses 1 through 11. You may wish to keep your Bibles open to that passage as we work through it.<br />
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I. Introduction<br />
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Ascension Day was this past Thursday. Did you notice?<br />
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It seems like Ascension Day isn’t a very big deal any more in our church communities. When I was a kid, every church in my small Iowa hometown had Ascension Day services on Thursday evening. My junior high teachers didn’t give us homework, since they figured we’d be in church that night. I don’t remember those services being all that well attended, though. Ascension Day took a back seat to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. And nowadays, Ascension Day seems to take a back seat even to things like the National Day of Prayer, Memorial Day, and preparations for the end of the school year.<br />
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I heard a story recently about an Ascension Day service to remember—it took place at an Episcopal seminary. The plan was to have a very solemn ceremony for Ascension Day, with deans, faculty, and seminarians all suitably dressed in robes and clouds of incense. <br />
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At the end of the service, the entire group of worshipers filed outside of the church to sing an ascension hymn. Unknown to the worshipers, an enterprising student had prepared a surprise ending. He had taken a large, nearly life-sized Christmas figure—the hollow, plastic, painted kind that some churches and people place in manger scenes—and he had stuffed it with fireworks and some kind of rocket. <br />
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As the procession of solemn clergy in their majestic robes marched into the courtyard, the student lit the fuse. This sent the statue shooting into the sky through a cloud of smoke and sparks. Unfortunately, the rocket wasn’t meant to carry a payload like this, so it quickly ended up out of control, buzzing the panicking worshippers, and then doing a nose dive onto the roof of a nearby dorm. There, the “Ascension Rocket” sputtered and died. <br />
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The dean of the seminary wasn’t impressed with the student's defense that he was simply trying to dramatize the reality of the ascension. In fact, by turning the ascension into a humorous demonstration with rockets and fireworks, the student was in some ways doing the same thing modern Christians have been doing for years by ignoring or minimizing Ascension Day. He was turning the ascension into a kind of humorous story from a pre-modern society that couldn’t conceive of people moving through the air. <br />
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It hasn’t always been this way. In the early church Ascension Day was just as important as Easter and far more important that Christmas. Just 200 years ago, Ascension Day was still almost as big as Christmas. You got the day off and everyone went to church.<br />
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I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ascension Day has almost disappeared while Christmas has gotten so important. During the last several centuries, we have been narrowing the role of religion to something small and private and small, relevant only in certain parts of our lives.<br />
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At Christmas, God gets very small. On Ascension Day, Jesus gets very big. At Christmas, a great God in heaven comes down to earth and enters humanity. On Ascension Day a frail human being goes up to heaven to sit at the right hand of God.<br />
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But that's why we should celebrate the ascension. Christ is now ruling with power from heaven over the whole Kingdom of God. The power of the Kingdom has been given to a King who once lived on earth as a human. And God’s rule and his daily care and providing for us are focused in the Lordship of Jesus the Messiah. <br />
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This isn’t something you’ll always hear, even in Christian churches. For too many Christians, Jesus is more like a friend. He is a personal Savior whose throne is on your heart. Jesus is kept down here and remains quite small. <br />
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For other Christians, Jesus is just a teacher, and the Kingdom of God is just the good things we do—our good deeds and our Christian institutions. <br />
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In both cases Jesus is domesticated, like some old, toothless lion lying around in a cage in a zoo. And Christians who serve this domesticated Jesus don’t feel much need to celebrate the ascension.<br />
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But Ascension Day should have powerful meaning for us. Christ’s ascension means he is now ruling with power over the whole Kingdom of God. It means that the power and authority of God throughout all time and space has now been invested in the lordship of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is here, now. Jesus is in charge. And we are accountable to him. And we know what he expects of us as his Kingdom servants. <br />
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So let’s read together the account of Christ’s ascension from Acts 1, verses 1 through 11.<br />
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<em>In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." </em><br />
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<em>So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" </em><br />
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<em>He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." </em><br />
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<em>After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. </em><br />
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<em>They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."</em><br />
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II. He…spoke about the Kingdom of God<br />
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You probably know that the book of Acts was written by Luke, the gentile doctor who also wrote the gospel of Luke. He begins this book by telling us about his previous book, saying “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” And, if we read further, we see that Acts is a really a continuation of Luke. Luke is about what Jesus began to do; Acts is about what Jesus continues to do through the Holy Spirit.<br />
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Now, some of you might object to this phrasing. “Wait a minute,” you might say. “Christ’s work is complete! In fact, didn’t Jesus himself, just before his dying breath on the cross, say ‘It is finished’?” <br />
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This is a valid question. How do we reconcile, “It is finished” with Luke’s statement in verse one about, “all that Jesus began to do and teach”? Is there a contradiction here? <br />
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Of course, there’s no contradiction. Luke was a doctor, so perhaps a good way to show the relationship between these two phrases is to use an illustration from medicine. It is one thing to create a medicine, to put together the ingredients needed to give it its power to heal. It is a whole other thing to administer that medicine. <br />
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Christ’s work was completed on the cross in that what he did was enough—it was sufficient. By dying, he paid the penalty for our sin. He didn’t need to do anything more to make us right before God, to restore our relationship with God, to bring God’s creation back to the way things ought to be.<br />
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But the work of administering the medicine of Christ’s work—that work was not, and is not, yet fully complete. The sinless life of Jesus, and His atoning death, formed a perfect and complete medicine for a sin-soaked world. There was no need to add to it. But it still needed to be given. And so after the resurrection, the work of administering this medicine begins.<br />
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And we see in verse three of our text how this medicine is administered—through the over-arching rule of the Kingdom of God. <br />
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Now, Christ’s teaching about the Kingdom was nothing new. The Kingdom of God is the central theme of all Scripture. Genesis begins with the creation of the Kingdom and human rebellion against it. The rest of the Bible tells how God restores the kingdom, and through Christ defeats Satan and reconstructs His kingdom, restoring His original purpose for the creation.<br />
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The good news Christ preached here on earth was the gospel of the kingdom of God. Hear what Matthew said in chapter 4 of his book: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” <br />
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And the theme of the Kingdom of God continues all through the book of Acts. At the end of Acts we see Paul preaching the message of the kingdom: “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” <br />
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Even later, the last book in the Bible celebrates the everlasting establishment of the Kingdom: “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.’” <br />
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Christ, through his work, has ushered in the kingdom of God, fulfilling the promises of the Old Testament, and accomplished everything God intended for humankind in the original creation. Now, the medicine of redemption created by Jesus through his death and resurrection is ready to be administered to the entire world through the work of the Kingdom of God. And before he ascends into heaven, symbolizing his ascension to the throne of the Kingdom of God, Christ takes the time to, once again, speak about the Kingdom of God.<br />
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III. Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?<br />
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Unfortunately, even at this late date, Jesus’s disciples don’t seem to understand what he was talking about. In verse six the disciples ask him “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” <br />
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These words show that the disciples were still clinging to the hope of some kind of earthly kingdom, maybe the restoration of an earthly theocratic kingdom like that led by David and Solomon a thousand years before. In some ways, the disciples’ cluelessness is stunning. Just looking back at the gospel of Luke, Jesus mentions the Kingdom of God in his teachings forty times. John Calvin, in his Institutes, joked that “there are as many errors in this question as words.” <br />
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Even in Christ’s final days on earth, spent reinforcing his teachings about the kingdom of God, the disciples don’t get it. Even having experienced Christ’s death and resurrection, the disciples misunderstand not only Christ’s mission and work, but the nature of their own mission. They were looking for something political, something visible. They wanted something they could taste, see, and touch. <br />
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To be fair to the disciples, this same misunderstanding, this same cluelessness, has been shared by Christians over the 20 centuries since the ascension. Gregory Boyd, in his book The Myth of a Christian Nation, says that “the history of the church has been…a history of believers refusing to trust the way of the crucified Nazarene and instead giving in to the very temptation he resisted.” The church’s history, he says, “is a history of people who too often identified the Kingdom of God with a ‘Christian’ version of the kingdom of the world.”<br />
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Christ doesn’t criticize the disciples for the misunderstanding so obvious in their question. Instead, in his gracious teaching manner, he directly answers the question, but does so in a way they couldn’t have expected. The disciples are thinking about a piece of land on the Mediterranean, but Christ has a view far beyond what could be seen, felt, or tasted. The scope of Christ’s Kingdom is the entire universe.<br />
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Look how Jesus responds in verses 7 and 8 to the disciples’ question. He first tells them that it is not for them to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. Then, he answers their question more directly. <br />
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The word “but” at the beginning of verse 8 is important. It points to the contrast between Christ’s answer and the disciples’ expectations. The disciples were still thinking way too small. They asked a question that showed their thinking was limited to a single nation on a small piece of land. Christ answers them with a kingdom that, even though it starts in Jerusalem, expands to Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. <br />
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Imagine how the disciples must have responded as they heard Jesus’ answer. A kingdom beginning in Jerusalem? Sure, that was to be expected, given what the prophets had said about the Messiah’s kingdom. You can almost hear the disciples nod approvingly. Then, Christ adds “all Judea” and then “Samaria.” Maybe now some of the disciples are beginning to see the truth. Christ, who is still acting as the good Shepherd right up to his last minutes on earth, is helping them see a kingdom that is not of this world. <br />
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But the disciples could probably still see the kingdom reaching Judea and Samaria since these regions were nearby. They were within the boundaries of earthly kingdom ruled by David and Solomon. <br />
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But then Christ blows away any expectations the disciples could have had about the nature and scope of Christ’s kingdom by setting down his final kingdom boundary marker: “to the ends of the earth.” By doing so, Jesus is hearkening all the way back to God’s covenant with Abraham. Remember the promise to Abraham that through him all the nations would be blessed? Welcome to Christ’s Kingdom, the fulfillment of that promise. <br />
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Luke describes the last teachings of Christ to his disciples in Luke 24. There he quotes Jesus as teaching that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” And here in verse 8 of our text, Christ speaks not just of every nation, but of the very “ends of the earth.” <br />
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In doing this, Jesus reaches back even further, to Genesis—to God’s command to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to fill the entire earth with bearers of the image of God. When we Christians together, as the church, are witnesses of Christ’s Kingdom to the ends of the earth, we fulfill that mandate to fill the earth.<br />
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In many ways, Acts 1:8 is the key to the rest of the book of Acts. The rest of the book follows this path from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria, and then “to the ends of the earth.” In Acts 2, ten days after the Ascension, on Pentecost, the church is born in Jerusalem. Before the book of Acts ends, Paul is in Rome, perhaps not quite the end of the earth. And eventually he may have preached in Spain, the western edge of the known world.<br />
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But don’t miss the fact that this path, from Jerusalem to the end of the earth, is not just the path of some of Jesus’s followers in bringing news about the resurrection to people who didn’t know about it yet. No, this path is the path of kingdom expansion. Throughout Acts, Luke interjects notes about the spread of the word and the constant addition of numbers of believers to the church. These notes demonstrate for us the expansion of Christ’s kingdom from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth.<br />
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Of course, when Jesus refers to the ends of the earth, he is not just setting down a geographical limit to the Kingdom of God. He is saying that the Kingdom is meant to be expanded to every square inch of God’s creation. <br />
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And creation doesn’t just mean physical reality. Every structure and pattern of society, all the possibilities of culture, all the relationships of our personal lives, are a part of Christ’s kingdom. Sports, art, manufacturing, government, the family, business and commerce, friendship—all of these are as much part of creation as lakes and plants and stars. <br />
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Unfortunately, just as some limit the Kingdom of God by equating it with a particular place, others limit the Kingdom of God by trying to say it only impacts what they call the “spiritual” or the “sacred.” <br />
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Just moments ago, I mentioned Greg Boyd’s book, The Myth of a Christian Nation. It is a good book, and he makes excellent points about what the Kingdom of God ought to look like. Like I mentioned, Boyd recognizes that some Christians limit God’s kingdom to a particular time and place. Unfortunately, though his theology of the Kingdom of God is also far too limited. <br />
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Boyd’s view, based on the teachings of Martin Luther, is often called “two-kingdom theology.” This view is unfortunately becoming more popular in certain segments of the Reformed world. In this view, there are two kingdoms of God. One, the kingdom of God’s left hand, is a secular kingdom in which God rules only by law. The other, the kingdom of his right hand, is sacred and God rules it by his word and Spirit. The sacred kingdom focuses only on sacred things like the sacraments and preaching the Word. In this view, the two kingdoms cannot mix. <br />
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John Calvin had a very different view. He recognized a special role for the sacred—the preaching of the Word and the sacraments, which are the only things that can point us to the truth of salvation. But Calvin also understood that the rest of creation, what some see as secular, is inseparably wrapped together with the sacred in the Kingdom of God. To Calvin, all of creation falls under the Kingdom of God. There is no left-hand kingdom. There is only the ever-expanding Kingdom of God, led by Christ, and its opponent—the Kingdom of this world, led by the devil. This view takes seriously verse 8—nothing is to be given up to the devil’s kingdom. Rather, Christ is extending his kingly reign and banishing the devil from every part of Creation.<br />
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The Kingdom is not limited, either by geography or by dividing the sacred and the secular. The Kingdom of God isn’t just about the salvation of a few people or just the reign of God in the hearts of his people. As theologian Anthony Hoekema, writes, “It means nothing less that the reign of God over his entire created universe.”<br />
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The story begun in Acts 1 is of Christ’s expansion of his kingdom from heaven by His witnesses, the church, through the Holy Spirit. Christ’s answer to his clueless disciples was a rebuke. It was a rejection not only of the physical land notion held by his disciples, but a rejection of any limitation to the scope of the Kingdom<br />
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IV. Why do you stand here looking into the sky?<br />
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Now, let’s turn to the end of our text this morning. In verse 9 we see Jesus “taken up before their very eyes” and a cloud hiding him from the sight of the disciples. Shocked, the disciples stand there gawking. Then two men dressed all in white—maybe angels or other heavenly messengers—appear. “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” they ask. “This same Jesus...will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”<br />
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What the heavenly messengers are saying is clear. “Why are you still here? Jesus is coming back. You know that. He told you that. But you’ve got work to do. Work that the Lord gave you. Kingdom work. Get your heads out of the clouds and get to work!” <br />
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The messengers direct the disciples back to present earthly reality. They know who Jesus is. They know what the Kingdom is. They even know who they are—eleven people “with a very bad track record…eleven very human beings.” These 11 people, who failed Jesus in Gethsemane, who were clueless about the Kingdom of God, now know that they are Kingdom citizens. Their calling is to be standing up for and spreading the news of the kingdom in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and then on to the very ends of the earth.<br />
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This is an unbelievable calling! A calling well beyond the capacity of these eleven guys without much of a record of stepping up. And it is a calling to each one of us as well. But it’s not some sadistic challenge at which we are destined to fail. No, this calling is linked to a promise, the promise of the Holy Spirit. <br />
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The promise of the Holy Spirit was for the disciples, and it was for us. It means that the Spirit will give us the power we need for the tasks that lie ahead of us in proclaiming and expanding the Kingdom. It’s not some physical power, like the disciples must have dreamed of before they fully understood the Kingdom. Rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is the power given to otherwise useless people to step up, to fulfill our responsibilities as Kingdom citizens. We have been given the power to work toward the final coming of Christ’s kingdom.<br />
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Of course there are still mysteries about just what the Ascension means for us. We know that while the Kingdom of God is here, it is yet to be revealed in its full glory. That won’t happen until Christ returns. And somehow, the things we do on this earth will have an impact even then. We can be tempted to gaze up into heaven like the disciples, trying to figure things out, trying to make sense of heaven from the perspective of the earth, trying to make sense of eternity from inside the boundaries of time. But the messengers warn us to get on with it. <br />
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This means that we must live content with the knowledge and hope that there is more going on than we are privy to. That even when things seem to be going badly, when the Kingdom of the world crashes in on us, when hope seems beyond our grasp; it’s all right, because Christ is in charge, he is reigning over the entire universe, and we know he is good and he loves us. <br />
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There is much beyond our view, but nothing is beyond the view of the King of Heaven. And we know enough to be secure and comforted. And because of that, there is no need to stand staring at the sky. Instead, we can move forward in hope and faith, as Christ’s hands, announcing and ushering in the expanding Kingdom of God.<br />
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V. Conclusion<br />
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Today is Ascension Sunday. It’s a big day—the day when we celebrate Jesus, who made himself very small at Christmas, getting very big. Christ, who humbled himself by putting on the flesh of a human, is now ruling with power over the whole Kingdom of God.<br />
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Jesus taught that the kingdom of Jesus is like a little mustard seed. It starts out small and weak, just as newborn Jesus was small and weak on Christmas. But the Kingdom is powerful now, and will be even more powerful someday. The ascension proclaimed the Lordship of Christ over the universe and promised the final consummation of the Kingdom of God, when sin will be put away for good and death will be no more.<br />
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In the Ascension, we see Jesus set free from the limits of flesh, limitations he took on for our sake. We see Christ rising in power to rule over the entire universe, not just certain times and places, not just certain aspects of the world.<br />
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And through the Ascension we see that Christ has arisen so that the story of redemption and the expansion of the Kingdom of God may continue. Because of the ascension, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that followed, the story of redemption and the Kingdom can continue through people like you and me as we are helped by the Holy Spirit. Christ’s ascension means he is now ruling with power over the whole Kingdom of God.<br />
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Amen.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-67277835382388448312011-03-22T14:09:00.000-05:002011-03-22T14:09:57.563-05:00A great summary of American religious belief<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">On CRC-Voices, an email discussion group, there have been some interesting discussions lately: how do you witness to a member of the Baha'i faith; is Rob Bell a universalist; is universalism heresy? In the course of that discussion, Paul VanderKlay (who has an excellent blog <a href="http://paulvanderklay.wordpress.com/">here</a>), wrote the following summary of the religious belief of most Americans, regardless of what label they put on their religion.</span><br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Moralistic, therapeutic deism if the functional religion of most Americans whatever religious affiliation they express on a survey. <br />
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1. A god exists who created and orders the world and watches over life on earth.<br />
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2. God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.<br />
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3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.<br />
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4. God is not involved in my life except when I need God to resolve a problem.<br />
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5. Good people go to heaven when they die. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Paul adds the following warning:</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"></span> <br />
