Saturday Selections

28 November 2015

1.  Interesting and Useful Links I found this week:

            -- Order of Books  -- Lists all the books in a series in order to make sure you read them as the author wrote them.

            -- Manly.Is  -- Manliness is in, and the web is now full of sites dedicated to manliness and masculinity as men seek to live out true lives of meaning, some good and some not so good.  One of the earliest in this niche was Art of Manliness, still my go-to site.  However, I just discovered Manly.Is, which is a welcome addition since it approaches masculinity from a Christian biblical perspective. 

            -- KIVA -- Another site I stumbled upon, but haven’t investigated fully, is KIVA.  This site allows you to participate in microloans to individuals across the world to help their lives change for the better.  You make loans in the $25 range and the site takes care of the administrative work.  With repayments reaching 98%, this is working, and certainly a lot better at building character and self-esteem than those sites that give without demanding anything in return (i.e. cheap grace).

2.  This week's Bible verse:  1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

3.  Prayer Focus: Thanking God for the many blessings He has given.

4.  What I’m Reading: 

            -- Fiction:  The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall

            -- Christian Nonfiction:  Coffee Shop Conversations by Dale and Jonalyn Fincher

5.  Interesting Article:

            -- “Seven Things I Did to Reboot My Life” by Will Wheaton:  You can always start over and make a difference in your life.  Not written from a religious standpoint, but the application can surely be made.  God allows U-turns.

SERMON: REMEMBERING THE SAINTS (ALL SAINTS DAY)

(All Saints’ Day)

1 November 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Hebrews 11:32-12:2

Hebrews 11:32-40 (NIV)

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.

37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--

38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            -- as we mentioned in our message last week on the true meaning of Halloween – All Hallows Eve or Hallowed Evening – October 31^st was traditionally the evening before one of the church’s annual holy days – All Saints Day – the day the church has set aside for the remembrance and celebration of the saints of the church – especially those saints who have gone before

            -- however, since the original establishment of this holy day in the church in the eighth century, we have since set aside the first Sunday of November as the day we officially celebrate All Saints Day, regardless of whether it is the day after Halloween or not

            -- All Saints Day is not a familiar holiday for many of us in the Protestant Church, but it is making a comeback -- when we celebrate All Saints Day, we are recognizing God’s truth that we are all saints in His kingdom -- we celebrate God’s redeeming grace in our lives and we remember the church universal -- those believers who have gone before us and who established the foundation of the church -- as well as those believers who currently make up the entire body of Christ, especially those who are being persecuted for their faith

            -- in many churches, All Saints Day is a day to remember the saints of that particular congregation who have passed away in the past year

            -- so this morning, I wanted to spend some time talking about saints

II.  What is a Saint?

            -- What comes to mind when you hear the word “Saint?” -- when the world hears someone called “Saint,” most of them think of this -- people sitting on a cloud in heaven holding a harp -- or they think of Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul II or Francis of Assisi  -- men and women canonized by the Catholic Church and elevated to the status of “saint”

            -- this concept of a Saint as promulgated by the Catholic Church has become so predominant in our society that this colors what we think when we hear someone described as “Saint” -- even though most of us Protestants understand the biblical definition of a saint, we still tend to use the word in the same way as the Catholic Church -- we talk about Saint Augustine -- St. Valentine -- St. Francis -- and while these men were certainly saints, we need to recognize what a saint really is

            -- what about this person? -- is this a Saint? -- how about this one? -- or this one? -- or this one?

            -- yeah, these are all saints as defined by the Bible -- so just to make sure we’re all on the same page, what does the Bible mean when it speaks of the saints of the church?

            -- the first thing you should know is that the word Saint is never singular in the Bible -- it is always plural -- there is no such thing in the Bible as Saint John or Saint Paul or Saint Matthew -- the Greek word that is translated as saints in our Bibles is Hagio-- it always occurs in the plural form and it always refers to the true believers in the church -- in the introduction of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote to “the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus,” speaking of all the believers who gathered together in worship in that place

            -- Hagio literally means “set apart” or “holy” -- it refers to someone who has been set apart and sanctified by the grace of God -- so a saint is a believer of Christ -- someone who has been set apart from the world and made holy through washing in the blood of the Lamb -- if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and trust in Him for your salvation, you are a saint -- that is the biblical definition of a saint

            -- as Scott Jensen pointed out, “it is not how we live that makes us saints, but how Christ lived for us, died for us, and rose for us -- your baptism into Christ makes you a saint -- your eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ makes you a saint -- your being absolved of your sins makes you a saint.” -- Scott Jensen, “All Saints Day Sermon” http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/all-saints-day-scott-jensen-sermon-on-apologetics-general-74229.asp?page=0

