Sunday, June 3, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
June 3, 2007

Opportunities In Ethiopia
Mark 10: 13 – 16 AND Mark 9: 36 – 37.

I. Introduction.
Picture 1…The entrance to the Baptist Children’s Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. It serves as an orphanage to 58 children and a Kindergarten – 8th grade school for the children who live in the adjacent slum. The people in the slum live in homes made of wood and mud with a tin roof.

Picture 2…These are some of the orphans from the Baptist Children’s Centre. It was 76 degrees that day. We were wearing short-sleeved shirts, and the children were bundled up like it was snowing.

Picture 3…It is hard to say that one child was my favorite, but I wanted to take this little girl home. She is drinking a mid-morning snack of porridge. The Children’s Centre provides all meals and snacks for the orphans as well as snacks and lunch for all the slum children who come to school there. Very early on, the Children’s Centre discovered that the orphans who lived there were better dressed and ate more meals than the children of the slums. The orphans were considered the “rich kids” at the school. So, they had to begin providing school uniforms and nutrition for all the school children.

Picture 4…This is Tony, the director of the Children’s Centre. He lives on campus and serves as the head of the orphanage as well as the head master for the school. These girls are in what we might refer to as “trade school” learning how to sew. The school system in Kenya is different from our schools. Kindergarten through 8th grade is for all children. Students that want to go to high school have to apply like we apply for college. The ones who have good grades get to go to high school. The others either drop out or learn a trade. Tony told us that these girls have two options when they finish sewing school. They can go back into the slum and try to make a living making new clothes and repairing old clothes. This is not a good option, because people in the slum do not buy new clothes and most do not have their clothes repaired. The second option is for the girls to go to work in a factory, but most factories require employees to start out as an unpaid intern for two months. The girls cannot afford to move to the city and pay rent and eat for two months. We asked him how much that would cost…$250. Just $250 to change a girl’s life forever.

Picture 5…When we were in Ethiopia, we were able to witness the annual meeting of the foster parents who work with Buckner in Ethiopia. Right now there are over 1,000 Ethiopian children in foster care through Buckner. They have a goal to increase that number to 12,000 in the next couple of years.

Picture 6…Getahun Tessema is the director of the Buckner work in Ethiopia. He introduced us to the children and foster parents and translated for us as we spoke to the group. He told them that one of the things our group wanted to do was to do home repairs for the foster homes. He asked, “How many of you need someone to put a new roof on your house?” Hands went up all over the room. But this woman in white just pleaded with us to come and fix her roof.

Picture 7…This is Getahun. In the background is a new Buckner baby home that will house 50 orphaned infants. They have already begun construction, but they do not have enough money to complete the project. It will cost $100,000 to build and furnish this baby home. They only have $80,000. They will need an additional $20,000 to finish the project.

Picture 8…These are pastors from the southern region of Ethiopia. In addition to his work with Buckner, Getahun is also the leader of a church planting movement. In the past 7 – 8 years, they have started several thousand churches and have over 350,000 new Christians in these churches. Each of these men is pastor for six churches. Getahun told us a remarkable story about one of the villages where they started a church. There was no Christian church in the village, but there was an Islamic mosque. They preached a revival in the village and all the Muslims became Christians. So, they took over the mosque, cut down the crescent, put up a cross and converted it into a church.

Picture 9…This is the President of Ethiopia--Girma Wolde-Giorgis. We met him on a Saturday in the residence of the Presidential Palace. Getahun has a close relationship with the President. Through this relationship, the President invited Ken Hall from Buckner to come to Ethiopia. He said, “Please help my people.” When we met the President, I gave him two gifts from Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. I gave him a copy of the history of our church A Light in the East Texas Forest and a copy of our choir’s CD Rise Up and Praise Him.

Picture 10…The President donated 25 acres of land in his home village of Bantu for Buckner to establish a ministry. The ministry will be similar to the work in Kenya. There will be an orphanage, a Kindergarten – 8th grade school and a trade school. Buckner has invited our church to be one of the churches to establish this ministry. If we choose to commit, we will contribute $10,000 annually and take one mission trip each year. The very first mission trip to Bantu will take place in July. Twenty-four people will go to Bantu to do eye exams and Vacation Bible School for the children. There will be 4 ladies from our church working on this mission trip.
Picture 11…The people in Bantu live in mud huts. Some of the huts have thatch roofs, and some have metal roofs. Bantu is one of those villages that has no church. Getahun promised me that the next time I go to Ethiopia, we will schedule a revival so that I can preach in Bantu. I asked him if it would be possible for our church to plant the first church in Bantu. He is supposed to email me a proposal about what it would take to start that first church.

Picture 12…Getahun with some of the children from Bantu. These children might be at the Bible School in July. I don’t know their names, but we can begin to pray for them.

Picture 13…Some of the children of Bantu have no shoes. They are not just running around barefoot because they prefer to. They don’t have shoes. Every year during Bible School, we ask our children to bring a mission offering. Patsy and I have talked about giving that offering to buy shoes for the children of Bantu. Then in October, Patsy will go on a Buckner trip to Bantu to deliver the shoes purchased with the offerings of our children.

Picture 14…I want the last picture to be of the faces of children from Ethiopia. Pray for these children. They live in poverty like we have never experienced. And some of them live in an area of the world where there is no church…No witness about Jesus.

Read Mark 10: 13 – 16.


II. Verse 13.
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them…
The idea of a healing touch is found throughout the Gospels. There was probably an idea that for a “Holy Man” to touch a child was like a special blessing. If so, then the crowds of people recognized there was something special about Jesus. He was holy, righteous and close to God. Therefore they wanted him to touch and bless their children.

But the disciples rebuked them…
Were the disciples just having a bad day? Were they just tired and irritable from their travels with Jesus? Possibly. But more than likely they were jealous of the children. In the First Century world, children were “non-persons.” They had no inherent rights of their own. They were little more than the property of their fathers.
The disciples had entered into their discipleship relationship with Jesus wanting to spend time alone with Jesus and learn from his teachings. However, everywhere they went, sick and demon-possessed people took Jesus’ attention away from them. And now it is children…These insignificant, little people.

III. Verse 14.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant…
Notice the use of the word “indignant.” When I began my doctoral dissertation on the Gospel of Mark, I had always believed there was only one time when Jesus got angry. It was the story of the money changers in the Temple. These men were using the Jewish feasts and festivals as a time to make money. They had stolen the significance of worship by setting up shop and turning a profit on the religious feelings of worshippers.
But two years ago, this word “indignant” just jumped off the page at me. Here is another example of Jesus’ getting angry. I’m not trying to say that Jesus was an angry person. And I am definitely not saying that Jesus sinned. Jesus had a “righteous indignation.” The only times Jesus was angry, he was angry at injustice.
When Jesus was in the Temple, he became angry about the perversion of worship. In this story, Jesus was angry at the mistreatment of children. Children are real human beings with rights just like their parents. Specifically, children ought to have an opportunity to “come to Jesus.”
We need to share Jesus’ passion for children.

He said to them, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them”…
Beginning in the Second Century, the Catholic Church started using this verse as a way to justify the practice of infant baptism—as if Jesus had said, “Do not hinder the children from being baptized.” But I do not think this is about baptism.
I believe Jesus is teaching us, “Do not hinder the children from spending time in the presence of Jesus.”
Give the children every opportunity to learn about Jesus and to experience Jesus and to receive the Gospel message about Jesus. Do not keep children away from Jesus. Do not put obstacles in between children and Jesus.
Modern day obstacles:
1. Parents who do not bring their children to church.
2. Children who live in Bantu, Ethiopia have no church…and as far as I know, they have never been told about Jesus.

For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these…
Does the Kingdom of God really belong to children? No. I think Jesus is using a metaphor. The Kingdom of God belongs to men, women, boys and girls who possess Childlike Characteristics.
1. Innocence…Humility…Dependence…Trusting…Helpless…Receptive…
2. Eager…Learning…Expecting to Grow…Willing to Bring Friends…


IV. Verse 15.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”…
In this verse, Jesus described the Kingdom of God in two ways. He mixes his metaphors and would have made a “C” if he had written this in a high school term paper.
First, the Kingdom of God is “Something We Receive…” It is a gift. We do not earn the Kingdom of God, we do not work for it, and we can never deserve it.
Gift is the root meaning of the word Grace. And every child loves to receive a gift. When I was driving home from the airport after being in Africa for 12 days, I called home and talked to Shauna and the children. When JoEllen was talking to me, she got upset and started crying. While she was crying, I said, “I am bringing you a surprise. Do you want a surprise?” She immediately stopped crying and started trying to get me to tell her what I was bringing from Africa.
Second, the Kingdom of God is “Something We Enter…” It is a new realm in which God is the King. Once we receive this Grace gift, we hand over control of our lives to God.

