Previous Sermons

When Katlyn and I found out we were expecting another child, I thought to myself: we’re experts by now, what’s three kids compared to two? I mean, of course, we train our kids well, we get plenty of sleep, and we know what to expect. For me, I was not thinking of the verse where it says: “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” When Lucas arrived on scene, I can’t explain to you how hard things felt. He struggled with sleeping, he was unhappy most of the time, and I was convinced our poor son would never be content. To put it simply, we felt defeated even as we were so thankful to have another son. As we adjusted to life as a team of five, our connect group blessed us with prayer and encouragement. The Palmers brought us amazing enchiladas, Tammy got us Chick-Fil-A delivered, the Deardorffs faithfully prayed and coordinated efforts to help, Sue would often hold Lucas while he was fussy so Katlyn could eat, and Debbie played and interacted with our two other kids.

All that to say, those people’s kindness helped us through a really tough season – it wasn’t just a one-off event, it was an ongoing kindness that they displayed to us. And I’m thankful for it.

This experience made me wonder: how do folks without a robust support system ever make it through a hard season? On a Sunday morning, you may not have noticed that we were struggling but our group noticed. So I have a question (SLIDE): if your life fell apart tomorrow, who would be there for you and walk alongside you? Who can you let your guard down with instead of pretending everything is fine?

Today, we’ll be discussing a shift in the way our church makes disciples. Specifically, we’ll be talking about a shift with groups and give a brief picture of where we’re heading. And to set the stage, I’ll be reading from Acts 2:42-47 which may be a familiar passage for you.

Will you stand with me, if you’re able, as we read God’s Word?

I also need to be honest with you – there’s lot that could be said about all these verses. But, I’m just going to focus on two specific things because they’re most pressing for us today.

The Four Devotions

In Verse 42, it said the believers were devoted to four things. (SLIDE) If you’re feeling like, “great, another sermon about how I need to try harder.” My friends, that’s not what I’m talking about. Dallas Willard helpfully reminds us (SLIDE): “grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude of trying to merit God's favor, while effort is an action of cooperating with God. You do not work to be saved, but you do train to be transformed.” That means we don’t earn God’s love, we simply receive it for the free gift that it is. BUT, we also train like an athlete trains (Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 9) to become more like Christ. We devote ourselves to practices so that we may grow in an even deeper appreciation of God’s free love.

So, the early believers made every effort to practice four things:

1.      Apostolic Teaching

2.    Fellowship

3.    Breaking of Bread

4.   Prayer.

We’re going to tackle these briefly, one at a time:

1.      Apostolic Teaching: this was dedicated space to what the early leaders in the church were teaching about Jesus and his Kingdom. They would discuss the Old Testament, Messianic promises, and how they were to live their lives in a pagan society. The point is this: their focus was on Jesus and obeying what Jesus taught. They didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the walk.

2.    Fellowship:  this goes deeper than a fifth Sunday fellowship meal. The type of fellowship is this unique sharing that believers have with God and with each other. That meant the early believers could be real with each other and share their struggles and their joys. Why? They have received the free gift of God’s grace which frees them from the sinful trap of pride and judgement. Remember how I was feeling prideful that 3 kids would be super easy? This deep fellowship brings about humility because you have to admit your weaknesses. We encourage each other in obedience but never think we’re a more serious Christian than someone else if we’re further along. We carry each other’s burdens because that’s what Christ did for us. We celebrate each other’s joys because that’s what Christ does for us.

3.    Breaking of Bread: In Acts, most folks generally agree that breaking of bread points to: a shared meal together as well as communion. The two happen together – communion reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice that brings unity into the church. And the shared meal together is where real fellowship, real sharing, and real relationships can take place.  It’s essential to a healthy community of believers. The Table is a sacred place in the Scriptures – after all, Revelation points us to a future reality where we will be seated at a table at a banquet put on by Jesus. And when we sit together at a table today, we’re practicing what our eternity will look like and bringing a little bit of heaven down to earth.

4.   Prayer: the believers would pray for each other – pray for breakthroughs and boldness in their lives. As they shared real life with each other, they took the time to commit to pray each other rather than just saying: “I’ll be praying for you.” Does that mean believers stumbled through awkward prayers or felt completely incapable of praying? You bet. Did God still respond to those prayers? You bet. The community was marked by a commitment to prayer for each other which is how they loved each other but also prayer for others to come to faith in Christ.

Those are the four devotions of the early believers. So, my question is: how do we stack up as believers? Are these devotions present in our church life today? Could we become even more devoted to these four practices? I want us too – why? Look at the fruit: they ate with glad and sincere hearts while praising God. They were there for each other. I want that for every single person here. And Acts 2 shows us what the church was like in its healthiest moment. If you know Acts well, you’ll know that the rest of the story shows some real challenges in the church. But, Acts 2 is a moment of what’s possible when a group of believers are devoted to these four things.

There’s one other area where Acts 2 can teach us something today. We described the four practices the believers were devoted to but where did they happen? Verse 46 gives us that answer.

Two Rooms ((SLIDE)

What does verse 46 say? Every day, they continued to meet together in the Temple AND they broke bread in their homes. Why both places? Was one better than the other? No, they needed both.

They gathered at the temple for group teaching and then scattered into houses across the city. They weren’t all at one house because there were over 3,000 believers at this time.

So even at its healthiest moment, the church needed two meeting spaces: one for larger gatherings and one for smaller, more intimate gatherings. In the larger gatherings, they would follow a format similar to what we follow today and what Jewish worship in the Synagogue would practice: a time of singing, the reading of the word, a sermon or reflection, and prayer. There are opportunities for people to use their spiritual gifts. But, at the same time, larger gatherings make it more difficult to experience richer fellowship with each other, to really practice loving and serving one another, and point people to Jesus based on their unique circumstances.

So, that’s why the church would have two meeting spaces. So, who wants to begin meeting daily as a community? I kid but this gives us an idea that both spaces have immense value in our discipleship journey and community life. We can become so protective of our me time that we instead become lonely, we need community. We ask ourselves: what am I getting out of it instead of what do I have to give? Let’s be participants, not consumers. Acts 2 doesn’t dictate that we meet daily but it gives us a good framework that we need both meeting spaces and we need regular meetings too.

Based on all that, I want us to transition and discuss the shift of discipleship and groups here.

Symptoms of Our Discipleship

When I first started in this lead pastor role, I really wanted to get an idea of how the ministries and groups of our church were doing. I wanted to hear from everyone what was working, what wasn’t working, and what could be better. So, I met with every leader and began to notice some themes when I was talking to our group leaders. Themes like these: (SLIDE)

·      Leadership of the group was often concentrated in one person – which made it difficult for that person to lead an impactful study, care for the members of the group, and plan ways for the group to share Jesus with others.

·      Group members have different expectations for group life (some want a lot of vulnerability, others just want friendship)

·      There was no long-term plan for spiritual formation or regular opportunities for the group to serve together.

·      Some groups were unintentionally competing with each other for the same pool of people.