You will get into trouble with most church people if you start challenging these, especially number 3. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">It couldn't have been said better.</span></span></span>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-82301040337076846762010-11-15T00:14:00.003-06:002010-11-15T00:35:34.599-06:00Yes, we're the church together<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I preached this sermon October 31 at my home church, Calvin CRC in Sheboygan, WI. Unlike two years ago, I did not get into trouble for my "liberal politics."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh, and special thanks to Cathy Smith. You can read some of her bloggings <a href="http://cathysmith001.wordpress.com/">here</a>. Something she wrote in a discussion on the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CRC-Voices/">CRC Voices list serve</a> really made up the heart of my final point. When I read her comments, I knew I could never say it better than she did. After the service, a man in church I highly respect came up to me and said "I really appreciated the sermon--especially the part Cathy wrote." Thanks, Cathy!<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; font-size: small; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“We Are the Church Together”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; font-size: small; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">1 Corinthians 1:1-9<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; font-size: small; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Q&A 54, Heidelberg Catechism<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; font-size: small; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Article XXVII, Belgic Confession </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In just a moment, we are going to read together from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. Go ahead and turn to it, if you’d like. 1 Corinthians is in the New Testament. First come the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then come the books of Acts and Romans, and then 1 Corinthians.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; ">Also, there are outlines available. If you would like one, raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring you one. It might be useful to have one within reach. I printed Question and Answer 54 from the catechism there, and in just a moment I’ll be asking you to read along with me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I.<span> </span>Introduction—“I am the Church…”</span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Old songs stick with you a long time, don’t they? No matter how old you are, you can probably remember songs you sang as a kid. Some of them are simple nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Jack and Jill Went up the Hill.” If you grew up in the church you certainly remember songs like “Jesus Loves Me” or “This is the Day.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Back in my grade school days, after church all the kids would head down to the church basement. We could pick up juice and a cookie on the way, but we all gathered together in a big room to sing.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The whole church was invited—singing time was held between the church service and Sunday school. While the junior high and high school kids thought they were too cool to join in, many adults would join us. Often there were more adults than kids! Together we would sing Sunday school songs like “Fishers of Men,” “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” and “Do, Lord,” often doing the motions along with the singing. Once we were done, we would move our chairs, the adults would move around the movable classroom dividers, and we’d head to our Sunday school lessons.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One song I especially remember singing was called “I am the Church.” Maybe you know it. It was pretty simple. The chorus went like this—</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“I am the church,</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You are the church,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We are the church together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All who follow Jesus, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All around the world,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yes, we’re the church together.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">’ll admit that one reason I especially remember this song is that </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">it </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">was one of my little brother’s favorites. He loved to sing it, but he couldn’t pronounce “church.” When he said it, it sounded like “tutch.” My other brother and I used to tease him by copying the way he sang it: “I am da tutch, you are da tutch…”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I thought of that song again this week. In our morning services Pastor Rob has been going through the Apostle’s Creed, that ancient statement of Christian belief recited every week in churches around the globe. Pastor Rob asked me to continue the series, and this week, we are up to “I believe in the holy catholic church.” So of course when I thought about what I might say about the church, the first thing that popped in my head was “I am da tutch, you are da tutch…”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And as simple as the song is, it contains a timeless truth. The first verse of the song says:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“The church is not a building,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the church is not a steeple,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the church is not a resting place, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the church is a people.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To this day, I remember learning a lot about the church while singing that song. But it wasn’t just the words that taught me about the church. It was watching the people singing along. It was people like the crotchety lady who always helped in the kitchen and made sure we kids didn’t take more than one cookie; people like the elderly man who cried when he told us his son had left the faith and become a Buddhist; and people like the minister, who always had time for us kids and always let one of us join him at the exit to the sanctuary as he greeted the congregation after the service. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’ve been a member of quite a few churches since then. But I first learned about the church from those saints who gathered every Sunday on High Mountain Road.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This morning, we’re going to look at another church—the church in Corinth. Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians in response to problems in that church. In some parts of the letter he can be pretty critical of the church folks in Corinth. But at the very beginning, he expresses his thankfulness for them and reminds them of what a blessing it is to be part of the church. Hear the word of the Lord—through Paul—in the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now pull out your outlines. On the top is question and answer 54 from the Catechism. I will read the question, and I ask that you read the answer together in response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“<b>Q. <span></span>What do you believe concerning "the holy catholic church"?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A. I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 1in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And of this community I am and always will be a living member.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The catechism, like the Apostle’s Creed, speaks of the church as “the holy catholic church.” Some other creeds, such as the Nicene Creed, add another word, the “holy catholic and apostolic Church.” This morning, let’s look at the church through each of those descriptive words: “holy,” “catholic,” and “apostolic.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">II.<span> </span>Holy</span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So first, “holy.” What does it mean to be holy? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To be holy means to be set apart for a special purpose. Usually, that being set apart means being dedicated to the service of God. It means exactly the same thing as “sacred” or “sanctified.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In fact, when Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and told them in verse two that they were “<i>sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,</i>” he was telling them that they were called to be saints. The actual word he used that we translate as holy was “saints.” Holy, saints—either way Paul is saying that the church has been made holy and set aside.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But of course the church isn’t holy by itself. It isn’t set aside solely to be different from other organizations, or to be just a little better than the rest. Paul says it right there in verse two. The church is sanctified in Christ Jesus.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That means that there is nothing about the church by itself that is good. We are only made holy, set apart, because of Jesus Christ. The whole reason for the church is Jesus himself.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As much as I appreciate John Calvin, I am not a big fan of the name of our church. I don’t like the idea of a church being named after a mere human being, even one who had such an impact on history. There is only one person who deserves to have a church named after him, and that is Jesus Christ. It is his gift of grace that allows the church to continue and prosper.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Paul thanks God for the church in verse 4, saying he thanks God “<i>because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”</i> And it is through Jesus that the church has been enriched in every way—in all our speaking and in all our knowledge. And it is because of Jesus that we are able to be called into fellowship with him.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And because of the grace of Jesus, because we can now fellowship with him and become one with him, the church receives some wonderful promises. Paul talks about these in verses 7 and 8 of the text. First, we do not lack any spiritual gift. Within the church, God has given every gift, every talent the church needs.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And not only that, but Jesus has promised to keep us strong to the end of time. No matter the challenges the church faces, whether from fights within the church or from attacks from the outside, God will provide the gifts and talents needed to stand strong, and he will give us the strength needed to gain the victory.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But being holy, being sanctified in Jesus Christ, doesn’t simply mean that we can sit back, assured that we have been set apart from the world around us, simply waiting for Christ to return. Rather, we have been set aside for a purpose. We are called as a church to respond to God’s grace to us. And that call is to be Christ’s agents, his hands in a hurting world. The church has been called to serve the world, spreading Christ’s grace to everyone who needs it.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That means making sure that everyone has the opportunity to hear the message of salvation. For a few of us, that may mean something as radical as moving thousands of miles across the ocean to translate the Bible into a language spoken by a few thousand folks in Papua New Guinea, or studying macroeconomic systems and designing the best possible ways to encourage economic development in the third world.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For many more of us it means witnessing to our neighbors and the others nearby who need to hear what Christ has done for you. It means living with less so we can share our abundance those who need it. It means walking alongside and mentoring people in jail or with addictions, or who didn’t have the same advantages as we did. And it means encouraging our leaders to take seriously our responsibility to the needy and weak in our society.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Being made holy, being set apart, doesn’t give us as a church license to simply hang out in our beautiful buildings and wait for Christ to return. It doesn’t give the church permission to ignore the masses in decay in hopes that they’ll just go away. It means being set apart to do the work Jesus began 2000 years ago—to continue the work of proclaiming the kingdom of God,<span> </span>of healing the sick and feeding the hungry. It is for the work of Christ that the church has been set apart, sanctified in Jesus, and called to be holy.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">III.<span> </span>Catholic<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Besides being called holy, we as a church are called a catholic church. Another word for catholic is “universal,” and some Christians, because of concern about confusion, sometimes substitute the word universal. And that is fair, since the word catholic simply means universal in extent, involving everyone. We are united in faith with all Christians, everywhere and in all times and places.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Paul recognizes the catholic nature of the church in verse 2 of our text. He addresses his letter both specifically and generally. Specifically, he addressed the church of God in Corinth. More generally, though, he also addresses his letter to “<i>all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.</i>”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The catechism writers focused on the catholic or universal nature of the church when they said that God gathers, protects, and preserves a community “out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end….”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Maybe today we are a little more aware than we used to be that the church is made up of people from the entire human race, regardless of the country we live in or our ethnic background. When my kids were younger, we sometime used the books <u>You Can Change the World</u> for our family devotions. You may have seen the books in our church library. They are the kid version of the “Operation World” series, in which we American Christians are encouraged to pray for Christians and people groups all over the world. They are an excellent resource, and I encourage you to check out the kids’ version for your kids and grandkids, as well as “Operation World” for your own devotions.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But even though we are more aware that we are united in faith with a church gathered by God out of the entire human race, I wonder how well we live that out in our everyday lives. Let me give an example. While the numbers from the 2010 census are not finalized, 2009 estimates suggest that the City of Sheboygan is now about 3% African-American, 8% Asian, and 10% of Hispanic origin. Yet our congregation doesn’t reflect those numbers. Few do. Why not?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This topic was raised in the last few months in our denominational magazine, <u>The Banner</u>. Maybe some of you read it. In September, someone wrote an editorial asking “Is Separation Always Sin?” The writer of the article was Timothy Palmer, a North American missionary working in Nigeria. He agreed that it is beautiful when Christians from different ethnic groups worship together. But, he raised some concerns about the Belhar Confession, a new confession being considered by our church.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Belhar condemns any “forced separation on the grounds of race and color.” That part is a no-brainer—there can be no doubt by any Bible believing Christian that the old system of apartheid in South Africa was abhorrent to God. The practice of redlining certain neighborhoods in Chicago to try to prevent African-Americans from moving in was the work of the devil.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But the Belhar also seems to reject any separation based on race or ethnicity and claims that any separation between peoples and groups is sin. Palmer isn’t so sure. He argued that there are sometimes valid reasons for people to worship separately.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One reason often cited is the language barrier. In a church like ours that places the Word of God at the center of worship, it would be hard to justify allowing people to go through an entire service not understanding what is going on.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But as someone recently noted in a letter in response to Palmer’s editorial, most churches are fairly quick to add a sign language interpreter when two or three people need it. But not many churches interpret their services into other languages unless a high percentage of the church needs it. While doing so might not be convenient, he argued that it needs to be done for the sake of hospitality.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">He then asked an important question. Are we, as a church, striving to reflect the fact that God has drawn his church from every nation by whatever means possible? Or are we just trying to justify our cultural comfort zones or ethnic preferences?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Obviously, the answer to that question is complicated. We can’t settle it easily. But perhaps we should work to make our church better reflect the diversity of our community. After all, we confess that we are united in faith with a church gathered out of the entire human race.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Of course, the church is even bigger than all three dimensions of the globe. The catechism says that God gathers, protects, and preserves a community “out of the entire human race, <i>from the beginning of the world to its end</i>” that is “chosen for eternal life and united in true faith.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another one of our confessions says even more about this. Article 27 of the Belgic Confession reminds us that the “church has existed from the beginning of the world and will last until the end, as appears from the fact that Christ is eternal King who cannot be without subjects.” It goes on to remind us that “this holy church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world, even though for a time it may appear very small in the eyes of men—as though it were snuffed out.” And it gives the example of the “very dangerous time of Ahab,” when “the Lord preserved for himself seven thousand men who did not bend their knees to Baal.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This reminder should give us hope in God’s grace to his church. No matter how tough things seem, God will preserve and protect his church. There will always be followers of Christ. While it may be true that the church in the West—in Europe and North America—is declining, maybe even fading away, God will preserve and protect his church. And because we are united to Christ in faith through his grace, we know we are and always will be a member of that church. We are and always will be united to a church drawn out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to the end, a universal church, a holy catholic church.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">IV.<span> </span>Apostolic</span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just briefly, I want to touch on one more aspect of the church. I mentioned before that many of our creeds, including the oldest one, the Nicene Creed, describe the church as holy, catholic and apostolic. While it is good to be reminded, we probably know to some extent what it means that the church is holy and what it means that the church is catholic, or universal. But what about that last word—what does it mean that the church is apostolic?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In our text this morning, Paul starts out by identifying himself as “called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.” We often refer to Paul as an apostle.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The word apostle means someone who is sent out. It actually comes from the same root word as postal—the postal service is a group of people who are sent out to deliver messages to a large geographical area. Apostles are kind of like postal carriers—they are sent out to deliver a message.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But the message of the apostles was not just a bit of news from a cousin in Jerusalem being sent to a distant relative in Corinth. The message of the apostles was the gospel of Jesus Christ—the message of grace and salvation and sanctification, of being made holy, through Christ. It is what Paul in verse 6 calls “our testimony about Christ,” a testimony that was confirmed in the lives of the people who make up the church, both in Corinth, and everywhere around the world.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The twelve apostles were sent by Jesus to be witnesses, to preach the gospel of grace that Jesus had given them. All of them had personally met Jesus—all but Paul by being his disciple before his death and all including Paul seeing him after his death and resurrection. Each of the twelve was personally called by Jesus to follow him and commissioned to be preachers of the gospel of grace that Jesus personally taught them.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As personal witnesses of the gospel, they became the foundation of the church—the holy, catholic, and apostolic church. We see this in Ephesians 2:20. There, Paul speaks of the church as being “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When we confess that the church is apostolic, we are saying that it is founded on the gospel of grace to which the apostles were eyewitnesses. And we are confessing that the churches to which we belong today are directly descended from the churches we see in the book of Acts, the churches formed by the apostles. The Gospel Jesus gave to His apostles to preach to the churches is the same Gospel we preach today.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Gospel calls us to serve Jesus in His church, just as Jesus called His first apostles. And when we preach the Gospel of the apostles, we are assured that we will not “lack any spiritual gift” as we eagerly await Christ’s final return as King. And we are assured that he will keep his church strong to the end, because the God of the gospel of grace is faithful. We are part of a church that is holy, catholic, and apostolic.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">V.<span> </span>Grace!</span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yet, somehow, even though we confess that we are part of a church that is holy, catholic, and apostolic, we sure don’t act like it, do we? We argue about minor things, like style of music, and become angry over something designed to glorify God. Instead of extending grace to each other, we pass judgment on each other over little things like the exact timing of the creation or who to vote for. Sometimes church seems more like the description that writer Annie Dillard gave in her book of essays, <u>Teaching a Stone to Talk</u>. This is how she described one of her experiences:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Week after week I was moved by . . . The terrible singing I so loved, the fatigued Bible readings, The lagging emptiness and dilution of the liturgy, The horrifying vacuity of the sermon, and by the fog of dreary senselessness pervading the whole, which existed alongside, and probably caused, the wonder of the fact that we came; we returned; we showed up; week after week we went through with it.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But notice, even with the pervasive imperfection of her church, Annie Dillard kept showing up.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I mentioned earlier, that even though Paul starts 1 Corinthians on a positive note, thanking God for his gift of the church in Corinth, he moves quickly to criticism. In verse 10 he starts a section decrying divisions in the church. Later on he deals with reports of sexual immorality within the church at Corinth, lawsuits among church members, and divisive debates over propriety in worship and whether Christians can eat food that had been offered to idols. And yet Paul returns at the end of the letter to his initial theme—his love and thankfulness for the church, and his desire to visit them again, hopefully for more than just a short visit.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The church is imperfect. After all, it is made up of imperfect people, people who have received God’s grace, but are still working out the gift of grace in their own lives.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sometimes people are thrown off by that imperfection. I had a secretary who for many years refused to join the church because of all the hypocrites. It seems that whenever something bad happens within the church, the naysayers are there attacking the church. And look at the divisions within the church—there are thousands of separate denominations, each seeming to claim that they have the right understanding of Scripture. Our own denomination was born out of schism, and has suffered two major schisms in the last 85 years or so. We all seem to think we have a corner on the market on knowing what God wants. And in doing so, we forget about grace.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So as a church, we need to remember the beginning of Paul’s letter to that oh-so-imperfect church in Corinth, a church not so different from our local congregation, or from the church as a whole. We need to remember that we have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy. We need to thank God for the grace given us in Christ Jesus, and rely wholly on it.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have a friend named Cathy—a friend I’ve never met in person, but a friend indeed. Cathy is a former teacher and a writer. She writes for Christian Courier magazine and maintains a blog of her writing. Recently, in a discussion about some of the divisions in the church, Cathy said something that really sums up what we need to do as a church in the face of our divisions, our sins, and our imperfections.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">She said:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“We have to go back again and again to what Christ did for us. It's not our "understanding" or "obedience" that brings us hope, but being cleansed and reborn in Christ…. If I am completely wrong about my interpretation of Genesis or my take on [women in church office], praise the Lord, I still belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm trusting in his work. The confused peasants in the Middle Ages who worshipped bits of wood allegedly imported from Golgotha, if they believed in the Lord, still belonged. My descendants, who may inhabit purification pods and live digital lives in environmentally-safe cocoons, if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, will belong. It's that smaller than a mustard seed spark of faith that matters, not our understanding, nor our obedience…. We will disagree about that stuff, but we can still love one another in the Lord and try to be conciliatory, patient and gentle with one another… If a church… focus[es] on Christ’s sufficiency, daily and weekly, we can allow each other a lot of working room and space for our humble attempts at understanding and obedience.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">VI.<span> </span>Conclusion</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We started with one song this morning—“I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together.” I want to finish with another song, one of my very favorite hymns—“The Church’s One Foundation.” We’re not singing it this morning, because it is one of the hymns we’ll be singing tonight over at First Church. I hope you’ll join us there tonight, as we celebrate the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation together with Christians from several other congregations. It will be an excellent opportunity to celebrate God’s faithfulness and grace toward his church.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But back to “The Church’s One Foundation.” The title says it all, doesn’t it? The church’s one foundation isn’t agreement on a set of specific doctrines. We aren’t sanctified in Christ because we know more doctrine than the guys down the street or because we are the most obedient to God’s law or because we are more faithful to a particular human interpretation of Scripture.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rather, “the church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.” “With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 27px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 27px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amen </span></span></p></div></div></div>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-28184853500046926912010-07-21T16:28:00.002-05:002010-07-21T16:40:01.874-05:00Christian EducationGiven some recent discussions I've been having on Christian education, I thought I would post this sermon. I gave the sermon in August 2005.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">A Case for Christian Schools<br />Psalm 145:1-7<br /><br /></div></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">I. Introduction<br /><br />Have you seen those bumper stickers that say “Drive Carefully, Schools Are Open”? Well, this week marks the beginning of the school year. I know Sheboygan Christian starts on Wednesday, and the local public schools start Thursday. <br /><br />The beginning of the school year seems like the perfect time to talk to you about one of my passions, something that has been a key component of nearly every part of my life: Christian education, and Christian schools in particular. <br /><br />Those of you who know me know that I come from a family of teachers. My father left his career as an engineer to become a science teacher at a Christian high school and then a professor and now an administrator at a Christian college. <br /><br />While my brothers and I were young, my mother went to college at night, and later part-time while we were in school so she could become a Christian school teacher. After about ten years teaching elementary students, she became an education professor at the same college where my dad is and now runs the graduate education program there. <br /><br />And it doesn’t stop there—my brother taught for a number of years, my uncle is a Christian school principal, and three cousins are teaching or have taught in the last year at Christian schools as far away as Central America. Two more cousins plan to become Christian school teachers. And last, but certainly not least, my dear wife Kimberly is a teacher, having taught sixth graders for six years before spending the last ten years teaching our children at home and volunteering at school.<br /><br />I am not a teacher by trade, but I am a product of a Christian education. For seventeen years I attended Christian schools, starting with my kindergarten year at North 4th Street Christian School in Prospect Park, New Jersey, all the way to my senior year at Dordt College in Iowa. <br /><br />Those years served me well, and one of my dreams is that someday there will be a Reformed Christian law school so that students will have an opportunity I did not—the opportunity to study law in the light of Scripture and the Reformed world-and-life view.<br /><br />I am absolutely convinced that Christian day schools are one of the best tools that God has given us to help us teach our children and pass on God’s word and will for our lives to them. <br /><br />I am proud of the fact that our denomination has historically supported Christian schools, and I am proud of the support that all of you give so that all of the children of this church can receive a Christian education, regardless of their ability to pay. I am thrilled that last year, during the first year of our Christian Education program we collected more than enough to pay the tuition of the children who participate in the program. I think it is wonderful that the money to support the program comes from such a variety of people in the church—not just parents, but also people with no children or very young children, elderly people, people who spent years struggling to put their own kids through Christian school without a program like this, even people who have children in Christian schools, but who have chosen for one reason or another not to participate in the program.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Tonight I want to talk about Christian schools—I want to remind you of why they are important, to point out some of the misconceptions we have about Christian schools, to point out what our Christian schools ought to look like, and to encourage you as a body to continue your support for Christian education. <br /><br />II. Why Christian schools?<br /> <br /> A. They are an excellent tool for passing the knowledge of God from </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> generation to generation<br /><br />The Psalm I read as our text this evening is a psalm of praise. “I will exalt you, my God and my King,” says the psalmist. “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” But the Psalmist knows that God is so wonderful, so praiseworthy, that it isn’t enough for just one person, or just one generation to praise Him. In verse four he proclaims that “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.” Not just that, but they will “tell of the power of [God’s] awesome works” and “they will celebrate [His] abundant goodness and joyfully sing of [His] righteousness.”<br /><br />I can’t think of a better tool for one generation commending God’s works, His power, His goodness, His justice, His love to the next generation than Christian schools, schools where the Lord God is at the center of every part of the day and every activity, schools where teachers, parents, staff members, and volunteers are as excited as the psalmist about passing on to the young their praise and love for God.