Reflection: The Definite Plan and Foreknowledge of God (May 26, 2013)

Holy Trinity Sunday
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Acts 2:14a, 22-36; John 8:48-59

We've come to believe that many things in our world are the result of randomness. We survey the damage in the wake of a natural disaster and see a house that is barely touched in the middle of the rubble that used to be a neighborhood and it
looks very random. We hear about a crime in which the perpetrator confesses that he just picked out a victim for no particular reason and it confirms our sense of randomness. Science explains our existence as a species as the result of beneficial, random mutations. Sociologists tell us that we become the people we are because of the family or community of which we are randomly a member. As a society, we embrace the idea that accidents, diseases, success, relationships, and many more of the elements of our lives are driven, in whole or in part, by randomness.

In contrast to seeing our existence and experiences as random, God’s Word declares that they are driven by “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” He makes it clear that He created us intentionally and specifically. We are not the result of a random process that just happened to work out well for us, but of God’s marvelous design and expert craftsmanship, created for specific roles in His plan for the reconciliation and restoration of His creation. It goes against most of what our culture understands as truth, but we are uniquely crafted by God for the particular reasons that He has chosen. We don’t choose our own paths or destiny. We’re not being carried along in a stream of randomness. We are integral participants in the plan that God laid out before the foundation of the world that is now unfolding in our lives under His guiding hand.

Knowing that God has a definite plan is one thing. Understanding it is another. Some parts of God’s plan are confusing and troubling. When His plan calls for suffering and hardship in our lives we might be tempted to reject the idea that a loving and gracious God could want such things for us. We might even view Him as capricious — even random — and see ourselves as pawns in His hands. But He assures us that the challenges we face in our lives are part of a plan that unfailingly leads us to good things. We can be sure of this because He Himself bore the Cross and suffered death for us “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”

Audio file of the sermon "The Definite Plan and Foreknowledge of God."

Reflection: Help We Can Use (May 19, 2013)

Pentecost Day
Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; John 14:23-31

Ronald Reagan once quipped, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" While government isn't the only entity that provides help that isn't much help, it seems that our government is especially good at being more hindrance than help. If you've ever been on the receiving end of “help” that wasn't any help, you know what Reagan meant. Rules, regulations, bureaucracy, restrictions, conflicting guidelines, etc. are not the help that we need when we turn to the government for assistance. But, unfortunately, that is often the “help” that we get.

When Jesus was preparing His disciples to continue His work after He had returned to the Father, He promised that He would send them help. He knew that they would need a lot of help. They were going to face tremendous opposition from the Jewish leaders, endure hostility when proclaiming the Gospel, and be persecuted by the Roman government for promoting a subversive religion. They would be betrayed by some of the people who embraced their message and attacked by people who rejected it. They would face all kinds of physical and emotional hardships as well as the spiritual attacks of Satan. They would definitely need help. So rather than send them a set of rules, or threats of punishments for being unfaithful, or a system of accountability run by superiors, Jesus sent them real help. He sent them the Helper.

We face some of the same challenges that His first disciples faced — and a few of our own. Our world is still fallen and broken. It’s filled with sin and the effects of sin. We can’t avoid or escape it — and we aren't suppose to. Instead, we are called to confront the sin, evil, and brokenness of our world with the Gospel. When we do we set ourselves against people who love this world, those who are living to make a name for themselves, unbelievers who are hostile to God and His Word, and the one who prowls about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. Jesus has warned us that we will face opposition, hardship, persecution, and even death as we do the work that He has given us to do. His warning is helpful, but it isn’t the help that we need. We need more than His warning and even more than His encouragement. For help we can use, Jesus continues to send us real help; He continues to send us the Helper.

Audio file of the sermon "Help We Can Use."

Reflection: To Go Where No One Has Gone Before (May 5, 2013)

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 16:9-15; Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27; John 16:23-33


When I was growing up I used to dream about going to a place where no other human being had ever been. Fueled by stories I read in books and documentaries from TV, I imagined myself as an adventurer who would discover new lands and untouched civilizations. As time went on, I realized that, because the world was heavily populated and well traveled, it was unlikely that I would ever be the explorer and discoverer that I dreamt of being. I've also come to understand that I have many opportunities to go where no one has gone before. And so do you.

When the Apostle Paul was carrying out the work that God had called him to do in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), he set his sights on going into the region of Bithynia to proclaim the Gospel. He had already started numerous new churches in the surrounding regions and Bithynia was the next logical place to continue his work. But he was stopped in his tracks by the Holy Spirit who prevented him from going there. Why would the Spirit keep someone from going to a place to share the Gospel? Because He wanted Paul to go somewhere else, to a place where no one had gone before with the Gospel. Paul didn't have to wait long to find out where God wanted him to go. Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia urging him to come to that region to help the people there. When Paul arrived in Philippi, which was the main city of Macedonia, he found that there wasn't even a synagogue there. He had come to a place where no one had gone before.

There was a time when we would have had to pack up our lives and travel to distant lands to find people who had never heard of the love, joy, and peace of Jesus, to places like those of my childhood daydreams. But now the places where no one has gone before with the Gospel are all around us. Our workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, and even our families are filled with people who don't know anything about the love and grace of God in Christ Jesus. Like the Macedonian man in Paul's vision, they are calling us to come to their aid. But unlike that man, they aren't issuing a direct invitation. Instead their cries of spiritual suffering and death through the choices they make, the values they hold, and the sins that they live out in their everyday lives are crying out for us to listen to the Holy Spirit's call to go to where no one has gone before.

Audio file of the sermon "To Go Where No One Has Gone Before."

Reflection: Standing in the Way of God (April 28, 2013)

The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7; John 16:12-22


It can be hard to know when God is doing something out of the ordinary. In situations when we can’t tell whether God is in it or not we’re faced with a dilemma. If it’s not from Him, we don’t want to get caught up in it. If it is from Him, we don’t want to stand in the way of what He’s doing. When God was moving Peter to share the Gospel with the Gentiles He communicated His will in an unusual vision — three times! Later, when he was questioned about the validity of sharing the Gospel with Gentiles, Peter was able to say confidently that it was God’s will for the Gentiles to share in the Gospel. Knowing that God was in it, Peter asked his detractors “who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

There are many people who do stand in God’s way, especially in His desire that all people would hear His Word and come to know His love and grace. It doesn't seem like a very good idea to stand in the way of the God who “opposes the proud, but gives grace to the poor” (James 4:6). Even Gamaliel, one of the most avid opponents of the Apostles, warned his fellow Jews to be careful about how they dealt with their efforts to share the Gospel, telling them that “if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:39). It’s a small thing for our God, who will one day destroy all created things to make a new heaven and a new earth, to crush anyone or anything that stands in His way. Yet there is a manner in which He has called us to stand in the way of God.

When we think of standing in God’s way as being present and visible as His representatives doing His work in the world, then it becomes clear in what manner we are called to stand in God’s way. Making such a stand is often unpopular and it may even lead us into great hardships and difficulties. You may feel inadequate for such an important task. You might even respond to His call to be His ambassador by saying “who am I that should stand in God’s way?” But you belong to the One who is making everything new. You have been called by Him and appointed to be His ambassador. He has made you a priest to the world and empowered You with His Word and Spirit. Who are you to stand in the way of God? You are the very person He has created, crafted, and called for this loving work.

Audio file of the sermon "Standing in the Way of God."