In the first church I served as pastor, I had a woman speak to me about her grown children. They were both in their 30’s and she was very concerned about their salvation. She was concerned that it was too late for her children to become Christians, because neither had made a profession of faith. She cited this verse from the King James Version, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God AS a child will never enter it.”
Jesus is not telling us that you have to make a profession of faith before you turn 18, or else it will be too late. Jesus is saying that everyone who becomes a Christian must become like a little child first. Innocent…Humble…Trusting…Dependent… Helpless…


V. Conclusion.
This story is most often used to illustrate Jesus’ love for children. There is even a song, “Jesus Loves the Little Children…All the children of the world…” And the story does express Jesus’ love and concern for the children. But, if you want to know what Jesus really thought about children, we will have to read another passage…

Read Mark 9: 36 – 37.

Jesus used children as a way to illustrate what is in our hearts. If we truly love Jesus, then we will take care of children.

I am convinced that it matters how we treat children. How do we treat the children of Lufkin? How do we treat the children of Africa? Specifically, what are we going to do to help children learn about Jesus and to experience Jesus the way we have experienced Jesus?

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
May 27, 2007

Being and Doing God’s Mission
Acts 1: 6 – 9

I. Introduction.
There are some words we use without really knowing what they mean. Like the word “Integrity.” How would you define Integrity? Now there is a man of Integrity…I want to vote for a President who will bring Integrity back to the White House… What does that really mean?
I remember over 20 years ago, when Ronald Reagan was President, there was a huge public discussion about pornography. If I remember it correctly—and I should have Googled this just to make sure—it happened when Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell were fighting each other in the Supreme Court. Ronald Reagan appointed what was then called a “Blue Ribbon Committee” to study pornography and report back to the American people. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist was the chairman of this Blue Ribbon Committee. When the committee’s work was complete, Justice Rehnquist read their report. Now, I couldn’t make up something any funnier than the report. This is one of my favorite stories…After months of study, the committee reported: “We cannot give a definition of what makes something pornographic, but we know it when we see it.”
Maybe that is the way we use the word Integrity. I can’t really say what Integrity is…But I know it when I see it.
The dictionary definition of Integrity = a. Moral soundness; b. Wholeness or completeness. The second definition is actually the original meaning of the word. It comes from the same word as Integer. Do you remember when you had to learn about Integers in High School math? Integers = whole numbers. All this is to say that when we say that someone is a person of Integrity, we are actually saying they are a whole person, a complete person.
Now, I want to step away from the dictionary and give you my personal definition of Integrity. One aspect of wholeness that we might not immediately think of is that something that is whole is also consistent through and through. Think of a huge pan of brownies. If you were to prepare that pan of brownies, you would start with a bowl. You would mix together flour, sugar, chocolate, eggs and oil (or you might substitute applesauce for the oil if you were trying to cut calories). Then you would mix the batter until it was consistent through and through. Then you pour the batter into the pan and cook it. If the ingredients were mixed properly, then your brownies would have Integrity. That means every brownie tastes exactly the same. Every piece has the same amount of each ingredient and tastes the same. It doesn’t matter which piece you choose to eat. The corner brownies taste the same as the brownies in the middle.
Now when we apply the same concept to people, it is just a little bit different. We are not going to cut you up into 24 pieces and see if every piece is consistent. Instead, we are going to move you from one situation to another. For example, let’s think of another person, maybe it is someone you go to class with or somebody you work with or even a person who goes to church with you. Does that person act the same way around you as when he or she is somewhere else? Or does that person change? If there is a change, then the person is not consistent, not a person of Integrity. Now, think about yourself. Are you the same person around your family that you are around your friends at work / school? What about when you are here at church? Are you the same person here that you are when you are with your friends? Then, are you the same person when you are alone? Are you the same person with your friends that you are when you are surfing the Internet? Are you the same person on Sunday morning and Saturday night?
If you want to be a person of Integrity, then you must become the same person in every relationship you have. This kind of consistency is only possible when you are the same person on the inside and on the outside. As Christians, Jesus has called us to a kind of consistency between who we are and what we do. In other words, Being and Doing.
One of the best places to find this calling is in Jesus’ final words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven…
There are basically two stories of the Ascension of Jesus described in the New Testament. Matthew and Luke tell it just a little differently. They both tell us that Jesus ascended while the disciples stood watching. And they both tell us that Jesus gave his disciples instructions about what to do until he returned again.
In Matthew 28: 19 – 20, we read that right before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave us the Great Commission…Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”

Luke tells this just a little differently…

Read Acts 1: 6 – 9
After speaking these words, the relationship between Jesus and the disciples changed forever. Once they had been able to see Jesus and touch Jesus and experience Jesus through their physical senses. But now, they could only experience Jesus in the same way we experience Jesus today—through our Spiritual Senses.

II. You Shall BE My Witnesses.
Notice that Jesus did NOT begin this Purpose Statement by describing what he wanted the church to DO…He began by describing what the church should BE…
I want to try to capture what Jesus said about BEING in just one phrase, “You shall BE my witnesses.”
As a product of modern American TV culture, the word “witness” always makes me think about a court of law…Perry Mason…Matlock…Law & Order…Boston Legal… If you ever watch these programs, you know that a trial can be won or lost (at least a TV trial) by the testimony of one witness…
What makes a witness a good witness? In my opinion, there are three things that separate good witnesses from bad witnesses.

First…A good witness must tell the truth…Second…A good witness must be willing to speak out regardless the cost…Third…And perhaps most importantly, a good witness must tell his or her own story…
A good witness can never tell someone else’s story…She must tell her own story…As it truly happened to her…As she experienced it…

When Jesus described the church as his witnesses, that is exactly what he had in mind…The church is to tell the world the story about a real-life experience with Jesus.
The idea of mission (witness) must begin with a real-life experience with the risen Lord, Jesus…The Holy Spirit will come upon you…Then you will receive POWER…Then you will BECOME witnesses…Witnesses with a story to tell about a real-life experience (a life changing experience) with the risen Lord, Jesus.

Do you ever wonder why some visitors come to church only one time never to return again, while other visitors return and eventually become members? Reformed Worship magazine conducted an informal survey in 1996, asking the members of 26 churches to describe why they decided to join that particular church after visiting. The #1 answer… The congregation acts like it really believes that Jesus is alive…
This is what Jesus was describing when he told us to BE his witnesses. We must witness—or experience—a real life encounter with Jesus that can be seen by other people when they are around us…

III. You Shall DO My Witnessing.
Once Jesus established what the church was to BE, he could describe what he wanted the church to DO…In particular, Jesus wanted the church to DO his witnessing in the world…Now that Jesus would no longer be present in a physical sense, he needed someone, anyone, the church to DO his work on earth.

How did Jesus want this work done? At this point we need to make a decision about the text. What do we believe about the book of Acts? Who originally came up with these words? There are basically 2 choices about this text…

1. Did Luke write these words? Some interpret these words to be a kind of outline that describes in spatial terms what Luke is about to spell out through the rest of the book of Acts. In other words, the first few chapters describe the spread of the Gospel in the city of Jerusalem. Then, we read about how the Gospel went through all Judea and Samaria. Then, the book of Acts closes as the Gospel begins to move into the remotest parts of the earth…
2. Did Jesus really say this? Others believe that Jesus spoke these words as a helpful way for the disciples to understand how to spread the Gospel from Jerusalem and then around the world…

I believe that Jesus really did give this command or mission to his disciples. But what did Jesus really intend? I mean, why did Jesus say: Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth? Again, we have 2 choices…

1. Did Jesus select 3 general areas at random that didn’t really mean anything to him or his disciples?

2. Or did Jesus select 3 specific areas that he truly wanted the church to focus on.
Jerusalem…Literally the city of Jerusalem. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we ought to travel to Jerusalem and begin witnessing in the streets. Some people may be called to do that. But Jerusalem is the very city that the disciples lived in and it was the physical location they were in right that moment.
For you and me, this means the city of Lufkin…It means the brothers and sisters, friends, classmates and coworkers that we see every day of our lives. If you want to follow Jesus’ command, then you must begin by witnessing to the people that see you every day of your life!

Judea and Samaria…Literally the two adjacent regions of Judea and Samaria. This is a larger area that includes people that looked just like the disciples and Samaritan people who are a different race from the disciples. For you and me, this means that we must begin our witnessing at home, witnessing to the people who know us the best. Then, we must move outward to the people who live around us but are not our personal friends and family…It includes people who look like us and enjoy the same kinds of things we enjoy…But it also includes people who do not look like us…People of every race and nationality…

The Ends of the Earth…Literally, these are the people whom the disciples have never met and the people whom the disciples must specifically make an effort to go and witness to. In each of the above groups, it would be possible for the disciples to witness and evangelize through the normal course of their daily lives. But these are the people who can only be reached through a specific mission trip or a missionary effort…


IV. Conclusion.
In which of these 3 places was it most difficult to BE a witness? Jerusalem…Does that surprise you?…Jerusalem was the place where Jesus had been crucified…Imagine trying to convince those people Jesus was alive…They had watched him die on the cross!
It is the same for us today…Jerusalem is the place where we live…The people who see us every day…It’s hard to witness to people who know when you sin…
How well does Lufkin’s First Baptist, measure up to the mission that Jesus gave us? Remotest parts of the earth…We do a great job! Judea and Samaria…We do a great job! But what about Jerusalem? What kind of mission and ministry are we doing within a 20-mile radius of this sanctuary?
How will you help us to witness in Lufkin?


