Christmas Sermon (Dec. 26th) Church for the Highlands Shreveport, La

This morning I want to begin with the question of “Who is Jesus?” I expect many to answer with the traditional Christmas answers of Messiah, King of Kings, Lord, Savior, Holy Child....

 This year at Centenary in the Christian Leadership Center, we have been studying an author by the name of Brian Mclaren. In his recently acclaimed book, A New Kind of Christianity, Mr. Mclaren explores the Jesus Question of “Who is Jesus and Why is He so Important?” He quotes a scene from the popular 2006 movie, Talladega Nights. The family is gathered around the table and the food is blessed. You know the scene. If not...here is the LINK. 

Sadly enough, this satire, does nothing but line up with our church history and tradition. We believe “our” Jesus holds the “truth.” In turn this creates the “us” vs. “them” language, and my deepest convictions confirm that Jesus came to love all peoples holding truth for all peoples, not just some. Today some Christians might uphold the….white supremacist Jesus, nuclear bomb-dropping Jesus, anti-Semitic Jesus, the prosperity Gospel Jesus, "God hates fags" Jesus, Crusader Jesus and so on.

Jesus of Nazareth was born, lived, and died around 2000 years ago. That’s Fact. We don’t need the Bible to prove this. Theologian and Bishop Lesslie Newbigin once said, “The whole of Christian teachings would fall to the ground if it were the case that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not events of real history, but stories that were used to illustrate truths which are valid apart from these happenings.”

 Jesus was a living human being, who worked, taught, and died in a country that was no larger than the state of Delaware. He came as a child, born to a virgin in a humble, lowly stable as the “word made flesh.”  Jesus of Nazareth worked as a carpenter for most of his life, He taught, and preached for 3 years according to the Gospel of John. We know that his ministry did not begin until he was about 30 years of age. It’s even fact that less people ever heard him speak than could fill Tiger stadium. That’s around 93,000 people. But He made his impact known to the few who actually heard him speak.  We know that He was executed as a criminal; and by the end of His time on Earth he had very few followers, one betrayed Him and the rest either ran away or went into hiding behind locked doors because they feared for their own lives.

Since I have been at Centenary we have learned to look at the Bible from an analytical, historical perspective that is sure to raise questions. I have begun to question stories, parables, Gospels, letters, and sermons. We are taught to look and read between the lines and discover or re-discover for ourselves what we believe and why. This year, and especially in this season a striking question has arose for me. It happens to be my sermon title for today, “Jesus has come, now what?” We read the Gospels, which are the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that pertains to a particular group of people for a particular time period. I can relate to most of it, and I also can acknowledge the differences in each Gospel. One item of contention that I cannot seem to gain relief on is our question of the day. We read the Gospels, and we find that the stories of old. We find the stories of Christmas that we have always read. The stories that lead us into the birth of Jesus the Christ child, who was born to a virgin, came to set the captives free. We then read about Jesus’ life (ministry), his betrayal, death, resurrection, and reign in heaven with God the Father. What I find myself questioning is Jesus’ life. We know that Jesus’ ministry began when he was around 30 years old. What we cannot find in the Gospels is the life of Jesus after his birth up to his ministry. Thirty years … missing. That is a question that I have been struggling with lately, and this is my motivation for today’s sermon.

For the past 30 days or so, we have been in a season on expectancy. We have lit the candles, said the prayers, sang the songs, decorated the tree, hung the greens, read the Scriptures, proclaimed his name, worshiped with an open heart, gave accordingly, and celebrated the coming of Christ the King. Excitement has been in the air everywhere you go! This season of Christmas changes people. I think when I came upon this puzzle in the Bible, I stumbled upon a set of deeper questions that pertains to us even today. Today is the day after Christmas, some of you will go home and take down your tree, put up the family Bible you dusted off and placed on the table for dinner, strip the house, and live your lives like nothing ever happened. Some of you might be offended that my sermon is a Christmas sermon. Some of you are ready to move on. Am I right? We see the same correlation in our lives today, and the life described in the Bible. What happened to the thirty years? People forgot, people moved on. Jesus came, and we walked away. Everything we were hoping for came true, salvation came to the world, and we ignored it. This is a problem we find even in our churches! In the United Methodist Church we begin preparing for Lent which concludes with Easter, a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. After today we will forget and leave behind the most important part!  This season of Christmas is something spectacular, something we need to hold onto.