·      Group life for some folks felt more like an obligation than a joy with no end in sight.

These were alarming themes to discover but they revealed something deeper: our vision for discipleship relies on a small handful of experienced leaders carrying the load instead of the entire body engaging in the discipleship process. The apostle Paul reminds us that the church is to function like a body working together and if folks are to grow in their discipleship, we need to have areas where they can grow.

So if the mission of the church is to make disciples, how do we do that here? In the next few months, I’ll be sharing with you a vision for a deeper and wider discipleship. But first, we need to make a shift with our groups before other things.

Where We’re Heading

In September, we’ll be launching four brand-new community groups. Community groups are going to be different from the ways we’ve done “connect groups, life groups, etc.” in the past. Here’s how: (SLIDE)

1.      Shared leadership: there will be 3 leaders per group who are responsible for spiritual formation, pastoral care, and outreach or service opportunities.

2.    Mixed-gender and household based: in most cases, you’ll join a group with your spouse if you’re married. Group size will be capped at 12 people.

3.    Groups will meet 2x a month in someone’s home.

4.   Groups will welcome people in every stage of life which means childcare will be provided by members of the group. That way, parents of children can participate and children are welcomed.

5.   Lastly, as much as possible, community groups will be organized based on geographical proximity.

6.   (SLIDE)Groups will spend time eating together (Dinner or dessert), discussing Scripture together with an emphasis on obedience (not just talking about God), praying for one another’s needs intentionally, and will, throughout the year, serve together in some capacity.

a.   All of these practices come right from Acts 2: fellowship, eating, apostle’s teaching, and prayer. Serving is what marked the church in the rest of the book of Acts which is why its included.

Acts 2 saw a high level of commitment by the early believers. We’re asking for a specific version of that here too – not because it’s biblically commanded but rather, wise given our current realities. If you want to join one of these, you’re committing to a few things: (SLIDE)

·      Regular attendance of the groups (80% of the meetings). Community groups will be 2x a month during the school year and in the summer, meet 1x a month for more laidback gatherings.

·      Honesty about life’s struggles and joys instead of the Christian façade that I’m so blessed. If you want to stay surface level with people, CGs are not for you.

·      Honoring other people’s honesty by not gossiping or sharing things outside of the group.

·      Getting out of your comfort zone by discussing Scripture + praying for others, out loud. I’m asking you to go deeper in discipleship.

In walking through this with the board, we believe this shared leadership model will allow more of you to use your gifts. This will also allow your leaders to adequately focus on their areas of influence. Spiritual gifts. And by providing childcare, we ease the barriers that usually prevent families with kids from participating in this. Generational ministry.

Will this magically bring revival? No. Will you share your deepest wounds with someone on the first night you meet? No. Will everything work out perfectly? No. But here’s what I have been praying and believe will happen, over time: You will grow and be challenged in your faith. You will develop real honesty with other believers who love you even though they know your struggles and pain. You will find ways to serve others and serve people in your group.

A few very practical things (and these may be hard to hear) before I invite you to sign-up for a community group:

1.      In talking with Dan, Kathye, and Carolyn, the men’s and women’s group will no longer be meeting regularly. Those groups served a great purpose and I’m thankful for their leadership over the years. But, they’ve also carried that load single-handedly for a while and were sensing it was time for a change. Instead, those leaders would encourage you to sign up for a community group. Our men’s and women’s ministry will still exist: there will still be retreats and there will still be regular events but the 2x a month group times will be no more. If you’re a part of a community group, there will also be times for you just get together as the men or the women.

2.    The Breakfast Bunch Connect Group: you guys are not impacted by this at all. Continue to feast and fellowship at the Abbottstown Diner!

3.    If you belong to Jeff & Elaine’s Life Group or our table group, you will remain in that group but also welcome a few new members too. No need to do a thing.

4.   We’re launching with 4 groups so that means we have space for 48 of you. The shared leadership model will come in-time but for a few weeks, there will be just one household as the leader of the group. They’ll work closely with me in transitioning over to shared leadership.

5.   Your first few meetings are just going to focus on hearing each other’s story and relationship building. So, picture food, sharing, and prayer.

6.   If you decide that joining a community group isn’t a good thing for you in this season, be at peace. My invitation is simple: if you believe in this and are excited about it, jump in!

How to Join a Group (SLIDE)

So if you’re hearing what I’m saying and thinking to yourself: “Yes, I want to be a part of that.” In the past, groups were often closed or by invite only and I think that was a mistake. We’ll be doing it differently this time. So, here’s what you can do. In front of you, there is a “Connect with Us” card – you can pull it out. You can either fill it out with a pen or scan the QR code.

As you’re filling it out, select that you want to join a community group. If you scan the QR code, you’ll also see that it’ll ask you what days and times would work best for you to join and if you’ll need childcare. That’s helpful info because I’ll be working to try to match up schedules and rhythms. If you’re filling out a connect card with a pen, just write that info down instead.

Once you have it complete, drop it in the offering box in the back. You’ll have two weeks to sign up (this week and next week) because we’ll be launching these in September and I’m asking you to commit to trying it until Next Spring. If you have questions before you sign up, please text, call, email, or come talk to me. If you have negative feedback about this, please text, call, email, or come talk to me – I want to hear this.  

And so, I asked at the start: if your life fell apart, who'd be there? Who could you be honest with? A Community Group won't answer that perfectly, and it won't answer it on night one. But it's a real place to start building the answer.

Who here is great at determining what you really need? We say we really need something all the time or that we really need some sort of situation to improve. When I was in high school, I became really interested in music production and by really interested, I mean obsessed.

I can remember begging my parents to let me use their credit card to buy some music production software. I told them I really needed it to make my dreams become a reality. I was convinced that if I had that software, music production would be easy, and I’d be off to the studio with Kanye West. Finally, my parents caved. I can remember inputting my dad’s credit card number on the computer and giving them some of my precious cash. I downloaded the software, giddy with excitement and big dreams. I opened it up and behold: it was extremely clunky and the music didn’t come as easily as I thought it would. A few weeks later, I still couldn’t figure out how to use the software and as you can tell, I’m not a music producer – I’m a pastor. So, that dream of mine didn’t pan out.

I share that because I thought I knew what I really needed and when I finally got it, I found out that what I actually needed was something better. In fact, the giddy excitement I first had slowly wore off and I found myself longing for something else. I don’t think I’m alone in this. We convince ourselves that we really need something, only to get it and become discontent after awhile. So, you think you need to say these affirmations, get a raise at work, have a perfect/healthy marriage, or clean up a habit but when you finally get those things, you’re less content.

You can’t seem to fix things on your own or will yourself into perfect bliss. That’s because you need more than better circumstances or a new thing: you need life-saving surgery from Christ and baptism celebrates your new life! (Repeat)

Today, we’ll be heading to Colossians 2:11-15 to drive that point home as we prepare to baptize four people later this morning. If you’re able, will you please stand as we read God’s word together?

