Well on Sunday we are launching a brand new series here at church: Finding God on your iPod. We are going to be looking at songs that reveal truth, and have impacted my relationship with God.
Some of the songs you might know, some you might not. But the beautiful thing is that God is all around us and ready to speak to us through so many ways. And we hope to find one way that God speaks to us on Sunday is through music.
I’ve found that at very specific and important times in my life God’s spoken through a song.
So we want to explore some of those over the summer.
But before we get there, what about you? What songs has God used to speak to you? How did he reveal his truth or a thought to you? I’d love to hear what songs God has spoke to you through, and who knows maybe I’ll use one!
I read this the other day, and it just struck me with how true it is. Shauna Niequist writes this:
What writing teaches me, over and over, is that God is waiting to be found everywhere; in the darkest corners of our lives, the dead ends and bad neighbourhoods we wake up in, and in the simplest, lightest, most singular and luminous moments. He’s hiding, like a child, in quite obvious and visible places, because he wants to be found.
And I just so believe that. I mean deep in my bones believe that. That God want’s to be found. That he is part of all areas of our lives, sometimes in these obvious and amazing places waiting to be found.
What if rather than assuming God is hiding from us, he wants to be found by us.
What if rather than assuming God is only in huge mountaintop experiences, he is all around us?
What if rather than assuming that only mystics and spiritual gurus can find God, that God wants to be found by everyone? Even us ordinary people with jobs, cooking, and kids?
What if God isn’t far out there, but right with you.
The question then is are you looking for him? Because I believe like Shauna writes, that God’s hiding, like a child, in quite obvious and visible places, because he wants to be found
Today I want to talk about being human. And the truth is we don’t like being human. We want to be super-human. We want to push forward. We want to accomplish great things. We want to overcome our weaknesses and show the strength of our character, leadership, and endurance. We want to cover over our limitations and be self-made people.
The trouble is – this isn’t being human. This isn’t how we were meant to live.
How do I know that? Because Jesus is the true human. Jesus reveals how humanity truly is to look. Jesus often calls himself the “Son of Man”, which some scholars translate as the “Truly Human One”.
And if we look to Jesus we see someone embracing limitations. This might be shocking but it’s true. He sleeps, he says no, he goes off for quiet, and he doesn’t do everything or heal every single person in Israel. He has limitations.
Jesus also doesn’t cover up his weaknesses or struggles. And that too might sound shocking but it isn’t because he must have shared them with his disciples – because we read of them. We read of Jesus saying, Father if there is anyway out of this, please let me know. We read of Jesus being “hit in the gut” with grief when Lazarus dies. We read of real temptations from the devil.
We read of Jesus – being real.
But we don’t want to be real. We want to be strong, limitless people, with it all together. But this honestly isn’t the way Jesus demonstrates to be human. Jesus doesn’t know everything, but trusts in God in everything. Jesus doesn’t pretend he doesn’t have limits, but embraces them. Jesus doesn’t pretend to be strong at every single moment – he has temptations, struggles in the garden and says “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”?
The point I’m trying to make is that being human is our calling, and our culture’s view of being human is just wrong.
Michael Gungor writes:
Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long.
And that’s true.
So is there any area of your life where you need to say no? Is there any area of your life, where you need to embrace your limits? Is there any area of your life that you need to say – help please!? Is there any area of your life where you just need to embrace being human.
Because learning to be human is actually learning to be like Jesus.
I read this a little while ago, and it’s stayed with me. It deserves a lot of unpacking, but first it deserves some time sitting with it, thinking it through, and wrestling with it.
Paul Fiddes in his book, “Participating in God”, says this:
“Belief in a suffering God forbids us to structure any theological argument where God directly causes suffering.”
On Sunday we looked at what’s called the 5-1 Rule. How our brains are wired for negativity, and we need at least 5 positive interactions to cancel out 1 negative interaction. The interesting thing is that’s actually what we see in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Prior to Paul giving some pretty specific instructions in chapters 4, 5, and 6 (don’t steal, treat your spouse well, etc) Paul affirms the good in the Ephesians first. Paul begins building them up and reminding them who they are, before turning to what they need to do differently.
And that one difference, can make all the difference.
We tend to jump to the negative, but that’s not the example of Paul in Ephesians. Paul starts with the good in people, not the bad. Paul reminds them of who they are before telling them what to do. Paul in essence follows the 5-1 ratio or rule. He certainly addresses concerns, but not before affirming and caring for who they are.
And I think that one little insight can help so many of our relationships.
What if before nagging – we stopped to do some caring? What if before confronting – we did some affirming? What if before judging – we actually did some loving?
I think if we focused on following Paul in this, not only would our lives be different, but our relationships healthier, whole, and better.
Big Idea: Practice the 5-1 Rule
Teaching Notes:
Every relationship has expectation gaps
Before bringing up the negative, Paul shares the positive.