V. Conclusion 2.
Integrity…Consistency in all of your relationships…
Integrity…Being the same person, no matter where you live…Being the same person in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth…

Read Matthew 28: 18 – 20

Itinerary for Andy’s Vision Trip to Ethiopia

Monday, May 14th:

Depart DFW airport on AA to Chicago at 1:00 pm.

Depart Chicago at 6:00 pm on AA to London.



Tuesday, May 15:

Arrive in London at 7:50am and depart at 10:20am on BA to Nairobi.

Arrive in Nairobi at 8:45 pm and check into the Holiday Inn.



Wednesday, May 16


8.00am: Breakfast, Devotion
9am: Visit Nairobi HIV/AIDS baby home
10am: Visit BCC, lunch at BCC, continue visit, leave bcc at 3.30pm, dinner at Holiday Inn


Thursday, May 17

9am: Visit Korogocho slum ministry, lunch at Nandos, visit giraffe centre, dinner at village market


Friday, May 18:

Early AM - (5.30am), 5.45 – breakfast,
6am - Check out of Holiday Inn

Fly to Addis Ababa, 7.40am - Kenya Airways...arriving in country at 9:40am.

Everyone will meet and be checked into the Sheraton Hotel in Addis.

9.40am Arrive at Airport

10.30am Visit President of Ethiopia and Museum in Palace

11.30am Leave for Nazret and Debre Zeit

12.30pm Lunch at Debre Zeit

2.30pm Visit Nazret Community Based Rehabilitation Centre

3.30pm Drive to Debre Zeit

4.00pm Visit Bishoftu Development Workers Training Centre

4.30pm Drive to Addis Ababa

5.30pm Go to hotel


Saturday, May 19:

am Visit children in Foster Kids programme

12.30pm Lunch

1.30pm Visit new orphanage
Visit Shelter – Lem Hotel

3pm Visit Ethnological Museum


SUNDAY 20TH MAY

am Travel to Bantu

Lunch

pm Return to Addis

MONDAY 21ST MAY

am Fly to Gambela to visit refugee camp

Stay overnight in Gambela


TUESDAY 22ND MAY

Visit around Gambela

Return to Addis Ababa


WEDNESDAY 23RD MAY

am Visit National Museum

Lunch

pm Shopping


THURSDAY 24TH MAY

am Rest time or visit any other project or
place of interest

11:20 pm Fly out on Ethiopian Airways to Frankfurt (arrive at 5:45am).



Friday, May 25:

Depart Frankfurt on AA at 10:55am and arrive in Dallas at 2:30pm.

Mothers' Day 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning (Mothers’ Day)
May 13, 2007

The Story of Hannah: A Faithful Mother.
1 Samuel 1: 1 – 28.

I. Introduction


Every year at Mothers’ Day I am reminded of the mother who had raised three rambunctious teenagers. The children had a reputation throughout their small town and were constantly in some kind of trouble. One day, in a conversation with a friend, the mother was asked, “If you could start over, knowing what you know now, would you have children again?” The mother responded, “Yes. But not the same ones.”




(Read 1 Samuel 1: 1 – 28.)

Hannah had a problem. She was unable to bear children. This is not an unusual problem. It is a problem that many women have faced both past and present. It is a problem that carries with it a certain social stigma, embarrassment, or even worse an overwhelming sense of shame and guilt.

In the Ancient Near Eastern world, Hannah’s problem carried even larger social consequences. In that world and at that time, women had no inherent value of their own. No, a woman’s only value was tied to her closest, living male relative. Women were only identified by their men. In fact, there was really no such thing as a woman. There were only daughters, wives, mothers and widows. And that was the progression of their lives.

A woman started her life as a daughter, who was totally dependent on her father for all her needs until she married and became a wife. A wife was totally dependent on her husband until her husband died—or worse, divorced her. A widow was totally dependent on her oldest, living son. Unless, of course, she had no son…Then she was simply discarded—thrown away—as if she were a non-person, someone without either identity or means for providing for her own needs.

So, Hannah had a problem. This was completely a woman’s problem. It was not her husband’s problem. The Law provided a way out for the man. Elkanah was Hannah’s husband. He was a good Jewish man…extremely religious and a careful observer of the religious Law and the Jewish customs. Elkanah also wanted a son to carry on his family name and to provide for him in his old age. But, Elkanah had a problem that could be solved. Hannah’s problem could not be solved.

Israel was one of very few countries in the ANE where it just wasn’t very common for a man to have multiple wives. However, it was allowed in certain cases. One of those cases is what we see with Elkanah and Hannah. If a man married a woman and later discovered that she could not have children, the Law allowed that man to take a second wife so that his family name could live on. And for that very reason, Elkanah took Peninnah to be his second wife.

Hannah was his first wife…the woman he desired…the wife whom he loved. Peninnah was his second wife…the woman he needed in order to have a son…the mother of his children.

Every time Elkanah traveled to the religious festivals at Shiloh, he took both wives: the woman he loved and the mother of his children. Over time, this developed into a competition between the two women. It was obvious to Hannah where she ranked in social standing—she could not provide her husband with a son. It was obvious to Peninnah where she ranked in Elkanah’s heart—each time they sat down to eat the religious feast, Elkanah gave Hannah the largest, most favored portion of meat. Because Hannah was his first love.

Peninnah began to insult Hannah and ridicule her. This seems ironic to me, because Hannah was the woman Elkanah loved and certainly had more to brag about. Yet, Hannah was doomed to a life of poverty and homelessness as a widow with no one to take care of her needs.

So, Hannah had a problem. There was only one place for Hannah to turn. There is only one Person who can do the impossible. There is only one Person who can bring forth life from death. There is only one Person who can satisfy Hannah’s legitimate desire for a son. So, Hannah went into the Sanctuary at Shiloh to pray earnestly for God to provide her with a son.

Now I have to admit, this is part of the Hannah story that has always bothered me. All my life I have heard this story taught in Sunday School or preached on days like Mothers’ Day as a story of a woman who could not have children but who “made a deal with God” that if God would give her a child she would give that child back to God. Then God honored Hannah’s faith by blessing her with a child who became the first prophet in Israel. And Hannah kept her part of the bargain.

It makes a great story. But it just doesn’t seem to fit with my experience. And it definitely doesn’t fit with my understanding of God. What about the millions of women past and present who have prayed for children yet were never able to conceive?


Shauna and I have great friends in Waco, who are faithful, committed Christians, yet they were married for fourteen years without children. They eventually adopted a precious little girl from Hong Kong and named her Hannah—which, by the way, is the Hebrew word for Grace, a Gift from God…

I also know women who are wonderfully committed Christian women, yet they have chosen to remain single and therefore without children. Lottie Moon was at the same time a single woman and deeply committed Christian minister. We could name dozens, if not hundreds, of Christian women who are single and without children as a result of tragic circumstances such as death or divorce.

Therefore, we make a mistake—even on days like Mothers’ Day—when we say that being a mother is a sign of faithfulness. Or that God ALWAYS blesses faithful women with children. That is simply not the case.

So, why this story about Hannah? What is the Bible trying to teach us by telling this story? I believe that we miss the point every time we look at Hannah’s prayer for a son as an example of faithfulness. The point is not about Hannah’s prayer for a son. The point is that God used this woman to bring forth Samuel…And God used Samuel to anoint the first two kings of the united Kingdom of Israel: Saul and David…And God used David to become the ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth.

When we look at Hannah, we are supposed to see Samuel, David and Jesus. The fact that Hannah could not have children simply underscores God’s role in the birth of Samuel. Hannah is just like Sarah, Rachel, Mary…Women who could not have children until God stepped in and performed a miracle…

When all seemed hopeless…that it was impossible for Hannah ever to have a son…God stepped in and performed a miracle. There are some people who might not recognize God’s hand at work in situations like this. But not Hannah…In verse 27 Hannah said, “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.”

