As I am writing my first sermon (hopefully finishing tomorrow), I am noticing many little struggles with it. There are the common things with writing in general. What I am noticing the most though is that there are little tricks to balancing the information and the message that I did not previously think about.
One thing I have constanstly talked about with friends and Kessia is sermon quality. I think a favorite past time of college friends was to pick apart what speakers said. The biggest complaint we had was that there was lack of substance. There would be too much fluff and no real information, or background. The another item that we picked on the most was (and is) lack of an application. Probably the last item (not as important in college) was the length of the sermon. Now as I get set to preach I am finding it trick to make all these three quality.
The one I do not want to compromise on is including lots of information and background. I love it when leaders actually help me understand the scripture that we are reading. My favorites bring out all the little background nuggets of gold that help me better understand what it was that I just read. This also helps me get perspective.
I put in all my own insights, then I have now added background information from many sources. This background information has pulled my sermon in so many ways. Not all the insights help in making the point I am making. At what point am I overloading the congregation and muddling up the core message? I can now see why many pastors have people take notes on a little sheet.
With all that extra in there now (might get cut down later) is not taking too much time to get to the point. I feel like I am slowing down too long to tell much of the background. Although I feel without some of this background the passages do not make sense. One of my passages, Samuel, is very short and really makes no sense without understanding some of the background that was going on in the temple and with Hannah. Does this help get to the point of community? And with including all of this am I going to spend 18 minutes on background and 2 on application?
It is very tricky to balance all these thoughts, insights, and messages. I am loving having the challenge though. I would not imagine ever doing this without using three passages either. I guess that is why I will never be a pastor. I can not write a sermon on three passages in a short amount of time! Lets hope it will all come out well...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
What does Christmas mean?
This question has seemed to come up over the last few days for me. It has come up in church. It has come up with family. It has come up in the culture. What does Christmas really mean?
Sunday School this week we talked about waiting in conjunction with a passage about John the Baptist. This scripture helped us focus on what it was that we were waiting for and why John came. As expected, when this conversation about Christmas came up the little children had one focus on their mind: presents.
I have talked to many Christians that wish this was not the case. They wish their family focused more on Jesus instead of presents and getting. The temptation of the culture can seep through and corrupt the purpose of the holiday for many. A similar thought has come up in conversations with family as my brother discussed with me the difficulties of parenting and wanting all his children to focus on the true reason for the season.This has got me thinking about how we really help others see the true purpose of Christmas and not get caught in the monetary side.
One of the students in Sunday School asked me a question that I think should play much more in this discussion than it does. The little 7 year old girl asked "When was Jesus born?". To clarify I had to respond with, "Do you mean the season or the year?" She wanted the season. Because of the shepherds being out with the sheep and traveling for taxation many believe that it would be late summer or fall time that Jesus was actually born. No matter what, it was not December 25th.
One of the main reasons we celebrate Christmas on December 25th is because of the pagan celebrations at the time. This shift would allow to the church to reach out to pagans and bring them in to the church easier. It also essentially hijacked one of the major pagan holidays.
Just like weddings we have created traditions around this celebration that have nothing to do with the Biblical understanding. In the Bible you will not find outlines that rings, family, signatures, ect needs to present to make a marriage valid. Which brings us back to what is the point of celebration and not what history and tradition have done to it.
I would argue Christmas is about two things: loving God and loving others. This may seem like a simplistic answer, but when you examine the base of the celebration (and all we do) this should be at the heart of it. Our gift giving should glorify God and love others. If it doesn't then it needs to be readjusted. Our worship should do the same. Parties/gatherings too.
For example a family in church throws a HUGE party. The previous year I was afraid that this was something that demonstrated rich over the rest of the community or became exclusive. The party is far, far from that. The couple does this party to help the community come together and to raise donations for those in need. It is their way to bring worship God and love others.
Now what about parenting? How can you help your children realize that the focus should be on loving God and loving others? Based on psychology I would argue that there is a certain age that you are going to lose that battle for the most part. A two year old is not going to see things other than from their perspective. What I mean by this is a two year old naturally centers on what they want and need. They have special moments where they empathize with others but for the most part the "world revolves around them". With this natural focus of the younger age groups a parent is fighting a up hill (or losing) battle with the child. The child will be exposed to gift giving through the media.
I am not saying here that we should not try to teach children about loving others. Far from it. What I am asserting here is that we should go about this by exposing children to the needs of others. This can be done with soup kitchens, making cookies to donate, buy gifts for those who do not have any toys. Essentially, I think modeling is going to be a much more effective teacher in this rather than the pressure to escape the tendencies of the culture.
