Adversity one suffers in faithfulness to God
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle A
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21 (C)
Sarah jealously guards the rights of her natural son, Isaac, by ordering Abraham to throw out her slave girl, Hagar, with her son. God speaks to Abraham in his distress about the plight of Hagar and her son, telling him to do as Sarah wished because his descendants would be counted through Isaac. Furthermore, God would also make a great nation through Ishmael.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:10--13 (RC); Jeremiah 20:7--13 (E, L)
Jeremiah was born about 650 B.C. and began his ministry in the 13th year of King Josiah's reign. As the Babylonian threat mounts, the prophet warns his nation to repent or face destruction at the hand of the enemy. His message is met with great antagonism and consequent isolation. In great distress of soul, Jeremiah accuses God of being deceitful with him and taking advantage of his weakness. The prophet makes a pact with himself not to speak any longer in the name of the Lord, but the word of the Lord is like fire in his bones. We witness in this text Jeremiah's painful struggle to be faithful in his calling to be the Lord's spokesman.
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11 (C); Romans 5:12--15 (RC, L); Romans 5:15b--19 (E)
Paul views Adam as the pioneer of sin and Christ as the progenitor of salvation. The disobedience of the one man, Adam, unleashes the power of sin. The obedience of the one man, Jesus Christ, makes many people righteous. Just as sin exercises dominion in death, so also, grace exercises dominion through justification. Chapter 6 continues by pointing out that those who have been baptized into Christ have put to death their sinful natures. Since they are now new persons in Christ, they can no longer continue under the sway of sin and death.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39 (C); Matthew 10:26--33 (RC); Matthew 10:(16--23) 24--33 (E); Matthew 10:24--33 (L)
The tenth chapter contains a number of sayings which the Lord spoke at different times in his ministry concerning opposition and suffering, which his disciples ought to expect. The disciples should not expect better treatment than their teacher (v. 25). As Jesus was maligned, so too would be those called by his name. They are counseled not to be anxious about their fate or fearful of their enemies' unwarranted accusations. Truth would triumph. There is nothing hidden that would not be revealed in the judgment of God (v. 26). God cares about the smallest aspect of their existence and so they can commend their lives into his keeping. The only fear that the disciple of Jesus should have is that she would turn her back to the Lord.
226
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 86:1--10, 16--17 (C) - ''In the day of my trouble I call on you ...'' (v. 7).
Psalm 69:1--18 (RC, E, L) - ''Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck'' (v. 1).
Prayer Of The Day
Merciful Savior, when the waters of adversity mount up to our necks, threatening to sweep over our heads, hear our cry for deliverance. You are the Rock to which we cling, forbid that we ever lose our grip on your grace and love. In the powerful name of Jesus, we are bold to make known to you our every thought or need. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21
God hears the cries of his people. It doesn't seem right that Hagar and her son were thrust out from the protection of Abraham's care. Yet God hears the cries of his people who suffer injustice. When Hagar's provisions ran out, she put her child down on the ground and then went a distance, so that she wouldn't have to watch her child die. The infant cried out and God heard his cry; God encouraged Hagar to care for her son. When she did so, she beheld a wall of water to sustain them.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:7--13
Wrestling with the Lord. Recall the story of Jacob wrestling with God until the break of day. We see the same kind of struggle taking place in Jeremiah. Only this time, it's God who won't let go. The Lord won't permit him to remain silent to avoid the opposition of his friends and neighbors. Jeremiah's complaint was that the match was unfair because God was stronger than he (v. 7). Real faith does not come without a struggle, because our human will often comes into conflict with the Lord's will. It is the struggle that makes us strong. Those who attain a faith like Jeremiah's discover that the Lord is not our enemy but our ally in the struggle of life. When we are on God's side, victory is assured.