Hannah demonstrates two important aspects of being a godly parent—or today, being a godly mother…


II. Children Are a Gift FROM God.
This is an important lesson for many parents today…Parents who find their busy lives interrupted or their plans canceled because of children…Believe it or not, there are some parents who view children as a curse rather than a blessing…

We find a similar theme in Psalm 127… “Sons are a gift from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in ones youth. Blessed is the one whose quiver is full of them…”

Since each of us was at one point in time a child…We ought to consider ourselves Gifts from God…Our very existence is possible only as a Gift…


III. Children Are a Gift TO God.

Hannah reminds me of Abraham…They both thought it was impossible to have a child by natural means…But God provided each with a son…Both recognized that their child was a gift from God…And both were willing to give their “gift” back to God…Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac on the altar…Hannah was willing to give Samuel to Eli the priest as a “living sacrifice”…

There is just one difference…Remember what I said about the Law providing a way out for the man…When Sarah could not have a son, Abraham had a son with another “wife,” Hagar…If Isaac had died on the altar that day, he could always depend on Ishmael to take care of him in his old age…But Hannah had nothing…When she gave Samuel to Eli the priest, she gave away her very SELF…She gave Samuel’s life as well as her own life…There was no one left to care for her in her old age…

Hannah demonstrates an important lesson for all women and men of faith…Hannah demonstrated STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE…





IV. Conclusion

Stewardship of life is a concept that Jesus taught his disciples…Of course Jesus never used those exact words…Instead, he told a parable of a master who had three slaves…When the master went away on business, he entrusted his financial assets to these three slaves…When the master returned, he rewarded the two slaves who had done the most with what had been on loan to them…Then they returned the talents to the master…

Jesus teaches us that we are not held accountable for acquiring more—because it all comes from the master anyway…We are accountable for how we use the things we have been given…

Hannah is an example of One Faithful Mother…But she is also an example of Good Steward of Life…

If we can recognize our children as gifts from God, then we can give them back to God…If we can recognize our very lives as gifts from God, then we can give God our very lives…

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
May 6, 2007

How to Share Your Faith…Like Jesus Did
John 4: 1 – 26.

I. Introduction.
One of my pastor friends tells me that all churches say they want to grow… even though most churches don’t want to grow. It is easy to get comfortable and not want any new people around.
For what purpose does our church exist? As we dream about the future of Lufkin’s First Baptist Church, this is one question we need to ask and answer. Perhaps you are able to think of many answers to this question. However, I can only imagine two answers. These two answers are complete opposites which cannot peacefully coexist in our church.
The first answer is to say that First Baptist Church is a club which offers membership services to those who choose to join our club. In other words, church is for church people. If someone wants to join our church, then he or she may receive the full benefits of membership. These benefits include: fellowship with likeminded people; Sunday morning celebrations of our traditionalism; and programs to pass on our traditions to our children.
The second answer is the answer found in the Bible. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to go into a new land so that Abraham’s descendents could live as God’s chosen people. However, God did not choose Abraham for the purpose of establishing a club. God called Abraham so that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12: 3).” In Matthew 28, Jesus gathered his disciples on the top of a mountain to commission them before he ascended into heaven. Jesus did not commission the disciples to establish a club. Jesus commissioned them to “make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 19).”
The purpose for Lufkin’s First Baptist Church must be consistent with the teachings of Scripture: to be a blessing to all people and to make disciples. Our purpose is to fulfill Jesus’ mission in Lufkin, in Texas, in North America and around the world. One of the many differences between a club and a church is vision. A club has a vision only for itself and its own members. A church is supposed to have a vision for the non-Christian people outside.
I am excited to be a part of this church which has demonstrated a vision for people outside our membership. On Monday, April 30, our church helped our mission church—Cross Timbers Cowboy Church—receive the necessary funding to build a new church facility on Highway 69 North. On Tuesday, May 1, our church entered into a covenant relationship with a local pastor to establish the first African American BGCT church in Angelina County. This church—New Beginnings Baptist Church—will hold her first worship service in September. In October 2006, our church voted to develop a partnership with the First Baptist Church of Grandprairie, Alberta, Canada to support them financially and to do mission work in their community.
Next week, I will travel to Africa with a group of people from Buckner International. Buckner already operates an orphanage in the African nation of Kenya. We will visit this orphanage to witness the work that is taking place. Then, we will travel to Ethiopia to dream and make plans for building the same type of ministry there.
Buckner has invited our church to be one of five churches from East Texas to establish and operate a new orphanage in Ethiopia. In addition, we will have opportunities to do evangelism and church planting in the same areas in which we work with orphans, foster parents and adoption.
The trip I will take this month is a “vision trip” for the new work. Buckner has scheduled the very first mission trip to Ethiopia to take place July 9 – 19. I cannot travel in July because we have our Bible School scheduled for that same time. However, Buckner wants our church represented on this first mission trip. I have information from Buckner for anyone who feels like God might be calling you to this ministry in July. Consider this an open invitation for those who feel called.
My prayer is that we would adopt this on-going mission to Ethiopia as one way to share God’s vision for non-Christians outside our church. Adopting this mission would give our members three opportunities to participate in mission: local (New Beginnings Baptist Church); North American (First Baptist Grandprairie, Alberta, Canada); and global (Ethiopia).
I believe that if we will share God’s vision for people outside our church and participate in that mission, then God will begin to grow our church in exciting ways. Will you join me in fulfilling this purpose? We cannot allow our church to become a club.

That leads to what should be an obvious question…How can a church grow? You have probably heard me quote Rick Warren several times. Rick Warren says that there are three ways a church can grow…Grow through Birth—more and more babies being born…Grow through Transfer—people moving to town looking for a church, or a church split across town…Grow through Conversion—witnessing to the lost and baptizing new converts into the church…

Read John 4: 1 – 26.

II. Jesus Was Alert to Every Opportunity.
The story begins as Jesus and his disciples learn that the Pharisees are interested in Jesus’ ministry. They are not interested in becoming disciples, but in running Jesus out of town or killing him…So, Jesus and his disciples have to travel in a hurry from Judea to Galilee.
The quickest route from Judea (in the South) to Galilee (in the North) is to travel directly through the central region of Palestine, known as Samaria. This was not the normal route for Jewish people—including Jesus and the disciples. They normally went miles and miles out of their way to avoid Samaria so they would not have any contact with any Samaritans.
On this particular occasion, Jesus and the disciples traveled on a straight line directly through Samaria…And it just so happened that they were passing through Samaria during dinner time. Therefore, Jesus sent the disciples into the nearest town to buy some food.
While the disciples were gone, Jesus waited at the local well to rest. There at the well…in the middle of the day…at the hottest point of the day…Jesus had an encounter with a Samaritan woman.
The way John tells this story, it seems that Jesus just “happened to be there at the same time” as the Samaritan woman. But Jesus did not think of this encounter as a chance or a random event. Jesus saw this as a God-given encounter…And used it for God’s purposes…
This has a theological significance for us today…God is at work in EVERY circumstance of our lives…God moves us and directs us into the places he wants us to go…God moves the right people into our lives at just the right times…
Think of your family members…Friends…Co-Workers…Classmates… God has placed these people in your life for a specific reason…

III. Jesus Was Willing to Cross Boundaries.
After meeting the woman for the very first time at the well, Jesus began to speak to the woman. It is important to note that Jesus took the initiative in the conversation. He asked her for a drink…If Jesus had not initiated the conversation, they would not have spoken. Given the circumstances of the woman’s life…I am almost certain that she would NEVER have spoken to Jesus first.
Just initiating the conversation was a big step for Jesus to take. And Jewish men and women of that day would have seen this as a really big deal. In fact, I usually like to imagine the disciples as they walked back up and saw Jesus speaking to this Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of broad daylight, out where everyone could see him…I’m sure they thought, “What has Jesus gotten us into this time?”
The disciples would have been shocked to see Jesus speaking to this woman, because none of them would have spoken to her…Jesus didn’t have to speak to this woman…The disciples would NOT have spoken to her…And no one would have questioned why the disciples were silent…
When Jesus spoke to the Woman at the Well, he overcame at least three boundaries.

1. She was a Samaritan…Jews did not speak with Samaritans…They were considered an unclean race…You will remember from Old Testament history that the Northern Kingdom of Israel was completely destroyed by the Assyrians, but the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken captive (or Exiled) by the Babylonians…When the Babylonians invaded Judah, they captured the strongest, the bravest and the best looking people and took them to Babylon as slaves…But they left the weak, the ugly and the disabled behind…These people who were “left behind” intermarried among the foreign peoples who lived in that region and established their own nation… When the Israelites finally returned to their land, they found it was already populated by these interracial people…These were the Samaritans…And the Jews wanted nothing to do the Samaritans…Even in Jesus’ day

2. She was a Woman…In Ancient Jewish culture, women were devalued as nothing more than just property belonging to a man…Daughters were property of Fathers…And Wives were property of Husbands…A woman had no identity of her own…Her purpose was to serve the needs of her man—either husband or father—there was no self-respecting man who would endeavor to have a relationship with a woman…

3. She was a Sinful Woman…We read that this woman had a very bad reputation in her town…She was known as a very promiscuous woman…She had been married five times and was now living with a man who was not her husband…Jesus could get a bad reputation just by associating with this woman…

This has theological significance for us today…God’s redemptive plan is intended for all the world and all people… For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life…It is never for us to decide who can and who cannot be saved…

IV. Jesus Was Sensitive to Genuine Human Needs.
Notice that Jesus did not begin the conversation by forcing the woman to listen to the Four Spiritual Laws or the Roman Road to Salvation. The first thing Jesus did was to LISTEN. He listened to her as she expressed what she was worried about and as she expressed her deepest felt needs.
Jesus listened to her needs, because Jesus came to meet her needs…He spoke the Gospel Message—the Good News—to her specific needs and concerns. He did not try to take a cookie-cutter approach to presenting the Good News, as if every person were exactly the same person.
Jesus knew this woman was different and took the time to get to know her and build a relationship with her. Then he was able to touch her life at the point of her greatest need…By listening, Jesus got to know two things about this woman…