Paul starts with the good in people, not the bad
Before Paul tells them what to do, he tells them who they are.
Science has taught us what is called “The Brain’s Negativity Bias
The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” Rick Hanson
affirm the good, before bringing up the bad
Questions for Discussion:
What was funny or new? How did God speak to you through the sermon? Have you ever thought about an idea like the 5-1 rule before? Are you prone to start with good or bad? How can you put this rule into practice this week?
Questions for Young Families:
Rather than talking about the today, show it. Do something for your kids to affirm their goodness.
On Sunday we took a look at the surprising connections between science, the Bible, and our relationships. We looked specifically at what happens when we get angry or enter into conflict and how while our physical systems are amazingly designed to avoid physical danger, they sometimes increase our emotional danger.
Here’s what we learned. That when we encounter or perceive danger we enter into a flight or fight response. This response does a few things: it short-circuits our higher level thinking and shuts it down, it dumps a bunch of chemicals into our system to fight or flight, and it reacts sometimes instantly.
And now this system is amazing for us to respond to physical threats: like a snake that we jump away from, or a falling rock we instantly respond to. This system though is not as amazing when it comes to social threats such as criticism, emotional hurt, or intense arguments.
Our fight or flight response can “hijack” our higher level thinking in these moments and we can end up either shutting down or becoming very aggressive. We talked about the different physiological responses, but asked a very simple question: how do we overcome this? Because we all have probably been in fights and in that state where we’ve said things we regretted (fight), or not said the things we should have (flight). So what do we do?
Well we looked at three concrete biblical steps, that amazingly correspond to science as well. The first is something we can do to help prevent being “hijacked” by our emotional response, and that this: to let heaven fill your thoughts. The truth is what we fill our minds with leave traces and predispositions. So if your mind is filled with negativity, junk, anger, and rehearsing of hurts, we are actually encouraging those very things. So Paul gives some very practical advice, “Let heaven fill your thoughts”. Focus on the things that are good, healthy, true, and life-giving. Focus on the truth of the gospel, and let that fill our minds more than the normal stress, anger, and hurt we carry.
The second thing we noticed is that when we feel that “fight or flight” response coming on, we can shut it down. Sometimes it builds, and it is possible to actually exercise self-control. We talked about how the Holy Spirit can give us self-control and how to pray for it, and practice it.
And last but not least, we talked about what to do when we’ve had a really in-depth hurtful argument. Solomon gives this really wise advice. He says this: Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back (Proverbs 29:11). And what he means here is not to deny your anger or your hurt, but not to actually vent it all around.
Venting your anger all around doesn’t actually lessen, but encourages it. When we have difficult conversations our tendency is to share and spread it, rather than dealing with it. And when we do that, we get angry and in the flight or fight response…again. So Solomon gives this wise advice: don’t spread it, deal with it. Don’t put it on Facebook, process it. Don’t keep repeating it, own it.
So those are some of the connections we looked at, and ended with a simple challenge: deal with and prevent anger and conflict. Take these steps and try to put them into practice to not only seek to prevent extra anger and conflict, but to deal with it when it happens.
Sermon Notes:
Big Idea: Our brains and bodies are complex and amazing
Teaching Points:
The amygdala perceives and responds to danger around us
The amygdala is incredibly fast but it’s actually not all that discerning
Two reactions: fight or flight.
Hijacking is when our emotional state shuts down our higher reasoning.
Let heaven fills your thoughts…
Pray for Self-Control and Practice Self-Control
Deal with anger, don’t vent it.
Adult 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? Which type of response do you most often do – fight or flight? Can you relate to any of the examples shared? Have you ever seen how venting anger can make things worse? When and how? Is there anger that you need to deal with? Who can help you with that?
Discussion Questions for Young Families
Today use our learning to help with your kids. If they get upset remember it can take a while for them to re-centre. Give them space and encourage them even when things get angry and hard.
Challenge for the Week: Deal with and prevent anger.
Well on Sunday we are launching a new little two-week series called: Science, Relationships, and Spirituality.
What we are going to be looking at are some of the surprising connections between current science, the relationships you have, and the ancient wisdom of the Bible. We will be looking at the neurology of anger, and the brain. We’ll be looking at social psychology and how negativity lingers in relationships, and how you can overcome it. We’ll be looking at all sorts of cool little connections.
So I hope you can join us to learn a little about our world, a lot about relationships, and most of all, what the Bible says on how to improve them.
I had a funny little interaction the other day on twitter. I had posted this comment from a conference we were at:
The antidote to Satan’s deception is truth. Vishal Mangalwadi
And almost immediately someone who I’ve never met, but clearly likes to poke at Christians beliefs responded with this.
Yes. And the truth is that there is no such thing as “Satan”.