            -- so the first point I want you to get about the concept of saints is that the Bible never sets apart singular individuals in a church and calls them “Saint” as a title or honorific -- when the Bible uses the word saint, it is always plural and is always used to refer to a group of believers

            -- but the definition of a saint in the Bible doesn’t really stop there -- I believe the Bible teaches there is more to being a saint than just sitting in a church service on Sunday morning

            -- Hebrews Chapter 11 has been called the chapter of faith in the Bible -- if you just skim through this chapter, you’ll see the word faith used over and over again -- it is in this chapter that we are given the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 -- “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” -- and then it goes on to list what we call the “heroes of the faith,” those men and women who lived out their faith in such a way they were recognized by both God and man

            -- we read here of the faith of Abel and Enoch -- of Noah and Abraham -- the faith of Moses -- the faith of the Israelites who went into the Promised Land and established the nation of Israel as commanded by God -- and we read of the faith of many unnamed men and women who stood for God in the face of persecution

            -- look back at Hebrews 11:32 and let’s read that passage again

Hebrews 11:32-40 (NIV)

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.

37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--

38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

 -- what is the common denominator of these saints that the writer of Hebrews mentions here? -- it’s faith -- particularly, the faith that believed even though there was no physical evidence or sight to prove their faith -- remember the definition of faith? -- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”

            -- these men and women trusted in God’s promise even though they never saw the promise fulfilled -- true faith -- true saints -- live their lives standing on the promise of God over the realities of their situation

            -- look at Chapter 12

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            -- “therefore, since you are surrounded by such as great cloud of witnesses” -- there’s two things this means for us:

            -- first, the writer of Hebrews is referring us back to this roll call of the heroes of faith -- he is pointing them out to us -- not to exalt them or to lift them up -- but to make the case that we, as the living saints of the church, are to imitate them with our lives and our actions and our behaviors

            -- just as they stood up and lived their lives for God, so we, too, are to live our lives for Christ -- and, to be honest, it should be easier for us to live out our faith than those men and women the writer mentions in Chapter 11

            -- for one thing, we have seen the Promise -- we have seen the fulfillment of the promise they longed for -- we have seen the Messiah -- we have been touched by the living Christ -- although we may not have seen Jesus in the flesh as the early disciples did, we have seen and felt Jesus in our lives as He has touched us and ministered to us through His grace

            -- and, also, we have God’s Holy Spirit living within us to help us live out our lives of faith -- the men and women in Chapter 11 didn’t have the Holy Spirit indwelling them -- He would come on them and His grace would empower them for the moment, but they didn’t have His presence with them 24/7 like believers do now -- we have been empowered and graced with the actual presence of God in our lives 24/7, and so we should be living out our faith in even greater ways than the heroes of the faith we read about in this chapter

            -- the second thing this phrase, “since you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” calls to mind is the reference to the church universal -- this gathering here this morning is not the church -- we are merely part of the church -- part of the body of Christ as a whole

            -- and this phrase makes the point that the church doesn’t just exist at this moment in time -- the church is timeless -- it is made up of all the saints -- all the believers -- of all time -- past, present, and future

            -- the writer of Hebrews is making the point that we are connected to these heroes of the faith because we are part of one body, sanctified and set apart by God to be the light bearers in this dark world -- those who have gone before us still live and still serve God and are still part of His Kingdom, although they may be physically absent from us -- and what we do as believers of Christ here on earth reflects on the church as a whole

            -- because of their witness and their example, the writer of Hebrews goes on to tell us to do as they did -- to throw off anything that is hindering our walk with Christ -- to cast off the sins that so easily entangle us -- to fix our eyes on Jesus and to run towards Him

            -- that is why I contend that being a saint is more than just being saved -- to be a saint means you actually live out your faith -- you actually stand on the foundation of the church and the promise of God and you live it out daily in your life -- to be a saint is to be different -- to be a saint is to be a witness in this world of the saving power of Christ

            -- I like what William Barclay said -- “A saint is someone whose life makes it easier to believe in God” -- we should all be saints like that

III.  Closing

            -- when I served at Wright’s Chapel Methodist Church, the first thing that struck me when I walked into their sanctuary were the stained glass windows that surrounded the congregation -- the windows showed pictures from Jesus’ life and if you followed them around the room, you would see the entire story of His life, from His birth to His resurrection -- but the other thing you would see in these pictures were the heroes of the faith, the disciples and saints who lived out their lives in obedience to Christ’s call

            -- thinking about saints in stained glass windows reminds me of the story of a young boy and his grandfather who were taking a tour of a large cathedral in Europe -- like Wright’s Chapel, this cathedral had expansive stained glass windows showing the saints of the church -- and, as they walked along, the young boy asked his grandfather, “Who are the people in these pictures?” -- “They’re saints” -- “Oh,” the boy said, “Saints are people the light shines through”