1. She was involved in a Sinful Lifestyle…As I mentioned earlier, she was a promiscuous person…She had been married to five different men and was now living with a man who was not her husband…I can remember a time when we referred to this as “Living in Sin”…Now couples may choose this as a way to save money or to see if they have what it takes to get married…Did you know that recent research and census data indicate that the divorce rate is actually significantly higher for couples who marry after first living together?
Jesus was very aware of this woman’s sinful lifestyle, yet notice how he addressed her…Jesus did not condemn her or make her feel guilty even though we know that he did not approve…He addressed her problem as a search for satisfaction… Read vv. 13 – 14…Nothing else in this world can satisfy the cravings and desires of life like Jesus…Only Jesus can satisfy…

2. She was involved in a False Religion…Samaritans and Jews shared the same history and roots…Therefore, they held similar beliefs…However, the Samaritans rejected the Jewish understanding of God’s revelation—They had a different Scripture with different books…The Samaritans rejected the Jewish worship—They worshipped in a different Temple on a different site…
Again, this is a search for satisfaction in the wrong direction…Jesus looked beyond these issues and realized that her search for satisfaction could only be fulfilled in a Right Relationship with God.
This has a theological significance for us today…God’s redemptive plan meets all human needs. Ultimately, the greatest human need is to be in a Right Relationship with God. This relationship is only possible through Jesus Christ as Lord

V. Conclusion.
We have looked at one biblical story about an evangelistic encounter between Jesus and the Woman at the Well. The story shows us how Jesus witnessed to a woman who was no different from you and me—she was a sinner searching for satisfaction in all the wrong places.
Our community is filled with hundreds and thousands of men and women just like that—sinners who are searching for something that will satisfy.
Are you willing to share your faith like Jesus did?
Are you willing to look for God’s hand leading you to witnessing opportunities? Are you willing to listen to the aches and pains and hurts of your friends and family members? Are you willing to tell others that the only thing that can truly satisfy every longing of the human heart is a Right Relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord?
Maybe you are here this morning searching…Maybe you would like to take a sip of the Living Water that will quench your thirst and satisfy all your needs…

Sunday, April 30, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
April 29, 2007

This Is Love
1 John 4: 7-12.

I. Introduction.
One of the worst feelings that a person could experience is the feeling one has after discovering that they have been robbed. The feeling of knowing that their personal property or their place of security has been violated. I have only experienced this feeling a few times.
The time that I will never forget was the time that my car was stolen in Jackson, MS while I was refereeing a high school soccer game. (I shared some of this story with you a few weeks ago.) I was supposed to referee two soccer games that night, but one of the teams had to forfeit the second game. Shauna had come by to see me and was there to see me try to find my car.
She asked me, “Where is your car?” I answered, “It’s over there on the other side of that bus.” We walked over to it together and it was gone. I stood in the parking place looking all around the dark parking lot wondering if I had parked somewhere else. Then I started pointing at the ground saying, “I parked it right here. I parked it right here. I don’t understand. It should be right here.”
When we finally got the car back, it had been ransacked. All of my belongings had been removed, including the clothes that I had worn and changed out of the day I had been refereeing. In their place, the thief left his clothes.
Someone had taken what belonged to me and used it for wrong purposes, as if it had been his own. He took a part of my life that was significant, that actually meant something to me and changed it to the point that I could no longer use it, or even recognize it. And to top it off, the car was no longer driveable to me. We were faced with a situation of having to spend a lot of time and money just to reclaim what had once been my car.
Did you know that the same thing has happened in the church? We have been robbed of something that was once very significant to us.
Now, I’m not talking about TV’s, VCR’s, or any other kind of church property. I’m not even talking about money.
Every church in America has been robbed of its distinctively Christian language. The one word that I have in mind this morning is the word “LOVE.”
Our culture has so distorted and altered the meaning of the word “LOVE” that we can no longer use it, or even recognize it as being our word. The world has taken something that was at one time very significant to the church and used it for their purposes. It’s like getting into your own car and finding someone else’s clothes in it. You can’t even recognize it as your own car. But it is now time that we spend the time and the effort to recapture our word “LOVE.”

Read 1 John 4: 7 – 12.


II. Love Comes from God.
In defining love as a distinctively Christian word, we must begin in the Bible. This passage is one of the 2 most frequently used passages in the New Testament on love. It helps us to define what love is.
John began this pass by telling us that love must come from God. This is significant because it describes love as coming from the divine sphere. LOVE is not from the worldly sphere, rather it comes from God. Perfect love comes from above, not from below…Therefore, any love that comes from below must be imperfect, corrupt…Or, it must be based on the Love that comes from above.
Then, in the next verse, John tells us that God himself is love…God doesn’t only give love…God is love…Therefore, God has demonstrated Love to us by giving us nothing short of himself. This is significant for at least 2 reasons:
1) It describes God as being personal…Since we understand Love as a personal act, then God must be a person & must be concerned with relationships as priority.
2) It places the foundation for Christian ethics in the very nature of God himself…Christians are called to act & live according to God’s nature.
However, we still don’t have a working definition of LOVE. Until we define what Love is, we will not be able to understand John’s point. So what is LOVE?
My favorite def of Love is from a book on personal evangelism by Oscar Thompson Concentric Circles of Concern. Oscar Thompson defines love as “meeting needs.” In other words, if we love someone, it will be expressed by actively meeting their needs. But, does this definition fit with our Scripture?

Read v. 10
Here we see John’s definition of Love. Notice that v. 10 does not say “this is God’s love.” Instead, this verse is a description of true love or perfect love. Any love that originates within us as humans, cannot be perfect love. Perfect love always originates with God. Perfect love can be described by 3 ideas taken directly from v. 10:
1) Perfect love is always action, not feeling.
This is one place where the world has corrupted our understanding of Love. We can use Love in such a cavalier way that we can say things like, “I love hamburgers.” But perfect Love is always expressed in action Jesus did not say, “Greater love has no one than this that one have great affection for a friend.” Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this that one lay down his or her very life for their friends.”
2) Perfect love is always self-sacrificial.
Again, the world has corrupted us in this area. We are taught that love is a feeling that is based on the way someone makes us feel about ourselves. The world’s love is about receiving something enjoyable and / or fulfilling from the object of our love. But, perfect love has been revealed to us in the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. When God took the initiative to act on our behalf, he did so by making a personal sacrifice. Perfect love was not and is not based on how the lover feels.

3) Perfect love benefits other people.
It was not enough that Jesus died. In order for his self-sacrificial action to reveal perfect love, it had to benefit other people. And it did! We read in the Bible that Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s way of providing the means to reconcile humanity to God. Because of God’s perfect love, our sins were atoned for when Jesus died on the cross.

Therefore, perfect love is Action, not feelings; it is self-sacrificial, not self-serving; and it is for the benefit of others, not ourselves.

Perfect love then calls us to express 2 different kinds of love: to love Christians and to love the world


III. Love Calls Us to Love Christians.
I just finished reading a book entitled Breakout Churches: Discovering How Your Church Can Make the Leap. The book identifies 13 churches across the United States that were able to move from being good churches to becoming great churches. Thirteen churches were studied, and each church was compared to 3 other churches that did not make the leap. There were a total of 52 churches involved. In these 52 churches, the research team identified 172 conflicts that were taking place. Out of these 172 conflicts, the source of 171 was Christians not getting along with Christians. Only one conflict out of 172 was caused by non-Christians…

Read v. 11.

In this verse, John told his church & us today that our response to the divine love is to love one another. This refers to Christians loving Christians. The Greek employs a type of conditional sentence that affirms the reality of the condition mentioned. In other words, we could translate the word “if” as “since.” “Since God loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
We can “Love one another” only because God has revealed what perfect love is. However, we are faced with a problem. Our motives are so corrupt that even our best efforts at loving others can be self-serving. Therefore, we are forced to rely on a power and strength beyond us to enable us to love perfectly as God has first loved us.
Here is where faith enters in. If we separate loving actions toward others from faith in God through Christ, then we practice nothing more than concern for humanity…humanism…Salvation by Works… BUT…If we connect loving actions with our faith in God through Christ, then God gives us the Holy Spirit., who is the power of love to practice God’s kind of love toward each other. We can say this because we know that Perfect Love can only originate from God.





IV. Love Calls Us to Love the World.

Read v. 12
For a long time, I found v. 12 to be strange…It didn’t seem to fit the pass. I couldn’t figure out why John would introduce a new theme at the end of his paragraph. Why would he write about the invisibility of God? And why here?
I think John is trying to emphasize the Christian’s individual responsibility in the world. If God is perfect love revealed in the act of self-sacrifice on the cross on our behalf, and if we are only capable of truly loving as a result of the power of God within us, then loving the world is the way we as Christians can show the world who God is.
Love is the actualization of God in the world. In other words, when we love the world, we make God real. When we do not love, God remains abstract and invisible. And God was neither abstract nor invisible to John. In his theology, God is love: active, self-sacrificing and benefiting others.


