Ministry Matters Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! for Tuesday, 26 May 2015 "3 ways to mess up worship | The millennial obsession | Multi-campus disconnect"

Ministry Matters Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! for Tuesday, 26 May 2015 "3 ways to mess up worship | The millennial obsession | Multi-campus disconnect"

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The millennial obsession by David F. Watson

How do we get more millennials into church? In the ecclesial world I live in, this seems to be the question of the day, and there is no shortage of answers.

I’m not a millennial. Many have been my students. I count several as friends. There are even a couple of professors on my faculty who fall into this generation. And guess what? They’re not all exactly like one another. This is one reason I am so consistently puzzled by Rachel Held Evans. She speaks on behalf of millennials as their religious spokesperson, sounding the bell for a new kind of Christianity, one that will appeal to her and her millennial friends. Unfortunately, as Drew McIntyre has pointed out, this new kind of Christianity is really a retread of mid-twentieth century liberalism.

My own experience with millennials is that, like other generations, they are a diverse group of folks. While it is possible to identify generational trends, we should not oversimplify the complex set of beliefs and values within a particular generation, nor should we assume that these beliefs and values will remain static over time. Some millennials I have encountered are indeed as Evans describes. I think it’s safe to say that she speaks for a particular subculture within the millennial generation. Others of this same generation, however, are quite different. According to the recent and much-ballyhooed Pew study on Religion Among Millennials, 22% of millennials affiliate with evangelical traditions, whereas only 12% affiliate with mainline traditions. Another 8% affiliate with historically black churches and 22% are Roman Catholic. That 12% number is the one that should jump out at us. To listen to some of the rhetoric among church leaders today, one would think that number should be much higher. Millennials should be sprinting to the nearest Episcopal church where they can combine high-church liturgy, doctrinal relativism and a progressive social ethic. The thing is, they aren’t doing this. Mainline traditions claim only 3% more millennials than “secular unaffiliated.” By contrast, more conservative evangelical and Roman Catholic traditions combine for a total of 44%.

The idea that we can paint in such broad strokes with regard to the millennial generation — or any other generation, for that matter — is only part of the problem. Another problem, I fear, has to do with the motives behind much of our millennial obsession in the church. I suspect that often what’s driving this is not evangelistic zeal, but institutional preservation. I don’t remember churches engaging in such frenetic activity to reach Generation Xers when I was coming up. At that time, most of the mainline traditions were still firmly fixated on baby boomers. They inhabited virtually all of the positions of influence within the church and they created churches that appealed to the cultural sensitivities of middle-class, educated, liberal North American baby boomers. Generation X? Um… sure. You can come in, too… I guess… if you want to. Try not to break anything.

But then the looming collapse of the mainline became apparent, and all of a sudden we rediscovered evangelism. At least, we’ve been trying to. We have created advertising campaigns like “Rethink Church” that are supposed to appeal to the millennial demographic. Our evangelistic efforts are most often targeted specifically at millennials. Why would this be? Has God put a special burden on our hearts for people who were born approximately between 1980 and 2000? What about people younger than this? Shouldn’t we be worried about this group, too? My oldest son is thirteen. Does his generation even have a name? Could all this focus on millennials in fact be related to the sheer number of them?

Do I want millennials to receive the gospel? Absolutely, but not so that they can save the church. I want them to receive the gospel so that they can receive salvation through Jesus Christ. I want them to know and love God. I want them to experience new birth. I want them to know the peace of Christ and receive the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The mission of The United Methodist Church is not “to preserve and protect The United Methodist Church.” It is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

I certainly recognize the value of institutions. I am heavily invested in both The United Methodist Church and United Theological Seminary. I care about these institutions and I want them to thrive. But if we as a church begin to exist for our own sake instead of existing for the sake of our mission, if we begin to think in terms of self-preservation instead of reaching the lost and preaching and living the Gospel, we’re done for. That’s it. It’s over.

Evan Rohrs-Dodge has recently urged us to refuse the temptation to be “relevant.” I agree with his post wholeheartedly. Rather than trying to re-create the church into the image of a certain segment of society, let’s try this: Offer them Christ. That was Wesley’s advice. Offer people Christ. It’s a pretty straight forward message:

• Jesus is Lord.
• He gave his life so that you and I can be made right with God.
• After three days he rose from the dead, and he is alive still today.
• He will change your life.

In 1998 Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong wrote "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." A lot of people believed it. And the denominations that embraced the principles Spong set forth are dying ever more quickly. I’m starting to hear that refrain again from many who claim that we will lose the millennials if we don’t become more progressive, if we don’t become relevant, if we don’t get with the times. But we aren’t going to lose them, because they were never ours to begin with. They are God’s, and as Christians our calling is to help them — and people of all other generations — understand that they were created to know and love God. Christ makes this possible, and the Holy Spirit leads us on the way.

Paul warned the Christians in Rome not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom 12:2). The claim that Christians should become more like the world around them has been around for a long time. It’s the age-old temptation: to blur or erase the distinctions between our faith and the values of the world. We’ve seen this movie before. It doesn’t end well.

David F. Watson blogs at davidfwatson.me.

3 ways to mess up worship by Rebekah Simon-Peter

My husband is Latino. Whenever we go out to eat, he wants to eat Mexican food. Yes, we’ve got great WyoMex food in our part of the country. And I like Mexican, too. But every time?! To Jerry, though, it’s “mother’s milk.” It nourishes him and feeds him; it touches his soul.

Corporate worship is mother’s milk for the church. We can’t survive as a body without it. We need it to gather us, fill us, unite us, grow us and send us forth as light into the world. We need it for disciple-making and correction. We need it for our very identity.

The truth is, your church won’t survive long as a going concern without it.

But for too many churches worship has become rote. One call to worship, two prayers, three hymns, the offering and the sermon. Yes, you might add Holy Communion, announcements, a children’s message, a benediction, a prelude and a postlude. Maybe even a bit of comedy or drama. But it’s a fill-in-the-blank experience.

I want to share three ways we consistently mess up worship. And three best practices that can revive the soul of worship— for you, for others and for God. Longing for some mother’s milk? I have been to lots of different churches in my work. In my experience, these are the top three ways to mess up worship.

1. Talk about God … but don’t leave space to experience God. 
2. Call for silent prayer … then fill up the space with music or rush on to the next thing. 
3. Follow the bulletin … not the Spirit. 

Each of these mistakes is common in churches. Each communicates a hidden message that undermines the primary message. We say we can know God, that we can experience the holy, that by following Jesus we can transform the world. That’s our primary message. But the hidden message is we don’t actually expect to encounter the transcendent in worship. You’ve got to get that on your own time.

But what is worship if not the time to be in communion with God, and for God to be in communion with us?

So what does it take to have meaningful worship? Here are three best practices to create that sort of experience.

1. Prepare to experience God. As a worship leader, it’s essential that you spend time in personal communication with God. Every church leader runs on empty sometimes, but when it becomes a chronic condition it’s a problem. You have much less to give. The light can’t shine through you.

Also, consider what helps you encounter God personally. Chances are, you are not the only one. Pray for insight about how to incorporate these elements into corporate worship. Talk with others too about their experiences of experiencing the presence of God. Exchange ideas about how to include these ideas into worship.

2. Silence is golden. When it’s time for corporate prayer, be sure to include silence. Enough of it so that it really constitutes silent prayer. There is so much noise in the world that silence is countercultural. Alert people ahead of time about what is coming. Perhaps begin with one full minute of silence. No background music. No words. No nothing. Work up to two minutes. Then three. Let people know why. Finally, give them something to focus on during this time: on a word or a phrase from Scripture, a biblical image, an experience in nature, a prayer to lift up or a word to listen for. Finish with soft music or a musical refrain that is known to the people.

3. Be ready to flex. There will be times, if you are lucky, when the Spirit moves in worship. If the Spirit and the congregation are lucky, you will listen and respond accordingly. Are you called to sing an extra verse or change the words to the music? Is it time for a testimony? Maybe you’re prompted to call for the laying on of hands. Or maybe its time to chuck the sermon and say something altogether different. When this happened in the black church I served, we would say to each other, “Didn’t we have church today?!” It didn’t happen every week, but when it did, it was a joy!

I’ve had some terrific Mexican food. When it’s time to eat out, I know which restaurants I’d like to go to. And which I steer clear from. The same is true for church. When it comes time for your Sunday worship, make sure your congregation is on the short list of top places to go.

Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com.

Multi-campus churches: One millennial's disconnect by Logan Robertson

In America, we like things to get big quick. American Christians are no different. We want to see "billions served."

The multi-campus church is an expression of this desire. As a church grows in popularity, it naturally seeks to continue spreading its way of doing and being church. Satellite locations are established bearing the name of the original church. Geared toward 25- to 40-year-olds and their young families, multi-campus churches are seeing a surge in popularity. However, as someone in the target demo, I find myself turned off.

There’s a clear corporate franchise model happening here. The original ministry brand established at the first location is repackaged and consumed at satellite locations. Subsequent campuses relate to the original church as the original owner of the ministry brand. If a flavor of ministry finds success, then why not expand access to it? Megachurches have played in this space for decades by expanding the number of worship services and the days of the week services are available.

The drawback to a single campus megachurch is that the location must remain attractive enough to draw members from all over the community. Car culture among members is a must, but car culture among young people, especially Millennials, is quickly declining. A multi-campus church allows the startling growth of a megachurch while accessing members directly where they are. If a satellite location is more convenient for part of the congregation, it's a no-brainer. I like my church, but the new campus is closer to home. Never mind that there are already churches in my neighborhood; just like a franchise location of, say, Chipotle, I'm reassured by the familiarity of the brand identity to which I feel loyal. If I am not already familiar with the ministry, I may be reassured by its popularity and feel compelled to visit.

With very little risk, someone who wants to check out a church in their own neighborhood is now served by the church across town they already know. In an increasingly divided society that manufactures loneliness, expanding opportunities for people to interact with each other in public is to the good.

It is this physical gathering together that causes my critique of the multi-campus church model. Though it may not be the case for every church, often the pastor isn’t present with the congregation of the satellite campuses. Instead, an image of the pastor is projected into the sanctuary via live feed from a building across town (or across the nation). Part of the appeal of megachurches in general is the excitement of being a part of something with hundreds or thousands of other people.

I see the appeal and excitement of hearing a talented pastor deliver a great sermon to a packed sanctuary. But it is important for the pastor of a church to be bodily present among her people. Can a pastor who is available virtually to her flock speak to the particulars of the satellite location? Does a pastor who encounters his congregation through a video screen address the specific struggles a congregation is having with the gospel? Can the pastor of a multi-campus church suffer with members who suffer; can she fully be Christ to her people without being physically present among them?

A further implication of the multi-campus church arrangement is that the original campus is the wellspring of authentic ministry and authority for the satellite locations. While certainly not the case for all multi-campus churches, this arrangement can serve to inflate the ego of the pastor and staff of the original church. It can also serve to stroke the ego of the original congregation, especially of those big donors to the church who now not only support one church, but three or four.

The notorious example of this is Mars Hill and the much-publicized travails of Mark Driscoll. Recently, eleven independent churches have formed as the Mars Hill franchise dissolved. One wonders why these churches could not have originally been founded as independent locations inspired by Mars Hill without the image of Mark Driscoll projected into their sanctuaries each week.

You may detect a hint of bias against video screens. I suspect my distaste for video may be a reactionary push against my own generation's total immersion in the digital realm. I want church disconnected from that. The church is keen to attract people my age with apps, streams, screens, and overly-designed logos and iconography (not the Greek kind). I find it all more than a little condescending. Give me a place to escape from my phone, where it is simply in bad taste to Tweet, and "like" and Instagram because you ought to be talking to the little old lady sitting in the pew next to you.

Criticism is easy. Building something is hard. I've already mentioned the efficiency of the arrangement laid out above. If a church is growing so quickly that it isn’t served by its original location, it makes a certain kind of sense to continue welcoming people elsewhere, and thus to continue growing. When you have a good thing going, why not allow as many people as possible to access it? Why not offer the attraction of worshipping with thousands?

