Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given
Matthew 26: 26 AND John 15: 9 – 17

I. Introduction.
My first church to serve as pastor was First Baptist Church, Maben, Mississippi. After I had been there for a few months, I told our deacons that I thought it was time for us to observe the Lord’s Supper. We talked about which of the upcoming dates would be the best date and settled on the date. Then, I shared with them that I felt strongly that we ought to observe the Lord’s Supper on Sunday morning. Well, they had never done it that way before. We made arrangements for the deacons to be present to help serve the elements of the supper. But there was one thing I was not prepared for. Since the church had only observed the Lord’s Supper on Sunday evenings, our Lord’s Supper set was not large enough to accommodate the number of people who attend on Sunday mornings. We had to buy a brand new Lord’s Supper set in order to start observing this on Sunday mornings.

In the Baptist tradition, we observe only two ordinances in our worship services to symbolize our relationship with Jesus Christ: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And I believe our ordinances are important enough that we ought to observe these on Sunday morning for everyone to see and include as many people as possible.

These two ordinances are recognized in one form or another by most, if not all, Christian churches. I know you recognize the different understandings of baptism: there is infant baptism and believer’s baptism; there is baptism by sprinkling and baptism by immersion. But did you know there are three different understandings of the Lord’s Supper?

There are some denominations that refer to the bread and the wine of the Lord’s Supper as the Eucharist. Eucharist is the English form of the Greek word eucharisto, which means “To Give Thanks.” This understanding says that to eat the bread and drink the wine is a way to give thanks to God for the salvation offered in the death of Jesus on the cross.

There are some denominations that refer to the bread and wine as Communion. Communion is a term that describes a mystical relationship between Christ and the person who takes the elements of the Supper. Some believe that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus, while others believe that the presence of Christ inhabits the elements in a miraculous way. But either way, in Communion the presence of Christ enters into a person’s body when he or she eats the bread and drinks the wine. Traditionally, Baptists do not observe communion.

Baptists observe The Lord’s Supper. When I say the term Lord’s Supper I mean that we participate in a symbolic meal in which we remember the body of Jesus that was broken for us and the blood of Jesus that was poured out for us.

Eucharist means to give thanks. Communion means to commune with God. The Lord’s Supper means to remember. And this is what Jesus intended when he said, Do this in remembrance of me and Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.

My message this morning comes from a devotional insight I found several years ago in a book by spiritual writer Henri J.M. Nouwen. Nouwen made an observation that when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he did four things with the bread. He “Took” the bread; He “Blessed” the bread; He “broke” the bread; and He “Gave” the bread.

Read Matthew 26: 26

Nouwen then went on to say that Jesus does these same four things to the 12 Disciples and now does these same four things in our lives as well. In other words, you and I are like the bread of the Lord’s Supper. We have been “Taken,” “Blessed,” “Broken,” and “Given” by Jesus.

Read John 15: 9 – 17

II. Taken (John 15: 16).
Jesus could not serve the Supper to his disciples until he “Took” the bread.

This is one of the most important things for us to remember in order to think of ourselves as the “Beloved of God.” Just as Jesus “Took” the bread, he “Took” his disciples, and he “Took” you and me…Perhaps a better word for this is “Chosen”…The bread was “Taken,” but the disciples were “Chosen.”

Does the word “Chosen” scare you? Do you like to think of yourself as “Chosen” by God? The Disciples were “Chosen.” Remember when Jesus walked by the places where they were working and minding their own business and said, “Come, Follow me.” Abraham was “Chosen” by God to be the father of a great nation…A nation that was eventually known as God’s “Chosen” People.

One of the reasons we are afraid of the word “Chosen” is because we associate “Chosen” with the snobby and superior attitude that Israel had as God’s “Chosen” People. You see, Israel thought that since they were “Chosen” nobody else could be “Chosen.” Instead of thinking of themselves as God’s “Chosen” People, they thought they were God’s ONLY People.

Israel was not “Chosen” to be God’s ONLY People. No. They were “Chosen” so that other people could learn about God’s Grace and that other people could be included in God’s “Chosen” People.

The same thing is true for us today. God has “Chosen” us so that other people might learn about God’s Grace and in turn they can be included as one of God’s “Chosen.”

III. Blessed (John 15: 15).
The next thing that Jesus did with the bread was to bless it…Of course you already know the outline of the message… You heard me say it earlier…And you can see it in the Scripture reading. That means you already know what is coming next…Taken, Blessed, Broken…

Some people have a hard time understanding how “Blessed” and “Broken” can be used together so closely. This is because our world and culture have associated “Blessed” with health and wealth and general happiness.

“Bless” literally means to speak well of someone or to say something good about someone. When was the last time you had someone speak a blessing over you? Did you receive a “Blessing” from TV and movies as Christianity and biblical values were ridiculed? Did you receive a “Blessing” from the newspaper as you read about the crime rates and the lives that have been destroyed by violence?

Yet we did receive a “Blessing” from one of our Scriptures this morning. Look again at Jesus’ words in John 15: 15… I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his father’s business. Instead, I have called you FRIENDS…

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has called us his Friends. This means that you and I now have a special, intimate relationship with God himself. In fact, this Greek word “Friend” can also be translated “Beloved.” This is God’s “Blessing” he speaks over us…You are my “Beloved.” And I Love You…

Of course, we don’t always hear that “Blessing,” because it is often drowned out by all the “Curses” of the world. But Jesus is telling us…We are not what the world calls us…We are the “Beloved” of God.

Henri J.M. Nouwen says that this is similar to what God said to Jesus on the day of his baptism. When Jesus walked out of the Jordan River, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” And from that moment on, Jesus stopped listening to the voices around him and listened to God’s “Blessing.”

When the world said, “You are a worthless traitor and deserve to die on the cross.” Jesus said, “NO! I am the Beloved of God.” And when the world says you are a misfit and rejects you because you do not accept their ways, you can join with Jesus and say, “NO! I am the Beloved Friend of God.”


IV. Broken (John 15: 12 – 13).
After speaking a Blessing over the bread, Jesus then “Broke” it into small pieces…Again, it is often difficult for us to think of “Brokenness” as a positive attribute. This is especially difficult in a world which promotes competition, success, health and wealth. Yet, “Brokenness” is an important and positive part of being the Beloved of God.

Just as the bread had to be “Broken” in order to be used, Jesus had to be “Broken” to fulfill his role as Savior. He had to die a painful and humiliating death on the cross. This is the ultimate expression of the ultimate Love…Look at Jesus’ words in John 15: 12 – 13… My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus calls everyone who is Beloved of God to love others as Jesus first loved us. Jesus’ love for us led to his own “Brokenness.” Therefore, “Brokenness” is an important part of following the example of Christ.

Without “Brokenness” we cannot love as Jesus loved us. Without “Brokenness” we cannot fully experience what it means to be Beloved of God.


V. Given (John 15: 16).
Then, Jesus did one final thing with the bread. He “Gave” it to his Disciples…It would not have been enough for Jesus to “Take” the bread. It would not have been enough for Jesus to “Bless” the bread. It would not have been enough for Jesus to “Break” the bread.

No! Everything else has been leading up to this very moment. This was the goal. This is what Jesus had in mind. This is the purpose. This is what it ultimately means to be in a special, intimate relationship with Jesus as God’s Beloved. We have been Taken, Blessed, and Broken so that we can be Given to others.

It would be impossible for us to read the Bible and ignore the fact that God has “Chosen” his people. Again, God “Chose” Israel to be his people…Jesus “Chose” 12 men to be his Disciples. But in every case…Every time God “Chose” someone in the Bible, he “Chose” them to do a job…When God “Chooses” he gives his “Chosen” ones a purpose.

What is that purpose? “Chosenness” ALWAYS leads to service!

John 15: 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last…

Israel was “Chosen” to bring salvation to other nations. Jesus was “Chosen” to die on the cross and be our Savior. And as Disciples of Jesus, we have been “Chosen” to Go and Bear Fruit.
God always has a purpose for the things he does. You and I were saved for a purpose. What do you think our purpose is?

The nation of Israel did not understand that God had a purpose for them. They knew they were God’s “Chosen” people. But they never seemed to realize that they had been “Chosen” for a purpose. They acted like the “Frozen Chosen.” And there are a lot of Christians who act the same way today. We have people in our church who think they were saved so that they could just sit there. You were not saved to sit there. You were saved to serve. God wants every Christian to serve others through evangelism…making disciples by teaching in the church…volunteering our time in mission and ministry.

Think of this in terms of John 15: 13, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends…

To lay down your life does not necessarily mean that you are going to die. No! There are times when we lay down our lives by laying down our own thoughts, feelings, desires and hopes to put someone else first. In other words, to “Give” up your own life in service to the needs of others.


VI. Conclusion.

When we remember the Lord’s death we also remember that he died so that we can give our lives away in service to others.

Before we observe the Lord’s Supper this morning, we are going to have a time of Invitation. This is a time for each of us to make the decisions we need to make. And it is a time for us to get our hearts in the right place before.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

The Family of God

The Family of God.
Ephesians 1: 1 – 14


I. Introduction.


Read Ephesians 1: 1 – 14.

The entire book of Ephesians is about the church…Of course the words “Family of God” do not necessarily appear in this passage…However, the concept is first introduced here…Paul went on in Ephesians chapter 2 & used the image of family…

Read Ephesians 2: 19

When Paul drew an analogy between the church and the physical family, he was drawing on an image that most people would have easily recognized… Throughout the Bible, God is described as “Father.” However, God is NOT Father for all the human race. Neither OT or NT teaches the Universal Fatherhood of God. Rather God is Father, only to those who are Christians, those who are saved. It is through salvation that we become Children of God and thereby members of the Family of God.

Even though Paul used the term “House of God,” the church is NOT a building. Rather, the church is a living breathing organism. We are a house in the sense of a household, or a family. Specifically, we are God’s family.

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are a child of God. . .I am a child of God, because Jesus is my Lord. . .Therefore, we have the same Father. . .We are now Brothers & Sisters in the same family. You cannot take God as your Father without taking me as your brother. Neither can you take God as your Father without taking the church as your Family.


II. A Place of Grace.
Let’s use Paul’s physical analogy to think through what the church is supposed to be. The physical family is 1st a Place of Grace! There are 2 Ways the Family is a Place of Grace.

1. Beginning (v. 5).
There is something that we all have in common. Those of us here in this room have many things in common. But I mean something that all men & women who have ever lived have in common. Each of us had our beginning in a family… And, like it or not, we can never change that!
We can change our hair color (don’t worry, I don’t have anyone in mind). We can change our eye color. We can even change the shapes of our bodies. But we can never change that place, that family, where we received our beginning.

Of course there are some who have 2 different kinds of beginnings. They were born into one family but adopted by another.

And it does not matter which was your beginning, birth or adoption, you had no choice in the matter…It was not your decision…No one has ever chosen their own family.

To me, this is a picture of Grace. Grace is a gift… Something that we never asked for…Something that we do not deserve…Something that we will NEVER become worthy of.

The Church is a place of beginning because we have received our beginning here. I don’t mean in this physical building. We have received our Spiritual beginning through the Church, because we have been ADOPTED by God in Jesus. We didn’t deserve to be his children…But God has given us the Grace of Beginning as an Adopted Child of God.

2. Belonging (v. 11).
A 2nd way the family is a Place of Grace is that it is a Place of Belonging.

I have learned a lot about Grace through my experiences as a parent. As a parent, I love my children more than I ever thought I would be able to love them. I am committed to love them through thick and thin. And I want to be the person they come to whenever they are in trouble or difficult circumstances. I don’t want them to ever fear that they will be “kicked out” of our family. Of course that does not give them the excuse or the justification to live however they please. There are certain expectations that we have for them. And when those expectations are broken, there are consequences to be faced and discipline to suffer. But my children BELONG in my family, and they will always have a place. And that will never change.

There are some churches that we know about who are not like that. They do not offer a Place of Belonging and a Place of Grace. Rather they are Places of Judgment, Places of Criticism, Etc…

Kenneth Chafin was a prominent pastor in Baptist life and later served as Professor of Evangelism @ The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Many years ago, Dr. Chafin led a conference for Miss. Baptists @ Gulfshore Baptist Assembly. One of the sessions dealt with the fellowship of the church. In that session, Dr. Chafin asked the question, “If you were in trouble, who would you want to be the first to know? If your son were in jail? Or your daughter were pregnant?” He didn’t get the response he was looking for. Rather there was a prolonged silence. Finally a man raised his hand and answered, “I don’t know who I would want to be the first to know. But I would want the people in my church to be the last to know.”

