Notes From Jon

Just posted a sermon on the KBC website that I particularly enjoyed doing last Sunday.  I’ve been putting up the occasional sermon there when I have time.

This sermon was inspired by my own experiences here in a rural community – a big shift for me.  It was also brought on by a good friend – a farmer – who passed away last week.

Here’s the link:  http://www.kenbridgebaptist.org/2009/09/sermon-the-seeds-august-30-2009/

Top Billing

We’ve all seen movie posters.  They tell us everything we need to know about a movie that’s coming – trying to entice you to pay $10 to sit in a theater and watch it.  They use clever graphics, descriptive fonts, and subtly faded portraits of the main actors to sum up the story in one snapshot.

Most posters have words of some kind.  And you can tell what’s important by how big the words are.  Most modern movie posters have the name of the movie in huge letters.  Next smallest are the key stars – the ones who get the top billing.  Then are the “other” stars.  Finally, in itty-bitty print at the bottom of the page… everyone else.

That’s now.  But do you remember back in the day, what was the main draw on movie posters?  The lead actor and/or actress.  Nowadays, you go see a movie because you read the book, or because the topic is intriguing to you.  But once, you went to see movie stars!

Do you remember what those movie posters looked like?  The star’s name in BIG LETTERS – sometimes bigger than the title of the movie.

Here’s a ridiculous thought – what if you saw a movie poster this week that had JON PARKS in big bright letters!  “Who’s that guy??” people would ask.  Oh, he’s just an extra.  Do you think people would go to see the movie then?

So now it’s time to wrap up this series on Romans.  But as we do, I think it’s worth looking back over the whole book to make sure we understand Paul’s big points.  We don’t want to “major on the minors,” get things out of order.  So let’s walk through what we’ve learned from Romans, chapter by chapter:

1. God has reason to be angry at human beings, who have been sinful.  We can’t claim ignorance – we know God is real and what he asks of us, but we still disobey.

2. Therefore, we have only one judge – God.  We cannot judge each other because we have all sinned and we are all sinful.  There is no place for division because of the quantity or quality of sin.

3. We can do nothing, by our own actions, to draw closer to God.  So God has chosen to draw closer to us, and to allow our FAITH to be counted as righteousness (rather than our careful observance of the Law).

4-7. Once we were slaves to sin and to the Law.  But God has freed us to choose whom we will serve.  But even then, we still fall short.

8.   So Christ makes up the difference.  His work and his death allow us to be adopted as God’s children, and for our sins to be covered.  God has done this – nothing can undo it.

9-11. Since all human beings are sinful, all are in need of redemption.  And God has chosen to use US as his way of spreading the good news!

12-13.  Our lives therefore should be lived totally in God’s service, no matter what we are doing.  Our conduct, both within the Body and without, should fulfill the Law of Love.

14-15.  The burden is upon us to live at peace with each other.  If someone disagrees with us, we can’t use that disagreement to justify division and fighting.  Rather, we must take all efforts to live in love and harmony with each other.  And this is not for our sakes, but so that God may be glorified by the way we live.

Paul covers the sweep of human history and God’s work.  And lest we put the wrong name in big letters, it’s important to see whom Paul recognizes as the big star in this story.

GOD

It’s so simple, you say.  But the fact is, we tend to put ourselves at the center of the world.  We start off this way as children – after all, for the first year of our lives or more, we’re not even aware that anyone else really exists.  But that tendency doesn’t stop with infancy.  Even in our spiritual lives today, we try to put ourselves at the center of God’s universe.

• We think, “why should I do anything for God?”
• “How does this make a difference for ME?”
• “Why does God ask so much of ME?”
• “Sure God did all this, but what has he done for ME lately?”
• Or, we look at all the things God has done, and we say:
  • Look at everything God has done, just for ME!
  • We make the story of redemption about “God and me.”
  • The buddy-buddy mentality, so focused on our own personal relationship.

It’s good to remember that God loves you and me personally – that’s wonderful news!  But I think sometimes we take this too far and begin to see ourselves as the whole reason God exists.  As if the reason God existed at all was to create us, to save us when we messed up, and to build our mansion in glory when we pass on.