            -- what a perfect definition of a true saint -- a person the Light shines through

            -- that is who the heroes of the faith in Chapter 11 were -- and that is who the writer of Hebrews is calling us to be -- men and women of faith -- true believers -- saints

            -- this morning as we set aside a day to remember and recognize the saints of the church and our calling to live out our faith as modern day saints, I wanted us to share together in Holy Communion

            -- last night at the Emmaus Gathering, Bob Ellis made the point that Holy Communion was a time of remembrance -- a time of remembering who Christ is and what He has done for us -- a time to remember His death and resurrection -- a time to remember our experiences with Him

            -- but it is more than that -- it is also a time to affirm who we are as believers -- to come together as one body and one people -- not separated by time or place -- but joined together through Christ our Lord

            -- one with all of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews Chapter 11

            -- one with all those men and women who have gone before and who lived their lives faithfully for the gospel

            -- one with all the men and women in this world today who call upon the name of Jesus and look for His soon return

            -- and one with all those who will believe because of our witness and our testimony in this world

            -- remembering that we are all saints called to be witnesses of His love

            -- therefore, as we share in this holy sacrament -- this sacred moment with God -- let us remember and let us cast off anything that is hindering our walk with Him -- let us put aside our sins -- and fix our eyes on Jesus -- and live our lives as the saints that we are

            -- let us pray

Saturday Selections

21 November 2015

1.  In the News:  A Christian Response to Global Terror and Radical Islam by Ed Stetzer

            -- this is an excellent article synopsizing a Christian response to the events of last weekend in Paris.  Too often our response tends to be one of anger and revenge.  Ed offers a different path, and I believe, Biblical path. 

2.  This week's Bible verse:  John 1:16 (NIV) “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

3.  Prayer Focus: Refugee Crisis and War on Terror

            -- The issue over the Syrian refugees and what the response should be to ISIS’ attack in Paris have resulted in a deep divide in this country.  Please pray for unity in the body of Christ and for a brotherly spirit as we seek to understand God’s will and ask for God’s grace in these situations.

4.  What I’m Reading:  Other than the Bible and my daily devotional, I typically have multiple books going at any one time, usually a work of fiction, a Christian nonfiction, and sometimes another type of nonfiction in one of my areas of interest.

            -- This week finds me in a curious place, as I have just finished one of each and am just starting three new books.  Here’s what I just finished reading:

            -- Fiction:  The Martian by Andy Weir. 

                        -- This was just recently made into a movie that has done well at the box office.  I thoroughly enjoyed this read, although you have to be aware there is some profanities in the book, but, hey, if you are stranded on Mars with no hope of rescue, profanities would certainly come to mind.  As a scientist, I enjoyed the reality of the story and the science was accurate.  It was well-written, entertaining, and kept me guessing throughout the entire book.  An easy, enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

            -- Christian Nonfiction:  Jesus Killed My Church by Randy Bohlender.

                        -- When you pick up a Kindle Daily Deal for free, you never know what you’re going to find.  The title piqued my interest, so I added it to my collection.  Just to summarize, this book is a short synopsis of the ministry of Randy Bohlender, from his calling to be a pastor, his struggles as a youth pastor after college, and then how Jesus led him from the confines of his traditional denominational structure to a more expressive worship style.  Along the way, Bohlender discovered that there is freedom in experiencing God outside of the “normal” ways of doing church, and ended up leaving the church he planted to follow God’s call to a parachurch prayer ministry.  An interesting read and not a lot different than the path I seem to be following, although our “unintentional microchurch” that we planted has not closed.

            -- Nonfiction:  The Four-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss

                        -- I like Tim Ferriss.  I enjoyed the Four-Hour Workweek and I enjoyed this book, although I think most of what he proposes in the book is not practical for most people.  Ferriss is an entrepreneur and has time and resources to spend in experimenting on his health and well-being in ways the rest of can’t.  And this book is a huge tome on his experiments and his results from those experiments.  However, I don’t believe what worked for Ferriss will necessarily work for others.  Our bodies and our levels of fitness are just too different for a one-size fits all approach.  It was an interesting read, but the big take-away for me was experiment on yourself.  Try different things, write down the results, and if it works, keep doing it, and if it doesn’t, try something else.  

