I remember a classic Andy Griffith episode when Andy was invited to multiple dinners in the same night, and being the gracious friend he is, he could not say no. All three hosts served spaghetti, and every one used their "secret ingredient", oregano. Needless to say Andy did not enjoy his third spaghetti dinner nearly as much as his first.
We too are invited to plenty of dinners…
Good News - Part 2
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Mark 1:16-20
“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”
Mark 1:17 CEB)
Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:
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Whose job is it to make disciples? The prophets? The preachers? The Sunday School Teachers?
We are quick to read between the lines in Mark 1 as Simon, Andrew, James and John leave their nets and follow Jesus like a group of children who have nothing better to do than join in a playground game of follow-the-leader. We struggle to find ways to excuse ourselves from such unreasonable demands. We have jobs and mortgages and kids and aging parents and pets. We have responsibilities that in our minds, are far more crucial than the lowly fishing business these early disciples walked out on. What exactly does it look like to “Come and follow Jesus,” in our day? The story is so brief it hardly does justice to the level of sacrifice these “ordinary fishermen” truly made. If we’re truly honest, most of us tend to think it was a much easier decision for them than for us.
There are much larger implications, however, when we consider the timing of this call. “After John was arrested…” (Mark 1:14, Matthew 4:12).
John was the prophet, the first in nearly 400 years. No one alive at the time had heard the voice of God so directly and neither had their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents. “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he declared, and then he is arrested.
Jesus picks up right where John leaves off. But he is more than a prophet. He is the very presence of God in flesh and he is not hanging out in the synagogues or even with the prophet’s followers in the wilderness. He is hanging out in the marketplace around the Sea of Galilee. He is eating and drinking and laughing with the tax collectors, the occupying Roman soldiers, the sick and the lame, the women and the children, and yes, even the lowly hard working fishermen. “I’ll show you how to fish for people,” he says (Mark 1:17).
The nature of following Jesus and “fishing for people” looks different for everyone. Regardless of what shape our call takes or where Jesus leads, the point is that Jesus is leading “us”. Jesus calls you and me, ordinary people, to “fish for people,” to take up the mantle of the prophet and proclaim the Word of God not only in the wilderness, but in the marketplace, at our jobs, in our schools, at the restaurant, in the public square, with our friends and neighbors, in our homes and our families, and yes, even in our churches.
The more we try to plan out exactly how we will follow Jesus, the more we will find Jesus changing our plans. We are not Jesus’ GPS to make sure everything he calls us to do just happens to be on our route. If we stop to think about it too much, we will likely be overcome with anticipation and anxiety about the unknown. We might remember that John was just arrested and wonder if the same might happen to us. Our fear may get the better of us. We will surely come up with a million other things we have to do “first.”
Where our culture says, “trust yourself, trust your instincts, your intelligence, your abilities, your wealth, your plans, etc.” Jesus simply says, “Trust me. Step out of the boat. Drop your nets. Let’s go.” The time is now!
What people is God putting in your path this week with whom you might share the good news?
Come and See
Series: Called - Part 1
John 1:35-52
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”He replied, “Come and see.”
John 1:38-39a (CEB)
Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”
Philip said, “Come and see.”
John 1:46 (CEB)
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Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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In her book, “Inspired”, the late Rachel Held Evans describes her earliest memories of Jesus. She, like many of us, learned to pray around the dinner table. “Thank you Jesus for my mommy and daddy, my sister and my food.” “The first thing I knew about Jesus,” she says, “ is that he was responsible for the existence of my parents, my sister, me, and my food. That seemed like good enough news for me.”
When asked as a teenager to share how she “came to Jesus,” she responded with confusion. There had never been a time in her life when she did not know Jesus, but she never “came to him.” Rather, Jesus had always come to her. Jesus had simply “always been there.”
We spend a lot of time and energy in churches trying to figure out the latest and greatest strategies to get more members and more money in the offering plate. On the whole, the church has become quite proficient at mass producing Vacation Bible Schools, Community Meals, polished worship services, and countless other programs and events in hopes to “draw people in.” We try hard to be “seeker sensitive.” There’s only one problem. There are fewer and fewer “seekers” to be sensitive too. People are not looking for a church. They have no need for church, no matter how impressive it’s programs and ministries, or at least that’s the general perception for so many valid reasons.
Somewhere along the way, in our desperation to “get back to the good old days” when church stood at the center of our community, we have lost our ability to introduce people to what they really need… the Good News of Jesus. Yes, people may meet Jesus in church, but more often than not, Jesus did not meet people in the synagogues or at the temple. He met them in the marketplace, at their jobs, in their homes, on the streets, in the leper colony, among the sick, at funerals, at weddings and parties and feasts.
What if the church itself has become our idol? Just like the golden calf, church has come to function like a mediator between us and God so we don’t have to climb the mountain in the cloud of thunder and lightning where God’s Holy Presence may consume us. Instead, we are content to sit at the base of the mountain saying, “This church is the god who brought you out of Egypt.” So long as we are in the church, we feel comfortable and safe. We have “come to Jesus” by building walls between us and the rest of the world. We want to leave each Sunday morning feeling good about ourselves, having been encouraged and inspired in worship, but not challenged or convicted. We want just enough of “Jesus” to fill up our Spiritual gas tank for the week, but we are not overly comfortable with the thought that he might just walk out the door with us. Like the imaginary ghosts in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Jesus may just follow you home, or to the restaurant or the bar, or to work, or anywhere else you may go.