Do you see how wrong this is?  Do you see how human-centered that understanding is?  Sure, I’m exaggerating things, but isn’t it true that we often put ourselves higher than we should?

A glance over the whole book of Romans gives us a different picture.

WE are not at the center of the universe.  GOD is.

WE did not choose God.  GOD chose us.

WE could not bridge the gap that came between us and God.  But GOD could overcome it.

WE do not do the work to save ourselves.  GOD does.

WE do not have the power even now to live the lives he asks of us.  But GOD gives us that power.

As we finish this look at the Letter to the Romans, I hope that we are not as impressed by Paul’s eloquence or thoughtfulness, as much as we are impressed by Paul’s GOD.  This God who has made us and who acts on our behalf – not because he must, but because he chooses to.

That God deserves top billing in my life, and in yours.  Does he have it?

These next two posts were actually delivered as one sermon, but I expanded on them both and thought they deserved to be split.  This first part deals with the atual text of chapters 15-16, then the next post deals with the lessons we’ve learned from the entire book.

Closing Things Out
Romans 15-16

The beginning of chapter 15 carries on from Paul’s discussion in chapter 14, where we left off last time.  As we learned then, it seems the manner in which we disagree (not the content) on things in the Body of Christ really does make a difference.

Romans 15:1-13 (NIV)

¹We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ²Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Read the rest of this entry »

Intro – Asking the Right Questions

It’s important to ask the right questions in life – in fact, much of our education focuses around finding the right questions to ask, and the best ways to answer them.

Have you ever played the game “Psychologist?”  Tanya used to love to play this game with her youth in Birmingham.  It’s kind of an enhanced version of “20 Questions.”  One person is dubbed the “psychologist” and is sent out of the room.  While that person is gone, everyone else decides what’s “wrong” with them – for instance, everyone thinks that they are Michael Jackson, or everyone thinks they are a dog.  Then the psychologist comes back into the room and has to ask yes/no questions to figure out what’s wrong with everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

Romans 13:1-7 (NIV)

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Context

In the previous passage of his letter, Paul has begun to elaborate on how we are to live in community.  First, he discussed life in the Body of Christ, then he urged us to “live at peace with everyone (as far as it depends upon you).”  Now Paul reflects on how civic government shapes our lives and relationships.  The passage itself is straightforward and easy to understand.

But to understand what’s going on, we should also consider the context of the letter.  Paul was writing to people who had just recently been allowed to return to Rome – Jews and Jewish Christians had caused such an uproar that in 49 AD, Claudius ordered them all to leave the city.  This wasn’t persecution of a people because of their religious practices – it was a way for the emperor to quell a public disturbance.

Paul knows he is addressing people who have a tendency to get carried away with their opinions and demonstrations.  So he is using this opportunity to give them some instructions about how they can conduct themselves in future arguments.  And of course, his point is theologically tied in with everything that comes before. Read the rest of this entry »

Mealtimes at the Parks home have gotten significantly crazier in the last couple of years.  As the girls have grown older and are no longer strapped in to their seats, and as they have learned how to express their culinary likes and dislikes, dinner is more chaotic and unpredictable than ever before.

One thing is predictable, however.  Each day, we can count on the struggle over what will be eaten, and how much of it.  You see, for my daughters, mealtimes are a means to an end – all that chicken, rice, veggies, bread, fruit… all that’s just an appetizer for the main course:  DESSERT.  And the question is nearly always raised:  Just how much do I have to eat before I get a dessert?

The typical conversation goes something like this:

“Mama, can I have a treat now?”

“No, not yet.  You still have to eat your carrots.”

“ALL my carrots?”

“Yes, all your carrots.”

Then they’ll piddle around and play, and then two or three minutes later, you hear again,

“Mama, can I have a treat now?”

“Have you eaten your carrots?”

“ALL my carrots?”

“Yes ALL your carrots.”

And on and on and on it goes until the realization finally sinks in – “I’m not going to get the good stuff unless I eat what they’re telling me to eat.” Read the rest of this entry »