When I look back on the man named Jesus I see the humble servant. I see a man who was not popular. I see a man who was rejected. I see a man who was humble. I see a man who was preparing the way.

Job 8:7         “Your beginnings will seem humble, 

   so prosperous will your future be.”

I love what this church (Church for the Highlands Shreveport, La) is all about. I love the idea of a visional church. I love the partnership with Volunteers of America. I love the location. I love the serving aspect. How many people know what this church is doing? (Job 8:7) What do I think happened to those thirty years? You are participating in it right now!  Its time as a Christian Church we grasp this new reality of Christmas, it is time that we make this Christmas season a permanent season in our lives.

A mentor and fellow pastor of mine, after hearing my sermon idea sent me this quote last night …

"Long after the angels disappears into the heavens, the shepherds return to their flocks, the magi journey home and the great star sets, Jesus remains. The Child in whom we rediscover God’s great love for humanity becomes the adult Redeemer who challenges us to imitate his selflessness and compassion in order that we might transform our world in love… May we allow the miracle of Christmas to continue long after the holiday trappings have been packed away; May we welcome the adult Messiah and his challenging Gospel to recreate our lives, making the peace, justice and hope of this holy season a reality in every season of the new year."

Who Are You?

Jacob Wrestles With God (Genesis 32: 22-27)

 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

   

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

    The man asked him,

 “What is your name?”

   

“Jacob,” he answered.

This story seems so insignificant to some, but at the same time it is very significant to others. We watched the Name video by Rob Bell last night at Youth at Asbury. The question Rob poses seems so simple, who are you? what is your name? 

Maybe you think you know the answer to this question, but I would suggest that you really ask yourself these questions. Dig deeper, find the real meaning...Now do you know? This is the dilemma we faced and addressed last night with the youth. 


During this movie while Rob is talking people in the background keep taking off multiple shirts. On the back of the shirts there are names such as addict, successful, homeless, weird, smart, nerdy, immigrant, Muslim, Jew, etc. It really is a profound movie once you dive into it. 


Through our pretty intense discussion we realized who we are. Every single one of us. We are children of God. We know that God knows us so much. God knew every thing about us before we were even born. He knows our faults, he knows our successes, he knows what we do well, he knows what we fail at, he knows EVERYTHING. And the amazing thing in all that, God still loves us no matter what. We serve a wonderful, loving, forgiving God. 


In the Bible we hear God call himself, "I AM." In the Bible, I think, they messed it up. I suggest that God really said. " I AM _____(FILL IN THE BLANK)_____" 


God is ____grace____


God is ____love_____


God is ___compassion___


God is ___failure____


God is ___pain____


God is ___________


What is God to you?? Can you embrace who you really are, and who God made you to be? 

The Lion and The Lamb

 

Today during our student-led worship service an idea was shoved into my head. Our campus minster was preaching and she brought up the Lion and the Lamb talked about in the Bible. This idea has always sparked excitement and awe in my mind. This story represents a critical idea about the Gospel and about Jesus. When we look at the life of Jesus and the life we are now called to live we find that it is quite radical! Just like the representation of the lion and the lamb is quite radical. 

When we analyze the story of the lion and the lamb we uncover that this represents a radical way of being. The top of the food chain lies with the lowest of the chain, a helpless lamb. The most high lies with the meek. This life that Jesus is portraying in the lion in the lamb calls us to be different. It calls us to live a totally different life than that of the world around us. 

I couldn't help but recall a moment I experienced Saturday while watching the New Orleans vs. Seattle game. Before the game, in the huddle one of the cameras was inside the huddle and you could hear the voices calling out, pumping up the team. On National Television we heard these words, "..remember that we give God the glory ALL THE TIME." Wow, this shocked me. This, to me, is a radical way of living in the NFL. How many of these muscle men who may have dealt with drugs, liquor, abuse, money, gambling, etc. proclaim the Gospel and give praise to God very audibly in front of the whole team. Also, while watching the National Championship Game last night the Auburn head coach, after winning the BCS title, gave God glory for the team, the fans, and the Auburn Nation. You could see the stunned and awe look on the face of the reporter when he was interviewing in the coach. He was shocked and quite honestly it looked like he didn't know what to say back when the coach mentioned God's Holy Name several times in the interview.