Another major benefit of the multi-campus style of church is the clear well of energy that exists to build community and communion in a body that seeks to conform to Christ. Multi-campus churches are unabashedly forward about sharing that life with one another and with their wider communities. This is an energy much of the Mainline Protestant church in the United States could use today.

However, the logic at play in a multi-campus church risks replacing the most challenging aspects of faith with the familiar logic of market-based consumerism. But, efficiency, common sense and growth aren’t biblical concepts. I desire community that embraces the energy and courage on display in the multi-campus style but that rejects the urge to depend on the too-familiar logic of the market and brand loyalty, even if that means it cannot achieve exponential growth. I crave church that not only preaches a challenging message of personal and social transformation but which acts in a way that risks upsetting the established order of things. In contrast to the multi-campus model, this expression of church would more fully conform to the life of Christ and invite the Holy Spirit to powerfully dwell with those who gather in the name of Jesus.

Singing the Trinity: A new approach to Trinity Sunday By Cameron Merrill

The harried pace of the church year rips us from Advent through Easter, barely pausing long enough for us to catch our breath before Pentecost brings a new wind in the door. 

Then, just after that fiery wind calms down, we come to Trinity Sunday. Some poor lay person who drew the short straw on the schedule finds his way up to the front of the congregation and attempts to say something to our children about what it means to say God is “Three-in-One.” Usually it involves an illustration that further confounds and unsuspectingly brings our kids into a heresy condemned by the church sometime in the 6th century. The preacher for the day is then bound to follow up with a sermon that leads to a similar outcome, and by the end of the morning the congregation is left stumbling to lunch, hoping that this was it for all the Trinity talk.

These was Trinity Sunday celebrations point toward what I suspect is the larger problem: we try too hard to explain the Trinity. We treat the Trinity as a teaching point, as if we are trying to convince congregations that God is actually Three-in-One, or as if we are a little embarrassed by the idea and feel like we should say something because there is a Sunday bearing the name. In the end, we are left a little confused and ready to move into Ordinary Time with its more ‘ordinary' stories.

What we need is a better imagination for Trinity Sunday — how it might be a feast and not a chore. What Wesleyans have come to realize, in large part thanks to our inheritance from John and Charles themselves, is that the doctrine of the Trinity is better sung than said. We do a much better job navigating the intricacies of life with the Triune Lord when we sing our way in and through those mysteries.

Charles and John were by no means the first to discover this truth. We only need to look at the church’s liturgical memory to find the places where our best Trinitarian proclamation has appeared in verse. Well over 100,000 Sundays have included the singing of the Sanctus with its words taken from Isaiah’s song. The sounds of the Trisagion, the Gloria Patri and the Doxology so often fill the air throughout Christian worship history. In the past few hundred Sundays, one might even hear Vineyard’s “Glorious the Three,” Chris Tomlin’s “Praise The Father, Praise The Son” or David Crowder’s setting for the Doxology as often as you hear more traditional pieces.

In singing these hymns, their words work their way into hearts and souls, forming and reshaping us. We all know how catchy a song can be. Psychological research has shown the deep connection between music and memory in brain function. So by singing our way through these songs, we are imbibing a profoundly orthodox Trinitarianism that could never come as well through teaching discourse or classroom discussion.

Realizing now that there is so much beauty in the ways we can sing the faith, there is a simple two-part plea in all of this: don’t ignore Trinity Sunday, and don’t try to explain the day away.

1. Don’t do the local church the disservice of ignoring the day, not when this feast is the culmination of so many other Trinitarian feasts throughout the year: Annunciation, Incarnation, Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost. Trinity Sunday is not a tack-on or a catch-all day, but the peak of the church’s entrance into the mystery of professing a Three-in-One God. An entire story, a whole world is wrapped up in professing “Father, Son, Spirit,” and it is a story best professed and celebrated.
2. When it comes to the liturgy of the day, don’t fill it with explanations or attempts to teach. The day is for doxology, not dogmatics. Here are some possibilities for how we can reflect this proposal in our worship:
3. Celebrate the Trinitarian hymns of the faith. Sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” as you gather, or one of the countless other overtly Trinitarian songs we have. Let Spirit remind us why we are here and in whose name we have gathered.
4. Fill the service with congregational singing, even more than usual. If you are in the right context, make it a “Hymn Sing” Sunday, and choose from the depth of Trinitarian hymns we have. Have the choir or music team lead the more complex pieces, but don’t shortchange the church’s voice.
5. Keep the sermon more of a “homiletical preface” than you might typically be inclined to do. Share what was said here with the church, that the real preachers for the day are the poets and the songwriters, not the typical voice from the pulpit.
6. Don’t wait until Trinity Sunday to celebrate the Trinitarian stories. Help the congregation to see how each feast is an epiphany of Trinity’s life shared with us in communion.
7. Don’t wait until Trinity Sunday to share in professing our faith with the creeds. If the Nicene Creed only gets rolled out on Trinity Sunday, no wonder the day feels so obtuse. Bring it into the worshipping practices of the church more often throughout the year (Eastertide being a wonderful time to form this habit), and it won’t seem so out of place when we reach for it on this actual Sunday.

The Trinity is a mystery to be contemplated, not a puzzle to be solved. Wesleyans have long suspected this, and we are at our best when we rejoice in that truth. From Athanasius to Augustine, Cyril to Charles, we have a rich tradition of voices to bring into the conversation, and we shortchange ourselves by ignoring them or silencing their song. Let the chorus of the saints carry us forward into communion with Father, Son, and Spirit:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Appeal to Scripture as ultimate authority leads to schism By Christy Thomas

I sat in a giant, rich Baptist church on Sunday, and heard the pastor say, “Just trust me on this one,” as he pronounced with authority the demise of the U.S. and the rise of the Antichrist over the issue of same-sex marriages.

Baptist churches are all independent — none has to answer to another. They can and do teach anything they want and all make their appeal to the Bible as their ultimate authority.

I spent about 25 years in the independent church world. There the Bible is the ultimate authority. Disagreements are rampant; cult-like churches common. Indoctrination serves as the main form of instruction.

Why? Because it holds them together while keeping them generally ignorant and dependent upon one strong leader.

Truly, the Bible is nearly impossible to read, understand and interpret with confident accuracy for today. I have spent my life trying. I studied, learned to read Greek and Hebrew, and brought in my anthropology background to help with cultural awareness. The more I know, the less I pronounce, “Thus says the Lord.” I am at a point where I no longer engage with people who say, “Just read your Bible. Then you will know what God wants you to do [read: ‘and you will agree with me‘].”

Bible verses have been used to justify every immoral, unjust action known to humanity. They can be read and interpreted to say and/or mean anything we want them to say or mean. We all discern their meaning through our educational and cultural grids and with our educational and cultural blinders functioning well.

But The United Methodist Church, of which I am a part, is a connectional church. We affirm the authority of the Scriptures and also have a much-lamented and multi-amended Book of Discipline as the ultimate authority. We do not trust just one person. We trust a larger connection, seeking to discern the will of God together.

Elders are ordained to Word, Sacrament, Order and Service. The “Order” part of that is our responsibility to keep our various charges operating in line with the Book of Discipline. Without adhering to it, there is no way a connectional system with an itinerant clergy, sent from church to church as needs arise, can possibly work.

The BOD: Our connectional glue

In order to avoid the types of divisions endemic to the independent churches, the Roman Catholic Church has the Pope and the Curia and all the apparatus surrounding that. The Mormons have their President and his henchmen who regularly receive new revelations applicable to all Mormons. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a group of seven men who periodically meet in Brooklyn who make their decisions that every Witness has to abide by.

We United Methodists have our Book of Discipline.

Again, those who have clergy orders within the UMC have vowed to uphold it and members of the UMC have promised loyalty to it.

Why? Not because it is inherently inerrant. It gets modified every four years, after all. Not because it reads smoothly and with ease of interpretation. We have our own highly trained Judicial Council to do that for us.

Why? Because it is our Constitution, our glue, our base from which all operate with some sense of internal consistency and outward coherence. Without it, we descend into anarchy. Which pretty well describes the current state of the UMC.

I personally identify with the so-called “progressive” movement. I have grown in horror that we permit the kind of language in the BOD against the “practice of homosexuality” without adding comparable language against such things as the “practice of grumbling” or the “practice of inciting divisions among people” or the “practice of gluttony” or the “practice of greed” or the “practice of heterosexual lust.”

I believe we need to leave behind our voyeuristic obsession with what goes on between the sheets and focus on what it means to love God and our neighbors in our given cultural contexts.

From what I can tell, there are two primary groups of clergy, all of whom have vowed to uphold the BOD, that are essentially saying to the UMC, “either I get my way or I won’t play by the rules.”

• One group are those who pastor wealthy conservative congregations now gleefully withholding apportionments, our connectional giving. 
• The other are the clergy who now gleefully perform same-sex weddings. 

Both actions are egregiously wrong. Both violate serious vows. Both break connectional bonds and hope. Both accelerate the peril of ultimate destruction to the UMC.

Freeing the UMC to pursue our mission isn’t complicated. It’s a simple removal of language, supplemented with the understanding that all Christians, clergy and lay alike, are called to the highest standards of conduct and moral integrity. That includes faithfulness of our vows. It also includes a willingness to love our enemies and lay down our lives for them. Enemies include those on the opposite side of theological and structural debates.

However, a simple language change probably won’t happen at General Conference 2016. Trenches are too deep now. Much ammunition hides in storehouses, ready to launch. We’re preparing for war.

• May God have mercy.
• Time to Leave?

I have left two marriages. For reasons that shall stay private to me, it became tragically necessary to do so. I possess no vocabulary words sufficiently adequate to describe both my personal pain and the pain to others.

Because of that personal history, I have written numerous times calling us to stay as one body.

Now, for the first time since I became aware of the real possibility of a split within the UMC, I say this: Those who choose not to honor their vows to uphold the Book of Discipline and thus honor the historic connection need to gracefully leave.

• Leave in a way that honors God.
• Leave without claim.
• Leave without position, appointment, buildings and all the other things that go with being part of a connectional church.
• Leave peacefully, wishing blessing and goodness on those who stay.

It must be a freely chosen leaving, not one forced by someone who claims to have “won.” The whole idea that there would be winners and losers here is anathema to the witness of true Christian faith, to which we are indeed called to oneness.

I have a small idea of the sacrifice involved here. I am retired with limited funds. Should I lose my pension, it will be an additional financial challenge. Even so, my pension is small compared to many others, as I am a second career clergy person and did not have years to build it up. I am no longer dependent on a monthly paycheck from a local charge. Others will suffer much more should it be necessary to relinquish such means of support.

The way of Jesus

• But I am continually asking myself: What is the way of Jesus here? What is the way of life and truth here?
• Is it to grasp and fight and maim others in our push to victory?
• Is it to hold positions at all costs, including deep damage to the witness of the Gospel?
• Or is it to live with the words found in our Service of Holy Communion, “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love for us.”

We’re all sinners here. Every single one of us. No matter how right or righteous we think our positions and decisions are, we are all sinners, all seeing through a mirror dimly, all in need of redemption and all needing to learn to go to the cross for our enemies.

• Let us lay down our swords. Let us seek the kingdom of heaven and have those swords pounded instead into plowshares. Let us stop killing and start tilling so there will be fertile, prepared ground for the church that will spring forth again out of the dead of winter into the hope of spring.
• Let us be Christ-followers. All the way to the cross. Only then will we see the resurrection to new life.

Christy blogs at ChristyThomas.com.

Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, addresses the crowd at the Festival of Hope, an evangelistic rally held at the national stadium in Port-au-Prince, on January 9, 2011. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Allison Shelley

Franklin Graham's Facebook prayers target Supreme Court justices on gay marriage By Lauren Markoe / Religion News Service

(RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham has taken to Facebook to plead for prayers on behalf of each U.S. Supreme Court justices as they prepare to rule on gay marriage.

• Recognizing same-sex marriage as a constitutional right “would be a wicked, wicked thing,” said Graham, son of the iconic preacher Billy Graham “The only hope we have is prayer.”
• “Imagine tens and tens and tens of thousands of Americans praying for God to hear their prayers and to change the hearts of these justices. God just might do that.”