Now I don’t expect anyone who isn’t a follower of Jesus to subscribe to or believe in Christian doctrine. But with this one belief, the belief in Satan, I just honestly have no idea how anyone can deny it. And I know there are lots of people out there who might have some strong objections to that. But let me at least clarify what I mean, and why this matters for all of us – whether you follow Jesus or not.
The word “Satan” literally means “the accuser” in Hebrew. And I know lots of people will argue where there is a real being called Satan. And it’s not my intention to wade into that debate right now. My point is whether or not you believe in a personal being called Satan, you have experienced the reality of the Satan – of the accuser.
And here are some examples:
Have we all not experienced accusing voices that will not leave us alone?
Have we all not experienced thoughts that confuse, conflict, and depress us?
Have we all not been able to shake some hurt, pain, or insecurity that just nags at our soul?
Have we not heard accusation in our hearts and minds? Voices that say…
“You’re not good enough”
“You’ll never amount to much”
“Things are going to get bad”
“People don’t really love you”
When the Bible says that there is an accuser out there, I just believe that’s true because I’ve experienced it and seen it.
I meet with people who can’t seem to get these accusing voices, thoughts, and beliefs out of their minds. I’ve sat with people whose orientating stories or worldview are all based on what they lack, how they will fail, and they’re unworthy. That is satanic literally: that is accusation that won’t leave you. That is the voice of the accuser. That is what the Bible is talking about. So my point in all of this isn’t to debate the reality of a personal being called Satan; my point is to call to our attention the reality of “the accuser” in all of our lives.
And this brings me back to Vishal Mangalwadis quote above. The only way to combat these voices, this activity of the “accuser” is with the truth. Jesus says “I am the the way, the truth, and the life”. The point is that while the accuser is out there seeking to deceive, to kill, to steal hope, to destroy, and to lie to us, we overcome those accusing voices with the truth. The truth of Jesus Christ. The truth of the gospel. The truth of how God sees us.
The only way you combat lies, and accusation – isn’t with arguing and engaging – but with knowing and trusting in the truth.
Jesus says the Truth will set you free. And that’s absolutely true. And this is the truth about you no matter what any accusing voices in your life say. No matter what your dad, mother-in-law, insecurities, or accusing voices within tell you. The truth is this:
That you matter
That God is for you not against you,
That no matter what you go through – God will be with you
That Jesus thought you were worth dying for
That Jesus died to rescue you from all the brokeness and voices that seek to hurt and harm you.
That there is nothing in your life that Jesus can’t help you overcome
My point is that whether or not you believe in the reality of Satan, we all struggle with accusing voices from inside us and outside us. And the only way to be free from the hurt, the damage, and evil they cause – is to know the truth. The truth of who you are from Jesus Christ.
So today I wanted to just remind you of one little fact: that you are loved and matter to God. Lots of voices will try to confuse, be divisive, and argue against that truth. But that is the truth that can and will set you free if you start to trust in it, and follow it.
On Sunday we discussed two controversial topics: heaven and hell. I think around these two topics there has been so much fuzzy thinking, so much conjecture, so much just silliness sometimes that many people just avoid thinking about them.
Well that’s what we tried to clear up.
We took a look first at heaven, looking at the picture of life painted without sin prior to the fall in Genesis and revealed in Revelation. What we see so clearly is that we will continue to have deep relationships with others, with creation, with tasks and purposes, and most of all, with God. Heaven is not a place where we float around in the clouds, singing songs on harps to Jesus. Heaven is here on earth – where we move, live, and create with God, others, and creation. Heaven is a beautiful continuance of all that is good and worthy in our lives. And it’s a beautiful thing.
N.T. Wright describes it this way:
The redeemed people of God in the new world will be the agents of his love going out in new ways, to accomplish new creative tasks, to celebrate and extend the glory of his love.
And that sounds anything but boring.
With that we turned to discussing the doctrine of hell. Now this is a confusing, and unclear doctrine for most people at the best of times. Much of their thinking has been more influence by popular culture, Dante, and poor theology than the actual Biblical account. And something we want to at least acknowledge up front is that there isn’t a lot of Biblical material that deals with this directly. And that much of it is metaphorical. That doesn’t mean hell’s not real, but perhaps not every image is meant to be taken literally (i.e. hell is discussed as a place of darkness and fire – which seem to be mutually exclusive).
So with those provisos we dived into the topic by addressing first and foremost: why do we even need this doctrine?
Many people struggle with the idea of hell, and so I discussed why I still believe we need to retain the doctrine. First, is that I do believe that the theme of hell, and judgment are in scripture. Secondly, that God honors free will. And thirdly, that justice requires putting things right.
So I want to expand on the idea that God honors free will. I don’t believe in what’s called “universalism” (that everyone gets to heaven), because I believe in free will. I believe that God, out of love, created us with free will. Which means we are free to reject God, and even reject heaven if we choose. And I don’t believe that God will override that free choice. Robert Farrar Capon writes,
Both heaven and hell are populated entirely and only by forgiven sinners. Hell is just a courtesy for those who insist they want no part of forgiveness.