SERMON: RECLAIMING HALLOWEEN

25 October 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- please turn in your Bibles to Romans 14

            -- this week marks the official start of the fall holiday season -- I don't know if you've ever considered it or not, but Halloween is one of the major holidays celebrated in our country -- over half of our country celebrates Halloween in one way or the other -- and Americans spend almost $7 billion dollars each season on candy, decorations, and costumes -- over the past several weeks, no matter where you went, Halloween decorations were up, candy was out on the aisle, and parents and kids were looking at costumes, trying to decide what they were going to dress up as this year

            -- Adam Carroll's six-year-old son was really excited about this year's Halloween costume -- I don't know whether it was all the news coverage about Pope Francis' visit to America, but Adam's son Ian announced that this year for Halloween, he was going to be the Pope -- His father said, "Ian, you can't be the Pope -- You're not Catholic -- You're Lutheran" -- Ian hadn't thought about that -- so he considered his alternatives -- after a few minutes he asked, "Was Dracula a Lutheran?"¹

            -- for Ian and for most people, including many Christians, Halloween is a harmless, fun holiday where we dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating and watch scary movies -- but you'll hear a lot of Christians denounce Halloween and categorically state that Christians should not participate or be involved in this annual event -- I did a search on the internet on the topic, "Should Christians participate in Halloween," and I came up with over 250,000 responses, most of them taking the stance that Halloween was evil and Christians should not participate

            -- so this morning, since we are coming up on a Halloween weekend, I thought I'd take a few moments to talk about what Halloween is and whether it is okay or not for Christians to participate

II.  Historical Origins

            -- let's start by talking about the historical origins of this holiday -- where did Halloween come from in the first place? -- we don't find Halloween mentioned in the Bible at all, and there is no reference to it in the writings from the early church -- so where did it come from?

            -- Halloween finds it origins in the ancient Druid celebration of Samhain, which, I learned, is actually pronounced "Sow-In" or "Sah-win" and not "Sam-Hane" -- so, I'll try to say it correctly

            -- Samhain [Sah-win] was a Gaelic celebration at the end of the harvest season, celebrated from October 31st through November 1st -- it falls right in the middle of fall -- half-way between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice

            -- in Druid theology, Samhain [Saw-win] was the god of the dead -- and the druids believed that on October 31st, Samhain [Saw-win] would send the spirits of the wicked back to earth to torment people as the days began growing shorter and darkness increased on the earth -- in order to protect themselves from these evil spirits, the people would light bonfires on the hills -- partly as a means of bringing light to the darkness -- and they would dress up as evil spirits in order to disguise themselves -- the thought was that the evil spirits wouldn't recognize them as humans and would leave them alone if they were disguised

            -- as Christianity spread into Ireland and Scotland, the early Christian missionaries -- think St. Patick here -- were confronted with this pagan holiday, which was basically celebrated by all the people, including the newly converted Christians -- so what could the church do about this festival? -- how could the church counter this pagan theology?

            -- well, the answer is they co-opted it -- they took it over and Christianized the date and the celebration -- in the eighth and ninth centuries, Pope Gregory III and Pope Gregory IV, issued decrees moving All Saints Day, an established Christian holiday, from May 13th to November 1st -- and, understanding that it was a tradition to dress up and disguise oneself on these dates, Pope Gregory III instructed that Christians dress up as saints and not as evil spirits^{2, 3}

            -- so Samhain [Saw-win] ceased to exist, and Halloween came into existence -- Halloween literally means "All Hallows Eve" or "All Saints Eve" -- the night before the official church holiday of All Saints Day -- of course, I assume you know that the word Hallow means holy -- as in the Lord's prayer, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

            -- to make sure you get the point -- Halloween is a Christian holiday -- it is not the same thing as Samhain [Sow-win] -- it is a distinct Christian celebration held the night before All Saints Day, the day we recognize and remember the saints of the church -- you can think of Halloween as a redeemed pagan holiday

            -- which leads to one of the main objections to Christians celebrating Halloween -- critics point to this holiday and say it was originally a pagan holiday, and that by continuing to celebrate it, we continue to commemorate the original pagan holiday

            -- so what about that? -- are they right? -- should we not celebrate Halloween because the church replaced Samhain [Sow-win] with Halloween?

            -- if so, then we also need to do away with both Christmas and Easter -- why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th? -- the Bible doesn't tell us when Jesus was born -- and although there is some scant theological support for backdating his birth based on the Rabbinic teaching that prophets die on the day they were conceived, this is a thin theological thread to base an entire Christian holiday on -- no, the reason we celebrate Christmas on December 25th is because the church once again co-opted existing pagan celebrations, including the druidic celebration of the winter solstice, the Nordic holiday of Yule, and the celebration of the sun god by Romans and other pagan cultures^{2, 3}

            -- it's the same with Easter -- the word Easter is not in the Bible -- while we do know the day Christ rose from the dead, the name we use for the Christian holiday was actually co-opted from the Germanic celebration of the goddess Eostre^{2, 3}

            -- so if you're not going to celebrate Halloween because it is a redeemed pagan holiday, then you really don't need to celebrate Christmas or Easter, either

            -- what is interesting is that this idea of co-opting holidays and symbols continues even today -- however, in our post-modern, post-Christian society, we are seeing the reverse, whereby the culture and specific interest groups are co-opting Christian holidays and symbols