There is another "holiday" that I would argue would be more appropriate (theologically and culturally) to buck the spend trend. Birthdays. The early church did not celebrate birthdays. These were pagan days to celebrate. Rather the church celebrated a persons birth into Christ. Now many denominations wait until a person can make that choice themselves, and then what better day to celebrate than when they chose to join the church? If they did not make the choice, then it still is a great day to celebrate when they were born new in Christ.
Culturally, children do not really know about birthdays until school age (or play days with friends). This is much easier to escape the media push on the subject. It also is easier for family to give in other ways at that time. You may not have seen them in a while so a trip to visit is a gift.
I would like to leave everyone (and my future self) with these parting thoughts. No matter how we decide our immediate family celebrates a "holiday" we must remember that our focus must be on the spirit of the law and not become litigious with it. Jesus often ignored the laws because it was the right thing to do. It is not about people not respecting decisions, but doing their best to love God and love others. While this can be frustrating we need to be people of grace and forgiveness.
It is my hope that all are blessed and able to break the hold of money and materialism at this time of the year. I pray we can all focus on Jesus. And as we do so that the focus is not on strict decisions, but grace and remembering that the true purpose of the season is to love God and love others.
Sunday School this week we talked about waiting in conjunction with a passage about John the Baptist. This scripture helped us focus on what it was that we were waiting for and why John came. As expected, when this conversation about Christmas came up the little children had one focus on their mind: presents.
I have talked to many Christians that wish this was not the case. They wish their family focused more on Jesus instead of presents and getting. The temptation of the culture can seep through and corrupt the purpose of the holiday for many. A similar thought has come up in conversations with family as my brother discussed with me the difficulties of parenting and wanting all his children to focus on the true reason for the season.This has got me thinking about how we really help others see the true purpose of Christmas and not get caught in the monetary side.
One of the students in Sunday School asked me a question that I think should play much more in this discussion than it does. The little 7 year old girl asked "When was Jesus born?". To clarify I had to respond with, "Do you mean the season or the year?" She wanted the season. Because of the shepherds being out with the sheep and traveling for taxation many believe that it would be late summer or fall time that Jesus was actually born. No matter what, it was not December 25th.
One of the main reasons we celebrate Christmas on December 25th is because of the pagan celebrations at the time. This shift would allow to the church to reach out to pagans and bring them in to the church easier. It also essentially hijacked one of the major pagan holidays.
Just like weddings we have created traditions around this celebration that have nothing to do with the Biblical understanding. In the Bible you will not find outlines that rings, family, signatures, ect needs to present to make a marriage valid. Which brings us back to what is the point of celebration and not what history and tradition have done to it.
I would argue Christmas is about two things: loving God and loving others. This may seem like a simplistic answer, but when you examine the base of the celebration (and all we do) this should be at the heart of it. Our gift giving should glorify God and love others. If it doesn't then it needs to be readjusted. Our worship should do the same. Parties/gatherings too.
For example a family in church throws a HUGE party. The previous year I was afraid that this was something that demonstrated rich over the rest of the community or became exclusive. The party is far, far from that. The couple does this party to help the community come together and to raise donations for those in need. It is their way to bring worship God and love others.
Now what about parenting? How can you help your children realize that the focus should be on loving God and loving others? Based on psychology I would argue that there is a certain age that you are going to lose that battle for the most part. A two year old is not going to see things other than from their perspective. What I mean by this is a two year old naturally centers on what they want and need. They have special moments where they empathize with others but for the most part the "world revolves around them". With this natural focus of the younger age groups a parent is fighting a up hill (or losing) battle with the child. The child will be exposed to gift giving through the media.
I am not saying here that we should not try to teach children about loving others. Far from it. What I am asserting here is that we should go about this by exposing children to the needs of others. This can be done with soup kitchens, making cookies to donate, buy gifts for those who do not have any toys. Essentially, I think modeling is going to be a much more effective teacher in this rather than the pressure to escape the tendencies of the culture.
There is another "holiday" that I would argue would be more appropriate (theologically and culturally) to buck the spend trend. Birthdays. The early church did not celebrate birthdays. These were pagan days to celebrate. Rather the church celebrated a persons birth into Christ. Now many denominations wait until a person can make that choice themselves, and then what better day to celebrate than when they chose to join the church? If they did not make the choice, then it still is a great day to celebrate when they were born new in Christ.