So far, Graham has posted prayers for seven of the justices on his Facebook page, which has 1.4 million “likes.” He plans to do two more in the coming days, covering all nine justices, both those who may rule for and those who are against same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide before the end of June. Many court observers believe the court is poised, if not to declare the constitutionality of gay marriage, then at least to require states to recognize gay marriages established in states where it is legal.

Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan’s Purse charity, describes Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the subject of his latest post, as the daughter of immigrants who made good on the American dream.

“Unfortunately,” the post continues, “she is also an example of someone who seems to be very misguided on the issue of same-sex marriage. She voted to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2014, and homosexual advocates consider her an ally in their fight to make same-sex marriage the law of the land.

“Let’s pray for Justice Sotomayor to have the wisdom to know that as a society we cannot survive if we turn our back on God’s standards and His definition of marriage,” the post concludes.

The Sotomayor post has received more than 34,900 “likes.” The one for Justice Samuel Alito, who, Graham writes, seems to understand the consequences of a ruling for gay marriage, garnered more than 92,400 “likes.”

Social media, and Facebook in particular, has become a powerful pulpit. The Graham clan has long understood the power of the media.

“With nearly 1 million likes on Facebook and a quarter of a million followers on Twitter, Franklin Graham can inexpensively influence and incite his followers without the infrastructure his father required to persuade the masses,” said Scott Thumma, professor of sociology and religion at Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

This is not the first time Graham has turned to social media to sway public opinion on a controversial issue in the news.

Duke University dropped plans to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer from the bell tower of Duke Chapel in January after Graham launched a Facebook campaign decrying the idea.

“As Christianity is being excluded from the public square and followers of Islam are raping, butchering, and beheading Christians, Jews, and anyone who doesn’t submit to their Sharia Islamic law, Duke is promoting this in the name of religious pluralism,” his Facebook post read.

Graham also asked Duke alumni to refrain from donating to the university until it canceled the call to prayer.

7 habits of a successful leader By Ron Edmondson

I’m a student of leadership. I am consistently talking to, interviewing and learning from leaders I believe have been successful, regardless of their vocational field. If they have honorable intentions (which I believe is necessary to be considered successful anyway), then I can learn from them.

I’ve observed a few common habits that successful leaders have that may, in my opinion, separate them from less successful leaders. I’m not sure you can eliminate any of them completely. Just a theory: I don’t know if I know any leaders I’d consider successful — or who I’d want to learn from — who don't have at least five of these habits.

Here are seven habits of successful leaders:

1. Prioritizing each day 

Everyday we are flooded with opportunities. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are best. You often won’t know until you try on some of them, but successful leaders strive everyday to identify and do that which is the best use of their time. That means they learn to say “no” often.

2. Yielding to experience

Successful leaders know they must seek the input from others for continued success. There will always be someone with more experience in a subject. Many times that person will be someone the leader is supposed to be leading. Successful leaders surround themselves with people smarter then they are, especially in areas of their weaknesses. They are never afraid to ask, “Can you help me?” Pretending to have all the answers can destroy a leader. When a leader is willing to humble himself or herself and solicit input, the team feels validated and the best answer is discovered.

3. Networking

Iron sharpens iron. The most successful leaders I know have a network of other successful leaders around them. They glean from each other, share war stories and help each other when needed. The sheltered leader will seldom reach his or her full potential. I’ve observed the best leaders I know having people they trust whom they can call quickly and seek input.

4. Continuous learning

Successful leaders are sponges for new information. They are continually reading, taking notes and exploring different ways of doing things. They aren’t afraid to take a risk on something new.

5. Maintaining health

Successful leaders learn to balance the demands on them by remaining healthy physically, mentally, spiritually and relationally — as much as it depends on them. No one can escape sudden tragedy or the trials of life, but successful leaders weather those storms by being as prepared as possible before they arrive. That requires discipline. To eat — at least — moderately well. To exercise. To rest. To pray.

6. Willing to make hard decisions

Successful leaders don’t allow fear, intimidation or friendship to keep them from making the right decisions for the organization they lead. Leading doesn’t always make a person popular, but successful leaders care more about the greater purpose than their personal advancement. They have courage.

7. Commitment to a higher purpose

Successful leaders are striving for something bigger than themselves — bigger than the reality of today. For me personally, this is my passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but successful leaders are willing to endure the loneliness of leadership, the stress of leading and the pressure to perform at higher levels, because they believe in something worth the fight.

Those are my observations.

What would you add?

Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.

When churches say no By Robert Schnase

This article is featured in the Evangelism Versus Hospitality: Do They Come? Do They Stay? (May/June/July 2015) issue of Circuit Rider

Why have people come to expect that the answer to anything new in the church is No? Perhaps it’s because the church sends a thousand subtle messages of being closed to new people, new ideas, and new experiences without even realizing it. Not only are some churches saying No to new ideas, they are also saying No to new people without being aware they are doing so. Most congregations think of themselves as friendly, welcoming communities, open to ideas and new people. But in reality outsiders and newcomers often feel closed out and shut down. The church thinks it’s saying Yes, when in fact it is saying No. The following are some ways churches say No without even realizing it:

The Middle Doors. A midsize congregation noticed that while they received many new visitors, and a high percentage of those visitors were joining, nevertheless attendance remained steady month after month. Why was attendance leveling off? The church practiced hospitality with excellence, with visitors and new members feeling welcomed at worship. But then after a few months, visitors and new members would become less consistent in attendance and then discontinue altogether. To better understand, the pastor visited with some members who had recently joined.

The pastor discovered that people felt welcomed and supported when they first visited the church and continued to feel a sense of belonging in worship. But when they tried to become part of Sunday school classes, men’s organizations, choirs, and Bible studies, they found the groups cliquish, uninterested in welcoming new people. Even after months of trying, they felt at the margins in these smaller groups and ministries. One woman said, “Before I moved here, I was the lead usher in my old church. I didn’t expect to do that again here, but I hoped to join in somehow. When I showed up to help, everyone talked only to the people they already knew, and I felt invisible. I stood by myself. Insider jokes left me feeling isolated. I felt like they didn’t need me or want me.”

“The front door” was working well, as people felt invited and welcomed. But they were slipping out “the back door” because they were discovering too many of “the middle doors” were closed tight. The church was saying Yes to visitors in worship while saying No in small groups.

Leaders began a series of teaching events in the adult classes, mission teams, service organizations, choirs, and Bible studies to move the culture of hospitality deeper into the life of the church. As the small groups of the church began to grow, the worship attendance began to increase. New members seldom feel they belong to the church until they find meaningful connections in small groups beyond worship, and so churches must open the middle doors.

Underutilizing People. Sarah moved into the community and joined the church after retiring as vice president of a midsize corporation. She had enjoyed a long history of engagement with community service projects and leadership in her previous church and had served on the school board for a decade. In her mid-fifties, she now wanted to dedicate herself to service and ministry, and so she offered to volunteer in her new church in any way that was helpful.

She was invited to help with the team working on a church-wide dinner. She arrived early, was handed a package of napkins, and was asked to distribute them at all the place settings. When she finished, she returned to the kitchen to discover that most of the other work was already being done. She found herself on the outside looking in at a tight-knit group of friends. She felt out of place, as no effort was made to include her.

After offering again to help, Sarah was invited to a Saturday work day to clean out a closet of old children’s ministry materials. A week later, the secretary phoned to ask her help for folding newsletters.

These simple tasks were fine with Sarah; she was not averse to helping in any way. But her yearning to make a difference by using her talents in retirement was not going to be fulfilled through her church. Her executive experience, community service, insight into organizations, and ability to mobilize people were gifts the church seemed unable or unprepared to use. Except for attending worship, she drifted away from active involvement and searched for community organizations that could channel her impulses to make a positive difference in the lives of people.

When churches underutilize people, they dampen the callings and spiritual aspirations of volunteers. Many laity yearn to make a difference and want to express their faith through ministries that change lives, but the church doesn’t know how to use their gifts.

Churches that provide no channels for service that are intellectually stimulating, spiritually renewing, and life-changing limit members to an entry-level faith with little hope of maturing or advancing in discipleship. Volunteer service that only involves simple tasks and mundane work doesn’t support the development of courage, service, love, and sacrifice. Under these circumstances, members never feel competent or effective in living out their faith.

Many followers of Christ help with small projects at the church occasionally because that’s the only opportunity the church provides. They set up tables, direct parking, put canned goods in boxes,

or paint the youth room. They tutor children for a few weeks, and then later they’re asked to deliver lunches to teams building wheelchair ramps for disabled persons. Each of these projects is good and worthy work. Yet the serving opportunities are sporadic, infrequent, and inconsistent. Volunteers dabble in doing good rather than fulfilling a calling that uses their best and highest gifts. Without focus, consistency, and persistence, volunteers feel frustrated, awkward, and ineffective. They’re like students signing up for one tennis lesson, one piano lesson, one dance lesson, and one swimming lesson: when they look back, they wonder why they’ve never mastered any of them. They never learn and grow and mature in the art of serving.

Many volunteers are fine with light chores and simple tasks, and the church couldn’t fulfill its mission without considerable numbers of people helping in such ways. But others are searching for a deeper commitment and wider experience that uses more of their time and talent. They have capacities for bold, significant, and complex ministries, but the church is unable to absorb, channel, or use their gifts.

We Don’t Need You. In one church, members and guests were asked to bring canned goods each week in November to contribute to Thanksgiving baskets, which the church would deliver to families in need. Dozens of large boxes were filled, and a huge shipment of turkeys had been donated. A few thousand dollars had been raised to purchase fruits and vegetables to accompany the canned goods. An announcement was made recruiting people to volunteer to help sort, distribute, and deliver the baskets.

Alan and Amanda decided to help out along with their two elementary-aged children. They arrived on time to find several dozen people milling around. The food had already been gathered, the baskets had already been sorted, and the deliveries were already being made. The planning team had set things up the night before and then decided to work longer to get things going and had eventually completed the project before other volunteers ever arrived. The dozens of people who showed up to help were fed doughnuts and sent home.

Leaders sometimes invite people to help with a project but then do the work themselves before anyone else can help, leaving volunteers feeling like they’ve wasted their time. This happens with volunteer construction projects, clean up days, hanging of the greens, cooking teams, painting projects, clothes distribution, and rummage sales. People sign up to help, but two or three leaders do all the work before others have a chance. Leaders are saying No to the volunteer impulses of people when they leave them with nothing meaningful to do.

Blurry Messages. Week after week, the pastor preached sermons full of high rhetoric about the care for the poor, the concern for the oppressed, the fight for justice, the longing for community, and the love of all people. The sermons included admonitions to make disciples, heal the sick, serve the world. These high-sounding, noble generalizations were inevitably sprinkled with phrases like “you ought” and “you should” and “you must.”

The sermons, however, lack specificity, clarity, originality, or practicality. Shallow platitudes, even those interspersed with scriptural references and communicated with sincerity, never give anyone direction on how to assimilate spiritual truths into daily life. While no one disagrees with the general themes, such blurry and unfocused messages lack any quality of incarnation. Generalized admonitions, divorced from specific context or tangible action, are heard as judgmental diatribes that leave people feeling beaten and without hope. Rather than encouraging, emboldening, and inviting people to greater ministry, the sermons leave listeners feeling unable to effect any change in themselves or the world. Rather than mobilizing people to act or inspiring them to think differently, platitudes neither connect nor motivate, and they diminish the impulse to act.

Conflict. A palpable sense of conflict between the pastor and the church leaders, within the staff or among the laity, can squeeze out new people and shut down any chance of new ideas emerging. 

Internal conflict takes attention away from what the church should be doing. Like a magnet beside a compass, conflict draws congregations off course.

Bickering, blaming, backbiting, and griping make participation and leadership uninviting. With conflict and mistrust, the church resorts to greater legalism through rules, controls, and steps for withholding permission. People who don’t get along with one another make it difficult for everyone else to focus on the mission. Some churches get drawn into larger divisive issues, allowing differences about politics, social issues, or community challenges to sabotage the work of the church.

