Sermon Preview – Page 9 – { Andrew Mills }

Sloth the Sin that Needs No Effort

On Sunday I want to answer this question:

Found at http://azlath.deviantart.com/art/Sloth-a-Sin-273220926

And I think it’s a great question. Because in many ways we’d love to be more “slothful”

Who wouldn’t like a day to sleep in?
Who wouldn’t like a lazy day inside drinking coffee?
Who wouldn’t like a movie marathon every now and then?

The question I think is this – is the sin of sloth anti-rest?

And I don’t think it is. God is not anti-rest. God clearly commands rest, relaxation, and Sabbath. So the question is then, what is the sin of sloth really about? And here is my short answer that we’ll unpack on Sunday. The sin of sloth is a refusal to respond to God. It’s not about conserving or recharging our energy, but refusing to use our energy to join in what God is doing.

So come Sunday we are going to explore this topic, and why it matters. We are going to see how you can be lazy, or busy – and still be stuck in the sin of sloth. We are going to see how the sin of sloth robs you of life, and robs the world of your gifts. So that’s where we are going on Sunday, of course assuming I don’t slothily sleep in.

March 21, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Breaking the Grip of Greed

On Sunday we are looking at the Deadly Sin of Greed. This may be the biggest temptation that Christians face in the west. It’s also certainly the most mentioned sin in the Bible, we just don’t read it. The sin of Greed is the sin of Idolatry which drives so much hurt in the world. As Paul says, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

But here is the problem with greed. We all know that greed wrecks relationships, businesses, and lives deeper and faster than most other things. We all know how toxic greed can be. How it can drive people to become workaholics, trap people in spirals of debt, and bring about deep insecurity in others.

We know this. We’ve seen the effects of greed. We’ve seen good people make awful decisions because of it. We’ve seen relationships suffer from it.

What I don’t think we know is how to break it.

Greed happens so easily and quickly, and we don’t know how to break it. Or even more importantly to stay free from it.

We have a nice house, and go to someone else’s nicer house and like ours less. And all of a sudden greed catches us. We watch TV, see a lovely vacation spot and start dreaming about how happy we would be with more money, and greed catches us. We save, go out to a great restaurant, have a great meal, and then see regulars there and wish we could be them. And again greed catches us.

It is so easy to get caught up in greed, so on Sunday we are going to look at how to break it. Because I think that’s worth finding out.

March 14, 2014 by Andrew Mills

We’re All Gluttons

On Sunday we are looking at one of the most “personal” of the 7 Deadly Sins – the sin of gluttony. This is a hard one to actually discuss because it’s so tied to personal identity, and image. So I think we often refrain from talking about it because it is such a difficult thing to talk about well. Also, I think it’s easy for people to feel a tremendous amount of guilt when we talk about this topic. So in general we don’t discuss this issue ~ even though it is an issue for us all.

That’s right I said for us all.

Regardless of whether you are skinny or not, eat a lot or not, gluttony is an issue for every single one of us.

So what I want to do is to approach this topic from a different angle on Sunday. What if rather than looking at gluttony through the lens of “food” – what if we look at it from the Biblical perspective of unrestrained desire? What if we look at it from the perspective of overconsumption? What if gluttony isn’t just about eating too much at Thanksgiving – but having too much of anything that leads to difficulty?

This is why I think we all struggle with this sin – in some shape or form. Some of us work too much, others watch TV too much, spend time on our phones too much, spend too much, or worry too much. On Sunday we are going to explore those things that we do simply “too much”, that don’t help us but hurt us. Because that’s actually what the sin of gluttony is about ~ overconsuming a good thing so it becomes a bad thing.

So that’s where we are going – but Lent is about reflection. So why not spend some time and reflect on your life now? Is there anything that is good but has become “too much” in your life? Is there a good thing that you need to cut back on? Work, spending time with friends, shopping, reading – or even as we’ll see on Sunday, praying?

So spend some time reflecting and maybe even changing.

March 7, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Lent and the Seven Deadly Sins

On Sunday we are opening up a brand new series, looking at the Seven Deadly Sins for Lent. Yep that’s right a perfect series to invite your friends to…

Well actually I do think it will be really important and really helpful and here is why. So often when sin is discussed, especially in church, it’s accompanied with judgment, shame, and guilt. So because of this we don’t talk about it. And instead then we end up coping with sin, struggling with sin, and hiding sin. What if instead of talking about sin in this way – we approached it through grace, life, and freedom? What if rather than hiding and struggling with our sin – we could actually be free from it?

