Category: Sermon Reflections

Seven Deadly Sins: Lust and Living with Love

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On Sunday we looked at the first of our “deadly sins”, the sin of lust. But before we got there we set up some ground rules. That first, this whole series will be preached from a posture of grace not guilt. God convicts this is true, but God doesn’t send guilt and shame. Conviction says, “I did something bad”. Guilt and shame say, “I am bad”. And that’s a huge difference. Conviction is about change; guilt and shame are about hurt and pain. So that’s ground rule #1.

Ground rule #2 was that this is about personal introspection. So that means sending my sermon online to your mother-in-law to help with her “anger” is not the point. It’s about us looking within, not around for who else needs to hear it.

And lastly, ground rule #3 was that this was about being safe and transformed. That’s the perspective that this is a safe place to talk, and experience God’s transformation. If we can’t acknowledge what we’re struggling with – how will we ever see God’s healing?

Michael Mangis writes:

Every sin confessed is an invitation for God to work miracles though his grace. If I truly grasped this truth, I would stop obsessively working to round up all my sin marbles and keep them under control. Instead, I would go out in search of marbles that are lost or forgotten in the corners of my heart. I might actually become bored with the areas of my life that are tidy and presentable. I would search out new places in me that haven’t seen the full light of God’s transformation. I might even think, It has been a while since God performed a miracle in me. Let me find a forgotten pocket of sin somewhere where I can set God’s power free to turn water into wine and blindness into sight.

And I think that’s true and why we are doing this series. We want to see miracles in people’s lives.

So with that we moved to discussing lust. Lust is such a difficult topic to discuss. The reason for this is because this sin is most deeply tied to our identity and image being made in male and female. So it has the tendency to also be tied most deeply to guilt, shame, and feelings of being unworthy. So we took a look at Jesus’ teaching on it in Matthew 5.

Jesus, in Matthew 5, is really being clear, that yes lust is wrong, but temptation is not. Jesus is not talking about having a fleeting thought, or something pop into your mind that you try to push away. Jesus says that lust is like adultery, when it settles in your heart, when you engage it, and enter into it. His point is that this needs to go.

He even advocates extreme action to rid yourself of lust. He says, “If your eye causes you to lust gouge it out and throw it away”. Now he’s not being literal here because I bet you could lust with your eyes closed if you wanted to. The point is that lust is so damaging it’s worth taking deep action to get rid of it.

That’s where we focused the majority of our time. On how to find transformation from this area. And we began by reminding those who struggle with this something that they probably don’t tell themselves: God is about forgiveness, there is grace, and God is not ashamed of you. This sin more than maybe any other isolates, and creates spirals of shame. This is why we need to talk about it, so God’s transformation can change it. And it is the good and grace of God that leads to change. So we started there by centering ourselves in God’s grace.

We lastly gave two simple practical tips. The first was to make a covenant with your eyes. Jesus says, “Do not look”, realizing that what we see and focus on settles in our hearts. And while Jesus is specifically talking about lust and sex, the Greek word more basically translated means desire. So this means for any wrong desire for power, money, position, whatever – we are not to look and focus on it. Job writes that he made a covenant with his eyes in chapter 31:1. And I think that’s a good place to start. Going to God, praying, and covenanting asking for his help for us to focus on what’s good, pure, and loving.

And with that I think we need to change our gaze. We don’t get rid of lust by focusing on lust. We get rid of lust by focusing on love and putting it into practice. Loving God, loving others, loving even ourselves. The point is that if we want to get rid of lust we need to change our focus to seeking creative ways to love those closest to us. We need to change our focus and put God in the centre. This is how we find transformation.

And that’s where we ended – looking at something that is donea part of our world, but that hopefully isn’t a part of our hearts.

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Lust breaks relationship, love fills relationships

Take Aways…

  • Ground Rules #1: Posture of Grace not Guilt
  • God convicts, God doesn’t guilt
  • Ground Rules #2: Personal Introspection
  • Sin leads to unhealthy lives
  • Ground Rules #3: Safe and Transformational
  • Rather than rooting out our sins, we try to keep them under control. Micahel Mangis
  • Sin died at Easter
  • Every sin confessed is an invitation for God to work miracles though his grace. Micahel Mangis
  • Seven Deadly sins are the root, or chief sins that cause the most damage and hurt.
  • Temptation is not a sin
  • Lust is self-centered, and misplaced desire.
  • difference between lust and love is the difference between selfish desire and other-centered desire
  • The gains of lust are trivial compared with the loss it brings.” Bonhoeffer
  • God forgives you and there is grace.
  • Covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1)
  • Overcoming sin isn’t about trying harder, but getting closer to Jesus
  • Commit to love, and changing our focus

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

Did you have any fear or worry looking at the “seven deadly sins”? How come, or why not? How important is it – to keep those ground rules in our minds when talking about these things? What are some of the dangers of approaching sin from judgement and shame? What might it be like to be freed from sin? Do you think that’s worth chasing after? How come? What did you take away from the lust teaching? How might this help you, or help others?

