Challenging the Status Quo
Commentary
I never cease to be amazed at those Christians who are shocked to discover that they are not the most beloved and most highly regarded persons in the community.
Somehow they have failed to read Luke 4 and to know the stories of Jeremiah, Moses, Jesus, and numerous others who came in the best interests of the people offering GodÕs peace and gifts only to discover themselves rejected, thrown into wells and nailed to crosses.
Sometimes I think many Christians think the whole of the Gospel story is summed up in John 3:16. I have no problem with that verse but I do have problems with those who will not read on. Check out those verses that follow and see the realism that is firmly written into the New Testament. Those who know the world have no soft-headed dreams. They know that the opposition is driven by self interest and will go to most any lengths to preserve their power and ascendancy.
I am convinced that the current rave among many that makes great promises of health and wealth to those who will mail in their gifts is heresy having its finest hour.
The time has come for the church to follow the lead of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and set out the true cost of discipleship. Check the Gospel record again. Listen to Jesus when he warns his disciples that he sends them out among wolves, when he talks of the Cross before him, when he promises persecution and death to his disciples and when he says that the Gospel will separate families and friends.
The New Testament does not mislead us. There is reward and there is cost and we ought to keep them in clear balance with one another in the church.
OUTLINE I
Validating a Message
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Introduction: Chapter one of Jeremiah opens sounding like a speech from a young preacher facing a committee launching an examination to determine the validity of his/her call. Jeremiah is convinced that his message is not to be a popular one so he had better make sure that he is only the vehicle for the delivery of a message that comes directly from God. Note how the text is naturally broken into three parts. So, why not just consider it in such a manner.
A. The Call. Here one finds a keynote of the prophetic word that will surround the ministries of men like John and Paul. No one can hear such a certain word declaring a pre-birth choice and not be greatly affected and made courageous. Maybe some of our calls are not so dramatic and we need not worry that they are not. If God calls it is enough no matter how he calls.
B. A rebuke to anxiety. Who can blame Jeremiah for being scared out of his wits. He knows that there are enemies out there that are ready to do him in if they have opportunity. For him, or for one of us the good word comes that God will be present and one need not be afraid.
C. The message belongs to God. Everyone who expects to be an effective voice for God should begin by remembering just that, that the message one bears is GodÕs. That is what gives one courage and disperses fear. If it is GodÕs word that is being spoken then both time and place will be afforded.
Conclusion: While this text may seem best applied to preachers one must understand that the call comes to other than ministers. This is a great opportunity to sensitize your laity that they too can listen for and obey the call that comes to them as well.
OUTLINE II
The Impact of Love
1 Corinthians 13
Introduction: Do not consider this chapter apart from chapter 12. Remember that transitional sentence at the end of chapter 12. And be sure and certain to offer the Christian definition of love, agape, disinterested in self, centered in the well-being of others, ready to make sacrifice for unity in the Body of Christ. This is not a chapter written by Paul for use at weddings but a word for the church. Take it part by part.
A. Verses 1-3. Some try to prove their loyalty by loud proclamation and outlandish act. What matters is the heart and spirit rooted and grounded in love.
B. Love is. Here is a positive setting for of that which characterizes unselfish love. Take the list line by line and make comments applicable to the daily life of your people.
C. Love above all else. Paul speaks to his world and ours. Many boast of their spiritual powers, some imagine that they have special gifts that make them a cut above others, and yet others declare that their superior knowledge is what makes the world go around. These make for divisiveness and disruption rather than for the unity that makes the church the Body of Christ.
Conclusion: What one can see and handle seem so real that one is tempted to write off things of the heart and spirit. But those who are mature, who have grown up in the faith know what really matters. Faith, hope and love undergird all of life. And love is the foundation of it all.
OUTLINE III
How to Start Trouble
Luke 4:21-30
Introduction: Remember, Jesus has come home, probably to preach for a homecoming Sabbath. IsnÕt this a day to say nice things, to reaffirm their hopes and dreams and make everyone happy? Surely that ought to be the case. But Jesus does otherwise.
A. An audacious claim. ÒDid we hear him right?Ó ÒDoes he mean that he is the Messiah? How dare he?Ó And before they can come to terms with that one he is off on another.
B. More trouble. Jewish widows ignored by God? Foreigners being blessed? No way! Now they are catching on. Not only does he claim to be a messiah but a messiah they want no part of. Once they realize that they are ready to do him in. They prepare to throw him off a nearby cliff. Jesus slips through the crowd.
Conclusion: At the very outset, in his hometown Luke has Jesus announce the basis of his mission. It is clear that his design cuts across the current hopes and dreams of his people.
We need to understand that when the Christian and the church undertake to pursue a mission at cross purposes with the man on the street there is likely to be trouble. We ought not to be surprised. Our Lord has shown the way. The good news is bad news for those who wish for a world in which life is lived contrary to the purpose and will of God.