The Hunt That Never Satisfies(Verse 13)

In verse 13, Paul uses some strong language: “dead in your sins” and “Your sinful nature was not yet cut away.” What does he mean by that? Practically, being dead in your sin shows up as misplaced worship or giving your heart totally to someone or something. You serve a god of self-improvement, achievement, being accepted by others, or being in total control of your life. In our sinful nature, we become enslaved by those things. Those things tell us we really need something but they only end up disappointing us.

If you serve a god of self-improvement, you convince yourself that what you really need is to hit a certain weight goal, say a few positive affirmations each day, or meditate every morning. But, how do you feel when you miss a workout, miss a goal, or skip meditation? Horrible. You may double down and work harder but you’re always going to make a mistake. Self-improvement can be a good thing but it can’t be your ultimate thing.

Or if you serve a god of achievement, you may convince yourself that what you really need is to get that promotion, get all A’s in school, or hit that salary number. When you finally get that promotion or salary number, do you feel content or do you want more? You want more. How do you feel if you lose your job or get a C in school? You’re crushed. Working hard and achieving good goals can be a good thing but it can’t be your ultimate thing.

Maybe your god isn't self-improvement or achievement — maybe it's being liked, or being in total control of your life. Same pattern: it feels like security until someone criticizes you, or until life spins outside your control, and then you fall apart. 

In the Old Testament, there’s a king of Israel who illustrates this so well: Solomon. He has power over an entire empire, he’s achieved so much by building the temple + expanding Israel’s Kingdom, and he has more money and pleasure than he knows what to do with. And was he content? No, Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s personal handbook on wisdom he’s acquired and he says this from the NLT: “ But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”

Solomon thought he needed one thing but he needed something better. His longing and your longing is good but it’s misplaced. And if you’re thinking to yourself: “I don’t agree with what this guy is saying.” I have a question I’d love to ask you: when’s the last time your achievements, your self-improvement, your wealth, your popularity, or whatever actually satisfied you longer than a week? (Repeat)

If you’re like me, none of those things have satisfied. Our hearts long for something or someone better and Colossians 2 shows us who that is, let’s keep moving to what we really need.

What We Really Need (Verses 12-15)

Colossians 2 tells us what we really need and it’s not optimization, self-help, achievement, or anything like that. What we need is life-saving surgery from Christ.

Since we’re dead in our sins, we can’t do this on our own. It requires Jesus. Why?

He’s the one who performs life-saving surgery at the cost of his own life. Colossians 2:14 tells us that there is a record of charges that God has against us – if we’re all honest with ourselves, we know this at a deep level. When we serve those other false gods, we’re indirectly hating the true God – telling him: “thanks for my life but I’ll live it my own way.” We skirt around the truth, we have all gotten unrighteously angry at someone, we’ve put our needs above other people’s needs, we’ve judged people before we’ve even said a word to them, we’ve lusted over others, and we’ve desired other people’s stuff or their lives. These are the records of charges or sins that God has against us. We’re the ones who have the problem, we’re the ones who cause the misery in our world.

He's the God of the universe — he has every right to hold us accountable, and yet we hate the very commands meant for our flourishing.

So, what does God do? Does he tell us: “you’re too far gone. You’ve blown it.”You better get you’re act together before I talk to you.  No – in Romans 5:8, we read: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Colossians 2:14 tells us Jesus nailed those offenses to the cross. On the cross was my own record of debt — every rebellion, every sin. Jesus didn't erase it quietly. He nailed it up for everyone to see, stamped paid in full, because he paid it with his own body. For everyone in here, there is a record of debt – have you let Jesus pay for it?

In verse 15, things get even better. And the powers that held you — sin, death, fear, anxiety, false gods, everything that's ever had a claim on you — got marched through the streets in defeat, stripped of their armor, in front of the whole watching universe. What looked like Rome killing a criminal was actually God settling your debt and winning a war, at the same time, in the same act. Jesus can set you free from all those powers – have you let Jesus set you free? As the great surgeon, Jesus didn’t just settle your debt – he conquered the things that actually kept you a slave and dealt with the things that were killing you. That’s why he’s a better God than anything else – those other gods will always disappoint you and use you but Jesus will not,.

Why can we trust Jesus to pay for our sin, set us free from those things that enslave us, and give us new life? Because, Jesus didn’t stay dead. Sure, Jesus did amazing things when he walked around Galilee 2,000 years ago – he made blind people see, he healed the sick, he cast out demons, and he brought the dead back to life. But those amazing things were only signs to show his power and authority as God in the flesh. His greatest sign was not staying dead: three days later after being murdered, Jesus came back to life – demonstrating his power and victory. He’s reigning as King now and one day, he’s going to return to make all things right and to fully usher in his kingdom where every tear will be wiped by the savior, where every evil and injustice will be punished, where every physical, mental, or emotional disability will be totally restored, and where every believer of Jesus will praise God for his amazing love, power, and kindness that made all of that possible. Jesus’ kingdom is open to every single person in the world, regardless of race, social status, wealth, or age – will you join it or be his enemy? He died for you as his enemy, come to the winning side.

This present and future reality is what we celebrate when we gather as the church. And it’s what we’re doing today too…

What Today is All About (Verse 12)

Remember verse 12 from when we read at the start? “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.”  That’s what we’re celebrating today – people who were dead but because they’ve trusted in the mighty power of God who raised Christ from the dead, they’ve been raised to new life.

Baptism is about showing the world and the church what’s been true in these people’s lives: new life is possible through faith in Christ. New life and freedom is possible because of the great love of God that has the power to heal, save, and restore broken people everywhere.

For folks who are being baptized, this is a serious and life-changing day. It’s the day where you commit in front of all these people that your total allegiance is given to King Jesus who brought you from death to life. It’s a day that should be celebrated and remembered for as long as God gives you breath. It’s a day where they acknowledge that Jesus isn’t just their savior, he’s also their Lord – with the Spirit’s help, they’ll pursue obedience as well. And it’s such an honor and joy to be here with you today.

For those of us who are followers of Jesus today, this is a day where we can do two things:

1.      Roar with thunderous applause after each baptism as we celebrate with our brother and sister taking this step of faith. Clap, shout for joy, and celebrate that hell has lost another one and that Jesus Christ has freed someone from bondage and sin. This should be one of the high points of our year as a church family, let’s treat it like one! Tell the folks getting baptized that you’re proud of them, that you’ll be praying for them, and you’re always here for them.

2.    Join with me in prayer that we would see more baptisms through our church. Let us not be content with seeing 4 baptisms (although this is an amazing testimony) – let us pray that more folks would come to faith in Christ and know they’re dearly loved.

If you are not a follower of Jesus today, why not change that today? You don’t have to have everything figured out, you don’t have to clean yourself up, and you don’t have be perfect. If you’re tired of those false gods disappointing you, let Christ perform his life-saving surgery. You don’t need better circumstances, better jobs, or better relationships – you need Jesus. Towards the end of our time together, I’ll pray for you specifically and invite you to talk to a few friends and myself who would be honored to pray for your specific needs as well.

So with all that said, let’s start baptizing some folks!