Honest to God. No writer in the Bible is more honest in expressing his inward feelings than Jeremiah. He didn't tell God what piety told him to say, he let it rip! He told God exactly how he felt and what he thought of him. Jeremiah informed God that he thought he was unfair, that he had tricked and deceived him. Some of us may have had such thoughts but we probably didn't share them with the Lord or even other believers. Notice that God didn't strike him dead. God certainly understood the difficulty of what his prophet was going through. So often times, we play the good Christian games and deny our true feelings. God knows how we feel. It would be healthier for us to be honest to God.
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11; Romans 5:12--19
The power of one. We often make the excuse: I'm only one person, what can I do? History demonstrates that one person can have a lasting influence on the world. Think of the monumental influence of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Einstein, and Hitler. Paul maintains that sin entered the world because of the disobedience of the one man, Adam, and infected us all. He also holds that grace and forgiveness have entered the world through the one man, Jesus Christ, bringing life to many.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39
Realistic expectations. Jesus wanted his disciples to have realistic expectations about how the world would receive the Gospel. They would meet with a good deal of opposition, just like their Lord. Their goodness would be portrayed as evil (vv. 24--25). If we have a realistic view of the challenges that face us, we are less likely to fold when the heat is on.
227
The focus of your fears. In preparing his disciples for the coming spiritual battles, Jesus instructed them not to fear the enemies of the gospel, because their power was limited. Rather, they should fear God because he had the power to commit both body and soul to hell. It's not that Jesus was trying to convince his followers to relate to God out of fear. Instead, he is attempting to show the inappropriateness of most of our fears, because we fear those who have no power to touch our souls. Fear is appropriate and helpful if it prevents us from risking our lives foolishly. On the other side of the ledger, fear is destructive if it causes us to expend time and energy on that which is no real threat to our being.
Fear, love and worship. Jesus taught his disciples the proper fear of God. In the Old Testament theophanies, the human witnesses were filled with awe, fear and trembling as they stood in the presence of God. Isaiah was so smitten with the fear of God that he felt doomed. We moderns don't seem to tremble before the Lord any longer. Either we don't feel that the Lord is a power to be reckoned with any more or we have permitted our concept of the love of God to drive out any vestige of fear, believing that fear and love are not compatible. The Bible teaches that God is to be both feared and loved. Fear represents the vertical dimension of faith. God is above and beyond us. This is not a relationship of equals because God is the one to whom we owe an absolute obedience. Love apprehends the horizontal dimension of our relationship with the Lord. It tells us that God is along side of us. We can freely entrust our lives into his care. Some may beg to differ, but I don't feel we can truly worship God without the component of fear as well as love.
God cares about the little stuff. Jesus teaches that God is so interested in us and concerned for our well being, that he even numbers the hairs on our heads (v. 30). Some people point out that they pray to God when they have a really big problem but they don't view it as proper to concern him with the little stuff. But think about it; 99 percent of life is composed of the little stuff. If we don't share the little stuff with God, we have effectively aced him out of the great majority of our existence. God shows his love for us by urging us to invite him into the totality of our being.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21
Sermon Title: God Hears The Cries Of The Oppressed
Sermon Angle: It's hard to ignore the cry of a child. God made us that way, so that the needs of his helpless children would not be ignored. Can God be any less attentive to the needs of his children? When they cry out in pain or fear, he hastens to respond. He hears the cry of the mother abandoned by her husband and the child abandoned by the mother. In compassion, he saves those whom life has dealt a vicious and seemingly unfair blow. God will bless them and keep them. Our God hears the cries of the oppressed. Do we?
Outline:
1. Recite the story of Hagar and her son
2. The Hagars and the Ishmaels are legion in our sinful world
3. Yet, God is not deaf to their cries and sends angels of mercy
4. Are your ears attuned to hear and heed the cries of the desperate?
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:7--13
Sermon Title: The Proper Fear Of God
Sermon Angle: In reading this lamentation of Jeremiah, as well as many other such outbursts, one might assume that he did not have a proper fear of God. In his moments of frustration, and they were many, he accused God of being a trickster and a bully, just for starters. Yet, for all his complaining, he never failed in his commission to be the mouth of the Lord. He never shirked his duty. God judges us more by our actions than our words. To fear the Lord manifests itself in obedience to the Lord.