In a badly conflicted church, ministry is stymied by the attitude that “if it’s your idea, I’m opposed to it.” Initiatives get squeezed out by conflict, fear, reactivity, and control issues in the same way the seeds in the parable of the sower get strangled by weeds or gobbled by birds.

Conflicted churches attract people who thrive on conflict, and a self-reinforcing pattern begins with people struggling for control, insisting on their own way, and discounting anyone who disagrees.

Congregations that live with a constant sense of threat can’t provide space for creative conversation and for the prayerful cultivation of new ministries. Fear of financial collapse, the threat of closing, the discovery of misconduct accusations—any of these can paralyze a church.

Many churches operate with attitudes and systems that are no longer conducive to our mission, that shut down new ideas and restrain the capacities for ministry. They operate with a culture of No. Congregations have been lying paralyzed for decades, waiting and hoping for something to change.

Saying Yes means refashioning how we see ourselves and how we do our work. Creating a culture of Yes requires a leap of faith and a willingness to do things differently. It means letting ourselves be changed by the Spirit of God, so that we can move forward to a new future.

Gather your leaders and learn how to become a permission-giving church with Just Say Yes! Here’s a look at the table of contents:

CHAPTER ONE

You Can’t Do It That Way: People Who Say No

CHAPTER TWO

Committees, Rules, and Policies:Systems That Say No

CHAPTER THREE

Buildings, Bulletins, and Attitudes: Churches That Say No

CHAPTER FOUR

Churches That Say Yes! Changing Fundamental Assumptions

CHAPTER FIVE

Systems That Say Yes! Becoming a Permission-Giving Church

CHAPTER SIX

Leaders Who Say Yes! Changing Attitudes and Behaviors

This article is adapted from Robert’s new book Just Say Yes! Unleashing People for Ministry (Abingdon Press, 2015).

St. Thomas More church in New York City. Photo by Robert Deutsch, USA Today

5 ways churches inflicted pain on themselves By Tom Ehrich / Religion News Service

(RNS) Let’s be clear: The much-heralded “decline of Christianity in America” isn’t about God losing faith in humankind.

It isn’t about losing our moral compass thanks to whatever you happen to loathe. It isn’t about fickle millennials. It isn’t about zigging trendy or zagging traditional.

In fact, I would argue that Christianity isn’t in trouble at all. Churches are in trouble. Denominations are in trouble. Religious institutions like seminaries are in trouble. Professional church leaders are in trouble.

But churches can’t hold God hostage. God will do what God will do. Whether our churches stay open for business, God will keep on loving all that God has made. Loss of an institution won’t deter God.

So let’s relax about Christianity — the faith — going down the tubes. This isn’t an existential crisis for God or for faith in God. Even if every church in America went dark, God would try another way.

The tragedy — in the classic sense of self-inflicted wounds and fatal flaws — is that we did this to ourselves, and we hurt many people along the way. Here is what we did:

1. We stopped trying. For a time, religious institutions in America were bold risk-takers. Then we settled into maintenance mode, because it felt safe and comfortable. We fought over churchy things that didn’t matter because the things that did matter — racism, inequality, demagoguery, corporate thievery, obsession with money and sex — cut too close to home.

2. We stopped giving. Over the past 50 years, our giving has dropped by more than half as a percentage of family income. We have starved our churches of resources. When tough budget choices had to be made, the facilities that we wanted usually defeated the mission that God wanted.

3. We turned inward. Just as American houses went from porches in front to patios out back, we stopped connecting with our neighbors. We stopped looking outward, except for the occasional noblesse oblige charity. We opened our doors on Sunday and welcomed each other.

4. We fixated on Sunday morning. Long after Sunday changed character in American life, we kept expecting Sunday worship to do our work. Rather than transform lives through mission work, circles of growth and personal spirituality, we had people sit in pews for a crammed hour of singing, praying, announcing, chatting, communing and learning. Then we sent people out to their cars and figured we had done our work for the week.

5. We trashed our reputation. We became known as judgmental, angry, self-serving, smug, boring and old. As far as people outside can tell, we live to fight, we think too highly of ourselves, and we are moral scolds. Who needs that?

What, then, is the future? The future for God is as bright and glorious as ever. Our ever-changing, ever-dynamic, ever-loving and ever-transformational God will be just fine. We can say our prayers with confidence.

Churches, on the other hand, are in trouble. Many will run out of money. Many will lose heart. And yet some, perhaps many, will rise to the challenge. They will give up the old certainties and do what Jesus did.

Those challenge-meeters will look outward, proclaim good news, welcome strangers, serve “the least of these,” give their lives and resources away, work for justice and mercy, be faith communities seven days a week and put love ahead of right opinion and kindness ahead of victory.

And God will be in the midst of them.

Wesley's lessons By Roger Ross

This article is featured in the Evangelism Versus Hospitality: Do They Come? Do They Stay? (May/June/July 2015) issue of Circuit Rider

“To reach people that no one is reaching you have to do things that no one is doing.” — Craig Groeschel

Love makes you do crazy things. When my wife and I were dating, we decided to celebrate her December birthday at a fancy restaurant. On her big day, temperatures dropped to minus ten degrees Fahrenheit, before wind chill. That might not have been so bad if we weren’t living ninety miles apart. We waver back and forth on the phone, until I said, “Honey, it’s your birthday. I want to be with you.” I jumped in the car, drove an hour and half to see her, dined at a sparsely populated restaurant, and drove an hour and half back. While at dinner, we both said, “This is crazy on a night like tonight!” But it didn’t matter. We were in love.

Love is a motivating force. It gets us out of ourselves and thinking in ways we have never considered. Some time ago, God came up with a crazy, never-been-tried idea to be with people who are hurting, alone, and adrift in life. Jesus describes it this way: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life” (John 3:16 CEB). Implementing this idea was costly beyond measure, but going to the people who had turned away was the only way to connect with them. It’s what love does.

A young John Wesley was captured by this kind of love. The church of his day in eighteenth-century England was lifeless and irrelevant to its culture. When the love of Jesus Christ warmed Wesley’s heart, he found he couldn’t keep it to himself. He felt compelled to reach the masses of people who would never darken the door of a church.

This compulsion led to an inner conflict. As a priest of the Church of England, Wesley was convinced the gospel could only be proclaimed behind the stained-glass bounds of a church building. But hardly anyone attended church services in those days. It didn’t connect with the real lives of everyday people. After a long struggle, Wesley took the advice of his friend George Whitefield and began preaching out of doors. On April 2, 1739, at age thirty-six, he wrote in his journal:

• At four in the afternoon I submitted to ‘be more vile’, and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three thousand people. (1)

That was the tipping point of the eighteenth-century revival. If Wesley had waited for those three thousand people to come to church, he would have died standing at the altar. Instead of making them come to him, Wesley went to them.

Are you willing to “be more vile”? Who are the people you know who could die before they ever darken the door of a church? How will the forgiving love and leadership of Jesus Christ be extended to them?

Jesus’s final charge to his disciples was to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19 CEB). To follow Jesus is to go to the “nations,” the people groups in your neighborhood, school, community, and beyond that don’t know him yet. It’s to take the initiative. What might it look like to be more vile these days?

A guy in our church likes hanging out at Panera. He’ll walk in, get some coffee, open his Bible at a table, and put up a card that says, “I’m available to pray, talk, or listen.”

A new church in Iowa was all fired up about reaching their community. They didn’t want to take people out of existing churches, so they bought shot glasses and distributed them to all the bars in town. Each glass read: Cross Point United Methodist Church. Give us a shot.

That got them in trouble with a few church people. (Makes you wonder how they knew.)

Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, one of the largest and most missionally creative churches in the United States, brainstormed with his team about the best advertising spots to attract nonchurched people. They came up with a risky idea: place their church advertisement on a high-traffic porn website.

ARE YOU WILLING TO BE MORE VILE?

Times have changed in America. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was expected that people would go to church. Those of us in church back then didn’t have to do anything. We simply published the service times, opened the doors, and welcomed people in. The world came to us. But the world is not coming on its own anymore. Our time is now more like Wesley’s day. We must go to them. We must creatively think of ways to meet them on their turf and their terms. Edgy new approaches may seem crazy, even vile, from where we stand waiting. But when someone is far from God, it’s what love does.

1. John Wesley, The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley, eds. Richard P. Heitzenrater and Frank Baker, vol. 19, Journal and Diaries II (1789–1743), eds. W. Reginald Ward and Richard P. Heitzenrater (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990), 46.

This article has been adapted from Roger’s forthcoming bookMeet the Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith (Abingdon Press, 2015).

Evangetality:Best practices for evangelism & hospitality By Jim Ozier

This article is featured in the Evangelism Versus Hospitality: Do They Come? Do They Stay? (May/June/July 2015) issue of Circuit Rider

At last year’s School of Congregational Development, Olu Brown, pastor of Impact Church in Atlanta, wowed the crowd with his portrayal of “scout evangelism,” remembering his high school days riding home on the bus after the football game. When the team busses would stop for the after-game fast-food meal, one guy would run in and check out the restaurant for its hospitality and ability to accommodate dozens of hungry players. If satisfied, he would go back to the door, swing it open wide, and with a big wave say, “C’mon in!”

“You see,” says Olu, “the restaurant didn’t have to impress everyone — just the scout who then brings others in; great hospitality motivates people to bring others with them.”

What is the relationship between hospitality and bringing in new people? The relationship between hospitality and evangelism can be seen in Jesus’s imperative: “Come, follow me, . . . and I’ll show you how to fish for people” (Mark 1:17 CEB). Throughout the New Testament we see what it means to follow Jesus, this loving man who welcomed children, reached out to the marginalized, and invited all into a relationship of covenant, fellowship, and community.

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2 CEB). Luke points to the powerful connection between evangelism (reaching and relating to “outsiders”) and hospitality (welcoming and a shared meal).

As Robert Schnase observed, “Jesus radically challenges the disciples’ expectations by overstepping boundaries to invite people in. Hospitality has us seeing people as Jesus sees them and seeing Jesus in the people God brings before us” (Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007], 13).

To “follow Jesus” is to be hospitable! It is to welcome, invite, reach out, and treat all—especially the stranger (outsider)—with loving respect. For the church, it means creating a culture that mirrors the character and life of Jesus.

The early church picked up on this, and we see ample evidence that hospitality was a key characteristic for the selection of leaders:

• An elder “should show hospitality” (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8 CEB).
• “Open your homes to each other without complaining” (1 Pet 4:9 CEB).

The relationship between hospitality and evangelism is found throughout scripture, but it isn’t prescriptive. That is, there isn’t any place where scripture prescribes the practice in terms of “Here’s how to do it.” But it’s narrative; that is, when we read powerful stories we can actually and easily see where the two go hand in hand.

For example, read about Elisha (who proclaims God) and the Shunammite woman (who provides hospitality) in 2 Kings 4:8-37. Or Consider Romans 16, an entire chapter where Paul lists the hall-of-fame evangelists of the early church, sending their greetings to the believers in Rome. Right in the middle we read, “Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings” (16:23 NIV). Many of these great people of the early church—responsible for the evangelistic spread of Christianity—were fueled by the hospitality of Gaius! Churches often mistakenly think their “hospitality” is a function designed to impress new folk, but when it becomes part of the culture of the church, it strengthens and encourages the foot soldiers! Great hospitality is a constant source of energy and inspiration to unleash the evangelistic spirit. Generally speaking, if your church is facing fatigue or low morale—if it isn’t “reaching out”—the best way to begin a turnaround is to say “thank you” more, to create an atmosphere of genuine love, appreciation, respect, friendship, and hospitality within the church community.

But if that’s all it is, then it drifts from its original purpose: loving the outsider. Jesus asked Matthew, “And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matt 5:47 CEB). But showing love to outsiders—now that is a differentiator! That begins to set God’s people apart from others and becomes Christian community instead of a churchy clique!

What causes this inward drift away from “loving others” to “loving us”? Perhaps it’s simply human nature to be comfortable with those we already know; perhaps this drift is caused by our reluctance to risk hospitality and reach out for Christ.