Also I believe in justice, so I also believe in the necessity of hell. I don’t believe that justice can just pretend that evil doesn’t have consequences. I believe in hell because I believe that ultimately true and deep evil needs to be confronted and made right. Part of that making right is there being justice for the victims and oppressed in the world. And in this then we need to be clear – God does not torture. As Michael Bird shares, “Hell is about justice, not torture”. And I think that Dale Allison gets to the heart of why my view of justice entails some doctrine of hell by writing this:
I do not know what befell Mother Theresa of Calcutta when she died, nor what has become of Joseph Stalin. But the same thing cannot have come upon both. If there is any moral rhyme or reason in the universe, all human beings cannot be equally well off as soon as they breathe their last and wake again.
Or as N. T. Wright comments:
I find it quite impossible, reading the New Testament on the one hand and the newspaper on the other, to suppose that there will be no ultimate condemnation, no final loss, no human beings to whom, as C.S. Lewis put it, God will eventually say, “Thy will be done.” I wish it were otherwise, but one cannot forever whistle, “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” in the darkness of Hiroshima, of Auschwitz, the murder of children and careless greed that enslaves millions with debts not their own.
And I’ll close my thoughts on hell with this quote from Daniel Migilore:
Hell is not an arbitrary divine punishment at the end of history. It is not the final retaliation of a vindictive deity. Hell is self-destructive resistance to the eternal love of God.
And I think that’s true. You don’t miss heaven by a bit, but by a constant and consistent refusal of the love and person of God.
So that’s what we looked at. It was a tough sermon, but I think one that will for sure spur more thinking and discussing. And certainly there are lots of other views out there. What I think is really important though is to be sure on what you personally believe. I think the hard doctrines and big ideas deserve thought and aren’t to be swept under the rug.
We ended with a reminder that the main point was that in the end all will be made right. That’s the purpose we are heading towards – a world put to right. A world that is finally fixed from evil, sin, and destruction. A world we live on in full communion with God, others, and creation.
We gave three simple little practical points with this to close. To focus on loving and not judging. Focus on sharing Jesus, not figuring out the details. We should be encouraged, it will end right. These are some practical ways that this should actually affect us. We should focus on loving and not judging who is in or out. We should be focused on sharing Jesus, not just debating details to death. And we should be encouraged that no matter what we see in the end God will make it right.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts: it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says that all should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. That is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and dot the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master builder and the work. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are the prophets of a future that is not our own. Archbishop Oscar Romero
Sermon Notes:
Big Idea: That in the end all will be made right
Teaching Points:
Heaven isn’t just a heavenly location but the place where God’s reign is full and comprehensive.
Heaven is a place where we have this clear, immediate, and personal connection with God.
The redeemed people of God in the new world will be the agents of his love going out in new ways, to accomplish new creative tasks, to celebrate and extend the glory of his love. N.T. Wright
“There is more to heaven than clouds, angels, and elevator music”. Michael Bird
The necessity of hell: free will and justice.
“Hell is about justice, not torture”. Michael Bird
Hell is not an arbitrary divine punishment at the end of history. It is not the final retaliation of a vindictive deity. Hell is self-destructive resistance to the eternal love of God. Daniel Migilore
We need to focus on loving not judging.
Focus on sharing Jesus, not figuring out the details.
We should be encouraged it will end right.
Adult 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 lingering questions do you have about heaven or hell? Who can help you to wrestle through them? What you most looking forward to with heaven?
Discussion Questions for Young Families
Today talk to your kids about heaven and what it’s like. Talk about how we’ll have friendships, relationships, and tasks in heaven. Talk about how best of all we’ll have a relationship with God that is deeper and fuller than anything else.
Challenge for the Week: Keep being faithful to God.
So on Sunday we’re talking about hell. I know a topic that is…well…divisive to say the least. Some pastors love talking about – hellfire and brimstone – and all of that. Other pastors avoid it because they don’t know what to do with it.
But I want to deal with it honestly. I want to deal with objections. I want to deal with the Biblical passages. And I want to deal with this doctrine and topic in light of Jesus Christ.
So if you’ve ever had questions about hell, well you’re in good company, because I have lots. And I’m going to do my best to deal with them, talk about them, and hopefully even answer some of them.
And we’ll also talk about heaven, an equally misunderstood topic. And I’m going to do my best to do it all in 30 minutes. So if you’re around, are interested, and have ever wondered about heaven or hell – this is the Sunday to be there 🙂
I read this a little while ago, and it’s stayed with me. It deserves a lot of unpacking, but first it deserves some time sitting with it, thinking it through, and wrestling with it.
{ Andrew Mills } 