228
Sermon Title: Honest To God Prayer
Sermon Angle: Prayer that is not brutally honest is just so much pious prating. That's why Jeremiah's prayers are so refreshing; he just bares his soul to the Lord. God accepts us just as we are. It's pretending that puts him off. Recall the parable told in Luke's gospel of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. We need to hold up the example of such honest to God prayer.
Outline:
1. When's the last time you had an honest to God prayer?
2. Actually, there is no other kind
3. Jeremiah is a prime example of such authentic prayer
4. Principles of honest to God prayer
- don't worry about the vocabulary of prayer
- don't be concerned about what others think of your prayers
- be honest to God (take off your mask)
- do what God directs you to do
- thank God for blessings (Jeremiah sometimes forgot this one)
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11; Romans 5:12--19
Sermon Title: God's Gift Of Grace
Sermon Angle: God offers the world the gift of his grace, forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. We have but to accept the gift, open it up and share it with others.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39
Sermon Title: Fear, Love And Worship
Sermon Angle: The proper end for every believer is to worship God. Worship involves both fear and love. Fear, because God is awesome, transcendent, almighty and mysterious. Love, because God has shown his love for us in Jesus Christ and in his provision for our every need. Jesus teaches concerning these two vital components of relationship with God, which inform our worship.
Outline:
1. What part do fear and love play in your worship?
- if we only fear God, there is no room for love
- if we only love God, he is not a fitting object of worship
2. Jesus teaches that we should fear God, not people (v. 28)
3. Jesus also teaches that we can love God because he loves us (vv. 29--31)
One of the central reasons for family breakdown in our society is that parents no longer claim, yea, demand, their rightful authority. Children no longer fear God or their parents. Don't misunderstand; I'm not advocating that parents rule with an iron hand or that fear should replace love, but if parents would inject a little dose of fear in their relationships with their children, the health of the family might get a needed boost. If parents would set limits, and children would fear transgressing those limits, there would be less delinquency. If children would mind their manners because they fear hurting their parents or bringing dishonor to the family name, would that be a bad thing? I think not.
William Safire, a New York Times columnist, writes that what fathers want most for Father's Day is not designer ties or polo shirts. Fathers want their authority back. He argues that the proper role of father is not that of friend, which seems to be the role so many parents take these days. No, a father is someone a child should look up to. Safire puts forth a thesis which many would contend with. ''Motherpower is rooted in love, fatherpower in authority.'' It's not that nurturing is necessarily foreign to men, some do it very well, but moms are more naturally adept at it. Dads are better suited at laying down the law. At least, this is Safire's opinion. I can't help but wonder if the lack of respect for all authority structures could be traced, in
229
part, to the abandoning of authority by dads. Could it be that some men lash out in violence and abuse against their family out of a misguided attempt to reclaim authority? Has the proper holy fear and respect for fatherly authority been replaced by a hellish fear?
Sermon Title: Truth Or Consequences
Sermon Angle: Back in the '50s there was a television show by the name of Truth Or Consequences. I don't remember much about the show but its name, but wisdom is contained therein. If you don't tell the truth and live the truth, there are terrible consequences. Jesus said, ''What you have heard in the dark, tell in the light and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops'' (v. 27). These words were spoken in an era antagonistic to the Gospel; its truth was shared secretly, for fear of punishment. The Lord says to proclaim its truth from the housetops without fear of the consequences. In the judgment of God, those who lived the truth will be revealed. Ultimately, the truth is not a thing but a person, Jesus Christ. If we proclaim the truth, the truth will proclaim us (vv. 32--33).