Hospitality (in the NT Greek philoxenia = “love” and “stranger”) focuses on love for outsiders. Even the NT seems aware of this undeniable inward drift from “others” to “us”: “Keep loving each other like family. Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:1-2 CEB). For sure, be diligent in loving each other, says Hebrews, but be cautious of changing the focus from “others” to “us”! Be intentional in avoiding drifting away from loving the outsiders as well. This intentionality is behind the thrust of movements within United Methodism, such as the Healthy Church Initiative, to move churches from being “inward focused” toward becoming “outward focused.”

Theologically we are reminded that once all of us were “outsiders” alienated from Christ and Christian community: “At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God” (Eph 2:12 CEB).

The good news of course is that Christ—through his hospitality—invites us to his table of fellowship through salvation. Jesus makes room for us at the table of fellowship and community. Through hospitality we experienced it . . . through evangelism we share it!

Three Principles of Fishing and Following

Steven Childers, church growth expert from Reformed Theological Seminary, asserts that “The key to evangelism in the 21st-century [is] . . . hospitality” (quoted by David Mathis, “Hospitality and the Great Commission,” Desiring God [blog], October 2, 2012, http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/hospitality-and-the-great-commission).

If hospitality is truly the key, here are three helpful principles that tie hospitality to evangelism:

• Principle #1. If we follow Jesus we’ll be hospitable like he was . . . and we’ll fish like he did too! There are ample theological books from noted authors, such as S. K. Park and D. T. Niles, that demonstrate the specifics of Jesus’s hospitality and the spirit of his outreach to outsiders.
• Principle #2. Fish first in the pond you know best. Churches have many more first-time guests than they realize. Many come to see a family member’s child baptized or to watch a coworker’s child in a musical presentation or to support a neighbor’s child at confirmation. Top-rate hospitality is essential to get that random first-time guest to become a regular repeat attender. Often your own local church is the best place to begin to get proficient at fishing for Christ!
• Principle #3. Fishers who love to fish love to fish in new waters, too! Practice hospitality evangelism in your own church first, but let the Holy Spirit pull you into fishing new waters, too. The love of fishing like Jesus will spur people to begin to fish in newer, different, deeper waters: at the office, in the neighborhood, and at other places of natural relationships. But leadership of the church must train and equip the fisher to fish in new waters, to reach the “outsider,” especially in this post-Christian, multicultural world where there are many boundaries to be crossed for Christ.

Fishing and Following: Holy Common Scents

A colleague of mine recently went for the first day at his new church. He took along his eleven-year-old adopted special-needs daughter. The church folk didn’t know him and didn’t know about her. They could easily have displayed an awkward or standoffish nature, excluding her. Yet the folks in this small rural church proved to be loving, welcoming, and accepting. He couldn’t help but smile at his daughter’s response. She leaned back in his office chair and said, “I like it here; this smells like God!”

A clear, compelling culture of hospitality is alive. It stands out. It is noticeable. It reaches out, invites, welcomes, and finds a place at the table for the outsider. It is “felt” more than “seen.” Often, it can’t be defined or described, but people “just know it.”

As a hospitality and church growth consultant, I can’t always tell you what effective hospitality and evangelism look like. But I can tell you what it smells like: God. “We smell like the aroma of Christ’s offering to God, both to those who are being saved and to those who are on the road to destruction” (2 Cor 2:15 CEB).

This Sunday, 31 May 2015Trinity Sunday: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 29

Romans 8:12-17

John 3:1-17

Lectionary Scriptures:

Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King ‘Uziyahu’s death I saw Adonai sitting on a high, lofty throne! The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 S’rafim stood over him, each with six wings — two for covering his face, two for covering his feet and two for flying. 3 They were crying out to each other,

“More holy than the holiest holiness

is Adonai-Tzva’ot!

The whole earth is filled

with his glory!”

4 The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said,

“Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! —

because I, a man with unclean lips,

living among a people with unclean lips,

have seen with my own eyes

the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”

6 One of the s’rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said,

“Here! This has touched your lips.

Your iniquity is gone,

your sin is atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying,

“Whom should I send?

Who will go for us?”

I answered, “I’m here, send me!”

Psalm 29:(0) A psalm of David:

(1) Give Adonai his due, you who are godly;

give Adonai his due of glory and strength;

2 give Adonai the glory due his name;

worship Adonai in holy splendor.

3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

Adonai over rushing waters,

4 the voice of Adonai in power,

the voice of Adonai in splendor.

5 The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars;

Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon

6 and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf,

Siryon like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames;

8 the voice of Adonai rocks the desert,

Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert.

9 The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth

and strips the forests bare —

while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!”

10 Adonai sits enthroned above the flood!

Adonai sits enthroned as king forever!

11 May Adonai give strength to his people!

May Adonai bless his people with shalom!

Romans 8:12 So then, brothers, we don’t owe a thing to our old nature that would require us to live according to our old nature. 13 For if you live according to your old nature, you will certainly die; but if, by the Spirit, you keep putting to death the practices of the body, you will live.

14 All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear; on the contrary, you received the Spirit, who makes us sons and by whose power we cry out, “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”). 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God; 17 and if we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Messiah — provided we are suffering with him in order also to be glorified with him.

John 3:1 There was a man among the P’rushim, named Nakdimon, who was a ruler of the Judeans. 2 This man came to Yeshua by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know it is from God that you have come as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles you perform unless God is with him.” 3 “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 Nakdimon said to him, “How can a grown man be ‘born’? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” 5 Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. 6 What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. 7 Stop being amazed at my telling you that you must be born again from above! 8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. That’s how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit.”

9 Nakdimon replied, “How can this happen?” 10 Yeshua answered him, “You hold the office of teacher in Isra’el, and you don’t know this? 11 Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know; and what we give evidence of, we have seen; but you people don’t accept our evidence! 12 If you people don’t believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven? 13 No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.

John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for

Isaiah 6:1-8

Verse 1

[1] In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

I saw — In a vision.

The Lord — The Divine Majesty as he subsisteth in three persons.

His train — His royal and judicial robe; for he is represented as a judge.

Verse 2

[2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

Stood — As ministers attending upon their Lord.

Seraphim — An order of holy angels, thus called from fire and burning, which this word properly signifies; to represent either their nature, which is bright and glorious, subtile, and pure; or their property, of fervent zeal for God's service and glory.

Covered — Out of profound reverence.

Verse 3

[3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Cried — Singing in consort.

Holy — This is repeated thrice, to intimate the Trinity of persons united in the Divine essence.

Glory — Of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, wisdom, and goodness.

Verse 4

[4] And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

The posts — Together with the door itself. Such violent motions were commonly tokens of God's anger.

Smoak — Which elsewhere is a token of God's presence and acceptance, but here of his anger.

Verse 5

[5] Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

l am — I am a great sinner, as many other ways, so particularly by my lips. I am an unclean branch of an unclean tree; besides my own uncleanness, I have both by my omissions and commissions involved myself in the guilt of their sins.

Have seen — The sight of this glorious and holy God gives me cause to fear that he is come to judgment against me.

Verse 6

[6] Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

Flew — By God's command.

A coal — Both a token and an instrument of purification.

The altar — Of burnt-offering.

Verse 7

[7] And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Laid it — So as only to touch my lips, and not to burn them; which God could easily effect.

Lo — This is a sign that I have pardoned and purged the uncleanness of thy lips.

Verse 8

[8] Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Who — To deliver the following message. The change of the number, I and us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead.

Psalm 29

Verse 1

[1] Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

Ye — Ye potentates and rulers of the earth.

Glory — By an humble and thankful acknowledgment of it.

Verse 2

[2] Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Give, … — The honour which he deserves: own him as the Almighty, and the only true God.

Holiness — Or, in his holy and beautiful house.

Verse 3

[3] The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.

The waters — Above in the clouds, which are called waters, Genesis 1:7; Psalms 18:11. The Divine power displays itself in those high places, which are far above the reach of all earthly potentates.

Many — Upon the clouds, in which there are vast treasures of water, and upon which God is said to sit or ride, Psalms 18:10,11; 104:3.

Verse 5

[5] The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Lebanon — A place famous for strong and lofty cedars.

Verse 6

[6] He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

Them — The cedars; which being broken by the thunder, the parts of them are suddenly and violently hurled hither and thither.

Sirion — An high mountain beyond Jordan joining to Lebanon. Lebanon and Sirion are said to skip or leap, both here, and Psalms 114:4, by a poetical hyperbole.

Verse 7

[7] The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.

The flames — The lightnings.

Verse 8

[8] The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.

Kadesh — An eminent wilderness, vast and terrible, and well known to the Israelites, and wherein possibly they had seen, and observed some such effects of thunder.

Verse 9

[9] The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

To calve — Through the terror it causes, which hastens the birth. He names the hinds, because they bring forth their young with difficulty, Job 39:1,2.

Discovereth — Heb. maketh bare, of its trees, which it breaks or strips of their leaves.

Glory — Having shewed the terrible effects of God's power in other places, he now shews the blessed privilege of God's people, that are praising God in his temple, when the rest of the world are trembling under the tokens of his displeasure.

Verse 10

[10] The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.

The flood — The most violent waters, which sometimes fall from the clouds upon the earth. These are fitly mentioned, as being many times the companions of great thunders. And this may be alleged as another reason, why God's people praised him in his temple, because as he sends terrible tempests and thunders, so he also restrains and over-rules them.

Sitteth — He doth sit, and will sit as king for ever, sending such tempests when it pleaseth him.

Romans 8:12-17

Verse 12

[12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

We are not debtors to the flesh — We ought not to follow it.

Verse 13

[13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

The deeds of the flesh — Not only evil actions, but evil desires, tempers, thoughts.

If ye mortify — Kill, destroy these.

Ye shall live — The life of faith more abundantly here, and hereafter the life of glory.

Verse 14

[14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God — In all the ways of righteousness.

They are the sons of God — Here St. Paul enters upon the description of those blessings which he comprises, Romans 8:30, in the word glorified; though, indeed, he does not describe mere glory, but that which is still mingled with the cross. The sum is, through sufferings to glory.

Verse 15

[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

For ye — Who are real Christians.

Have not received the spirit of bondage — The Holy Ghost was not properly a spirit of bondage, even in the time of the Old Testament. Yet there was something of bondage remaining even in those who then had received the Spirit.

Again — As the Jews did before.

We — All and every believer.

Cry — The word denotes a vehement speaking, with desire, confidence, constancy.

Abba, Father — The latter word explains the former. By using both the Syriac and the Greek word, St. Paul seems to point out the joint cry both of the Jewish and gentile believers. The spirit of bondage here seems directly to mean, those operations of the Holy Spirit by which the soul, on its first conviction, feels itself in bondage to sin, to the world, to Satan, and obnoxious to the wrath of God. This, therefore, and the Spirit of adoption, are one and the same Spirit, only manifesting itself in various operations, according to the various circumstances of the persons.

Verse 16

[16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirit — With the spirit of every true believer, by a testimony distinct from that of his own spirit, or the testimony of a good conscience. Happy they who enjoy this clear and constant.

Verse 17

[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Joint heirs — That we may know it is a great inheritance which God will give us for he hath given a great one to his Son.

If we suffer with him — Willingly and cheerfully, for righteousness' sake. This is a new proposition, referring to what follows.

John 3:1-17

Verse 2

[2] The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

The same came — Through desire; but by night - Through shame: We know - Even we rulers and Pharisees.

Verse 3

[3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus answered — That knowledge will not avail thee unless thou be born again - Otherwise thou canst not see, that is, experience and enjoy, either the inward or the glorious kingdom of God. In this solemn discourse our Lord shows, that no external profession, no ceremonial ordinances or privileges of birth, could entitle any to the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom: that an entire change of heart as well as of life was necessary for that purpose: that this could only be wrought in man by the almighty power of God: that every man born into the world was by nature in a state of sin, condemnation, and misery: that the free mercy of God had given his Son to deliver them from it, and to raise them to a blessed immortality: that all mankind, Gentiles as well as Jews, might share in these benefits, procured by his being lifted up on the cross, and to be received by faith in him: but that if they rejected him, their eternal, aggravated condemnation, would be the certain consequence.