That’s the perspective of this series to discover how through Jesus’ transformation we might be freed from some stuff in our lives we’ve been carrying along far too long.

What if we approach sin not from a guilt or shame perspective – but from a healing and freedom perspective?

I think to be honest this is the only way to deal with this important, but misunderstood topic. In the gospels we see tax collectors, prostitutes, and broken people flocking to Jesus. These are “notorious sinners” as the Pharisees point out. But this was because Jesus didn’t condone sin or condemn those struggling with sin – he freed them from it.

What if over the next seven weeks we could have the same experience from Jesus? Where we go to him with our baggage and sin – our pride, envy, greed, and anger and find freedom?

That’s the whole point and goal of this series. To, for Lent, do some personal introspection and experience Jesus’ transformation as we come to him.

So even though it may sound funny – I’m excited about this series because I’m always excited when people find freedom and transformation from baggage they’ve been holding for years. And that’s what this series is all about, so maybe it is something worth being excited about…

February 28, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Jesus Didn’t Really Mean Don’t Judge Right…

This Sunday we are looking at probably the most important teaching of Jesus for our day and age. I say this because two of the 3 tops things Christians in North America are known for is being judgmental, and hypocritical. The irony, and also the deep sadness is that Jesus is really clear: do not judge. (Matthew 7:1)

Soren Kierkegaard once said something like, the Bible is clear, most Christians just don’t want to follow it. And I think of that often in terms of this teaching of Jesus. It couldn’t be clearer but it also couldn’t be less practiced.

So on Sunday I want to help us begin to practice this by peeling back some of the layers and seeing how when we judge we separate ourselves from others and God. I want to discover how Jesus’ teaching is so freeing, brilliant, and amazing that we should want to live this way.

I know sometimes it’s hard to imagine a world without judging and condemning because it is so normal to us. But we need to imagine a world without it, we need to practice a world without – because that’s God’s kind of world. That’s God’s kingdom, a community and a place where people don’t judge but go graciously to one another. A place where people deal with their own stuff, rather than trying to deal with someone else’s. A place where people who have experienced grace, share grace.

So I think this Sunday matters because I think we need to learn how to live without judgment. I think we desperately need to learn how to live without condemning others. I think we need to learn to live like Jesus – or at least I do. Because judging comes so naturally to me, it’s so easy to have a running dialogue of judging thoughts go through my head. But here Jesus is clear, don’t judge. And my honest belief is that if Jesus taught it, we should do it. And not only that, he will provide a way for us to do it. And that’s what we want to discover, a way to live without judgment.

So that’s where we are going, but before we get there why not do this little thought experiment for the rest of the weekend. Why not just try to notice how often you judge. And as you do think about how your relationships and this world might be changed if we just got rid of that. I think it’s worth trying to do. What about you?

February 13, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Heart, Motives, and Following Jesus

On Sunday we are looking at another difficult teaching of Jesus – we are looking at our heart and motives.

The truth is that if you follow Jesus deeply and truly, lives will be changed in and around you. And people may even start to notice, respect, and trust you. This is all fine as it goes. The temptation though is this: that as you gain respect and trust you do good deeds not for Jesus, but for others.

Or more succinctly put the temptation is that you do good deeds and right actions not as a response to God, but as a response to others.

This is the temptation that I think we all face if we follow Jesus, and that’s what we are going to be looking at on Sunday. Jesus says, “Don’t do your good deeds for publicity…When you give don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:1,4). We’re going to be exploring how it is even possible to follow this teaching of Jesus. Because normally it seems pretty impossible to give with your right hand, and to not have your left hand know what you’re doing. Jesus isn’t talking here about split personalities, but actually a whole and integrated heart.

So we’ll get into all of that.

But before we get there here is my question for you today, that I’m asking myself as well. Do I do good deeds for God, or for others? Do I do the right thing because I love God, or I love the recognition and admiration of others?

In essence the question is: What are the intentions with my actions? To be committed to God or to get credit from others?

Good question…

February 7, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Jesus’ Simplest and Hardest Teaching…

On Sunday we are looking at one of the simplest and most radical of all the teaching of Jesus. It’s this: Love your enemies.

Bertrand Russell, a Christian man who later became an atheist and deep thinker, once famous said:

“The Christian principle ‘love your enemy is good … there is nothing to be said against it except that it is too difficult for most of us to practice sincerely”.