<br /><br />I think it is only natural for those of us who have the Holy Spirit working in us to want to pass on the love of the Lord to others. That’s why we engage in outreach. That’s why we reach out to the poor and needy in our community. And that’s why we teach children about God. <br /><br />God also specifically commands that we pass on our knowledge to future generations. In Deuteronomy 4:9, after God’s miraculous work in leading Israel out of Egypt, God, through His servant Moses, commands his people to “be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things our eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” <br /><br />Later, in Deuteronomy 6:7-9, God commands his people to impress the law and commandments of God on their children. “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up,” he says. “Tie them as symbols on our hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” In other words, God’s law and commands must be an integral part of every single thing we do, of every moment of every day. <br /><br />We can only be assured that God’s laws are in front of our children while they are learning if we make sure they are in a place that explicitly teaches them that God loves them, that God has a plan for them, and that God expects a response of obedience from them. I can’t think of a better place to be assured of this during the school day but in a Christian school.<br /><br /> B. To teach our children from a Christian perspective<br /><br />Another reason for Christian schools is to teach our children from a Christian perspective.<br /><br />I’m going to start with a bold statement: There is no such thing as neutrality. Maybe some of you sports fans can relate. Have you ever watched a game between two teams to which you have no connection? If you’re like me, you still end up rooting for one team or another. Just a few weeks ago I took my family up to Minneapolis to watch a Twins-Red Sox game. We don’t have any connection to either team—we went there because my alma mater was holding an alumni gathering at the game. Both teams are in a different league than the team I root for, the Milwaukee Brewers, so it really made no difference to me who won. But I can tell you that all five of us ended up rooting hard for one team or the other.<br /><br />Another example that shows neutrality is nothing but a myth is the news media. On a national level we have conservative organizations claiming that the media is biased toward Democrats because so many journalists tend to vote Democratic. On the other hand you have Fox News Network claiming to be fair and balanced while practically acting as a mouthpiece for the current administration. We see this on the local level—consider the vast differences in the way the Sheboygan Press covers city government compared to WHBL. Sometimes you’d think the reporters from those two organizations aren’t even covering the same meetings.<br /><br />Neutrality is a myth. It’s a myth not because we have a human tendency to pick sides, but because the world is divided into two sides: the side that is for God and the side that is against Him. We call this the “antithesis.” <br /><br />The antithesis means that there is no middle ground, no neutrality between God and the devil. This idea isn’t all that foreign to us—we often hear it expressed in popular music. Folk-rock singer Bob Dylan sang, “You gotta serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Ten years later, the band Rush sang, “You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” Neutrality is not an option. Even if you think you are neutral, you have come down on one side or another.<br /><br />An understanding of the antithesis certainly isn’t limited to musicians. The Reformed philosopher Cornelius Van Til wrote often about the antithesis and about the myth of neutrality. He said that the antithesis “is between those for whom the final center of reference in knowledge lies in man, and those for whom the final center of reference for knowledge lies in God, as this God speaks in Scripture.”<br /><br />Despite the writings of people as disparate as Bob Dylan and Cornelius Van Til, the common wisdom today is that neutrality is possible. Our public school system is based on that belief. Our Supreme Court struggles mightily, but in vain, to make consistent decisions about religion in education, prayers in public schools, statues of the Ten Commandments in courthouses, confident that it is possible for the state to be completely neutral. <br /><br />In education, this belief in the possibility of neutrality presents itself as a conviction that we can present learning to children in such a way that they themselves can choose what values to believe and apply to what they are learning. <br /><br />If we accept that our children, perhaps with input from their families, communities or churches, have the ability to receive neutral information—objective facts—and then choose for themselves the direction in which to take those facts, we have turned individuals, or at least human reason, into the final judge of truth. We end up with the dominant worldview today, one that says that humans can decide on their own what is truth.<br /><br />The Christian writer Greg Bahnsen describes the way many people think today this way: “The experts may differ; it is up to every man finally to decide for himself. This is proper; the sanctity of the human person must not be violated. Ask any man to accept anything on pure authority, the sort of authority that the Bible claims for itself, and you are virtually asking him to deny his manhood. You are then asking him to be irrational and therefore to deny him the use of the powers that constitute his personality.”<br /><br />As Christians, we do accept on pure authority the rule of God over everything in Creation. We accept that He is at the center of every single activity—he is the reason, the be-all and end-all of our existence. To accept that an individual, or mankind, gets to decide what is rational, what is authoritative, is to deny the centrality of God. Such a way of looking at the world is hardly neutral—it is clearly opposed to God. <br /><br />If we accept that God is at the center of everything we do, then we must desire for our children to learn in a setting where God is acknowledged as the center of all, where He is recognized as the King of Creation, the Master of Math, the Sovereign of Science, the Ruler of Reading. We want our children to be taught in a setting where the teachers proclaim with Abraham Kuyper that Christ is Lord of “every square inch.”<br /><br /> C. Christian schools are a commitment that is covenantal, communal, and </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> i</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ntergenerational<br /><br />You probably know that the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church has spent the last several years studying Christian education and developing a response to those who say that our denomination’s traditional support for Christian schools needs to be reconsidered. One of the parts of that report that I really appreciated was a section that affirmed that Christian schools are a “covenantal, communal, and intergenerational commitment.” Now that is quite a mouthful, but it is packed with meaning.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">When we talk about the covenant, we are talking about the basic relationship between God and us. God promised to be our God, to restore us from our sin and brokenness, and to allow us to live in perfect relationship with Him. But these promises from God come with an expectation that, through the working of the Holy Spirit in us, we will respond in gratitude to God. Part of that response of gratitude involves declaring God’s wondrous works and righteousness from generation to generation. <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We see some of what God expects from us in relation to the children He entrusted to us in His Word—I’ve already mentioned the passage in Deuteronomy where God commands us to impress God’s commandments on our children. In Proverbs 22:6 we are taught to “train a child in the way he should go,” with the promise that “when he is old he will not turn from it.” And in the New Testament, in Ephesians 6:4, fathers (and mothers, too) are instructed to bring their children up “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” God expects us to pass on what we know about Him to our children, to future generations, so they too may live always to glorify Him. In this way, then, Christian schools are a part of a commitment to God based on the covenant of grace.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">When we say that Christian schools are communal, we acknowledge that God has placed us in a community, a community where each member has responsibilities to each other. The core principles of Christian Schools International, the parent organization for the three Christian schools we support here at Calvin, reflect that mutual, communal responsibility. One of the principles by which CSI is run puts it beautifully: “Because God's covenant embraces not only parents and their children but also the entire Christian community to which they belong, and because Christian education contributes directly to the advancement of God's kingdom, it is the obligation not only of parents but of the entire Christian community to establish and maintain Christian schools, to pray for them, work for them, and give generously to their support.” <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Hilary Clinton took a lot of guff for the title of her book “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” But if by “village” we mean the community of believers, that is exactly what we teach when in our baptism ceremonies we ask the congregation to promise to “receive these children in love, pray for them, help instruct them in the faith, and encourage and sustain them in the fellowship of believers.”<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Last spring I had an an experience with the community of believers helping me teach one of my children. One of my boys was apparently making a habit of being a bit reckless on his bicycle while crossing Geele Avenue to get to or from school. My kids are obviously of an age where Kim or I cannot be with them every minute, and we didn’t know that this was a problem. Well, one morning my son pulled out into traffic about the time Butch Katt happened to be driving in the area. A few minutes later I got a call at work from Butch. I remember him saying something like “If you think I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong just tell me to shut up, but…” and then he proceeded to tell me what he had seen. I did not tell Butch to shut up—I was glad he told me what had happened so Kim and I could take the steps to ensure that this didn’t happen again. I appreciated the call, because he was doing just what he and all of you promised when that child of mine was baptized in this very room. Yes, God gives primary responsibility to the parents, but God also wants all of us to be that village, the community of believers, that helps the parents to raise their child.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Christian schools are an extension of that community. They are not the church, they are not the family, they are another institution created to assist families in raising their children so that the church can continue with its task for years to come. They are a community commitment.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Schools are also an intergenerational commitment. As I mentioned before, in Psalm 145 the psalmist writes about one generation passing on to another all the wonderful things they know about about God—his mighty acts, glorious splendor, and abundant goodness. By their very nature, Christian schools are a way for one generation to teach the next about God. Whether you are have children or not, whether you are seventeen or seventy, God wants you proclaiming his goodness and works to the next generations. One way you can do that is by supporting the schools that are teaching children about their Lord and Savior.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">III. What Christian schools are NOT, and what they ought to be<br /><br />I’ve spent a lot of time building a case for Christian schools as a tool for doing God’s will, as a way to teach the generations in a way that acknowledges God is at the center. I want to take a few minutes to look at some misconceptions or problems people have with Christian schools and contrast those misconceptions with what Christian schools ought to look like.<br /><br /> A. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> <br /> 1. They are not perfect<br /><br />Christian schools are not perfect. I sometimes hear criticism because Christian schools are imperfect, or the people associated with them, including the students, are imperfect. Often the implication is that we are just a bunch of hypocrites, acting like we are better than the folks associated with other schools, when we are really not. In northwest Iowa, a lot of us Christian school kids were used to being called “Post Toasties” by the public school kids in the area, because in their mind we felt we were “a little better than the rest.”<br /><br />There is no doubt that Christian schools are affected by sin, just like all of creation. I know my schoolmates and I were certainly far from perfect. I remember one particular incident in high school where my father, frustrated with my behavior, asked me why he was bothering to send me to a Christian school, if I was going to behave in a way that gave no evidence of it having an impact on me. I know some of you have had bad experiences as students, volunteers, or employees in Christian schools, even in our schools right here in Sheboygan. <br /><br />Sin is real. It pollutes all of creation, all of our institutions, every single person in the world. As Q&A 114 of the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us, in this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of obedience. And that means Christian schools are no more immune from the ravages of sin than any other part of the world. <br /><br />It is easy to point at the faults in our schools, declare them imperfect and full of hypocrites, and walk away. But to do so is just as hypocritical, for each and every one of us is also stained by sin, unable to do what’s right on our own. Even more, such action denies that God is powerful enough to use our imperfect, frail human institutions for powerful purposes. Finally, by doing so we ignore the working of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying believers who are doing what they can to follow God’s leading. <br /><br />If the Holy Spirit has the power to change lives destroyed by sin and use them for God’s purposes, think how much more the Spirit can work through an institution like our schools, made up of many imperfect people who are day-by-day, hour-by-hour being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. <br />Given our imperfection, we should strive to make Christian schools agents of the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification.<br /><br /> 2. They ought to be agents of the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification<br /><br />Christian schools should be agents of the Holy Spirit. They can become that in several of ways. First and foremost, of course, is by teaching children that they are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. Children who are never confronted with the fact that they are sinners will never understand their need for salvation. The teachers and mentors at the school must confess to the children our own weakness and tendency to sin and our deep desire to be made clean by the Spirit. We must help children see that they are sinners who desperately need God. We need to share with children the pain we feel when sin touches our lives and the joy we feel when we see evidence of God transforming lives right in our very midst. <br /><br />Besides teaching children of their sin, Christian schools must point children to Jesus Christ as both the example of perfection and the only way to forgiveness. Children must learn that salvation belongs to our God, that Jesus Christ came to this earth as both God and human to bear our sins and conquer death, and that we are now free of sin and death, free to live in relationship with our God, free to live the in the way that God meant for us to live.<br /><br />Finally, Christian schools must be places where our children are free to express their gratitude to God for our salvation. They must be places where children can see and celebrate Holy Spirit’s work every day in making us more and more like Christ, places of training to live lives of service to our exalted King. Father God, let loose your Holy Spirit in our schools and among our children.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> B. <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> 1. They are not merely shelter from a hostile and sinful world<br /><br />Another common misperception about Christian schools, one held by many supporters of Christian schools, is that they are mere shelter from the world. Some see Christian schools as primarily designed to keep kids sheltered, away from the evil in the world. There’s no doubt there is evil in today’s world that affects the lives of kids. We can’t avoid seeing it on TV or reading about it in the paper. So it can be very tempting to think of Christian schools as simply a safe haven, a shelter from the bad influences around us. <br /><br />While I am glad that my kids are at least somewhat sheltered, we deceive ourselves if we think that just sending them to Christian schools will keep them from the influence of sin. More than that, I am convinced that we sell our schools short if we consider them a modern day version of an abbey or monastery, a place to separate from the world. <br /><br />If our children don’t learn about the sin in the world from Christian teachers, will they recognize it when they confront it after they graduate? If they aren’t presented with the reality of the antithesis, the battle between right and wrong, will they be willing to confront evil when they see it as adults? If they haven’t been exposed to the philosophies that dominate the world today, will they be able to challenge those philosophies when they intrude into their lives in the future? Christian schools should protect and nurture, but they should also engage with the world. Instead of being like an abbey or monastery, Christian schools should be like boot camps for soldiers of the cross, preparing students for battle as God’s soldiers.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> 2. They ought to be boot camps for training as kingdom servants<br /><br />Islam has been in the news a lot recently. One of the news items has been about the madrassahs; religious schools in places like Pakistan where, it is alleged, students are prepared for life as terrorists. It is clear that while some madrassahs might be hotbeds of terrorism, their common thread is that the leaders believe education ought to be based on the Koran, that Allah ought to be at the core of all learning, and that secular ways of thinking are considered dangerous and wrong. Students in the madrassahs are taught that Islamic principles should govern every single area of life, not just those areas that people consider spiritual.<br /><br />Other than the fact that we worship God, not Allah, and that our standard for living is the Bible, not the Koran, how are the madrassahs any different than Christian schools? Certainly our students will not be learning terror techniques and won’t be trained to use guns in a physical holy war against other religions, but that is because our God is a God of peace. In all other respects there are clear parallels between the madrassahs and Christian schools. Education in Christian schools is based on a truth that uses the Bible as its measuring stick. God is at the core of every bit of learning. And students are taught that there is no separation between the sacred and the secular. Instead they are taught a Christian view of the world that will affect every moment of every day, whether they grow up to be doctors, truck drivers, day car providers, artists, or small owners.<br /><br />If we use the military imagery we often see in the Bible, it is easy to imagine Christian schools as boot camps, preparing students for the battles they will face. If our schools are simply shelters from those battles, our children won’t be prepared for the battle against evil, and they are much more likely to be killed or injured once they are thrown into the battle. It would be as if they spent all their time training by hiding in a bomb shelter or a refugee camp, rather than in training for the job they have to do.<br /><br />When soldiers train, they are often exposed to conditions similar to those they will face in battle, just in a more controlled setting. That’s how our schools should see themselves as well. Children are not ready yet for the battle they will face as Christians, but they must be exposed to the things they will face in a controlled way that will teach them how to face the attack of the enemy, how to become effective soldiers of the cross, members of God’s army of peace and justice.<br /><br /> C.<br /><br /> 1. They are not exclusively for believers and their children<br /><br />One other misperception I see about Christian schools is that they take away from our work of outreach, because Christian schools are exclusively for believers.<br /><br />Most of you probably get The Banner, the magazine sent out to every member of the Christian Reformed Church. In the issue I received this week, there are two short articles by families who had to choose between Christian schools and public schools. One chose Christian schools and one chose public schools. The family that chose public schools, the Hoogenbooms, said this about their decision: “We had accepted a call to begin a church that would connect with people far from God and help them find hope and eternal life in Christ. We became convinced that to do this effectively we had to fully intersect our lives with the community of people we were called to reach. We soon realized that all our new neighbors were involved in the local public school. They spent time and built relationships in the school community. We realized that if we were going to build relationships and establish credibility with them, we needed to be part of that setting as well.” <br /><br />This thought process is not unique among Christians. I have spoken to a number of people with an intense desire to reach the lost who have said essentially the same thing. A few years ago, my 11th and 12th grade Sunday school class discussed the case of a Calvin College professor who lost his job because he felt led to live and minister in the inner city, so he transferred his kids to the neighborhood public school because he felt he could not truly interact with his new neighbors if his kids were in an expensive Christian school outside of the neighborhood while his neighbors did not have that option.<br /><br />I will admit that this argument makes some sense to me. It makes sense because it is hard to deny that, at least in the traditional Christian school setting, we can and have become isolated from the lost in our community, out of touch with the people who most desperately need someone to be the Holy Spirit’s tool for bringing them in relationship with God.<br /><br />It is my contention, however, that this problem isn’t something structural, something that just automatically happens because we have Christian schools. Instead, this is a weakness in our vision for Christian education, a weakness we need to eliminate.<br /><br />I have yet to find a separation in the God’s commands between God’s command to subdue and rule the earth, the task our Christian schools are preparing our children to fulfill, and His command to make disciples of all nations. If we take seriously God’s desire for lost people and his command that we be his agents to reconcile the lost, then our schools must recognize that they too must not only train children to become evangelists, they must participate in the work of evangelism. In other words, Christian schools ought to be a key component of the church’s mission, which includes evangelism.<br /><br /> 2. They ought to be a key component of the church’s mission, </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> including evangelism<br /><br />First, there is no division between God’s command to proclaim his works from generation to generation and His command to go into all the world, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them. They are essentially the very same task, perhaps with a slightly different audience. One job should not take away from the other—instead we should make sure that they complement each other.<br /><br />Second, to claim that Christian schools somehow prevent us from doing evangelism is to denigrate the whole idea of learning from a Christian perspective. God has given those of us in communities with Christian schools a unique gift. Perhaps more so than other Christians, Reformed folks who have supported Christian education have produced great scholars and thinkers who have had an important impact on the ways Christians think, and on the world in general. But we can’t hide that gift of God under a bushel. Instead, we must share this great legacy with everyone, so as many people as possible may benefit.<br /><br />Finally, there is evidence that considering Christian schools as a partner in the church’s work in outreach is successful. Rev. David Snapper, a Christian Reformed pastor in in Washington state has done research that shows that Christian Reformed church plants are more successful when there are Christian schools nearby. And many of you, like me, know that Christian schools can be an important part of encouraging people to become followers of Christ. You almost certainly know of people who were either not Christians, or brand new in their Christian walk when they first encountered Christian schools. I have talked to several people who say that their connection with a Christian school and the community that surrounds it was the primary way the Holy Spirit reached out and grabbed them. Certainly the church played a role, but schools are a tool the Holy Spirit can and will use.<br /><br />So instead of seeing Christian schools as an obstacle to doing outreach, let’s see them as fellow partners with the church in evangelism. This may mean some changes in how we handle things at some of our schools, but that cost is so little to pay in comparison to the wondrous riches of salvation God has given us, and that He now wants us to share with others.<br /><br />V. How can we support our Christian schools?<br /><br /> A. Pray<br /><br />So how can we support Christian schools as they strive to teach generation after generation about the wondrous works and unsurpassable wisdom of our God? First we should pray. Pray for the students who are learning what it means to be a servant of God in every part of their life. Pray for the teachers who have such a responsibility to care for and teach their children. Pray for the parents who entrust their students into the care of the school. Pray for the volunteers who help enhance the mission of the school. Pray for the staff who ensure that the school runs smoothly every day. Prayy for the board members who set the policies and standards for how the school will be run. Pray for the administrators who oversee every part of the school. We cannot pray too much. <br /><br />In fact, I am going to ask each and every one of you take a few minutes on Wednesday morning, the first day of school, to pray specifically for the upcoming school year, for the Christian schools we support, and for the students who are back in basic training again for another year. Please pray also for the public schools, and our wonderful Christian teachers there who also treat their work as a mission from God.<br /><br /> B. Support them financially<br /><br />The second thing you can do to support the local Christian schools is to support them financially. Christian education does not come cheap. Our congregation has promised to pay more than $185,000 in tuition for the students from Calvin who are a part of the Christian Education Fund. Many of you who didn’t have the benefit of such a program scrimped and saved to get your kids through Christian schools in the past, and many still do the same today to meet the commitment they have made to keep the fund going. I already mentioned that I am proud of you have done to make sure the children from this church have the opportunity to attend a Christian school, regardless of their financial situation. Thank you for your financial commitment to Christian education.<br /><br />And maybe we can do more. The principal of one of our local Christian schools told me about a family who wants desperately to have their children in Christian schools. The children are daily affected by the sin around them, and the parent desperately wants her kids to go through the basic training a Christian school can provide, but they simply cannot afford it. Instead, the parent made the wrenching choice of choosing to have one child in Christian school for as long as money was available while sending the other to public schools. This is not a matter of setting priorities; this family is definitely sacrificing just to send one child to Christian schools. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, this principal asked me, if we could find several people willing to “adopt” this family, making sure their dream of a Christian education for both of their children can become a reality.<br /><br />Another person asked me whether there could be some way of expanding our Christian Education Fund, perhaps in concert with several other churches, to include churches where there may be a desire to have many of their children in Christian schools, but the financial realities make this unlikely. The committee who oversees Calvin’s Christian Education Fund will be discussing this concept in the future, once our own program is clearly on strong footing on a long-term basis. But think how such a move would not only increase the number of kids getting basic training as soldiers in God’s army, but it would also send a message to the world that churches can work together as the body of Christ towards a common goal. <br /><br /> C. Promote the Christian schools.<br /><br />Third, promote them to your neighbors. Talk up the schools we support in the community. Do this with everyone, not just people you know are Christians, because you never know what may come of such a conversation. People may come to Christian schools for many different reasons—a perception of better academics, hopes of keeping kids out of bad situations in their old school, favorable parent-teacher ratios. But in the end, whatever the reason they initially have for being in Christian schools, if those students end up answering God’s call in their lives, living lives of servants, then the schools will have been successful.<br /><br /> D. Share your gifts<br /><br />Finally, share your gifts with them. Volunteer, if you are able. Talk to a teacher about how he or she might use you at school. Or participate in fundraisers, in outside events. Another way to share your gifts is to take some of the burden off of the parents, so they can remain involved in other aspects of God’s community, including the church. A friend of mine, Rev. Steve Zwart, commented in a sermon here at Calvin that it seems like parents become so involved in school activities that they abandon church activities. Don’t let that happen—there is no reason why you cannot be useful to the school before or after you have children there. Get involved with telling of God’s power, his authority, his mercy, from generation to generation.