Except a man be born again — If our Lord by being born again means only reformation of life, instead of making any new discovery, he has only thrown a great deal of obscurity on what was before plain and obvious.

Verse 4

[4] Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

When he is old — As Nicodemus himself was.

Verse 5

[5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit — Except he experience that great inward change by the Spirit, and be baptized (wherever baptism can be had) as the outward sign and means of it.

Verse 6

[6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh — Mere flesh, void of the Spirit, yea, at enmity with it; And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit - Is spiritual, heavenly, divine, like its Author.

Verse 7

[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Ye must be born again — To be born again, is to be inwardly changed from all sinfulness to all holiness. It is fitly so called, because as great a change then passes on the soul as passes on the body when it is born into the world.

Verse 8

[8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

The wind bloweth — According to its own nature, not thy will, and thou hearest the sound thereof - Thou art sure it doth blow, but canst not explain the particular manner of its acting.

So is every one that is born of the Spirit — The fact is plain, the manner of his operations inexplicable.

Verse 11

[11] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

We speak what we know — I and all that believe in me.

Verse 12

[12] If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

Earthly things — Things done on earth; such as the new birth, and the present privileges of the children of God.

Heavenly things — Such as the eternity of the Son, and the unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Verse 13

[13] And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

For no one — For here you must rely on my single testimony, whereas there you have a cloud of witnesses: Hath gone up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven.

Who is in heaven — Therefore he is omnipresent; else he could not be in heaven and on earth at once. This is a plain instance of what is usually termed the communication of properties between the Divine and human nature; whereby what is proper to the Divine nature is spoken concerning the human, and what is proper to the human is, as here, spoken of the Divine.

Verse 14

[14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

And as Moses — And even this single witness will soon be taken from you; yea, and in a most ignominious manner. Numbers 21:8,9.

Verse 15

[15] That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

That whosoever — He must be lifted up, that hereby he may purchase salvation for all believers: all those who look to him by faith recover spiritual health, even as all that looked at that serpent recovered bodily health.

Verse 16

[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Yea, and this was the very design of God's love in sending him into the world.

Whosoever believeth on him — With that faith which worketh by love, and hold fast the beginning of his confidence steadfast to the end.

God so loved the world — That is, all men under heaven; even those that despise his love, and will for that cause finally perish. Otherwise not to believe would be no sin to them. For what should they believe? Ought they to believe that Christ was given for them? Then he was given for them.

He gave his only Son — Truly and seriously. And the Son of God gave himself, Galatians 4:4, truly and seriously.

Verse 17

[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world — Although many accuse him of it.

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Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries

PO Box 340004

Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States

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Sermon Story "Seeing God's Holiness" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 31 May 2015 with Scripture: Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King ‘Uziyahu’s death I saw Adonai sitting on a high, lofty throne! The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 S’rafim stood over him, each with six wings — two for covering his face, two for covering his feet and two for flying. 3 They were crying out to each other,

“More holy than the holiest holiness

is Adonai-Tzva’ot!

The whole earth is filled

with his glory!”

4 The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said,

“Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! —

because I, a man with unclean lips,

living among a people with unclean lips,

have seen with my own eyes

the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”

6 One of the s’rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said,

“Here! This has touched your lips.

Your iniquity is gone,

your sin is atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying,

“Whom should I send?

Who will go for us?”

I answered, “I’m here, send me!”

Have you ever been somewhere where the death of a loved one and a leader you loved died? How did you grieve? Here we have Isaiah grieving the death of His beloved King of Israel. but in his grieving we find Isaiah in the Temple of God and God in all His Holiness is seen by Isaiah, As soon as Isaiah sees God in all His Holiness, he falls down and cries out that He is a sinner among a nation of sinners with unclean lips that is a nation of unclean lips. Even though Isaiah was a Holy man of God and chosen by God, he did not act like the Pharisee in the story Jesus told where the Pharisee compared his own holiness as better than the sinner laying prostate on the floor at the altar crying out to God for mercy. Instead, Isaiah was crying our for mercy from God and God responded by sending one of His Seraphims to pick a hot coal from the fire to touch the lips of Isaiah saying to him with this coal you are made Holy. How would you have related to this story? How do you respond when you are in the presence of a Holy God in private or public worship? How do you relate to God's Holiness with your unholiness? We come to seek more of God's Holiness as we come to eat the Body of Jesus and Drink His blood through the Partaking of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist singing the Hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty" by Reginald Heber 

1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! 

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. 

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, 

God in three persons, blessed Trinity! 

2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, 

casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; 

cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, 

which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be. 

3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, 

though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see, 

only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, 

perfect in power, in love and purity. 

4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! 

All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea. 

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, 

God in three persons, blessed Trinity.  

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4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1

San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States

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WE KNOW. . . NOTHING by Thomas R. SteagaldJohn 3:1-17

You are a day or two from graduation, and the registrar grabs you and tells you there is a math class you signed up for and forgot to attend, but you have to pass the class to graduate and you have to take the final to pass and you have not been to class all semester and you run to find your place in a chilly, hard seat in a room as cold as a morgue. The professor glides toward you like the grim reaper, the exam in his hand as good as a scythe, and you look at the exam and it could be hieroglyphics or the extra-credit question for Honors Chinese for all the sense you can make of it, and you look up to see all the other students staring at you, laughing at you. Your chest heaves, your heart all but stops, you feel incredibly vulnerable, exposed . . . and then you wake up. Night terrors, they are called, and all of us have them.

I do not know for sure, but I imagine that is something of what Nicodemus experienced that night he came to see Jesus.

The story is a familiar one, perhaps too familiar. How many times have we read or heard this story? How many sermons have been preached on this nocturnal encounter between Jesus, the up-country Rabbi, and Nicodemus, the representative of religious education, authority, and tradition? Many times, I would venture to say, and rightly so. It is one of the crucial stories in John’s presentation of his Gospel. There is no way that any one sermon can do it justice: there are just too many important details in this text. Every word makes a difference. But sometimes we just race by as we read and hear, imagining that we already know what Jesus is saying here and to whom. Let’s slow down.

Nicodemus, a ruler or leader of the Jews—a Pharisee, himself a teacher and a powerful one too, a recognized religious authority—comes to Jesus by night.

Why “by night”? My father, a weekend preacher, opined that, as both men were busy, perhaps night was the only time they could meet. A New Testament professor said the meeting time indicated Nicodemus’s caution: What would other officials, and even the common folk, think of him if Nicodemus were discovered conversing with Jesus? Could be. There could be other explanations as well.

In the Gospel of John, however, “night” tells more than time. The evangelist uses “night,” and also “darkness,” to reveal something deeper and truer than a clock could. Night is a metaphor as well as a marker, and in John, many people are in the dark (John 13:30).

“Rabbi,” Nicodemus says, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God . . .” (John 3:2).

Who is “we”? Other Pharisees? Members of the Sanhedrin? Closeted believers? Possibly. Or maybe Nicodemus uses the cover of “we know” for what is far more likely the truth of the matter: “I don’t know.” Nicodemus is “in the dark,” does not know who Jesus is or what Jesus’ words and miracles mean. They must mean something—“No one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God” (John 3:2)—but Nicodemus cannot make sense of it all.

It turns out Nicodemus is much like Jesus’ other followers, those who saw him command the wind and sea and exclaimed, “Who then is this?” (Mark 4:41). Nicodemus, in the dark, comes with a protest of knowledge that belies the truth: “I do not know who you are.” He is trying desperately to fit Jesus into his view of things—to fit Jesus into the long line of teachers, prophets, whatever—one more in the sequence.

Jesus’ response sounds like an answer even though Nicodemus has yet to ask a question. Jesus says, “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (John 3:3). It is with that statement most sermons on this text begin and end, an evangelistic word offered (sometimes arrogantly and almost always condescendingly) to unbelievers, atheists, skeptics, pagans.

But look at the titles Nicodemus holds. In verse 10, Jesus calls Nicodemus a “teacher of Israel”—like preachers and Christian educators are teachers of the church. In verse 1, Nicodemus is called a “leader of the Jews,” which is to say an elected official, an administrative officer. He has responsibilities in the day-to-day operation of the synagogue and Jewish governance—not altogether dissimilar to our trustees, or church council, or other elected officers.

In verse 1, Nicodemus is identified as a “Pharisee,” which is to say he is recognized as a faithful person. The Pharisees studied, tithed, prayed, made God a part of their everyday lives. Does that sound like anyone you know?

Jesus says to Nicodemus—not to an atheist or nonbeliever, not to a skeptic or pagan, but to a faithful Pharisee, to a leader of the Jews, to a teacher of Israel—unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God.

Familiar as this text is, and as comforting in a way, if we look deeply, we find it to be frightening as well, for we are the ones who so often come to Jesus saying, “Lord, I know who you are . . . I know what you want.” When I say such a thing or think such a thing, I prove only that I too am in the dark, that I do not know at all.

I am unprepared for the exam, I admit it. I have missed too many classes, and maybe you have too. I look at this book and it might sometimes be hieroglyphics, advanced Chinese. I do not understand the first thing, can’t answer the first question, and the final exam is looming. And yet in Jesus we just might have the opportunity to experience God’s grace. God help my unbelief

WORSHIP ELEMENTS: by Rebecca GaudinoTrinity Sunday

COLOR: White

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

THEME IDEAS

All of our texts this Sunday speak of God in mysterious and ultimate terms. They speak of the God of power and splendor who conducts cosmic business in the lofty courts of heaven, who reveals truth through the sign-doer and riddle-maker Jesus, and who moves through the elusive Spirit Wind. What mystery! Our words—yes, even our Trinitarian stammering—buckle beneath the weight of transcendence our words attempt to convey. What majesty! And yet, each text also points to places in life where ultimate and unlimited reality brushes up against, and impinges upon, our limited lives for powerful, lifechanging experiences. These experiences proclaim that we—the lowly, the enslaved, the woeful—are drawn into the cosmic story line of God’s immense life and intentions. Trinity Sunday is the Sunday to celebrate God as the mystery that shimmers in our lives.

INVITATION AND GATHERING

Call to Worship (Psalm 29)

(Ask the congregation to “speak up”!)

The voice of the Lord flashes flames of fire.

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness!

Worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The Lord sits enthroned as sovereign forever.

In God’s congregation, all say, “Glory!”

Opening Prayer (Isaiah 6, Psalm 29)

O Sovereign of the universe,

we stand in your temple,

proclaiming your splendor and majesty.

You are the Holy One!

You are full of glory!

You speak,

and the oaks whirl

and the cedars fall!

We stand in your presence

in awe and humility.

We stand in your presence

with boldness and courage.

We look and listen

for your presence here today. Amen.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 6, John 3)

We know much about earthly things,

but so little about heavenly things.

We stand in your presence, O God,

but fail to see the hem of your robe

in our midst—

much less your presence,

far above, upon the throne of heaven.

We do not often see your seraphim

in flight around your throne.

We do not often hear their voices

or feel the very foundations about us

tremble at their loud praise.

Open our lives to your mystery,

power, and glory.

Open our lives to you, O Holy One. Amen.

Words of Assurance (Psalm 29, John 3)

Today we will hear of heavenly things

that can transform our lives forever.

We will hear of God’s miraculous presence

with us and among us and for us.

In God’s temple, let all of us say, “Glory!”

“Glory!”

Passing the Peace of Christ (Romans 8)

Hear this mystery: we are all the children and heirs of the Holy One. Welcome your brothers and sisters with the peace that God has given us through Christ Jesus.

Response to the Word (Isaiah 6, Psalm 29, John 3)

Sovereign of the universe,

touch us with your splendid presence.

Reveal yourself to us, O mystery that beckons.

Draw us into your hopeful plans,

for us and for all,

through Jesus Christ our Riddle Maker and Savior,

and through the Spirit Wind, Midwife unto new life.

Amen.

THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION

Invitation to the Offering (Romans 8)

Through the miracle of new life given to each of us, we have been adopted into the family of God. More than this, we are heirs to the blessings of God’s power, wisdom, and love. So let us share our bounty with others, that we may welcome more into our family. Let us give to our brothers and sisters, in the name of Jesus Christ, our eldest brother.