Discussion Questions / Actions for Young Families: Today talk to your kids about lust. This is a big deal for parents, especially as kids grow older. So why not just open up a conversation with them. If they are older they probably have questions, and it’s a good time to talk them through it. Also maybe now is a good time to explain the difference between temptation and sin.

Challenge for this Week: Focus on Doing Loving Actions

by Andrew Mills

“Judge Not” – Jesus…Pretty Clear Right?

1409595_99556189On Sunday we looked at Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7 where he says don’t judge. What I think is important to recognize is that here Jesus isn’t saying there isn’t right or wrong. He isn’t teaching some relativistic ~ do whatever you want just don’t hurt anyone. What he is teaching is how to go about dealing with right and wrong in the context of relationships. He is talking about what to do with the hurt, missed expectations, and messiness of relationships.

He begins by reminding us not to judge. This is because judgment always separates us from God and others. Whenever we judge we separate ourselves from another person, place ourselves above them, and set expectations of them. This is the essence of what we do when we judge someone. Think of a court where the judge is high and distant from the accused. This is what we do in a relationship when we judge.

We also separate ourselves from God. We actually place ourselves in his role and his seat when we judge others. The bible is clear, God is the judge, which means we are not. D. A. Carson writes, “The disciple who takes it on himself to be the judge of what another does usurps the place of God, and therefore becomes answerable to him”. This is serious stuff. Judgment separates us from God and others.

It also blinds us. Bonhoeffer writes, “By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are”. His point is that when we judge we place ourselves in God’s shoes, and forget that we aren’t perfect and we need grace just as much as everyone else. The serious part of Jesus’ challenge though is that he says the measure you use to judge others, will be the measure used to judge you. So if you refuse to give grace and mercy to others, which is every time you judge, then God will not be able to give grace and mercy to you. Carson puts it this way: The judgmental person, by not being forgiving and loving, testifies to his own arrogance and impenitence, by which he shuts himself out of God’s forgiveness”.

This is why it is so serious and can’t be part of the Kingdom or Christian’s lives.

So Jesus goes on to teach then how to deal with hurt and wrong in relationships. His point isn’t that everything is healthy, but how to deal with the unhealthy stuff in relationships. So he says deal with your own plank, before trying to help someone else (Matthew 7:3). The point is that we are called to deal with our sin, stuff, and brokenness before trying to fix someone else.

The brilliance of Jesus is that as we deal with our stuff, and experience God’s grace, blessing, and transformation it will change how we relate to others. No longer will we be relating to others through judgment and condemnation on our high horses. But instead, we will stoop low and help to support and love broken and hurting people.

Jesus’ challenge to Christians is to stop judging, deal with your own stuff, and then help others. And I think this is a challenge I know I need to hear. It’s so easy to judge, but Jesus is calling us to do the hard work of living differently.

So I left us with a challenge to try to simply get rid of judging this week. I know it will be hard, and maybe even impossible. But the beautiful thing about God is that he sometimes steps in and the impossible happens…

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Stop judging, and start dealing with your stuff

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • The temptation: to turn our good actions into reasons to rank ourselves higher than others
  • Judgment separates and blinds us
  • The disciple who takes it on himself to be the judge of what another does usurps the place of God, and therefore becomes answerable to him. D.A. Carson
  • By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • The judgmental person by not being forgiving and loving testifies to his own arrogance and impenitence, by which he shuts himself out of God’s forgiveness. D.A. Carson
  • We need to deal with our stuff, before focusing on someone else’s stuff.
  • When you deal with your stuff, you’ll be in a position to help, because you’ll have been transformed by grace.
  • Give up judging this week
  • Condemnation – giving and receiving it – is such a large part of our ‘normal’ human existent that we may not even be able to imagine or think of a world without it. Dallas Willard
  • Notice when your judging, choose to love, and confess our sins to God.
  • When we judge other people we confront them in a spirit of detachment, observing, and reflecting as it were from the outside. But love has neither time nor opportunity for this. If we love, we can never observe the other person with detachment, for his is always and at every moment a living claim to our love and service. Bonhoeffer
  • How can I love them
  • What plank do I have in my eye?
  • If when we judged others, our real motive was to destroy evil, we should look for evil where it is certain to be found, and that is in our own hearts. Bonhoeffer

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

What did you find hardest about this teaching? How natural does judging feel for you? Why is it so hard to give up judging? What “reward” do you get from it? What situations do you find yourself most likely to judge? How can you start to practice what Jesus preaches? Who are you called to love this week rather than judge? Who can help you to follow in this teaching? What plank is Jesus asking you to deal with? Who can you ask about your “planks”? What do you think about the last Bonhoeffer quote?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Today rather than talking to your kids about this teaching, and judging. Ask them if its something they do a lot or not. Teach them that judging is wrong, but loving is right. Ask them to this week whenever they feel a judging thought – to instead think of one nice thing about the person.