Somehow they have failed to read Luke 4 and to know the stories of Jeremiah, Moses, Jesus, and numerous others who came in the best interests of the people offering GodÕs peace and gifts only to discover themselves rejected, thrown into wells and nailed to crosses.
Sometimes I think many Christians think the whole of the Gospel story is summed up in John 3:16. I have no problem with that verse but I do have problems with those who will not read on. Check out those verses that follow and see the realism that is firmly written into the New Testament. Those who know the world have no soft-headed dreams. They know that the opposition is driven by self interest and will go to most any lengths to preserve their power and ascendancy.
I am convinced that the current rave among many that makes great promises of health and wealth to those who will mail in their gifts is heresy having its finest hour.
The time has come for the church to follow the lead of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and set out the true cost of discipleship. Check the Gospel record again. Listen to Jesus when he warns his disciples that he sends them out among wolves, when he talks of the Cross before him, when he promises persecution and death to his disciples and when he says that the Gospel will separate families and friends.
The New Testament does not mislead us. There is reward and there is cost and we ought to keep them in clear balance with one another in the church.
OUTLINE I
Validating a Message
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Introduction: Chapter one of Jeremiah opens sounding like a speech from a young preacher facing a committee launching an examination to determine the validity of his/her call. Jeremiah is convinced that his message is not to be a popular one so he had better make sure that he is only the vehicle for the delivery of a message that comes directly from God. Note how the text is naturally broken into three parts. So, why not just consider it in such a manner.
A. The Call. Here one finds a keynote of the prophetic word that will surround the ministries of men like John and Paul. No one can hear such a certain word declaring a pre-birth choice and not be greatly affected and made courageous. Maybe some of our calls are not so dramatic and we need not worry that they are not. If God calls it is enough no matter how he calls.
B. A rebuke to anxiety. Who can blame Jeremiah for being scared out of his wits. He knows that there are enemies out there that are ready to do him in if they have opportunity. For him, or for one of us the good word comes that God will be present and one need not be afraid.
C. The message belongs to God. Everyone who expects to be an effective voice for God should begin by remembering just that, that the message one bears is GodÕs. That is what gives one courage and disperses fear. If it is GodÕs word that is being spoken then both time and place will be afforded.
Conclusion: While this text may seem best applied to preachers one must understand that the call comes to other than ministers. This is a great opportunity to sensitize your laity that they too can listen for and obey the call that comes to them as well.
OUTLINE II
The Impact of Love
1 Corinthians 13
Introduction: Do not consider this chapter apart from chapter 12. Remember that transitional sentence at the end of chapter 12. And be sure and certain to offer the Christian definition of love, agape, disinterested in self, centered in the well-being of others, ready to make sacrifice for unity in the Body of Christ. This is not a chapter written by Paul for use at weddings but a word for the church. Take it part by part.
A. Verses 1-3. Some try to prove their loyalty by loud proclamation and outlandish act. What matters is the heart and spirit rooted and grounded in love.
B. Love is. Here is a positive setting for of that which characterizes unselfish love. Take the list line by line and make comments applicable to the daily life of your people.
C. Love above all else. Paul speaks to his world and ours. Many boast of their spiritual powers, some imagine that they have special gifts that make them a cut above others, and yet others declare that their superior knowledge is what makes the world go around. These make for divisiveness and disruption rather than for the unity that makes the church the Body of Christ.
Conclusion: What one can see and handle seem so real that one is tempted to write off things of the heart and spirit. But those who are mature, who have grown up in the faith know what really matters. Faith, hope and love undergird all of life. And love is the foundation of it all.
OUTLINE III
How to Start Trouble
Luke 4:21-30
Introduction: Remember, Jesus has come home, probably to preach for a homecoming Sabbath. IsnÕt this a day to say nice things, to reaffirm their hopes and dreams and make everyone happy? Surely that ought to be the case. But Jesus does otherwise.
A. An audacious claim. ÒDid we hear him right?Ó ÒDoes he mean that he is the Messiah? How dare he?Ó And before they can come to terms with that one he is off on another.
B. More trouble. Jewish widows ignored by God? Foreigners being blessed? No way! Now they are catching on. Not only does he claim to be a messiah but a messiah they want no part of. Once they realize that they are ready to do him in. They prepare to throw him off a nearby cliff. Jesus slips through the crowd.
Conclusion: At the very outset, in his hometown Luke has Jesus announce the basis of his mission. It is clear that his design cuts across the current hopes and dreams of his people.
We need to understand that when the Christian and the church undertake to pursue a mission at cross purposes with the man on the street there is likely to be trouble. We ought not to be surprised. Our Lord has shown the way. The good news is bad news for those who wish for a world in which life is lived contrary to the purpose and will of God.