            -- two quick examples -- first, right now we see the country rapidly doing away with the name Christmas -- the department store Target was recently boycotted by Christians because they corporately told their employees they couldn't say "Merry Christmas" to customers but could only say "Happy Holidays" -- in the same way, we see many government institutions -- from schools to municipal facilities -- not putting up Christmas trees or Christmas decorations but putting up "holiday" trees and "holiday" decorations with no religious symbolism or connotation -- even at Moody AFB, our annual Christmas celebration has been renamed a "Holiday Celebration"

            -- second, as an example of a Christian symbol that has been co-opted, think about the rainbow -- what does the rainbow signify? -- well, going back to Genesis 9:13, God told Noah He was putting His rainbow in the sky to signify the covenant He was making between Himself and all creation -- a promise He would never cover the earth with a flood again and a sign of His grace and mercy to all creation -- so throughout history, when a Christian saw a rainbow, they immediately thought of the story of Noah and God's promises from the Book of Genesis

            -- but what about now? -- what do people think of when they see a rainbow? -- homosexuality -- gay rights -- same-sex marriage -- in our society, the rainbow has become the dominant symbol for homosexuality -- it has been co-opted from Christianity by the culture

            -- after I went on the Walk to Emmaus, I put a Decolores Sticker on my car that had a rainbow on it -- and I had many people give me unfriendly looks when they pulled up next to me at stoplights -- they assumed, because of the rainbow, I was promoting homosexuality when I was really trying to glorify God

            -- symbols and holidays are always being co-opted -- the early Christian church did it to redeem pagan holidays and promote the celebration of God in their culture -- and today, our culture is doing the same thing, but in the opposite way -- it's time the church thinks seriously about redeeming these symbols and these holidays back to their original Christian purposes -- whether we're talking about Halloween or Christmas or the rainbow

III.  Is Celebrating Halloween Scriptural?

            -- so, with all that said, let's consider whether participation in Halloween, as it's currently being celebrated in our country, is scriptural? -- in other words, is it okay for Christians to participate in the traditions of Halloween this coming weekend?

            -- the answer is...it depends -- I want to look at two passages very quickly -- I don't have time to break them down in any depth -- but I want you to consider these two passages as you decide if you and your family will celebrate Halloween this year

            -- if you would, turn with me to Romans 14:1-8

Romans 14:1-8 (NIV)

1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.

8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

            -- as Scott Bayless¹ points out, the Apostle Paul is dealing with two issues in this passage that are applicable to how Christians should approach the issue of Halloween

            -- the first issue Paul brings up involves division and confusion in regards to eating meat, specifically, meat that had been sacrificed to idols

            -- hold your place right here and turn over to 1 Corinthians 8:1-8

1 Corinthians 8:1-8 (NIV)

1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"),

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

 -- now go back over to Romans 14

            -- okay, what Paul is addressing is the difference in the maturity of believers in regards to eating meat sacrificed to idols -- some Christians who had recently been converted from paganism were refusing to eat meat that had been sacrificed to their former gods -- in their mind, to do so was continuing to participate in the worship of these gods -- and Paul says here in both passages, "That's okay"

            -- Paul says that he and the other mature Christians know that there is only one God, and that any idols or gods who were being worshiped by others were not real -- they didn't exist -- and if they don't exist, then it doesn't matter if you eat the food that was sacrificed to them or not -- Paul says, "If your faith is strong enough -- if you believe that there is no power or glorification of an idol or other god through these pagan sacrifices -- go ahead and eat the meat -- God made the meat, and everything God made was for His glory, so there's no harm in eating it"

            -- however, if your faith is not strong and you still have doubts, don't participate in eating meat sacrificed to idols -- as your faith grows, your understanding may change and you may choose to do otherwise -- but, right now, if you still harbor doubts or concerns, then avoid eating the meat

            -- the whole point of these passages, though, is to command mature Christians to not judge or condemn or look down on other, less-mature Christians who are choosing to abstain from eating meat sacrificed to idols -- and to not do it yourself, if it caused confusion or doubt to others -- in other words, don't eat meat sacrificed to idols at the same meal when a brother is abstaining from eating this meat because of their faith -- it's a matter of respect and unity in the body

            -- along those same lines, Paul deals here in Romans 14 with the issue of the celebration of special days -- some Jewish believers still wanted to celebrate their traditional religious holidays, such as Passover and the Feast of Trumpets -- others still wanted to participate in the celebrations and feasts they grew up with

            -- the problem was that the church was divided -- some of the more mature Christians were pointing out that you don't have to celebrate these holidays any longer because Christ has redeemed the entire calendar -- every day is to be a celebration of His death and resurrection -- and they were castigating those who were participating in these holidays