This man had probably experienced the worst that the church has to offer. Sometimes the most critical and judgmental people on earth are in the church. Sometimes the worst gossip and back biting and slander takes place in the name of “Prayer Requests.”

Paul told us that the church is to be a Place of the Grace of Belonging. The Place where we can be “Lavished by the riches of God’s Grace.” The Place where we can be Adopted as Children of God. And the Place where we can receive the Inheritance from our Father.

Did you know you stand to Inherit a fortune? You don’t deserve it. You cannot earn it. But your Father has given you full rights as a child. He already had a Son, Jesus, but he chose to Adopt you and place you on equal footing. You and I know have received the Grace of Belonging, and we know that because our Heavenly Father has given us the Inheritance.



III. A Place of Growth.
A 2nd aspect of a physical family that can give us some insight into the nature of the church. I find it very interesting that Paul used such common illustrations to describe the nature of the church. Body. . .Family. . .Bride. . .Army.

If you will notice something about each of these illustrations. They are all living organisms. (Of course you might question me about an Army as a living organism, but an Army is made up of living soldiers.) Paul never used inanimate objects as illustration for the church. I think this should tell us something. The Church Is ALIVE!!

All living organisms have something in common. They Grow. What do we call a living organism that is not growing? If it is not growing then it must be dying! The same can be said for the church as a living organism.

2 Ways a family can grow…

1. Numbers.
The family is a natural place for children to be born. Therefore a growing family is one that grows in numbers. Of course we could take this illustration too far and say that families who are not having children are not fulfilling their purposes. I believe that God may or may not have planned for you to have children. He may want you to serve him in other ways.
As the Family of God, we are to grow in numbers. This is the missionary aspect of the Family / Church. We are to grow by inviting new Brothers and Sisters into our Adopted Family.


2. Nurture.
Not all physical families are still “having babies.” Some families are raising children and / or grandchildren. But those children have a place in their family where they can grow and be nurtured and have their needs met.

This 2nd aspect of Growth is important to note. There is a danger in both over emphasis and under emphasis. There is a tendency for churches who are aging and declining in their attendance to over emphasize this as a justification. “Well we are a church that focuses on maturing in faith.” “We are happy just resting in God and following what he has for us.” This is nothing more than an excuse for not being missionary and reaching out to unchurched, unsaved and UNADOPTED people!

There is another tendency to under emphasize growth by nutrition. This is found in churches who are so mission minded that they reach out to the UNADOPTED, but provide them with no opportunities to grow and mature in their faith.

About ten years ago, I spoke with the Associate Pastor of one of the Mega Churches in the SBC about some trends in his church before their current pastor came. This is a church that averages over 3000 in their SS attendance. He told me that in the previous year (before the new pastor) the church had baptized over 1000 people. But the average attendance had not changed by 1000. So they traced each name to find out what SS classes they were in. Less than 100 of those baptized were involved in SS one year later.

A church must grow. But it must also balance growth by number and growth by nutrition.



IV. A Place of Gladness.
I want to build on what I have said earlier about the Church as a Place of Grace. The Greek word that we translate “Grace” has its root in the Greek word for “Joy.” This leads many Greek scholars to believe that Grace was actually a development of the concept of Joy. In other words, Grace is a gift that brings about great joy in a person’s life.

If we hope to be a Family in the sense that God has called us to be, not just any family, but God’s Own Family. Then we must be a Family that experiences Joy, Gladness, Laughter, Good Times…Enjoying Our Time Together. But sadly, this is not always the case with churches. . .



V. Conclusion.
It makes me think of a comparison between the Family of God and my own extended family…My Mother and Father were both a part of large families. I have lots of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.
There were 2 kinds of events (or reunions) that brought all of us together in the same place. Weddings and Funerals. But these 2 family reunions produced 2 completely different moods.

At weddings we celebrated, we laughed, we talked, we joked, we told funny stories. At funerals we mourned, we cried, we talked, we remembered the deceased.

Which one of these brought you here today? Which family reunion did you come to this morning? Did you come to a wedding? Where you Celebrate the Prospect of the Future? Or did you come to a funeral? Where you Grieve and Mourn the Way Things Used to Be.