Culturally, children do not really know about birthdays until school age (or play days with friends). This is much easier to escape the media push on the subject. It also is easier for family to give in other ways at that time. You may not have seen them in a while so a trip to visit is a gift.
I would like to leave everyone (and my future self) with these parting thoughts. No matter how we decide our immediate family celebrates a "holiday" we must remember that our focus must be on the spirit of the law and not become litigious with it. Jesus often ignored the laws because it was the right thing to do. It is not about people not respecting decisions, but doing their best to love God and love others. While this can be frustrating we need to be people of grace and forgiveness.
It is my hope that all are blessed and able to break the hold of money and materialism at this time of the year. I pray we can all focus on Jesus. And as we do so that the focus is not on strict decisions, but grace and remembering that the true purpose of the season is to love God and love others.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
ROUGH DRAFT of Sermon
So over the last few days I have taken the time to play around with the three passages I will be preaching on. I noted things on each passage, thought of new ideas, and played with others. I have yet to go to the commentaries on the three passages (always recommended by teachers to do that last). This next week I will try to consolidate, focus, iron out, and add important background from commentaries. As a sneak preview (mainly for my wife who is most likely bored at work right now) I thought I would post my notes and incoherent ramblings online. Enjoy!
December 27th 2009 Sermon
I have been on many, many mission trips. In these trips I have visited Mt. Vernon, Forks, Yakima, Idaho, Vancouver B.C., San Francisco, North Carolina, Tijuana, and Mexicali Mexico. Each one of the trips has presented us with many challenges, and usually along with it comes a piece of clothing.
Over the several trips I have received at least 12 T-shirts. Some of the shirts were cool. Some of them I have given away. Some I have thrown out. No matter the coolness of the shirt we always had one picture with everyone wearing their shirt. While these pictures were never the popular ones with the students, it symbolized more. It showed us as a community. A group connected for one purpose.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
The story of Samuel is a fascinating story. In the beginning it parallels that of Jesus. The song of Hannah, Samuels mom, is inspiration for Mary’s famous song that we often hear referred to as the canticle of Mary or Magnificat.
The story of Hannah may sound familiar. She is the most loved wife of a faithful man. She can not have a child and is barren. Up until this point we naturally think of Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachael. Most closely, Hannah’s story follows that of _________. Then we get thrown a curveball.
She prayed. In her bitterness she prayed. Instead of just asking for something she made a crucial mistake, she made a promise! Have you been there? “God if you give me this job I will…”; “God if you get me out of this commitment I’ll…”; “God if you would give me an A on this test I’ll…”; “God if you give me a Child I’ll give them to you for all the days of their life.” Hannah is granted the Child that she has prayed for and unlike all the times we prayed for jobs, houses, release, and made promises that we did not keep, Hannah keeps her promise and gives Samuel to the Priesthood.
Where were they living? Did she only go once a year?
This loving mother had made a tough sacrifice. What she wanted more than anything else she gave up. With the Jewish custom she and her husband would have to return to the temple each year.(Explain in depth) And in doing so she would see her son.
Eli, the priest whom blesses the family, recognized this great gift and sacrifice. This is why he asks that the Lord would repay the gift she made.
Upon first reading we are still left with why this would be included at Christmas time. Samuel is definitely a gift to God and to Hannah. This is not how these passages connect though.
Scripture: Luke 2:41-52
Luke adds in a story that none of the other gospels record. This story is unique in many senses. It also is the only account of Jesus as a young boy.
The story starts off with reminding us of the Jewish custom to travel to Jerusalem for Passover. This is very similar to Hannah traveling to the temple each year.
The twist here comes when the family leaves and Jesus stays behind. The Mary and Joseph discover this error and start searching. They ask all those around them. They make the day’s journey back to the Jerusalem and start searching the city. After a long frantic search they discover him.
At the time this passage would have carried a different meaning to the readers. The culture of the day would have understood the traveling parties, the city layout, and customs. As a result they would have centered in on how Jesus responds to his parents. Jesus’ comments support the purpose that Luke has for his Gospel. He is telling the Good News and trying to show that Jesus is the Christ. Thus by showing how Jesus knew where he belonged early would lead us to start to recognize Jesus’ divinity. It also would show how he is not an simply a man as he teaches the teachers of the law for three days. They spent three days in discussion with a 12 year old boy. Now we have had some great biblical conversations in Sunday school, but none yet that have kept us for three days.