V. Conclusion.
I know this will be a very silly story, but I think you can get the point. Imagine that you are sitting on the end of a pier fishing. It’s a beautiful day, and the fish are biting. You are having one of your best days of fishing you have ever had in your life.
Then, all of a sudden, someone else shows up. You don’t really want to share your fishing spot, but it looks like you don’t have a choice. But, this man doesn’t want to fish. He just wants to tell you that he loves you.
The man walks out to the end of the pier and gets your attention. He says, “I love you so much that I will jump off this pier, into the water and drown myself.” Is that what Love is? No. Love is active, self-sacrificial and benefits others. This man was active and self-sacrificing, but no one was benefited by what he did.
Now, imagine the story another way. What if you were actually in the water struggling to swim. You don’t think you will be able to make it back to the pier. Then, another person jumps into the water to save you. In the course of saving your life, this man drowns. Is that what Love is? Yes. Love is active, self-sacrificial and benefits someone else.

It is time that we reclaim our language from the thieves of this world. It is time to stop allowing non-believers to define for us what love is supposed to be.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
April 22, 2007

When Non-Christians Act Like Non-Christians…
Romans 1: 18 – 32; 1 Corinthians 6: 9 – 11; Galatians 5: 16 – 22.

I. Introduction.
I have no proof about what I am about to speculate. However, I believe, with the exception of September 11, this past week—the third week of April—is perhaps the deadliest week on the 52 week calendar.
Thursday, April 19 was the 12th anniversary of the bombing at the Alfred P. Murray Federal Building in 1995, that killed 168 people. That same day was the 14th anniversary of the U.S. government raid on the Branch Davidians outside Waco, TX in 1993. When the government raided the compound, the Branch Davidians set fire to the buildings and 81 people died. Then, Friday, April 20, was the 8th anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in which 15 people were killed.
These anniversaries did not receive as much news coverage this week, because they were overshadowed by the events that took place on Monday, April 16 at Virginia Tech. Twenty-three year old student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed 31 people and then took his own life.
The Virginia Tech shooting has captured the top story of most newscast for the past week. Some networks even dedicated several hours to cover the events and accusations. NBC made a controversial decision to broadcast pictures and video clips and excerpts from a package the killer mailed to NBC news the day of the shooting. This was controversial to some, because they feared that NBC actually gave the murderer the notoriety that he wanted. NBC chose to broadcast the materials in order to give more information about the person and some of his motives.
After reading through some of the materials that NBC made available, it was apparent to me that Cho was angry at the entire world. He singled out just two groups of people. He was angry at the “rich kids” who had everything. And he was angry at religion. He made statement against Christianity and made some veiled references to Islam.
The most amazing thing about the events at Virginia Tech and the information about the murderer is that no one was really surprised. Of course, we were shocked by the sheer brutality and the way the murderer showed no remorse for what he had done. But, we’ve been here before. This was not the first time we have lived through a tragedy like this, and it was not the first time we have seen this happen at a school.
Since we were not really surprised, it made me begin to think of this tragedy as a Non-Christian person acting like a Non-Christian.
Throughout the Bible, we find numerous lists of sins and activities that Non-Christians perform. I did not search through the lists in the Old Testament, but I did search the New Testament. I found that the Apostle Paul wrote nine lists of sins in his letters. I want to look at three of Paul’s lists this morning and find three responses to the statement “When Non-Christians Act Like Non-Christians…”
Paul’s first list comes in the letter that appears first in our New Testament. It was more than likely written at the very end of Paul’s life and career as a Christian missionary.

Read Romans 1: 18 – 32.
Romans contains the “most complete” theology written by the Apostle Paul. It follows a typical Pauline structure of theology and ethics. The first eleven chapters of Romans describes Paul’s theology, while the last five chapters describe a practical application of theology—How to live an ethical, Christian life in community with other Christians.
Some New Testament scholars refer to the book of Romans as “The Gospel According to Paul.” Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are Gospels in that they have written the narrative story of the life and ministry of Jesus. These books describe Jesus’ mission to bring about the Kingdom of God and to save all who would follow Jesus from the reign of Satan on earth. Romans, however, does not contain a narrative story of Jesus. Romans is a Gospel in the sense that Paul has written a theological treatise for those of us who live in the world AFTER the earthly life and ministry of Jesus.
We can say that Paul has written a Gospel, because the Greek word translated “Gospel” literally means “good news.” However, Paul begins the “good news” by first describing the “bad news.” The “bad news” is that we live in a world in which Satan has deceived humankind.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In this moment of creation, God established an order. There is night and day—a time to work and a time to rest. There is a week—six days to worry about human things and one day to worship the God of creation. There is synergy and interdependence among creation—plants and animals and earth and humans need each other for oxygen and carbon dioxide and life and food. God created male and female of every animal species and commanded humans to “be fruitful and multiply” and continue the circle of life on the earth.
Paul wrote about creation as a way that all humanity could know that there is a God and that the God of creation sustains life on this earth. God has a plan for his creation. God’s plan can be known by observing the created world around us. However, sinful humans have refused to live according to God’s plans. We have exchanged God’s ways for a way that we think is better—more enlightened, more tolerant, better suited for the 21st Century.
Notice how God responded to our rebellion: Romans 1: 24, “Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…”; Romans 1: 26, “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts…”; Romans 1: 28, “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind…” God gave us our way! We wanted to live contrary to God’s plan. And God gave us what we wanted.
This is the bad news. The world lives as if there is no God. There is idolatry (v. 25), homosexuality (vv. 26 – 27), envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, arrogance and disobedience to parents (vv. 29 – 30). This is bad news, but it is not the end of the story.

Read 1 Corinthians 6: 9 – 11.
Once again, we have read a list of sins from the Apostle Paul’s writings. The world lives as if there is no God. And, the world demonstrates this by acting out numerous sins that are contrary to the order that God created into the world and contrary to the laws and commandments God gave his people.
There are two things that I want you to notice in this passage. You are not going to like this first one. Paul says that people who live as if there is no God are sexually immoral, homosexual and GOSSIPS. It’s interesting to me that there are two places where the New Testament states that homosexuality is a sinful lifestyle. And in both references, Paul says that GOSSIP is just as evil. We will just have to revisit the sin of gossip in another sermon.
The second thing to notice in this Scripture is verse 11: “And that is what you WERE…” In other words, every Christian person worshipping in this room and in churches all over the world started out as a wicked and vile sinner. “That is what you WERE.” But through faith in Jesus, God has changed us into clean, holy and righteous men and women. We could not change ourselves. But Jesus has changed us. We used to act like the world. But now, we act like Jesus.
I suggest we could apply this to our current situation by saying: “When Non-Christians Act Like Non-Christians…Christians Should Act Like Christians.”

II. Christians Should Act Like Christians.
When the world around us acts like murderers and sinners, we should act differently. We act differently, because we are different. We have been washed, sanctified and justified by Jesus. We are clean, holy and righteous. We used to act like the world, but now we act like Jesus.

Read Galatians 5: 16 – 23.
This is the place where Paul makes his best case that Christians and Non-Christians live different kinds of lives. On one hand, there is a life that is controlled by the sinful nature. On the other hand, there is a life that is controlled by the Spirit of God.
The life controlled by the sinful nature is best characterized by the “acts of the sinful nature.” The life controlled by the Spirit of God is best characterized by the “fruit of the Spirit.”
The “fruit of the Spirit” is not something that you and I are capable of doing on our own power. No. The word “fruit” could also be translated “harvest” or “produce.” In other words, when we have been washed, sanctified and justified by Jesus, these are the things that God produces in our lives. AND…This is the way we are supposed to respond when the world lives as if there is no God.
When the world is filled with sin: hatred, murder, sexual immorality and gossip, we are supposed to respond with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We should be the first ones to respond to tragedy with tangible expressions of peace and kindness.

III. God Is Still God.
I suggest the second way we can say this morning is: “When Non-Christians Act Like Non-Christians…God Is Still God.”
What do you believe about God? Do you believe that everything that happens in the world today is God’s will? That is what the Muslims believe. They teach that everything that happens in the world was caused by God. That is why it is possible for a Muslim to fly an airplane into a building, killing thousands of innocent people and say that it is God’s will. God does not allow things to happen, God causes things to happen. And God only causes things to happen if those things are in fact God’s will.
The Christian view of God is somewhat different. We believe that the world lives as if there is no God. The world lives in rebellion against God’s plan and order for creation. Therefore, there are some things that happen which God did not cause to happen. Some things happen as a result of sin and rebellion.
What is it that makes God, God? Is it possible for God to stop being God? Is it possible that a tragedy can be so great that God is no longer God? The Apostle Paul answers this question with a verse from Romans that we have all heard quoted dozens of times.