When’s the last time any of you have ever played with Legos? Just over a year ago, I was in Honduras with Compassion. I was helping to lead people from Community Christian Church in Illinois visit Living Love church in Honduras where they’ve sponsored a few hundred kids there. The area was extremely poor, and most families lived in tin shacks about the size of our tech booth in the back. So, Community planned a VBS day for the kids of the church. There were around 150 kids that day and only 10 volunteers from Community so myself and two of my co-workers also stepped into help and I was paired up with a group of 8-year-old boys.

At one point, those boys were given Legos but they had never seen Legos before – if you’re a family in poverty, toys aren’t really a thing. Some of the boys got it fairly quick but there were two boys I remember: Bryan and Kevin who didn’t. They seemed like they didn’t really know what to do with the Legos and they needed help. Thankfully, I had been assigned to their table and could help. So, Bryan, Kevin, and I spent the next hour building Legos together and conversing as best we could. Looking back at that trip, this was the high point for me because it was a God-ordained moment as I prayed that God would give me intentional time with just one kid that day. And it was a moment where a child needed help with a simple thing and I could share in that time with them I was reminded of Wess Stafford’s quote that “every child you encounter is a divine appointment” as I played with Legos in Honduras.

But this story got me thinking about how children are so different than adults. Bryan felt no shame in receiving help from me. He didn’t question me when I showed him how they work. But as adults, what’s a common thing we say? “I don’t need any help, I’m good” when in fact, you are far from good. Or, the old adage of “you should pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” As adults, we are terrified of looking silly, weak, or unsure. Bryan and Kevin, in Honduras, were totally fine with it.

Why am I telling you this story? Well, as we just read, we read about how Jesus welcomes the little children and then how he commands his followers (adults) that they need to be like children if they want to live life in the Kingdom of God. What does that mean?

Today, we’ll see that: Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get stronger. He’s meeting you in your weakness (REPEAT)

What do I mean by Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get stronger?

Jesus Isn’t Waiting for You to Get Stronger

What happened at the start of the story? Jesus’ friends were arguing about who were the greatest. Elsewhere, John and James boldly ask Jesus to sit beside him on his throne. They were fixated on seeing who was the most gifted or who was Jesus’ favorite. Later in the story, they start sending children away who have come to see Jesus. Why would they send children away?

In this culture, children aren’t important, useful, or strong – especially small kids. Small kids need a lot of attention, food, and energy to keep alive and healthy. The disciples wanted their teacher, Jesus, to focus on people who are more important in their eyes – in our bibles, you know what story comes after this? The Rich Young Ruler – to the disciples, the rich young ruler is who Jesus should be interacting with. He has power, wealth, and status unlike children. And yet, children are who Jesus wants to spend his time with.

Naturally, Jesus’ disciples didn’t get this though. And for some of us, it’s the same way. From a young age, we’ve been taught to be strong and we’ve been taught that relying on others can be a sign of weakness. As adults, we dislike admitting that we can’t do things on our own so instead, we try to do it on our own anyways and fail miserably. Unfortunately, we can carry that into our relationship with Jesus. Rather than admitting our weaknesses and freely receiving the gift of Christ’s love, we try to contribute to it. That takes us to two places:

1.      When we mess up and sin or fail to live up to our behavioral expectations, we worry that God is mad at us and will never forgive us.

2.    We do the right things and proudly judge others who do not, adopting the elder brother mentality in the story of the prodigal son who only obeyed because he wanted his dad’s stuff not because he loved his dad.

Both of these places destroy your soul. But, Ephesians 2:8 is clear: we are saved (ie. made right with God) by grace (undeserved mercy and given blessing) through faith (trust)in Jesus Christ not by works so that no one will boast. That means God forgives you even when you mess up. And since you have nothing to do with it, you can’t judge others because you’re not better than them.

Jesus won’t work in your life if you feel like you need to clean yourself up before you come to him. Jesus won’t work in your life if you feel like his love for you varies day by day or depends entirely on your obedience. And Jesus won’t work in your life if you can’t humble yourself and admit there are parts of you that you just cannot fix on your own. Where does Jesus work then? He works and demonstrates his power through our weakness like Paul says in 2 Corinthians.

When we bought our pop-up camper, there were a few projects I wanted to get done: things like, repack the corner caps, replace some vinyl stripping, and replace the tires and re-pack the bearings on the trailer. I’m not the handiest guy in the world but thankfully, my dad is. He eagerly stepped in to help and over a few days and a few trips to Lower’s, we had Yuma in great shape.

So, my friends, Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get stronger. He eagerly wants you to come into his arms right now. That’s what makes his interactions with the kids so spectacular right now – they can’t give towards Jesus ministry, they can’t preach a sermon yet, and they can’t leave everything to follow him. That’s why I say kids aren’t the future of the church, they are the church right now. They have a purpose right now, not in the future.

And it’s the same for you, my dear friends. If you’re a person who has been feeling like you need to get better before you come to Jesus, stop believing that lie. Remember Jesus’ words: “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, it’s the sick.” Take time to pray today to go through the tax collector’s prayer: “Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner.” That is a prayer that God always answers and a prayer that he loves to answer.

When you do humble yourself, you are obeying Jesus’ command that we should be like the little children. And when we come to Jesus with empty hands, deep need, and an admittance that we can’t do this on our own – what does he do?

He’s Meeting You in Your Weakness

He meets you in your weakness. As I’ve said, children are needy and that’s okay. They can’t fend for themselves. If I told Jude at this age, “Son, you’re up for making dinner tonight” – it would be a disaster. He can’t do that yet because he is a child but things change a bit if he says: “Daddy, I can’t do that. Can you help me?” Guess what? I’d love to help him rather than watch as disaster unfolds when a 3-year-old gets access to knives, stovetops, and more all alone.

So it is with our relationship with Jesus. When we take that step of faith to admit we are weak and that we are helpless to perfect obey God’s commands, Jesus steps up ready to help us. How? Scripture tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. That sounds like when we were weak and when we didn’t want God, that’s precisely the moment when Christ dies for us – when we least deserve it. And Dane Ortlund, in Gentle and Lowly wrote: “It is the most counterintuitive aspect of Christianity, that we are declared right with God not once we begin to get our act together but once we collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will.”

That’s why Jesus places the children on his lap and blesses them. They are weak and needy but they are full of child-like trust. They take Jesus at his word and believe that he loves them even if they are weak. They take Jesus as his word and believe they matter even if they don’t have anything to give. In the Kingdom, power isn’t found in strength – it’s found in weakness.

So, adults, take an example from the children. You’re weak and needy. Quit denying it and instead embrace it. It’s there where Jesus can truly transform you. [Pause]. Some of you have failed in the same area again this week and you're wondering if Jesus is tired of you. He's not. How can you be sure? Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us:

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Since Jesus is human, he knows what you’re going through but unlike you, he overcame temptation, sin, and death. Because of that, he is the one uniquely positioned to come to you in your time of need. And because of his great mercy, you can approach him confidently with an assurance that your sins can be forgiven and that you will receive help when you need it. You may be thinking “That seems too simple, Anthony.” This is another reason we are to be like children. Adults, we complicate things. Children simplify things and Hebrews simply shows us what we should do when we mess up. We don’t run away from God. Instead, we run towards the one who has the power and authority to forgive us and the one who, out of mercy and love, wants to forgive us.

