Sermon Summaries

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The Time Has Come #11 - Who is Greatest??

Day 3 and 3 posts... that's the good news... My latest personal news came earlier this afternoon. My father called saying that my uncle is in the hospital. This is my mother's older brother with whom they are currently staying. He is 91 yrs. old. His health hasn't been good for a while now. At the moment, one of his legs is swollen up and draining fluid. IDK if anyone will see this in time to pray; but if you do, we need a miracle. Pray first for my parents to have a place to stay past next Monday, the 22nd. That is when the 14 day guest limit will be reached at my uncle's place. If my uncle is still in the hospital by then, MAYBE they will be allowed to stay on as caretakers, at least for a bit. IDK, that was Mike's idea when I just video chatted with him over a late lunch. It's almost 2:45 pm now. We talked around 2:15. Also pray for my uncle and the doctor's wisdom in treating him and whatever comes next.

Meanwhile, it doesn't look like Maintenance is coming to unclog my kitchen sink today... I had called on Friday, but they only have limited hours these days. I'll probably just do my dishes in the bathtub later... (update, one of the guys showed up around 3:15. He assessed the situation, and will be back first thing tomorrow. Turns out their hours have remained the same. Only the Office Hours have been trimmed.)

Nothing else for now... as always, I'll keep you all posted as I know anything.

Since I cannot personally relate to the desire to make a name for myself*, my thoughts this afternoon have drifted to Shakespeare. I'm sure most of you know where this is going, right?? Romeo and Juliet. "What's in a name?? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...". (Act 2, Scene 2)

In today's message, we will look at God's perspective on promotion.

Our Scripture is from Mark 9 -- (Yes, this skips a bit, but you'll find the rest on the "Diving In with Matt + Joe" podcast on the Transfiguration, as mentioned in the previous post)

Mark 9:30-37

New International Version

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” ³²But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

³⁶He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

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This sermon was brought by both Matt and Joe, so don't expect anything of who said what until their brief personal stories at the end.

For openers, we have our "take away" statement --

-- True greatness is the sacrificial way of Jesus. --

This passage contains one of the least intuitive teachings Jesus ever gave. When confronted by His Disciples on which of them He considered the greatest, He responded by saying that the first among them would be the one who put themselves last by serving others. This would also be the one who exhibited child-like faith. (Innocent, fully trusting, not doubting, and humble)

As the scene opens in our passage above, Jesus was just coming back with Peter, James, and John from the Transfiguration. This confirmed Peter's earlier statement that Jesus, was/is, indeed the Messiah.

Now, as they have returned to the others and settled down for a bit, Jesus asks, "What were you just talking about earlier??" (vs 33) In the midst of the crowded streets and noise, He hadn't caught all of it. Of course, we can just imagine what Peter, James, and John may have contributed to the conversation after what they had just witnessed... we can almost hear Peter saying, "What if I told you that I was RIGHT!!?? Jesus IS the Messiah!!"

In reading through the Bible, we find that humanity has been trying to make a name for ourselves, nearly from the start...

Turning back to Genesis 11:3-4, we find the Tower of Babel. As you may know, they were trying to build a tower that would reach God, thus making themselves famous. This is the way of Babylon (Babel is a shortened version). We see here the pattern of desiring, taking, and destruction; just as with Adam and Eve in the Garden, and just like every other Biblical account that includes that scenario... just like many are still doing today. The point of self-promotion with bricks (a good, although ultimately destructible material) vs stone (a far more durable, and therefore trustworthy thing). While either of these may be used for good or evil purposes, we see in later Scriptures how Jesus is the Cornerstone of our faith.

Looking at verse 35 of our passage above, we see Jesus' Words, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last and servant of all." That's God's Way.

Flipping back, once again, to Genesis, we go to chapter 12, verse 1, where we read that God said to Abram, "I will make your name great..." This was Yahweh, Creator of the Universe, telling him what was in store for him!! As he received this and trusted God, we find in chapter 15 that Abram's name was changed to Abraham, and the beginning of the Hebrew Nation was to be established according to the Covenant God Himself set in motion at Abraham's agreement.

