02.06.08

A Father’s Heart

Posted in Preaching, Mission at 10:55 am by Anthony

This Sunday I’m going to be talking about Spiritual Warfare.  When I read Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” my thoughts went immediately to something I watched on the Internet last week.  Rick Burgess is one of the hosts of the Rick and Bubba Show, a morning show heard on many radio stations, especially in the Southeast.  A couple of weeks ago, he lost his 3 year old son, Bronner, in an accidental drowning.  His words of faith and challenge at Bronner’s funeral service, should challenge all of us.  You can read a transcript of Rick’s words, or watch the address, contained in three You Tube videos, below.

Rick Burgess, “A Father’s Heart,” Part 1

Rick Burgess, “A Father’s Heart,” Part 2

Rick Burgess, “A Father’s Heart,” Part 3

You can also download the audio file here.

Permalink Comments

09.10.07

Preaching the Crucifixion

Posted in Preaching, Scripture at 1:04 pm by Anthony

Yesterday I preached the crucifixion.  It was probably the most sober and personally impacting sermon I have yet to preach.  You would think that I would be used to it by now.  That Christ died for our sins — however you understand that phrase — is one of the most foundational tenents of our faith.  There’s been a lot of discussion about how his death makes possible reconciliation between us–corporately and individually–and God, but there can be no debate that he did die and he did it for us. 

 Yesterday I preached the event of the crucifixion — how Christ died.  The horror of the cross has been portrayed more graphically that I ever could with words or images, so I did not even try.  But, as others have said, Scripture does not so graphically portray the pain of the cross as it does the shame of the cross, so that is what I attempted to do in my sermon.

The previous week I had preached on Jesus’ trial before Pilate.  In pouring over many images, brilliant paintings, of the crucifixion, I had difficulty finding one that I did not feel was too shameful to display.  Actually the artists’ renditions may portray the crucifixion as more modest than it actually was.  I don’t even want to think about it. I finally found one image that I felt that I could show, to remind us of the way of salvation that Christ offers.  This week I choose not to show any — it just didn’t seem right to put him on display again like that.  I’m not saying that I’ll never again show an image of the crucifixion but, focused on the shame as I was, it just didn’t seem appropriate.

Reading Matthew’s account, it is amazing how often the words “mock” and “insult” occur.  Why couldn’t they just kill him?  What is so amazing is not that people would mock God (they do every day), but that God would take it — and I guess he does that every day, too.

 4 Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.

 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.

 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4-6, TNIV

 

Permalink 4 Comments

03.26.07

Ask, Seek, Knock

Posted in Preaching, Prayer at 10:23 am by Anthony

In yesterday’s sermon we applied Matthew 7:1-12 to the idea of accountability in Christian community.  How do we hold one another accountable without being judgmental?  As we mentioned, many of the teachings in this context also have a much wider application.

 Among the more difficult, is Jesus’ teaching in verses 7-8, where he says,

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.”

If we only look at the sweeping claim of Jesus’ teaching here, we find that it often does not match up with real life experience.  Who of us has been granted everything we asked for in prayer?

In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, however, there are several assumptions made about this kind of effective prayer.  (Some of these I borrowed from Michael Green’s Matthew for Today.)

• It assumes that I am seeking the kingdom first (6:33).  What I ask for will be in alignment with God’s greater kingdom purposes to the extent that I understand them.
• It assumes that I am a disciple.
• It assumes that I pray, seriously and persistently (The present imperative of “ask, seek, knock” could well be translated “keepin on asking, keeping on seeking, keep on knocking.”)
• It is assumed that God may answer in a way I did not want or expect: He is soveriegn and he knows what is best.
• It is assumed that I ask in child-like faith and expectancy.

Green says, “There is no suggestion that if only we ask hard enough and believe passionately enough it will turn out as we ask. What we are promised is that it will turn out for our ultimate good.”

I know this probably won’t answer all of your questions about prayer. Prayer is much more about bringing our will into alignment with God’s will, than it is trying to get God to do our will.

Permalink Comments