Great Expectations
Commentary
Most of us have been conditioned to expect great things from God. One TV evangelist ends his program admonishing the viewer to expect great gifts from heaven. It is as if heaven were a great warehouse filled with goodies, and God standing at the door ready to shovel out blessings for those who do, say, think, believe all the right things.
A careful reading of the New Testament, on the other hand, seems to reveal another story. It seems that the expectations on the agenda most of the time are expectations God has for us. Of course, reward is mentioned, but without great detail. God comes to make no deals with us, nor to buy our faithfulness. We are told we can trust him, and that is all there is to it. To make a lot of material promises, as a down payment or evidence that there is more to come, is to cheapen our relationship with God.
Whether it is a Jeremiah trusting God when all he gets for it is mistreatment and a hole in the ground; or whether it is James berating his people for their misconduct and calling for a new spirit; or Jesus gently upbraiding his thickheaded disciples, there is always evidence that God has great expectations and that our lives are to be changed in the here and now.
OUTLINE I
Sharing Enemies With God
Jeremiah 11:18-20
Introduction: Do your homework regarding the exile. Be sure you have sorted out Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and their roles in this great event in the history of Israel. Here is Jeremiah, prophet whose plight is to remain back home and deliver a message to a people who do not want to hear what you have to say. Jeremiah is the original prophet who gets no respect in his day.
A. Sheer Audacity. "The Lord made it known to me" --there is the place for beginning. If one is to speak with a voice of certainty and authenticity, this conviction must lie at the back of all that is said. Apparently it showed. It is clear that Jeremiah's opponents took him seriously and were convinced that he was real trouble.
B. Unaware of Enemies. It may seem an exaggerated plea that he was unaware of his opposition, but it does seem clear that he means to say he intends to speak God's message and ignore them, at least.
C. Vindictive? Sometimes our finely tuned, moralistic Christians are a bit put off by what seem to be such unchristian attitudes toward enemies. After all, our Lord did command us to love our enemies. Well, nobody ever said that these prophets were meant to be models in all matters. Perhaps it would help to walk a while where Jeremiah walked, to begin to understand the deep emotions that were his.
Conclusion: Many of those who listen to you will find Jeremiah a kindred soul. They, too, carry difficult burdens. Make the most of this affinity and let them come to admire the courage and stick-to-itiveness of this so-called weeping prophet.
OUTLINE II
A Word to the Church
James 3:16—4:6
Introduction: If you think about it for a few moments, it may surprise you a bit to realize that some of the toughest words written in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, are addressed to people inside the church. I see no reason why such passages as the one for today should have been written at all, unless there was a real problem in the church. As observed before, letters like this one are addressed to real people with real problems.
A. You could develop a sermon on this text by just going through it for your people. The problem is that most of it will prove irrelevant to many of those nice people who come to your church on Sundays. Perhaps you can sort out the useful, insert some more relevant points, and emphasize the positive calls that are here.
B. Another model may find you grouping ideas. Chapter 3 ends with a call for peace. Chapter 4 opens addressing the divided heart, which is followed by a call for rededication.
This is no easy text to arrange into a sermon. Back away from it, read and reread, and perhaps other outlines will come to mind.
Conclusion: One thing is clear in this text. Many have moved into the church James addresses and have made no real change in their lives. They still live with divided hearts. Their new confession has not yet moved them to full allegiance to God. They still hang on to old ways of the world. This is a good clue to the full meaning of the text. Call for lives that are a witness of the power of the Holy Spirit, to make us all new creatures in Christ.
OUTLINE III
Competition in the Ranks
Mark 9:30-37
Introduction: Too many of us, I sometimes think, idealize the people who were part of the early church. We hear someone talk about getting back to the original spirit of the church, or recovering the spirit of those who came before us. Today's scripture furnishes a great corrective. It also witnesses to the authenticity of the record. After all, anybody making up such a story would never hang out all the laundry as our author does. The truth is that if all of them had been perfect, this record would be irrelevant to us. As it is, we see people acting like we act; and because of that, the scripture becomes meaningful for us.
A. They Can't Hear. No matter how often Jesus says it, it is clear that what he says about what is about to take place, they simply are unable to hear him. Nothing could be further from their concept of the Messiah than what he proposes.
B. They Have Their Own Agenda. Since they envision a revival of the Davidic kingdom, it is surely not too early to get bets down on a place of power. Now is the time to establish the pecking order. The sooner the better. Looks like a word mirror doesn't it. We snicker at these disciples a bit and yet if we took a good look at our own motivations
C. Do some special research on the final part of this scripture. Don't be tricked into making a lot of foolish statements about children. Some parents out there could enlighten you about the little demons. Better to stick with the servant material.