Challenge for this Week: Give up judging

by Andrew Mills

Do Good Deed Publicly, But not For Publicity – Matthew 6:1-4

On Sunday we looked at this teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 6.

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Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The point Jesus is making is that we should be doing good deeds. Christians should be doing acts of service, and generosity. And we should be doing them publicly. The point isn’t that our actions shouldn’t be seen, but that we shouldn’t do actions to be seen.

The paradox Jesus is teaching: we are to do our actions publicly, but we aren’t to do our actions to receive publicity.

Jesus is really trying to get at the heart behind the actions. Is our intention in doing good deeds to be faithful to God, or receive admiration from others? Are we giving out a response to God’s blessing, or a response to the recognition of those around us? Are we following God because it’s right, or because we want to be seen doing what’s right?

The only difference between a bribe and a gift ~ are the intentions behind the gift.

So I think Jesus’ main point is that our intentions matter in our actions. Dallas Willard writes “When we do good deeds to be seen by human beings, that is because what we are looking for is something that comes from human beings” And he’s right. Are we doing good deeds for God or others?

Jesus then gives this difficult teaching that we shouldn’t let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. Willard explains what this seemingly impossible teaching means: People who have been so transformed by their daily walk with God, have good deeds naturally flow from their character, are precisely the kind of people whose left hand would not notice what their right hand is doing…What they do they do naturally, often automatically, simply because of what they are pervasively and internally.”

What it means is that as we follow Jesus we can become the type of people who so naturally do the right things, that it’s automatic without premeditation and with pure intentions.

The question we ended with is how do we get there? How do we keep our intentions clear and pure? The answer is really simple: focus on Jesus, not on the action. We are to do good deeds keeping our focus on him, not on others, and not on ourselves. In this way we will actually hide our good deeds from ourselves.

Bonhoeffer in his usual brilliance writes this: “From whom are we to hide the visibility of our discipleship? Certainly not from other men, for we are told to let them see our light. No. We are to hide it from ourselves. Our task is simply to keep on following, looking only to our Leader who goes on before, taking no notice of what we are doing”.

This is the way to follow Jesus’ teaching here. Do good, but focus on him. And that’s the challenge we left with – to go out into the world doing good, but focusing on Jesus.

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Your intentions matter

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • The temptation: you stop doing the right actions because you are blessed by God, and start to do it because you are seen and noticed by others
  • “When we do good deeds to be seen by human beings, that is because what we are looking for is something that comes from human beings” Dallas Willard
  • Jesus is really presenting to us a paradox: We need to publicly do good deeds, but we must never do good deeds for publicity
  • That our intentions matter
  • Our good deeds are to shine before others, but we are not to do our good deeds so that we shine before others
  • “What matters are the intentions of our hearts before God” Dallas Willard
  • “From whom are we to hid the visibility of our discipleship? Certainly not from other men, for we are told to let them see our light. No. We are to hide it from ourselves. Our task is simply to keep on following, looking only to our Leader who goes on before, taking no notice of what we are doing”. Bonhoeffer
  • When we focus on Jesus we lose sight of ourselves and more importantly of the others around us.

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new? What did you find hardest about this teaching? What good deeds have become habits in your life? How can you focus on simply doing good, rather than the rewards of doing good? What good actions – giving, serving, praying etc – can you do this week with a focus on Jesus?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Today rather than talking to your kids about this teaching, why not put it into practice with them. Give to them, care for them, really spend time with them. Not because then “you’re a good parent” but because its important. Focus on them and Jesus, and not yourself.

Challenge for this Week: Do good, but focus on Jesus.

 

by Andrew Mills

Loving Enemies and Following Jesus

1336079_98421028So on Sunday we looked at a really difficult but defining teaching of Jesus: love your enemies. This is a defining teaching of Jesus because it should define us as his followers. As Jesus himself says, everyone in the world loves those who love them. That’s normal, that natural, and that’s easy. Christians are called to be different than those around us, but the way we love not just our neighbors but our enemies.

This is Jesus’ teaching. Love your enemies.

And he grounds this teaching in something so important for us. He grounds this teaching in his revelation of who the Father is. He says we are to love our enemies in Matthew 5:45 because this makes us true children of our Father. That just as the Father loves those who oppose him, how he sends rain and sunshine on the good and evil, and how he has particularity for grace ~ so should we as Christians. The point is that if God is about grace, forgiveness, and love of enemies, we too need to be as Christians. The truth is this: there is no room for hate in the Kingdom because there is no room for hate in God.

And we need to get this straight because our view of God shapes our behaviors. If we believe God is hateful, we become hateful. If we believe God is loving, we become loving. So Jesus grounds our behavior in our belief of a loving God.