            -- Paul tells them to stop forcing others to follow their beliefs in regards to special or sacred days -- if someone regards this day as sacred, he says, then let them celebrate it to the Lord -- if someone doesn't regard this day as sacred, don't judge them for not participating -- it is a matter of choice and a matter of the individual practice of your faith -- so long as you aren't considering that you have to celebrate on these days for salvation, you can either participate or not participate as you feel led

            -- so, what does this mean to us in regards to Halloween? -- well, it's simple -- if you have no problem with celebrating Halloween as a Christian and you aren't celebrating evil or death, then go for it -- go trick-or-treating -- put up decorations -- go to Halloween parties -- don't let anyone condemn you for having a good time

            -- however, if you do have a problem with it, then don't participate in the same way the culture participates -- think of how you can redeem this holiday in your own home and in your family

            -- in all cases, I would suggest that Christians not put up symbols or images of evil, but keep Halloween fun and light-hearted -- pumpkins and cats and ghosts that look like sheets are great for decorations -- stay away from anything that symbolizes evil or that promotes demonic influences

            -- encourage your kids to dress up as fun characters, like superheroes, rather than evil or extremely scary characters -- explain to your family and friends that Halloween is not a celebration of evil -- it is not the same thing as Samhain [Sow-win] -- it is a Christian celebration marking the night before the Christian holiday of All Saints Day

IV.  Closing

            -- to close, turn with me over to John 1 and we'll end there -- John 1:1

1 John 1:1-9 (NIV)

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 We write this to make our joy complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

            -- as this passage points out, there is nothing to fear from the darkness, for Light has come into the world and the darkness has fled -- Christ came to save the world of their sins -- to win the battle against sin and death -- and to bring light into this place

            -- although some may want to use Halloween to promote Satan and evil, as Christians we can look at this symbols of evil and darkness and praise God that He has overcome the darkness with the Light -- that Satan and his demons have no power over us -- that we have been bought through the life-giving blood of the Lamb and are filled with His light and His love

            -- so remember Jesus this weekend and let His light fill you and your life this Halloween

            -- next Sunday is All Saints Day, so we will be talking about remembering the saints and living for God's glory

            -- if nobody has anything else, we'll close in prayer

---------------------------------------------------------------

1 Scott Bayless, Sermon: "Saving Halloween" http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/saving-halloween-updated-for-2014-scott-bayles-sermon-on-halloween-188737.asp?page=0

2 Alan Rudnick, "7 Reasons Why a Christian Should Celebrate Halloween," http://www.alanrudnick.org/2010/10/28/7-reasons-why-christians-should-celebrate-halloween/

3 Wikipedia articles:  https://en.wikpedia/org/wiki/* -- Samhain; Halloween; Easter; Christmas#Relation_to_concurrent_celebrations

SERMON: HEALING HELP

18 October 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to John 5:1-8

John 5:1-9 (NIV)

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

4

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

            -- let me begin by sharing with you an old joke that I'm sure you've heard before, but I want to tell it again because it's relevant to the message this morning

            -- there once was this very religious man who was at home when a flood came -- the rains poured and poured and the waters started to rise until they covered his house -- he climbed onto the roof of his house and prayed to God for help

            -- it wasn't too long after he prayed that a neighbor came by in a canoe and said, "The waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we’ll paddle to safety.” -- but the man said, "No, thanks, I've prayed to God and I'm sure He will save me"

            -- a short time later the police came by in a motorboat -- “The waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we’ll take you to safety.” -- once again, the man replied, "No thanks” replied the religious man. “I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”

            -- a little while later, a rescue helicopter spotted the man on the house, hovered overhead, and dropped down a rope ladder to him -- "Climb up the ladder and we'll fly you to safety" -- but once again, the man turned down the help and said, "No, thanks, I've prayed to God and I'm sure He'll save me"

            -- while all this was going on, the floodwaters continued to rise, and before long, the waters covered the man's roof and he drowned -- when he arrived at heaven, he demanded an audience with God -- ushered into God's throne room, he said, "Lord, why am I here in heaven? -- I prayed for you to save me -- I trusted you to save me -- why didn't you help me in the flood?"