Conclusion: Keep it as personal as you can. After all, we do all claim to be his disciples.
A careful reading of the New Testament, on the other hand, seems to reveal another story. It seems that the expectations on the agenda most of the time are expectations God has for us. Of course, reward is mentioned, but without great detail. God comes to make no deals with us, nor to buy our faithfulness. We are told we can trust him, and that is all there is to it. To make a lot of material promises, as a down payment or evidence that there is more to come, is to cheapen our relationship with God.
Whether it is a Jeremiah trusting God when all he gets for it is mistreatment and a hole in the ground; or whether it is James berating his people for their misconduct and calling for a new spirit; or Jesus gently upbraiding his thickheaded disciples, there is always evidence that God has great expectations and that our lives are to be changed in the here and now.
OUTLINE I
Sharing Enemies With God
Jeremiah 11:18-20
Introduction: Do your homework regarding the exile. Be sure you have sorted out Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and their roles in this great event in the history of Israel. Here is Jeremiah, prophet whose plight is to remain back home and deliver a message to a people who do not want to hear what you have to say. Jeremiah is the original prophet who gets no respect in his day.
A. Sheer Audacity. "The Lord made it known to me" --there is the place for beginning. If one is to speak with a voice of certainty and authenticity, this conviction must lie at the back of all that is said. Apparently it showed. It is clear that Jeremiah's opponents took him seriously and were convinced that he was real trouble.
B. Unaware of Enemies. It may seem an exaggerated plea that he was unaware of his opposition, but it does seem clear that he means to say he intends to speak God's message and ignore them, at least.
C. Vindictive? Sometimes our finely tuned, moralistic Christians are a bit put off by what seem to be such unchristian attitudes toward enemies. After all, our Lord did command us to love our enemies. Well, nobody ever said that these prophets were meant to be models in all matters. Perhaps it would help to walk a while where Jeremiah walked, to begin to understand the deep emotions that were his.
Conclusion: Many of those who listen to you will find Jeremiah a kindred soul. They, too, carry difficult burdens. Make the most of this affinity and let them come to admire the courage and stick-to-itiveness of this so-called weeping prophet.
OUTLINE II
A Word to the Church
James 3:16—4:6
Introduction: If you think about it for a few moments, it may surprise you a bit to realize that some of the toughest words written in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, are addressed to people inside the church. I see no reason why such passages as the one for today should have been written at all, unless there was a real problem in the church. As observed before, letters like this one are addressed to real people with real problems.
A. You could develop a sermon on this text by just going through it for your people. The problem is that most of it will prove irrelevant to many of those nice people who come to your church on Sundays. Perhaps you can sort out the useful, insert some more relevant points, and emphasize the positive calls that are here.
B. Another model may find you grouping ideas. Chapter 3 ends with a call for peace. Chapter 4 opens addressing the divided heart, which is followed by a call for rededication.
This is no easy text to arrange into a sermon. Back away from it, read and reread, and perhaps other outlines will come to mind.
Conclusion: One thing is clear in this text. Many have moved into the church James addresses and have made no real change in their lives. They still live with divided hearts. Their new confession has not yet moved them to full allegiance to God. They still hang on to old ways of the world. This is a good clue to the full meaning of the text. Call for lives that are a witness of the power of the Holy Spirit, to make us all new creatures in Christ.
OUTLINE III
Competition in the Ranks
Mark 9:30-37
Introduction: Too many of us, I sometimes think, idealize the people who were part of the early church. We hear someone talk about getting back to the original spirit of the church, or recovering the spirit of those who came before us. Today's scripture furnishes a great corrective. It also witnesses to the authenticity of the record. After all, anybody making up such a story would never hang out all the laundry as our author does. The truth is that if all of them had been perfect, this record would be irrelevant to us. As it is, we see people acting like we act; and because of that, the scripture becomes meaningful for us.
A. They Can't Hear. No matter how often Jesus says it, it is clear that what he says about what is about to take place, they simply are unable to hear him. Nothing could be further from their concept of the Messiah than what he proposes.
B. They Have Their Own Agenda. Since they envision a revival of the Davidic kingdom, it is surely not too early to get bets down on a place of power. Now is the time to establish the pecking order. The sooner the better. Looks like a word mirror doesn't it. We snicker at these disciples a bit and yet if we took a good look at our own motivations
C. Do some special research on the final part of this scripture. Don't be tricked into making a lot of foolish statements about children. Some parents out there could enlighten you about the little demons. Better to stick with the servant material.
Conclusion: Keep it as personal as you can. After all, we do all claim to be his disciples.