Outline:
1. In the boardrooms of politics and business, truth is often concealed
2. If we conceal the truth, we must bear the consequences (violence, bondage)
3. Jeremiah told the truth and took the consequences
4. The counsel of Christ is to publicly proclaim the truth (v. 27)
5. If we witness to Christ, he will acknowledge us
Sermon Title: God Of The Mundane
Sermon Angle: When a big problem occurs, the first thing we do is turn to God. Not so, with the little, inconsequential concerns of life. Jesus teaches that God numbers the hairs on our heads (v. 30). Such a God is aware of the entirety of our being. We can be confident of his protection and pray to him in all circumstances.
When I was ordained, my father gave me a large diamond ring that he inherited from his father. Sometimes I would take it off at night and place it on the bathroom counter. As we were driving to Wisconsin for two weeks vacation, I noticed I had forgotten to put on my ring but I didn't worry about it because I knew where it was. At least, I thought that I did. When we arrived home, I proceeded to look for the ring. It wasn't on the counter. It wasn't on the dresser or in the jewelry box. I looked frantically. Maybe one of my daughters saw this shiny rock, and picked it up as a play thing. We looked in the toy boxes, in the recreation room, down in the basement where they played, outside. We hadn't the foggiest notion where to go from here. I hadn't prayed about it. I thought, God has more important things to concern himself about than my ring. But one day, in desperation, I decided to petition the Lord. I prayed, ''Lord, I know you have other issues on your mind and I don't need this ring really; but it was given to me by my dad and it means a lot to him because it was from his father. I don't want to hurt my dad by telling him I was so careless as to lose his ring. Please, Lord, help me find it. In Jesus' name. Amen.''
My eldest daughter stopped by the church and we walked home for lunch. We had just finished eating and my daughter went out to play. Shortly she rushed in: ''I found Daddy's ring, I found Daddy's ring!'' Apparently, my three--year--old picked it up, took it to the neighbor's and proceeded to drop it in the dirt. My eldest found it half buried. Nobody can convince me that God doesn't answer prayer.
230
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21 (C)
Sarah jealously guards the rights of her natural son, Isaac, by ordering Abraham to throw out her slave girl, Hagar, with her son. God speaks to Abraham in his distress about the plight of Hagar and her son, telling him to do as Sarah wished because his descendants would be counted through Isaac. Furthermore, God would also make a great nation through Ishmael.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:10--13 (RC); Jeremiah 20:7--13 (E, L)
Jeremiah was born about 650 B.C. and began his ministry in the 13th year of King Josiah's reign. As the Babylonian threat mounts, the prophet warns his nation to repent or face destruction at the hand of the enemy. His message is met with great antagonism and consequent isolation. In great distress of soul, Jeremiah accuses God of being deceitful with him and taking advantage of his weakness. The prophet makes a pact with himself not to speak any longer in the name of the Lord, but the word of the Lord is like fire in his bones. We witness in this text Jeremiah's painful struggle to be faithful in his calling to be the Lord's spokesman.
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11 (C); Romans 5:12--15 (RC, L); Romans 5:15b--19 (E)
Paul views Adam as the pioneer of sin and Christ as the progenitor of salvation. The disobedience of the one man, Adam, unleashes the power of sin. The obedience of the one man, Jesus Christ, makes many people righteous. Just as sin exercises dominion in death, so also, grace exercises dominion through justification. Chapter 6 continues by pointing out that those who have been baptized into Christ have put to death their sinful natures. Since they are now new persons in Christ, they can no longer continue under the sway of sin and death.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39 (C); Matthew 10:26--33 (RC); Matthew 10:(16--23) 24--33 (E); Matthew 10:24--33 (L)
The tenth chapter contains a number of sayings which the Lord spoke at different times in his ministry concerning opposition and suffering, which his disciples ought to expect. The disciples should not expect better treatment than their teacher (v. 25). As Jesus was maligned, so too would be those called by his name. They are counseled not to be anxious about their fate or fearful of their enemies' unwarranted accusations. Truth would triumph. There is nothing hidden that would not be revealed in the judgment of God (v. 26). God cares about the smallest aspect of their existence and so they can commend their lives into his keeping. The only fear that the disciple of Jesus should have is that she would turn her back to the Lord.