Offering Prayer (John 3, Romans 8)

It is only because of Jesus Christ

that we are bold enough

to call you Father and Mother,

O Sovereign of the Universe.

We do so now,

to remind ourselves of our many sisters and brothers,

your many children, who need hope and care.

Use our gifts to reach others

with the story of your great love

for our world. Amen.

SENDING FORTH

Benediction (Isaiah 6, Psalm 29, John 3, Romans 8)

(Have three people deliver benediction from three different locations

amidst the congregation or sanctuary.)

Voice 1: Look for the signs of the holy and mysterious

one everywhere!

Voice 2: Listen for the sound of seraph wings and

voices.

Voice 3: Feel the trembling beneath your feet that heralds

heavenly voices.

Voice 1: Know that these mysteries have already entered

your very lives and beings, children of

God! More mysteries await you.

Voice 2: May the Holy and Mysterious One visit you

this week.

Voice 3: And may the Holy and Mysterious One give

you every strength and peace.

All: Amen.

Contemporary Gathering Words (Isaiah 6, Psalm 29)

We stand in the presence of God, Sovereign of the

Universe, Lord of Hosts!

The whole earth is full of God’s glory!

God’s voice peals like thunder over the waters,

the deserts, the forests!

The whole earth is full of God’s glory!

Do you hear the angels’ loud praise and feel

the shaking of the very foundations of this place?

God’s presence surrounds us, fills this very place!

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!

From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2015” is now available.

WORSHIP CONNECTION: y Nancy C. TownleyTrinity Sunday and Peace with Justice Sunday

COLOR: White

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1

L: Great is the Lord!

P: God’s greatness is beyond our understanding.

L: Yet God has revealed God’s self in Jesus Christ.

P: Through Jesus we have come to know the absolute love of God.

L: Lift up your hearts and praise the Lord!

P: May God continue to bless God’s people with peace. AMEN.

Call to Worship #2:

L: Though many places in the world are bound in war.

P: The peace of God is poured out for all people.

L: Though discord and struggle have become factors in the lives of the people.

P: The love of God is lavished on all people.

L: Let us praise the God of love and peace.

P: Let us listen for God’s words of peace and justice for all people. AMEN.

Call to Worship #3:

[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2174 "What Does the Lord Require of You", offer the following call to worship as directed]

Choir: [sing the refrain only (part 1), without part 2 or 3: "What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you.

L: How shall we serve the Lord in a world torn with strife?

P: We act in ways of justice and kindness to all whom we meet.

L: How shall we walk with God in this trouble?

P: Place the mantle of humility on our shoulders, so that we may truly listen to God’s words.

Choir: (singing Part 1, and then adding the section in which part 2 comes in.) What does the Lord require of you, What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you/Justice, kindness; What does the Lord require of you?/walk humbly with your God.

L: We are called to listen carefully and understand that God, who adopted us, expects us to live in this world as people of justice, peace, and humility.

P: Open our hearts to your words, O Lord, that we may truly be born anew into lives that shine with your justice, into acts of compassion and kindness, and into a deeper spiritual journey with you.

Choir: (Singing the entire song): What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you/Justice, kindness, What does the Lord require of you/walk humbly with your God. What does the Lord require of you/Justice, Kindness/to seek justice, and love kindness; What does the Lord require of you/walk humbly with your God/and walk humbly with your God.

Call to Worship #4:

L: God’s love is poured out on God’s world.

P: From the foundations of time, God’s love is woven into all things.

L: When we cry "Abba, Father!", God hears and lovingly responds to us.

P: Thanks be to God who forgives and lifts us up.

L: Now we are called to be born anew!

P: Open our hearts and our lives that we may truly be born with hearts aflame with God’s love. AMEN.

PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION

OPENING PRAYER:

God of majesty and power, how awesome you are to us! The mountains tremble, the seas roar at the sound of your name! Yet you have chosen to come to us in love and tenderness. You have called us to be people who will act in ways of peace and justice in your world. Open our hearts and our spirits, Lord, to hear your word, and having heard, to act in ministries of hope and peace for all your earth. These things we pray in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION: 

We are so like Nicodemus, Lord. We come to you, hiding in the shadows of our own fears and terrors. We want you to give us peace and hope in our hearts. We want to know that everything will be all right; that the world will cease to be a place of terror and war. We want to be born again in a spirit of hope. But when we come it is for our own sake, and not to learn what you would have us be and do in this world. Forgive our selfishness, Lord. Calm our fears and heal our spirits. Let us truly listen to you so that we may be witnesses to your peace and justice which you seek for the world. Saturate us with your light and wisdom. Empower us to be those who bring peace, which is not only an absence of war, but peace which promotes an attitude of love. Clear away the clutter in our lives and place us on paths of service to you. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE:

God’s love of the world is so great that God sent Jesus that we may truly live lives of peace and hope. Listen with your hearts as well as your ears. God’s love is poured out for you that you may have new life in service and witness. Praise be to God.

PASTORAL PRAYER:

We are struggling, Lord. You know how difficult it is for us to hear the news of violence and warfare and to see dear lives lost in battle and strife. We long for your peace to flood the world. We cry out for your presence. We wonder if you hear our cries. How small is our faith! From the very beginnings of time, you have poured your love into the world. People have made decisions about how to respond to that love. Some have chosen to act in ways of peace, justice and mercy, loving ministries of kindness and compassion. Some have chosen to impose their will on others, never acknowledging the rights and lives of those they oppress. Sometimes, we, by our attitudes as well as actions, have acted in ways of oppression. But you forgive and heal us. You call us to be your witnesses of peace to the world. We do not need to crawl to you during the night of our fears for healing. You have given us new life in Jesus Christ, who taught us about your love. Through Christ we are adopted as your heirs, your beloved children. You have given us opportunities to bring hope and peace to others. Let us seize these opportunities for ministries of hope. Encourage our hearts. Strengthen our spirits and our commitment to serve you. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.

READING:

[This is done readers’ theatre style. Each reader should be able to present his/her portion clearly and with feeling. Reader 1 is a doubter, one who is convinced that he/she is powerless. Reader 2 is God’s messenger, the voice of loving confidence. It is best if this is presented by two readers seated on chairs or stools in the front of the worship area. Before the reading begins there should be a brief moment of silence to set the tone.

Reader 1: I feel as though I am swirling around, pulled and pushed in a host of directions. Sometimes I don’t know what to do or what to believe. Someone once said, "The world is too much with us" and that surely is the truth. I am pursued by profit and possessions. I am chased by competition and greed. I fear that I will succumb to mediocre faith.

Reader 2: Behold, the God of peace calls to you. Rise up! Do not be afraid. There is much to be done.

Reader 1: I can’t do these things you ask of me, Lord. I don’t have the skills, the time, the energy, the........

Reader 2: Behold, the God of justice beckons you. Drop your excuses and pleadings. Trust that I am with you. You will have all that you need for the tasks which I have placed before you.

Reader 1: You don’t understand. The chains of my possessions weigh heavy upon me. I have much for which I am responsible. There are so many things that rely on my presence and attention. What do you want from me?

Reader 2: You are called to be just and fair, to seek justice for those who feel powerless and voiceless, to work for just solutions rather than warfare and strife.

Reader 1: I can’t do it, Lord. The world is not a kind and loving place. My efforts will not be effective or even welcomed.

Reader 2: You are called to love kindness and compassion with such a passion that God’s love will flood the arid terrain, giving life to all. You will bring the word and actions of hope where people have lived in desolation.

Reader 1: How can you ask me to do this? How can you believe that I am even capable of doing ministries of peace and justice?

Reader 2: God has called you. Walk quietly with God. Do not let your fear spill over into inaction. God has blessed you. Be ready to hear God’s word. Its intent will be made evident to you. Trust in God’s presence and guidance for you. God has redeemed you. Do not fear. Though a host of evil encamps around you, God will be your guardian and your guide.

Reader 1: Lord, help my unbelief. Save my life. Heal my soul!

Reader 2: God has already done that for you, beloved one.

BENEDICTION:

God of infinite patience, loving presence, and dazzling surprises, be with us as we leave this place today. Guide and guard our lives and bless our witness to your love. We go in peace seeking ministries of justice and hope. AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

The traditional color for this Sunday is WHITE

However, you may want to consider adding some colors or textures in color if your focus is Peace with Justice Sunday. The emphasis this day will be peace with justice. The white color maintains the tradition for Trinity Sunday, and in this instance the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) become embodied in words of Justice, Kindness, and Humility. The rough fabric and rocks and wood are reminders of the harshness of the world. The plants which are used, not soft leafed, but rigid and stiff, are good symbols of harshness, unbending. The dove, which will be placed near the white Christ Candle, is the Dove of peace. You may place chains, ropes, prison bars, in the setting as you choose.

Note: It is always a good idea to put a brief paragraph or statement in the worship bulletin explaining the visual setting of the day.

SURFACE: Place five risers on the worship center. The tallest riser, approximately 1', should be placed at the center back. The other risers, varying from 3" to 8" may be placed on the worship center as you desire. Place one riser in front of the worship center, slightly to the right of center.

FABRIC: Cover the entire worship center in white cloth, making sure that all risers are covered. Puddle the cloth in front of the worship center, making sure that the front riser is covered. Using rough fabric pieces (burlap, monk’s cloth, or even tea-dyed muslin which has been wrinkled), approximately 2' square, place them on several of the risers on the worship center and on the riser in front of the worship center.

CANDLES: Place a 10" white pillar candle on the tallest riser on the worship center. Place two other white pillar candles, approximately 4" in height, on the worship center risers of your choice.

FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Using "spiky" plants, such as mother-in-law’s tongue, snake plants, or cacti, place them near the tallest riser and if you have larger plants, place them on the floor near the riser in front.

ROCKS/WOOD Medium sized rocks, stones, and some gnarled wood can be effective in this worship center, place the pieces of wood carefully, using only a few pieces. A particularly gnarled piece would be appropriate in front of the floor riser. Clusters of stones add texture to the setting.

OTHER: Links of heavy chain are effective symbols for oppression, as is a length of rough rope (do not use clothesline - use sisal rope). If you wish you can create a "Prison" effect of bars by making a wood frame [3'high by 4'long], (using 1x2 pieces of lumber, and 3/4" PVC pipe, sprayed black). Drill holes that will receive 3/4" pvc pipe - approximately 6" apart, on the top and bottom pieces of the frame. Insert the pipes into the frame. Spray the frame black. The frame should have "feet" attached so that it can be free-standing. You may want to have some chains draped over the frame, for effect.

WORSHIP FOR KIDS: y Carolyn C. BrownTrinity Sunday

Note: Trinity is not a particularly easy concept for most adults, and it is even more challenging for children. 

From a Child's Point of View

Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-8. "But I thought you said God is invisible and everywhere at once. How come Isaiah could see God sitting on a throne with all those flying things around him? Where is God really? And what is God like?" Isaiah's vision raises difficult questions for literal thinkers who are being urged by teachers and parents to understand God in abstract ways. There are no answers that truly satisfy them, so focus their attention in other directions. Fifth- and sixth-graders can begin to decipher what we learn about God from the characteristics and actions of the seraphim. Younger children can imagine themselves with Isaiah and wonder how he felt.

While adults naturally respond as Isaiah did, with a sense of their own limits when confronted with the holiness of God, few children do. They simply respond with awe and wonder. Fortunately, the limits do not need to be accepted before children are willing to hear God's question and reply, "Send me."

Psalm: 29. Children of all ages both fear and love thunderstorms. This psalm praises God as the Lord of storms. In the thunder, the psalmist hears the voice of God. In the powerful wind and lightning, the psalmist hears and sees God's great power. This particular storm comes in over the sea, crosses the mountains (which seem to jump like calves in the strobic lightning), and moves out into the desert. Adults and older children benefit from tracing the path of the storm and hearing about the use of this psalm in the Temple as the rainy season began. But everyone can share in the feelings of awe and wonder which the psalmist expresses.