            -- God replied, "I did -- I sent a canoe, a boat, and a helicopter, but you never got in"

II.  The Problem of Independence

            -- what is it about us that just doesn't like to accept help from other people? -- if we're honest with ourselves, there's just something about us that make us want to do things on our own -- to solve our own problems without asking anyone else for help

            -- I guess it's something that we are taught at an early age -- I grew up learning in school that America was great because of its independent, self-sustaining, pioneer spirit -- we did things on our own and we overcame adversity and that's how we settled this land and made America great

            -- and the message that we were being taught in school was clear -- that was how we should live our lives -- we should all seek to grow up strong and independent -- to be self-made people -- people who could get by on their own without having to ask for help

            -- and when I think about the role models that we saw on TV and the movies when we were kids -- people like John Wayne -- Marshall Dillon -- Clint Eastwood -- James Bond -- that's who they were

            -- you never saw John Wayne ask anybody for help -- there wasn't any way Clint Eastwood was going to say he couldn't handle the bad guys and needed someone to help him -- no matter how bad the situation looked, they didn't need anyone to rescue them -- and I guess I grew up with that mindset that this is the way you should be -- this was the ideal picture of an American man -- this was what I was taught we should strive to become

            -- and I know I'm not the only one -- I was listening to a podcast this week where this very successful businessman from Nashville was being interviewed -- and as he told his story, it struck me how similar it was to the way most of us were raised

            -- he said when he was growing up, his mother told him to never ask anyone for help, but to learn to do it on his own -- she wouldn't allow him to use the word can't -- she told him to never say you can't do anything -- you were only a failure if you didn't try -- and she told him when he had a problem, he needed to learn to fix it on his own, because in this world, he couldn't depend on anyone else for help -- so he grew up with the understanding that trying to do it on your own is more important than asking for help

            -- and he leaned into that as a small boy -- he excelled at school -- he ended up studying on his own at night and taking GRE credits and actually graduated from high school when he was in the tenth grade because he had enough credits to fulfill the requirements

            -- he started working full-time and when he was 18, he ended up buying the business he had been working at and turned it into a franchise with three other stores there in Nashville -- he sold those four stores at the age of 29 and became an instant multi-millionaire -- this guy was wildly successful -- the epitome of an American self-made man -- a true rags-to-riches story of what happens when you apply yourself and work hard and do it on your own

            -- but what was interesting in the podcast was that he told the host that despite the money he had earned and the businesses he had started and the houses he owned, he realized he was a failure -- he said it took him a long time, but he learned there is more to success than making money -- that there's more to life than just doing it on your own

            -- because of the advice of his mother to do things on his own, he had never learned to develop relationships with others -- and after a couple of life-changing experiences, he realized he had lived a life that was successful from the world's perspective but that had no true lasting significance from a relational or spiritual sense

            -- so he has dedicated the remainder of his life to coaching and teaching others a better way -- teaching them to seek significance as well as success by building relationships -- and the key to building relationships comes through authenticity and humility, when you realize you can't do it on your own, but you need help from others

            -- that's something that I am just now really coming to grips with -- I didn't realize how ingrained this concept of self-sufficiency was in my life until I participated in my first foot-washing service -- you know, people talk about how moving it is to humble yourself and wash someone else's feet, but that wasn't a problem for me -- I was taught to serve -- I was taught to do things for others -- so, I have no problem getting on my knees and washing someone else's feet

            -- but I had a hard time sitting there letting someone else wash my feet -- honestly, I think it takes more humility to let go of yourself and allow someone else to serve you in that way -- I think that was Peter's problem in the upper room the night Jesus tried to wash his feet

            -- and since then, God has been working on me in this area of asking for and receiving help from others -- I think this bus trip we just went on is a prime example of that -- when the bus broke down and we had a problem that needed to be solved, it took all I could do not to just try to fix it on my own, even though I didn't know what to do -- I had to surrender my spirit -- I had to admit that I needed help, and I went ahead and called for someone to come help us even though that went against my very nature

            -- it's just something that is part of us -- I think it's part of our sin-nature -- a small act of rebellion against God where we still try to solve our problems on our own without asking Him or anyone else for help

III.  Receiving Healing

            -- I mean just look at this passage -- I don't know if you've ever thought of it from this standpoint or not, but this man refused to be healed simply because he wouldn't let anyone help him -- let's look back at it right now and see what we can learn from this passage

            -- verse 1

John 5:1-5 (NIV)

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

4

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

            -- if you have the NIV or one of the more recent translations, verse 4 might be missing -- it's usually in the footnotes at the bottom of the page -- it's not in the earliest and best manuscripts that we have, so some translations leave it because it was not in the original text, but may have been added later as an explanatory note so you can understand the context of what was going on in these verses

            -- John tells us that Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for a festival -- and while He was there, He went to the pool of Bethesda, where the sick and the crippled and the lame would gather

            -- verse 4 tells us that God would send an angel to the pool from time to time to stir up the waters and that the first person who went into the pool after it was stirred up would be healed of whatever disease they had

            -- one man in that crowd had been an invalid for thirty-eight years -- for thirty-eight years he had been unable to walk on his own -- so he had come to the pool of Bethesda that day for healing

            -- verse 6

John 5:6-7 (NIV)

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

            -- do you want to get well? -- what a strange question to ask -- this is the only time Jesus ever asked anyone that question -- out of all the people He touched -- out of all the people He healed -- not once did He ever ask any of them if they wanted to get well, which tells us something about this man and about what God had offered him in the past