In John 1:46, Nathaniel wonders, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” In truth, there are many people in our world to day who might ask us, “Can anything good come from the church?”
Philip did not reply by inviting Nathaniel to Nazareth. He didn’t talk about how great the town was, about all the hidden gems there that nobody noticed. He didn’t tell him about all the great meals and fellowship opportunities or the amazing entertainment that was available. Nazareth was not the point. Philip didn’t need to defend the goodness of Nazareth. He wanted Nathaniel to meet Jesus.
What would it look like if we stopped trying to defend and promote our churches and instead just invited people to meet Jesus? They may come to your church or they may not, but in the end, attending a service or an event at church is not the point. The Good News is not that the church came into the world. The Good News is that God came into the world, wrapped in flesh, to dwell among us.
When we invite people to “Come and see,”, what exactly are we inviting them to? Do we want them to come see our beautiful sanctuary, our inspiring choir, our brilliant Sunday school teacher, our new preacher, or our favorite potluck recipes? Or might we simply invite them to Jesus.
“Can anything good come out of church?”
I don’t know. God can make beautiful things out of the dust, so surely he can bring something good out of Nazareth or the church. But that’s not the point. It’s not about Nazareth. It’s not about the church.
It’s about Jesus. Come and see him for yourself. Come and see the God who has stepped out of heaven to find you.
Come and see.
Ten Thousand Charms
Dreaming God’s Dreams: Part 2
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Hosea 1:2, 2:14-23; James 4:4-10
Therefore, I will charm her, and bring her into the desert, and speak tenderly to her heart. From there I will give her vineyards, and make the Achor Valley a door of hope. There she will respond to me as in the days of her youth, like the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Hosea 2:14-15 (CEB)
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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The movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron tells the story of a couple whose marriage is falling apart. The divorce papers are on the table, but he is not willing to give up. The advice he follows comes from a journal called "The Love Dare", which is a valuable tool for strengthening marriages at any stage.
While I would recommend this movie and book to any couple, the image of Kirk Cameron's character working through the 40 daily challenges of the "Love Dare" call to mind the images of God's faithful covenant love.
In the book of Hosea, the prophet is called to marry a prostitute. God uses this sign act as a prophetic message to the people. They have prostituted themselves with other gods. In Hosea 2:8, God reminds us that she did not know that her husband had given her everything that she used for Baal. This is not to endorse the ancient marriage culture of male dominance and female subservience as normative. The point for us is not that she was exclusively dependent on her husband or that she should accept his dominance over her. Rather it is to show that unlike many earthly husbands, God does not merely shout or fight or even beat his lover into submission.
Yes, there are consequences in Gomer's life, and in the life of Israel. But even when she is unfaithful, God proves his faithfulness.
In 2:14, the Lord says he will bring her out into the desert, away from all of the allures of the world. If we’re not careful, we may interpret this as a form of abusive isolation. We don't take to kindly to a spouse telling us who we can or can't associate with or limiting our freedom to go where we choose. We must remember that God was not endorsing this culture but rather using the way things were to teach a much more important lesson.
Yes, he brought her out to the desert. Yes, he cut her off from the world of her lovers, as any husband in Old Testament times would have had the right to do. But the key difference is what God does during her exile. He does not abuse her. He does not shame her. He does not condemn her.
Instead, God courts her, as if they were a couple falling in love for the first time.
"I wills peak tenderly to her heart. From there I will give her vineyards and make the Achor Valley a door of hope. There she will respond to me as in the days of her youth, like the time when she came out of the land of Egypt."
I was talking recently with a recovering addict and she said that while the desire for the drug never really goes away, she has come to a place where her desire for God is greater.
That is the key to faithfulness.
The allure of the world is great. As Todd Agnew puts it, "If you wanted me to die to myself, why'd you make me fall so deeply in love with life?" (listen below)
It is said that the heart wants what the heart wants. God created us with the capacity for great passion, desire, and love, but often those gifts are misdirected.
Faithfulness isn't about rejecting all that is good and lovely in the world. It is about responding to God's unending passion, desire and love for us. It's about "seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). It's about desiring God more than anything Egypt or Baal or anyone or anything else could ever offer.
As the hymn writer says
[Let us] arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace us in his arms
And in the arms of our dear savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms... ten thousand charms
Spend some time in your Saviors arms as you worship with the songs below.
Let us remain faithful to the one who is always faithful to us.
I remember a classic Andy Griffith episode when Andy was invited to multiple dinners in the same night, and being the gracious friend he is, he could not say no. All three hosts served spaghetti, and every one used their "secret ingredient", oregano. Needless to say Andy did not enjoy his third spaghetti dinner nearly as much as his first.
We too are invited to plenty of dinners…