We ended with the challenge to actually love our enemies. We recognized the ridiculousness of this. That it might not change our enemies, it won’t protect us from hurt, and it won’t be easy. It is though the way of the Kingdom. Bonhoeffer says this: “Jesus does not promise that when we bless our enemies and do good to them they will not despitefully use and persecute us. They certainly will. But not even that can  hurt or overcome us, so long as we pray for them.” Our love, prayer, and good deeds regardless of the change in our enemy needs to be our behavior. Bonhoeffer continues, “The will of God is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them. Am I asked how this love is to behave? Jesus gives the answer: bless, do good, and pray for your enemies without reserve and without respect of persons”.

And that’s how we ended the challenge from Jesus: pray for enemies, do good to enemies, and bless your enemies. Let’s just see what might happen in our world and our lives if we take Jesus’ teaching seriously.

What might happen if we actually lived it out?

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Love your enemies

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • God is not a God of hate
  • If we are not clear on who God is we will not be clear on how to live.
  • If you have a false idea of God, the more religious you are the worse it is for you – it were better for you to be an atheist. William of Canterbury
  • You become the god, you follow.
  • Praying for an enemy and loving him will prove mutually reinforcing. The more love, the more prayer; the more prayer the more love. D.A. Carson
  • Love your enemies
  • Our enemies are not “people in general” but “personal people” we know and interact with.
  • Loving your enemies won’t make your life easier, better, or less problematic ~ it will make your life like Jesus’
  • Jesus was not crucified for saying or doing what made sense to everyone. Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas
  • 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. Bertrand Russell
  • Through the medium of prayer we go to the our enemy, stand by his side, and plead for him to God. We are doing vicariously for them what they cannot for themselves. Every insult they utter only serves to bind us more closely to God and them. Bonhoeffer
  • Love your enemies.

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

What did you find hardest about this teaching? What did you find compelling? Who right now is an enemy God might be calling you to love? How can you pray for them? How might you do good towards them? How can you bless them? Who can help support you in this and encourage you in loving your enemies? Whom can you support in their effort to love their enemies? How can you help them?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about today’s teaching. Talk to them about how there can be no hate in God’s kingdom. Ask them who they have as an enemy right now. Ask them if they’d like to pray for them and pray for them together.

Challenge for this Week: Love your enemies: do good, pray, and bless them.

 

 

by Andrew Mills

Following Jesus is Hard ~ Goodbye Violence, Revenge, and Retaliation

old-bible-1178354-mOn Sunday we explored the teaching of Jesus where he says to turn the other cheek. Jesus is incredibly clear, even if we wish he wasn’t, we are not called to resist an evil doer. Before we look at how, we wanted to explore why. Why are we called to live this way? Why are we called to practice non-resistance, non-retaliation, and love?

The easy answer isn’t actually the right answer. The easy answer is that violence, and an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind as Ghandi said. And that’s true but that isn’t actually why we are called to practice non-violence, non-retaliation, and turning the other cheek. We are called to live this way, not because an “eye for an eye” doesn’t work. We are called to live this way because this is who God is.

Jesus, as the perfect representation and revelation of God, practices what he preaches. On the cross he doesn’t resist the evil people, he turns the other cheek, and he practices what he preaches. This is who God is – one who turns the other cheek. So if this is who God is, this is who we are called to be. If this is the way of Jesus it needs to be the way of his followers.

So we don’t practice “turning the other cheek” because it is pragmatic or effective. We practice it because it is the way of Jesus Christ. Hauerwas says, “Jesus does not promise that if we turn the other check we will avoid being hit again. Non-retaliation is not a strategy to get what we want by other means. Rather, Jesus calls us to the practice of non-retaliation because that is the form that God’s care of us took on his cross…In a like manner, Christians are to give more than we are asked to give, we are to give to those who beg, because this the character of God”.

This is our calling, and so on Sunday we heard Jesus’ challenge: to turn the other cheek this week. How this will work its way out in our lives will be different in each situation. Jesus himself recognizes this with the different responses he gives in the passage. The point is that Kingdom people – turn the other cheek – because their king did, does, and will continue to.

“We are concerned not with evil in the abstract, but with the evil person. Jesus bluntly calls the evil person evil. If I am assaulted, I am not to condone or justify aggression. Patient endurance does not mean a recognition of its right…the shameful assault, the deed of violence and the act of exploitation are still evil. The disciple must realize this, and witness to it as Jesus did. Because this is the only way evil can be met and overcome. The very fact that the evil that assaults him is unjustifiable makes it imperative that he should n to resist it, but play it out and overcome it by patiently enduring the evil person. Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil, it spells death to evil.” Dietrich Bonhoffer

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Do not resist and evil person