Now, instead of zeroing in on how this shows Jesus’ wisdom, maturity, and ultimately his divinity, we want to focus on the worry. We imagine ourselves in the parents shoes frantically searching for our child. We know that feeling of worry and dread. We all have stories of losing our children, family, parents, or keepsakes that have caused us to worry.
After relating to the feeling of dread and worry, I would always wonder what kind of parents Mary and Joseph were. How could they lose God’s only begotten son? Did Jesus not need to be watched? Were Mary and Joseph just not observant or worse yet, negligent?
It took a closer reading to discover the truth about the situation. This was not a matter of bad parenting, but community. Mary and Joseph were traveling with their family, friends, loved ones. Their entire local church had made a journey together. More so they trusted their community to support, watch and raise Jesus.
This point becomes obvious as we see how long it took they to discover his absence, an entire day’s journey. Then we discover how large this community and Jerusalem are. It takes them three days to find him. We know it only took a day’s journey back to the city and knowing the feeling of frantically losing someone their search would not have been a slow one. As a result it takes them two days to search their traveling party and the city. Some estimates have the size of the traveling party around _____.
The connection with Samuel brings up this theme even stronger as we see Samuel ingrained into a faith community at an early age. He has been given from his family to become a part of a community that supports him. Samuel is more than just a boy in this community, but a minister as is stated in the first verse.
Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians brings the established theme of community from the earlier two passages into the light.
*Background on why Colossians was written and to whom*
Colossians starts in verse 12 with establishing who the audience is, those who follow God. After a subtle reminder that we are loved and meant to be holy, the passage uses the imagery of clothes. The word choice harkens back to Jesus’ words in feeding the hungry, CLOTHE the naked, tend the sick (reference bible verse). This connection reminds us of the call Jesus has on our lives. Here, like we have seen in the other two passages we have looked at, it is the change in the familiar stories that are meant to draw our attention in and help us understand the meaning.
The change here centers on who we are to clothe and what with. We are called
And while church is important, the attitude of gratitude does not stop there. The passage continues and reminds us that we need to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is important that we have this church community, but our faith Jesus should not be confined to these walls.
What other communities are you apart of? Is Jesus in your heart in mind there? When is the last time you clothed your self with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience with your family? Your Children? Your frustrating relatives? When is the last time you clothed your self with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience at work? At a Husky basketball game? In traffic when you get cut off?
When is the last time you clothed yourself with love?
I absolutely love verse 15. Here we are reminded that the peace of Christ should rule our hearts. This is so difficult to do! Peace. During this season? Does Jesus know my family dynamics? Did Jesus ever have to drive on 520? Yet, peace is to rule my heart. Leaving the anger of what we did not receive, or who received what from whom on Friday behind for the peace of Christ to rule our hearts. Not only this but we are to do this in one body.
The image of the church as Christ’s Body is evoked here. We are reminded that we are to have peace in our community. Anger, frustration, competition should not rule this building, this denomination, or this Christian faith, but the peace of Christ. This does not mean do not disagree. We are called to admonish and teach each other in Wisdom and Love. This means we need to bring up things that divide us in a healthy way. Not defensive. Not vindictively. Teach one another with the peace of Christ in our hearts.
The kicker for verse 15 comes in at the very end. After being told that Peace should rule our hearts and that we must do this in community. After being instructed to love and be in harmony with one another. After we are reminded to forgive, and after many of us wonder if this is all possible we get the punch line in three simple words: “And be Thankful.”
I imagine the teenager in all of us hearing all this and starting to roll our eyes at parents. That’s when they drop the last line: And be thankful.
This community that we all probably look at and think it is unattainable I have seen take shape. In 2007 I lead a group of High school students to Yakima on a mission trip. We got this goofy t-shirt to show our selves as a community and to let others know who we were. As the week progressed the group painted a house for a woman who could no longer move around the house. We painted a deck for another struggling family. Finally, part of our group went to a house that looked as though it had been pulled straight from Mexico.
After the ups and downs of the hard work and serving those in need we sat on the last night. We talked about our experiences and one girl surprised me. She said something so simple yet she said it with such true joy on her face I understood exactly. When it came to her turn she exclaimed “This feels like paradise.” Now for those of you who have been to Yakima and painted outside on 100 degree days you know that is probably the farthest thing from Paradise. Yet, I knew what she really meant was that she felt close to God. It felt as though the kingdom of heaven was here on earth.
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