Looking back on the moments in sports history, I find that the lion definitely does lie with the lamb. This radical life, this radical Gospel of our Radical Savior Jesus Christ has spilled over into an industry where the Bible and the Christian Faith seems to not be so prevalent. Praise God for these faithful few!

Asbury

This is our new logo at Asbury Church! We also have a new Website! Please check it out at asburybossier.org

We are a growing church with a growing vision! We would love for you to be a part of the history that is happening at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City!

Finding Light in The Darkness

Psalm 18:28
 "You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."


This morning was my first week back at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, La since the start of Christmas Break! I couldn't wait to open the doors of our beautiful sanctuary and pour my heart out to God! 


Only one problem....


As Sunday morning approached, so did a winter storm. 


I awoke this morning to sleet, rain, and snow and the possibility of church cancellation. After reading my twitter and facebook updates it was apparent that this was a pressing possibility.


Much to my hearts gladness, Asbury Church was open for worship this morning! 


As I turned into the parking lot I knew church was going to be slim this morning. Oh well, God was still there with us in that place! We gathered in the sanctuary to images of our new logo, sounds of Casting Crowns, voices of the people, and a stir of the Spirit of God. I sat down in my usual seat near the Youth, and prepared for worship. As the time drew near the worship team walked on stage and grabbed their instruments. Just before the first cord could be struck, though, all went dark. No more power. 


Would this stop us from worshiping our King? Praising our Redeemer? Welcoming the coming Christ? NO, NEVER!


We all squeezed together into one or two sections of the church around 6 or 7 candles and we had church! Praise God! 


It was one of the most beautiful church services I have ever been to in my entire life. I was touched by the beautifulness in the whole thing. Amongst the chaos, the black, the stillness, God was there! 


We sang a few worship songs, celebrated the sacrament of Baptism, heard the word proclaimed, prayed earnestly to our God, and gathered as a community of believers in circumstances unexpected. 


As I left that place we call Asbury Church in the sleet and snow my heart was filled with gladness and the love of Christ! Thank you God for this day and that church! Praise be to God in every circumstance! 


John 1:5
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Doubting?

I was asked the other day by a close family member if I have ever had doubts about my faith, church, calling, religion, etc.

My answer was very simple! Of course I do! I have doubts every single day!

Its my deepest conviction that if you are striving to be a disciple for Christ that you asked questions. I believe when these questions are asked, doubts will arise. I strongly believe that every Christian should doubt! I mean we believe in a "Spirit" that no one has seen that was sent by a guy who rose from the dead to meet his heavenly "father" in "heaven." Oh and by the way we have never seen him, AND we read a book with writing on some pages written by some interesting people, and they tell us to believe. WOW, how could you not have doubts?

I remember a conversation I had with a pastor a few years back in the beginning years of my ministry. We were sitting in a Starbucks just talking, and I made the comment, "well everyone can't 100% totally believe in their denomination or church and what it is saying and doing!" He strongly disagreed and assured me that he did just that. This hit me wrong.

I couldn't help but recall a "talk" I once gave stressing that we don't put Christ on the back-burner  in our lives. I cant help but see a correlation in lack of doubts and stagnation in your faith, just going along with the motions. "Do you believe it because you figured it out for yourself, or do you believe it because thats what the pastor said?" This is a defining question in my walk with Christ, and I believe it should be a pretty important question in every faithful persons life. If we don't learn to question, doubt, discern, and answer some of the questions of faith for ourselves, then we will fall into the category of the stagnant Christians.

Will you keep going to church because you have always done it, continue to believe everything the pastor says, read the words on the pages because the bulletin says so, pray the prayers on the screen, and believe not because you discerned for yourself, but because its the way we have always done it? Or will you question, doubt, and figure some things out for yourself and become a better Christian?

Now, I should have to warn you...you won't find all the answers to some of the questions. This is where my always faithful campus minister's words fall into place, "be complacent just to live in  the grey." Sometimes we wont find the answers. Then the question becomes, can you live in the grey without a definite answer?

This has been on my mind a lot lately, just wondering if anyone else struggles with this as well?