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • God’s blessing allows us to live differently
  • “The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Our calling is to not resist and evil doer
  • Jesus teaching shows us that that in God’s kingdom we will have enemies, encounter evil people, and we are not to resist
  • Jesus here is not teaching an ethic based on pragmatism, but on who he is
  • We are called to this life of non-resistance because we are called to follow Jesus
  • Jesus doesn’t let someone else’s violence dictate or determine his response.
  • Not-resisting evil doesn’t mean accepting evil either
  • “Jesus does not promise that if we turn the other check we will avoid being hit again. Non-retaliation is not a strategy to get what we want by other means. Rather, Jesus calls us to the practice of Non-retaliation because that is the form that God’s care of us took in his cross…In a like manner Christians are to give more than we are asked to give, we are to give to those who beg, because that this the character of God” Hauerwas
  • We are called to live this way of non-aggression, of peace, reconciliation, and grace – because that is who God is
  • Yes we are stand against evil but we are to do it in Jesus’ way
  • Can you commit today to trying this week – To practice turning the other cheek
  • “Cheek-turning is not advocated as what works (it usually does not) but advocated because that is the way God is – God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. This is not a stratagem for getting what we want but the only manner of life available now, that in Jesus we have seen what God wants”. Hauerwas.

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?What did you find hardest about this teaching? What did you find compelling? When has someone ‘turned the other cheek’ and really changed you? Who might you be called to turn the other cheek towards this week?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about today’s teaching. Teach them about how we are called not to retaliate, but turn the other cheek. Make it practical and real and share with them how Jesus did that for us so on the playground, at school, or even at home if someone hits us, or hurts us we don’t hit or hurt back.

Challenge for this Week: Commit to turning the other cheek

by Andrew Mills

Speaking Truth and Getting Rid of Promises

1195548_76079122On Sunday we looked at Jesus’ teaching on oaths, vows, and promises in Matthew 5:33-37.  In this teaching Jesus teaches people not to swear oaths by anything earth, God, Jerusalem, or heaven. He summarizes his teaching with saying, just let your yes be yes and your no be no.

And here is why I think if you have to add an oath, a vow, a provision, or an extra promise to something, it points to the fact that trust is low. Dallas Willard puts it this way, “The essence of swearing or making oaths is to try to use something that, though impressive, is irrelevant to the issues at hand to together to believe you and let you have your way. This is wrong. It is unlike God”. And he is so right. The NLT translates the last few sentences of Jesus’ teaching this way, “Just say a simple Yes I will, or No I won’t. Your word is enough. To strengthen our promise with a vow shows that something is  wrong”

I think Jesus’ teaching comes down to the point that we need to be people of truth. That as his followers we need to be committed to truth – getting rid of all lies, oaths, vows, and half-truths. Just let every word you speak be truthful.

So we ended with the challenge to be people who speak truth this week. And to help that happen I gave three suggestions.

First, we need to confess to God our sin. This seems a bit counterintuitive but the point is that unless we are truthful with God we will not be able to be truthful with others. Bonhoeffer puts it this way, “Complete truthfulness is only possible where sin has be uncovered and forgiven by Jesus. Only those who are in a state of truthfulness through the confession for their sin to Jesus are not ashamed to tell the truth wherever it must be told”.

Secondly, we talked about needing to speak truth all the time. What this means is that everything I say needs to be true, but I don’t have to say everything that is true. I don’t need to reveal everything I think is true, in every situation. I can have tact, and discernment, but everything I do say or reveal needs to be true. This is our calling as Christians.

And lastly, that we need to speak truth softly. Whenever we use our words as a weapon to hurt, injure, or wound we’ve missed the point. Jesus previously in this chapter has already taught us to rid ourselves of anger. So any words that are spoken without compassion, is just veiled aggression and isn’t to be part of the kingdom. Stanley  Hauerwas puts it this way: “Christians are thereby, committed to plain speech. We seek to say no more or no less than what needs to be said. Speech so disciplined is not easily attained. Too often we want to use the gift of speech as a weapon, often a very subtle weapon, to establish our superiority” .

So we ended with a challenge to be people of truth. To confess to God, to speak truth to others, and to speak it softly. This is so important because if we want to have churches, marriages, and communities that are stable, healthy and whole, they need to be built on truth and trust. So go be a person of truth today…

“There is not truth toward Jesus without truth towards other people. Lying destroys community. But truth rends false community and founds genuine fellowship”.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Be a person of Integrity

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • “The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Old Testament verses point to being people of truth
  • People swear oaths because of a lack of trust
  • The essence of swearing or making oaths is to try to use something that, though impressive, is irrelevant to the issues at hand to together to believe you and let you have your way. This is wrong. It is unlike God. Dallas Willard
  • “Just say a simple Yes I will, or No I won’t. You’re word is enough. To strength our promise with a vow shows that something is wrong” – Jesus
  • Thus disciples of Jesus should not swear, because there is no such thing as speech not spoken before God. All of their words should be nothing but truth, so that nothing requires verification by oath. An oath consigns all other statements to the darkness of doubt. That is why it is from the evil one. Bonhoeffer
  • Speak with truth
  • Confess your sin, to be able to speak with truth
  • Complete truthfulness is only possible where sin has be uncovered and forgiven by Jesus. Only those who are in a state of truthfulness through the confession for their sin to Jesus are not ashamed to tell the truth wherever it must be told”.
  • Everything I say needs to be true But I don’t have to say everything that is true
  • “Christians are thereby, committed to plain speech. We seek to say no more or no less than what needs to be said. Speech so disciplined is not easily attained. Too often we want to use the gift of speech as a weapon, often a very subtle weapon, to establish our superiority” Hauerwas
  • “There is not truth toward Jesus without truth towards other people. Lying destroys community. But truth rends false community and founds genuine fellowship” Bonhoeffer