            -- something tells me that God had already sent a canoe, a motorboat, and a helicopter to this man, but he turned them down -- the invalid responds to Jesus' question, "do you want to get well," by saying he had no one to help him get into the pool when the water was stirred, but his story doesn't ring true -- I think he had no one to help because he refused to ask

            -- I believe Jesus asked this question because God had already offered to heal this man in some way, but apparently this man had turned down God's offer of healing, choosing to do it on his own -- choosing to be healed through his own power and his own strength

            -- so Jesus sees him lying there on the ground and basically says, "what are you still doing here? -- why didn't you accept the healing I offered before? -- do you want to get well?"

            -- that's a question for all of us, isn't it? -- do you want to get well? -- salvation is offered to us as a free gift -- it's not something we can do on our own -- it's something that has to be received from God through faith and humility and submission -- we can only be saved when we humble ourselves and admit to God that we can't do it and we need His help

            -- and it's the same way with a lot of things in our lives -- spiritual growth comes through humility and weakness -- through admitting that we need help -- that we need others in order to become full and complete in God

            -- this has always been one of the most frustrating things I have experienced as a pastor -- in the various congregations I have served, I knew there were people who needed help -- not just spiritually, but financially, materially, physically -- I knew they needed someone to come into their lives and help them with a problem they were experiencing -- but, invariably, they simply wouldn't let anyone know -- and because no one knew, no one could help -- I wonder if, in their quiet times together, if Jesus asked them, "Do you want to get well?"

            -- let's finish this up -- verse 8

John 5:8-9 (NIV)

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath

            -- healing came only when the man answered Jesus' question through faith -- do you want to be healed? -- are you willing to receive the healing I offer? -- if so, then pick up your mat and walk

            -- and the man was cured -- he picked up his mat and walked -- healing comes through humility and surrender -- healing comes when we admit we can't do it on our own, but we need God and we need His people

IV.  Closing

            -- when we began Koinonia Church, we were careful to come up with a vision of who we would be and we intentionally chose our vision statement as "doing life together" -- it was a recognition that we can't do life on our own -- we need others -- we need Christ's power and presence expressed through His body -- the church -- if we are to succeed in our Christian lives

            -- we are here for each other -- we are here to support each other -- physically -- materially -- spiritually -- to be the body -- to be Christ's hands and feet -- but healing can only come when we humble ourselves and admit to God and to His church, "I need help"

            -- as we close, I want to ask you to just take a moment and consider if there is a need in your life that you haven't been able to meet simply because you haven't asked for help -- it could be salvation -- it could be spiritual growth -- it could be financial or physical or material -- whatever it is, I want to encourage you to just take a moment and see if you are like the man lying on the ground by the pool of Bethesda -- unable to be healed simply because you haven't asked

            -- and I want to encourage you to make your needs known to the body of Christ so we can do life together -- so those who can help you in your moment of need can be the hands and feet of Jesus for you -- and so you can be the hands and feet of Jesus for someone else

            -- do you want to be well?

            -- let's pray

Saturday Selections

Borrowing an idea from two people I follow -- Tim Ferriss and Donald Miller -- I am going to begin trying to post short selections in bullet format that sum up my week and that might prove insightful to some.  Please let me know what you think in the comments, along with any suggestions that might help improve this weekly post.  With that said, on to the show...

1.  Friday the Thirteenth:  Just the appearance of this date on our calendar can cause some of us to worry.  But where did it start?

            -- Most people agree that Friday the Thirteenth has become associated with bad luck and evil because of a connection to Christianity.  Friday was the day Jesus was killed on the cross of Calvary, and there were 13 people present at the Last Supper, with Judas Iscariot being identified traditionally as the thirteenth person to arrive at the meal.  Hence, one origin theory for the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th.

            -- Here’s a link with more information about Friday the 13th

2.  This week's Bible verse:  Psalm 112:7 (NIV): “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”

3.  In the news:  David Hasselhoff changes name.   A recent celebrity fad, changing your name is seen as a way to reinvent yourself, to change who you are by changing how the world views you.  It doesn’t only occur with celebrities -- many adherents of religion, including Islam and Christianity, change their names upon conversion.  It is a way to proclaim a new life to the world, to show you are not the same person you used to be.  It is a way to begin the process of sanctification, to put off the old and put on the new, to fully embrace your new life in Christ, and to embrace your life as a new creation in Christ.  So while changing our name may not be something we embrace, how can we actively demonstrate to the world the change brought about by the Holy Spirit in our lives?

4.  Prayer Focus: Paris and the nation of France.

5.  Interesting article of the week:  Fat is Failure -- Does being fat affect your Christian witness?