Epistle: Romans 8:12-17. The only verse in this theological treatise that makes sense to children is verse 14: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." When explored with the Gospel lesson, the message is simply that people who follow the urgings of God's Spirit within them (who are pushed along in God's wind) become God's children. Paul's call to put to death fleshly desires will not make sense until later adolescence, when abstract thinking is possible and personal experience has made it clear that problems do arise when human nature rules unchecked.

Gospel: John 3:1-17. This text is chosen for Trinity Sunday because it deals with all three persons of the Trinity and their interrelationships, but it is a difficult text for both adults and children. On hearing it read, most children throw up their hands with Nicodemus, unable to follow what Jesus is saying. They are helped less by phrase-by-phrase explanations of the text and more by comments about what we can learn about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit from this story.

• We learn that God loves the world and everyone in it.
• We learn that Jesus was sent by God to save us.
• We learn that the Holy Spirit brings us new life.

And as they learn to think of God abstractly, children appreciate comparing God's Holy Spirit to the wind. Both are invisible. We can't tell where either comes from or goes, but we can feel and see the effects of its presence.

Watch Words

Children first understand Trinity and Triune simply as words we use at church to talk about God. The connection to a triangle helps them recall and define the words.

Holy, the seraph's greeting and description of God, means completely perfect or set apart (nothing and no one is even close to being equal to God). Hallowed, in the Lord's Prayer, is another old word that means holy. Point out any places the word holy is painted, stitched, or carved in your sanctuary and explain why it is there.

God is neither male nor female. If you prefer not to use feminine images for God, avoid overusing masculine images and pronouns.

Let the Children Sing

Help children learn their way into "Holy, Holy, Holy" by calling on all worshipers to sing the Holy, Holy, Holy greeting to God at the beginning of each verse even if they cannot keep up with all the words of the verses.

The Presbyterian hymnal includes a simpler, but less familiar, Trinitarian praise hymn, "Holy, Holy."

Although "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" is generally sung during Advent, it captures the mood of Isaiah's worship of God and therefore makes a good call to worship for Trinity Sunday. Children pay special attention to any song sung "out of season."

Older children easily read the simple vocabulary of "Here I Am, Lord," based on Isaiah's response to God.

The Liturgical Child

1. Children respond more to the feelings expressed in Isaiah's vision than to its content, so plan a reading that emphasizes Isaiah's awe. Take the role of the prophet, recalling and telling this event. Let your feelings about what happened show in your voice. Practice reading the seraph's song in a booming voice that would shake the Temple. Plan how you will read, "Here am I. Send me."

2. The Liturgical Child, in the first Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of this series, gives directions for a congregational reading of Psalms 29 that includes a hand choir, creating storm sounds. Relaxed summer congregations with fresh experience with thunderstorms especially enjoy participating in such praise of God's power.

3. Create a prayer or praise litany in which the worship leader lists God's attributes or work. The congregation responds to each with the seraphim song in Isaiah 6:3 NRSV, or by singing that song as it is presented in the chorus of the hymn "Day Is Dying in the West." For example, if a prayer:

We praise you, Creator God. When we see a canyon carved out by a stream over millions of years, or watch a tiny spider spinning its web between two leaves, we are amazed by the beauty of your plan for the earth and for all on it. (RESPONSE)

Sermon Resources

1. Build a sermon around the ways God is like the wind: comforting us when we are in difficult situations, as a cool breeze comforts us on a hot day; pushing us to let go of bad habits and wrong ideas, as a strong wind prunes the dead wood from trees; supporting and pushing us along faster than we dreamed possible, as the wind supports a kite or sends a sailboat speeding across the water; surprising us by being present when we least expect it, like a wind springing up when we least expect it. Children will need to hear specific examples of God's activity in each comparison. For example, repeat the comment sometimes heard after worship, "Today's Bible reading was aimed at me," to illustrate God's Spirit at work, demanding that people change their ways.

2. Explain the Worship Worksheet task to the whole congregation, and tell the children you are looking forward to reading their poems as they leave the sanctuary. You might give the worksheet to all worshipers today and display all shared poems on a hallway bulletin board.

SERMON OPTIONS: Guess What Happened in Worship

Isaiah 6:1-8

If someone commissioned me to write a book entitled Interesting Things That Happened in Worship, I would have abundant material. It might have to be multivolumes. Some of the volumes would be Tragedies, Funny Experiences, and Strange Occurrences.

Isaiah wrote in his prophecy what happened when he went to worship at the temple. He had a significant encounter with God. What happened to Isaiah needs to happen to us every time we come to worship.

I. We Need a Profound Awareness of God (vv. 1-4)

The most significant occurrence in worship happens when we focus our attention on God. The first thing that happened to Isaiah was he saw the Lord.

Isaiah’s awareness of God produced some great assurances. He was assured of the sovereignty of God. Uzziah, the king, had died, but God is and will forever be on God’s throne. Isaiah became overwhelmed with the majesty of God. Mysterious descriptions came to Isaiah in verse 2. The prophet acknowledged the holiness of God.

Genuine worship starts with God. Worshipers become aware of his presence, and as they become aware of his presence they know his traits.

II. We Need a Realistic Consciousness of Ourselves (v. 5)

As soon as Isaiah became aware of the holy God, he began to get a realistic view of himself. For creatures to be in the presence of the Creator makes creatures aware of their sins.

Isaiah had a realistic consciousness of his personal sinfulness: “Woe is me!” He elaborates on his condition with two expressions: “lost” and “unclean lips.” He acknowledged that his heart condition and verbal expression did not measure up to God’s expectations.

Isaiah also had a universal consciousness of sin. The sin problem prevailed in everyone else: “I live among a people of unclean lips” (v. 5b).

A realistic consciousness of ourselves always comes when we come into the presence of the King, the Lord of hosts. God does not just want us to face our sins. He wants to do something about them.

III. We Need a Generous Bestowal of Forgiveness (vv. 6-7)

As soon as Isaiah became painfully aware of his sin, God began the bestowal of forgiveness. God wants to take care of the sin problem in human lives.

Isaiah described it with two words: iniquity and sin. The word iniquity means “to twist.” The word sin means to fall short of God’s intention.

Isaiah experienced the remedy with God taking away his iniquity and purging his sin. God gave a complete pardon. We need God’s gracious bestowal of forgiveness.

IV. We Need a Willing Spirit to Serve God (v. 8)

Isaiah did not just have an encounter with God in the temple. His experience with God led to service in the world. All kinds of needs existed in Judah. People needed the Lord. God’s greatest desire is to help people with these needs.

To meet human needs, God uses human instruments. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (v. 8b). God searched for volunteers. Then Isaiah responded: “Here am I; send me!” (v. 8c). Isaiah’s worship led to service for God.

The reason churches advertise “Worship with us” is because they know profitable experiences can happen in worship. When you miss worship, you never know what kind of remarkable encounter with God you may be missing! (Harold T. Bryson)

Living Fearlessly with God

Romans 8:12-17

For many people, the Trinity is a concept that does not compute. The main reason is that people often try to make three equal one. Theological battles have been vigorously fought over this idea, and Christians have declared each other heretics over their formulations of the Triune God. Rather than trying to pour the ocean of God’s truth on this matter into the teacup formulations of our minds, it is far better to take a lesson from Paul and discover the power for living that is resident in the experiencing of God in three personages.

Today’s focal text from Romans makes no attempt at constructing a mathematical equation. It merely sets out for us how the caring God can touch our lives in three different ways. Moreover, as in other passages of the New Testament (cf. 1 Pet. 1:2 and Rev. 1:4-5), Paul is not bound to confine himself to the later creedal order of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Theological formulations can often be very proper, but leave one with the feeling of being dry and dead. In contrast, Paul’s words ring with vitality and power. His God is not dead! His message about living with God is dynamic.

I. Living with the Spirit

Having detailed in the previous passages of Romans the radical differences between a life that is oriented to the created world (flesh) and one that is oriented to the Creator (Spirit), Paul challenges his readers to abandon any commitments that make the world (flesh) and its desires the goal of life. Such commitments can only lead to death (v. 13), because the pattern of world orientation is insecurity and fear (v. 15).

Those who are committed to God are entirely different because they are obedient to (led by) and have a deep sense of companionship through the Spirit. Insecurity is therefore banished in their sense of relationship (sonship and daughterhood) to God (vv. 14-16).

II. Relating to the Father

Paul and the New Testament writers are theocentric. The one God is the center of their theologies. For Jews like Paul who had even ceased to use the name of God (YHWH) because of fear of taking that name in vain, the designation of God as “Father” was revolutionary. Certainly Jesus had called God “Father,” but as a result he was labeled a blasphemer.

Even more significant was the fact that Jesus taught his disciples to call God “Father” (cf. Matt. 6:9). So important was this idea to Paul that he used not only the Greek word for Father but also included the Semitic word Abba (v. 15; cf. Gal. 4:5) , which probably goes back to Jesus himself. Praying to God as “Father,” therefore, probably encapsulated for Paul his dearest relationship. God cares for us and allows us to pray to him in the intimacy of a child-to-parent relationship.

III. Following the Model of Jesus

When Jesus called his disciples, he summoned them to “follow” him. The pattern of copying Jesus model is well established in the New Testament (cf. Phil. 2:1-11). But what is sometimes difficult to accept is that the model of Jesus is one of self-giving and suffering.

Paul understood the cost of discipleship, and he wanted all Christians to realize that following the Master would likely be painful (v. 17; cf. 1 Pet. 2:21) . Yet the hope of glory makes fearless living in the midst of pain possible because our future is in the hands of the living God (Rom. 8:18 ; cf. 1 Pet. 1:6-9). (Gerald L. Borchert)

Born Again!

John 3:1-17

What image comes to mind when you hear the words “born again”? The 1976 election of a “born again” Southern Baptist, Jimmy Carter, introduced the national media to the term. Perhaps you think of an Elmer Gantry-type preacher thundering hellfire and damnation. Maybe you see a man with a sign reading, “Ye must be born again.” Although Jesus only used the term once, it is frequently a caricature of authentic evangelical Christian faith. And that’s a pity—the truth is much too important to be lost.

I. Religion Is Not Enough

Soren Kierkegaard asked rhetorically, “How does one become a Christian in Christendom?” In other words, what distinguishes authentic Christian faith from the watered-down cultural Christianity of organized religion. How do you preach to the baptized?

Nicodemus was a wealthy Jewish leader of the Pharisee sect. He was sworn to observe the law of God. Intrigued by Jesus, he came by night—perhaps to avoid public exposure, perhaps because of the urgency of his quest. But Jesus would have nothing to do with the niceties of theological dialogue. He confronts Nicodemus with the challenge, “only those born from above can enter the kingdom of God.”

II. The New Birth Is a Mystery

Commentators spend a great deal of time and exegetical energy on what it means to be born of “water and spirit.” Certainly physical birth precedes spiritual birth. Water baptism is important, though Christ had not yet given that command to the church, so John’s baptism for repentance was all that Nicodemus would know. Certainly the washing of the word is tied to the working of the Spirit in the New Testament.

Yet Nicodemus must have missed the point entirely, or maybe we have. He was amazed by the notion of the new birth. Jesus compared the Spirit’s work to the wind. You may hear its sound and feel the effect, but you never know where the wind will blow next. We spend too much time in search of a formula or spiritual laws that, when followed, guarantee new birth.

III. The New Birth Transforms Lives

We are children of God not because we remember the day and hour we prayed a prayer or on what verse of “Just As I Am” we walked the aisle. Jesus says you only know the wind has blown by the effect. The fruit of Christ’s presence is the surest sign one is born again. John never forgot this lesson. In his first epistle he gave three evidences of those who are “sons of God.” If we love the brethren, acknowledge Jesus is Lord, and obey his commands we are disciples. I remember an old Presbyterian missionary who taught us theology in Bible college. One day he said that he could not remember a time when Christ was not real and precious in his life. A fellow student, troubled that Brother Davidson could not remember the day and the hour he was converted, challenged him: “How do you know you are a Christian?” Brother D. pounded on his chest and replied: “Because Jesus lives in my heart.” The evidence of Christ’s presence was real in Brother Davidson’s life.

God does love us and have a wonderful plan for our lives. We are born from above. The evidence is in the effect this blowing of the Spirit will have on our lives. (L. Joseph Rosas)

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