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

How do you use your words? Would you say you use them to build up or tear down? How thoughtfully or intentionally do you use your words? How can you this week start to become a person of deeper integrity? Who can help to support you and keep you accountable in being truthful and honest.

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about being a person of truth. Tell them why it matters in your own words. Maybe take a moment and promise to them that you will always speak to them with truth, and ask if they would do the same with you.

Challenge for this Week: Speak with truth

by Andrew Mills

Anger, Murder, and Following Jesus

1391171_98402089On Sunday we looked at the teaching of Jesus where he calls his Kingdom followers to root anger out of their hearts. This is where Jesus says, “You’ve heard it said that murder is wrong, but I tell you anger is also wrong”.

And as we explored this topic we realized why anger is so destructive. It is destructive because anger stops reconciliation. Anger fuels grudges, bitterness, and a prison of our own making. The point is that as followers of God it is not enough to simply refrain from committing homicide, while harbouring seething rage in our hearts. To do that is to miss the point.

Christians are to be a different community, called to live differently than those around us. But how can we live differently if we harbor anger, let it direct our actions, drag others into courts, refuse to reconcile, and hold onto our own self-righteous anger. And yes, all anger is self-righteous in a way. Because anger arises when our will is opposed, blocked, or stopped. We get angry because we don’t get what we want. The point isn’t that anger is wrong in and of itself. Anger simply points to the fact that something we want (which may be very good) is being stopped. The point is that if we harbor anger in our hearts, no longer is anger alerting us to a situation, it starts to direct our actions and attention.

The point is we cannot be the church God calls us to be, if inside of us our hearts are brimming with anger and resentment. We need to learn to deal with it, to root it out, and to not harbor anger against another.

Stanley Hauerwas writes: “Jesus’ life makes possible our reconciliation with the Father and with one another. That reconciliation creates a community of reconciliation, a  community of peace. So we should not be surprised that Jesus admonishes us not to harbor our anger at our brothers and sisters, but rather we are to seek reconciliation with them. He does not say that we are not to be angry, but rather that we are not to come to the alter of sacrifice unreconciled to one with whom we are angry.”

The point is that if we are following Jesus, we are following someone who practices reconciliation, and then so must we. We cannot hold onto our anger, to stoke our rage, or to let contempt take hold of our hearts. We need to be people who root it out, and pursue reconciliation. This was the main point on Sunday – root out anger, and pursue reconciliation.

We left ourselves with this challenge on Sunday to rid ourselves of anger, and work at reconciliation. We want to take this teaching of Jesus seriously. To examine the places where anger has taken root, to ask Jesus whom do we need to pursue reconciliation with, and how can we live as people of peace in the world. This is indeed a practical everyday challenge, but one that could truly change how we live and how we are seen in the world.

I want to close with a rather lengthy but a very poignant quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer who summarizes the idea and makes it personal:

Anger is always an attack on [another’s] life, for it refuses to let him live and aims at his destruction…Every idle word which we think so little of betrays our lack of respect for our neighbor, and shows that we place ourselves on a pinnacle above him and value our own lives higher than his. The angry word is a blow struck at our brother, a stab at his heart: it seeks to hit, to hurt and to destroy.

So long as we refuse to love and serve our brother and make him an object of contempt and let him harbor a grudge against me or the congregation, our worship and sacrifice will be unacceptable to God…Let us therefore, as a church, examine ourselves ….There is only one way of following Jesus and of worshipping God, and that is to be reconciled

Sermon Notes: 

Big Idea: Root out anger and pursue reconciliation

Take Aways…

  • What if we actually did what Jesus said?
  • “The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • “The whole sermon is not about how to be better individual Christians, it is a picture of the way the church is to look” Stanley Hauerwas, Will Willimon
  • Now the point is that we can follow the rules and still entirely miss the point of the rules
  • The root of murder is anger, and anger is murderous in principle. One has not conformed to the better righteousness of the kingdom simply by refraining from homicide. D.A. Carson
  • Anger stops reconciliation
  • This teaching is about overcoming the anger, that leads to murder, and learning to be people who reconcile
  • We cannot be the church God calls us to be, if inside of us our hearts are brimming with anger and resentment
  • Jesus followers are not to insult each other. Reconciliation must be a first priority in the family of God’s people, or else the worshipping community will be no different from the world at large where festering pride and resentment lead people to drag each other into court and throw each others into prison – Dallas Willard
  • Root out anger and pursue reconciliation
  • Rid yourself of anger, and work at reconciliation