Skipping over to chapter 18:16-33, we have the account of God's judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah*. The focus here, for this message, is on righteousness and justice. First, we have the word "righteousness". This indicates a "right-standing" with others. (You might think about a member of a club having a status as being "in good-standing". This speaks not only to a solid relationship, but also a good fellowship between that person and the rest of the group.) It was brought out here that the word "righteousness", as used here, is relatable to the Arabic idea of "sadaqah" which is an act of non-monetary generosity that is volunteered. The actual doing of this is "sedaq".

Next, we look at the word "justice" in relation to this. In a general sense, we understand that justice is about the restoration of wrongdoing. I feel like the AI overview will do a better job here in explaining the nuances of the languages here better than I can --

-- In Jewish and Islamic traditions, sadaqah (or tzedakah in Hebrew) and mishpat are distinct but complementary concepts related to justice and righteousness.

Mishpat refers to retributive or rectifying justice, which involves the fair and impartial application of the rule of law to correct wrongdoing and protect the vulnerable (such as the widow, orphan, immigrant, and poor). It is about ensuring fairness and holding people accountable for their actions within a legal framework.
Sadaqah (or tzedakah) refers to distributive or primary justice, which encompasses righteous behavior, integrity, generosity, and an obligation to help others. It goes beyond voluntary "charity" and is considered a moral duty to create a society in which everyone can flourish, thereby preventing the need for rectifying justice in the first place. Examples include leaving portions of a harvest for the poor or the forgiveness of debts in a Jubilee year.

Essentially, mishpat deals with making wrong things right through legal structures, while sadaqah focuses on the ongoing moral and ethical conduct that establishes right relationships and prevents injustice from occurring. Both are considered essential for a just and righteous society. --

Getting back to my notes on what Pastors Matt and Joe shared, the next thing was that, in the Torah, the concepts of righteousness and justice are earmarks of God's People as they are expected to help widows, orphans, needy foreigners, and others among the poor. Anyone who cannot return the favor in that moment.

Verse 36 of Mark 9 shows a reflection of the Father in Jesus' words concerning child-like faith. The greater understanding here was first of all, that children had no social standing. (This spoke directly to the Disciples' pride in discussing who was greatest.) All children had was potential. This was still better than the views the Romans held of them. Jesus expected them to follow His example of loving those who were marginalized, or misfits. If God was willing to welcome them in, so should they/we.* It's not meant to be about our "brand". It's about accepting people for who they are.* We are supposed to be inviting others into the sense of belonging and abundance God has given us. (If you look at yesterday's message, the idea of receiving abundantly and giving generously was mentioned.) The truth is that the love of God resides in our relationships with others, not only in the Church. We should have an attitude of self-emptying and self-giving, as did Jesus.

Going all the way back now, to Genesis 1-2, we come to understand that our desire for significance is not a bad thing, in and of itself. We read here how God literally CREATED us for the purpose of Ruling and Reigning. The only bit we tend to fall short on is the point that we are meant to be doing it WITH HIM. He placed us here in order to help cover the Earth with HIS Glory. (iow, NOT ours)

The desires for belonging and peace are built into our desire for significance.

But how do we approach it??

In Matthew 6, verses 9-13, Jesus has our answer -- You may recognize this reference for the Lord's Prayer* -- Notice the wording here, "... Hallowed be YOUR Name...". Our Salvation is God's way of making His Name great.

How we view greatness matters. It helps to shape and dictate how we act on its pursuit. The idea was presented here that Parenting Books, as a general rule, are akin to Babylon.*

In closing, Pastors Matt and Joe shared briefly about their own struggles with the pursuit of greatness in their own lives and ministries. Pastor Matt prefaced this with the fact that Pastors and Leadership are not exempt from these issues.