226
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 86:1--10, 16--17 (C) - ''In the day of my trouble I call on you ...'' (v. 7).
Psalm 69:1--18 (RC, E, L) - ''Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck'' (v. 1).
Prayer Of The Day
Merciful Savior, when the waters of adversity mount up to our necks, threatening to sweep over our heads, hear our cry for deliverance. You are the Rock to which we cling, forbid that we ever lose our grip on your grace and love. In the powerful name of Jesus, we are bold to make known to you our every thought or need. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21
God hears the cries of his people. It doesn't seem right that Hagar and her son were thrust out from the protection of Abraham's care. Yet God hears the cries of his people who suffer injustice. When Hagar's provisions ran out, she put her child down on the ground and then went a distance, so that she wouldn't have to watch her child die. The infant cried out and God heard his cry; God encouraged Hagar to care for her son. When she did so, she beheld a wall of water to sustain them.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:7--13
Wrestling with the Lord. Recall the story of Jacob wrestling with God until the break of day. We see the same kind of struggle taking place in Jeremiah. Only this time, it's God who won't let go. The Lord won't permit him to remain silent to avoid the opposition of his friends and neighbors. Jeremiah's complaint was that the match was unfair because God was stronger than he (v. 7). Real faith does not come without a struggle, because our human will often comes into conflict with the Lord's will. It is the struggle that makes us strong. Those who attain a faith like Jeremiah's discover that the Lord is not our enemy but our ally in the struggle of life. When we are on God's side, victory is assured.
Honest to God. No writer in the Bible is more honest in expressing his inward feelings than Jeremiah. He didn't tell God what piety told him to say, he let it rip! He told God exactly how he felt and what he thought of him. Jeremiah informed God that he thought he was unfair, that he had tricked and deceived him. Some of us may have had such thoughts but we probably didn't share them with the Lord or even other believers. Notice that God didn't strike him dead. God certainly understood the difficulty of what his prophet was going through. So often times, we play the good Christian games and deny our true feelings. God knows how we feel. It would be healthier for us to be honest to God.
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11; Romans 5:12--19
The power of one. We often make the excuse: I'm only one person, what can I do? History demonstrates that one person can have a lasting influence on the world. Think of the monumental influence of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Einstein, and Hitler. Paul maintains that sin entered the world because of the disobedience of the one man, Adam, and infected us all. He also holds that grace and forgiveness have entered the world through the one man, Jesus Christ, bringing life to many.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39
Realistic expectations. Jesus wanted his disciples to have realistic expectations about how the world would receive the Gospel. They would meet with a good deal of opposition, just like their Lord. Their goodness would be portrayed as evil (vv. 24--25). If we have a realistic view of the challenges that face us, we are less likely to fold when the heat is on.
227
The focus of your fears. In preparing his disciples for the coming spiritual battles, Jesus instructed them not to fear the enemies of the gospel, because their power was limited. Rather, they should fear God because he had the power to commit both body and soul to hell. It's not that Jesus was trying to convince his followers to relate to God out of fear. Instead, he is attempting to show the inappropriateness of most of our fears, because we fear those who have no power to touch our souls. Fear is appropriate and helpful if it prevents us from risking our lives foolishly. On the other side of the ledger, fear is destructive if it causes us to expend time and energy on that which is no real threat to our being.
