“Float the B-Doctrines on a raft of A-Doctrines” (Tim Keller)

We tend as Christians not to know what to do with non-Christians other than to say; “You’re wrong“. There are an awful lot of sermons that go like that. Here’s how the sermon goes; “We believe this and this. You out there in the world around us don’t believe this and this. We are right. You are nowhere near right. Let us pray. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will convict you through my words as negative and as blunt as they are”.

There’s another way to go here! Every culture has got some things that they appreciate about Christianity and some things they hate about Christianity. The attractive parts are A-Doctrines and the unattractive doctrines are B-Doctrines. Both are true. If you want to preach B-Doctrines in a way that is disarming and engaging then you have got to float the B-Doctrines on a raft of A-Doctrines. If you put the stones together in a river they will sink.

Timothy J. Keller, ‘Preaching the Gospel’ (Newfrontiers Leaders Conference at Westminster Chapel, February 25, 2009), Cited 12 Aug 2010, Online: http://vimeo.com/3484464.

Love Opens the Door (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

A friend of mine, who is editor of Stoop Magazine, reminded me of a sermon which Martin Luther King, Jr. preached titled ‘The American Dream‘.

But be assured that we will ride you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we will win our freedom, but we will not only win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience that we will win you in the process.” And our victory will be a double victory.

Oh yes, love is the way. (Yes) Love is the only absolute. More and more I see this. I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate myself; hate is too great a burden to bear. (You bet, Yes) I’ve seen it on the faces of too many sheriffs of the South—I’ve seen hate. In the faces and even the walk of too many Klansmen of the South, I’ve seen hate. Hate distorts the personality. Hate does something to the soul that causes one to lose his objectivity. The man who hates can’t think straight; (Amen) the man who hates can’t reason right; the man who hates can’t see right; the man who hates can’t walk right. (Yeah) And I know now that Jesus is right, (Yeah) that love is the way. And this is why John said, “God is love,” (Yes, sir) so that he who hates does not know God, but he who loves (get in the door) at that moment has the key that opens the door (Yeah) to the meaning of ultimate reality. So this morning there is so much that we have to offer to the world. (Yes, sir)

I love it, not only for the charismatic exhortations to the congregation in brackets, but because this is what the story of Jesus offers the world. Another story. A second story. The story which is the hope of the world and puts an end to the world’s violence. MLK embodies this story, and most pointedly the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than seeing the Sermon on the Mount as a ‘Christian ethic’, he sees it as the ‘Christian identity’. Jesus sermon on the mount is not list of things Christians must do (though we certainly must do them), but a description of the Kingdom that is coming as Jesus gathers his community of disciples. This is the story we belong to, one in which victims do not retaliate, one which doesn’t tell delusional stories about one’s self righteousness, and one that treats women with respect and not as a possession. To live this way is to live the story of Jesus. MLK understood this and so he was blessed because he lived the story of his blessed Lord:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:11–12)

The Truth and False Prophets (Matthew 7.15-20)

The philosopher Michel Foucault says that claims to know the truth are always grabs for power. You simply cannot separate truth and power. Behind any metanarrative there lurks a power play, knowledge claims are violent impositions by powerful institutions, universal truth claims are simply masks for ideology and the will to power. I think we know this to be true, and have seen this play out politically in nations and organisations.

Yet Christians believe they have been given a true story which, far from being a tool to legitimize power, ‘presents a vision of community life which resists claims to power by modelling itself on the self-giving and powerlessness of Christ.’[1] The truthfulness of this story does not make it violent. On the contrary this story is about the cross where the violent took our Lord and killed him so that those who were oppressed would be liberated.

This is part of the sermon I recently preached on Matthew 7:15-20. As you listen you will find out why I found this teaching of Jesus very confronting.

The Truth and False Prophets (Matthew 7.15-20)
MP3 | St Philips, York Street (6PM) | 4 July 2010

Jesus Loves Gays

Jesus loves gays. He does. Some gays don’t believe it. Some homophobes don’t believe it. But it’s true.

