Theodidacti

Give the folks at Lucky Bamboo a break next Sunday. Every time that child screamed you could see everyone in the restaurant wince. We’re willing to put up with quite a bit but come on! …an hour of yelling and screaming!?

Why is it that some parents think making the “shhhhhhsh” sound really loud will get their cranky kids to be quiet in a restaurant? I don’t suppose they really think it will but I suspect they do think it fools the rest of us into thinking they’re trying to be good parents.

Nope. A good parent would take their child home for the nap they obviously need. So would a good citizen.

My sermon yesterday was from 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 and was about not receiving the grace of God in vain. That’s a curious phrase, “we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” Paul doesn’t seem to be saying that grace can be lost. What he is saying is that grace must be realized in some practical ways in a Christian’s life or grace becomes another of life’s vanities. To receive God’s grace in vain must be the worst vanity of all.

Therefore Christ must not simply be worn as a badge of belonging like membership in a lodge or church. Instead, grace has to be added to grace (John 1:16) for a Christian to achieve some maturity (Ephesians 4:13) in their relationship with God. Otherwise their membership is a vanity. Imagine a child never growing into an adult relationship with his parents and being babied well into middle-age. Vanity. God’s children must also grow in grace or the Christian life stagnates.

Some practical ways Paul mentions we may receive more grace is through enduring hardships, exercising purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God. He mentions more but you get the idea. These are real things, not the superficial actions churches so often expect from members. If you’re going to be a good member of many a church, then you’d better not use language they deem unacceptable, not smoke a cigarette,  and certainly not enjoy a beer after cutting the grass on a hot summer afternoon. What about being kind, helping a neighbor in need, getting along with folks, caring about the lost, being responsible, keeping your word, volunteering at the food bank, being patient with your children, respecting your spouse, and being a man in the word who works out  that word (Philippians 2:12)? All of these are avenues for grace to be built upon grace in your life with God. If you are simply a church-goer who doesn’t cuss, doesn’t chew, and doesn’t go with girls that do, then you’re likely just vain. You may have been blessed with God’s grace (and God knows you need it) but to what effect?

Some Christians are so afraid of sinning that they stop being of any use to God. So they make up easy rules that they insist mark them as followers of Christ. Sad thing is, their rules make them followers of themselves—not Jesus. Face it; you’re going to break God’s rules sometimes. Now if you’re one of those Christians who says he doesn’t sin, well then guess what? Lying is a sin. We need to get over ourselves. So when you sin don’t let your sin rule your conscience. Don’t let the wrong you have done predominate. This too is receiving Christ’s grace in vain. Bring your focus back to what Christ did for you—do not remain focused on what you did. Your sin is upon Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) so don’t try to carry it yourself. This requires a gracious strength. It is not easy to to keep throwing oneself at the mercy of One so kind. Still, you must let go every day, otherwise your sin rules your conscience no matter how sorry you are. Though sin rules the occasional action, you must let Christ rule your heart and whole life. Otherwise you have received his grace in vain. He wants to forgive you, not watch you wallow in self-righteous sorrow.

Three-year-old, Ella, yelled out to her daddy last week during a church softball game—after he missed a hard-hit grounder—”Get your head in the game!” He could have become preoccupied with kicking himself or he could do as he did, redoubled his efforts and helped the team pull out a win.

What are you going to do?

Sunday’s Sermon audio —  Sunday’s sermon video (15MB)

I did some brick work at the new house today. I’ve never done something like that or even watched it done by someone else. Still, it came out okay and was satisfying work too. It was a patch job where a coal shute door had been—roughly 3 x 4 and two bricks thick. Next time I’ll do a better job but this was good enough for what it was and for a first effort. At least at the end of the day, I could say, “I did that. I accomplished something.” There were measurable results. I don’t get a lot of that in pastoral ministry.

Devotions at the Police Department are a new kind of thing for me. I mean, I’ve been doing devotions with the officers for years now but it’s always a different devotional experience. A little rougher; a little more in your face; a bit more basic. For example, a guy finds one of last Thursday’s passages to be very straight forward, so he paraphrases, and I quote: “Let me tell you one damn thing…” and then essentially delivers God’s message to us. He had my attention.

Another thing the guys enjoy doing is discovering verses they find amusing in relation to their wives. For example, the same guy who paraphrased above loves 1 Samuel 20:30. “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman…”

The Proverbs therefore have become a rich source of amusement for them. “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” (Pro 11:22) A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.” (Pro 19:13) “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.” (Pro 21:9; 25:24) “It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.” (Pro 21:19)”A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike.” (Pro 27:15) “An excellent wife who can find?” (Pro 31:10)

Then there are the multiple passages that speak of the “evil woman.”

So, it was with unshared enthusiasm that I shared with them Proverbs 20:6: “…a faithful man who can find?”

…disabled my account for posting too much. Said it was abusive behavior. I made about a dozen comments in response to people’s posts on my Wall, answering questions. That’s abusive? They don’t know what abusive is. Whatever. Fail.

I was locked out because I was posting comments, links, and finally three (That’s right. Three.)  “what’s on your mind” posts. No explanation other than go to the FAQ page and try to figure out what you’ve done wrong. Good luck with that. Who needs life in a nebula?

But this is a good thing—a sign from God, if you will. I’ll spend more productive time here and putting a stalled Daily Reform into a useable form.

I was invited to pray the invocation and benediction at a local high school’s baccalaureate service today. Ashleigh Denny, a teacher at Rivermill Academy asked me and of course, I said I would. Since I’ve never been to a baccalaureate service before and wasn’t entirely sure what such a service was and how to pray, I thought I’d share here that invocation—if only to help someone else in a similar but future jam.

Almighty God, Creator, Sustainer, and Author of Truth, we humbly appeal to you to awaken our spirits so that we might understand how very present you are with us today. In this hour of glad fellowship, we ask again your blessing upon this school and all who are graduating. I, along with Chief Prichard, the faculty, staff, board of directors, and parents, thank you, Lord, for guiding these students thus far.

We have watched their progress up to now and once again admit to you and to ourselves that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. And so, standing at this threshold to the future, we must submit our children to your care once again. We can only take them so far and now we let them go to you and your care. Though we have loved them much we know that you love them more and so it is that we are able to entrust them to you.

In a world filled with strife, we ask for these Seniors that they may know Peace…real Peace. When it seems that everything around them is out of control, may they know real peace, your peace.

In a world permeated with broken dreams we ask for these Seniors hope…an abiding hope—not in themselves but in the promises of One greater than themselves.

In a world often invaded with cruelty and spite we ask for our Seniors grace. May they know that Amazing Grace that is you, and thereby grow from grace to grace…sustained by the knowledge of the One who is all grace, all hope, all peace…their Way, their only Truth, their very Life. Amen.

Here is this past Sunday’s Sermon Wordle. Click it and you’ll see it bigger. I make my Wordles here by supplying my sermon outline and then playing with the results.

The text was Luke 24:36b-48 and my sermon title was, “No Ghost Story.” The video of the message may be viewed by clicking here. More sermons are here and you can subscribe to the podcast here.

The worldwide Church celebrated Maundy Thursday yesterday. It is a day that commemorates the last supper Jesus had with his disciples and the new commandment (mandatum novum, from which we get the now archaic word “Maundy”) he gave, to love one another. It is an occasion for Communion and Foot Washing in many churches. In other words, it is a day for “getting right” with both God and people so that one is prepared for Easter.

Good Friday is another day of preparation for Easter. But why is it called “good”? It may be that the slow change of the English language turned “God Friday” into “Good Friday” just as “God be with you” became “goodbye.” No one really knows how it eventually received the ironic title of “Good” Friday. Nevertheless, despite the darkness and the sadness of Jesus’ death, it is a very good day indeed. First, it causes Christians the world over to seriously consider their sins and their relationship with God. Second, it makes them realize that the only way to be right with God is through his Son who came to die on Good Friday. It is a good Friday afterall, when one considers that sins are only forgiven through the tragedy of a good man’s death. In fact, the only good man who ever lived was killed on a cross so that the cost of your sins could be paid. 

Without Jesus’ death on that dark day so long ago, the world would be even darker than it sometimes is and eternity would be darker still. Though we commemorate the death of the Savior today, we celebrate that his death brought the light of hope into the darkness. That is why we rise early on Easter morning. The Light of the World has stepped down into this darkness and the darkness has not overcome it! Though it seems the darkest hour in history, a now empty cross shines with the hope of God’s promise. And our hope is not disappointed.

These are the Wordles of my sermons so far this year.

Kelly has been missing for 6 months. Her story is told in the above video. More details are in this WRAL archive.

I will be leading a prayer vigil for Kelly in Butner, NC at the Central Avenue Butner Park this coming Saturday at 7pm. Please join us. If you cannot be at the vigil in person, please be with the family in the Spirit.

If you have information on the whereabouts of Kelly Currin Morris or information on the arson,
please contact the Granville County Sheriff’s Department @ 919-693-3213 or Granville County Crime Stoppers at 919-693-3100.

In the meanwhile, please keep Kelly and her family in your prayers.