At this point, Pastor Matt told the story of early days in his time as a young preacher. He was actually an aide to Rick Warren at one time. The problem in that organization, at least at that time, was that the culture was all about "Managing People" and "Building your Brand". As evidenced by the Scriptures above, as well as others that may relate, that is simply not Biblical. While Pastor Matt originally saw this as a great opportunity, he soon realized that he would be better off elsewhere.* He came to understand that humble repentance and humble reliance on God are the true keys to ministerial success. He pointed out here that CenterPoint relies on God's provision constantly in order to pay the bills and maintenance a building where the sanctuary and narthex (entry) areas are over 200 years old.

Finally, Pastor Joe spoke of a similar battle of approaching ambition and repentance. He didn't provide details at that time.

The point lies in talking to people as fellow image-bearers of God. This includes everyone; not just those who "fit into our culture" of Church World.

-- God Bless!!

Footnotes:

As to the idea of making a name for myself, I don't really have to. Some of my ancestors did that for me. For starters, my mother's father's mother was a Hastings. Yes, THOSE Hastings!! (I have yet to determine if I should be ashamed or proud) Next, my mother's mother's 8x, or something like that, grandmother, via all the mothers, was Anna Symmes. She married former US President William Henry Harrison. Some other way, we are also related to Hayes, but IDK that connection. At the same time, my mother's father's mother, I believe, was cousin to an Abbot cousin. This man was a partner in the Abbot and Downing Coach Company. Oh, and somewhere else on my mother's side was the founder of the Christian Herald Newspaper. Quite a history, right!!??
Just so we're clear, God's judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah was NOT about Homosexuality. It was about their inhospitality in the threat of gang rape. The potential target had nothing to do with it. These men would have been seen as equally evil if they had threatened Lot's wife as heterosexuals.
The idea of inviting people in who may not APPEAR to fit into our Church culture reminds me of that story that's been wandering the internet for a long time now. As a Believer, if you are, you've most likely seen it at some point. It's about the man who was the new pastor at a local church. He purposely shows up in raggy clothes and a dirty face in order to test them out. When he reveals himself as their new pastor, they realize the failure of their ways.
As to the point of accepting people for who they are, CenterPoint has "shifted position" on this, at least slightly. I haven't actually asked about this in detail, I only know that an email from a few years ago mentioned it. I'm guessing that we don't turn anyone away; but still may try to "encourage" certain people to pray about their lifestyles. Particularly among the LGBT crowd. Thankfully, there's an Open and Affirming Congregational Church close by where those people would be welcomed without judgement.
As you will notice if you read my these Sermon Summaries long enough, I never fail to comment on the fact that the Lord's Prayer is not really meant to BE a prayer on it's own. In reading the passage, we see that Jesus was telling them HOW to pray. He was not telling them what to SAY. It's meant as a PATTERN for prayer. Recognition, praise, petition, etc.. Of course, if you need a starting place to pray for other things, it's fine to use it in order to prompt yourself; but it's not meant to be used as some Churches do, in repeating it on a weekly basis. That can take away from the depth of meaning in it when we know something by rote. It can become boring and feel obligatory rather than what it was intended for.
Speaking to the idea of Parenting Books providing non-Biblical concepts like pandering to a child's every whim so as not to damage their self-esteem, that was not the experience I ever had in the 10 years +/- that I took Parenting Classes. The basic theories I heard were about freedom within limits as a method of effectively preparing a child for the world in which they will live, this is from Michael Popkin in his book, "Active Parenting". We also studied from books like "How to talk so kids Will Listen..." by Adele Faber and Elaine Maislish. During part of my time attending these classes, the leader also offered a course on Active Christian Parenting, also by Michael Popkin, along with his wife, Melody F Popkin, and Sue Allen. This gives Biblical support behind the same concepts presented in the secular course. The central idea is discipline vs punishment. IDK what the books are saying these days, but that's what they were saying 20+ years ago.
In reference to Rick Warren, this is not about his books or how Biblical they are. I actually have a copy of "Purpose Driven Life". If you find his ministries or books helpful in guiding your heart back to God, or just in gaining inspiration for your life, that's great. This is only speaking to the culture of the Administration Offices as they were at that time.