Fear, love and worship. Jesus taught his disciples the proper fear of God. In the Old Testament theophanies, the human witnesses were filled with awe, fear and trembling as they stood in the presence of God. Isaiah was so smitten with the fear of God that he felt doomed. We moderns don't seem to tremble before the Lord any longer. Either we don't feel that the Lord is a power to be reckoned with any more or we have permitted our concept of the love of God to drive out any vestige of fear, believing that fear and love are not compatible. The Bible teaches that God is to be both feared and loved. Fear represents the vertical dimension of faith. God is above and beyond us. This is not a relationship of equals because God is the one to whom we owe an absolute obedience. Love apprehends the horizontal dimension of our relationship with the Lord. It tells us that God is along side of us. We can freely entrust our lives into his care. Some may beg to differ, but I don't feel we can truly worship God without the component of fear as well as love.
God cares about the little stuff. Jesus teaches that God is so interested in us and concerned for our well being, that he even numbers the hairs on our heads (v. 30). Some people point out that they pray to God when they have a really big problem but they don't view it as proper to concern him with the little stuff. But think about it; 99 percent of life is composed of the little stuff. If we don't share the little stuff with God, we have effectively aced him out of the great majority of our existence. God shows his love for us by urging us to invite him into the totality of our being.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 21:8--21
Sermon Title: God Hears The Cries Of The Oppressed
Sermon Angle: It's hard to ignore the cry of a child. God made us that way, so that the needs of his helpless children would not be ignored. Can God be any less attentive to the needs of his children? When they cry out in pain or fear, he hastens to respond. He hears the cry of the mother abandoned by her husband and the child abandoned by the mother. In compassion, he saves those whom life has dealt a vicious and seemingly unfair blow. God will bless them and keep them. Our God hears the cries of the oppressed. Do we?
Outline:
1. Recite the story of Hagar and her son
2. The Hagars and the Ishmaels are legion in our sinful world
3. Yet, God is not deaf to their cries and sends angels of mercy
4. Are your ears attuned to hear and heed the cries of the desperate?
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 20:7--13
Sermon Title: The Proper Fear Of God
Sermon Angle: In reading this lamentation of Jeremiah, as well as many other such outbursts, one might assume that he did not have a proper fear of God. In his moments of frustration, and they were many, he accused God of being a trickster and a bully, just for starters. Yet, for all his complaining, he never failed in his commission to be the mouth of the Lord. He never shirked his duty. God judges us more by our actions than our words. To fear the Lord manifests itself in obedience to the Lord.
228
Sermon Title: Honest To God Prayer
Sermon Angle: Prayer that is not brutally honest is just so much pious prating. That's why Jeremiah's prayers are so refreshing; he just bares his soul to the Lord. God accepts us just as we are. It's pretending that puts him off. Recall the parable told in Luke's gospel of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. We need to hold up the example of such honest to God prayer.
Outline:
1. When's the last time you had an honest to God prayer?
2. Actually, there is no other kind
3. Jeremiah is a prime example of such authentic prayer
4. Principles of honest to God prayer
- don't worry about the vocabulary of prayer
- don't be concerned about what others think of your prayers
- be honest to God (take off your mask)
- do what God directs you to do
- thank God for blessings (Jeremiah sometimes forgot this one)
Lesson 2: Romans 6:1b--11; Romans 5:12--19
Sermon Title: God's Gift Of Grace
Sermon Angle: God offers the world the gift of his grace, forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. We have but to accept the gift, open it up and share it with others.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24--39
Sermon Title: Fear, Love And Worship
Sermon Angle: The proper end for every believer is to worship God. Worship involves both fear and love. Fear, because God is awesome, transcendent, almighty and mysterious. Love, because God has shown his love for us in Jesus Christ and in his provision for our every need. Jesus teaches concerning these two vital components of relationship with God, which inform our worship.
Outline:
1. What part do fear and love play in your worship?
- if we only fear God, there is no room for love
- if we only love God, he is not a fitting object of worship
2. Jesus teaches that we should fear God, not people (v. 28)
3. Jesus also teaches that we can love God because he loves us (vv. 29--31)
One of the central reasons for family breakdown in our society is that parents no longer claim, yea, demand, their rightful authority. Children no longer fear God or their parents. Don't misunderstand; I'm not advocating that parents rule with an iron hand or that fear should replace love, but if parents would inject a little dose of fear in their relationships with their children, the health of the family might get a needed boost. If parents would set limits, and children would fear transgressing those limits, there would be less delinquency. If children would mind their manners because they fear hurting their parents or bringing dishonor to the family name, would that be a bad thing? I think not.