Application

So, my friends, if Jesus meets us in our weakness, then the most Jesus like thing we can do is meet the children of this church in theirs. That means we need to invest in the lives of the kids here. But, why do any of this? Why are we doing dedications? What’s at stake? Over the years, a lot of studies have been done as to how faith gets passed on from one generation to next. One incredible data point I want to share with you is: that 63-83% of Christians today came to faith in Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. Full stop.

I want to live by Spirit and Truth. And that data point is truth. So, this is why I believe it is essential for us as a body to continue to invest in kids.

We did that earlier today by sacrificially giving to update their physical spaces but I want to get extra practical and give you three ways to meet children in their weakness:

1.      Pray for the children (and their parents) of this church by name often. You can pray that they would come to faith in Christ, know that they are treasured, that they would discover and use their spiritual gifts in the Kingdom, etc.

2.    Serve in KidsQuest (Little Scouts or Explorers) where you can encourage, teach, pray with, and just be present to a kid. We’re always looking for more volunteers in this area. And if I may be so bold, men – why aren’t there any of you in this area? Investing in kids isn’t just for women – if Jesus did it, you can too.

3.   Welcome them like Jesus: things don’t have to be complicated. I played Legos with Bryan and it was a gift. Give a kid a high-five, get down to their level and ask them questions, and be okay with their loudness! View children not as a burden but as a blessing.

Wess Stafford said: “Children are more than we think they are; they can do more than we think they can do. All they need is a vote of confidence from grownups, whom they will ultimately replace anyway. Their dream today will become the realities of tomorrow.”

So if we want to see revival in our day, we need to invest in kids. If we want to see this church and the big church thriving for years to come, we need to invest in kids.

But, you have to believe that and want that. And my friends, Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get stronger, he’s meeting you in your weakness. In the same way, he’s not waiting for tomorrow to build his church, he’s doing it today through the lives of the kids in front of us.

With that in mind, we’re going to transition to a time where we do pray and dedicate two great kids…

Back in the 1700s, there lived a British man named Robert Robinson. Robert was born to two Christian parents in England. Sadly, Robert’s father died when he was just eight years old. Like many kids who lose a parent at a young age, Robert’s life was hard and he unfortunately fell into trouble and got involved with a gang in London when he was a teenager.

One day, the gang thought it would be funny to go hear some crazy preacher named George Whitefield. If you’ve ever been an edgy teenager, you get this – it’s cool to make fun of people who have funny (in your opinion) beliefs. But the joke was on Robert Robinson because during George Whitefield’s sermon, the Holy Spirit convicted Robert of his sin and he professed faith in Christ as his savior.

At the young age of 22, he penned one of my favorite hymns giving us a glimpse into his own testimony. That hymn is Come Thou Fount and some of the lyrics go like this:

2 Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;

and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.”

In my early days as a Christ follower, I heard the word “Ebenezer” and was confused. Why is the song talking about a Christmas Carol character? But, I then realized Ebenezer was something found in the bible that carries a significant meaning in the Old Testament but I also think it holds significant meaning to us as a church right now.

As we start a new season here at HBIC, I know we are really excited about the future. But in our excitement, I want us to also look to the past to see the hand of God in our lives and through this church so that we can move forward expecting to see God’s hand even more. During our time together, we are going to see three reminders from Scripture today:

1.      Seek the Lord and he will show up for you.

2.     Stay strong by remembering God’s faithfulness in the past.

3.     God’s faithfulness emboldens us to serve him in the future.

To that end, we’re going to be opening our bibles up to 1 Samuel 7. While we get ready to read, some important context is needed as the Old Testament is often a bit harder for us to jump right into:

1.      Currently, Israel is in a time of being ruled by Judges – think of them as governors who were responsible for Israel’s safety and allegiance to Yahweh. Israel continues to fall into dark seasons of deep idolatry and destructive sin. As a result of their rebellion, God allows the Philistines to defeat the Israelites in battle (Knowing that the defeat would humble the Israelites to repentance).

2.     We’re going to read about Samuel – who was the final Judge of Israel before Saul became king. Since Samuel was a baby, he was set apart to serve the Lord after his mother, Hannah, in a touching prayer begged the Lord for a son.

3.     At this time, Israel still possessed the Ark of the Covenant – which housed the Ten Commandments. God’s presence dwelled there. The Philistines stole away the Ark but are giving it back to Israel after Yahweh began to inflict the Philistines with tumors and disease for their sin. So, we are going to pick up the story with the Israelites getting the Ark back.

So, let’s read God’s Word together.

Read 1 Samuel 7:1-12

Since God’s Word is active and alive today, this story from three thousand years ago still applies to us today. So, let’s dig in. Our first lesson we can learn from Scripture is this:

Seek the Lord and he will show up for you.

Earlier in 1 Samuel, the Israelites go against the Philistines – they bring the Ark of the Covenant to the battle, not out of a desire to be with the presence of God. Rather, they bring the Ark to act like a trump card against the Philistines – kind of like a cheat code. It doesn’t work and the Israelites lose the battle, lose the Ark, and it’s one of the darkest days in the Old Testament. After the Philistines give the Ark back, 1 Samuel says the Israelites lamented or mourned their sin and sought the Lord for 20 years. After the 20 years, Samuel gave them the instructions to forsake their idols, purify their hearts, and return to Yahweh.

They need to tear down the things that are keeping your hearts captive and enslaved.

In this passage, you start to see how their hearts were deeply transformed by God. A few chapters ago, the Israelites only cared about God because they thought the Ark would help them win a battle. But in chapter 7, you begin to see the marks of a deeply changed people: people who admit they sinned against the Lord.  They are people who heard of their enemy coming to attack them and knew their only hope was to ask God for help. They are people who seek God with all their hearts and God shows up for the Israelites in this way: he causes a mass confusion in the Philistine ranks and gives the Israelites the victory.

What else can God do when we truly seek him? When we throw off our idols, purify our hearts, and turn to God? We see a powerful act of God happen in the book of Acts. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, filled with Holy Spirit, gives a convicting sermon and three thousand people were baptized and came to faith in Christ that day. The Spirit of God moved. This early group of people then began meeting together, discipling each other, keeping one another accountable from idolatry, and celebrated the Lord’s supper often. You even realize how astounding it is that Christianity started with Jesus commissioning 11 disciples to go into the world and now there are over 2 billion Christians in the world.

For you, I’d invite you to join with me in seeking the Lord in this new season. What new ways do you feel like God is asking you to grow in? What people are you afraid of talking about Jesus to? What things scare you? Intimidate you? What things or idols do you need to cast out or turn away from? What ways can you seek God and what is he trying to tell you right now? With all these things, I know God would love to show up for you and help just like he did in 1 Samuel.

