Is the church today calling people to repentance or relevance? At times, it seems we want to protect Jesus from not being liked, so we sell soft. Lower the lights. Up the beautiful music. Put on quite the performance. Make Him likable. And be sure to deliver a sermon that meets the needs and problems and diseases of everyone in the pew.
What about a sermon that changes you? Herod says he respected John---even "enjoyed listening" to him. Mark 6:20. How many enjoy the sermon and walk into their week to treat their husbands with distance; treat their co-workers with arrogance; treat their families with unkindness; treat their world with a lack of respect for the dignity of man---and never call it sin. I do---and I don't want to stay that way. We will all fail this week in our relationships---and we all can can repent and turn to God to make us new again.
Yet, Mark 6:52 shouts out that they didn't "gain any insight" even though they heard Jesus speak face-to-face . . . feed 5,000 from a mere five loaves and two fish . . . walk on water . . . drive out demons . . . raise the dead . . . and . . . yet, they did not gain any insight from the incidents they witnessed.
O God, may we be in awe-filled insight from what we know. May we be changed by the power of your Holy Spirit.
PRAYER FROM PSALMS
Let our joy never be defaulted.
May You, our God, forever be exalted.
Thank you for drawing us in Love.
And changing us to live for things Above.
With the Saving Might of your Right Hand.
Answer us this day with Grace on our Land.
Psalm 20:6
Repentance is the Message. Good News is that restoration follows repentance. We do soft sell the tough stuff. God calls us to some serious heart reckonings. We have to humble ourselves and submit. And it isn't always pretty.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book that is refreshingly honest about a lesbian English professor who had a real encounter with Jesus through the Bible and became a Christian ( she's a pastor's wife today.) She made a comment in an interview that I appreciated. She said her life was relatively easy before but when she became a Christian it was not smooth sailing. She had a lot of places that needed His Touch and He was willing to do it, but it was hard and it was not pretty.
Too many testimonies say "And I found Jesus and lived happily ever after." Or if your testimony isn't like that, no one wants to hear it. Are we simply peddling religion and selling the benefits? Or does Truth through Christ find Its way in hearts to set them free? We are not salesmen. We are messengers. The Message doesn't need sweetening. It is good. Jesus saves. He does all the work.
Check out The Message for how Jesus intended it to work. Mark 6:7-14
Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:
8-9 “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.
10 “And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave.
11 “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
12-13 Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.
If I'm here to be about Jesus, it's far bigger than enjoying a sermon on Sunday and agreeing with it then going about life my way. My life need to hammer out the truth in my everyday encounters with husband, friends, family, strangers.