<br /><br />Christian schools are a wonderful gift from God. This week, as the kids go back to school, let us thank God for this gift. Let us tell from generation to generation the power of our God, His perfect righteousness, and the salvation He has given us through His Son, Jesus. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Amen. </span>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-46547101162017079242010-07-19T15:59:00.002-05:002010-07-19T16:09:18.202-05:00The Benefits of BaptismI've been remiss in updating this blog. More and more I am using Facebook and Google Buzz to pass on interesting links and posts from other bloggers. I will continue to post occasional sermons and other writings of my own here. In the near future, I will likely delete some of the posts here and re-post them to Buzz, leaving only my own writing on this blog.<br /><br />Anyway, here is a sermon I recently preached on baptism.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Benefits of Baptism<br />Acts 2:36-47<br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">I. Introduction<br /><br />Lately I have been thinking about baptism. Baptisms are among the highlights of the church year for me—it’s fun to watch the proud parents bring their precious child in front of church to be baptized. I always like to make a bet with myself as to which parent will hold the baby during the baptism. And of course it is always interesting to see how the baby will respond to water being poured on his or her head.<br /><br />My 11th and 12th grade Sunday school students went through the Belgic Confession this year, so we spent a day talking about baptism. I reminded Katie Otte and Kathryn Andringa that as four year-olds, they sang at my son Micah’s baptism—they had forgotten. We enjoyed comparing notes on the way baptisms are done at different churches and by different pastors. We talked about the quantity of water Pastor Rob uses, and how Pastor Alsum used to walk the babies around the congregation. One of my students told me that her little brother thought that Pastor Alsum was dancing with the baby as he moved around the sanctuary.<br /><br />Baptisms are often a wonderful and enjoyable time, not just for the parents, but for the entire church community. Of course, not all Christians do things the same way. Many Christians don’t baptize their children. Instead, they practice “believer baptism,” waiting until that child expresses a faith in Jesus Christ before baptism can happen. Some Christians argue about the proper form of baptism—should we sprinkle? Should we pour? Should we immerse?<br /><br />This morning, I will be focusing mostly on the baptism of infants. While we do baptize believing adults if they were not baptized as children, the normal pattern here at Calvin is that of parents bringing their infants to be baptized.<br /><br />I won’t spend much time this morning on why we practice infant baptism in this church. I’m convinced that what we believe about baptism has a huge impact on a large part of our Christian life—how we raise and teach our children, how we respond to sin, how we can have confidence in our being saved. And so I think it is very important that we baptize our children. But other than a few passing notes, I am not going to focus on why we baptize infants.<br /><br />Rather, what I really want to focus on are the benefits of baptism. Because baptism is a gift from God that benefits his people. You’ll find that on the top of your outlines. Baptism is a gift from God that benefits his people.<br /><br />And so, let’s turn in our Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 2. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">The second chapter of Acts is one of the most climactic sections of the Bible. The Holy Spirit has just been released to work in the hearts of every believer, and Peter is preaching the gospel to a crowd of thousands of people from all over the world. And just before our text begins at verse 36, Peter is explaining the work of Jesus Christ, teaching about his death and resurrection, and confirming that Jesus was the promised Messiah, come to save his people. So listen, then, to the word of God from Acts chapter two, verses 36 through 47, which starts with Paul’s summary of his words to the crowd in Jerusalem:<br /><br />Read text.<br /><br />Next, turn with me in the back of the gray songbooks to page 890. Starting on page 890 you’ll find a summary of what we believe about baptism. I am going to read through all of the questions and answers there about baptism. I encourage you to follow along. Again, that is beginning on page 890.<br /><br />Read catechism Q&A 69-74.<br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">II. Baptism is a gift from God that benefits His people.<br /><br />Baptism is a gift from God that benefits His people. It is God’s gift to those he loves, and because of the gift of baptism, we actually receive some benefits.<br /><br />In the next few minutes I am going to point out some of those benefits. But before I do, I want to point out one benefit that we do not automatically receive from being baptized. Being baptized does not automatically mean we are saved.<br /><br />The writers of the catechism we just read point that out when they ask “Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?” The answer, of course, is “No, only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.”<br /><br />I talked about this a couple of weeks ago at night when I told the story about one of my kids seeing a McDonald’s sign in the middle of nowhere. He thought the sign was the actual McDonald’s, and was disappointed when we had to explain that the actual restaurant was still 20 minutes down the road at the next exit. Baptism is a sign of the washing away of sins that believers receive through the blood of Christ and the work of the Spirit uniting us to Christ. It signifies an important promise, a promise on which we can rely if we respond to the call to repent and believe. But it is only a sign. And yet, it is a sign that comes with benefits. So let’s look at the benefits that we do receive because of baptism.<br /><br /> A. The benefit of being in a community<br /><br />The first is the benefit of being in a community. <br /><br />Lots of great stuff happens during a baptism ceremony. But for me the highlight always comes right before the actual baptism. Here at Calvin, we start out all baptisms with some teaching about baptism. Then after a prayer, the pastor asks the parents to confirm their belief in Christ and their promise to raise their children in the faith.<br /><br />Then comes one more part, a part I look forward to every time. While the parents hold their child, the entire congregation stands and promises the parents to “receive the child in love, pray for him or her, help instruct him or her in the faith, and encourage and sustain him or her in the fellowship of believers.”<br /><br />Do you ever think about what you’re doing when you repeat those words? We are welcoming that child into a community of believers. This month we welcomed Eleanor Vander Laan and Levi Arentsen into that community. We promised them and their parents that we would love them and pray for them. We promised to help instruct them and encourage and sustain them as fellow believers.<br /><br />And when we make that promise, we are not just doing that for ourselves. Someday Eleanor and Levi will grow up. There’s a good chance they will leave us and move to another community. But wherever they go, there will be a community of believers praying for them, loving them, and encouraging them. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />When we stood up and made those promises to Eleanor and to Levi, we made those promises not just for ourselves, but on behalf of all Christians. Because when Levi and Eleanor were baptized, they didn’t just become part of Calvin Church. They didn’t even just become members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. No, they were baptized into the church universal, a community of believers that spans time and space.<br /><br />Being part of the community of believers is no small thing. It is an important benefit of our baptism. Notice in our text this morning how right after he describes 3,000 new Christians being baptized on Pentecost, the writer of Acts jumps right into six verses about the fellowship of believers. He describes how they dedicated themselves to the breaking of bread, how they continued to meet together, how they shared what they had and broke bread in each other’s homes. Baptism marks us as members of a community, of a fellowship, of a family. And an important benefit of being baptized is the benefit of being in that community.<br /><br />There are a lot of reasons why being a part of a community of believers is such a great benefit of baptism. We see some of them in our text and in the next several chapters of Acts. Being together with fellow believers nurtures and grows our faith. It gives us an opportunity to devote ourselves to the teachings of Scripture, to study them, to pray together, and grow in faith together. This is especially important for children—that’s why we offer Sunday school and children’s church and youth groups It is also why we put such a high priority on Christian schools. <br /><br />Being part of a community also helps develop the spiritual gifts God has given us. Later on in Acts we see other Christians also developing their gifts—gifts of hospitality, of leadership, of discernment, of compassion. We can see this in our own church as well. A great benefit of being in a community of believers is the opportunity to develop our spiritual gifts and become even more effective servants of Christ.<br /><br />A community also provides us the benefit of examples to follow. Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians describes a chain reaction of examples at Thessalonica. “You became imitators of us and of the Lord...” he says, “and so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” A community gives us people who become examples to us and help spur us to growth.<br /><br />And a community gives us brothers and sisters who can support us when things are difficult, who can encourage us when our faith seems weak, who can discipline us when we stray, and who can share in our joy when we are blessed.<br /><br />When we are baptized, we become part of a community of believers—a community of believers who nurture us in our faith, who help us to develop our gifts, who provide examples of Christian living, and who become our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a wonderful benefit of baptism! But there’s more.<br /><br /> B. The benefit of a reminder<br /><br />Beyond the benefit of being in a community, baptism also gives us the benefit of a reminder. This reminder is one reason why we do baptisms as part of our church service, in front of the family and community. That ceremony of baptism gives us the benefit of a reminder—a reminder of our sin, a reminder of our redemption, and a reminder of the gratitude we owe God.<br /><br /> 1. of our sin<br /><br />First, a reminder of our sin. Notice that at the beginning of our text this morning, right after Peter has laid out the gospel, the writer of Acts tells us that “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart.” Maybe you find that a strange reaction. Peter has just told the crowd that Jesus Christ, who had been crucified, had been made both Lord and Christ. You’d think people would be excited, cheering, shouting “Long live the King!” But instead, their reaction was to be cut to the heart, and to ask what they should do.<br /><br />But those who heard the gospel message realized that what had happened was that this conquering King had paid the price for their sins. They were full of sin, unable to do anything to save themselves. And being confronted with Jesus as King only served to contrast their own unworthiness, their own failure to live according to the covenant that God had still fulfilled.<br /><br />One of the reasons we baptize the infants of believers is to symbolize that very truth—that we are no different than those infants. I know that their parents are convinced that Eleanor and Levi are the brightest, most intelligent babies that ever existed. But no matter how bright and intelligent, they had no idea what was going on when Pastor Rob poured water on their heads. Eleanor was so surprised she spit her pacifier into the baptismal font! Eleanor and Levi did nothing to plan their baptisms. They took no part in deciding when the ceremony would be held or how the service would play out. They couldn’t do it. They’re not capable of deciding those things.<br /><br />In the same way, we were all incapable of causing our salvation. There was nothing we could do on our own to be saved. It all had to be planned by someone else, performed by someone else, because of our sin. And so, when we watch a baptism, performed on a little baby who has no idea what is happening, we are reminded of our sin. <br /><br /> 2. of our redemption<br /><br />Thankfully, there is more to remember than just our sin. Baptism is also a reminder of our redemption. Baptism reminds us of our redemption. It tells us that our baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, as Peter says in verse 38, is for the forgiveness of our sins. And because our sins are forgiven, we are saved.<br /><br />Water is a powerful symbol throughout Scripture. It can be used to symbolize washing and cleaning, but it can also be a symbol for burying things, such as when things are thrown into the depths of the sea. And things can also float on water, and water sometimes symbolizes being brought up from the depths, rising to the top.<br /><br />Baptism uses water to symbolize all of these things. The water of baptism certainly is a sign of the washing away of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul’s letter to Titus talks of baptism that way when it says that God “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” The catechism puts it beautifully, saying that “Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins.” Our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ. The water of baptism gives us a picture of that washing away.<br /><br />The water of baptism also symbolizes the fact that our sins have been buried with Christ. Romans 6:4 says that “we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” In other words, our sins are gone. They have been sent down to the depths of the sea, so that we can live lives unburdened by them.<br /><br />And the water of baptism also shows us that while our sins remain buried, we have been raised with Christ. Colossians 2:12 says that we were “buried [with Christ] in baptism and raised with him through [our] faith in the power of God, who raised [Christ] from the dead.” And because we’ve been raised with Christ, we are renewed, set apart by the Holy Spirit and united with Christ “so that more and more [we] become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life.”<br /><br />The water of baptism is a reminder to us, a reminder of our salvation.<br /><br /> 3. of the gratitude we owe God<br /><br />Finally, baptism gives us the benefit of a reminder of the gratitude we owe God. <br /><br />If you grew up in a Reformed church, you probably studied the Heidelberg Catechism. In one of your first lessons, you probably learned about the “the three S’s”—sin, salvation, and service. If you are under 40 or so, you might have learned instead about “misery, deliverance, and gratitude.”<br /><br />However you learned it, though, it is clear that knowing our sin and misery, combined with understanding our salvation and deliverance from sin, leads to gratitude. It leads to a desire to be God’s servant. When we are washed of our sins and our old self dies away and is buried under the depths, the result is the coming-to-life of the new self. Baptism reinforces in us a “wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to.”<br /><br />We are reminded of this gratitude, this wholehearted joy and delight to do what God wants when we see a baptism. Baptisms should be times of joy, not just because we see a new member of the community of believers, but because we are given a reminder of our gratitude. This reminder can give us even more impetus to go out and live as servants of Christ’s Kingdom, working by the Spirit in us to transform this world in preparation for the next. Baptism gives us the benefit of a reminder of the gratitude we owe God. <br /><br /> C. The benefit of assurance<br /><br />Finally, baptism gives us the benefit of assurance. Because of baptism, we can be assured of being a part of the family of God and of eternal life. This is the benefit of assurance.<br /><br />The Catechism tells us that God gave us the symbol of baptism, not just to teach us that our sins have been washed away, but also because “he wants to assure us…that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water.”<br /><br />It is important to see how much the writers of Scripture tie together baptism and assurance of salvation. In verse 38 of our text this morning, Peter says “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He doesn’t say, “You might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He doesn’t say, “There is a good chance you will receive the Holy Spirit.” He says “you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter is telling his listeners that if they repent and are baptized, they will be united with Christ—in his death, in his resurrection, and in his glory. United with Christ, we are assured of life with God.<br /><br />We see this close connection between baptism and assurance elsewhere in Scripture. In Romans 6, Paul asks “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” All of us who were baptized. He then says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”<br /><br />Again, in Galatians, Paul writes that “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” All of us.<br /><br />It is because of this assurance, I think, that our confessions clearly state that “Godly parents ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children whom God calls out of this life in infancy.” It isn’t baptism itself that saves. It is being chosen by God to be part of his covenant of grace that saves us. The children of believers are holy because “of the gracious covenant in which they, together with their parents, are included.” Because children are included in the covenant, they are saved, even if they don’t survive long enough to receive baptism, the symbol of their being saved.<br /><br />Now, again, I want to stress that baptism, while it can give us the benefit and comfort of assurance, does not automatically make us a Christian. But it does give us hope, even for those who seem to turn their backs on their baptism. We must always live in hope—in hope that God keeps his promises, in hope that the Spirit never stops working in the hearts of those whom God has chosen, in hope that the hound of heaven never fails.<br /><br />And for those of us who believe, baptism should give us assurance. Baptism is a sign of a promise. And God keeps his promises. Baptism gives us the benefit of assurance.<br /><br />III. Conclusion<br /><br />I hope we have many, many more baptisms in this church over the next few years. I hope you look forward to baptisms as much as I do. Because baptism is a gift from God that benefits his people.<br /><br />Baptism gives us the benefit of a community of believers. It reminds us not only of our sin, but of our salvation and of our gratitude. And it provides the benefit of God’s promise, God’s assurance.<br /><br />Baptisms are a sign of a promise. A promise that Peter reminds us is “for you, and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”<br /><br />Amen.<br /> </span></div>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-21215955018547827002010-05-19T09:09:00.000-05:002010-05-19T09:09:29.268-05:00Life in Comics | First Things<a href="http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/05/life-in-comics">Life in Comics First Things</a><br /><br />There is so much in <a href="http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/05/life-in-comics">this</a> post on First Things. Common grace, a pro-life moment, criticism of self-conscious Christianity. Take a look.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-33042481722539976802010-04-20T16:30:00.000-05:002010-04-20T16:30:03.615-05:00'Lost' opportunity — Yakima Valley churches embrace entertainment and pop culture | Yakima Herald-Republic Online<a href="http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/04/19/lost-opportunity-yakima-valley-churches-embrace-entertainment-and-pop-culture">'Lost' opportunity — Yakima Valley churches embrace entertainment and pop culture Yakima Herald-Republic Online</a><br /><br />This interesting article quotes my "cousin-in-law," Shane. It is worth a read.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-38085411993038498922009-11-13T11:19:00.003-06:002009-11-13T11:24:51.240-06:00Sermon Series--Sermon #4This is number 4 in the series. I actually originally preached a version of this one in the spring at Covenant CRC in Appleton, and then re-worked it for the series this summer.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Big Words of the Faith:<br />Providence</span><br /></strong>Psalm 104<br /> </div><div align="left"><br />I. Introduction—Miracles & Providence<br /><br />This morning we are finishing up a series on the “big words of the faith.” If you were here, you’ll remember that we started with “predestination,” then covered the “covenant,” and the “justification.” This week, our big word of the faith is “providence.”<br /><br />In a few moments we are going to read not only from our scripture text, which is Psalm 104, but also from the Heidelberg Catechism. While I introduce the topic, you might want to turn to Psalm 104 in your Bibles. And I would ask that you turn also in the back of your Psalter Hymnals to page 871. That’s Lord’s Day 10 of the Catechism. In a few minutes we are going to read the questions and answers there together.<br /><br />I’ve been thinking a lot about miracles lately. What are miracles? What are they exactly, and do they still exist today? Or are they something that only existed during certain times in history?<br /><br />Some of that thinking about miracles stems from things that have been going on in my own life in the last year or so. Most of you know about my parents’ car accident almost a year-and-a-half ago. At the time, a lot of people said it was a miracle that they survived. And while healing has not been complete, others rightfully talk about their recovery as being miraculous.<br /><br />Then, a few months ago, the Wednesday night study group here at church took a look at a video by Lee Strobel. Some of you may have heard of Lee Strobel—he wrote the book “A Case for Christ.”<br /><br />In that video, Strobel hosted a debate between an atheist and a Christian theologian about the existence of God. The theologian cited the resurrection as proof of the truth of Christianity. He pointed to historical sources other than the Bible—as well as the Bible itself—as evidence that the resurrection actually occurred.<br /><br />The atheist couldn’t accept the truth of the resurrection, since doing so would require him to believe in miracles. He defined miracles as events that violate natural laws. In his view, natural laws just simply cannot be broken. When people think of miracles, according to this atheist, the things they are thinking of can always be explained by some kind of natural law. According to him, people only call things miracles because they’re ignorant of how the natural world actually works.</div><br />After watching the video, our discussion turned immediately to the atheist’s definition of miracles. One person took the view that the atheist was at least correct in his definition of miracles. She said miracles are events that can’t be explained by natural law. But, she said, miracles are therefore proof that God exists. After all, only a being greater than the entire universe could violate the laws of the universe. This being, she said, is God. And since he created the universe and he created the laws that govern it, any evidence of something beyond the laws of nature is evidence of this Creator-God.<br /><br />However, she said that a lot of things that we call miracles aren’t really miracles. My parents’ surviving their car accident would not really be a miracle, since it can be explained without resorting to the supernatural. Or the recovery of a cancer patient from a seemingly incurable condition would not be miraculous according to her definition, since it can be explained using our knowledge of natural laws.<br /><br />In fact, she argued that miracles no longer exist—they don’t happen anymore. She said they ended at the end of the apostolic age. This view, while not universal, is actually quite a common one among theologians, and it is probably a majority view among Reformed theologians.<br /><br />Now, I’m the kind of person who enjoys a good debate. So, even though I hadn’t fully formed an opinion on the issue, I decided I would take the opposite side. And I argued first of all that some of the events that are described in the Bible, and called miracles in the Bible, might possibly have natural explanations. It could be that the ancient observers just didn’t understand the science behind what was happening. Some of the events that are described as miracles in the Bible probably didn’t break any kind of natural laws.<br /><br />I also argued that there are plenty of stories that people tell in this day and age of events that really are unexplainable by natural laws. I retold a story that I had heard from my campus pastor when I was at Dordt College.<br /><br />He told of missionaries whose jeep had broken down in a dangerous area where bandits often preyed on people. These missionaries didn’t know much about vehicle repair, so they finally just gave up, laid hands on the jeep, and prayed for healing for the jeep. Lo and behold, it started up, and they were able to get where they needed to go. They drove the rest of the way home and took the jeep in to a mechanic. The mechanic, after he heard the story, just kind of shook his head and said it has to be a miracle—there is no way you could have driven this vehicle the way that it is.<br /><br />So, we had a good debate about this and we ended up agreeing that it was an interesting debate but probably not one around which our faith revolves. But after this mini-debate, my interest was piqued—I wanted to know more. And so I spent time reading more about miracles in the Bible and studying what some theologians have said about miracles.<br /><br />As I continued studying miracles, though, I became more and more aware of something else—God’s providence—the almighty and ever-present power by which he upholds and rules everything. No matter how you define a miracle, no matter whether you say something is a miracle or just a surprising turn of events, there can’t be any doubt that God is involved. An event may or may not be a miracle, but it is evidence of God’s providence.<br /><br />And so this morning, our focus is on providence. The definition of providence is on your outline: Providence is the almighty and ever-present power by which God upholds and rules everything. God upholds and rules everything.<br /><br />Turn with me to our text, Psalm 104. Psalm 104 is a hymn that focuses on God’s great act of creating the entire universe. It actually reflects the teaching of Genesis 1. It even seems to parallel it in many ways, as we’ll see. However, it takes that teaching, and then it applies it in a way that reflects on God’s providence, the way that God upholds and rules his creation.<br /><br />So hear the word of the Lord from Psalm 104:<br /><br />“ <em>Praise the LORD, O my soul.<br /> O LORD my God, you are very great;<br /> you are clothed with splendor and majesty.<br /><br /> He wraps himself in light as with a garment;<br /> he stretches out the heavens like a tent<br /><br />and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.<br /> He makes the clouds his chariot<br /> and rides on the wings of the wind.<br /><br />He makes winds his messengers, <br /> flames of fire his servants.<br /><br />He set the earth on its foundations;<br /> it can never be moved.<br /><br />You covered it with the deep as with a garment;<br /> the waters stood above the mountains.<br /><br />But at your rebuke the waters fled,<br /> at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;<br /><br />they flowed over the mountains,<br /> they went down into the valleys,<br /> to the place you assigned for them.<br /><br /> You set a boundary they cannot cross;<br /> never again will they cover the earth.<br /><br />He makes springs pour water into the ravines;<br /> it flows between the mountains.<br /><br />They give water to all the beasts of the field;<br /> the wild donkeys quench their thirst.<br /><br />The birds of the air nest by the waters;<br /> they sing among the branches.<br /><br />He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;<br /> the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.<br /><br />He makes grass grow for the cattle,<br /> and plants for man to cultivate—<br /> bringing forth food from the earth:<br /><br /> wine that gladdens the heart of man,<br /> oil to make his face shine,<br /> and bread that sustains his heart.<br /><br />The trees of the LORD are well watered,<br /> the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.<br /><br />There the birds make their nests;<br /> the stork has its home in the pine trees.<br /><br />The high mountains belong to the wild goats;<br /> the crags are a refuge for the coneys.<br /><br />The moon marks off the seasons,<br /> and the sun knows when to go down.<br /><br />You bring darkness, it becomes night,<br /> and all the beasts of the forest prowl.<br /><br />The lions roar for their prey<br /> and seek their food from God.<br /><br />The sun rises, and they steal away;<br /> they return and lie down in their dens.<br /><br />Then man goes out to his work,<br /> to his labor until evening.<br /><br />How many are your works, O LORD!<br /> In wisdom you made them all;<br /> the earth is full of your creatures.<br /><br />There is the sea, vast and spacious,<br /> teeming with creatures beyond number—<br /> living things both large and small.<br /><br />There the ships go to and fro,<br /> and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.<br /><br />These all look to you<br /> to give them their food at the proper time.<br /><br />When you give it to them,<br /> they gather it up;<br /> when you open your hand,<br /> they are satisfied with good things.<br /><br />When you hide your face,<br /> they are terrified;<br /> when you take away their breath,<br /> they die and return to the dust.