What I think is interesting is that he doesn’t debate the beauty or rightness of Jesus’ statement. He debates its practicality or the average person’s ability to practice it. And I agree with him wholeheartedly, that this teaching of Jesus is difficult to practice. And it is difficult because it is counter cultural, it requires discipline, and most of all, it requires inspiration as well.

So on Sunday I want to really explore and dream about how our lives might be different if we actually practiced this teaching of Jesus. As Jesus himself says, “everyone loves who love them back”. What might happen though if we became a community of people who took seriously Jesus’ teaching to love others. How might that shape and change us?

And so we are going to be diving into the world of neuroscience, our view of God, and of course, a few thoughts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

My argument on Sunday will be pretty simple.

It’s not that loving enemies is easy: it isn’t.
It’s not that loving enemies makes sense: it doesn’t.
It’s not that loving enemies will make them be nice to us: it probably won’t.
It’s that loving our enemies is the way of Jesus Christ.

Loving our enemies is not easy, it’s certainly not practical, and it won’t ensure you never get hurt again. Loving your enemies sometimes mean you end up on a cross; sometimes it means being left alone and abandoned, and sometimes it means that the entire world gets changed…

So that’s where we’re going, but why wait to hear it on Sunday. Why not practice it today? Why not try to love those around you today? It won’t be easy or simple, but it will be the way of Jesus. And that should be enough…

January 31, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Turning the Other Cheek

On Sunday we are looking at one of the most radical and deeply practical teaching of Jesus Christ. We are going to be looking at turning the other cheek.

Jesus says do not resist an evil doer, instead, if you are hit to turn the other cheek.

This is a radical and explosive teaching.

But here is the thing, this isn’t something we are just called to think about, or to meditate on. We are called to actually practice it.

Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon write this:

What impresses about the Sermon is its attention to the nitty-gritty details of everyday life. Jesus appears to be giving very practical, very explicit directions for what to do when someone has done you wrong, when someone attacks you, when you are married, etc.

And this is true – Jesus is interested in the nitty-gritty practical details of everyday life. That when we come up against an enemy, someone who hurts and harms us, we are called to turn the other cheek. But what does that actually mean? And does that actually even work – or isn’t that a naïve view of the world? That’s what we are going to really dive deeply into Sunday. The question I have for all of us is pretty simple: has anyone you know ever “turned the cheek” in a difficult situation? What happened? How did it change them? Did it change the other person?

And if you get stuck not coming up with anyone…you could always try looking at Jesus.

January 24, 2014 by Andrew Mills

Followers of the Truth, and Speaking Truth

On Sunday we are looking at an incredibly important piece of Scripture found in Matthew 5:33-37. The whole focus is on oaths, vows, and promises. And even though this might seem a little removed from our day to day life in our day and age – I think it does matter for us. I know that many of us probably don’t make large vows everyday to clients, friends, or our spouses by swearing on god, our mother’s graves, or other things. But I do think Jesus’ teaching matters for us, because its about telling the truth.

Jesus is asking his followers to be people of the truth. To be trustworthy, and to be people of integrity. The honest truth is this: we cannot be the church God has called us to be if our lives are founded and function in deceit, half-truths, and compromised integrity.

To be a true follower of Jesus, means that we would be committed to telling the truth. So on Sunday we are going to work out how that happens, what that means, and what’s going on. But for now I have one question to ask you that I think matters. Are you a person of integrity?

And here is a second but an even better one. How can you today, this weekend, and this week become a deeper person of integrity? And come Sunday that’s what we’re looking at.

January 17, 2014 by Andrew Mills

What If We Just Did What Jesus Said?

On Sunday we are really exploring a radical question. What if we just followed Jesus in what he said?

We are beginning to explore his teaching on the Sermon of the Mount and will be seeking to actually practice it. Because here is what I believe: the teachings of Jesus aren’t primarily to be debated, to be forgotten, reworked, or skipped over. They are to be practiced.

Our guiding quote for this whole series is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Commenting on the sermon of the mount, with his usual succinctness and challenge he says:

“The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it”

And I think he is right. What if we just did what Jesus said? Dream with me a moment how might your life be different? How might your family’s life be different? How might your community be different? How might this world be different if we all got serious about following what Jesus said?

That’s why I’m excited for Sunday because I think it will start something in our lives so meaningful.

So before we get there why not take a moment and simply sit and read over Matthew 5 a few times. See what stands out, see what Jesus asks you to do, and then don’t forget to put it into practice.

January 10, 2014 by Andrew Mills