William Safire, a New York Times columnist, writes that what fathers want most for Father's Day is not designer ties or polo shirts. Fathers want their authority back. He argues that the proper role of father is not that of friend, which seems to be the role so many parents take these days. No, a father is someone a child should look up to. Safire puts forth a thesis which many would contend with. ''Motherpower is rooted in love, fatherpower in authority.'' It's not that nurturing is necessarily foreign to men, some do it very well, but moms are more naturally adept at it. Dads are better suited at laying down the law. At least, this is Safire's opinion. I can't help but wonder if the lack of respect for all authority structures could be traced, in
229
part, to the abandoning of authority by dads. Could it be that some men lash out in violence and abuse against their family out of a misguided attempt to reclaim authority? Has the proper holy fear and respect for fatherly authority been replaced by a hellish fear?
Sermon Title: Truth Or Consequences
Sermon Angle: Back in the '50s there was a television show by the name of Truth Or Consequences. I don't remember much about the show but its name, but wisdom is contained therein. If you don't tell the truth and live the truth, there are terrible consequences. Jesus said, ''What you have heard in the dark, tell in the light and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops'' (v. 27). These words were spoken in an era antagonistic to the Gospel; its truth was shared secretly, for fear of punishment. The Lord says to proclaim its truth from the housetops without fear of the consequences. In the judgment of God, those who lived the truth will be revealed. Ultimately, the truth is not a thing but a person, Jesus Christ. If we proclaim the truth, the truth will proclaim us (vv. 32--33).
Outline:
1. In the boardrooms of politics and business, truth is often concealed
2. If we conceal the truth, we must bear the consequences (violence, bondage)
3. Jeremiah told the truth and took the consequences
4. The counsel of Christ is to publicly proclaim the truth (v. 27)
5. If we witness to Christ, he will acknowledge us
Sermon Title: God Of The Mundane
Sermon Angle: When a big problem occurs, the first thing we do is turn to God. Not so, with the little, inconsequential concerns of life. Jesus teaches that God numbers the hairs on our heads (v. 30). Such a God is aware of the entirety of our being. We can be confident of his protection and pray to him in all circumstances.
When I was ordained, my father gave me a large diamond ring that he inherited from his father. Sometimes I would take it off at night and place it on the bathroom counter. As we were driving to Wisconsin for two weeks vacation, I noticed I had forgotten to put on my ring but I didn't worry about it because I knew where it was. At least, I thought that I did. When we arrived home, I proceeded to look for the ring. It wasn't on the counter. It wasn't on the dresser or in the jewelry box. I looked frantically. Maybe one of my daughters saw this shiny rock, and picked it up as a play thing. We looked in the toy boxes, in the recreation room, down in the basement where they played, outside. We hadn't the foggiest notion where to go from here. I hadn't prayed about it. I thought, God has more important things to concern himself about than my ring. But one day, in desperation, I decided to petition the Lord. I prayed, ''Lord, I know you have other issues on your mind and I don't need this ring really; but it was given to me by my dad and it means a lot to him because it was from his father. I don't want to hurt my dad by telling him I was so careless as to lose his ring. Please, Lord, help me find it. In Jesus' name. Amen.''
My eldest daughter stopped by the church and we walked home for lunch. We had just finished eating and my daughter went out to play. Shortly she rushed in: ''I found Daddy's ring, I found Daddy's ring!'' Apparently, my three--year--old picked it up, took it to the neighbor's and proceeded to drop it in the dirt. My eldest found it half buried. Nobody can convince me that God doesn't answer prayer.
230