<br /><br />When you send your Spirit,<br /> they are created,<br /> and you renew the face of the earth.<br /><br />May the glory of the LORD endure forever;<br /> may the LORD rejoice in his works-<br /><br />he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,<br /> who touches the mountains, and they smoke.<br /><br />I will sing to the LORD all my life;<br /> I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.<br /><br />May my meditation be pleasing to him,<br /> as I rejoice in the LORD.<br /><br />But may sinners vanish from the earth<br /> and the wicked be no more.<br /> Praise the LORD, O my soul.<br /> Praise the LORD.</em> <br /><br />Now, turn with me to Lord’s Day 10. As I mentioned, you can find it on page 871 in the back of the gray-colored songbooks. There are two questions and two answers there. I’d like to read this responsively. I’ll read the questions, and then you read the answers.<br /><br /><em>Q. What do you understand<br />by the providence of God?<br /><br />A. Providence is<br /> the almighty and ever present power of God<br /> by which he upholds, as with his hand,<br /> heaven<br /> and earth<br /> and all creatures,<br /> and so rules them that<br /> leaf and blade,<br /> rain and drought,<br /> fruitful and lean years,<br /> food and drink,<br /> health and sickness,<br /> prosperity and poverty-<br /> all things, in fact, come to us<br /> not by chance<br /> but from his fatherly hand.<br /></em> <br /><em>Q. How does the knowledge<br />of God's creation and providence<br />help us?<br /><br /> A. We can be patient when things go against us,<br /> thankful when things go well,<br /> and for the future we can have<br /> good confidence in our faithful God and Father<br /> that nothing will separate us from his love.<br /> All creatures are so completely in his hand<br /> that without his will<br /> they can neither move nor be moved.<br /></em><br />This morning, as we focus on God’s providence, I want you to notice three attributes of God that give us a picture of his providence. These three attributes are pointed out both by the Psalmist and by the writers of the Catechism: First, God is the Creator of the universe. Second, he is the Sustainer of everything he’s created. Finally, he is the Ruler over every square inch of His creation.<br /><br />II. God is the Creator of the Universe<br /><br />So first, God is the Creator of the universe. As I mentioned Psalm 104 not only teaches us that God created the universe, but it also uses the framework of Genesis 1—the days of creation—to teach us that God is the Creator of the universe.<br /><br />In that Genesis framework, on the first day, God created light. And right at the beginning of our text, the first half of verse 2 we see the Psalmist proclaiming that God “wraps himself in light, as with a garment.”<br /><br />On the second day, God created the expanse between the waters, separating sky and water. And the Psalmist reflects this, starting at the second half of verse two: “He stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chamber on their waters.” <br /><br />The pattern continues—we know that on the third day God created dry land as well as the plants that cover it. The psalmist reflects this as well. In verses 5-13 he describes how land and water are distinct, and how the waters “went down to the valleys to the place assigned for them.” Not only that, but the waters are placed by God so that the beasts of the field and the birds of the air have everything they need, and “the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.”<br /><br />In verses 14-18, the Psalmist describes not only how God created plants and trees, but in how doing so, God supplies for the needs of His creatures: grass for the cattle and food for the humans, even a home for the birds. And it’s not just our needs, “the bread that sustains our heart” that God supplies, but it is also our enjoyment—“the wine that gladdens the heart of man,” and “oil to make his face shine.”<br /><br />The fourth day of creation is reflected in verses 19-24, which speak of the sun, moon and stars as timekeepers for both animals and man.<br /><br />In verses 25 and 26, the Psalmist speaks of the creatures of the sea, which Genesis 1 says were created on the fifth day.<br /><br />And the sixth day, during which God created the animals and humans, is reflected in verses 21-24 and also verses 27-30. In those verses the Psalmist stresses their dependence on God for everything that they need.<br /><br />We may not fully understand exactly how God created the universe, but as Christians, we can have no doubt but that he did. He created everything out of nothing. He formed things that depend wholly upon him for their existence, but yet are distinct from him. That means God is transcendent over His creation. As the transcendent Creator, he is not in creation, nor is he bound by it. God is the Creator of the universe.<br /><br />III. God is the Sustainer of Everything He has Created<br /><br />So let’s take a look at the next attribute of God the psalmist points out. God is the Sustainer of everything he has created. He is the Sustainer of everything he has created.<br /><br />We just said that God is transcendent over His creation—he is not in creation, nor is he bound by it. Because God is transcendent, there can be no doubt that, however we define them, miracles can occur.<br /><br />We may or may not believe that God uses miracles in present times, but as believers in a Creator-God, we agree that miracles are possible. For God is above His creation. If he created out of nothing, there is no reason He can’t, if He desires, work in that creation in any way that He sees fit.<br /><br />And He did. Many of the miracles that are recorded in Scripture are essential to our Christian faith—miracles like Jesus’ incarnation and his resurrection from the dead. If we deny miracles entirely, then we deny Jesus Christ, the heart of our faith. And whether or not we believe that God uses miracles in the present time, we have to agree that miracles are possible. Miracles can occur.<br /><br />But of course, since He created the universe, and the natural laws that we see at work throughout creation, there’s no reason why God can’t choose to work primarily through those laws.<br /><br />Our Presbyterian brothers and sisters refer to the laws of nature in their confessions as “second causes.” And by this they mean that while God is the first cause of everything, He created the laws of nature as the second cause for sustaining his creation. The Westminster Confession of Faith teaches that “while God ordinarily makes use of these second causes, He is always free to work without, above, and against them at his pleasure.”<br /><br />So, as we see in our text this morning, God not only created the universe, he also sustains it. He is the Sustainer of everything he has created. One commentator wrote “in creation God exercised his divine power to cause the world to be. In providence, he continues to exercise that same power to sustain creation, to involve himself in all events, and to direct all things to their appointed ends.” He is our sustainer.<br /><br />I find that concept amazing—we have a God who involves Himself in all of the events of our lives. Now, not everyone in the world agrees with this idea. In fact, I suspect that a lot of people in the world today think of God in a very different kind of way. <br /><br />Like Thomas Jefferson many see God as kind of a divine watchmaker—he created this complex and incredible universe; he even created laws by which the universe will continue to exist on its own without any need for God’s intervention. Just like a well-crafted watch that can keep time for many, many years without any need for repairs or adjustments. But they believe, then, that God, having created this incredibly intricate creation, simply sits back, no longer involving himself in the inner workings of the thing that he has made.<br />This is not the God that is presented in Psalm 104. Much of the psalm is written in the present tense, and it is not just about what God did before as Creator, but it is also about God as sustainer.<br /><br />Look at verses 27-30 again. The Psalmist tells us that God’s creatures look to him “to give them their food at the proper time.” And when God gives it to them, “they gather it up,” and “they are satisfied with good things.” But, when God takes away their breath, “they die and return to the dust.”<br /><br />The rest of Scripture confirms this view of God as actively involved in His creation. Even Jesus points this out, teaching us not to worry, but pointing us to look at the birds of the air: “They do not sow or reap or store away in barns. And yet, your heavenly father feeds them.”<br /><br />John Calvin said it this way in his “Institutes of the Christian Religion”: “The providence we mean is not one by which the deity, sitting idly in heaven, looks on at what is taking place in the world; but one by which he, as it were, holds the helms and over-rules all events.”<br /><br />In other words, God is not an absentee God. He is very involved. He is very much in control. And he governs us, not just with his power, but by his on-going decrees. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing is left to fortune. God’s providence consists in his actions every day.<br /><br />And what this means is that God is actively involved in everything. The universe isn’t being upheld simply by a set of natural laws that God set in motion before simply sitting back. Rather, the universe is actively sustained by God’s providence. He is the Sustainer of everything he has created.<br /><br />So when we speak of miracles, I think we shouldn’t speak of them as being exceptions to the natural law. Because it’s not the natural law that keeps things going anyway—it is God. A lot of times we use the term miracle to describe examples of extraordinary providence, more than to describe the ordinary things that happen every day. But even so, there are times when even the timing and placement of very ordinary events may also be described as miraculous.<br /><br />As John Calvin says it: “Single events are so regulated by God, and all events proceed by his determinate counsel that nothing happens fortuitously.”<br /><br />Thus, it is improper to simply describe miracles as some kind of supernatural breakthrough by God into the world. If we think of miracles that way, we improperly divide God and the world into competing forces, at odds with each other, which they are not.<br /><br />Gordon Spykman, in his book “Reformational Theology,” puts it this way: “In his wonder working power, God does not withdraw his providential care or bypass it. The will of God, revealed in such awesome signs and wonders, resides in the very power of his word itself. There is nothing arbitrary or capricious about them. From our perspective they may appear as surprising or unexpected—extraordinary interventions of God’s hand in history. For God, however, miracles are not miracles as we perceive them. They are rather the outworkings of his will in other ways—ways that to us appear unusual and exceptional, but ways which are consistently at God’s command.”<br /><br />God is not only the creator of the universe, but He is also the sustainer. And that means He is involved daily in every detail of what he created. Whether it is making grass grow for the cattle or bringing forth wine that gladdens the heart of man, or providing safety for the ships of commerce that go to and fro on the vast and spacious sea. God is the Sustainer of everything he has created.<br /><br />IV. God is the Ruler over every square inch of His creation<br /><br />There is one other attribute of God that I want you to see. God is also the Ruler over every square inch of His creation. He is the Ruler over every square inch of His creation.<br /><br />This means that not only does God actively provide for his creatures, but he also rules over them, over the places they live, over the things that they created for themselves, over every square inch of creation.<br /><br />One of my very favorite sayings is Abraham Kuyper’s famous quote: “In the total expanse of human life, there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare ‘That is mine.’” In other words, God not only sustains, but he rules over all of his creation. He alone sets the laws by which we have no choice but to abide, and He alone sets the standards according to which he demands that we live our life. He controls the physical creation in which we live.<br /><br />But when we say that God rules over the universe, we can’t just limit his rule to nature. God controls the affairs of the nations. In Psalm 66 we learn that he “rules forever by his power; his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against Him.”<br /><br />And God is not just concerned only with humans in general, or nations and powers, but he is also concerned with individuals, our lot in life and our outward success and failures. The apostle Paul recognized this in his own life when, in his letter to Galatians, he said that “God, who set me apart from birth, and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I may preach Him among the Gentiles.”<br /><br />And because God is concerned with individuals, part of his active providence is the protection of the righteous and the exposure and punishment of the wicked. Paul, in Romans, reminds us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who’ve been called according to his purposes.” The Psalmist tells us that “on the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.”<br /><br />It is true that evil still exists in our world. We are not always immune from the ravages of sin. But as the old song goes, “This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” And as God’s people, no matter how often the wrong seems so strong, we can have confidence that God will rescue his people from the power of evil—if not now, then when Christ returns. God is the Ruler over every square inch of His creation. “The Lord is King, let the heavens ring, God reigns let the earth be glad.”<br /><br />V. Conclusion<br /><br />So what does this mean for us? If God is the creator, the sustainer, and the ruler of every square inch of creation, even our own lives, how do we respond? <br /><br />I don’t think we can put it any better than the way the Catechism puts it in Answer 28: “We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and father that nothing will separate us from his love.”<br /><br />Patience, thankfulness, and confidence. These ought to be the hallmarks of the life of a believer. Be patient, knowing that God is actively at work and will provide what we need. Be thankful, both for how he has provided for us in the past, but also for those areas where we can see him working at this very moment. And be confident that all things work for the good of those who love him.<br /><br />As I was preparing this sermon, I read something on the web that summed up what I wanted to say better than anything I could come up with myself. Much as tried writing my own conclusion, I kept coming back to this. So, I want to read this to you. It comes from the blog of Kevin De Young, who is a pastor in Michigan and an author of several excellent books. He describes something that happened late one night during a short vacation that he took with his family. This is what he says:<br /><br />“<em>Around about four in the morning…our three year old fell out of bed, which prompted our one year old to wake up and cry like she was being dropped off at the nursery.<br /><br />So my wife took a turn. Then around about 5:00 AM I took a turn. While I was hunkering down in the bathroom trying not to disturb the rest of the [family], with my precious little girl munching on Cracklin’ Oat Bran before the crack of dawn, I started meandering through my complimentary copy of USA Today. The news for Monday morning was grim. Lead story: Americans are becoming less religious. Bottom of page 1: pastor shot during church service… Later: stocks may take more than 25 years to recover their losses, once they bottom out that is. For some reason the full page spread on Dancing with the Stars just pushed me over the edge. How can so much be going wrong in the world?<br /><br />I put my little one to bed and gave her two pacifiers and, with mom literally in the dark, a baggie of Cracklin Oat Bran just in case. As I lay in bed, my mind was mulling over all the bad news I had just read. Is our country really going down the [toilet]? Are churches even safe anymore? Will the American church soon be persecuted? Why does anyone care about Dancing with the Stars?<br /><br />Then I remembered my beloved catechism… ‘What do you understand by the providence of God?’ ‘Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that lead and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand.’ I thought to myself, you know, that’s right. Praise God that’s right! God upholds the world with his hand and rules over us so that recessions and declensions, murders and mayhem, presidents and prime ministers, kids sleeping and kids rolling off their beds, the tragedies of life and the banalities—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand. God's seen this mess before. He sent it. He'll see us through us.<br /><br />Around about 6:00 AM I fell back asleep, deeply grateful for the Heidelberg Catechism, the providence of God, and Cracklin’ Oat Bran</em>.”<br /><br />It is my prayer as well, just as Pastor De Young said, that in the midst of whatever difficulties you might be facing in life, you will have the patience to persevere, the thankfulness to know what God has done, and confidence in God’s good providence for us.<br /><br />Amen.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-59317465869397710832009-11-13T11:15:00.003-06:002009-11-13T11:18:44.493-06:00Sermon Series--Sermon #3I had planned on posting all four sermons in my series this summer, but never got around to it. Here is sermon #3...<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Big Words of the Faith: Justification<br /></strong></span>Romans 4</span><br /></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><br />I. Introduction<br /><br />Good morning.<br /><br />I have an outline available again this morning. If you don’t have one, raise your hand. There are several people around who will make sure you get one.<br /><br />If you have been here the past several weeks, you know that we are in the midst of studying some of the “big words of the faith.” Don’t worry, it’s perfectly OK to join us in the middle. This sermon series isn’t like the TV show “Lost.” You don’t have to watch from the very beginning to understand what in the world is going on.<br /><br />Two weeks ago, we started by looking at the word “predestination.” Last week, our word was “covenant.” This week, our big word of the faith is “justification.”<br /><br />Justification just might be the biggest of these big words. Martin Luther called justification “the cornerstone of Christianity.” More recently, the Christian author J.I. Packer said that any church that has forgotten about justification by faith can scarcely be called a Christian church.<br /><br />So, turn with me to the book of Romans, chapter 4. Romans is the first letter in the New Testament, after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the book of Acts. If you are using a pew Bible, you should find our passage on page 1751.<br /><br />Paul spends two-and-a-half chapters in this book on this big word of the faith, justification. Starting at verse 21 of Chapter 3 and going all the way to the end of Chapter 5, Paul lays out his argument that salvation is available to everyone, Jew or Gentile, in the same way. In these chapters he tells us that every Christian is justified by grace through faith—apart from works, apart from the law, and apart from one’s status as a Jew. Romans 4 is the centerpiece of that argument, and he focuses on the example of Abraham to make his point.<br /><br />So follow along as I read from Romans 4. And keep your Bible open—after spending a little time defining justification, we will work verse by verse through the chapter to understand what Paul wants us to understand about this big word of the faith.<br /><br />The word of the Lord from Romans 4:<br /><br />ROMANS 4<br /><br />II. What is justification?<br /><br />So what is this big word of the faith—a word so important that without it we can hardly call ourselves Christian? What is justification?<br /><br />Let’s start by defining it. Louis Berkhof, a 20th century theologian defined justification as “that legal act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.” “That legal act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.” <br /><br />Justification is the process by which the perfect life of Jesus—his active obedience and sinlessness—is credited to us. This happens, despite our sinfulness, because Jesus agreed to fulfill the condition in God’s promise that we obey him. It isn’t our obedience that counts, since we can’t obey; it is Christ’s obedience on our behalf.<br /><br />Our legal standing before God has changed. Instead of being outside of the covenant, condemned to death and eternal separation from God, we are instead declared righteous. We can stand before God and claim the benefits of his covenant—his promise that we can live forever in loving fellowship with God.<br /><br />Some Christians confuse justification, this one-time declaration of righteousness, with the gradual process of sanctification—the process of becoming more and more like Christ. Justification is a single act, not an ongoing process. We have been declared righteous once and for all because Jesus has taken on our sins and given us his perfection. We aren’t justified before God because we become more and more holy through the Spirit’s work. No, we are able to become more and more holy because we have been justified, declared righteous before God.<br /><br />So now, let’s take a look at Romans 4.<br /><br />III. Justification comes by grace<br /><br />Paul wants his readers to know that justification comes by grace. God’s people are not justified by our works. We don’t stand in a right relationship with God because of the law. And the Jews cannot say that they are justified simply by virtue of being Jewish. It is only by grace, through faith, that anyone is justified.<br /><br /> A. Not by works<br /><br />Paul starts proving that justification is by grace, by showing that justification is not by works. To do that, he points to Abraham. In verse 1, Paul asks: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?”<br /><br />Many Jews in Paul’s day believed that Abraham was justified because of his own righteousness. They looked back at Abraham as being as close to perfect as any human could be. But Paul points out that if Abraham was justified by his good works, then he’d be able to boast in his good works, even before God.<br /><br />But even the Jewish rabbis of Paul’s day who believed that Abraham was justified by his good works understood that the very idea of a sinner boasting before God is an absurdity. Listen to how Paul puts it in verse 2: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.”<br /><br />Paul writes this to show us the impossibility of claiming to have right standing before God because of our own obedience. Earlier in chapter 3 of Romans, Paul quoted Psalm 14 to show that “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Not even Abraham.<br /><br />Next, in verse three, Paul points us back to Genesis 15:6. “What does the Scripture say?” Paul asks. “‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” <br /><br />This verse from Genesis flies in the face of the view that Abraham was justified by his works. There is no mention of any good works of Abraham in this verse. In fact, nowhere in Genesis 15 does it suggest that Abraham did anything to earn justification. “Abraham believed God.” That’s all. And that belief “was credited to him as righteousness.” Credited as a gift, not as something he had coming to him.<br /><br />Paul expounds on this in verses 4 and 5. “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”<br /><br />Abraham did not earn justification by his works. Nor do we. Justification is a gift. Our faith is credited to us as righteousness, even though that very faith comes as a gift from God. This is even clearer on this in Ephesians 2:8, where Paul proclaims: “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…”<br /><br />In verses 6-8, Paul points out that David, another hero of the faith, agrees that justification comes by faith, not by works. Starting at verse 6: “David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.” Paul then quotes Psalm 32. “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”<br /><br />In English, we use the word “count” in that last sentence: “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” But in Greek, the word “count” is the exact same word that Paul uses in verse five for “credited” when he says of the faithful Christian “his faith is credited as righteousness.” Paul reiterates for us that our faith is credited as a gift, not as something we are owed. Justification is not by works.<br /><br /> B. Not by status<br /><br />Paul next turns to the argument that justification is limited to the Jews, because of their special status as God’s people. Justification is not by status.<br /><br />Listen to what Paul says in verses 9 and 10: He starts by asking “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?” Paul then goes on to recap his discussion of justification as being credited as a gift, not as something earned. “We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.”<br /><br />Then he asks “Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!”<br /><br />What Paul is doing is refuting the argument that justification is only for the Jews, those who possessed the sign and the seal of God’s covenant—circumcision.<br /><br />All we have to do is read through Genesis to we see that while Abraham believes God’s promise in Genesis 15, it takes at least 13 years, and maybe more, until we get to Genesis 17 where Abraham is circumcised. Abraham’s justification came far before he received the sign and seal of God’s promise.<br /><br />Since Abraham was not circumcised when he was justified, Paul says, Abraham is really the spiritual father of all of us, Jew and Greek. In verse 11 Paul says, “[Abraham] is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.” And this leads to verse 12. “And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” In other words, we cannot be justified simply by our status. We are justified by grace, and only through the gracious gift of faith. <br /><br />C. Not by law<br /><br />In just a moment, Paul is going to turn to a discussion of faith, and its role in our justification. But he makes one last point to show that justification is by grace. Because justification does not come to us by works, it also cannot come to us by the law. Justification is not by law.<br /><br />Listen to what Paul says in verses 13-15. “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.”<br /><br />If justification were dependent on our obedience to law, there would be no need for faith. We could be justified solely by our own act of obeying the law, regardless of whether we actually believed. And of course, we already know that we can’t obey the law anyway—Paul has already shown us that. It is only our faith, given as a free gift, that provides us a way to be justified before God.<br /><br />We cannot stand before God and be declared righteous before His throne because of anything about ourselves. “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” Justification is by grace alone.<br /><br />D. Justification comes through faith<br /><br />So, having shown that justification is by grace alone, Paul, in the next section of our text, shows the importance of faith. Justification comes through faith.<br /><br />Here is what Paul says in verse 16. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.” <br /><br />To some extent, Paul is just reiterating what he explained already. When we are justified through faith, this is by grace, since faith is a gift. But not only that, since we receive this gift by faith—the deep-rooted assurance that God has acted on our behalf, as opposed to our doing anything ourselves—this gift is available to all who have faith, whether Jew or Gentile. After all, God made Abraham “a father of many nations.” And he gives “life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”<br /><br />God gives life to the dead. He showed this in the new life that came from the dead womb of Sarah. He showed this by giving Isaac’s life back in Genesis 22, when Abraham offered him to God as a sacrifice. And he shows this in the life of Jesus Christ, who though he died, was resurrected. What’s more, God also gave life to us. We were once dead in our sins. But now, because of the faith we receive by grace, we are made alive with Christ. <br /><br />That new life begins with our being regenerated, being born again and receiving a new heart. With that new heart in us we are converted, able to repent of our sins and have faith in Jesus Christ and his saving work for us. And through that faith, we are justified—our legal standing before God is changed. Instead of being outside of the covenant, condemned to death, we can stand before God able to claim the benefits of the covenant—eternal life in fellowship with our loving God.<br /><br />IV. What this means for us<br /><br />We are justified—God has declared us righteous solely on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that righteousness is a gift of grace, a gift we receive through faith.<br /><br />So what does this mean for us? What are the implications of justification by grace through faith? Let’s look at three. First, because of this gift we can have faith “against all hope.” Second, that sure assurance must lead us to give all of the glory to God. And finally, justification points us back to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.<br /><br /> A. We can have faith “against all hope.”<br /><br />So, first, we can have faith “against all hope.” Paul talks about Abraham having this kind of faith in verses 18-20: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith...”<br /><br />Humanly speaking, Abraham’s faith in God’s promise was against all hope. Who could believe that Sarah would bear him a child at age 90? Certainly, Abraham’s faith was strong, but that strength didn’t come from within himself. It came because of who he believed in. All that mattered was the object of Abraham’s faith, the God who freely gives righteousness to sinners who believe his words.<br /><br />We have faith in the same God as Abraham. And that means we, too, can have faith “against all hope.” As one commentator noted, “faith is not a blind leap in the dark, contrary to all reason and common sense.” Rather, our faith looks forward with the same kind of hope that Abraham had. We know that God is faithful; we know that God “gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”<br /><br />We are heirs of God’s promise, so not even death can lay claim to us. We look forward to the day when God will raise our bodies from the dead on the day of resurrection, and we will be able to live in perfect relationship with our God for all eternity. We have faith, against any human hope, that we will live forever, free from the bonds of death.