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

Would you say you ever struggle with anger? Had you ever thought of anger in this way before? How has anger stopped you from reconciling before? Whom do you need to reconcile with this week? How might you go about trying? Who can help you and support you as you pursue reconciliation?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about anger, and how about in God’s kingdom it isn’t to be there. Ask someone being angry has ever hurt their feelings. Ask if when they were angry they ever hurt someone’s feelings. Ask them if there is anyone they need to reconcile

Challenge for this Week Rid yourself of anger, and work at reconciliation

by Andrew Mills

Beatitudes, Blessing, and The Best Sermon Ever

1336079_98421028On Sunday we looked at the most beautiful sermon ever given…and of course it was given by Jesus. We looked at the Beatitudes found in Matthew. These are beautiful promises, pronouncements, and announcements that blessing is being given by God. That in God’s Kingdom blessing flows. The beautiful thing about the Beatitudes are that they aren’t extra to-dos. The Beatitudes aren’t telling us what more we need to do to be blessed. The Beatitudes are telling us that God is about blessing, and he is giving it free of charge. Are you poor in spirit – burn out and broken? Blessing is for you. Are you mourning – experiencing loss and hurt? Blessing is for you. Are you trying to show mercy in chaos? Blessing is for you. This is the radical nature of the Beatitudes and of our God. That he gives blessing regardless of whether we deserve it, can earn it, or even appreciate it. God is about blessing and life.

And so on Sunday we really tried to rest in this reality. To help to do this we read and listened to the Beatitudes. We simply sat and asked God to speak to us through his promises in the Beatitudes. To help with this I read a targum (an expanded and interpretation added version) of Matthew 5:3-10. I simply invited the church to ask God to speak to them through it. And I’m going to invite you to do the same. Why not sit, read, and ask God to speak to you through it. And of course, my hope is that you  might experience some of the blessing God wants to give.

God blesses those who realize their need for him, Because with less of you there is more room for God.  When you’re are at the end of your rope, and your strength is failing, that’s when he shows up in a furious torrent of love and strength. When you’re lost and wandering in the desert, His love will chase and capture your heart leading you to his rest, presence, and purpose

God blesses those who mourn, who weep, who have lost, and feel broken. He will not let you break, he will not let your heart run empty of hope. When your heart is broken, healing is on the way – hope on the horizon. When your spirit is lost and low, God sends his Holy Spirit that mends the tears and wipes away the tears.

God blesses those who are gentle and lowly. When you’re simply content with just who  you are – no more, no less, the world belongs to you – because you belong to God. Those who place trust in God – and not others, will know great peace and victory over all things, and all evil.

God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for Justice. Who see the world as God sees it. For you will know righteous living flowing from you like a river, changing the tide of history. When you desire justice – You will be filled. When righteousness is your hunger, God will fill your soul – and loose the Spirit in your life.

God blesses those who are merciful because mercy will be abundantly theirs. When kindness becomes a habit, God’s presence becomes a never-ending reality. When you find yourself full of caring, you will find yourself cared for by the lover of your soul.

God blesses those who have a pure heart, for they will see God. For those who know Jesus, God’s presence is never far away but always right before your eyes ready to be seen.

God blesses those who work for peace, who stand up for reconciliation in the midst of chaos. You are invited into God’s family. Your peace and grace-filled actions mark you as God’s and God’s alone – You are his firstborn.

God blesses those who are persecuted, because the kingdom is yours – here today. When you are slandered, taken to town, and thrown to the dogs because of your love of Jesus, know that you do not stand alone – Jesus stands with you and stands up for you. When you are hurt -and you respond in grace, then the kingdom is fully alive in your life – bursting out sending light to dark places.

by Andrew Mills

Spiritual Top Ten Lists

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On Sunday we looked at the top ten lessons that I thought God had taught us this year.

I think this practice is really important. I think taking time to review and reflect on how God has been faithful is so key to being able to follow God. To follow God deeply, we need to remember where he has led us in the past, so that we might get a glimpse of where he is leading us in the future.

So I’d encourage you to take time today, and review you’re year. What were the special highlights, the memories, the occasions you celebrated? And as you reflect on those things remember what happened around those times. How was God active? What was he teaching you? When was he faithful? When did you wish he was more present? What was challenging? What gave you hope?

I think reflecting and remembering is part of following. So do that today. And if you’re interested here are some of the questions we walked away with on Sunday to help us reflect and remember.

  1. How has your trust in Jesus grown or struggled this year? How come?
  2.  How faithful have you been to Jesus this year? What do you need to do to be faithful to Jesus? How faithful has he been to you?
  3. Have you experienced the presence and fullness of Jesus this year at all? When, where, and how?
  4. Have you left God’s side and moved away from him at all this year? If so are you willing to go back to God and let him accept you?
  5. Is God in control and directing your life – or are you?
  6. Did God have your attention this year? Does he have your attention now?
  7. What new thing did God get started in you this year?
  8. Who have you shared your story with this past year? Who are you called to share your story with in the next few weeks?
  9. Have you been a person of grace? How can you show God’s grace?
  10. What direction does God have for you – for this upcoming year?