In our journey of this new season and beyond, we are going to face hard things no question which leads me to the next lesson we can learn from this story:

Stay strong in the Lord by remembering God’s faithfulness in the past.

After the Israelites beat the Philistines in battle, what did Samuel do? He built an Ebenezer or a stone of help to remind the Israelites how God delivered them from the Philistines. It was a literal stone monument to remind them and all future generations that God’s loyal and faithful love saved the people once again. The language of “thus far the Lord has helped us” also implies that God will continue to demonstrate his loyalty in the future as well.

Samuel knew it would be easy to forget how God rushed to bring victory for the Israelites. Samuel knew it would be easy for the Israelites to begin taking credit for their victory. Samuel knew that in the past, the Israelites tried to use God as a cheat code or a trophy to further their own agenda. But, the stone monument reminded them: God is not a trophy to be used. Rather, God is a God who is faithful and will carry out his promises when we seek him and when our hearts are centered on him and his will.

Earlier in 1 Samuel, the Israelites suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Philistines, and they lost the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord allowed the Israelites to face that to bring them to a low point where they’d repent. Where did the defeat take place? It took place at a place called: “Ebenezer.” So as Samuel is building this stone monument, it’s almost as if he is saying: “Hey, I know a few of you were wondering after we lost that battle, where are you God? What were you thinking?” And that stone monument is a reminder that God’s faithful love is able to redeem our perceived losses. God can bring good out of things we perceive as bad.

A few of you know that I finished up an autobiography of a man named George Muller recently. A few things you should know about George:

·       He was a pastor and evangelist in the U.K. during the 1800’s

·       He came to faith during an at-home bible study as a young man who used to lie, cheat, and steal.

·       He cared for over 10,000 orphaned children in the U.K. during the time of Oliver Twist where it was common to all street children to just die on the street

·       He built multiple homes for these children

·       He never took any sort of salary; he instead simply asked God to bring the funds that he needed for his family and his ministry. He never sent out fundraising appeals asking for funds for the children.

His autobiography follows a simple format: it’s his journal. Throughout, you’ll find entries from the morning saying: “I don’t know how we are going to get more food for the hundreds of children in our care. I must pray about this at once.” The evening journal entry will then read: “By God’s grace, we had a baker friend who provided us with more than enough bread to feed everyone and a dairy farmer who gifted us 15 liters of milk. God is so gracious to us!”

And in his journal entries, he penned this quote: “God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.”

In his autobiography, there are moments of real questioning for George. Moments where he asks: “How long, Lord?” But, God was extremely faithful to George, and his eternal impact cannot be measured. George’s journal entries functioned like an Ebenezer as they were reminders to him of God’s faithfulness in the past. And as he reflected on that, he was able to stay strong in his present moment.

You may be thinking: That’s great, Anthony. But, I’m not George. You’re right but in his autobiography, George wrote an entire chapter reminding his readers that he’s not special. He merely asks for things out of faith and God responds to his prayers, in God’s time. What does Jesus tell us? Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, and knock and the door will be opened to you.

It’s a plot of the enemy to get us to pray safe prayers and then wonder why we don’t see the faithfulness of God. It’s also a plot of the enemy to believe God isn’t answering your prayers or taking too long. Be bold, pray big prayers, earnestly wait, and God will delight in displaying his faithful love to you.

How can you create your own Ebenezer? I’d encourage you to journal, collect photos, write out on a sheet of paper how you are blessed, etc. As you reflect on your own ebenezer, George Muller, or this story from 1 Samuel, you will stay strong amidst your challenges. You can’t see the faithfulness of God if you’re not even bothering to look for it. I journal for friends, clarity on pastoral calling, etc.

And when you look at your Ebenezer, your heart begins to change and you find new confidence that God’s faithfulness still applies which leads us to our last point:

God’s faithfulness emboldens us to serve him.

In 1 Samuel 7:10, it says that the Lord caused a mighty thunder that threw the enemies into confusion. From there, the Israelites (not their army, just ordinary farmers, vineyard owners, etc.) defeated a superior military force. This would be the equivalent of a tiny country like Luxembourg defeated the United States of America’s military. Why did Israel march out with such confidence? They were emboldened to be brave because they were reminded of God’s faithfulness when they heard the thunder. They knew God was truly on their side and felt courage to do something that was extremely scary and led to a crushing defeat last time. But with their hearts in the right place, God led them to victory.

As I’ve been getting settled into the office this past week, I found a history of HBIC bin that Brian had. In it, I found some amazing things:

·       A brochure promoting our bus ministry with none other than Bob Malehorn as the bus captain

·       Board meeting minutes containing the names of people like Mike Henze and Rick Free

·       Sunday school records with people like Elaine Stern or Pat Palmer listed as teachers

·       Old photos of Jim Emenheiser serving as a trustee during our kitchen and fellowship hall additions

·       Youth group brochures with Jeff Stern as the leader

·       A church calendar with our old address of 214 High Street before this building was even built

·       List of baptism records from the early 1900’s

And when I was finding this, I was so deeply moved because it reminded me of God’s faithfulness to his big, global church but also to our local church here in Hanover. We are standing on the shoulders of giants, of people who have come before us and served this church. Through their efforts, we can see how faithful God has been to all of us here. Without folks who came before us, I wouldn’t be standing here as a follower of Christ. I would be spiritually dead. The same could be said for many of you or that you wouldn’t be as strong of a believer as you are.

Because of that, I know God will continue to be faithful to us in the future. This year, there are going to be changes. Some big changes, some smaller changes. With any sort of change, there can be excitement but there can also be grief as things you once knew and cherished must change. But just like this church has changed from meeting on 214 High Street, Hanover, PA, these changes are a part of God’s plan to continue to amaze us with his faithful love.

I want to see more people who are spiritually lost and dead in their sin to come find abundant life in Jesus Christ through this church. I want us to get extremely serious about discipling one another and confessing sin to one another. I want us to ruthlessly pursue local missions and outreach to demonstrate that our church takes Jesus’ commands seriously.

Worship and prayer team, you can make your way up to the front as well.

Will everything work perfectly? Of course not. But as we head into this new season of ministry at HBIC, I want you to remember something.

This passage of Scripture points to a day where there would be another raising of a monument except this monument would be lifted up not by a holy man like Samuel, but rebels who said a man who did no wrong deserved to die. 1,000 years after the Ebenezer moment, Jesus Christ was also lifted up to display the ultimate faithful love of God. The cross is the nucleus of history, it is the apex of our world because it demonstrates God’s serious commitment to redeeming his people and his creation.

Just like we learned in 1 Samuel today: When we seek God, he will respond with mercy and grace. When we are weak, the cross points us to what is strong. When we are afraid of the future, the cross points to a God who cares and will walk with us in our fears.