Read Romans 8: 28.
Paul does not teach us that God causes all things to happen. Paul tells us that God is working “in all things”—even when we are witnesses to a senseless tragedy. God did not cause these things to happen. God is there—in the midst of tragedy—to bring about his good purposes.
I like to think of Romans 8: 28 this way: “Despite everything that happens, God is working for good…”
Despite everything that happens, God will receive glory…And the surest way for God to receive glory is for Christians to act like Christians…Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

IV. Jesus Is Still Jesus.
The last thing we can say this morning is that “When Non-Christians Act Like Non-Christians…Jesus Is Still Jesus.”
I shared this outline with several people this week as I prepared for this Sunday service. I joked with several people that I am doing something radical by preaching a “three-point sermon.” I even printed an outline in the worship bulletin this morning. Radical! I usually don’t print an outline, because my sermons don’t have points. I preach “pointless sermons.” As I shared this outline, one person asked the question: “Isn’t it redundant to say ‘God is still God’ and ‘Jesus is still Jesus’?”
I do not intend this to be redundant. God is still God, because God can work in all circumstances. Jesus is still Jesus, because Jesus is the only way our world will be changed.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph found out that his finance was pregnant. He spent an entire night trying to decide what to do. An angel of the Lord came to Joseph and told him that Mary’s child was from God and would be the Savior of the world. The angel instructed Joseph to go home, get married and name the baby “Jesus.”
In the Gospel of Luke, an angel of the Lord came to Mary and told her that she was pregnant. Mary was confused how this could even be possible. The angel told her that the baby was from God and that Mary should name the baby “Jesus.”
Why was it so important that this baby be named “Jesus?” Because the name “Jesus” is a form of the Hebrew word “Yeshua,” which means “salvation.” There is no other way to be saved. There is no other way to be washed, sanctified and justified. There is no other hope for you, for me, for the world we live in.
The last word for our sermon—and the last word for our world today—Jesus. You once lived like the world. But not any more. You have been washed, sanctified, justified…by Jesus.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
April 15, 2007

Jesus and the Tax Man
Luke 19: 1 - 10.

I. Introduction.
Lee Strobel was a confirmed Atheist. He had the best education offered by the secular world, including a Journalism Degree from the University of Missouri and a Law Degree from Yale. He spent thirteen years as a Journalist and eventually became the Legal Affairs Editor of the Chicago Tribune.
As a journalist and a lawyer, Lee Strobel had been trained to be a professional skeptic. He doubted everything, until it could be proven by the weight of evidence. And that is why he refused to believe in Jesus. He was not convinced that there was enough evidence to settle all his doubts.
In 1979, something strange and totally unexpected happened to Lee Strobel. His wife became a Christian and began asking him to attend church with her at the Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago.
Just one year later, Lee Strobel began a monumental quest to research and discover the truth about the Christian faith. His original intent was to prove that his wife’s new faith was not true and get her off his back about going to church and becoming a follower of Christ. He approached this project just like he would an in-depth article for the legal section of the Chicago Tribune. He traveled all over the United States to meet with experts and conducted hours of interviews to get all the facts about the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus.
Can you guess what happened as a result of all his research? On November 8, 1981, Lee Strobel decided that the evidence overwhelmingly proved that Jesus of Nazareth was the Incarnation of God himself…That Jesus died a painful and humiliating death on a Roman cross…That Jesus rose again on the third day…That the Christian faith was the truth. In Strobel’s own words, he discovered that “It would require much more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to trust in Jesus of Nazareth.”
Lee Strobel became a Christian that day. He later left his position with the Chicago Tribune to become Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek Church in Chicago and now serves in a similar position at Saddleback Church in California. He also sat down and wrote a book that details his interviews and research to help other atheists to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves to become followers of Christ. (The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.)
Lee Strobel’s story serves as an important reminder for us on this First Sunday After Easter. We have just celebrated the highest and holiest of all Christian holidays. Jesus died on the cross…Jesus rose again on the third day…What’s Next?
Lee Strobel discovered for himself that Jesus died and rose again. But he was not content just to understand the facts…He understood…Then he asked the question: Why Is This Important? What are we going to do next?
Our Scripture today is not taken from the biblical events that followed the resurrection…But it does illustrate Why Jesus died and rose again and What’s Next.
Read Luke 19: 1 – 10.


II. The Rich as Outcasts.

We usually associate the story of Zacchaeus with memories of our childhood and singing the song: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see…” But this is not a sweet, children’s story. This is a scandalous story of Jesus reaching out to the untouchables.
Since today is April 15, and Tax Day…Just imagine how you feel about paying your taxes. No one likes to pay taxes. We worked for the money, and we want to take home all the money we worked for. It was even worse in Jesus’ day. Zacchaeus was despised, and verse 2 indicates how despised Zacchaeus truly was.

Wealthy…This is very difficult for us to understand, because our culture looks at the wealthy differently than the ancient Jews did…Late Jewish theology had developed to an association of poverty with piety. In the previous chapter (18: 24f) Jesus had described the difficulty of the rich entering heaven. Wealth indicated independence & self sufficiency, even rebellious spirit…rebelling from religion. Poverty indicated dependence & need for God.

Tax Collector…Usually understood as traitor and a thief. Collected taxes for Roman Empire from Palestinians. They were not paid by government, but from what they collected. They collected tax plus profit.

Chief Tax Collector…Worse than simple tax collector. The Chief Tax Collector set the fees & contracted lower tax collectors (Publicans) to do the actual collecting. Zacchaeus, possibly had been so good at what he did that he rose to management.

Total package. Luke described Zacchaeus as everything necessary to be worst possible sinner. And the original audience would have recognized that.

Zacchaeus was highly criticized by the religious establishment. The Pharisees were separatists. They taught the Jewish people not to run around with “sinners.” Separate yourselves from all evil people.

Dominant theme in Luke’s Gospel involved outcasts as recipients of salvation…Women, children, blind, lepers, Tax Collectors. This was an important and welcomed theme to Luke’s readers…Readers were just like you and me…Gentiles, non-Jews who were previously considered left out of God’s plan of salvation…And Luke shows us that it is possible for both Jews and Gentiles to be saved…Poor and Rich…Men and Women…Jesus came that everyone might be saved.




III. Jesus Associated with Known Sinners.

When J. associated with Zacchaeus, the religious folk began to whisper. Jesus was “Guilty by association.”

There was a common belief that for a person to partake in ill-gotten gain was same as participating in (or at least giving approval to) the crime that brought it about. Therefore, Jesus was guilty in their eyes. They accused Jesus of being Zach’s partner.

But Zach. did not remain a sinner for long. A real change / conversion took place in his life. Jesus called him a child of Abraham.
Zacchaeus demonstrated fruit of his new kind of life.

Repaid fourfold. . .Jewish law only required additional 1/5
Gave away half his possessions to the poor.

There was a real change…A conversion that took place in his life…

When I use the word “conversion” I don’t necessarily mean sudden conversion…But a change ALWAYS take place when a person encounters Jesus.

For some this conversion takes place over a course of time, slowly…For Zach. it was sudden.

When a baby is born, there is a certain degree of suddenness. One day there are two, the next day there are three. But this is not a sudden change, it is a process that took at least nine months to complete.


Read Luke 19: 10.


IV. Jesus and the Lost.

How many times have we heard sermon or bible lesson on this story with Zacchaeus as the hero? Verse 10 turns this view completely around.

No longer is the story about Zacchaeus searching for Jesus. Jesus initiated salvation!
Nobody else knew that Zacchaeus was in the tree.
No mention in Luke or other Gospels that Jesus knew Zach.
Jesus invited himself to dinner (v. 5)
Son of Man CAME. . .Active.
Son of Man SEEKS. . .Active.
Son of Man SAVES. . .Active.

The story of Zacchaeus is a story that describes the two sides of salvation. On one hand, Jesus has come into the world to search for sinners. On the other hand, there is a distinct responsibility for each of us to “come to Jesus.” One of my favorite verses that captures this best is John 6: 44… No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…

There are always 2 sides to salvation…The Father must draw…The individual must come.

Jesus stood at the foot of the tree calling Zacchaeus. But Zacchaeus. put himself in that tree where Jesus could call, and Zacchaeus accepted the Savior’s call.





V. Conclusion.

This is what Easter was all about. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save all who are lost. Easter is about salvation…Salvation for you and me…Salvation for the world.

And guess who Jesus came to save…Jesus didn’t come to save the good, religious, and church going people of the world. Jesus came to save the outcasts of the world…Outcasts like you and me…Luke was assuring his readers that salvation had come to them, even though they were outcasts: Gentiles.

We even see this by observing Jesus, the places he went and the people he spent time with…Jesus did not spend most of his time inside the church with Christians. Jesus spent his time in the world with those who needed to hear his message of salvation.

If we are to be the light of the world, then we must live in the darkness of the world in order to be effective.



The story of Zacchaeus is not a sweet, children’s story. It is scandalous and offensive. If you find this to be offensive, so be it…There is no other Gospel.

Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
April 8, 2007 (Easter)

The New Beginning.
Mark 16: 1 – 8.