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: We need to reflect and remember how God has been active in our lives.

Take Aways…

10 Big Questions to Explore:

  • 1. How has your trust in Jesus grown or struggled this year? How come?
  • 2. How faithful have you been to Jesus this year? What do you need to do to be faithful to Jesus? How faithful has he been to you?
  • 3. Have you experienced the presence and fullness of Jesus this year at all? When, where, and how?
  • 4. Have you left God’s side and moved away from him at all this year? If so are you willing to go back to God and let him accept you?
  • 5. Is God in control and directing your life – or are you?
  • 6. Did God have your attention this year? Does he have your attention now?
  • 7. What new thing did God get started in you this year?
  • 8. Who have you shared your story with this past year? Who are you called to share your story with in the next few weeks?
  • 9. Have you been a person of grace? How can you show God’s grace?
  • 10. What direction does God have for you – for this upcoming year?

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

What are some of the biggest things God’s taught you this year? Spend some time working through those questions – and then take time to share your thoughts with a spouse, friend, or small group. We learn best together, so take some time and review and share with others.

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Why not take some time and ask your kids – what did you learn this year? Let them give you all the answers they can come up with. Ask them what some of their favorite memories were from this year. And then be sure to ask them about what they learned about God. Spend time reflecting and reviewing together and also plan for this year. Ask them what would they like to do – and they why not try to make it happen?

Challenge for this Week: Review and Reflect

by Andrew Mills

Advent Reflection: Worshipping Jesus during Christmas

1371540_95553958On Sunday we looked at one last response to Jesus. We’ve already looked at how we wait for Jesus’ arrival, we are to respond with willingness when he shows up, and yesterday we saw how we are to respond with worship.

We looked at the story of the wisemen or the magi. In it they do something remarkable. They actually fall at Jesus’ feet and worship him when they find him. This is quite amazing because these are professional men, these are wealthy men, these are probably powerful men. And their response to a little boy in a hovel of a town, in the shadow of Herod’s third largest temple, fall on their face in adoration.

This is the response that we are to have towards Jesus Christ when we enter into his presence. We are to adore him. The magi do not fall at the feet of Jesus because of what he has done for them. They do not fall at his feet out of gratitude, because Jesus hasn’t done anything for them at all. They fall at his feet because of who he is. And this is a central part of worship. We need to worship Jesus not just for the good things he does for us, but we need to worship him for who he is.

Because he is King.

Because he is Good.

Because he is the Messiah.

Because he is God.

So we landed on one question from this story. When was the last time you worshipped Jesus like the wisemen did? When was the last time you entered into Jesus’ presence, fell at his feet and really worshipped him?

I think this is an important question because Christmas is to be about Jesus. And if we want to put Jesus at the centre it means to focus on him and worship him. I know when I asked that question, that for me, it’s been too long since I’ve just worshipped Jesus.

So we left with this challenge for this week: Christmas will soon be here, so find time to worship Jesus fully this week. Carve out time to worship him. For you that might be painting, walking, praying, singing, dancing, sitting silently, writing or whatever else. The point isn’t how you worship Jesus, but an invitation to actually do it. So Christmas is here in a few days so why not take up that challenge. If we truly want to bring Christ back into Christmas I think it begins with bringing him back in our lives with a focus on worshipping and adoring him. Because he does deserve it.

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: We need to worship Jesus fully

Take Aways…

  • Advent should be a season of worship
  • They “Fell down before him and worshipped him”
  • To be prostrate is to be in a position of submission
  • The magi fall at Jesus’ feet out of adoration
  • Adoration differs from other forms of worship such as supplication (asking for things), confession of sins, and offering thanks, inasmuch as it consists in devout recognition of God’s transcendent excellence – Catholic Encylcopedia
  • We need to worship Jesus fully
  • Our response to Jesus in this season, needs to be to worship him fully.
  • When was the last time you came into Jesus’ presence and fell at his feet like the Wisemen?

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

Think through this advent season and simply reflect on where your focus has been. Has it been on Jesus or other things? How can you shift your focus to Jesus this week? When was the last time you worshipped Jesus like the wisemen? How might you worship Jesus fully this week? What activities or practices draw you closer to him? Set aside some time this week to spend with Jesus.

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about the real reason about Christmas – how it’s about Jesus. Talk to them that its about worshipping him. Ask them how they might want to do that. Maybe they want to dance, maybe they want to give some of their toys to others, maybe they want to draw a picture and talk with Jesus. Whatever it may be why not actually do it with them.

Challenge for this Week Worship: Jesus fully this week

by Andrew Mills