He loves gays more than gays love gays. He loves gays more than gays love being gay. And he loves gays more than homophobes love hating gays. Simply, Jesus loves gays. (John 3:16)

Parents, friends, family, governments, businesses, schools and churches have at times failed to love gays. Jesus never has. And Jesus never will.

There is old folk song we sing at Vine Church called ‘Here is Love’, which is about the limitless love of Jesus.

Here is love vast as the ocean
Loving kindness as the flood.
When the prince of life, our ransom
shed for us His precious blood.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

The beauty of the love of Jesus is that it is unlimited, unmerited, and unconditional. He loves us the way a good father loves their children, for we are all children of our Father in heaven. This is the good news which the story of Jesus speaks about.

God’s unconditional love for me doesn’t mean He approves of everything I think, do, or say. Every parent knows the difference. The problem with gays and straights is the way we look to our romances, or our work, or family, or possessions or something else, to give our lives meaning, to justify and save us, to give us what we should be looking for from God. It is not that we desire good things, but that we make good things into ultimate things. This idolatry leads to anxiety, obsessiveness, envy, and resentment. But the love of Christ, which we see in the story of his death for us, invites us to become part of a new story. This story is not one we write in order to give our lives meaning, or to justify or save us. This story is one which God is telling, and which justifies, saves and gives meaning to our lives because that is what our God gives his children. God accepts his children and provides a future full of hope. This story of love is not only our only chance for forgiveness, but our only hope for freedom. For what you love ends up owning you. And so we become slaves to our relationships, or slaves to our work, or slaves to our possessions. But there is a love, which when it ends up owning you, bestows liberating freedom, true meaning, and genuine salvation. (Matthew 11:29)

A friend of mine recently tweeted a photo of this T-Shirt with a guy bending his arm to try and steal love from a vending machine. Another friend replied, ‘u can’t buy or earn love! U also can’t steal it. It’s a gift!!!!’

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(Eph 2:8–9)

Why not talk to a Christian friend and ask them what the love of Jesus means to them. Also you could read: Tim Keller, How Can I Know God.

‘Who am I?’ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cell’s confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
Freely and friendly and clearly,
As though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
Equally, smilingly, proudly,
Like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectation of great events,
Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (March 4,1946)
Written one month before he was executed.

The Multi-Layered Story of Our Salvation (John Calvin)

John Calvin says that being a Christian is all about Jesus: ‘our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ.’ In other words, when we become part of the story of Jesus we enter into the multi-layered story of our salvation:

• our salvation— in his very name
• our untroubled expectation of judgment—in the power given to him to judge
• our protection, security, abundant supply of all blessings—in his Kingdom;
• our gifts of the Spirit—in his anointing
• our strength—in his dominion
• our purity—in his conception
• our gentleness—in his birth
• our redemption—in his passion
• our acquittal—in his condemnation
• our remission from the curse—in his cross
• our satisfaction—in his sacrifice
• our purification—in his blood
• our reconciliation—in his descent into hell;
• our mortification of flesh—in his tomb
• our newness of life—in his resurrection
• our immortality—in the same
• our inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom—in his entrance into heaven

Calvin concludes, ‘In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other.’[1]

Spiritual Gifts: The STEWARDSHIP of gifts

How do we play the game?

We play the game with the recognition that there is really only one person of importance in the stands watching us play. We play for an audience of one. God is watching us, and it doesn’t matter if other people don’t recognise how well we kick the ball, or stopped the enemy, or set up the play, our praise comes from our Father who loves to watch us play. There will be times when we will intentionally do something the other players will get angry at you for, like admitting you kicked the ball out, or by being gracious to your enemy, or by passing the ball to one of the inexperienced players, or by not cheating. But that’s ok because our praise comes from our Father.

[This series on Spiritual Gifts belongs to the sermon titled 'Charisma (1 Peter 4:10)' which I preached at St Philips, York Street on Sunday night. You can downloaded it here or on the resource page.]

Spiritual Gifts: The SOURCE of gifts

Who is picked for the game?

God chooses us for his team, we don’t earn our position. In 1 Peter 1:1-2, Peter refers to God’s people as ‘God’s elect… who have been chosen’. In 1 Peter 4:10, Peter says that our gifts are given by God, and received by us. Hence, we are chosen for his team and we don’t even have the abilities we need to play on this team until he gives the ability to help the team. This means there can be no boasting about our gifts, they are given and received. I am on the winning team not because I play so well, but because God picked and equipped the right team. This also means that no one is indispensible. If your minister were to die or be sent out for mission do you really think the gates of hell are going to overcome our church? If this happened at St Philips church, where I serve, there are at least 5 guys who could step up and preach the gospel and lead us. Sure we might need more training, but we could do it. No one is indispensable (but remember everyone is needed).

Last week I was running with my mate Chris Thompson. He grew up in Bathurst and he was telling me about the church that he grew up in which was started in 1994. I asked how it started and he said that a bunch of families just got together and formed a little community around the gospel and that’s how it started. No minister, no one getting paid, no one with formal training. Just a bunch of people who loved one another and who spoke the story of Christ into one another’s lives. So why bother have a minister? Because his job is to equip us to do what we do better. That little community in Bathurst was good enough, but they realised in a couple of years that they needed someone to coach them as they played the game. The point: no one is indispensible, but everyone is needed. God equips his church. Should we loose someone to death or we send them out for mission, the gates of hell are not going to overcome us.

God has chosen us to be on his team, and given us talents to play the game. Sadly some people sit on the bench fearing getting hurt or injured or being too tired or getting too close to people or getting dirty. Others stay in the stands thinking they have no gifts and never chat to the coach to find out what position they are built for. Sadly sometimes coaches are so busy that they forget to go and find those players which are urgently needed but who think they are useless. Others are just lazy: they sit in the stands with their beer and meat pie watching the game. Still others have been incredibly gifted yet hang back on the sideline. Once in a while they will move forward and score a goal, and everyone thinks they are a hero, because no one expected them to come and score a goal. But as soon as things get risky, they slip back to the sidelines where they are safe and go unnoticed and don’t risk getting injured or looking bad, but they are poised ready to identify their next moment of glory. This is sad. What we need are courageous players and inspiring coaches.

[This series on Spiritual Gifts belongs to the sermon titled 'Charisma (1 Peter 4:10)' which I preached at St Philips, York Street on Sunday night. You can downloaded it here or on the resource page.]

Spiritual Gifts: The VARIETY of gifts

What position am I playing?

We are involved in a solo sport like running or snowboarding. We are playing a game of team sport and there are lots and lots of different positions in this game. There are positions for all types of people: extroverted-introverted, weak-strong, smart-simple, funny-serious, relaxed-urgent, rational-relational, on task-with people, artistic-rational, aesthetic-practical, optimistic-realistic, organised-flexible… Everyone is needed.

[This series on Spiritual Gifts belongs to the sermon titled 'Charisma (1 Peter 4:10)' which I preached at St Philips, York Street on Sunday night. You can downloaded it here or on the resource page.]

Spiritual Gifts: The UNIVERSALITY of gifts

How many people play the game?

It isn’t only ministers, pastors and those who work for the church who have received spiritual gifts. Rather every Christian has been given a gift which they should use ‘to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.’ (1 Peter 4:10) Every Christian has a gift. Ministers must recognise this and use their own gifts to coach their people to use their gifts effectively to build up Christ’s body. Hence Ephesians 4:11-12,

It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Who do the ‘works of service’? God’s people: You! Who prepares them? Their pastors and teachers (etc). Sometimes we tend to think that we are spectators watching and cheering a game played by the minister. But that is totally misguided. Ministers are coaches who train and prepare God’s people play the game: to love, to offer hospitality, to speak the story of Jesus and to serve others in gracious ways. Ministers are not the only ones playing the game. Sadly some ministers only spend their time coaching others, and don’t get in and play the game. Others are so busy playing the game that they forget they need to coach others. What we need are player-coaches.[1]

[This series on Spiritual Gifts belongs to the sermon titled 'Charisma (1 Peter 4:10)' which I preached at St Philips, York Street on Sunday night. You can downloaded it here or on the resource page.]