I. Introduction.
There are many things about Easter that I love. As a pastor, I love to have the church filled. I love the excitement in the air as children have eaten too much candy before church and are thrilled to search for colored eggs in the yard after church. I love the beauty of a light snow on the ground. But most of all, I love that Easter is not a federal holiday. I’m being serious. I enjoy having my mail delivered on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. It is a reminder that this is our holiday. Easter belongs to Christians only. This is not a worldly or commercialized event. Of course there are some worldly elements to Easter, like the chickens and rabbits and eggs. But Easter is more than a celebration of Springtime. Easter is the celebration of the single most important event in all of human history—the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I do not intend to reiterate the gruesome details of a Roman crucifixion. Let me simply say that the condemned person was beaten, mocked, stripped naked and nailed to a wooden cross. The pain experienced during crucifixion was worse than anything that human words could ever describe. In fact, the Romans invented a new word to describe the pain of the cross. It was not Agony. It was not Brutal. It was not Severe. It was Excruciating. This word Excruciating comes from two Latin words: ex (Out of) and crux (Cross) which mean “Out of the Cross.”
More than likely, the person being crucified would have been nailed to the cross by the wrists and the feet. Traditional art depicts Jesus as having nail prints in the palms of his hands. However, archaeology has revealed that the Romans put the nails in the person’s wrist in order to hold up to the person’s weight.
Have you ever bumped your “Funny Bone” and rolled around on the floor because it hurt so badly? The nerve that we call the funny bone runs through the wrist and would have been either smashed or severed by the seven inch spikes that were hammered into Jesus’ flesh.
This is only part of the pain that Jesus experienced on the cross. Yes, Jesus experienced excruciating physical pain. However, Jesus also experienced other pain that we might classify as emotional pain. Jesus was an innocent man. I don’t mean that he was innocent of the crimes he was accused of committing. Jesus was actually innocent in every sense of the word innocent. Jesus had never committed any sin. Although Jesus had been tempted in every way you and I are tempted today, Jesus had resisted temptation and remained pure. But Jesus was not crucified for his sins. He was crucified for your sins and my sins. Can you imagine the emotional weight and strain of having the guilt of the entire world placed on your shoulders? Many of us feel weighted down with our own guilt and sin. But Jesus felt the emotional weight of all guilt and sin.
On top of this emotional weight of guilt and sin, Jesus felt abandoned by all his friends in his moment of need. According to three of our Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—all of Jesus’ disciples ran away when Jesus was arrested.
Just a week before the crucifixion, Jesus had been surrounded by twelve disciples, a larger group of followers, a group of women and a crowd. Then just a day before the crucifixion, Jesus had made a bold prophesy—They will strike the shepherd and the sheep will flee. Jesus knew that all his disciples would run away when faced with danger. Of course, Peter did not believe this was possible. Peter jumped to his feet and announced in front of God and everybody, “Though everyone else might fall away, I will never fall away.” But that wasn’t exactly what happened. Peter ran away—just like Jesus told him he would. Then Peter even denied Jesus in front of others.
In the Gospel of Mark, the last words spoken by any disciple were Peter’s words: “I don’t even know this man.” And Jesus died on the cross, while his disciples said, “I don’t even know him.”
However, the cross was not the end of the story for Jesus. And denial, betrayal and running away was not the end of the story for Peter and the rest of the disciples. Just as Jesus had promised his disciples, he was crucified; but on the third day he rose again.

Read Mark 16: 1 – 8.

Mark began this story by telling us about three women who had been followers of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome. These three women had remained closer to Jesus than the disciples had. The disciples ran away. The women stayed at a distance and watched the crucifixion. There were two reasons why these women might have traveled to the tomb on the third day after Jesus was buried. First, they might have gone to the tomb to see if Jesus would keep his promise. On three separate occasions in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had predicted that he would be killed by the religious leaders and on the third day rise again. But these women were not wondering if Jesus would keep his promise.
They had watched Jesus die. They had watched as Jesus’ body was lowered from the cross. And they had watched as Joseph of Arimathea placed Jesus’ body in the tomb. There was one thing these three women knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. They knew that Jesus was dead. And they came to the tomb on the third day with burial spices in their hands. There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was dead. They were simply there to finish the process for burial. That is why they came. They had not come to see Jesus!
Jewish tradition was to place spices and perfumes on the dead body and then to wrap the body inside cloths. However, the circumstances of Jesus’ death prevented the women from preparing Jesus’ body for burial. Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath Day right before sunset. Jewish people mark time differently from the way we mark time. We think of a day as morning and night. Jews think of a day as evening and morning. The Sabbath Day begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.
Since Jesus died right before sunset at the beginning of the Sabbath, the women could not prepare Jesus’ body, because it would have been a sin for them to work on the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath ended at sunset on Saturday, the women chose to wait until early the next morning, because no one likes to walk through a cemetery after dark.
It was unusual for the women to come to the tomb several days after a person died, but in this case, it was the earliest possible time for them to anoint Jesus’ body for burial.
When the women arrived at the tomb, Mark tells us they saw a young man dressed in white. We should probably interpret this as an angel. Angel is the Greek word for “messenger.” Sometimes it can refer to a human messenger who was sent to communicate to other people. Other times it refers to a heavenly messenger who was sent to deliver a message from God. In this case, it is best to think of this young man as a heavenly messenger. He was there to report two things to the women. First, Jesus is alive! “He has risen! He is not here.” Second, he had a specific word of instruction: “Go tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
The message from the angel on the first Easter Sunday morning is an announcement. He has announced a new beginning.


II. New Beginning for Jesus.
The resurrection was a New Beginning for Jesus. Just three days earlier, Jesus had borne the weight of all the guilt and sin of the world on the cross. He had died at the hands of his enemies.
The Roman government was threatened by Jesus, because they thought he might be able to rally support from the Jewish people and lead them in a rebellion against the empire. The Jewish religious leaders were threatened by Jesus, because he taught a new interpretation of the Jewish Law. The leaders wanted to use the Law as a way of oppression and control over the people, and Jesus set people free from the Law. Satan was threatened by Jesus, because Jesus is God’s only Son. Jesus began his ministry by preaching about the Kingdom of God on earth. Satan didn’t like that, because Satan is the king of the earth.
When Jesus hung lifeless on the cross, it appeared that he had been defeated by his enemies. It was a good run. He preached a wonderful message of freedom from the Law and life under the Lordship of God himself. But if Jesus were dead, it was over. His enemies had won.
But the Enemies did not win…If death is a symbol for defeat, then resurrection is a symbol of victory…


III. New Beginning for the Disciples.
The resurrection was a New Beginning for Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of Mark does not show the disciples in very favorable light. Mark shows them as real human beings who had great moments, like when Jesus sent them out on a missionary journey to preach repentance and to cast out demons. But Mark also shows the disciples as men who were struggling to follow Jesus. James and John argued about which one would sit on Jesus’ right hand in the Kingdom. Peter failed Jesus by promising that he would never run away and then breaking his promise when Jesus was arrested.
But in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus kept all his promises. Peter couldn’t keep his promises, but Jesus could. Peter denied that he was a disciple and professed that he never even knew who Jesus was. But at the empty tomb, the angel gave the women specific instructions. Go find the disciples, and go find Peter. Go tell the disciples that they have a second chance. Go tell Peter that he can have a New Beginning.
There is nothing Peter could do to escape from the love and forgiveness of the cross. There is nothing that you can do either. No matter what you have done in your life. No matter what sins you struggle with. However you might have failed, you are never out of the reach of grace. You too can have a New Beginning. This is only possible because of the cross, and because of the empty tomb.

IV. New Beginning for the Gospel.
The resurrection is also a New Beginning for the Gospel. If you are reading from the New International Version, you will notice a parenthetical statement right after verse 8. It says: “The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not have Mark 16: 9 – 20.”
In New Testament translation, scholars like to use the oldest Greek manuscripts available. They have discovered that the older copies are more reliable. Just like you and I write in our Bibles, sometimes people would write in the margins of their copies of Scripture and over time, those notes got added to some of the copies. More than likely, that’s what happened to the end of Mark. The oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of this book end at verse 8.
It seems rather abrupt and a little bit awkward for Mark to end like this. But look with me at Mark 1: 1. Read Mark 1: 1.
Mark was not trying to write a complete Gospel about Jesus. He specifically told us in his very first verse, “This is just the beginning of the Gospel.” The Gospel has not ended. It is still being written, even today. You and I are supposed to complete the Gospel.
I think Mark has written an abrupt and awkward ending so that we will not be satisfied with what is written. We are supposed to ask questions. What did the women do? Did they ever deliver the angel’s message? If the women will not tell others about the resurrection of Jesus, who will tell?
We are supposed to tell. We are supposed to complete the Gospel by telling everyone we know that Jesus is alive!






V. Conclusion.

How much preparation did you put into Easter today? Did you buy new clothes for yourself and your family members? Did you cook lunch, or make a reservation at the country club? Did you polish your shoes? Did you decorate eggs? Did you tell anyone that Jesus is alive?
It comes as sort of a shock to read that the women said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. But that might just be our story today as well. The only difference…The women did not tell, because they were afraid. What about us? We have no reason to be afraid. Who needs to hear? And who among us is willing to tell the world about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus?