Open Source Sermon (Wednesday, October 14)

One of the leading advocates of the practice of the spiritual disciplines has been Richard Foster. His book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, was first published in 1978 and continues to be a popular work, guiding believers in the practice of spiritual disciplines like mediation, prayer, fasting, solitude, simplicity, worship, and confession. The practice of the disciplines of the Christian faith allow us to place ourselves before God so that God can transform us. By themselves, the disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.

Open Source Sermon (Tuesday, October 13)

The prophet Jeremiah was commanded by the Lord to write down on a scroll all of the words the Lord had spoken to him concerning the coming disaster He planned to inflict on them, and the offer of forgiveness if they would turn from their wicked ways. The king of Israel responded by confiscating the scroll and burning it, piece by piece. Afterwards, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to write another scroll with the same warning and offer of forgiveness. The Scriptures tell us how the new king responded:

Open Source Sermon (Monday, October 12)

In Matthew 5, we find Jesus sitting on a mountainside, surrounded by the crowds. He is speaking to a Jewish audience, most likely a group of people who have grown up going to Synagogue school and attending the great feasts and festivals at the Temple in Jerusalem. They have been instructed by the religious leaders of the day, with meticulous specificity, about what God requires of them in their daily life. In other words the question of entering the presence of God, or being acceptable to God, was constantly on their mind.

Open Source Sermon (Thursday, October 8)

Through our reading of Psalm 37, Numbers 12, James 1, James 3, and 1 Peter 2, we have discovered that meekness is a far cry from wimpiness. In fact, it takes a great deal of strength to be meek. The Greek word for “meek” is rooted in a description of a colt broken to either be ridden or harnessed. An animal was meek if its strength was brought under purposed control. And as we have seen through the various Scriptural roots of meekness, the meek are the disciplined people who have brought their strength under the control and direction of the Lordship of Christ, trusting in His justice and committing themselves to His ways.

Open Source Sermon (Wednesday, October 7)

If we are going to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are the meek,” we have to look at three related scripture sets: the first is Psalm 37, the second is Numbers 12, and the third is the teachings of the apostles. We have already examined the first two sets; today we look at the third.

As the apostles, specifically James and Peter, remembered the life of their Savior, they knew that Jesus’ life was an example to follow. They also knew that Jesus described Himself as meek (see Matthew 11.29, though the NIV translates it as “gentle”). Since Jesus was meek, and we are to live like Jesus, how should we live?

Open Source Sermon (Tuesday, October 6)

Blessed are the meek. The dictionary defines meek as “Enduring injury with patience and without resentment, deficient in spirit and courage, not violent or strong.” Synonyms include mild, submissive, and moderate. The etymological roots of the word go back to an Old Norse word which meant “gentle” and a Welsh word which meant “soft.” Pardon my machismo, but it is hard not to hear Jesus say, “Blessed are the wimps.”

Open Source Sermon (Monday, October 5)

Our text for Sunday is the third beatitude found in Matthew 5.5, where Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Obviously, in the struggle to understand this beatitude, we must define “meekness,” and that task is more complicated than it sounds.

The words that Jesus spoke might not have been all that new to those listening on the mountainside. In fact, they are the same words written by David almost 1000 years earlier. In Psalm 37, David wrote, “The meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace” (Psalm 37.11). It would seem that our starting point for trying to understand the third beatitude is to examine “meekness” as it is found in Psalm 37. Here is the text of Psalm 37, followed by a few observations about the “meek.”

Open Source Sermon (Thursday, October 1)

If the book of Psalms can be rightly considered to be the book of worship for the Jews, then there is something missing from our worship experience. The Book of Psalms contains 150 psalms. There are psalms that praise the greatness of God. There are psalms that express thanksgiving to God. There are psalms that were used in worship.

But the largest grouping of psalms is the lament psalms. To lament means “to express sorrow, pain, or regret.” Modern, American Christianity knows nothing of the laments. For example, compare the biblical book of worship to the Baptist Hymnal and look for the “lament section.” Anything that is not “happy snappy” doesn’t fit our image of what it means to faith in God.

So, I submit to you today just one of the many biblical laments. This is the text from Psalm 38.

International Blasphemy Day

Today marks the four year anniversary of the cartoon controversy in Denmark, when the newspaper published political cartoons bearing the face of Mohammed (any image of Mohammed is an act of blasphemy in Islam). Those cartoons sparked an international protest from the Muslim community. Now, four years later, the Center for Inquiry has declared September 30 as the First Annual International Blasphemy Day.

Open Source Sermon (Tuesday, September 29)

At the risk of sounding heretical, there are some portions of the Scriptures that I don’t like. They are simply too painful to endure, too real, too comfort shaking. I grew up in an era where the gospel was presented with a “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” paint brush. To follow Christ meant to walk away from all that was painful and to enter a field of flowers and peace.

The problem with such a “Your Best Life Now” kind of picture is that it doesn’t square well with the Biblical witness. Those who followed the Lord and the Christ did not live in comfort and pleasure. The testimony of Hebrews 11.32-38 (the “faith chapter”) describes in detail the painful lives of those who followed the One True God in a fallen world.