Christianity offers something real and vulnerable that no other religion does: a God who became human. A God who understands what it’s like to feel betrayed, abandoned, or misused. A God who suffers, weeps, and dies. But, a God whose faithful love to his people compels him to deal with our core problem which is our sin. He deals with that himself on the cross. A God who doesn’t stay dead but rises back to life. A God who now invites all to believe in him and to have the powers of sin, Satan, and death be broken off from them. And man, if you haven’t said yes to Jesus’ invitation, now is a really good time to say yes and begin the adventure of following him.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is the ultimate faithfulness of our God. In this new season, let that faithfulness compels you to pursue him, to stay strong, and embolden you to serve him well.

Let me pray.

For those of you have read The Hobbit, kudos and welcome to the cool kids club. For those of you who haven’t, get on it man. But as we start today, I want to share a brief story from it as it ties into our sermon for today.

In the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins joins a crew of 12 dwarves and Gandalf to reclaim the treasure and homeland from a terrifying dragon named Smaug. As Bilbo is deciding if he should go on the journey, the dwarves and Gandalf make it clear that is not going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to be a grueling journey from the Shire where Bilbo lives to the Lonely mountain.

For the dwarves, they’re motivated to endure this difficult journey for the chance to reclaim their homeland, reclaim their treasure, and reclaim their kingdom. For Gandalf, he’s motivated to endure the difficult journey because he’s a wise wizard who knows the Lonely Mountain will serve as a strategic location in a war to come. For Bilbo, he’s motivated to endure the difficult journey because he realizes his life is rather quite dull and he desires a bit of an adventure thanks to the influence of his Took family ancestors.

So, they go out on this journey – it’s brutal. There are nasty trolls who almost eat the group, there’s a fire-breathing dragon, there’s elves who imprison the group, and there’s this massively chaotic battle at the end between five armies. But, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves did not give up on their journey. They were motivated or compelled by something strong enough to push them in their journey. To help them take one more step when it seemed like they couldn’t go on.

In the same way, what is compelling you? What is motivating you in your faith? As we start this new season of ministry at HBIC and pursue growth and changes, what is motivating us to do that? Like the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf, we will face difficulties on the journey ahead of us. If we’re compelled by the right things, we will endure and even thrive with abundant life that Jesus promises us in John 10:10. But if we’re compelled by the wrong things, we don’t stand a chance. If we’re compelled to pursue missions, outreach, discipleship, etc., from the wrong place, we will cause immense harm to the body of Christ. To help us avoid that, we’re going to be heading to 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.

As we get ready to read this passage of Scripture, you need to understand a few things:

1.      The church at Corinth was started by Paul but recently, they’ve fallen victim to false teaching as well as tolerating an unrepentant leader who is involved in sexual immorality.

2.     When Paul last visited the church at Corinth, some folks there treated him poorly – especially this group of people that Paul sarcastically calls: “Super Apostles.” The super apostles make fun of Paul by saying he’s not eloquent in speech, not really an apostle, and isn’t even that smart.

3.     2 Corinthians is Paul’s re-affirmation to his ministry calling, a correction of the Corinthian church, and Paul explaining why he endures such suffering in planting churches and preaching the Gospel to the gentiles.

That final point is most important for us: people in the Corinthian church were accusing Paul of being out of his mind for doing what he does. So, why does Paul do what he does?

Let’s read 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 to find out.

During today’s sermon, I want us to better understand how Paul was compelled by Christ’s love so that we can better understand how we are compelled by Christ’s love. Because if we are deeply changed people by the love of Christ, we have no other option than to go out and share that news with others. We cannot help ourselves.

To be compelled by Christ’s love, check your own heart.

Later on in 2 Corinthians, Paul rebukes the Super-Apostles by reluctantly (he doesn’t want to boast but has to to deal with them) listing out how he suffered for the sake of the Gospel: he says he’s worked much harder, been in prison multiple times, flogged by his persecutors, beaten, shipwrecked, has gone without food for weeks, and more. His point is this: he’s no sissy. He’s compelled to undergo his struggles because is deeply loved by Christ.

If Paul was compelled by being well-known or being popular, he would not have endured this suffering. He would’ve called it quits long ago. But Christ’s love for Paul is the fuel of his ministry. If it wasn’t for that, he would have given up long ago. Because Christ did not give up on him, Paul isn’t giving up on Christ. That’s why he says with confidence in 1 Timothy: “Christ Jesus came to save sinners. Of whom, I am the worst. But, God chose me to display his immense patience and mercy.” Elsewhere, Paul talks up about how he doesn’t live for himself but rather he lives for the son of man who loved him and gave up his life for Paul.

He was so compelled by Christ’s love that he was willing to go to such great lengths. But, is this the case for you? What are you compelled or motivated by?

In Paul’s letters, there’s a man who is mentioned that always breaks my heart. In Philemon and Colossians, Paul shouts out a specific man as being a co-worker with him in the Gospel. His name is Demas. In 2 Timothy which is Paul’s farewell letter as he’s about to die, he mentions that Demas has deserted him because Demas loved the world. We don’t know much else about Demas but I often think about him: here was a man that labored alongside someone like Paul, who likely saw countless miracles performed, who started churches, and more. But, he loved the world. Could it have been that he found something else more compelling than Christ’s love for him? What compelled others like Timothy, Luke, and John Mark to stay by Paul’s side to the very end?

And my question for all of us here is: what are you compelled by? What do you find extremely motivating? Why do you do certain things or pursue things even in the church? A few weeks ago, I talked about the extreme importance of staying connected to the vine of Jesus. Or as Eugene Peterson put it: “making yourself at home in Jesus.” It’s from that place where we can serve God correctly. But if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves compelled by things that compete with God and actually go against his plans and desires for our lives.

We may not bow down to a golden calf like the Israelities but we bow down to something. We are worship and meaning machines – if Christ’s love isn’t your motivator, you have an idol somewhere else.

On your notes sheet, I included an idolatry chart for you to look at. It may not cover every single idol that exists but it covers 4 main ones:

·       Comfort

·       Approval

·       Control

·       Power

To get an idea if you have one of these things as an idol, you should look at that worst nightmare column. For example, if you have approval as an idol, your worst nightmare is rejection. So what do you do? Your heart is motivated by winning the approval of someone or something. So, you start to do things from a place of wanting to please others. If someone asks you to do something, you’ll be terrified of disappointing them so you do it anyways which is why your biggest problem emotion is cowardice or fear. If I start to announce serving opportunities, you’re the person who is always going to say yes even when your plate is totally full. A textbook phrase of people with approval as a core idol is saying: happy to help, it was no big deal (when in fact it was a massive deal). What’s the Gospel solution for you? A reminder that God loves you even when the world rejects you or you disappoint others. When you start to understand that, God’s love is on the throne of your heart not man’s approval and it’s his love that compels you.

For another example, if you have control as an idol, your worst nightmare is uncertainty. You go to extremes to plan (even though planning is really good). You despise surprise birthday parties. If things feel shaky, your anxiety sky rockets. You know you need to take more risks or steps of faith but you hold onto control with an iron fist. You like to say things like: “Let’s be realistic.” What’s the Gospel solution for you? A reminder that God’s blessings include his faithful provision and presence with you, even in the face of uncertainty. When you start to understand that, God’s love is what compels you to step out in faith even though it’s scary.