<br /><br /> B. Our faith must lead us to give all glory to God.<br /><br />And because we have this faith “against all hope,” our faith must lead us to give all glory to God.<br /><br />Look again at verses 20 and 21 of our text. “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”<br /><br />Giving glory to God is a hallmark of faith. God created the world as a way of showing his glory. He graciously promised us eternal life with him as a way of showing his glory. And, despite our sin, he has provided a way for us to be made right with Him, to be declared righteous despite our sin. This also he does for his glory. Having been declared righteous before God, it should be our desire to give all the glory to God, to display his greatness in everything we do. Our faith must lead us to give all glory to God.<br /><br /> C. Our faith points us back to the cross of Christ<br /><br />Finally, our faith points us back to the cross of Christ. If we truly believe that we have been justified, we cannot help but focus on the cross of Christ, on the sacrifice he made for us, and the perfect righteousness that he has given to us.<br /><br />Even if you are not a baseball fan, you’ve certainly heard of Barry Bonds. On August 7, 2007, Bonds hit home run number 756, the home run that broke Hank Aaron’s record. Most of the talk about the record, though, is whether it really should count, because Bonds is alleged to have used steroids. Many sports buffs say if his name goes in the record book it should be accompanied by an asterisk. The asterisk means the record is tainted. In fact, the man who bought the ball that Bonds hit to set the record branded it with an asterisk before donating it to the baseball Hall of Fame.<br /><br />Scripture talks about a different kind of record book—the Book of Life. The name of each believer is recorded in this record book. With all the sins we have committed, you’d think that each of us should have an asterisk by our name in this record book. But because we of Jesus Christ’s perfect life on this earth and his redeeming work on the cross, there is no asterisk by our names.<br /><br />God has done all he promised. As Paul tells us in the last verses of our text, “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for [Abraham] alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”<br /><br />Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification. Our faith convinces us of that. Our faith points us back to the cross of Christ.<br /><br />VI. Conclusion<br /><br />Justification is “that legal act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.” We are justified by grace, completely undeserved. And justification comes to us through the gift of faith, faith that allows us to claim the benefits of being declared righteous.<br /><br />Because of our justification, we, like Abraham, can have a faith against all hope that we will live eternally with our glorious God. And that faith leads us to ascribe all of the glory and to turn our eyes toward the cross of our anointed King, Jesus Christ, who is the reason for our faith.<br /><br />Amen.</div>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-60537612778637581822009-09-02T12:10:00.003-05:002009-09-02T12:18:22.470-05:00Important Court Decision Impacting Christian Schools<div align="center"><strong><em>Coulee Catholic Schools vs. LIRC (2009 WI 88)<br /></em></strong></div><br /><div align="justify">On July 21, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an important decision relating to the freedom Christian schools (and other faith-based institutions) have under the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions.<br /></div><div align="justify"><em>The Facts of the Case:<br /></em></div><div align="justify">Wendy Ostlund began teaching at St. Patrick’s Elementary School in Onalaska in 1974. St. Patrick's is a member school of Coulee Catholic Schools, a cooperative effort between area Catholic schools to share resources, streamline administration, and unify curriculum. CCS is owned, operated, and subject to the authority of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is therefore an entity of the Catholic Church. The Catholic school is considered a ministry of the Roman Catholic Church. The church considers the foundation of the whole educational enterprise in a Catholic school to be Jesus Christ. The Catholic school aims at a Christian concept of life centered on Jesus Christ. Teachers are believed to be essential to this ministry. </div><div align="justify"><br />Ostlund’s school day was pretty typical for a teacher in a Christian school. She began the day with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. She taught reading, science, social studies, math, and handwriting. Other teachers taught computers, art, P.E., and music. </div><div align="justify"><br />The final period of the day was religion, which she taught on her own three days per week. A priest or deacon accompanied Ostlund on the fourth day. On the fifth, there was a school-wide Mass. During religion class, Ostlund taught the Catholic faith. She was often the first person to teach the children certain Catholic prayers. She taught basic Catholic doctrine, and specific worship practices like the Stations of the Cross. Ostlund also helped her students celebrate school-wide religious holidays.</div><div align="justify"><br />Approximately every fourth week, Ostlund was responsible for helping to plan the Friday Mass with her class. When planning Mass, Ostlund was in charge of choosing appropriate readings from the Bible. She was also responsible for the petitions that would be read and prayed during Mass. These she would either choose from a liturgy guide, or at times, write herself. Ostlund also participated in various aspects of the Mass, including reading responsorial psalms and carrying the bread and wine. </div><div align="justify"><br />Each year, Ostlund was required to sign an employment contract, which provided: </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><blockquote><p align="justify">“The Employee agrees to faithfully and conscientiously perform any and all<br />duties of the position(s) for which he/she is hired and all other duties as<br />directed by the Employer including, but not limited to . . . comply with the<br />requirements of the Diocese of La Crosse and the State of Wisconsin regarding<br />the educational preparation of teachers.”<br /></p></blockquote><p>It also provided:<br /></p><blockquote><p align="justify">“The Employee as a teacher in a Catholic educational system agrees that as a<br />condition of employment he/she will support and exemplify in conduct both<br />Catholic doctrine and morality. He/She must be consistent in expression and<br />example, with the teaching and practice of the Catholic faith and shall not<br />teach, advocate, encourage or counsel beliefs or practices contrary to the<br />Catholic faith.”<br /></p></blockquote><p align="justify">The CCS Faculty and Staff Handbook included written rules, regulations, and policies adopted by the Diocese of La Crosse and approved by its Bishop. These policies required teachers to comply with certain standards. A preamble to these standards stated in pertinent part:<br /></p><blockquote><p align="justify">“The primary mission of the Catholic Church is to continue the mission of Jesus: PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Central to this mission is the teaching of the Word of God. This ministry of the Word is given expression in the education efforts of the Church. </p><p align="justify">It is the goal of the five dioceses in the state of Wisconsin to promote and support a comprehensive educational ministry. The ministry extends to people of all ages: adults, youth and children. </p><p align="justify">Following their long tradition of service to the people of Wisconsin,<br />Catholic elementary and secondary schools and religious education programs continue to be an essential part of the educational ministry of the Church. </p><p align="justify">By virtue of their ministry, personnel in Catholic education are role models<br />for other adults, youth and children. Therefore, they are called to be<br />well-informed in Catholic teachings and committed to a Catholic way of life.”<br /></p></blockquote><p align="justify">The standards themselves contain several requirements for teachers. Notably, elementary school teachers of religion were required to have both basic and advanced certifications in religion, which Ostlund acquired and maintained. Both the basic and advanced certifications involved yearly continuing education sessions where Ostlund was instructed on how to teach Catholic principles and doctrine. Teachers were also required be certified by the Department of Public Instruction. Ostlund was actually not a licensed teacher—she was working to obtain her teaching license, however, as that was a fairly recent requirement for CCS elementary school teachers.</p><p align="justify">While the standards required teachers of religion to be Catholics, as a matter of practice CCS did not actually require elementary school to be members of the Catholic Church. Ostlund’s job description set forth six main areas of responsibility: providing a religious Atmosphere, teaching responsibilities, supervisory responsibilities, professional duties, grade level responsibilities, and compliance with the school and diocesan policies. The “religious atmosphere” component required her to provide a good Christian model and example; encourage spiritual growth in students by developing inner discipline, character, morals, and values; and provide leadership in living and celebrating life and liturgies. Her professional duties required her to, among other things, earn and maintain religious certification. </p><p align="justify">As part of her yearly evaluation, Ostlund and a supervisor commented on various aspects of her job performance. The court found some of Ostlund’s comments relevant here. In her 1997 job evaluation, Ostlund stated: “When I teach prayer or religion class, attend or prepare liturgy or talk about morals and values, I know that I am dealing with things that are not found in a public school.” With regard to her teaching technique, Ostlund commented “I am able to incorporate Catholic values into all of the subjects that I teach.” In her 2001 job evaluation, she commented: “I encourage spiritual growth during religion class as well as throughout the day.” In her 2002 evaluation, Ostlund stated: “I have taught religion daily and prepared liturgies, which are well thought out and appropriate for first graders.” Ostlund’s evaluator stated that Ostlund “prepares students for participation in liturgies and prayer services celebrated during the school year.” </p><p align="justify">In the spring of 2002, CCS closed one of its elementary schools due to low enrollment. This required the school system to lay off several teachers. On March 27, 2002, Ostlund received a letter from the president of CCS stating that, due to the staff reductions, Ostlund would not be offered a contract for the 2002-03 school year. She was one of ten teachers not to receive contract extensions from CCS. Ostlund was age 53 when she was terminated, and was replaced with a 35-year-old teacher who was certified to teach elementary school.</p><p align="justify">Following her termination, Ostlund filed an age discrimination complaint with the Equal Rights Division of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. She alleged that CCS terminated her because of her age in violation of the Fair Employment Act. The Equal Rights Officer did not find probable cause to believe that CCS violated the law when it terminated Ostlund. She then appealed the initial determination and received a formal administrative hearing with the Equal Rights Division to address her claim. CCS moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the Equal Rights Division had no jurisdiction because Ostlund’s position was “ministerial,” meaning that acting on the complaint would infringe upon CCS’s First Amendment rights. </p><p align="justify">The Equal Rights Division Administrative Law Judge concluded that Ostlund’s position was not ministerial. He concluded that while Ostlund did engage in religiously-related activities, her primary duty was to instruct her students in a core of secular disciplines. Therefore, he dismissed CCS’s motion and ordered a hearing to determine whether there was probable cause that CCS violated the Fair Employment Act when it terminated Ostlund. </p><p align="justify">CCS appealed the Equal Rights Division ruling to the State of Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission for administrative review. LIRC determined that because the ALJ’s decision was not a “final order,” so it could not hear the appeal until after the probable cause hearing. CCS then sought review in the La Crosse County Circuit Court. The circuit court ruled that any investigation of the discrimination claim would have to wait until LIRC made a decision on whether Ostlund’s position was ministerial or not. </p><p align="justify">The matter was then sent back to LIRC, which issued a decision agreeing with the ALJ that Ostlund’s primary duty as a first-grade teacher was to instruct her students in a core of secular disciplines. Teaching religion four times a week, leading prayers, referring to religious symbols, incorporating religious themes into classes, preparing liturgy, and supervising liturgy did not constitute Ostlund’s primary duty, according to LIRC. Therefore, the discrimination hearing should be held. CCS sought review of that decision in La Crosse County Circuit Court. </p><p align="justify">The circuit court agreed with LIRC that, despite Ostlund teaching religion, participating in religious activities with students, and using religious examples in her lessons, her primary duty was to teach secular subject matters to her students. Hence, the circuit court held that she was not a ministerial employee, and that Ostlund’s age discrimination claim could proceed. CCS appealed and the court of appeals upheld the circuit court decision. Therefore, she appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.</p><p align="justify"><em>The Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision:</em></p><p align="justify">The Supreme Court started by noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that the right to practice one’s religion according to the dictates of conscience is fundamental to our system of government. It noted that our nation’s founders recognized and enshrined this right in our in the Constitution. Roughly 60 years later, Wisconsinites saw fit to include more specific and more extensive protections for religious liberty in our state constitution. </p><p align="justify">On appeal, Ostlund also referred to the First Amendment. She asserted that the Establishment Clause provided the principles for this case, and that the real question was whether the Fair Employment Act creates excessive government entanglement with religion. She argued that giving religious employers an exemption from non-discrimination laws encroaches upon the Establishment Clause’s prohibition against furthering religion. The court, however, stated that U.S. Supreme Court case law and common sense lead to a different conclusion—that it is the Free Exercise Clause, and not the Establishment Clause, that is implicated in this case. Granting churches and religious organizations control over the selection of their leaders does not implicate the establishment of religion or the favoring of one religion over another. </p><p align="justify">According to the court, the state has a strong interest in eradicating discrimination, but the job of the courts is to distinguish minor or “incidental” burdens on free exercise in eradicating discrimination from burdens where the inroad on religious liberty is too substantial to be permissible. In doing so, courts have described what they call the “ministerial exception.” In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court proposed a test for deciding when a position should be considered ministerial. An employee is ministerial, it said, if his or her “primary duties consist of teaching, spreading the faith, church governance, supervision of a religious order, or supervision or participation in religious ritual and worship.” This inquiry requires a court to determine whether a position is important to the spiritual and pastoral mission of the church. This test for has been called the “primary duties test.” </p><p align="justify">The court noted a problem with this test: what the word “primary” means. Some courts have taken a quantitative approach, looking, for example, at the amount of time spent on particular subjects deemed “secular” versus subjects deemed “religious.” This was the approach taken by Ostlund, the ALJ, LIRC, the circuit court, and the court of appeals.</p><p align="justify">The court determined what they termed a better way to view the ministerial exception—the “functional approach.” This perspective focuses more on whether a position is important to the spiritual and pastoral mission of the church. The primary concern here is the function of the employee, not only the enumerated tasks themselves. The court held that the quantitative approach minimizes or privatizes religion by calling a faith-centered social studies class, for example, “secular” because it does not specifically involve worship and prayer. A functional analysis, the court said, involves less intrusion into the affairs of religious organizations, envisages a more limited role for courts in determining whether activities or positions are religious, and avoids reducing the significance of a position to a rote formula. In short, the court said, a functional analysis is truer to the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.</p><p align="justify">The court then set out two steps for performing a functional analysis. First is to determine whether the organization, in both statement and practice, has a fundamentally religious mission. Any inquiry would be highly fact-sensitive. The court noted that “it could be that one religiously-affiliated organization committed to feeding the homeless has only a nominal tie to religion, while another religiously-affiliated organization committed to feeding the homeless has a religiously infused mission involving teaching, evangelism, and worship. Similarly, one religious school may have some affiliation with a church but not attempt to ground the teaching and life of the school in the religious faith, while another similarly situated school may be committed to life and learning grounded in a religious worldview.” </p><p align="justify">The second step in the analysis is to determine how important or closely linked the employee’s work is to the fundamental mission of that organization. This again would be highly fact-specific. Relevant evidence could include hiring criteria, the job application, the employment contract, actual job duties, performance evaluations, and the understanding or characterization of a position by the organization. Quintessentially religious tasks like teaching, evangelizing, church governance, supervision of a religious order, and overseeing, leading, or participating in religious rituals, worship, and/or worship services are not the only evidence considered, but would show a close link and importance to an organization’s religious mission. </p><p align="justify">A functional analysis of the ministerial exception makes sense, the court noted, because, though it departs in form from the analysis used by many other courts, it gets to the real heart of the ministerial exception, which is preventing the state from intruding into the mission of religious organizations or houses of worship. The state surely has a strong interest in ensuring fair employment opportunities regardless of age, race, and other such factors. Nonetheless, the Wisconsin legislature oversteps its constitutional authority when its otherwise laudable efforts at fairness interfere with the hiring and firing of employees who are important and closely linked to the religious mission of a religious organization. Such actions impermissibly intrude upon the organization’s exercise of religious liberty. </p><p align="justify">The court also looked at the Wisconsin Constitution in making its decision. This is important for two reasons—first, it makes an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court nearly impossible. Second, it signals the court’s growing willingness to interpret the state constitution more restrictively than the U.S. Constitution. This is important in many contexts, and is not a so-called liberal/conservative issue. Those called “liberals” might appreciate a more stringent interpretation of what constitutes illegal search and seizure or the right against self-incrimination, while so-called “conservatives” might appreciate more stringent interpretations of the Free Exercise clause or various constitutional provisions related to commerce. <br />Article I, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution provides as follows: </p><blockquote><p align="justify">“The right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of<br />conscience shall never be infringed; nor shall any person be compelled to<br />attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry,<br />without consent; nor shall any control of, or interference with, the rights of<br />conscience be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious<br />establishments or modes of worship; nor shall any money be drawn from the<br />treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or religious or theological<br />seminaries.” </p></blockquote><p align="justify">According to the court, the Wisconsin Constitution uses the strongest possible language in the protection of the right of freedom of conscience. While this section serves the same purposes as the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution, these provisions are not the same. The protections and prohibitions in the Wisconsin Constitution are far more specific. And with regard to the rights of conscience, this clause contains extremely strong language, providing expansive protections for religious liberty. Thus, the court held, Wisconsin courts are not limited to current First Amendment jurisprudence when interpreting our own constitutional protections for religious liberty; rather, they are required to give effect to the more explicit guarantees set forth in our state constitution. </p><p align="justify">When faced with a claim that a state law violates an individual or organization’s freedom of conscience, courts generally apply the compelling state interest/least restrictive alternative test. Under this test, the religious organization has to prove that it has a sincerely held religious belief, and that such belief is burdened by the application of the state law at issue. If it does so, then the burden shifts to the state to prove that the law is based upon a compelling state interest that cannot be served by a less restrictive alternative. </p><p align="justify">This analysis, the court said, is appropriate in most circumstances regarding laws burdening the rights of conscience, but not in this case. This is because the law at issue in this case is not merely a burden on an individual’s or organization’s religious beliefs. Rather, it is an effort by the state to intrude into the hiring and firing decisions of a religious organization. The Wisconsin Constitution acts as a perpetual bar to the state from the infringement, control, or interference with the rights of conscience. The state simply has no authority to control or interfere with the selection of spiritual leaders of a religious organization with a religious mission. The court compared the Wisconsin provision to the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bans slavery. It would be inconceivable to conclude that slavery can exist in the United States as long as the state has a compelling interest. The text is clear—slavery is not allowed. In the same way, the state cannot or interfere with the selection of spiritual leaders of a religious organization.</p><p align="justify">The court noted that they do not mean to suggest that anything interfering with a religious organization is totally prohibited. General laws related to building licensing, taxes, social security, and the like are normally acceptable. Similarly, employment discrimination laws applying to employees who are not in positions that are important and closely linked to the religious mission of a religious organization also do not rise to the level of control or interference with the free exercise of religion. But the state may not interfere with the hiring or firing decisions of religious organizations with a religious mission with respect to employees who are important and closely linked to that mission. These employees are “ministerial,” and when applied to ministerial employees, laws like the Fair Employment Act constitute an impermissible effort to control or interfere with the organization’s rights of conscience in violation of the Wisconsin Constitution.</p><p align="justify">In applying the law to Ostlund, the court noted that LIRC had found that the textbooks used by Ostlund were not religious and that, except for a Christmas unit, her instruction in social studies was not primarily religious. However, Ostlund testified that she incorporated religious examples and values into everything she taught. The court noted that whether or not her teaching of social studies was primarily religious is more a legal judgment than a factual finding. Similarly, it noted that LIRC found as a fact that “religious related activities did not constitute [Ostlund’s] primary duty. The court rejected that finding of fact, saying it was a legal judgment. While it may be that the majority of her duties were teaching “secular” subjects, the court said, it does not follow that her primary duties were secular for purposes of determining whether the ministerial exception applies. These issues were important, because the Supreme Court is generally bound to the factual findings of lower courts, but can make independent determinations on legal judgments. It is somewhat unusual for an appeals court to reject a finding of fact as actually being a legal judgment wrapped in the cloths of a factual finding. However, the Supreme Court her made a point of doing so.</p><p align="justify">The court then followed the law it had set forth to determine that Ostlund’s position was important and closely linked to the religious mission of a religious organization. </p><p align="justify">It first looked at the nature of Coulee Catholic Schools and St. Patrick’s Elementary. The court noted that CCS has a religious mission and substantially practices it. CCS is an entity committed to marshalling the resources and expertise of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of La Crosse. CCS is an entity of the Catholic Church itself, subject to the authority of the Bishop of La Crosse, who himself approved certain CCS rules and policies. It is committed to a distinctly Catholic education aimed at a “Christian concept of life.” The preamble to the CCS Faculty and Staff Handbook explicitly stated that Catholic school education is an essential part of the Catholic Church’s efforts to live out its mission to proclaim the kingdom of God. Consistent with this mission, Catholic elementary and secondary schools are called educational ministry. CCS is committed to an education rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that celebrates the development of Gospel faith and identity through sacrament and service. It aims to be a worship-filled educational environment with a faith-centered approach to learning. It is beyond dispute, then, that CCS has a religious mission. The court also held that the actual practice of Ostlund’s school substantially affirmed that CCS gives life to the words of its mission. Teachers made efforts to integrate Catholic values into various aspects of the curricula. This included integrating theological and moral principles into each subject, as well as use of religious examples and symbols that would not be found in a public school. Students were taught the Catholic faith in a daily religion class, and celebrated Mass weekly. The students also prayed at points throughout the day and celebrated religious holidays. Teachers were required to teach, support, and exemplify Catholic doctrine and morality, and they were to help foster spiritual growth among their students. In short, CCS member schools are not just public schools with a few supplemental religious extras. CCS was explicitly and intentionally faith-centered, and the record supports that CCS tried to live out its mission. </p><p align="justify">The second step in the court’s inquiry was an examination of Ostlund’s position itself and the degree to which it is important and closely linked to CCS's mission. As a first-grade teacher at St. Patrick’s Elementary School, one of the CCS schools, it was obvious to the court that Ostlund’s role was of high importance and closely linked to the mission of the school----the inculcation of a Christ-centered concept of life. Ostlund led prayer with her students, incorporated religious examples, symbols, and stories into other subjects, and helped celebrate school-wide celebrations of religious holidays. Significantly, Ostlund was a catechist for four days per week; that is, she taught Catholic doctrine and practice to her students. Ostlund also took her students to Mass each week, sometimes planning Bible readings and writing prayers for worship services. Ostlund was important and closely linked to the religious mission of CCS with regard to her first-grade students. Ostlund was required to obtain basic and advanced certifications in religious instruction. This means she was required to and did receive ongoing training and instruction on how to teach the Catholic faith to her students. She further agreed to model and support Catholic teaching. In her job description, which also served as the template for her performance evaluation, her first responsibility was to maintain a religious atmosphere, which required her to provide a good Christian model and example, encourage spiritual growth in students, and provide leadership in living and celebrating life and liturgies. Ostlund acknowledged her efforts to incorporate Catholic values and encourage spiritual growth throughout the day, not just in religion class. Ostlund’s position as a first-grade teacher was important and closely linked to the religiously-infused mission of the school. In particular, her specific obligations to contribute to worship services and teach Catholic doctrine to her students point to her significance in the religious mission of the school. Ostlund was required to perform quintessentially religious tasks as a central part of her job, and her role was an essential part of the Catholic Church's educational ministry to its youth. In sum, Ostlund was not simply a public school teacher with an added obligation to teach religion. She was an important instrument in a faith-based organization's efforts to pass on its faith to the next generation. The state and federal constitutions do not permit the state to interfere with employment decisions regarding teachers, like Ostlund, who are important and closely linked to the religious mission of CCS. </p><p align="justify">The court addressed two counterarguments. First, the lower courts were particularly affected by the fact that Ostlund was not required to be Catholic. It may seem, at first blush, counterintuitive to call a position ministerial when the person occupying it is not required to be a member of the faith she is ministering. But this ignores the fact that Ostlund was still required to engage in Catholic worship, model Catholic living, and impart Catholic teaching. Thus, though it may be that she was not required to be Catholic, she was required to live, embody, and teach Catholicism in her role as a teacher consistent with the mission of the school. </p><p align="justify">Previous courts also pointed to the secular teaching materials as important. But as discussed above, Ostlund testified that she made efforts to integrate Catholicism into all her subjects. The fact that she used a secular social studies book does not mean that the social studies class was “secular.” Ostlund used religious examples and brought Catholic teaching into all of her subjects.<br />The court specifically noted that in their holding in this case, they were not giving a blanket exception to all religious school teachers. Future cases along these lines will be very fact-sensitive. But the state has no constitutional authority to regulate the hiring and firing decisions of CCS for this first-grade teaching position.</p><p align="justify">Thus, the decision by the court of appeals was reversed.</p><p align="justify">This decision was not unanimous. Justice Crooks wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Chief Justice Abrahamson and Justice Bradley, making it a 4-3 decision. (In fact, many commentators have noted that the result of the decision was likely completely decided by the 2008 Supreme Court election, in which Justice Gableman, who wrote the majority opinion) defeated former Justice Butler. </p><p align="justify">The dissent argued that the majority altered the “primary duties” test as it had been understood by Wisconsin courts and a significant majority of other jurisdictions. The dissent also argued that the majority’s sweeping language and analysis will have far-reaching consequences and jeopardizes long-standing decisions under the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, as well as under the “benefits clause” and “compelled support clause” contained in Article I, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution. In fact, the dissent specifically noted that the majority conclusion that CCS infuses its secular subjects with religion effectively extends a free pass to religious schools to discriminate against their lay employees and threatens the continued viability of the Milwaukee school choice program. If the majority is correct in its conclusions, the dissent says, it can no longer be maintained that benefits flowing from the Milwaukee school choice program do not have the primary effect of advancing religion. </p>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-85438221322476921192009-07-22T15:17:00.002-05:002009-07-22T15:24:08.903-05:00Sermon Series--Sermon #2<div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Big Words of the Faith:<br />The Covenant of Grace<br /></span></strong><em>Hebrews 8:10-12</em><br /></span> </div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><strong>I. Introduction</strong><br /><br />If you were here last week, you know that this summer we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. This morning, during our fellowship time after the service, please stay for a little while and join us for some birthday cake in celebration. <br /><br />Besides cake, we are also celebrating God’s work through John Calvin by taking a look at some of the “Big Words of the Faith.” Last week we looked at predestination. That can be a pretty controversial and heavy topic—I’m glad to see some of you who were here last week came back. This week’s topic is probably not quite as controversial, at least right now.<br /><br />There are outlines for you once again this morning. If you don’t have one already, raise your hand and someone will make sure you get one.<br /><br />This week, we are looking at the word “covenant.” This is a pretty commonly used word, especially in Reformed churches like ours. <br /><br />Many of you probably know of many reformed churches all over North America with the word “Covenant” in their name. I have had the opportunity to preach on numerous occasions at Covenant CRC up in Appleton. I made profession of faith, and Kim and I were married, at Covenant CRC in Sioux Center, Iowa. It is a common name.<br /><br />Another context in which we see the word covenant is in relation to children. Many churches provide assistance to encourage and help parents to send their children to Christian schools. Those programs are often known as “Covenant Promise” or “Covenant Education” funds. <br /><br />We also use the word covenant during baptisms and professions of faith. We refer to the babies we present for baptism as covenant children. We proclaim that baptism is a sign that they are a part of the covenant of grace. And when those children reach an age at which they are assured of the promises of the covenant and want to take on its responsibilities, they make profession of faith.<br /><br />So this morning, let’s look together at this word—“covenant.” What is a covenant? How is the idea of the covenant an important part of what we believe as Christians? And what does the covenant mean to us?<br /><br />Our text this morning comes from the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, verses 10-12. Hebrews is near the end of the Bible—after 1&2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, but before James, 1&2 Peter, and 1, 2, &3 John. <br /><br />This text is actually part of a much larger section of Hebrews dealing with the covenant. In fact, I think the key truth of the book of Hebrews is the unchanging nature of God’s covenant of grace and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.<br /><br />One other thing to know about our text this morning is that it is actually a quote. Starting with the end of verse 8, and continuing to the end of verse 12, the writer of Hebrews is quoting the prophet Jeremiah. When you get a chance, take a look at Jeremiah 31:31-34. You will see that those verses are quoted exactly here in Hebrews 8.<br /><br />So hear the word of the Lord from Hebrews chapter 8, verses 10-12:<br /><br />This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel<br /> after that time, declares the Lord.<br /> I will put my laws in their minds<br /> and write them on their hearts.<br /> I will be their God,<br /> and they will be my people.<br /> No longer will a man teach his neighbor,<br /> or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'<br /> because they will all know me,<br /> from the least of them to the greatest.<br /> For I will forgive their wickedness<br /> and will remember their sins no more.<br /><br />Prayer<br /><br /><br /><strong>II. What is a Covenant?<br /></strong><br />Right at the beginning of our text comes the big word we are studying this morning—“covenant.” Before going further, let’s define exactly what a covenant is.<br /><br />In its most general sense, a covenant is a solemn promise made by one party to another to engage in or refrain from a certain action.<br /><br />A covenant is different from a contract. In a contract, two or more parties make promises to each other, and each is bound by the contract. Each side has an obligation to the other. If one or the other doesn’t follow through on the obligation, then the contract is broken, and the penalties written into the contract will be applied against the one who broke the contract.<br /><br />In a covenant, only one party is bound by the promise. The one making the covenant might declare that promise will only be kept if those benefiting from the covenant do certain things. But if they don’t do those things, they aren’t necessarily violating of the covenant. They’re just choosing not to receive the benefits of the promise made in the covenant. They won’t receive any benefit from the agreement.<br /><br />This definition of covenant is a key to understanding the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace is a solemn promise made by God to grant salvation and eternal life to mankind—so long as we believe and obey.<br /><br /><br /><strong>III. Covenant History—God’s story<br /></strong><br />This morning our focus is on the covenant of grace—that solemn promise of God to grant salvation and eternal life to us if we believe and obey.<br /><br />To fully understand the meaning of the covenant of grace, though, we should understand “covenant history.” “Covenant history” is the story of God’s relationship with his people. “Covenant history” is really “God’s story” as God has revealed it in his Word. And it includes two other covenants of which God is or has been a part. These covenants have a tremendous impact on how we understand the covenant of grace today. <br /><br /> <strong> A. The Covenant of Works<br /></strong><br />The first act in God’s story was creation. As the very first words of the Bible say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God created everything from nothing by His powerful word.<br /><br />The high point of creation was when God created humans. Genesis 1:26 tells us that God created us as the pinnacle of His creation by making us in his own image, “crowned with glory and honor.” Then, Genesis 2 tells us that God made a covenant with Adam, the first human.<br /><br />That first covenant is usually called the “covenant of works.” Some call it the “covenant of creation” because it was started at creation. Others call it the “covenant of life” because it was intended to give man not only earthly life, but heavenly life. In the covenant of works, God promised life to Adam and his descendants, so long as he obeyed God perfectly<br /><br />God created us, so we naturally owed God our love and obedience. He didn’t need to enter into a covenant to create that obligation. And He owed us nothing in return for that love and obedience. Yet God willingly entered into the covenant of works. In doing so, he gave us a gift of grace, binding Himself to give life to humans. The only condition in that covenant was the obedience that Adam, and all his descendants, already owed to God. So while we call this first covenant “the covenant of works,” we see God’s grace to us from the very beginning.<br /><br />In the covenant of works, God arranged it so that Adam would represent the entire human race. If Adam had fulfilled the conditions of the covenant, then all of his descendants would have lived forever with God in eternal blessedness. Remember, though, this was a covenant, not a contract. Adam could not earn salvation by obeying. Rather, his obedience was simply the condition for remaining within the covenant.<br /><br />Unfortunately, even though he was capable of following God’s will, Adam broke the terms of the covenant of works. As a result, he was no longer under the covenant’s protection and promise. Since he could no longer claim the promise of life with God, he instead had only death—complete spiritual and physical death and separation from God<br /><br />And since Adam represented us all, every one of us is incapable of receiving life under the covenant of works. Because of Adam’s sin, we all entered into the bondage of sin and death.<br /><br />At this point, the story would have ended if it were not for God’s grace and mercy. But because of the covenant of grace, the story did not end!<br /><br /> <strong> B. The Covenant of Redemption</strong><br /><br />In Ephesians 2, the apostle reminds us of the misery we have because of being outside of the covenant of works. But then, in verse four, Paul uses two very small but very powerful words—“But God.” “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”<br /><br />At the very moment of Adam’s fall, God began to show his infinite mercy by withholding immediate physical death. And then he showed his amazing grace, announcing a new covenant: the covenant of grace. In that new covenant, God promised to send another to redeem fallen humanity from their plight.<br /><br />Before getting too much further into the covenant of grace, there is one other covenant you should know about—the covenant of redemption. This is an agreement God the Son made with God the Father. In the covenant of redemption, the Son agreed to take on our obligations under the original covenant of works. <br /><br />I am not going to spend a great deal of time on the covenant of redemption this week. We will talk about it more next week, God willing, when our “big word of the faith” is “justification.” Suffice it to say that the covenant of redemption is a key to the covenant of grace. Had there been no covenant of redemption, there could have been no covenant of grace with sinful humans. The covenant of redemption makes the covenant of grace possible.<br /><br /> <strong>C. The Covenant of Grace</strong><br /><br />We see the covenant of grace first in Genesis 3:15, when God tells the devil in the garden “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” The rest of Scripture, from this point on, is the story of God revealing his covenant of grace.<br /><br />Since the fall of man into sin, there has only been one covenant, the covenant of grace. True, the way the covenant was administered has changed. The covenant became wider through time, starting out just with small families, like the families of Noah and Abraham. It widened at the time of Moses to include the entire nation of Israel. And it now covers a church that Revelation 5:9 tells us is made up of people “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” In the Old Testament the covenant was administered through types and shadows, such as sacrifices, the priesthood, and the temple. But those types and shadows all pointed to the promise of the covenant of grace, salvation through Jesus Christ.<br /><br />So what exactly is the covenant of grace? The Westminster Confession describes it this way: “…the Lord was pleased to make a second [covenant], commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein he freely offered unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.”<br /><br />In other words, the covenant of grace is God’s promise that his chosen people will receive the benefits of the original covenant of works—eternal life with God—despite our sin. We receive those benefits through the work of Jesus Christ, who freely took on and fulfilled our obligations under the original covenant. All we have to do receive these benefits is to have faith that we are saved. And not only that, as part of the covenant of grace, God promises to give those covered by this covenant the desire and the ability to believe. <br /><br />The covenant of grace is indeed a covenant, not a contract. It is a solemn promise made by God, promising to grant salvation and eternal life to sinful humans. And there is a condition to that promise—the promise of salvation and eternal life covers us only so long as we believe in Christ and obey him as our King. But God also gives his chosen people the means by which we can fulfill that condition.<br /><br />Under the covenant of works Adam could not earn salvation by obeying. Rather his obedience was required simply as the condition for remaining within the protections of the covenant.<br /><br />In the same way, we cannot earn the salvation and eternal life won for us by Christ by believing in and obeying Jesus. Rather, our belief and obedience is simply the condition for remaining within the covenant of grace. And, thanks to God, He has given us the means to fulfill that condition through the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />The most exciting part of the covenant of grace for us will be its consummation. The covenant of grace will reach its fullest expression when Christ returns to give the world second birth, when his people will be transformed into the likeness of Christ, and when all things will be restored to the way they were meant to be. That will be the time of the New Heaven and New Earth, when we will receive in full the blessing of God’s covenant promise to live in eternal blessedness with our Creator God.<br /><br />The Bible, at its core is “covenant history.” It is the story of God’s relationship with his creation, especially us humans. And the covenant story comes to a head in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Through this covenant story, not only do we learn of how we can live in a glorious relationship with our Father, but we see God’s glory revealed through his work in all of history.<br /><br /><strong>IV. What the Covenant means to us<br /></strong><br />The covenant of grace is God’s promise that his chosen people will receive the benefits of the original covenant of works—eternal life with God—despite our sin. Let’s take a look, through our text, at what it means for us humans to be within that covenant of grace.<br /><br /> <strong>A. God is a sovereign provider<br /></strong><br />Take a look at the last part of verse 10 of our text. There it says “I will be their God and they will be my people.” If there is one way to sum up the covenant promise of God to us his people, it is just that—he will be our God, and we will be his people.<br /><br />This little phrase packs a lot of meaning in just a few words. We can sum it up, though, by saying that God is a sovereign provider. He is a sovereign provider.<br /><br />Listen to what the catechism says in Lord’s Day 9. There the writers say that “the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence is my God and Father because of Christ his Son.” Do you see the covenant there—God promises to be our God, and he does this through Jesus Christ.<br /><br />The catechism goes on to tell us what it means for us that he is our God. “I do not doubt that he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world.” He will provide whatever I need. He will turn to my good every adversity. What a promise!<br /><br />In two weeks, we are going spend the entire service focusing on God’s providence, so I won’t go much deeper today. But in that covenant promise of God to be our God and that we will be his people, we have a promise that God is a sovereign provider.<br /><br /> <strong> B. God demands obedience from us<br /></strong><br />But not only is God a sovereign provider, he also demands obedience from us. God demands obedience from us. Jump back to the middle of verse 10. Listen to another promise from God’s covenant with us: “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”<br /><br />We have already noted that while we cannot earn salvation, God can withdraw the promises of the covenant from those who do not meet its stipulations. One of those stipulations is obedience. God demands obedience from us—even though we cannot be saved by following the law, God still demands that we obey his law.<br /><br />Sometimes Christians misunderstand why we obey the law. We see our good deeds as a way of earning God’s favor. Or we point to our empty deeds as proof of our righteousness before God while ignoring the darkness of our hearts. Or we do our good deeds as a way of convince others of our goodness.<br /><br />The apostle Paul dealt with this tendency when he criticized the Galatians at the beginning of chapter 3 of his letter to them. There he says “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Obviously, we don’t obey to earn God’s favor or the favor of others.<br /><br />But on the other end, some Christians have a tendency just to forget the law. We’re already saved, after all. Why bother trying to obey the law if it gets us nowhere? We can rely solely on God’s grace.<br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:georgia;">John responds to that idea in 1 John 3:4-10, where he says “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.”<br /><br />Jesus Christ not only took on the punishment for our sin, but he lived a perfect life so that perfection could be imputed to us. And as a result we are grafted into the family of God, becoming one with the Son and he one with us. If we are becoming one with the Son, it follows that we will become more and more like him. And since the Son was perfect, following the law perfectly, it follows that we also will become more and more perfect, following the law of God.<br /><br />At Mount Sinai, God wrote us his laws. Now, says our text, he writes them on our hearts. He gives us an understanding to know and to believe his law; he gives us the memory to retain it; he gives us the heart to love it and the conscience to recognize it; and he gives us the courage to profess it and the power to put it into practice.<br /><br />Yes, it is true that we will not be perfectly obedient. Sin does that to us, but the Holy Spirit working in our hearts leads us to be more and more like Christ. And that means we are obedient to God’s law, just as he demands. We can only do this because of Christ’s work on our behalf and the Spirit’s power in our hearts. But God demands obedience from us. And it is through our obedience that we can see that we are members of the covenant, covered by the eternal promise of God.<br /><br /> <strong> C. God will judge those outside the covenant<br /></strong><br />Because God demands obedience, and because not all have been elected by God to receive salvation, there are some who remain outside the covenant of grace. God will judge those outside the covenant.<br /><br />We talked in depth about this last week. Not everyone is covered by God’s covenant of grace. As humans, we are all subject to death, because our sin means we didn’t keep the stipulations of the original covenant, the covenant of works. But God in his grace provides a new covenant. That covenant doesn’t cover all of humanity—just those who believe and obey. The disobedient and the unbelievers have still received a measure of grace from God—they live on earth for a while, and many of them enjoy temporarily the blessings God bestows upon his creation.<br /><br />But in the end, those outside of the covenant die. They are judged for their sin and suffer an eternal death, permanently separated from God and his blessings. God will judge those outside the covenant.<br /><br /> <strong> D. God will bless those who are faithful<br /></strong><br />Finally, God will bless those who are faithful. Listen to the last two verses of our text. “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”<br /><br />When we were outside of the covenant because of our sin, we were subject to death. But because God grants us the faith by which we can take on His covenant promises, God blesses us.<br /><br />God blesses those who are faithful. We receive the comfort that comes from knowing that we belong to our faithful Savior. We receive the washing away of our sins by Christ’s precious blood. We are set free from slavery to sin. We are assured that the Father is actively caring for us, providing everything we need and ensuring that even the bad things of this world will be worked out for our benefit. We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We receive the assurance of forgiveness that comes from recognizing the Spirit at work in us. And we receive eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth, where we will praise God together in joy forever. God will bless those who are faithful.<br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><strong>V. Conclusion</strong><br /><br />God’s story is the story of the covenant of grace—the solemn promise made by God to grant salvation and eternal life to mankind so long as we believe and obey.<br /><br />Because of the covenant of grace, we can have comfort. We can turn from our fears because we recognize God’s mercy. One writer put it this way: “He has remembered his covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, and he has delivered us through the Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” <br /><br />Serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness. If God is for us, who can be against us? When you are filled with fear, remember the promises of God in Christ Jesus.<br /><br />Sometimes we turn the big words of the faith into abstract doctrines, with little application to our day to day lives. But the covenant of grace is not just an abstract doctrine. It is the guarantee of your relationship with God. It is the reason that you may serve him without fear.<br /><br />In Jesus Christ, God makes good on his promise that he will be our God and we will be his people. God could not allow his covenant to fail. He even sent his Son to become a man and die rather than break his covenant. The Lord is faithful, his covenant endures forever.<br /><br />Amen.</span></div>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-16927934280270329252009-07-22T15:12:00.001-05:002009-07-22T15:14:54.287-05:00How God and Science Mix<a href="http://http//www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2009/07/how-god-and-science-mix">This</a> post on First Things is worth a read. The key sentences, I thought were these:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Scientists are atheists in the lab, said Krauss, and so it is only logical that they should be atheists everywhere. This is a logical argument, yes, and also quite popular, but it is based on a conception of God that is alien to Jewish and Christian tradition. For Haldane and Krauss, religion is about miracles, and miracles are about magic and the irrational, and therefore belief in God stands in opposition to the world revealed by science, a world intelligible by reason and governed by law.For Jews and Christians, however, pitting God and the laws of nature against each other in this way is an absurd mistake; for it is the very lawfulness of nature that points to a divine Lawgiver. In the Bible, God gives laws not only to the people of Israel, but to the cosmos itself, as in Jeremiah 33:25, where he declares his fidelity to Israel in these terms: “When I have no covenant with day and night, and have given no laws to heaven and earth, then too will I reject the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David.”</span>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-19736766690513351392009-07-12T15:10:00.004-05:002009-07-22T15:26:37.042-05:00Sermon Series--Sermon #1<p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13;"><b></b></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"></span></span></b></p></b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >Big Words of the Faith:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Predestination</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Ephesians 1:3-14</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><span style="mso-list: Ignore">I.<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman';font-size:100%;" > </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Series Introduction</b></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><span style="mso-list: Ignore">A.<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman';font-size:100%;" > </span></span></span>John Calvin</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This week people around the world celebrated the life of an important man who influenced the lives of people all over the world. No, I am not talking about Michael Jackson. Friday was the 500<sup>th</sup> birthday of John Calvin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Jean Cauvin, as he was known at birth, was born on July 10, 1509 in northern France. Training first to become a priest, he switched to the study of law as a teenager. It was during his law studies that he experienced a sudden religious conversion that caused him to break from the Roman Catholic Church. He spent most of his career leading the church in Geneva, Switzerland.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Calvin is best known for his many writings, the most famous of which is probably <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Institutes of the Christian Religion</i>. His writing and preaching form the basis of Calvinism, a branch of theology taught in thousands of Reformed and Presbyterian churches around the world, including our own. Most historians agree that Calvin’s importance was not limited just to the church and theology, but that his ideas contributed to the rise of major ideas of modern Western thought.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><o:p>After our service this morning we will celebrate John Calvin’s 500<sup>th</sup> birthday with birthday cake in the lobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Please feel free to stay and join us for cake and fellowship immediately after church.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><span style="mso-list: Ignore">B.<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman';font-size:100%;" > </span></span></span>Big Words of the Faith<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Birthday cake is nice, but I wanted to do something more to celebrate God’s work through John Calvin. This morning, we are beginning a four-week sermon series on the “Big Words of the Faith.” For the next four weeks, I will be focusing on four different “big words” that we often use in this church and in the Reformed tradition. This week we will look at “predestination.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the next several weeks we will study “the covenant,” “justification,” and “providence.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For many of you, these words are a part of the very fiber of your being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some of your earliest memories of the church involve sermons or Sunday school lessons on these terms, and those sermons and lessons form part of the base upon which the Holy Spirit has built your faith.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For others, those memories may not be quite as positive—perhaps you took these lessons for granted, or never quite understood them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Or, perhaps, some of you associate these words with dry doctrines taught repetitively and with little connection to your day-to-day life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">Others of you may have grown up in other religious traditions, or with no religious traditions, and these words often seem to you like code words that mark the user as an “insider,” but reinforce your feeling of being an “outsider.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So this morning, and in the next few weeks, my goal is to take a fresh look at these “big words” of the faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For some of you, I hope these next few weeks will be an enjoyable review of some of your most cherished beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For others, perhaps during the next few weeks you will gain a new or increased appreciation of how these words shape our faith as we work it out every day. And for others, maybe the next few weeks will shed a little light on the beliefs we hold dear and will encourage you to think of yourself as the ultimate insider—one of God’s truly loved children, saved through his glorious plan of salvation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >II.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>Topic Introduction</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Our focus this morning is “predestination.” This doctrine can be very difficult for many Christians to understand and accept. We commonly use the word “predestination” to mean God’s decision, made before the world existed, to save certain people, but not others. Predestination means that God has chosen some people for salvation and eternal life, while others are condemned to judgment.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This morning, I am going to focus mostly on the positive side of predestination—that God chose some to be saved. This positive side of predestination is also called election. The people God chose are the “elect” who become like Christ. There is a negative side to predestination—those who are ultimately condemned to judgment. This side of predestination is called reprobation. Those God does not choose to be saved are the “reprobate.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle says that when a lot of people think of doctrine of predestination, they think of the old children’s game “Duck, Duck, Goose.” But this is not the sweet game our three and four year olds might be playing right now. Instead it becomes a game of “Duck, Duck, Damned,” where God picks some people to be saved and others to fry in hell.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">Obviously, God’s decision to choose some, but not others, is far more serious than a children’s game. The Bible’s teaching on the issue is very important, because it affects the way we understand so many other parts of the Bible’s teachings. So this morning, I’d like to make four points about the doctrine of predestination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>First, the doctrine of predestination is Biblical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Second, it is a key to God’s plan of salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Third, the doctrine of predestination shows God’s glory. And finally, the doctrine of predestination can give us comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Turn with me, if you would, to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. If you are using a pew Bible, you can find the passage on page 1817. In just a moment, I will be reading from chapter 1 of Ephesians, starting at verse 3, and ending with verse 14.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Paul, the writer of this letter, is known for writing <u>long</u> sentences. His sentences wouldn’t pass muster with the English teachers among us. In the Bible translation in our pews, the translators turned the 12 verses of our text into eight sentences. In a version I often use at home, the English Standard Version, there are only five sentences in those 12 verses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But in the original Greek, Paul wrote the entire passage as one single sentence. I think that as he wrote it, he may have become so caught up in God’s glory that he forgot to divide his thoughts into sentences. As we read the passage, perhaps you can pick up some of Paul’s exuberance and join him in praising God.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Hear the word of God from Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 3 through 14:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-family:arial;" >Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >III.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The Doctrine of Predestination is Biblical</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">“It’s just not fair!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">My student had a pained look on her face. OK, that’s not so uncommon, but this look wasn’t just put on.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I asked what she thought was so unfair. It turned out that she was upset by my statement that only those people who God chooses are saved. “It’s so random,” she complained.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">My student’s complaint is not at all uncommon. I remember one evening last fall, when my son Micah out of the blue informed me that the Bible says that people have free will. I wasn’t sure what he meant by this, or even why he brought it up, so I pressed him on what he meant.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I asked him why he brought up the topic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>He thought a few seconds and then said he wanted an explanation of how it works that we have free choice but God already knows what we’re going to do. Micah enjoys playing basketball, so I asked him if he was talking about things like choosing whether to pull up and take a jump shot or drive for the layup, or if he was talking about whether we can choose to follow God. “Both,” he said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well, I tried to give an explanation he would understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I told him that we do have free choice. So we are able to choose between a jumper and a lay-up. But I told him I also wanted him to understand that when it comes to choosing God or being chosen by him, we can’t choose God. In fact, on our own, we can only choose to hate God.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">He didn’t like this answer. “How can that be?” he asked. “WE choose.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“No,” I said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“God chooses us. It might feel like we choose, I suppose, since the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts, but we don't choose.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I told him that when it talks about our salvation, the Bible uses the word “predestined.” This means that God has already decided in advance who is saved and who is not. I explained the history of the Canons of Dort, which I described to him as “a big meeting 400 years ago of lots of Christians in Holland who met to discuss free will and predestination. I told him that these Christians decided that the Bible teaches that we are unable to choose to follow God by ourselves because we are too full of sin to make that decision on our own. I also told him that our church follows that decision from 400 years ago.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">I think many of us have had similar experiences. Predestination is a hard teaching to accept. But the doctrine of predestination is Biblical. The word appears twice in our text. In verse 5 it says that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">In love [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.</i>” In verse 11, Paul says that in Christ “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">We also see the word “predestination” in four other New Testament passages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In two passages, Acts 4:28 and 1 Corinthians 2:7, the word refers to God’s determining the events of world history ahead of time. But like the use of the word in our text this morning, the other two uses of the word refer to God’s decision, before the world began, about the destiny of individual people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Take a look at Romans 8:29-30, where Paul writes “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.</i>”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">While Jesus didn’t use the word predestination in his teachings, we can see the concept in his words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For example, in Matthew 22:14, Jesus says that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">…many are called, but few are chosen.</i>” And in John 15:16, Jesus says “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.</i>”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">When we look at Scripture, it is difficult to simply deny that the Bible teaches some form of predestination. The doctrine of predestination is biblical. But there is some difference of opinion over how exactly God predestined some to eternal life and others to eternal death.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">Most Christians who say they don’t believe in predestination, but rather on the free will of humans to choose, don’t actually deny the word “predestination.” Rather, they simply take a different view of predestination than most Reformed folks. For example, many churches today teach that predestination is based on God’s “foreknowledge.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">To them, foreknowledge means that God knew before the world began that certain people would freely choose Christ as their Savior once they heard the gospel message. Because God knew that they would choose Christ, God predestined them to salvation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In this view, “foreknowledge” is just God’s knowing what individuals will choose of their own free will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, I would argue that those who hold this view misunderstand the meaning of the word “foreknowledge.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Listen again to Romans 8:29:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers</i>.” God’s “foreknowing” didn’t come first, before his making his choice. No, God’s foreknowledge is directly connected to what he does—choosing who will be redeemed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">Every time the Greek word we usually translate as “foreknowledge” appears, it is always directly connected to his active choice to save certain people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">We see this, for example, in Acts 2:23, where Peter teaches the Jews on Pentecost that Jesus “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.</i>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">God’s foreknowledge is always directly connected to his act of predestination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His foreknowledge doesn’t cause him to predestine some to be saved. Rather, his foreknowledge is part of his act of choosing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now, I’m not going to condemn those who hold to the other view. But, I am convinced that the better interpretation of what the Bible says is the one that says that God chooses us, we can’t choose him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The doctrine of predestination is biblical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And as such, it is a key part of God’s plan of salvation. An understanding that God chooses us in love helps us to better understand how God works out his salvation in each of us who he has chosen for eternal life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:arial;"><o:p>IV.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The Doctrine of Predestination is a Key to God’s Plan of Redemption</o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><o:p>So let’s move on to see how the doctrine of predestination is a key to God’s plan for saving us, his plan of redemption.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>Our need for redemption<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Before we can understand God’s plan to save us, we need to know about our need to be saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This can be a tough bite to chew, especially nowadays. Do you remember Stuart Smalley? Senator Al Franken, before he went into politics, played Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live. Smalley’s catch phrase was “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">We all laughed when he said this, because we recognized the spirit of our age in this ridiculous character. We all want to believe that we are good enough, we are smart enough, and people like us. But the Bible is clear that this just isn’t the case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">As Genesis 6:5 says, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">B.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>God’s plan of redemption<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fortunately for us, God already had a plan in place—his glorious plan of redemption, a plan to predestine certain people for salvation from among the ranks of the sinful. It is that plan about which Paul is bursting forth in praise in our text this morning. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">That plan starts with God making a choice to save us! Because we have been predestined to be God’s chosen, we can hear Jesus’ gospel call to repent and be saved. And once we hear that call, the Holy Spirit works within us to give us a new heart, a heart that leads us to faith and repentance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If you look close, you might be able to see an interesting pattern in our text this morning. Verses 3-6 tell us that if we are Christians, it’s because the Father has chosen us. God “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing,</i>” and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">he chose us in him before the creation of the world.</i>” Verses 5 and 6 tell us that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">In love [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons,</i>” and that this is a gift of grace that God has “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">freely given us.</i>” If we are Christians, it is because the Father has chosen us.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Look next at verses 7-12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They tell us that if we are Christians, it’s because the Son has redeemed us. Paul tells us that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">we have redemption in [Christ’s] blood.</i>” Verses 9 and 10 say that God’s will for those he desired to save came to be through Christ’s work. Christ came to earth calling us to faith and repentance, then dying so we could be saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we are Christians, it’s because the Son has redeemed us.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Finally, look at verses 13 and 14. If we are Christians, it’s because the Spirit has sealed us. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.</i>” The Holy Spirit’s work in us, giving us a new heart, guarantees us that we are made right before God and are adopted into his family as God’s children. If we are Christians, it’s because the Spirit has sealed us.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now, while the doctrine of predestination is a key to God’s plan of redemption, we have to admit that we don’t understand fully how this plan works. But what we do know is that the doctrine of predestination is a key to God’s plan of redemption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And not only that, God’s choice is based on His will for His glory.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >V.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The Doctrine of Predestination Shows God’s Glory</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The doctrine of predestination shows God’s glory.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Look again at verses 11 and 12 of our text. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.</i>”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If we were to sum up the whole point of Paul’s words in our text this morning in two words, those words would be “God’s glory!” Paul’s emphasis throughout is on the glory of God as it is revealed in our salvation. He says in verse 6 that the plan of the Father to save us from sin has as its ultimate goal “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">the praise of his glorious grace.</i>” In verse 12, the work of Christ in bringing about our salvation ends in “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">the praise of His glory.</i>” And in verse 14, Paul says that the Holy Spirit is given to us as a guarantee of our salvation “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">to the praise of His glory</i>.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;">If we made any contribution toward our own salvation, we would be gaining praise for ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We would no longer be boasting that we are saved because the Father has chosen us, the Son has redeemed us, and the Spirit has sealed us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul spoke directly against this idea in Galatians 6:14, when he said “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">There is no room in God’s plan either for our own work or our own glory. When salvation is complete, the only thing we can say is “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” And that is exactly what Paul is saying in our text. The doctrine of predestination shows God’s glory.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >VI.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The Doctrine of Predestination Can Give Us Comfort</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Finally, the doctrine of predestination can give us comfort. Earlier, I mentioned the discussion I had with my son Micah last fall. I thought about why he might be so upset. A friend suggested that Micah’s questions were a response to a growing conviction that he is one of God’s children. And that reminded me of that student from years ago, the one with pained look on her face who fretted that God’s choosing some to be saved and not others seemed so random.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In a way, predestination is random, at least to us humans. Our minds can’t fathom why God would choose some and not others. We know all humans are sinful and deserve punishment and death. We recognize that Jesus Christ’s willingness to bear the punishment and death we deserved is an incomprehensible act of undeserved mercy. We can even say, as I did to my Sunday School student, that God works according to a good and merciful plan, but a plan we do not completely understand. Yet God’s decision to save some and allow others to remain in their sin still bothers us.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Another student in that class made a wise statement: maybe we ought to simply praise God for the salvation He’s given us and not worry about who is elect and who is reprobate. That student was absolutely right—God is God, and He does what He does to bring honor and glory to His name. We bring more glory to God by living lives of gratitude for his merciful acts than by dwelling on figuring out the details of how He decided to whom He would give His greatest gift.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But once we made that point in class, it became apparent that there was more going on in head of the girl with the pained look. She looked directly at me and asked “But what if you believe in God and do good, but it turns out you weren’t one of the ones chosen?” It was then that I realized that this was more than just the standard teenage complaint about “fairness.” This was a crisis of faith. And that’s when it struck me that if we truly understand predestination, then even the cold, dark truth of total depravity, that we are so helplessly lost in sin that without God that we can do nothing righteous, even that can bring us comfort.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If our sin is truly so pervasive that we humans are totally unable to turn to God and do what is right and pleasing in his eyes, then the only way we can be saved is by something superhuman—by God.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If we recognize in ourselves a faith and belief in God, even if that faith seems weak, and regularly challenged, then that faith had to have come from God. If we recognize in ourselves a desire to do what is right in God’s eyes, even if that desire is often accompanied by temptations to do otherwise, then that desire had to have come from God. And if God, as we confess, is almighty and all-powerful, then the very fact that He is working in our lives ought to persuade us that He has extended His mercy to us and we can rely on that mercy. Once we recognize that God has chosen us, we can rest assured that that choosing is for all eternity</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The fact that God chooses us, that we belong to him, can be disconcerting to us humans, who like to think that we remain in control. But that choosing, that assurance that we belong to God, gives us comfort that we belong “body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">At the end of the class we read Q&A 1 from the Catechism. The pained look didn’t completely disappear from the student’s face. But I am convinced that God had provided a measure of comfort to one of his chosen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >VII.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>Conclusion</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-family:arial;" >Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><o:p>Predestination, the teaching that God alone chooses those who are saved in Christ, is hard for us humans to swallow. It rubs against our grain to realize that we are so full of sin that, left to our own devices, we would always choose rebellion and death. But if we understand this teaching, we have the key to a deep understanding of God’s plan of salvation. If we understand this teaching, we can experience true comfort in Christ. And if we understand this teaching, we will understand the immense greatness of God’s glory.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><o:p>Amen.</o:p></span></p>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-30415028778052360092009-05-27T16:34:00.001-05:002009-05-27T16:34:03.364-05:00Dordt students help professor with physical therapyThis is a neat article about how students at Dordt College are helping my dad recover from his injuries...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dordt.edu/cgi-bin/news/get_news.pl?id=3787">Dordt students help professor with physical therapy</a><br /><br />Shared via <a href="http://addthis.com">AddThis</a><br /><br />Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-37439706987192627822009-03-13T11:50:00.005-05:002009-07-12T15:51:05.093-05:00Are the Japanese playing a whole different game?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Japanese have a different approach to baseball than we do. Maybe its a whole different game. From </span></span><a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8615"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Baseball Prospectus</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">:<br /><br /><br /></span></span><div align="center"><span><strong><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nippon Prospectus<br /></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">World Yakyu Classic</span></span></em></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />by Mike Plugh</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;"><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />For everyone else in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the sport is baseball. Not so for the group of professionals from Japan, dubbed by their marketing machine as "Samurai Japan." For this group of assorted MLB and NPB players, the sport is yakyu. In English, that translates literally to "field ball," and it highlights the single most important difference between the American sport that we've known and loved all our lives, and the Japanese version grown out of American missionary education in the late-19th century and continued ritualistically through the present day. The tools are the same, the field looks the same, and the rules are essentially the same, but the baseball ideology, to borrow a politically charged term, is radically different.</span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />I direct you to the bottom of the eighth inning of the Pool A title game between Japan and arch-rival Korea. In case you were sleeping during these East Asian opening-round affairs, the Japanese had administered a 14-2 drubbing of the Koreans in their earlier Round Two qualifying contest, only to find themselves in the midst of a terrific pitching duel, down 1-0 in the bottom of the inning. </span></div><div align="left"></div> <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pecota/suzukic01.php"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ichiro Suzuki</span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, in his inimitable way, slapped a ball through the infield to give the Japanese club a one-out baserunner, and hopes of a game-tying rally at the very least. Up to the plate came the second-slot hitter, Hiroyuki Nakajima, a 26-year-old shortstop for the NPB champion Seibu Lions, who hits for average, understands how to get on base—a rare trait in a Japanese ballplayer—and has some pop in his bat (a .331/.410/.527 line in 2008). He clearly offers a range of skills that a manager, down a single run late in an important ballgame, might put to use.</span></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />Yomiuri </span></div><a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/team_audit.php?team=SFN" target="blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Giants</span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and "Samurai Japan" manager Tatsunori Hara then made a managerial decision that left me scratching my head: he followed the yakyu way, and had Nakajima lay down a sacrifice bunt with one out already on the board. This left everything up to the outstanding young talent Norichika Aoki, who promptly ended the inning on a weak grounder to the pitcher. The Baseball Prospectus audience already knows the numerous ways in which this tactical decision is wrong, and I don't really need to spell it out, but I'm going to anyway because it will make me feel better. A player with a 40 percent-plus chance of reaching base was asked to sacrifice with one out and Ichiro Suzuki on first. The same Ichiro who stole 65 bases for the </span></span><a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/team_audit.php?team=SEA" target="blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Seattle Mariners</span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in 2008 at a 91 percent success rate. The game ended at 1-0; Team Japan was humiliated at the hands of the Korean club.</span></span><div align="left"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />The morning news covered the WBC game extensively the next day. I flipped from channel to channel to see if anyone dared criticize Hara for his bone-headed managerial move. I knew that they wouldn't, and I heard precisely what I expected to hear, for I've had the conversation a thousand times with a thousand different Japanese fans. They always say the same thing. "This is not baseball. This is yakyu." If you care to read more about this maddening philosophical approach to our national pastime, I suggest you dig into the BP archives and check out my piece on </span></div><a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6233"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">bunting in Japan</span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Sure enough, antiquated announcer after over-the-hill announcer almost acknowledged the idiocy of the strategy, proceeding to explain that this was not, in fact, baseball we were talking about, but yakyu. The only indication of annoyance at this wasteful and counterproductive ideology was the fuming exit interview given by a defeated Ichiro Suzuki, who offered a veiled swipe at the decision to bunt, but nothing more.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><div align="left"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />As we enter the more meaningful rounds of the WBC, you'll undoubtedly watch as the Japanese team employs its yakyu sensibilities in game situations that will seem puzzling and often go against the established science of the sport. Remember that you are not watching baseball. You will be watching yakyu. It's also important to remember that while the Japanese like to boast that yakyu won the inaugural World Baseball Classic, the truth is that the club out-pitched, out-slugged and out-hit each of its opponents, rarely relying on yakyu methods at all. Should we see more of Hara's handiwork in upcoming games, however, it will be interesting to see if "Samurai Japan" will be able to advance beyond its pool.</span></span></div></span></span>Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-85368153919794636342009-03-13T11:11:00.002-05:002009-03-13T11:17:07.261-05:00"New" Calvinism one of the top ideas of the near future<a href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/new-calvinism-as-3rd-post-powerful-idea/">Here</a> is a blog piece by Eugene Cho regarding <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884760,00.html">this</a> TIME article. Mark Driscoll also discusses this <a href="http://theresurgence.com/new_calvinism">here</a>.<br /><br />Interesting and hopeful, although I hope this doesn't turn out to be just another fad.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-39430379277640494932009-03-12T16:55:00.002-05:002009-03-12T16:58:46.847-05:00The Economy and Abortion<a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/12/the-economy-and-abortion/">This</a> post is a reminder that we who are pro-life need to do what we can to support organizations that women who are led to believe that their only choice is an abortion. <br /><br />On a related note, a friend on a church-related list serve mentioned that helping pro-life counseling centers purchase ultrasound machines is an excellent way to help change minds on abortion.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33455605.post-81025521238199338702009-03-12T16:36:00.002-05:002009-03-12T16:42:04.476-05:00Making adultery a tortAn interesting post <a href="http://volokh.com/posts/1236791774.shtml">here </a>at the Volokh conspiracy responding to <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZjRmZjMyNDMwZTlmYWVlMzQ2NWE1MTIxNGVkNDEzNzk=">this</a> post at "The Corner" on National Review Online.<br /><br />The statute clearly is designed to protect marriage. A knee-jerk reaction would be to support this. But ideas have consequences, and Volokh points out some of those consequences. We always need to think of the consequences when trying to change behavior, especially through legal or governmental action.Chuck Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01734654678962315259noreply@blogger.com0