You can go through the whole chart. But, it’s my goal to show you these core idols as ways they compete with Christ’s love in our heart. You’re either compelled by Christ’s love or something on this list most likely.

Ask yourself the hard question: what motivates me in my life? Is it Christ’s love that’s compelling me? Or is it something else?

To be compelled by Christ’s love, reflect often on the beauty of Christ.

Look with me at verse 14: it says we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. In this passage, convinced really means that Paul has meant a lot of time and effort meditating on Jesus and what he did. He hasn’t just thought: “Oh, cool, Jesus died for my sins. Nice.” Then, he went on with is life. It implies he’s stared deeply at the riches of Christ and found Christ beautiful. As he hears the story of Jesus over and over again, he is strengthened. As he sees the ways Christ is caring for his church, he is emboldened. As Paul comes to a deeper understanding of Christ’s love for him, he feels strongly compelled to pursue his ministry and to continue pushing ahead when it’s hard. As Paul sees that Jesus is the total fulfillment of everything that God promised in the Old Testament, he is joyful.

Because of that, Paul decides to continue to serve him, even when things don’t make sense or when he feels like God may have abandoned him. In the Screwtape Letters, Screwtape (the senior demon) says to the Junior Demon (Wormwood) that there is nothing more dangerous than a Christian whose situation seems to indicate that God has abandoned him or allowed him to suffer a great deal but this same Christian obeys God anyways even though he can’t see or experience him. Where does that sort of obedience come from? It comes from a greater understanding of what Jesus has done for us and trusting that he’ll come through. But, you only get to that place when you’ve reflected on Jesus often.

For instance, take a look at this painting and I’m going to channel all my art critique skills from college for this part: it’s by a really well-known painter Rembrandt and it is called “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” At first glance, you get the general idea. It’s the loving father embracing the son who has run away. You see some other characters like the older brother who stayed behind, a household servant. But as you start to stare at this painting more, you start to see other things:

·       The younger son who ran away has shoes that are falling apart

·       The younger son still possesses a small sword on his hip which is the only thing he still possesses from his former life

·       Notice the deep warm light that covers the father and younger son while the rest of the painting is dark

·       The father has both hands on his son’s shoulders – one flexed to represent strength, the other relaxed to represent tenderness

·       The older son stands off indifferently to the side, unwilling to enter the center of the frame

There’s more in this piece of artwork but I think you get the point. You can’t grasp the full beauty, meaning, or story behind this piece of art by just taking a quick glance. It requires careful observation and, in my case, it took reading a great little book called: “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Henri Nouwen where he mentions all these things.

Likewise, a brief glance at the person of Jesus won’t give you the full picture of him. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, unsure of the future in the world, wondering what God’s doing, can I ask you something: when’s the last time you read the Gospels? When’s the last time you turned off the TV and read a Christian book? When’s the last time you turned on worship music? When’s the last time you prayed for more of his presence in your life or for him to show you more of his beauty? When’s the last time you simply prayed the way Jesus taught us to pray?

Next week, it’s going to be the first Sunday of Lent. To help you reflect on the beauty of Christ, I ordered Lent Devotionals from one of my favorite authors: Paul David Tripp. He has a gift of applying the gospel to everyday life.

It’s a 30-day devotional (Lent is 40 days so you have grace if you miss some days) that covers topics from Genesis to Revelation highlighting Jesus death and resurrection as we prepare our hearts for the easter season. I want each household to have a copy of this – fathers and husbands, lead your family well by picking this up. Those of you who are single, unmarried, or don’t have a believing husband, pick one up too. I promise it’ll bless you.

To be compelled by Christ’s love, consider what he did to redeem you.

As we wrap up today, take a look at verse 15 if you still have your bible open. It says: “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Put a different way, if you profess faith in Christ, you are no longer your own. That’s why the New Testament authors often use the language of Lord or Master in describing Jesus – he dictates our actions. God is a good, loving, kind, and trustworthy father and we are his children. And like any good father, he lovingly requires something of us. Fathers don’t do their kids any favors by failing to challenge them or calling them to a bigger purpose than themselves.

I’m a person who 125% affirms that it is by grace through faith in Christ that we have been saved. It is a free gift offered to every single person to join Jesus in the renewal of all things and to live life in the Kingdom of God. I worry that in the spirit of evangelism crusades: we have offered generations of Christians the promise of an easy forgiveness. We’ve offered people a sinner’s prayer and a formula to ‘get right’ with God. There’s a lot of causes for the decline of the church in the USA but I think one of the biggest causes that’s not talked about is we’ve simply lowered the bar for what it means to be a Christian.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

But, why is that true? Why does Jesus expect so much of us? Jesus tells us to count the cost of following him because we must die to self to follow him. It’s a harder message to swallow than a message that preaches forgiveness without repentance or grace without discipleship or grace without the cross. But, here’s the thing: Jesus doesn’t ask us to go someplace he himself didn’t go.

Jesus lived out exactly what 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 is asking us to do. Jesus did not live for himself; he lived to do the Father’s will – what does he say the night of his betrayal? Not my will, but your will. Hebrews 12 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfector of faith. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sits down at the right hand of the father. That joy that was set before him? It was the joy of knowing that through his suffering, he would usher in his new creation and begun the work of redeeming all things – his people, his world, and his church.

He scorned its shame for you because he knew it would lead to joy. He went through a humiliating death on a cross because he knew it would lead to joy. He absorbed our sin, defeated hell and death because he knew it would lead to joy.

Worship and prayer team, you guys can come on up awhile.

And in case I’m unclear: this is never about earning God’s love. Rather, this is a natural reaction when we’ve understood what Christ has done for us. It’s a reasonable response when you grasp the death and resurrection of Christ. Don’t allow shame to be what you’re compelled by. Since Paul grasped Christ’s love for him, he was was able to stay strong during extremely difficult trials: because he knew God fiercely loved him and had redeemed him. He knew God didn’t love him anymore because of his missionary journeys. Paul just knew how much God loved him that he couldn’t help himself: Paul wanted more to people to experience that love.

This year and in the years to come, there are going to be opportunities to serve in new and likely difficult ways. There are going to be ways to serve that are going to cost you something. There are going to be ways to grow through deeper discipleship but it’s going to cost you something. There are going to be ways to serve the least of these in our community but it’s going to cost you something.  But, I’ll tell you what: it’s going to be worth it.

Like I mentioned at the start, we are going to do a big push for easter this year. Be praying about who you will invite. There may be people who think it’s weird that you’re inviting them to it or they may make fun of you behind your back. But because Christ’s love compels you, you’re going to do it anyways.

To close, I want to share a quote from Tim Keller. He said: “Jesus may ask of you far more than you planned to give but he can give to you infinitely more than you dared ask or think.” What do we do when Jesus is asking more of us than we planned to give? We remember that we are deeply loved by him and that compels us to trust him. As we trust him, we can begin to see how he will give us more than we ever dared to ask or think.

Let me pray.